A prominent plastic surgeon dubbed “the master of the nose” in France was suspended after patients complained he had turned their noses into “potatoes”, it was revealed on Friday.
Olivier Gerbault, 58, who claims to have invented the “ultrasonic” rhinoplasty technique, was adored by his patients and colleagues and also respected on the international stage by fellow surgeons.
But in 2023, Gerbault was banned from practicing for two years after patients said they had received cosmetic surgery that left them “mutilated,” according to an investigation by French outlet Le Parisien.
It comes after a patient, who received a nose job from Gerbault in August 2020 at his Paris clinic, claimed she woke up from the procedure with a “long, crooked and thick” nose that “looked like a potato”.
The patient also claimed that she could not pass air through her left nostril and could not blow her nose.
The woman filed a complaint against Gerbault along with another patient with the medical ethics committee, resulting in the doctor receiving a two-year suspension.
Meanwhile, a number of other patients have filed legal complaints against the cosmetic surgeon.
Another patient said she “lost all zest for life” after she was allegedly left with “a big potato” in place of her nose, which became infected and caused her nasal passages to collapse.
Renowned French plastic surgeon Olivier Gerbault has been banned from practicing after his patients complained it left their noses looking like “potatoes”.
His son Nicolas also received a one-year suspended sentence and an €8,000 fine after he and a co-director of a cosmetic surgery PR company were found guilty of attempting to defame a rival surgeon.
Following a second operation performed by Gerbault, the woman ended up with “a piece of cartilage protruding” after the doctor “massacred” her face, forcing her to undergo reconstructive surgery in Italy.
Gerbault appealed the ban, claiming he is the victim of a smear campaign by a rival plastic surgeon.
According to Gerbault’s biography on the Cosmetic Surgery Paris website, he is currently “a professor at the International Society of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery and trains surgeons in current rhinoplasty techniques every month in Paris.”
But Le Parisien reported that Gerbault continued to operate illegally in a Paris clinic, and the French General Medical Council filed a complaint against the surgeon for violating the ban.
The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of two years and the equivalent of a £24,000 fine.
Questioned by the French newspaper, Gerbault declared himself discredited and stated that “all these patients are related and the complaints are strictly the same.” You can tell that a colleague is helping them, which is especially serious and unprofessional.”
It comes after the surgeon became embroiled in a public relations battle with rival surgeon Nicolas Lari.
In March 2023, the Marseille criminal court found Gerbault guilty of “attempted blackmail” against the 43-year-old Lari.
Stock image: A young woman with a bandage on her nose after rhinoplasty with a mirror in her hand is dissatisfied
Gerbault was sentenced to six months of suspended prison and a fine of 5,000 euros.
His son Nicolas also received a one-year suspended sentence and an €8,000 fine after he and a co-director of a cosmetic surgery PR company were found guilty of trying to defame Lari with fictitious negative reviews on Google.
MailOnline has contacted Gerbault for comment.