By Rebecca Drew
MEET THE man who after a botched nose job was left with a permanent erection for THREE MONTHS and is now starting his own consultation business to ensure it doesn’t happen to YOU.
Blogger, fashion stylist and TV personality, Neven Ciganovic from Zagreb, Croatia, always had a clear idea of how he wanted to look when he got older. He fell in love with the surreal macho look of the male Bratz dolls with their ageless faces, small nose, high cheeks and big lips against a smaller body.
Neven, who looks decades younger than approaching his 50s, had his first cosmetic surgery in the form of silicone fillers in his lips in 1992 and has maintained his flawless look ever since with three nose job procedures, Botox, cheek bone implants and jaw and chin fillers.
But Nevenâs sculpted physique isnât all down to surgery, he works out four to five days a week and does special âchewingâ exercises to keep his face looking chiselled and defined. Neven loves the fact that itâs difficult to guess how old he is and that he looks eternally youthful.
In 2017, Neven was left with a priapism â an unwanted, long-lasting and painful erection that is not accompanied by sexual desire â after undergoing rhinoplasty surgery in Iran to correct his septum.
After surgery, Neven woke up with an erection which had to be operated on three times to get back to normal but he was left with the problem for three long months. Doctors werenât sure what caused Nevenâs priapism, but Neven thinks it might have been caused by a food supplement he was taking at the time to help at the gym as it has been linked with boosting male sex drives.
Neven suffered from depression for months after his erection problem was fixed by doctors but he hasnât been left with any erectile dysfunction as he says he can still last longer than other guys.
Heâs since set up an OnlyFans account under his stage name, Rick Vendeta, and this has boosted his confidence massively â heâs also passionate about advising others on how to handle botched surgery and to help them research reputable surgeons.
âWhat I like the most about my look is that itâs really difficult to guess my age. I donât look too young but I also donât look too old,â said Neven.
âI just have a pretty friendly face that everyone can find something to love about. If not, they hate me completely.
âBefore all my surgeries, I used to be unhappy with my look, like I was always missing something but I had a clear picture of how I wanted to look in the end.
âThank God I donât have any problems with my priapism anymore. Even now after this complication, Iâm happy because my erection still lasts much more longer than other guys.
âWhen I woke up from anaesthesia after my nose job with priapism, I went through a really hard time – literally hard. I had a full erection for almost three months. I think I even brought down the world record.
âI had three surgeries on my penis, and after the third one, my willy started to go down. It was a really painful experience, but I survived with my head up high.
âDoctors donât have any real theories as to why this happened to me and actually this can happen during the anaesthesia, deep sleep or for reasons like genetics, blood pressure or problems in the veins, but in my case, theyâre not sure what caused the problem.
âThen a few months ago, I was cleaning my closet and I found some food supplements named L-Arginine, that I had been taking at the time for more strength in the gym and I read on the box how there are possible side effects with your blood pressure and that this supplement pumps blood in your veins and this can cause this problem.
âI also read that it can help boost a man’s sex drive, but at the time I didnât know that this could happen to me, I just used it to help at the gym.â
Hospital treatment for priapism include injections directly into the penis and surgery to drain blood in the penis through a needle or tiny cut.
Neven says he has now reached his goal look and would be scared to go under full anaesthetic again after his priapism experience.
He doesnât know exactly how much he has spent on cosmetic procedures as Neven admits he receives many treatments for free to raise the profile of the clinicians.
Neven has now set up his own consultation business to help people make an informed choice when it comes to surgery.
âThe reaction to my look from both men and women is divided, there are guys who like this different look and there are some who think my look is weird, too much, or a bit freaky,â said Neven.
âBut itâs normal that people have their own opinion, it is impossible to be liked by everyone.
âThe only message I want to spread about beauty is to let people do what makes them feel happy and good in their own skin.
âFor those who decide to have surgery please be careful with what doctor you go to, check reviews on the internet, check his expertise because you can go very wrong.
âAfter the world found out what happened to me after my last nose job, people started to contact me asking for my advice, recommendations, to help them to make the right decision when it comes to surgery.
âI started my own business giving consultations and helping people to choose the right clinics and right doctors for the procedures they are planning to do.
âI have started running one clinic in Croatia with specialists. We do surgeries based on the knowledge and experience I have learned from many doctors around the world.
âI will be glad if I can help people make the right decision.â
