A patient of the non-specialist doctor tells what happened to the septum deviation operation: “My nose fell off after a few months. Now I understand why. He's an amateur surgeon”

A man from Bucharest, former patient of Dr. Marek Vâlcu, talks about the experience he went through after being operated on for a nasal condition by the “plastic surgeon of the stars”.

A 67-year-old patient claims that, after a septum deviation operation at Marek Vâlcu, he needed two other surgeries performed under general anesthesia and the removal of cartilage from the ear in order to reconstruct his nose and be able to breathe well again.

After Snoop published the investigation related to Dr. Marek Vâlcu in which he showed that for at least 16 years the “surgeon to the stars” has also been performing ENT surgeries, a specialization that he did not acquire, several patients operated by him contacted the editorial office.

One of them agreed to make his story public, but under the protection of anonymity. PT, the 67-year-old man from Bucharest, arrived at the Silhouette Clinic, owned by Marek Vâlcu, 15 years ago.

“After a few months, a lump started growing in my right nostril”

– How did you find out about Dr. Marek Vâlcu?
– A cousin, a doctor at the Floreasca Emergency Hospital, recommended it to me. Vâlcu worked at this hospital, being one of the students of Dr. Ioan Lascăr. But he had already opened his clinic, the one in the Dorobanti neighborhood, and I could financially afford to operate privately.

– What nose problems did you present to Marek Vâlcu with? Did you know he's a plastic surgeon?
– Yes, I knew he was a plastic surgeon. My nose was crooked and I couldn't breathe through my left nostril. I wanted to arrange it both externally and internally. After consulting me, he told me that I have a deviated septum and that he gets rid of this problem and also makes my nose beautiful. I agreed. Back then I had no idea what a deviated septum or a turbinate resection was!

– And did you have surgery?
– Yes. After I recovered from the surgery I felt like I was breathing better. But my nose was still crooked. And after a few months, a lump started to grow in my right nostril. I went back to the clinic and Dr. Vâlcu told me that he was melting it with the laser. I recovered my right nostril breathing, but after another few months I noticed that the right nostril was flattening. It looked as if an invisible finger was pressing on it. Soon the tip of my nose started to droop. Basically, my nose had started to fall off, only the skin was still holding it to me. I thought I ended up like Michael Jackson…

“Then I had another surgery”

– Have you returned to doctor Vâlcu?
– My boy had just finished Medicine and he told me to go to another doctor he found for me. After consulting me, the doctor told me that it is difficult to repair what was destroyed during the operation, but that he would try in two stages. In the first operation, performed under general anesthesia, they had to restore my turbinates, which Marek Vâlcu cut off completely.

I then underwent another surgery, also under general anesthesia, to reconstruct my nose. Marek Vâlcu cut a large piece of my nasal bone and almost all the cartilage. I had to have a piece of cartilage taken from one of my ears so that they would have something to lift and reconstruct my nose.

– What did you think of Dr. Marek Vâlcu then?
– Then I didn't know what to believe. He was always on television, he was presented as a great surgeon, but he had butchered me. For two years I pulled until I could breathe well again. I know I haven't recommended it to anyone. I have told everyone I know to avoid him because he is a disaster of a surgeon. He slaughtered me.

Only now do I understand why he cut me off. After reading the article published by Snoop I realized that he was not allowed to operate on me for deviated septum and resection of the turbinates, operations related to ENT surgery. It is another specialization in which Dr. Marek Vâlcu has not trained and is not authorized to do it.

– Did he make you sign any act by which you assume silence in relation to the operation you underwent and the fact that you will not go to court?
– Yes. I signed that statement. It was for ten years. I know it's been more than ten years since then, but I prefer to err on the side of caution. This is why I wish to remain anonymous. It took me a long time to get over the trauma of the four surgeries I had in less than two years. Reading now about Marek Vâlcu, I relive those moments and it's not easy at all.

Lawyer Dr. Marek: “We have nothing to comment”

Contacted for a point of view regarding the case of patient PT, lawyer Katia Cicală, who represents Dr. Marek Vâlcu, said that at the moment they are refraining from any other statements: “We have nothing to comment on.”