Plastic surgeon Timur Khaidarov - Forbes: “Show that you are a genius”

In the CIS, Timur Khaidarov is perhaps the only plastic surgeon with his own channels on TikTok, YouTube and Telegram and with an audience of more than 1 million subscribers on Instagram, where he broadcasts live from the operating room. Timur is booked for surgery two years in advance, and this despite the fact that he performs more than 100 operations a month. Most often, these are new breasts, for which patients pay from 420,000 rubles, and body contouring - for example, liposculpture (transplantation of the patient’s own fat cells into the desired areas, such as the buttocks or chest) and abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) costing 500,000 rubles each .

On social networks, Khaidarov has a vivid image of a successful and rich doctor, but the path to this image was very difficult. Timur is an emergency medical surgeon; he received his education in Uzbekistan, Kyiv and Moscow, and improved his qualifications in the USA, Colombia and Brazil. Just five or six years ago, he couldn’t get a job in his specialty and worked part-time in a hookah bar near the metro.

Superheroes in white coats

“My journey in medicine began in childhood. My mother is a surgeon with more than 40 years of experience, she saved people, performed planned and emergency operations. As a child, I very often came to her work, sat in the resident’s room, waited, watched doctors walk around in white coats, talk about something, save someone. To me they were superheroes. And even then, as a child, I understood that I wanted to be a cool doctor, a cool specialist, a superhero.

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He graduated from the Samarkand Medical Institute, studied for seven years. After that, he flew to Kyiv to study surgery for two years, where at the same time he was on duty in city and regional hospitals. He gained enormous experience, and after graduation he returned to Uzbekistan, to his native Navoi, and began working as a surgeon. And then I met a girl, she was moving to Voronezh, and I decided to drop everything and follow her.

It’s clear, I was wildly charged, I thought: I’m such a great surgeon, and now they’ll take me to all the hospitals! But it turned out that no one wanted to hire me. As a result, I got a job in a private clinic, did medical examinations and worked a little as a surgeon - removing ingrown nails and boils. But this is also work, and I understood that I was moving towards a certain goal.

At some point, this clinic needed plastic surgeons, I was called to the management and offered to pay for training in Moscow in order to later work for them. At that time, training cost 120,000 or 150,000 rubles, and I earned 11,000 rubles a month, and my mother also sent $100. And then they told me that they would not pay for my studies, they found another doctor and would send him. I realized that I should not leave my fate in the hands of some woman, the owner of this clinic. I called Moscow, they allowed me to split the payment into several parts, and I went to study.

At the same time I was looking for a job, but again they just bullied me, saying that I wouldn’t be able to handle it. They didn’t care that I was operating, that I already had Russian citizenship, all my diplomas were certified - they just didn’t take it, that’s all. I already wanted to go to work in a pharmacy, but I was lucky - I met some guys from my hometown, and they invited me to work as a hookah man. At first, it was wildly difficult to come to a restaurant and serve people after you, a surgeon, are addressed as “you” in Uzbekistan, although you are not even 30 years old.

After studying, I returned to Voronezh, and I was hired as the fourth plastic surgeon at the clinic where I worked. Within a year I became the best in the city, began to actively develop social networks, show what I could do, and people came to me. I understood that I needed to build a personal brand. I didn’t have money for PR people and advertising, but I saw that just then, in 2016, Instagram was gaining momentum, and I studied how to position myself correctly, how to properly manage social networks. For me it even became a kind of hobby.

Then, through the same social networks, they noticed me and invited me for an interview in Moscow, at the clinic with Otari Gogiberidze. But the management was fundamentally against social networks and live broadcasts. They told me that this was unethical and wrong, but I firmly believed that this was the future.

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I worked there for about a month, and then a place became available at GMTClinic, where I was invited and where I now work. At the interview, I then said that I was ready to work seven days a week, and for the first two years that was the case. But I am very grateful to the management - they believed in me, provided me with the most modern equipment for 10 million rubles, and sent me to study in Colombia. We quickly covered these expenses with operations, and I already paid for the rest of the training myself. Thank God I can afford it.”

How to choose

Having decided on this or that plastic surgery, all that remains is to answer the most important question: “Which surgeon to choose?” To get an answer, you need to identify selection criteria and strictly follow them. Everything here is pretty standard and suitable for a doctor of any category. So, the most important criteria are customer reviews, specialist education, work experience, qualifications, portfolio with the results of operations performed and, of course, prices for services.

It is in this range that you need to act, collect as much as possible all the necessary information and analyze it competently. It would be good not only to read reviews, but also to pay attention to conversations from thematic forums, because there you can often find the necessary information, for example, nuances about the operation itself.

Also pay attention to the number of operations performed by the doctor, so if you need rhinoplasty, blephaplasty or any other surgical intervention, then it is advisable that the specialist you find performs more than 1-2 operations in the required profile within a year, otherwise there is unlikely to be a successful result.

