Vietnam clinic’s illegal “disease‑painting” procedures cause severe urinary and reproductive injuries

Authorities in Nghe An province shut down a private clinic that was deliberately creating false disease signs to extract large treatment fees. Doctors described tactics such as pumping soy‑milk into the urethra, applying ointments to the cervix, and inserting metal tools to scrape the uterine lining. These actions can tear mucous membranes, introduce infections, cause chronic urethral stricture, chronic cystitis, and lead to scarring that may require multiple surgeries or bladder reconstruction. In women, the practices risk cervical inflammation, Asherman's syndrome, infertility, recurrent miscarriage and other obstetric complications. In men, they can provoke severe urethritis, prostatitis, orchitis and, in extreme cases, bloodstream infection. The expert warned that the lack of sterile technique further heightens the danger of bacterial, fungal or viral invasion. The investigation underscores the emergence of “medical abuse” as a form of violence against patients, with lasting physical and psychological consequences.