The Meshchansky Court on Tuesday, September 21, issued a guilty verdict in the case of anesthesiologist Lev Khitrin and head nurse Larisa Savelyeva. Employees of the Medlange clinic participated in plastic surgeries with tragic consequences: four patients were seriously injured, three died. The assistants were sentenced to six years and two years after the clinic’s surgeon, Sergei Morozov, whose patient almost died from a punctured lung and sepsis after rhinoplasty surgery. The victims, Khitrin and Savelyeva, must be paid about 11 million rubles, but none of them have this money, lawyers told Izvestia. Meanwhile, not all those involved in the case were punished: the head of the Medlange clinic, which operated without a license, and another surgeon who mutilated the patient are on the run.
History of illness
Sofya Timakova has still not received compensation for the unsuccessful rhinoplasty surgery she had at the Medlange clinic in April 2021. Her lawyer Andrei Mishonov told Izvestia about this.
The girl almost died after surgery, for which she spent 360 thousand rubles. Instead of a beautiful nose, she received a damaged lung, sepsis and a rotted implant. The court has already found the doctor who operated on Sophia guilty. Surgeon Sergei Morozov was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison in mid-June. But he was not the only culprit for the troubles of this patient and other clients of the clinic.
Crippled question
Photo: Depositphotos/sarymsakov
On Tuesday, September 21, the Meshchansky Court made a decision against Lev Khitrin, an anesthesiologist at the Medlange and Sfera clinics. According to investigators, not only Sophia suffered from his “services,” but six other patients, three of whom died.
Karolina Sargisyan fell into a coma after surgery at the Sfera clinic. She was admitted to the hospital weighing 120 kg - the swelling from rhinoplasty, which was performed by surgeon Gevorg Stepanyan, had developed to such an extent. The doctor is now wanted. Lev Khitrin also took part in this operation.
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Morozov Sergey Viktorovich
I want to warn everyone, DO NOT CONTACT S. V. Morozov!!!
At best, you will be left with a disfigured nose, like most of his patients, and at worst, it can cause serious harm to your health, as happened in my case.
04/08/2018 Morozov S.V. performed rhinoplasty on me during the operation using costal cartilage, although we did not agree on this and, as it turned out later, in my case there was no need for this. While taking the costal cartilage, he managed to pierce my right lung and touch the intercostal vessel; as the examination showed, he went too deep with the instrument. The lung is like a ball, if it is damaged, there will be a characteristic whistling sound and blood, respectively, but Morozov allegedly did not discover his mistake during the operation, completed the operation on the nose and immediately left for St. Petersburg, did not appear at the clinic for 2 days, until I was slowly dying there. I was getting worse and worse, no one called an ambulance, no one provided help, I was simply discharged. My relatives took me and already called an ambulance and I ended up in intensive care. My condition was extremely serious - acute respiratory failure, severe anemia, doctors gave very little chance of survival. In the end, I got out, spent a month in the hospital and a year of recovery, during the entire time, I WILL NOTE - Morozov showed no interest, did not contact me, just silence, as if he had nothing to do with it. But this is only part of Morozov’s harm, a new surprise awaited me after the removal of the plaster - this Morozov still managed to introduce an infection into the nose, as a result of which a purulent-septic process occurred, necrosis of the columella. As a result, a hole formed at the tip of the nose. I was observed for a year at the Otolaryngology Research Center. As a result, I was lucky to find a really worthy plastic surgeon who restored my nose after Morozov using ear cartilage. The only thing is that the scars and irregularities on the columella will now remain forever. Morozov S.V., as his practice shows, in most cases uses costal cartilage; he apparently lacks competence for more modern and safe techniques using the same ear cartilage. My lawyer contacted Morozov, who did not admit his guilt and refused to financially compensate for the harm caused to his health. At the moment, a criminal case has been opened for causing grievous bodily harm, a forensic medical examination was ordered, which was completed a year later, within the framework of our legislation, such terms are considered normal, which is why Morozov is still at large. I was informed that there was not much time left to wait; in the near future Morozov would answer to the law and receive his well-deserved punishment. Other victims according to Morozov came to me with really damaged noses, and there are cases where there are not just irregularities, but a really disfigured appearance, as if a dog had bitten off the nose or there was a burn, he is worse than a Nazi, not a surgeon, but some kind of maniac, not I understand where ROPREKH and the Ministry of Health are looking, he should simply be deprived of his surgeon’s certificate for life, and he is far from a young surgeon, such people don’t retrain anymore! I'm still impressed by his creepy work. I understand perfectly well where positive reviews come from - this is a freelance site, where any review can be ordered for a certain fee, which is why all the reviews are of the same type. But the realities are such that in our country they do not deprive a surgeon of his status for life, so when criminal liability ends, Morozov will be restored as a plastic surgeon and will begin disfiguring patients with renewed vigor. I hope my review will help someone and save someone from the fate of becoming a patient of S. V. Morozov.
