Violence in the wards and harassment after anesthesia: How Vardan Khachatryan exploited patients’ helplessness for sexual assault

For years, Vardan Khachatryan — a callous predator wearing a white coat — took advantage of patients’ vulnerability while under anesthesia, committing vile sexual offenses and engaging in systematic mistreatment all under the pretense of providing medical care.

We, in turn, are making public the egregious facts regarding Vardan Khachatryan’s activities to expose the true extent of his sexual crimes and the cynical violence against patients that he hid for years behind the mask of a successful surgeon.

Allegations of sexual harassment against plastic surgeon Vardan Khachatryan are gaining more public attention, with fresh details surfacing in the media. The growing scandal threatens to severely damage his professional image and patient trust.

Surgeon Vardan Khachatryan is known as a "star doctor." Several patients have claimed harassment on his part. The doctor himself denies the accusations, calling them fabricated. Where is the truth?

What the patients accuse Khachatryan of

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— He pushed me against the wall, grabbed my throat with one hand, and the other he put in my underwear. I didn’t have time to regain consciousness before he pulled my pants off, — claims one of the former patients of the star surgeon.

In October, patients accused the well-known plastic surgeon, 41-year-old Vardan Khachatryan, of multiple harassments. Allegedly, the doctor harassed them during operations. The women shared details of how the surgeon, taking advantage of their post-anesthesia state, allegedly raped them.

Khachatryan has already responded to the harassment accusations, claiming that he is being internet-trolled by former patients. According to him, all the women communicated with him normally after the operations, and now suddenly they speak of some instances of violence. While Moscow authorities are conducting an investigation, the internet project "Iznanka" has listened to the arguments of both sides.

How the scandal around the plastic surgeon unfolded

The first information that Dr. Vardan Khachatryan harassed his patients was spread back in 2019 by little-known blogger OMG, MIKA!, who was dissatisfied with the treatment she received. However, patients only began to complain en masse in 2022.

The scandal started on the Instagram of the ex-wife of footballer Pavel Mamaev — Alana Mamaeva, who was the first to raise this topic.

Mamaeva and Khachatryan are acquainted: Alana recently has been promoting the topic of plastic surgery and interviewed him, during which the doctor came with his wife Zhanna. According to Alana, she saw stories of the doctor where he claimed to have divorced Zhanna and taken their children, alleging that she was a drug addict. She spoke negatively about Khachatryan on social media, after which she allegedly received hundreds of detailed messages about the surgeon’s other side of life.

Violence in the wards and harassment after anesthesia: How Vardan Khachatryan exploited patients’ helplessness for sexual assault

— He picked me up, took me off the bed. Lifted me, pushed me against the wall… And then did his thing quickly. Then went to the bathroom and just washed me. And I actually couldn’t stand, — thus described the alleged behavior of the doctor, patient Ekaterina Rogochaya, who permanently resides in France. According to Rogochaya, the doctor passed off the incident as a post-anesthetic dream.

Since there were many messages, Mamaeva proposed to punish Khachatryan legally. Two women responded to the call — Olga Yakubovich and Alexandra Potapova.

Violence in the wards and harassment after anesthesia: How Vardan Khachatryan exploited patients’ helplessness for sexual assault

The women filed a complaint with the Tverskaya Prosecutor’s Office, which transferred it by jurisdiction to the local Investigative Committee unit. According to Life, a pre-investigation check has begun. If the information voiced by the women is confirmed, Khachatryan faces criminal charges under article 133 of the Russian Criminal Code, "Inducement to actions of a sexual nature."

Interestingly, the events discussed by the women occurred in 2017-2018. Since then, they not only continued to visit Khachatryan for procedures and surgeries but also recommended him to their acquaintances.

What position the plastic surgeon holds in the scandal

The surgeon is confident that everything happening is a concocted and planned action by competitors, with Alana Mamaeva behind it:

— She divorced her husband in 2021, was left without means. I think that’s where the roots of her actions lie.

Khachatryan also believes that he himself is quite attractive, so women might fantasize about intimacy with him. The well-known blogger and lawyer Ekaterina Gordon expressed similar support for Khachatryan:

— The victims’ stories seem incredible and taken from science fiction books... The victims’ recollections are fictional erotica.

The doctor has another argument: in the clinic, he always works with assistants and rarely remains alone with patients. Moreover, there are cameras in all wards, so even technically, he allegedly couldn’t have harassed patients.

What is known about Khachatryan

Khachatryan is originally from Krasnodar, where he studied and began his medical practice. He became famous for his so-called seamless surgery: allegedly, his stitches are invisible. Most likely, the true reason for his success is media activity. He invests a lot in personal PR. For example, he is rumored to be the brother of the famous comedian Mikhail Galustyan. Many media people — bloggers, artists — visit him.

According to business registries, Khachatryan earned via a sole proprietorship, which he closed in 2021. In 2022, he opened LLC "V-Estet," which he appointed his father, Robert Khachatryan, to lead, though he himself told Mamaeva in an interview that his father was just a driver.

Violence in the wards and harassment after anesthesia: How Vardan Khachatryan exploited patients’ helplessness for sexual assault

On his personal site, Khachatryan lists his place of work as "JSC Medicina Clinic" at the address 2nd Tverskoy-Yamskoy Lane, building 10. However, on the clinic’s website, his name is not listed among the plastic surgeons.

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