Thursday, May 01, 2008 Calayans deny bungled phalloplasty surgery
COSMETIC surgeons Dr. Manny and Pie Calayan on Wednesday denied the charges filed against them before the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office by a naturalized American citizen regarding a substandard phalloplasty surgery.
In separate counter-affidavits the Calayans filed during the case’s preliminary hearing before Makati City Third Assistant Prosecutor Dennis Rafa, Manny said he did not commit any wrongdoing on the operation he conducted on 34-year-old businessman Louem Martinez on September 25, 2007 and instead blamed the complainant for not following his instructions.
"I did not, during the consultation, guarantee to the complainant the success of the penile enlargement procedure nor the results thereof. Instead, I carefully explained to the complainant the nature and effects of the operation as well as the risks, ramifications and complications involved in the surgical procedure, including the possibility of penile deformity in the event that the instructions of the surgeon are not carefully followed," Manny said.
Pie, on the other hand, said she could not be held liable because she did not participate in the operation.
Discoro Peligro, lawyer for the Calayans, said they would file counter-charges of perjury and unjust vexation against Martinez for filing the "malicious" criminal complaint.
"It appears that the only justification as to why the complainant impleaded me as a co-respondent in this case is to obtain undue leverage and to put pressure on me and my husband, in order to accede to their exorbitant claimed for purported damages in the amount of P26 million," Pie said in her counter-affidavit.
A businessman based in New York, Martinez said he learned of the Calayan Surgicenter through its website, where it offered "Penile Enlargement: Widening and Lengthening" services.
He said he paid nearly P170,000 for the operation, including laboratory and consultation fees and medicines.
But a few months after the operation, he claimed the pain in his organ did not subside until it became disfigured. He added that he consulted Mr. Calayan about this but was told that it was normal.
Martinez also said that he consulted locally- and US-based doctors and experts about his condition, who, he claimed, would testify as to the bad effects of his penile enlargement procedure.
Mr. Calayan countered that it was Martinez who did not follow the instructions he gave him after the procedure, particularly to refrain from engaging in any sexual activity for a month to enable his organ to completely heal and to allow the "aqua gel" to completely even out.
But the complainant, who claimed he is now "physically incapacitated" and "mentally devastated" as he could no longer perform sexual acts because of constant pain in his allegedly deformed organ and scrotum, said money was not his motivation in filing the case.
"This is no longer about money. This is a matter of principle. He (Manny Calayan) insisted that he's an expert in this operation, but obviously he's not," Martinez said.
Martinez also filed criminal charges of estafa, reckless imprudence resulting to serious physical injury, and obstruction of justice against the Calayans. (AH/Sunnex)