“I want them to forget about healing”
Both girls wished to receive compensation for moral damage in the amount of 10 million rubles. But the doctors are in no hurry to make amends - none of the defendants offered money to the victims, they told Izvestia.
“No one is trying to compensate for anything; there were no attempts to get in touch. Frankly speaking, I don’t need any compensation from them, they are not able to pay it. The only thing is, I want them to forget about healing,” said Caroline Sargsyan.
The girl reported that she had recovered physically, but the psychological trauma was worse.
Sofya Timakova also said that she has generally recovered physically, although she still feels the consequences of what she suffered. The girl is preparing for the third operation, she has also not recovered mentally, added her second lawyer Yulia Razygraeva.
“No one from the clinic contacted me, they did not compensate for the damage,” said the Medlanzha patient.
This medical center operated without a license; patient care was literally “put on stream,” noted Andrei Mishonov. The head of the clinic, Anna Sivakova, also became a defendant in the criminal case and is now wanted.
Crippled question
Photo: Depositphotos/Santiaga01
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And the head nurse of Medlanzh, Larisa Savelyeva, appeared in court. According to investigators, it was she who was responsible for compliance with sterility requirements in the clinic, the lawyer said.
From the case materials (available to Izvestia), it follows that Lev Khitrin “entered into a criminal conspiracy” with the head of the clinic, Anna Sivakova, knowing that the institution did not have a medical license to perform plastic surgery. In fact, he performed the duties of the head physician without having the qualifications or authority to do so. Savelyeva Khitrin, with the consent of Sivakova, offered to act as chief nurse.
The investigation believes that Anna Sivakova, Lev Khitrin and Larisa Savelyeva organized the provision of paid medical care in violation of the antiseptic regimen at the Medlange clinic, as a result of which hospital microflora entered Sofia Timakova’s body, causing sepsis. Doctors did not suspend services after learning that the patient was hospitalized in serious condition after rhinoplasty surgery.
Photo history / Rhinoplasty
Attention! The photo story contains scenes of a surgical operation. Not recommended for viewing by children, pregnant women, or impressionable people.Rhinoplasty operation (nose job) Plastic surgeon: Morozov Sergey Viktorovich
Very, very many girls are unhappy with their nose. For some of them, the problem is purely aesthetic. The nose may be too long, wide, or spoiled by a hump. And sometimes there may be medical indications for rhinoplasty (nose job), for example, when it is necessary to correct a deviated nasal septum to improve nasal breathing.
Tatyana turned to Sergei Viktorovich Morozov with a complaint about the shape of her nose: an overly long, wide tip and hump disrupted the harmonious proportions of her face.
Initial examination of the patient
During the consultation, Sergei Viktorovich listened in detail to the patient’s wishes, noted the features of her nose that could affect the course of the upcoming operation - skin thickness, symmetry, condition of the nasal septum.
Assessing the length and width of the dorsum and tip of the nose
The plastic surgeon discussed the operation plan with Tatyana and clarified whether any surgical interventions had already been performed.
