Two weeks later she returned to China, and her mother-oblivious about anything relating to her trip to Seoul-noticed her facial changes. The young woman lied, saying this was the result of hyaluronic acid, used in a previous operation.

The mother came to believe that the double-eyelid surgery was good enough, and to this day the young woman has not told her about her trip to Seoul. The mother came to believe, too, that her daughter cared too much about her appearance.

The young woman says old people are less understanding about plastic surgery among people like her than young people, and she hid the truth so there would be no family disputes. She is unwilling to tell anybody but very intimate friends about her experience with cosmetic surgery, feeling that in this way it avoids "unnecessary conflict".

Medical and aesthetic institutions that see students as lucrative plastic surgery clients are well aware that these young people are mostly short of funds, so they use summer discounts, installment plans and other gimmicks to attract their attention.

"The various successful cases of plastic surgery promoted on major medical beauty apps only show how great plastic surgery can be," says Jiang Wenxiu of Department of Psychiatry, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University in Jiangsu.

"They leave out all the negative stuff."

Last year Nanfang Daily carried out a survey asking whether minor plastic surgery should be outlawed. Within a day, more than 7,000 votes from internet users were received, and 68.6 percent said they favored the proposal.

"If you have big problems with your look you wait until you are a full adult then decide if you want to do something about it," Jiang says."Then, with a stable mind, you can consider inner and outer beauty, and whether plastic surgery is for you."

Early this year, the young woman at the center of this article says, she felt she was fully recovered, and was satisfied with the results. The anguish and pain she had gone through had been rewarded, she says. At the same time, she feels fortunate she did not encounter the "pits" of plastic surgery.

Nevertheless, her advice for anyone considering undergoing the kind of surgery she went through is firm:"It really isn't worth the risk. If something big goes wrong, you've ruined your life."