Over the past two decades Dr Ron Israeli has become one of the New York area's most sought-after plastic surgeons for breast reconstruction and body contouring. He is an exacting professional who in many respects is perfectly suited to his craft. For starters, Dr. Israeli, who grew up in a family of physicians, conveys uncommon personal warmth, relating to his patients in the way primary-care physicians did a generation ago. Further, Dr. Israeli is well known for his work in post-mastectomy breast reconstruction surgery, a specialty that brings him a unique degree of emotional satisfaction - and which has put him at the forefront of the field. Dr. Israeli - well liked and respected by his peers - has emerged as an important professional voice, one certain to be heard for years to come.

Dr. Israeli grew up on Long Island. With his father an obstetrician and his mother a psychologist, Dr. Israeli knew early on what he wanted to be. He applied to Boston University's unique six-year program for pre-med students, a launch pad to a medical career. His surgical residency and a research fellowship in microsurgery were at renowned Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. "General surgery was always the way to plastic surgery - that's not always so today." A residency in plastic surgery followed at Massachusetts General Hospital. "I was drawn (to plastic surgery) because it requires an aesthetic sense - it was a different kind of thinking, as much right brain as left."

In a relatively short time, Dr. Israeli has built and currently maintains a thriving practice together with partners Dr. Randall Feingold, Dr. Peter Korn, Dr. David Light and Dr. Jonathan Bank. Their offices are located at 833 Northern Boulevard in Great Neck. Together, they have established and now support a comprehensive breast reconstruction website - www.BreastReconstruction.org. In addition, their practice created New York Breast Reconstruction Associates, a program of coordinated efforts committed to optimizing the quality of care for women facing mastectomy.

Today, Dr. Israeli will handle as many as 10 breast reconstruction cases each week and he has dedicated a significant portion of his practice to prophylactic mastectomy reconstruction for patients with the BRCA genetic mutation. He is currently regarded as a leading specialist in so-called "microsurgical free flap" breast reconstruction. This approach utilizes DIEP and SIEA flaps from the abdominal wall, allowing transplantation of living tissue while minimizing "donor site morbidity". Most recently he has pioneered the use of LifeCell's AlloDerm, which can frequently allow breast reconstruction with a direct-to-implant "one-step" procedure. These are intricate and powerfully effective approaches to breast reconstruction that place Dr. Israeli at the forefront of his field.

Away from his office Dr. Israeli enjoys working in his sculpture studio, playing the guitar and traveling with his family. His wife, Dr. Nancy Lippman, is a pediatrician. They have three children and live on Long Island's North Shore.