A French plastic surgeon has been accused of practicing illegally after a two-year ban.
Olivier Gerbault – nicknamed “the maestro of the nose” – is a plastic surgeon working in France.
However, the plastic surgeon may not be known as the maestro of the nose for long, with the doctor’s alleged patients coming forward to claim they were left “mutilated” by the 58-year-old.
Olivier Gerbault is a plastic surgeon from France (YouTube/ Chirurgien rhinoplastie Paris : Dr Gerbault)
An alleged patient of the surgeon, named Elisa, reportedly went in for rhinoplasty surgery with Gerbault in August 2020.
Rhinoplasty is “a surgical procedure that changes the shape of the nose,” Mayo Clinic explains. “The reason for rhinoplasty can be to change the appearance of the nose, to improve breathing, or both,” he adds.
However, after reportedly undergoing surgery, Elisa complained of a negatively altered appearance to her nose along with negative effects on her breathing.
He said: “My nose was long, crooked, fat, it looked like a potato, my left nostril was drooping, the air wasn’t going through anymore.
“When I drank water, my nose touched the glass. I couldn’t blow my nose anymore, I had to use cotton buds.”
Patients who reportedly underwent rhinoplasty surgery with the doctor have appeared (Getty Stock Images/ Arturo Pena Romano Medina)
A patient named Chloé also came forward to say that her 2020 rhinoplasty left her with “a lump, a big potato” for a nose.
She claims she ended up with “a weird white spot on my nose” which turned out to be “a piece of cartilage sticking out” and accuses the surgeon of “butchering” her.
Another alleged victim named Alix reportedly had surgery on her chin and when she woke up, she had “a Bogdanoff chin and an asymmetrical nose” and felt like she had been “mutilated.”
She said: “When I woke up, I threw up liters of blood. The doctor had to trowel it out. Since then, I’ve had a horrible burning sensation, the air comes in really hard and it’s on my nerves. Gerbault has ruined my life!”
After several complaints were filed against the surgeon, Gerbault was sentenced to a two-year surgical ban in November 2023.
Dr Gerbault has reportedly been banned from surgery for two years in November 2023 (YouTube/ Chirurgien rhinoplastie Paris : Dr Gerbault)
The National Order of Physicians confirmed in Le Parisien he was “administratively cut off”, yet reports say Gerbault continued to perform surgeries anyway, the French General Medical Council subsequently filed a complaint against the surgeon.
Local media reports that Gerbault has been under investigation by the Crimes Against Persons Brigade (BRDP) since February.
If Gerbault is found to have been practicing medicine illegally, he could face not only a 30,000 euro ($31,000) fine, but also possibly two years in prison.
Gerbault said in a statement that he had “ceased all surgical activity” since the beginning of the year and referred patients to a colleague.
Instead, he believes the accounts are part of an attempt by a colleague to destroy his reputation.
He said: “These patients are all connected and the complaints are strictly the same, sometimes word for word. (…) It is obvious that they are being helped by a colleague, which is particularly serious and not fraternal.”
UNILAD has contacted the French General Medical Council and Gerbault for comment.
