# New York Plastic Surgical Group

New York Plastic Surgical Group (NYPS Group) was founded in April 1948 and is the oldest and largest private academic plastic surgery practice in the United States. The group currently has 10+ offices within the New York Metropolitan area, including Garden City, East Hills, Babylon, Huntington, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Westchester, and Connecticut. The practice operates with over 20 plastic and reconstructive surgeons who were trained at institutions including Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center, Cleveland Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital. NYPS Group is composed of nine Centers of Excellence: Breast Reconstruction Surgery and Microsurgery; Burns and Complex Wound Management; Cosmetic Surgery of the Face, Breast, and Body; Facial Reanimation Treatment; Hand Surgery and Peripheral Nerve Repair; Non-Invasive Cosmetic Procedures; Pediatric Plastic and Craniofacial Surgery; Post-Weight Loss Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery; and Skin Care and Age Management.
New York Plastic Surgical Group surgeons are credited with improving the technique to restore function to facial muscles paralyzed by stroke and disease and discovering new uses and procedures for anti-aging treatments. The practice has also partnered with hospitals in projects such as the development of a nationally recognized burn center at Nassau University Medical Center (NuHealth), and the creation of the Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Center at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York. Within the practice, NYPS Group oversees its own academic residency program in partnership with NUMC and Stony Brook Medicine. Graduates from the residency program have gone on to successful careers in both private practice and academia, and have become some of the leading innovators in the fields of plastic and reconstructive surgery.
In addition, New York Plastic Surgical Group hosts an annual Breast Cancer Summit to celebrate survivorship and focus on the importance of patient education. Recognizing that Long Island, NY has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in the United States, NYPS Group has become highly involved in breast cancer initiatives in local areas. The event features panels of medical experts and survivors discussing the latest innovations, treatments, and services for women who have breast cancer.

## History

New York Plastic Surgical Group was established by Leonard R. Rubin and Richard H. Walden in April 1948 in Hempstead, New York. The practice grew through the 1950s, with Rubin and Walden offering a residency training program from 1954. During the 1960s, NYPS Group founded the Nassau Cleft Palate Rehabilitation Center where all children born on Long Island with cleft lip and palate conditions were treated per an agreement with the State of New York. During this decade, New York Plastic Surgical Group surgeons also became the first to conduct studies on using pig skin in the treatment of burn victims at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. In 1967, Rubin co-founded the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS).
In the 1970s, NYPS Group opened a specialty center devoted to facial reanimation treatment, where Rubin and fellow surgeons could continue the work and research outlined in his published article The Anatomy of a Smile in 1974. By 1978, New York Plastic Surgical Group relocated to Mineola, New York and became the first independent center to receive New York State accreditation and certification for its operating rooms. A decade later, NYPS Group relocated its main office to a larger facility in Garden City, New York. During the 1990s, New York Plastic Surgical Group opened a medical spa, now known as Deep Blue Med Spa, which focuses on skincare and non-surgical cosmetic enhancement. Today, Deep Blue Med Spa treatments range from facials and chemical peels to fractionated laser resurfacing, skin tightening body treatments, and injectables. Deep Blue Med Spa has locations in NYPS Group's Garden City, East Hills, Babylon and Manhattan offices.
In the 2000s, the office expanded throughout New York and opened two new state-accredited operating rooms. In February 2008, NYPS Group partnered with Nassau University Medical Center to oversee the $6.7 million renovation of a burn center with unique features such as a hyperbaric chamber for wound treatment. In 2009, NYPS Group's academic residency program became fully accredited and continues to serve as one of the nation's only privately run, non-university based plastic surgery residency programs. In early 2010, NYPS Group also launched 1-877-DR-STITCH, a 24-hour on-call service where NYPS Group surgeons meet patients directly at the hospital emergency room or at a NYPS Group office location to treat lacerations, complex wounds, broken noses, burns and facial trauma.

