POSTED UNDER Rhinoplasty REVIEWS
Roman Kufa Perfect Clinic Prague Rhinoplasty Worst Experience Of My Life - Prague, CZ
ORIGINAL POST
I have made two big mistakes in my life, the first...
gannet2014January 17, 2014
$2,000
I have made two big mistakes in my life, the first is a primary rhinoplasty and the second is a revision rhinoplasty, both performed by Roman Kufa at Perfect Clinic. When first contacting Perfect Clinic by email, I was informed by the secretary, that Roman Kufa performs several rhinoplasty operations each month and he has various qualifications viewable online. On the Perfect Clinic website, there are also before and after photos, and even some videos. Roman Kufa looked confident and it all seemed very trustworthy. Perfect Clinic’s lower prices also had a strong influence over my choice of clinic, I was a student and wasn't keen on my family knowing about the operation, so I could not afford a more expensive UK clinic. Dr.Kufa has been practicing for many years but its very difficult to find credible reviews on him as a surgeon online. There was (until now) not one bad or even mediocre review about Dr.Kufa online. The few online reviews that do exist seem overwhelming supportive of his work as a surgeon but don't share any photos or personal information which I find this suspicious.
On the day of my first surgery I had my consultation with Dr. Kufa, it can't have lasted more than 5 minutes, he sat on a chair behind his desk, he seemed quite apathetic, and disinterested, he told me that my nose was "too long". He sketched out what my nose on a piece of scrap paper. I explained that it looked different from different angles because of the deviation and wanted this fixed. I told him that I didn't want a huge change, that I still wanted to look like myself, masculine, that I really did not want it to look like I have had surgery but preferably a natural result. He appeared to be listening. Nothing really was explained to me regarding the procedure. He didn't tell me what he would do or where incisions would be, he didn't discuss postoperative care, he insisted that the result would be “good” and that I had “nothing to worry about”. Before the operation the nerves of general anesthesia dominated my mind rather than surgical results and I was very naive to think that it could not go wrong. The surgery itself was fine and the aftercare from the nurses was fine. I traveled back home two days later. After 10 days I took off my cast and I will never forget how shocked I was to see my nose in the mirror. It was still very swollen, so the overall shape of the tip was difficult to tell, but it was clear that the dorsum was reduced far too much, the nose was a very curved, scooped profile, a very shapeless form and my face looked very bare, like something was missing. It was simply a very stupid thing to do to a guy and looked very unnatural, it was stripped of cartilage and bone, a lot had been removed, completely unnecessary to remove so much material. Instead of focusing on deviation, Dr. Kufa decided gave me a transformation, this decision must have been made when I was under General Anesthesia because it definitely was not made during the consultation. When the swelling went down is got even smaller, quite upturned, a feminine nose. I felt like it was changed for the sake of novelty rather than what looked right. It was Ignorant to the fact that I was male and therefore should have a straighter profile, ignorant to the fact I was European, ignorant to absolutely everything I had said in the consultation.
Despite being very disappointed, I was patient for the swelling to go down. The result was awful but I waited until the end of the year before I contacted Dr.Kufa again. I emailed him explaining everything, with some photos. I was forgiving. Initially he told me that he could use injection fillers to even out the bridge. I told him that I wanted the nose fixed properly, surgically. He told me that he would perform a revision free of charge, and that this was no problem at all. Although the first rhinoplasty result was very poor and clearly no care or thought went into the result, even the best surgeons make mistakes sometimes, so I foolishly agreed to let him perform a revision. I emailed him, strongly emphasizing the fact that the bridge was too low and that was the major problem rather than the fairly bulbous tip. After all the tip was only prominent because so much material had been removed from around it. So the objective of the surgery was mainly to build the bridge of the nose to a more suitable height. This was realistic, the only constraint being that I wanted it straighter, no fussy details, and no unrealistic aesthetic demands. I told him he could take cartilage from my ear or ribs if he needed to. I was very easy going considering the circumstances. He told me this was “simple” to correct and that it would “look good”. Naturally this time I was much more cautious and did ask to see some before and after photos of patients that he had increased the height of the bridge of the nose but I was REFUSED, I asked for some form of simple computer simulation to have a better mutual visual understanding of the expected outcome and I was REFUSED. I asked for a translator because I thought that perhaps Dr.Kufa did not understand some of my English terms, I was granted this, but they later it was REFUSED. I refused to re operate unless a translator was present, so in the end a translator was provided for the consultation. Simple demands which I would say are a standard procedure were denied but at the same time I felt like I had to get it fixed. During the second consultation I found it insulting that the first thing Dr.Kufa told me when he seen my nose was that “this is not a bad result” insinuating that all this bad result was part of my imagination. He clearly has no eye for aesthetics because it was clear that it was a bad result and more importantly, not what I wanted at all. Is this not my decision at the end of the day?