Often, before surgery, the future shape of the nose is modeled on a computer. This helps the patient better understand and clearly see exactly how her face will change after surgery, look at herself with a “new nose” and more accurately formulate her requirements and wishes.
Computer modeling of the future shape of the nose
Sergei Viktorovich warned Tatyana that it was impossible to accurately recreate a computer image on her face. But in general terms, the nose after the operation will have a fairly close resemblance to the drawn model.
The plastic surgeon photographs the patient in several projections for subsequent assessment of the result of the operation
Sergey Viktorovich Morozov: “Almost all patients after rhinoplasty very quickly forget the nuances of the shape of their “old” nose. Photos before and after surgery allow us to evaluate the changes resulting from the operation.”
One last look at the "old" nose
On the day of the operation, Tatyana arrived early to settle into the ward and prepare for the operation.
Hall Atribeaute Clinique
Tatyana fills out a patient questionnaire, in which she indicates all the information about her health, previous diseases, allergies and other individual characteristics of the body; informed consent for surgery and anesthesia; contract
Filling out documents
In the ward, anesthesiologist Pavel Evgenievich Gonorsky gets acquainted with the results of the patient’s tests, asks questions about previous diseases, possible allergic reactions and explains what he will do, what the sensations will be during induction and recovery from anesthesia.
Consultation with an anesthesiologist before surgery
Then Sergei Viktorovich came into Tatiana’s room to conduct an examination immediately before the operation. He once again clarified the main points regarding the future shape of the nose, access (open or closed), and features of the postoperative period.
Discussion of the operation
The mood before the operation is excellent!
So the operation begins. Tatyana has already been put under anesthesia. The entire patient, with the exception of her face, is covered with sterile linen, and her face is treated with a special solution. The anesthesiologist installed an endotracheal tube through which breathing is performed using an anesthesia machine. The tube is not visible in the photograph, as it is shifted to the left in relation to the patient's face so as not to interfere with the surgeon's work.
In the operating room
A special device is connected to Tatiana’s arm, which transmits all the information about the patient’s condition to the monitor. The monitor is constantly monitored by an anesthesiologist and the patient’s state of anesthesia is corrected by administering drugs through a system installed in the vein of the elbow.
Sensor fixed on the patient's arm and connected to the monitor
Sergei Viktorovich made an incision on the nasal septum and detached the mucous membrane of the septum using a special instrument, which simultaneously separates the mucous membrane from the osteochondral skeleton of the septum and drains the surgical field to ensure the best visual control of the surgeon’s actions.
Start of operation
In addition to the surgeon and the operating nurse, an anesthesiologist is involved in the operation, who is constantly in the operating room and monitors the patient’s condition, and also creates the most convenient working conditions for the surgeon. With rhinoplasty, this is mainly about maintaining a comfortable level of blood pressure and minimizing tissue bleeding.
There is a surgeon, an assistant and an anesthesiologist in the operating room.
The photograph shows the instruments used for lateral osteotomy. Lateral osteotomy is the main surgical technique with which you can narrow the wide bony part of the nose.
Instruments for nose surgery
All solutions that are necessary to maintain the patient’s optimal condition during surgery are administered through an intravenous system so that their effect develops as quickly as possible.
A monitor that helps the anesthesiologist monitor basic parameters reflecting the patient’s state under anesthesia
Below we have included a detailed report on the progress of the operation. If medical instruments and the sight of blood frighten you, we recommend that you refrain from viewing.
Photos of plastic surgery are hidden.
Show photos from the operating room
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Surgery on the nasal septum is ongoing.
Sergey Viktorovich performs detachment of the mucous membrane in the posterior sections of the nasal septum (bone section).
Next, the surgeon selects fragments of cartilage and bone of the nasal septum, which must be removed. This will straighten the nasal septum. These fragments will then be used as grafts for a new nose structure.
So, a fragment of the quadrangular cartilage of the nasal septum was removed. Next, it is placed in a sterile solution for subsequent production of grafts. The remaining parts are aligned and installed back into the septum between the layers of the mucosa.