Possible errors when choosing

Advertising now drives many things, and if previously only companies with good incomes could pay for it, now this pleasure is available even to start-up companies. Therefore, it is important not to fall for the bait with a well-thought-out PR campaign. You shouldn’t believe Instagram pages where doctors are sent large numbers of photos by grateful patients praising their new breasts or any remodeled part of the body.

The truth of life is that few patients seek to advertise their external transformations through surgery. Only a few agree. In addition, you need to understand that all doctors post only the best work in their portfolio. No sane specialist would post photos with asymmetrical breasts or a not particularly attractive nose. And even though the client actually liked the result, and it was the best that could be done with the original data, the doctor will not show this to everyone.

However, by studying the portfolio, you can identify the surgeon’s handwriting for yourself, for example, compare similar operations, because sometimes some doctors make the mistake of creating, for example, the same breasts, or similar noses, without paying attention to individuality and proportions.

A good company name also means a lot, so try to pay attention to those clinics that have been operating for a long time and have an excellent reputation. Such companies employ excellent specialists and do not allow themselves to make mistakes with unqualified personnel.

Well, one more piece of advice, ask the surgeon for a certificate of his activities to see the date of issue. After all, it often turns out that a person worked for many years in a certain medical activity, and then suddenly decided that it was time to earn big money and turn into a plastic surgeon. I completed the courses and that’s it, voila, a new activity began, which in terms of experience is minimal. In addition, it is desirable that the doctor performing rhinoplasty has the necessary ENT training, and the intimate plastic specialist has important knowledge of urology and andrology.

Brand "Doctor Khaidarov"

“I actually have a big team, and all the people play a big role, everyone performs their function. Four people deal with requests from patients; after all, we have acquaintances and consultations even before the operation stage. There is a personal assistant who takes care of flights, gifts from patients, invitations to interviews, and participation in some filming.

Next are those who are directly involved in operations. The main surgeon, of course, is me, and I have an assistant - this is a doctor who has been with me for more than three years, my student, Abek Zakirovich. There is a second assistant, also a doctor, who helps us a lot, because our work goes on continuously, the recording is very dense. I come - and I have a minute-by-minute timing: examination, discharge, “drew” the patient, then went to look at someone else - and that’s it, they call me to the operating room. After the operation there are consultations, then another operation, because we do five to six, and sometimes eight, operations a day.

In general, this is a huge well-coordinated team that works under the Doctor Khaidarov brand.

It would be possible to scale up: open a network of clinics under your own name, train doctors, attract investors - but then you will have to stop being a free artist and become a businessman. But I don’t want this yet, although there are a lot of offers coming. Literally a month ago, I refused to join the founders of a new clinic that was already ready, because I realized that I was not yet ready to become a businessman and take on such a burden of responsibility. My work is my creativity, and it may suffer. Both quality and speed - I do 70-80 breasts a month, this is a record. I refused the offer and the big money, because money doesn’t buy happiness.”

↑ Yakimets Valery Grigorievich

A surgeon who knows how to create beautiful and natural results. Its main features are endoscopic operations and a special technique for working with the cervical area. Those who dream of an ideal cervical-chin 90 degrees will definitely find a lot of interesting things in Valery Georgievich’s portfolio!

The secret of success is a special technique with several tension vectors. The operation is not easy, but it guarantees an impressive result even for that group of older patients (over 50 years old), for whom other lifting options will no longer be so effective.

There is no ideal of beauty

“Many people say that plastic surgery is an attempt to replace happiness. I don’t agree with this: I try to understand my patients, find out why they do it, observe how their lives change. Imagine the situation: a young beautiful girl got married, became pregnant, gave birth, and nursed a child. After giving birth, her figure deteriorated terribly - it happens: stretch marks, diastasis, sagging breasts. And she is so complex that she is even embarrassed to undress in front of her husband. And when we restore all this and return her to her former beauty - isn’t this happiness when she feels confident again, feels her husband’s loving gaze? There are patients who want to change something in themselves for the sake of someone, or they simply have a passion to change something in themselves - enlarge their breasts, tighten them, add more. But both of them become happy after the operation, because they achieved the desired result.

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The most important thing is to understand during the consultation whether we can achieve this result, because plastic surgery can bring both happiness and misfortune (if we talk about unsuccessful operations). There are things I will never do. Let's say there are freaks who ask for elf ears, crocodile cheeks, cat eyes - these are all not mine. Maybe it's conservative, but I believe that everything should be neat and tasteful, because that's my reputation. Tomorrow she will walk with terrible breasts or with some ridiculous eyes, and who did it? Khaidarov did this. This is unacceptable for me, I’d rather refuse her. Therefore, already at the consultation I understand: either we will do it cool, or not, sorry, we won’t do it.

