Health, Wellness: Top NYC Surgeon Offers Safety Tips When Considering Cosmetic Procedures

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Dr. Richard Westreich has been recognized multiples times as one of the top doctors in facial plastic surgery and offers the following tips when choosing treatment options stressing due diligence is the best defense against post-op problems.

Dr. Westreich has been recognized multiples times as one of the top doctors in facial plastic surgery. He offers the following tips for choosing treatment options for summer and beyond.


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"Avoid resurfacing procedures, laser treatments, body surgery and neck treatments (if you care about looking a little swollen in public)," he advised. "Summer is the time for noninvasive face and body treatments since you can't cover up!"

He added that breast augmentations can be done year-round, and laser treatments should be planned for October or November.

Whatever procedure you're considering, due diligence is still the best defense against potential post-op problems, he cautioned.

"My best advice to people is to go back to the mindset before the Zoom boom," he said, explaining that virtual consults have streamlined the process and tightened the timeline between concept and completion. "Don't rush into something just because it's easy or convenient."

Popular procedures include breast augmentation, liposuction, rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery and facelifts. Less invasive procedures like Botox injections are skyrocketing.


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If you're considering any cosmetic procedure, these safety tips from Dr. Westreich can improve your chances of a better outcome:

Tip 1: Make sure any doctor you schedule through a virtual visit allows you to cancel AFTER an in-person meeting for surgery. There is no substitute for face to face. 

Tip 2: Your health doesn't belong in the bargain bin.

Tip 3: Medical tourism can be dangerous. Laws may differ; regulations may differ; problems with after care may arise.

Tip 4: Understand informed consent. Ask for examples of not only the good outcomes but also the potential bad ones. Ask for data specific to the procedure and the doctor performing it (complication rates, death rates).

Tip 5: Surgery belongs in accredited operating rooms. Ask to see accreditation certificate (AAA, AAAA, JCAHO).

Tip 6: Make sure the board certification of a doctor makes sense for the procedure they are performing.

Tip 7: If significant issues arise after a procedure (surgery or office injection), seek a second opinion on management.


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When Dr. Westreich is not performing rhinoplasty, facial contouring, or upper eyelid surgery at his New York City practice, he is pursuing his passion for music — and helping local artists along the way. His band, Big Rich Energy, is currently on tour in New York City, and all of the band's proceeds go to charities that support local artists and music education. He also uses his music to draw attention to critical issues, such as gun violence. For more information on his band, please visit https://bigrichenergy.com/.

More on Dr. Richard Westreich

Dr. Richard Westreich graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Biological Basis of Behavior, Neuroscience concentration in 1995 from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his medical school training at the New York University School of Medicine in 1999 with an M.D. and Honors in Cell Biology Research. Dr. Westreich then did his post-graduate training in Facial Plastic Surgery and Otolaryngology at the prestigious Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.


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He has been selected multiple times by Castle Connolly and New York magazine as one of the top doctors in facial plastic surgery. He is an assistant professor at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and is on staff at Lenox Hill and Mount Sinai Hospitals. He is a faculty member and teacher at a fellowship in Facial Plastic Surgery at Mount Sinai. His private practice is located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where he specializes in rhinoplasty, septoplasty, secondary and reconstructive rhinoplasty, facelifts, eyelid surgery and nonsurgical procedures.

He can be seen regularly on several national news programs, including ABC, CBS, FOX and Newsmax.