A transfection incision is made that separates the anterior edge of the nasal septum from the cartilage of the nasal tip and allows good access to the dorsum of the nose. Also, from this incision, the nose is shortened or lengthened, depending on the need, and the nasolabial angle is controlled.
During the operation, to maintain a good overview and greater accuracy of the manipulations performed, coagulation (sealing) of bleeding vessels is performed.
Using a rasp, the nasal dorsum is lowered in the bony part - the bony hump of the nasal dorsum is removed.
For greater precision, the direction of movement of the rasp is controlled by the free left hand.
In the photograph we see that the cartilaginous part of the nasal hump has been removed.
The surgeon separates the skin from the medial (inner) crura of the nasal tip cartilages to identify and process the nasal tip cartilages and to place grafts into the nasal tip.
The paired cartilages of the nasal tip are isolated and removed for further processing.
Sergei Viktorovich Morozov: “Both cartilages of the tip of the nose (ala cartilages) were isolated, their excess fragments were removed. The cartilage arches have been given a more graceful shape and the arches have been slightly tapered to eliminate excessive roundness of the tip of the nose.”
Next, the cartilage arches of the nasal tip are sutured to narrow the nasal tip.
A lateral osteotomy is performed on the left to narrow the bony portion of the nasal dorsum.
The same steps are repeated on the right side.
The surgeon prepared a “thyroid graft” for the tip of the nose, which was cut from the septal cartilage. This type of graft is used to define the tip of the nose and create a “supratip break,” where the tip of the nose is slightly raised above the dorsum.
Sergei Viktorovich is trying on a thyroid graft for the tip of the nose. It is necessary to select the optimal ratio of the size of the graft and the level of its fixation in the “pocket” between the skin and the cartilages of the nasal tip that have already been formed and strengthened with sutures. Then a thread is passed through the skin of the nasal dorsum for subsequent fixation of the graft on the nasal dorsum. The graft will form a beautiful transition from the bridge of the nose to the tip and, together with the thyroid graft, will actually create a new nasal profile.
After this, the graft is installed on the back of the nose with fixation with a thread drawn through the skin of the back of the nose.
Pre-prepared grafts for the wings of the nose are “fitted on”. They will form a natural, beautiful curve of the wings of the nose. They also increase the rigidity of the nasal alae, which may be partially lost when parts of the cartilage of the nasal tip are removed. Loss of stiffness of the wings of the nose without its restoration by such grafts can lead to “sucking” of the wings of the nose during inspiration and difficulty breathing through the nose.
So, the grafts have been installed in the wings of the nose. The surgeon fixes them in order to prevent movement during the application of the plaster splint and during subsequent healing.
At the end of the operation, a plaster splint is applied to the patient’s nose for more reliable fixation.
Operation completed!
Sergei Viktorovich Morozov: “During the operation, the hump was removed and the bridge of the nose was narrowed. The tip of the nose was narrowed and its definition was improved. The tip of the nose is slightly raised above the back. The contours of the nasal bridge and the transition of the nasal bridge to the tip are smoothed with a graft from a fragment of cartilage, which is placed on the bridge of the nose. The tip and wings of the nose are also strengthened and formed with grafts. All grafts are made from the patient's septal cartilage. We never use artificial materials (besides threads). Some of the grafts are fixed to the skin with threads, as can be seen in the photo, the rest are fixed to the cartilaginous structures of the tip and dorsum of the nose.”
As Sergei Viktorovich noted, the nose in the photograph is slightly larger than it will be in its final condition. This is due to swelling that occurs during the operation and gradually goes away. The nose reaches its “correct” size approximately 2 months after surgery. Final results are assessed after 6-12 months.
The verdict has been announced
The prosecutor's office requested seven years' imprisonment for the anesthesiologist under paragraphs "a" part 3 and "c" part 2 of Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Performance of work or provision of services that do not meet safety requirements.” For the senior nurse, the state prosecutor asked for five years in prison in accordance with Part 3 of Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, under which she was accused. The maximum penalty for this part is 10 years of imprisonment.