I had sent Photoshopped images of how I would like the result but again I didn't really have any say. Dr.Kufa had decided to focus his attention on the tip of the nose despite the main reason for a revision was to address the low bridge. He decided to take more cartilage from the tip and place this over the dorsum. Again, somehow he managed to persuade me to go ahead with the operation. The actual revision operation went fine, I traveled back home and it healed very quickly this time. For about a week the result was very good, the nose was straight, much more full in appearance, I was really impressed actually at how masculine it looked, I even got compliments on how “handsome” instead of “cute” I looked which helped me verify that this was not just my imagination and that I was correct. I was even about to contact him thanking him for fixing the problem so effectively, but the good result was only because of the swelling. As time passed, the mistakes became more prominent as the swelling went down. Basically the height of the dorsum remained the same, very low, the tip had been more damaged, it was reduced much more, the sides missing from it, it was a round awkward crude shape and very BULBOUS, worse than ever before. I emailed Dr. Kufa after a few weeks and was told in a one sentence email that the cartilage must have re-absorbed. Cartilage grafts can re absorb but science tells me that this occurs by a few % over the course of a few years, surely not after one month. So basically instead of an additive process, this operation was another reduction procedure where even more material was taken away from the nose. I got no answers about why the bridge wasn't raised and why the tip was changed like this, he just never responds if he doesn't want to answer the question.
Roman Kufa (who has recently become an “officially appointed expert in the field of plastic surgery” according to the Perfect Clinic website) who after two completely botched operations now decides that I’m just being a difficult client. He first tells me it looks fine and there's no need to re operate. Then he replies short single sentence emails with spelling mistakes. He decides the best/quickest solution now is to inject Metacrill, a non-FDA approved filler, to fill the large areas now missing from my nose. I told him that I don't trust him at all and that I’m not injecting non-FDA approved materials into my body. He then tells me another option is to use a Medpor implant to build the bridge and that this is yet another “simple operation”, but when I ask if he has he even done this procedure before, he tells me only a handful of times. Dr. Kufa acts like everything is so simple, and only after the operations, do you realise that maybe its not so simple after all. So thanks for the offer but I’m not letting Roman Kufa near my face ever again! The procedures you offer me might be “free” but now an operation with a consultant surgeon is more complicated because of the previous operations, and therefore more expensive. I’m going to be saving for years and probably going to have to take out a loan to get this fixed. Rhinoplasty is a difficult surgery, fair enough, but I know I’m not unreasonable, I can forgive a mistake, or a minor flaw, but not this. And if a mistake does happen, twice, at least show some empathy.
I don't think that this result is purely because of poor surgical technique, I think a major reason my results have been poor is because vital things such as a proper consultation and proper postoperative care have been largely sacrificed in order to cut costs and lure more cost conscious clients, to make more money. I can only assume that a clinic offering competitive prices prioritizes quantity of patients over quality of results. The Perfect Clinic website makes deceptive claims, I originally chose Perfect Clinic because of some of these promises, but these I later found out for the most part are untrue,
“The superb quality represents above all, the approach to patients and their needs (NOT TRUE). Highly qualified staffs, above standard surgical acts(NOT TRUE), unique quality of postoperative care (UNIQUE BECAUSE THERE IS NONE?), communication skills (NOT TRUE) and security are the basic principles provided.”
“Each operation at the Perfect Clinic Plastic Surgery Centre is preceded by an expert consultation (WHICH LASTS ABOUT 5 MINUTES!). Each patient is given detailed information on the process of the operation (I WAS TOLD THE RHINOPLASTY WOULD BE OPEN AND IT ENDED UP BEING CLOSED, BOTH TIMES?!), post-op and recovery routine including the potential secondary affections (THIS IS A PRINTOUT ON PAPER!).”
This isn't just two bad surgical results, this is bad practice. Under similar circumstances, I think that another surgeon would have dealt with this differently, and Roman Kufa fell short of this standard. Plastic surgery should never be a factory conveyor belt with standardized results. People deserve better than this. If you are considering surgery please choose a surgeon, one who will treat you with respect and has time to listen to you and most of all wants to help you. Ask to see before and after photos and research as much as possible. Remember this is your BODY, don't cut corners and choose a cheaper clinic because you will get a lower quality result, and you will regret it for the rest of your life.
