Practice News

Shrewsbury, NJ – April 26, 2010 – The Plastic Surgery Center today announced that following an innovative triple nerve decompression surgery performed by Dr. Michael Rose, Mr. Arthur Staffin reports that he has been free of his prior neuropathy pain since undergoing the procedure in July 2008.

Mr. Staffin commented, “I can’t believe how significantly my comfort level and my life in general have improved from this procedure! For years, I had suffered uncontrollable pain in my lower extremities.  I sought pain management, orthopedists, and would take up to five pain killers a day, but none of it worked.  I am so pleased to have had this procedure – it changed my life!”

Triple nerve decompression surgery is an innovative procedure performed to re-establish nerve function throughout an arm or leg, in order to mitigate pain, restore feeling, and reduce the risk of amputation – commonly a result of diabetes.  It is an outpatient procedure that involves three small incisions and lasts approximately an hour and a half.  The surgery can provide immediate results including reduced pain and return of sensation. The procedure has up to an approximate 90 percent success rate in reducing pain and increasing sensation in properly selected patients and is covered by most insurance companies. 

“In addition to the surgery often providing immediate relief to the patient, postoperative discomfort is minimal, and results are long-lasting, almost never requiring a second procedure,” said Dr. Michael Rose.  “The success of this procedure and its ability to improve a patient’s quality of life are truly remarkable – especially given the conventional belief that there isn’t an existing treatment for Neuropathy.  As medical research and technological advancements further improve the field of diabetic neuropathy, ideally patients will undergo surgery before developing complications such as pain, ulcerations, and amputations.”

About The Plastic Surgery Center

Located in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, The Plastic Surgery Center’s team of doctors has more than 50 years of combined experience performing facial, skin, and body cosmetic surgery. They offer cutting edge cosmetic and reconstructive procedures and have developed a number of innovative surgical techniques offered at few other facilities in the world. The Plastic Surgery Center doctors are committed to excellence providing exceptional, personalized care in a friendly, comfortable setting using the most advanced equipment available. For further information, please visit www.advancedreconstruction.com, www.facebook.com/ThePlasticSurgeryCenter, www.twitter.com/PlasticSurgNJ.  

SHREWSBURY, N.J. – December 22, 2009 – The Plastic Surgery Center today announced that immediately following a rare phrenic nerve surgery to repair his paralyzed diaphragm, a 47-year-old man has reported significantly improved breathing and feels “15 years younger.”  The surgery marked the second known case of successful phrenic nerve decompression, both of which were performed by a New Jersey medical team led by Dr. Matthew Kaufman of the Plastic Surgery Center in Shrewsbury, New Jersey.

 In a complex procedure, Dr. Kaufman and his team performed a microsurgical decompression of the phrenic nerve in order to restore diaphragm function.  Five years prior, the patient, Richard Thompson, Jr. from Atlanta, Georgia, inexplicably began suffering from a paralyzed diaphragm muscle.  As a result, he experienced daily headaches from nighttime breathing difficulties and constant shortness of breath, limiting his ability to exercise, while also impacting his normal daily activities.

“We are extremely pleased with the successful outcome of this procedure, as it significantly improved Mr. Thompson’s quality of life,” said Dr. Kaufman. “Further, this procedure could have profound implications for helping a wide range of patients suffering from breathing problems caused by spinal cord injury, heart surgery, pulmonary disease, and possibly even cases where the cause of paralysis is not clearly defined.”

Dr. Kaufman is a part of the medical team at the Institute for Advanced Reconstruction at the Plastic Surgery Center, which is comprised of a group of surgeons who are highly skilled in nerve transplantation and advanced reconstruction. They perform a number of unique operations to help patients suffering from life-altering medical conditions who are often told there are no treatment options available. Some of these conditions that the Plastic Surgery Center treats include:

1. Paralysis resulting from accidents and strokes
2. Diabetic neuropathy
3. Paralyzed diaphragm/ventilator-based breathing
4. Facial reanimation
5. Nerve decompression for migraine headaches

About The Plastic Surgery Center

Located in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, The Plastic Surgery Center’s team of doctors has more than 50 years of combined experience performing facial, skin, and body cosmetic surgery. They offer cutting edge cosmetic and reconstructive procedures and have developed a number of innovative surgical techniques offered at few other facilities in the world. The Plastic Surgery Center doctors are committed to excellence providing exceptional, personalized care in a friendly, comfortable setting using the most advanced equipment available. For further information, please visit the Plastic Surgery Center’s website at www.looknatural.com.

About Dr. Kaufman

Dr. Matthew Kaufman is a board certified Plastic Surgeon and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS). He has the rather rare distinction of also achieving board certification in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, which gives him the added expertise necessary to deal with complex cosmetic and reconstructive problems of the head, face and neck. Dr. Kaufman has special interests in reconstructive surgery for cranial nerve disorders, skin and head & neck cancer and vascular malformations. He practices at the Plastic Surgery Center in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, and is a Cancer Reconstruction and Microsurgery Consultant for the Head and Neck Oncology Group of Central New Jersey based at Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick. Dr. Kaufman is on the advisory board for FM World Charities http://www.fmworldcharities.org, a not-for-profit organization devoted to promoting public health and improving the quality of life in underserved communities throughout the world.

SHREWSBURY, N.J. – October 20, 2009 – The Plastic Surgery Center today announced that a 57-year-old Plainfield man reports he is free of constant headache pain after undergoing a new cutting edge nerve procedure to permanently eliminate pain caused by migraines. The procedure was performed by plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Matthew Kaufman, of the Plastic Surgery Center in New Jersey on August 4, 2009.

 The surgery was performed on Mr. Edgar Freire, a constant migraine sufferer, who was not obtaining pain relief from medication.  As part of the procedure, Dr. Kaufman released muscle tissue around Mr. Freire’s supraorbital nerve (upper eyelid area) to relieve the tension causing his severe migraine pain. The surgery, called “nerve decompression,” is a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure and took approximately one hour.

 “I was very pleased to hear of Edgar’s results,” said Dr. Kaufman. “As migraine headaches are often difficult to treat with medication, we are encouraged by the success of nerve decompression surgery around the peripheral trigger sites of these headaches. In fact, as recent studies have shown (as published in the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery), the surgery has proven effective in eliminating the pain in patients suffering from chronic moderate to severe migraine headaches.”

Dr. Kaufman is part of the medical team at the Plastic Surgery Center, which is comprised of a group of surgeons who are highly skilled in nerve transplantation and advanced reconstruction. They perform a number of unique operations to help patients suffering from life-altering medical conditions who are often unaware that a treatment is available.  Some of these conditions that the Plastic Surgery Center treats include:

•  Paralysis resulting from accidents and strokes
• Diabetic Neuropathy
• Paralyzed diaphragm/ventilator-based breathing
• Facial Reanimation

 About The Plastic Surgery Center

Located in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, The Plastic Surgery Center’s team of doctors has more than 50 years of combined experience performing facial, skin, and body cosmetic surgery. They offer cutting edge cosmetic and reconstructive procedures and have developed a number of innovative surgical techniques offered at few other facilities in the world. The Plastic Surgery Center doctors are committed to excellence providing exceptional, personalized care in a friendly, comfortable setting using the most advanced equipment available. For further information, please visit the Plastic Surgery Center’s website at www.looknatural.com.