The point is to make the patient look great and give them more confidence—without anyone being able to tell that they have ever had cosmetic surgery,” says Dr. Marc J. Elkowitz, M.D., F.A.C.S., founder of Plastic Surgery of New York, a group practice based in his hometown of Great Neck. “It’s about fixing problems in a very analytical way, with the most tried-and-true and effective methods out there.”
In treating more than 10,000 patients over the past 16 years, Dr. Elkowitz has guided his plastic surgery practice with the same goal: to deliver detail-oriented care that yields the most beautiful and natural-looking results. Known for taking on exceptionally difficult cases—as well as clearing up complications from patients’ previous surgeries—Dr. Elkowitz taps into his extensive background in trauma surgery to bring singular precision, advanced skill, and uncommon dedication to each cosmetic procedure.
Also chief of plastic surgery at Glen Cove Hospital and associate director for the Division of Plastic and Hand Surgery at Jamaica Hospital, Dr. Elkowitz found himself innately suited to the rigors of plastic surgery at an early age. After completing a fiercely competitive combined seven-year medical program at Union College and Albany Medical College, which saw him being accepted to medical school immediately after high school, he joined one of the New York area’s busiest acute-trauma services as part of his residency in general surgery at New York Medical College.
“Working in the trauma center is what inspired me to be a plastic surgeon,” says Dr. Elkowitz, who discovered his passion for merging critical problem-solving and steadfast patient care during his residency. He then studied plastic surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, which included training in every aspect of cosmetic, reconstructive, and hand surgery.
Dr. Elkowitz has distinguished himself as a uniquely principled and patient- minded practitioner. “All too often we see practitioners who lose sight of the fact that they are a doctor and a surgeon rather than a showman,” Dr. Elkowitz says. “The fact is that these are real problems that should be considered in a very scientific way. Making the patient happy without taking too much risk is always the objective.”
In the interest in providing superlative care, Dr. Elkowitz recently spearheaded the creation of Glen Cove Hospital’s Cosmetic Surgery Center, a facility that grants patients access to specially trained staff, leading-edge surgical technologies, plus all hospital resources required to meet their individual needs.
Recognized by Castle Connolly as a top doctor in plastic surgery, Dr. Elkowitz is also a longtime member of the Society of Honorary Police Surgeons of the City of New York. In every element of his work, he strives to build long-term, trusting relationships with patients and offers a vastly more personal alternative to large group practices and hospital-based medicine—a commitment that includes such above-and-beyond habits as making house calls.