I've already been threatened with Roman Kufa’s lawyer about posting online reviews, I think that's the wrong approach. Online reviews are today fact of life for all businesses, including plastic surgeons. Learn from this review and create a system to deal with FAILURES. Freedom speech is my human right and I am entitled to my own opinion and to share my experience, as long as its fact, and I am 100% truthful in my review. Hopefully my mistakes will help other people.
On the day of my first surgery I had my consultation with Dr. Kufa, it can't have lasted more than 5 minutes, he sat on a chair behind his desk, he seemed quite apathetic, and disinterested, he told me that my nose was "too long". He sketched out what my nose on a piece of scrap paper. I explained that it looked different from different angles because of the deviation and wanted this fixed. I told him that I didn't want a huge change, that I still wanted to look like myself, masculine, that I really did not want it to look like I have had surgery but preferably a natural result. He appeared to be listening. Nothing really was explained to me regarding the procedure. He didn't tell me what he would do or where incisions would be, he didn't discuss postoperative care, he insisted that the result would be “good” and that I had “nothing to worry about”. Before the operation the nerves of general anesthesia dominated my mind rather than surgical results and I was very naive to think that it could not go wrong. The surgery itself was fine and the aftercare from the nurses was fine. I traveled back home two days later. After 10 days I took off my cast and I will never forget how shocked I was to see my nose in the mirror. It was still very swollen, so the overall shape of the tip was difficult to tell, but it was clear that the dorsum was reduced far too much, the nose was a very curved, scooped profile, a very shapeless form and my face looked very bare, like something was missing. It was simply a very stupid thing to do to a guy and looked very unnatural, it was stripped of cartilage and bone, a lot had been removed, completely unnecessary to remove so much material. Instead of focusing on deviation, Dr. Kufa decided gave me a transformation, this decision must have been made when I was under General Anesthesia because it definitely was not made during the consultation. When the swelling went down is got even smaller, quite upturned, a feminine nose. I felt like it was changed for the sake of novelty rather than what looked right. It was Ignorant to the fact that I was male and therefore should have a straighter profile, ignorant to the fact I was European, ignorant to absolutely everything I had said in the consultation.
Despite being very disappointed, I was patient for the swelling to go down. The result was awful but I waited until the end of the year before I contacted Dr.Kufa again. I emailed him explaining everything, with some photos. I was forgiving. Initially he told me that he could use injection fillers to even out the bridge. I told him that I wanted the nose fixed properly, surgically. He told me that he would perform a revision free of charge, and that this was no problem at all. Although the first rhinoplasty result was very poor and clearly no care or thought went into the result, even the best surgeons make mistakes sometimes, so I foolishly agreed to let him perform a revision. I emailed him, strongly emphasizing the fact that the bridge was too low and that was the major problem rather than the fairly bulbous tip. After all the tip was only prominent because so much material had been removed from around it. So the objective of the surgery was mainly to build the bridge of the nose to a more suitable height. This was realistic, the only constraint being that I wanted it straighter, no fussy details, and no unrealistic aesthetic demands. I told him he could take cartilage from my ear or ribs if he needed to. I was very easy going considering the circumstances. He told me this was “simple” to correct and that it would “look good”. Naturally this time I was much more cautious and did ask to see some before and after photos of patients that he had increased the height of the bridge of the nose but I was REFUSED, I asked for some form of simple computer simulation to have a better mutual visual understanding of the expected outcome and I was REFUSED. I asked for a translator because I thought that perhaps Dr.Kufa did not understand some of my English terms, I was granted this, but they later it was REFUSED. I refused to re operate unless a translator was present, so in the end a translator was provided for the consultation. Simple demands which I would say are a standard procedure were denied but at the same time I felt like I had to get it fixed. During the second consultation I found it insulting that the first thing Dr.Kufa told me when he seen my nose was that “this is not a bad result” insinuating that all this bad result was part of my imagination. He clearly has no eye for aesthetics because it was clear that it was a bad result and more importantly, not what I wanted at all. Is this not my decision at the end of the day?