## Awards

NYPS Group surgeons have received numerous honors and awards on a national and local level. As a practice, New York Plastic Surgical Group holds the #1 Castle Connolly Physician Practice in New York with the most Top Doctors in Plastic & Reconstructive Specialists for 2024. NYPS Group has historically won #1 Best Plastic Surgery Group for 14 times (2008–2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023), and Best BOTOX Practice and Best Laser Treatment Center for Deep Blue Med Spa in the Best of Long Island Awards hosted by the Long Island Press. Notable awards for individual surgeons include:
* Newsweek's list of America's Best Plastic Surgeons for Barry K. Douglas, Matthew S. Kilgo, Richard G. Reish, Frederick N. Lukash, and Finny George
* Castle Connolly Top Doctors New York Metro Area for Roger Simpson, Leland Deane, Barry Douglas, Thomas A. Davenport, Matthew S. Kilgo, Rachel Ruotolo, Tommaso Addona, Michael Dobryansky, Jerry Chang, Noel Natoli, George Xipoleas, Richard Reish, Brian Pinsky, Frederick Lukash, Haritha Veeramachaneni, Michael R. Christy, Finny George, David Mattos, David Parizh, Anke Ott Young and William Samson. Castle Connolly Top Doctors is a peer-nominated award identifying doctors who exhibit excellence in their medical specialty.
* New York Super Doctors 2024 for Matthew S. Kilgo, Rachel A. Ruotolo, Tommaso Addona, Michael Dobryansky, Noel B. Natoli, George D. Xipoleas, Michael R. Christy and David Mattos.
* Best Cosmetic Surgeon for Leland M. Deane, Matthew Kilgo, and George Xipoleas. The Long Island Press Best of Long Island Awards.
* Long Island Business News Health Care Heroes Award for Rachel Ruotolo. This award recognizes individuals for their humanitarian efforts within the medical field.
* U.S. News & World Report Top Doctors for Vincent R. DiGregorio and Roger L. Simpson. The U.S. News & World Report Top Doctor list is a partnership with Castle Connolly Ltd. recognizing Castle Connolly award recipients.
* Vitals Patients’ Choice Award 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 for Tommaso Addona.
* 40 Under 40 Award for Noel Natoli by Long Island Business News.

## Dr. STITCH Service

In 2010, New York Plastic Surgical Group launched 1-877-Dr. STITCH, a 24-hour on-call service where NYPS Group surgeons meet patients directly at the hospital emergency room or at a NYPS Group office location. The service provides immediate treatment for lacerations, complex wounds, broken noses, burns, facial trauma, and hand injuries. You can call Dr. STITCH 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

## Deep Blue Med Spa

Deep Blue Med Spa, formally known as Aesthetic Center, is a comprehensive medical spa staffed by licensed medical aestheticians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners overseen by the surgeons at New York Plastic Surgical Group. The medical spa offers non-surgical elective cosmetic enhancement treatments to correct conditions on the face and body, remove unwanted body hair, shape the body, and reduce the signs of aging, all with the goal of creating a more youthful appearance. Treatments include comprehensive skincare treatments, chemical peels, laser skin resurfacing, injectables, CoolSculpting, CoolTone, eyebrow services, Microneedling, Morpheus8, Coolpeel, and laser hair reduction. Deep Blue Med Spa also offers New York Plastic Surgical Group's private label skincare line, ProBlueMD, which is sold at the medical spa locations or online.
From 2011 to 2016, Deep Blue Med Spa was awarded "Best Laser Treatment Center" in the "Best of Long Island Awards" hosted by the Long Island Press. Additionally, NYPS Group and Deep Blue Med Spa were awarded the "Best Botox Practice" in the 2022 Best of Long Island Awards. In 2023, NYPS Group and Deep Blue Med Spa were awarded in two categories, "Best PRP Treatment" and "Best Hair Restoration Non-Surgical".