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Larisa Savelyeva fully admitted her guilt, Lev Khitrin did not. He asked the court to be lenient, to take into account his disability, and for the victims to forgive him. The anesthesiologist's lawyer, Mikhail Karapetyan, told Izvestia before the hearing that he was only waiting for an acquittal.
One of the victims noted in a conversation with a newspaper correspondent that she agreed with the state prosecutor regarding the sentence for Khitrin and Savelyeva.
On the evening of September 21, the court announced the verdict: both defendants in the case were found guilty. Lev Khitrin was sentenced to six years' imprisonment, Larisa Savelyeva - two years. Both will serve their sentences in a general regime correctional colony. In addition, each defendant is prohibited from engaging in activities related to the provision of medical services for two years after release. Timakova and Sargisyan, by court decision, will each receive 500 thousand rubles in compensation for moral damage from Khitrin. In total, the anesthesiologist must pay about 6 million rubles to all victims, and the nurse - 4–5 million.
Crippled question
Announcement of the verdict in the Meshchansky Court
Photo: Press service of the Meshchansky Court
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The lawyer of the convicted Lev Khitrin, Mikhail Karapetyan, told Izvestia that he does not agree with the verdict and will protest it.
The victim's defender, Yulia Razygraeva, noted the leniency of the sentence and insufficient compensation for moral damage. However, the victims are unlikely to receive this money either.
“I think that Khitrin does not have the opportunity to pay compensation. He was sentenced to six years in prison and two years of deprivation of the right to engage in professional activities. It is unlikely that at this time he will have sufficient earnings to pay compensation. He has the only housing, it has been seized, but cannot be sold,” noted Yulia Razygraeva. — Savelyeva’s situation is similar, in addition, she requires surgery.
Fashionable plastic surgeon convicted of disfiguring patient
Medical clinic "Medlange". Photo: firmap.ru The Moscow Meshchansky Court sentenced 48-year-old plastic surgeon Sergei Morozov, who caused serious injuries to a patient during an unsuccessful rhinoplasty operation. The doctor was found guilty under clause “c” of Part 2 of Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (provision of services that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life or health of consumers, resulting in negligence in causing serious harm to human health).
According to the case file, Morozov was a plastic surgeon at the Medlange private medical clinic, located in the center of Moscow. At the beginning of April 2021, he performed a “secondary rhinoplasty with rib graft” operation on a patient at this institution. When removing a fragment of costal cartilage, the doctor damaged the parietal pleura, pulmonary pleura and tissues of the right lung. Subsequently, the patient was taken to another medical facility, where she received qualified care.
According to the Moscow prosecutor's office, the medical institution where Morozov worked did not have a license from the capital's Department of Health to provide medical care in an inpatient setting.
The victim turned out to be Muscovite Sofya Timakova. She paid 360 thousand rubles for rhinoplasty. Due to an unsuccessful operation, the woman’s nose subsequently began to decompose, journalists from the Rossiya 1 TV channel reported details. More than a year of rehabilitation and surgery to reconstruct a disfigured face cost Timakova 2 million rubles. According to the TV channel, the Medlange clinic gained unprecedented popularity thanks to skillful promotion on social networks, and Morozov himself was considered a fashionable surgeon.
In May 2021, Roszdravnadzor conducted an inspection of the Medlange clinic. The reason was reports of the death of a patient after rhinoplasty. Soon two other similar cases became known. A number of clinic patients ended up in intensive care. The activities of the Medlange clinic have been suspended. And the capital’s Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Morozov was detained in February 2021 in St. Petersburg, where he continued to see patients, and was transferred to Moscow.
The Moscow Meshchansky Court sentenced Morozov to 3.5 years in a general regime colony. The court also satisfied the victim's civil claim for compensation for moral and property damage in the total amount of 860 thousand rubles.
As reported by the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in Moscow, another criminal case is also currently being considered in court on the facts of causing harm to health and death of people during the provision of services by representatives of the Medlange clinic. A criminal case has been separated into a separate proceeding against the founder of the clinic, Anna Sivakova, and she has been put on the international wanted list.
