Clinic probed over operating room party pics

SEOUL, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A plastic surgery clinic in the South Korean capital is under investigation after pictures were posted online showing an apparent mid-operation birthday party.

Health authorities in Seoul said they are investigating the Jewelry Plastic Surgery Center in the affluent Gangnam district after a nurse assistant posted pictures to her Instagram account showing an apparent birthday party featuring cookies, hamburgers and a cake with lit candles in an operating room while a patient was unconscious on the table.

Another photo from the Instagram account, which has since been deleted, featured a female worker jokingly holding a breast implant up to her own chest.

The Korean Nurses Association said it spoke to clinic officials and the incident involved nurse assistants, but no nurses.

The Instagram photos, which have since been deleted, also implicated a surgeon with a caption mentioning he allowed the nurse assistants to eat in the operating room.

The clinic posted a statement on its website apologizing for the "careless actions" and "senseless behavior" of the staff members in the photos.