Everything should be in moderation, because there is beauty, and there is health. We must not violate the laws of nature, and if we enlarge our breasts, they must be harmonious and we must not overdo it.

There is no ideal of beauty; beauty is generally a collective image. It’s different for everyone, it’s impossible to make a carbon copy the same way for everyone. I always joke that new breasts should match the color of your eyes. Shape and size depend on temperament.”

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↑ Kudinova Ekaterina Sergeevna

Dr. Kudinova knows how to work with both older and younger patients, selecting the right amount of intervention for each. She came to plastic surgery from reconstructive maxillofacial surgery, with a total experience of more than 20 years, so there is no doubt about her professional skills.

The main feature of Ekaterina Sergeevna’s operations is a special suturing technique, due to which the marks from the incisions become almost invisible, and another common problem of facelift - deformed and stretched earlobes - is completely eliminated.

Men and plastic surgery

“Right now, about 30% of my clients are men. I think it’s good when a man is successful, earns money, feeds his family and still looks good. There is a stupid stereotype that if a man goes to a cosmetologist or plastic surgeon, then he is homosexual. But this is the Soviet approach - now it’s completely normal for a man to take care of himself. Most often, men undergo blepharoplasty (surgery to change the shape of the eyelids. - Forbes

). Because, firstly, the structure, and secondly, the lifestyle - men are more stressed, lack sleep more, drink and smoke more. Of course, with age, all this is reflected on the face and the upper eyelid begins to droop, giving a tired look.

In second place is liposuction (an operation to remove fat deposits surgically. - Forbes

). The men saw that the girls were doing great! - and already have abs, butt and waist, and they wanted it too. Because one of the human vices and even drugs is overeating. People have fun, but, of course, all this is reflected in their figure, and everyone wants to look good, so liposuction is very popular.

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I also had surgery for myself, removing Bisha’s lumps (improving the shape of the cheeks and cheekbones by removing part of the fatty lump of the cheek. - Forbes

). Because I'm Asian, we have pretty round faces, but I still wanted more pronounced cheekbones. And I repeatedly performed operations on my wife myself, because if not me, then who will do it better? Although there is an opinion among colleagues that they do not operate on their own people, it is supposedly psychologically difficult. I believe that if you are a professional, you turn off your feelings and for you it’s just a daily job.”

What is important to know before contacting a plastic surgeon?

Before contacting a specialist, it is recommended to pay attention to a number of the following criteria:

• It is especially important to formulate in detail the task to be set before the doctor. For example, this is a desire to eliminate a congenital cosmetic defect or correct the shape of the nose, lips, or breasts.
• It should be noted that a highly qualified plastic surgeon may well refuse to provide services. This is due to the fact that the operation will only aggravate the situation or will not allow it to be corrected. You need to be wary of specialists who take on any task; this may well indicate a low level of professionalism.
• When receiving approval for surgery, it is important to undergo a full medical examination, generally aimed at identifying contraindications to the procedure.
• When contacting the clinic, it is important to familiarize yourself with the certificates of medications that will be used during surgery and during the rehabilitation period.
• Invasive intervention, even minimal, is always associated with pain, hematomas, and a long recovery period. It is important to prepare yourself in advance for some difficulties and discomfort.

An equally important aspect is accompanying the patient after the operation is completed. To evaluate the results obtained and prevent possible negative consequences, all specialized clinics require the patient to visit a doctor until full recovery.

Handmade from Russia

“I have a map of the world hanging in my office, which appeared when patients from abroad began to come to me. This is China, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Brazil, America, Europe - anywhere in general. People fly for hands, for product. Even the pandemic didn’t stop us, it just made the road a little more difficult, but people still arrive.

In general, plastic surgery in Russia is now at a very high level thanks to some people who really invest a lot in its development. I see many patients who fly in from America, from Europe, they say that they had an operation with a top surgeon, but I see that the work is so-so, the result is not very good, and the patient sees this and flies in for a redo.

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It is believed that Latin America is a leader in plastic surgery, but they have simply been in this field for a very long time, since the times when in Russia all this was a fantasy. They were already doing breasts, buttocks, and liposuction. In Colombia, for example, there was such poverty that people were happy if a daughter or sister was taken as a wife or mistress by someone from a drug cartel, and they invested not in education, but in silicone. I think this is why there is such a good school of plastic surgery there, because the more they operate, the better the field develops.”

↑ Tumakov Gleb Igorevich

Dr. Tumakov specializes in complex anti-aging lifting. He is especially good at facelifts after significant weight loss. There are many nuances in such operations: the skin is flabby, inelastic, and a much larger volume needs to be moved than with normal age-related ptosis.

Not all surgeons are able to form the correct oval of the face and a clear cervical-chin angle in such circumstances. Gleb Igorevich knows how, as his portfolio eloquently demonstrates.