Marcio Goulart was a Brazilian English teacher whose life changed after septoplasty and extensive turbinate surgery in 2018. According to personal testimonies and material gathered by the Empty Nose Syndrome (ENS) community, he subsequently experienced severe breathing discomfort, a persistent sensation of obstruction and suffocation, panic attacks, major functional impairment, and loss of work capacity. He died by suicide on April 21, 2020.
This page brings together Marcio's story, testimony from people who knew him, videos, surgical information, postoperative material, and community comments. The purpose is to document the concerns raised by his case and to preserve the available material in one place.
Background and reported Empty Nose Syndrome symptoms
Marcio Goulart, born on October 9, 1988, underwent septoplasty with extensive surgery to the inferior turbinates in 2018. According to testimony collected after the operation, approximately 90% of the inferior turbinates on each side had been removed. The material on this page describes a marked deterioration after surgery, with daily sensations of suffocation, paradoxical obstruction, panic attacks and severe limitations in ordinary activity.
Before surgery, Marcio worked as an English teacher in Brazil. After the operation, friends described him as being unable to continue working and struggling with even basic physical activity because of the sensation that he could not breathe normally. He reportedly compared his breathing to inhaling through narrow straws while still feeling obstructed.
Marcio sought medical help and explored reconstructive options. The testimony on this page states that he travelled to Italy for an evaluation by Dr. Piazza, who did not recommend an additional operation because of concern that further surgery could worsen his obstruction. He also discussed the possibility of implants with Dr. Das, but travel and financial barriers made treatment difficult.
The ENS community later described Marcio as kind, open and active in patient forums. His death had a major impact on people who had spoken with him about his symptoms and treatment options.
Testimony from a close friend — July 16, 2020
“Hello, yes, I knew Marcio. We called each other every day. He was a very kind and humble person, it was very pleasant to talk with him. He suffered a lot. Every day, he was suffocating and had panic attacks. He was unable to walk without choking. They had removed, on each side, 90% of his lower turbinates. He went to Italy to see Dr. Piazza for implants, but Dr. Piazza refused to operate on Marcio fearing that Marcio would become more obstructed based on what Marcio had told Dr. Piazza regarding his symptoms. Marcio became very depressed after his consultation and shortly after unfortunately attempted suicide. He was able to survive this suicide attempt.”
“Marcio was very active on the Empty Nose Syndrome forums. He interacted with a lot of people. He was trying to see if he could get implants with Dr. Das, but money and travel cost were an issue. He always told me how much pain he suffered and what a normal life he had before, as an English teacher in Brazil. He was ‘very successful’ before his septoplasty and turbinate reduction surgery. After the operation, he was forced to quit his job and became permanently disabled. He compared his breathing to that of a person who breathed all day through a straw with a feeling of permanent obstruction.”
“His family did not take his condition seriously at all. He always told me he didn't know what he was going to do. Unfortunately, he bought a gun from someone who he met online. He told me about it and a few others too. He hid the gun somewhere in his house and one evening he took it and shot himself in the head. There was nothing I could do to stop it. He had gone on Facebook to say goodbye to this cruel world before pulling the trigger. The ENS community was devastated. Marcio was very popular with everyone in the groups. It was a shock for all of us. Marcio could no longer bear the terrible suffering, nor accept his condition.”
Video of Marcio Goulart
The embedded video below is part of the material preserved about Marcio's experience after turbinate surgery.
Documented surgical procedures
The available material identifies the Brazilian surgeon André Luiz Gomes de Araújo and Hospital UNIMED Vale do Aço in Coronel Fabriciano, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Procedures listed in the surgical material
- Right frontal sinus surgery and left ethmoid surgery — sinusectomy performed using videoendoscopy, with aspiration via the frontal recess.
- Left sphenoid sinus surgery — described as including ethmoid surgery and turbinoplasty.
- Additional sinusectomy — videoendoscopic technique with aspiration via the natural ostium.
Summary of the surgical information
The documents describe several endoscopic sinus procedures together with turbinoplasty. The material collected by the ENS community is particularly concerned with the extent of tissue loss in the inferior turbinate region and the severe symptoms that Marcio reported after surgery.
Postoperative findings and concerns about Empty Nose Syndrome
The postoperative material reproduced below was collected to illustrate the nasal anatomy after surgery. The ENS community members who assembled this page interpreted the images as showing extensive loss of inferior turbinate tissue and linked this finding to Marcio's subsequent symptoms.
The central concern raised by this case is the possibility of severe and persistent symptoms after aggressive turbinate surgery. In Marcio's case, friends and patient-community members consistently described a profound change in breathing sensation, daily suffering, functional decline and inability to return to his previous life.
According to records compiled for this website, Marcio's death is included among a larger group of suicides and suicide attempts reported by members of the ENS community after turbinate surgery. These figures are community-compiled observations and are not presented here as population-level epidemiological estimates.
Comments from the ENS community
The following comments were collected from YouTube and ENS-related forums and social-media groups. They are reproduced as personal reactions and testimonies.
Person 1“Thank you so much for your video Marcio. We love and miss you forever. Thank you for being one of the gentlemen, the most kind and understanding human being. I am so sorry for all the suffering you endured. We'll all be reunited someday. Heaven gained another beautiful angel. You will forever be missed & live in our hearts. Until we talk and meet again.”
Person 2“Hello Marcio. it's (name protected). Great video, don't give up my friend, you have been given a tough road like me, but it will also be the making of you as a person, if you can get through this, you can get through anything.”
Person 3“Marcios surgeon killed Marcio. If his surgeon did not remove Marcios inferior turbinates, Marcio would not have suffered tremendously with ENS and he would not have had to end his life.”
Person 4“Sad, we love, I love you, I can understand you. My brother be brave.”
Person 5 — ENS Aerodynamics“Marcio this is so sad. I too have ENS and I have seen far too many people kill themselves over this sad surgically caused condition. More people need to be made aware of how dangerous turbinate surgeries are. These ENT doctors do not know the scope of their craft. They don't know where the nerves are. Their research on turbinate reduction has been shoddy and has produced decades of conflicting results. To how much to remove or where. They are guessing which is experimenting on humans! Some remove middle turbinates, some inferior, some burn them, use lasers, RF and all matter of resection procedures, even during septoplasty procedures. I know because I have lived it and struggled with ending my life as well.”
The original comment also referenced Empty Nose Syndrome Aerodynamics.
Person 6“Marcio was a very close, good friend of mine. May God have mercy on your soul. Love you man. You were the best. The most kind, caring, honest person you could ever talk to. He has passed away. He was brain dead at first but he has now passed away. It breaks my heart. I was very close to him. For those of you who don’t know he committed suicide on the morning of April 21, 2020.”
Person 7 — April 28, 2020“In April of 2020 ENS victim Marcio Goulart took his own life because he could no longer tolerate the unbelievable suffering caused by his grotesquely incompetent surgeon who removed just about all his turbinates two years ago. Does anyone have the name and contact info for this surgeon? I want everyone to call and email this surgeon demanding that he pay Marcio's mother for ALL funeral expenses in addition to compensation for the unbelievable pain and suffering she is dealing with. This surgeon is a monster who must be held financially responsible for what was done to such a beautiful and caring soul.”
Person 8 — April 26, 2020“Hi, I come to inform you that the funeral and funeral of our dear friend Marcio is scheduled for 3 pm, in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. May we bring prayers and a lot of light to him and his family in this sad moment of farewell.”
No comments:
Post a Comment