Dr. Dr. med. Wolfgang Funk

Soon Dr. Wolfgang Funk found that the operative work in general facial surgery was no longer sufficient for him. He looked for a specialty where he could indulge his enthusiasm for the aesthetic elements of the human face even more. "In the face, everything is close together, every millimeter is filled with important structures," the doctor enthuses. But he also wanted to devote the utmost attention to the aesthetic optimization of the body, which is why he went to Brazil to Professor Ivo Pitanguy, one of the pioneers of plastic surgery.

Training as a plastic surgeon in Rio de Janeiro

For over seven years, he trained as a plastic surgeon in Rio and an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Karlsruhe concurrently. In the early 1990s, he returned to Germany and fulfilled his dream of owning his own clinic in 1994 by taking over the Dr. Kozlowski Clinic. It marked the beginning of a success story that continues to this day: The clinic now has branches in Graz, Vienna, and Zurich.

And his passion still lies with the face. In over half of his weekly procedures, he enhances a patient's visage; overall, he operates on around 300 faces annually. For his facelifts, he uses a method he developed himself, now known internationally as the PRESTO facelift technique. He lectures worldwide on this technique to teach it to his colleagues.

Dr. Wolfgang Funk reconstructs facial features based on older photos. "I am known for my faces, and I am loved for the breasts," he explains with a smile. For him, naturalness is the top priority. "I don't want to change, I want to optimize. Preserving identity is the most important thing to me."

Transgender operation in Munich

For 25 years, Dr. Funk has been very committed to the wishes of the trans community, making many people happy in terms of their true identity: the so-called transgender surgeries. In his clinic, Dr. Funk specializes in treating and improving the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics. "Out of 100,000 people in Germany, 24 are transsexual, meaning 24 people who do not live in the right gender," the doctor reports.

And it is precisely these people who are helped in the cosmetic clinic. Dr. Funk explains: "For a transsexual individual, the transition is not complete with the adjustment of the primary sexual characteristics alone. For social integration, the secondary sexual characteristics are more important than the primary sexual characteristics. The secondary aesthetic characteristics must also be adjusted. Through various procedures, we enable our patients to achieve a thoroughly harmonious and appealing feminine or masculine appearance."

This includes not only the insertion of breast implants but also recontouring the forehead, both the bone structure and soft tissue profile, to the desired gender as well as reshaping the nose and chin to be either softer and more delicate or more angular and dominant. "Ultimately, it's about patients wanting to be perceived holistically as a man or a woman after their surgery. And I am very pleased to accompany them on this journey with my team," says Dr. Funk.A large number of Dr. Wolfgang Funk's patients come from non-European countries. Even for them, the decision to undergo a cosmetic procedure is not one made overnight. "I educate the patients until they are thoroughly informed and can make their decision based on that information," explains the surgeon. "And I only proceed with surgery once I understand what the patient wants and what motivates their desire for physical change."

.