I had sent Photoshopped images of how I would like the result but again I didn't really have any say. Dr.Kufa had decided to focus his attention on the tip of the nose despite the main reason for a revision was to address the low bridge. He decided to take more cartilage from the tip and place this over the dorsum. Again, somehow he managed to persuade me to go ahead with the operation. The actual revision operation went fine, I traveled back home and it healed very quickly this time. For about a week the result was very good, the nose was straight, much more full in appearance, I was really impressed actually at how masculine it looked, I even got compliments on how “handsome” instead of “cute” I looked which helped me verify that this was not just my imagination and that I was correct. I was even about to contact him thanking him for fixing the problem so effectively, but the good result was only because of the swelling. As time passed, the mistakes became more prominent as the swelling went down. Basically the height of the dorsum remained the same, very low, the tip had been more damaged, it was reduced much more, the sides missing from it, it was a round awkward crude shape and very BULBOUS, worse than ever before. I emailed Dr. Kufa after a few weeks and was told in a one sentence email that the cartilage must have re-absorbed. Cartilage grafts can re absorb but science tells me that this occurs by a few % over the course of a few years, surely not after one month. So basically instead of an additive process, this operation was another reduction procedure where even more material was taken away from the nose. I got no answers about why the bridge wasn't raised and why the tip was changed like this, he just never responds if he doesn't want to answer the question.
Roman Kufa (who has recently become an “officially appointed expert in the field of plastic surgery” according to the Perfect Clinic website) who after two completely botched operations now decides that I’m just being a difficult client. He first tells me it looks fine and there's no need to re operate. Then he replies short single sentence emails with spelling mistakes. He decides the best/quickest solution now is to inject Metacrill, a non-FDA approved filler, to fill the large areas now missing from my nose. I told him that I don't trust him at all and that I’m not injecting non-FDA approved materials into my body. He then tells me another option is to use a Medpor implant to build the bridge and that this is yet another “simple operation”, but when I ask if he has he even done this procedure before, he tells me only a handful of times. Dr. Kufa acts like everything is so simple, and only after the operations, do you realise that maybe its not so simple after all. So thanks for the offer but I’m not letting Roman Kufa near my face ever again! The procedures you offer me might be “free” but now an operation with a consultant surgeon is more complicated because of the previous operations, and therefore more expensive. I’m going to be saving for years and probably going to have to take out a loan to get this fixed. Rhinoplasty is a difficult surgery, fair enough, but I know I’m not unreasonable, I can forgive a mistake, or a minor flaw, but not this. And if a mistake does happen, twice, at least show some empathy.
I don't think that this result is purely because of poor surgical technique, I think a major reason my results have been poor is because vital things such as a proper consultation and proper postoperative care have been largely sacrificed in order to cut costs and lure more cost conscious clients, to make more money. I can only assume that a clinic offering competitive prices prioritizes quantity of patients over quality of results. The Perfect Clinic website makes deceptive claims, I originally chose Perfect Clinic because of some of these promises, but these I later found out for the most part are untrue,
“The superb quality represents above all, the approach to patients and their needs (NOT TRUE). Highly qualified staffs, above standard surgical acts(NOT TRUE), unique quality of postoperative care (UNIQUE BECAUSE THERE IS NONE?), communication skills (NOT TRUE) and security are the basic principles provided.”
“Each operation at the Perfect Clinic Plastic Surgery Centre is preceded by an expert consultation (WHICH LASTS ABOUT 5 MINUTES!). Each patient is given detailed information on the process of the operation (I WAS TOLD THE RHINOPLASTY WOULD BE OPEN AND IT ENDED UP BEING CLOSED, BOTH TIMES?!), post-op and recovery routine including the potential secondary affections (THIS IS A PRINTOUT ON PAPER!).”
This isn't just two bad surgical results, this is bad practice. Under similar circumstances, I think that another surgeon would have dealt with this differently, and Roman Kufa fell short of this standard. Plastic surgery should never be a factory conveyor belt with standardized results. People deserve better than this. If you are considering surgery please choose a surgeon, one who will treat you with respect and has time to listen to you and most of all wants to help you. Ask to see before and after photos and research as much as possible. Remember this is your BODY, don't cut corners and choose a cheaper clinic because you will get a lower quality result, and you will regret it for the rest of your life.
I've already been threatened with Roman Kufa’s lawyer about posting online reviews, I think that's the wrong approach. Online reviews are today fact of life for all businesses, including plastic surgeons. Learn from this review and create a system to deal with FAILURES. Freedom speech is my human right and I am entitled to my own opinion and to share my experience, as long as its fact, and I am 100% truthful in my review. Hopefully my mistakes will help other people.
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