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New York Man Wakes Up From Botched Nose Job With No Nose

By Christine Hsu | Update Date: Jun 07, 2013 03:31 PM EDT

A man woke up from a nose job to discover that his nose was gone.

Vishal Thakkar said he decided to do "something selfish" and undergo rhinoplatsy after a divorce in 2006. Thakkar, who now believes that he had made a "vain decision", said that there was nothing particularly wrong before his surgery. But now, he must breathe through a tiny straw and wear a medical mask to cover the unsightly hole in his face.

"There is no way I am going to live like this. It is worse than being dead," Thakkar told local station Fox 23.

Thakkar said that he had troubles breathing after the first surgery, so he went back to for more operations.

He had eight surgeries between 2006 and 2007 with Dr. Angelo Cuzalina, the president of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, while living in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

He had moved from Tulsa but went back for more surgeries in 2011.

He said that in 2011, he woke up from surgery to find that Cuzalina had removed his entire nose while he was unconscious.

"He told me that there was an infection in there and since I was on the operating table and unconscious he had to make the decision," Thakkar said.

What's more, Cuzalina later sent Thakkar a letter saying that he would not work with him any longer, describing Thakkar as "medically unstable" and claiming that Thakkar repeatedly threatened and harassed him, his staff and practice.

"This is not fair, nobody should have to suffer what I had to," Thakkar said in an interview.

Thakkar alleges that during other surgeries, Cuzalina took cartilage from his ears and ribcage without permission, and prescribed him with enough medication to kill someone.

"I didn't know it then, but I do not believe he is licensed for that kind of surgery!" he said.

Thakkar said all he wants is "human-looking nose," and that he is determined to fix his face.

"Other surgeons told me that, Vishal, your case is so bad it is unheard of, you must be treated by someone at the top of this field," said Thakkar.

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