Dr. Joseph Grzeskiewicz

Achieving the natural-looking results every patient wants is something Dr. Joseph Grzeskiewicz strives for with each procedure he performs, whether it’s a procedure to rejuvenate the face or the body. “I have lately taken a strong interest in developing minimally invasive and noninvasive treatments for my patients, and this includes fat transfer and use of growth factors and other biocellular treatments,” says the doctor. “We are entering a whole new era of medical treatments in general, and this includes of course aesthetic procedures. Instead of focusing on ‘destructive’ treatments, like lasers and surgery, which create controlled injuries to tissues and rely on the body to heal to produce the results, we are beginning to truly harness and manipulate the body’s own abilities to regenerate itself and apply those to produce our results instead. It is a very exciting time,” he adds.

What is your approach to treating patients?

I am really all about the patient—they are the reason why I do what I do. I am a physician and healer first, then a plastic surgeon and a specialist. I’ve devoted my efforts to developing skills in plastic surgery, but the ultimate goal is still to heal and complete the human being. I just do it through aesthetic surgery.

What is your operating room style?

I am very meticulous, to the point where I’ve actually been criticized, but it is important to me that I get the best result. I don’t cut corners or keep my eye on the clock—I’m not afraid to take extra time. I stay very focused on the procedure, but I’m also comfortable, calm and in control.

Why did you become a plastic surgeon?

I had an analytical math background before medicine, where I concentrated on theory and logic. I also studied art, where I was able to think creatively. Plastic surgery was a great mix for me—a blend of the artistic and scientific that allowed me to focus on my strengths.

What do you love most about your job?

The opportunity to make an impact on people’s lives. I can’t tell you what a great feeling it is when a patient comes back to see me post-op and suddenly they have blossomed. They have a new hairstyle or they’re wearing different clothing; they just feel great about themselves, and that’s why I do what I do.

1. My happiest professional moment
   Opening my own office
2. What sets my practice apart
   Real, honest-to-goodness, personalized concierge care
3. How i make the best first impression
   A warm, genuine smile, meeting of the eyes, and a handshake
4. Most inspirational thing i learned this year
   I learned that people become enrolled in the possibilities of your life when you genuinely make yourself vulnerable and ask for their help
5. My greatest achievement
   Becoming a successful board-certified plastic surgeon who has made thousands of people happy and feel good about themselves
6. What i love most about my profession
   I love having the ability to reach people emotionally, intellectually and physically
7. The biggest misconception about my profession
   That aesthetic surgery places all of the emphasis on how you look and that it is all about vanity—we are still healers, and we take care of the needs of human beings
8. My dream innovation
   Something to improve skin closure times, which would also result in healing without scarring
9. What new services are you excited to offer?
   BodyTite™ and FaceTite™ radio frequency–assisted tissue tightening. With these procedures, we can often eliminate the need to do larger, more invasive procedures like tummy tucks, facelifts, arm lifts, and breast lifts, thereby tightening those tissues without making surgical scars
10. Why do you place a strong emphasis on body contouring?
    Body contouring is one of the most transformative surgeries and is very gratifying for me to perform. Our typical patient has had pregnancyrelated changes in their body, suffered the effects of massive weight loss, or seen changes due to aging. There is a disconnect between the image of themselves in their minds and the one they see in the mirror. This procedure helps restore their self-confidence, increase physical activity and have a better overall engagement with life
11. How does your staff enhance your practice?
    My staff is literally an extension of me in that each one takes a personal interest in their care of our patients and the outcomes of their treatments
12. What are you best known for?
    I’m best known for being a kind, caring and compassionate doctor
13. The future of aesthetics
    Emerging possibilities for regenerative and anti-aging procedures using fat transfer and stem cell injections
14. How do you respond when people say “getting aesthetic surgery is vain?”
    I believe that it is inherent in every human being to appreciate the natural beauty in the human form and the way the body functions; it’s just who and what we are. To me, the healthy pursuit of the best physical beauty for ourselves, whether that be through exercise, clothing, makeup, or aesthetic treatments or surgery, is a natural expression of this regard that most of us have for the physical aspect of our humanity

1. How is breast augmentation a better procedure today than it was years ago?
   What our experts say:

   Breast augmentation remains one of the most popular cosmetic procedures perfomed with over 300, 000 of them done in the US each year.  One of the most significant advances has been improvement in both the materials and the design of the implants themselves. With current technology there is lower risk of capsule contracture, rupture, and rippling and other surface irregularities, and this all translates to a lower likelihood of returning to the OR for problems.  There are also improvements in the design of the implants such that we now have shaped form-stable implants as well as round implants, and we have more than one company making them with slight variations between them.  The fact that there are now three implant manufactures in the US has helped create competition and disruptive change, and this advances the science and technology of the implants.  Furthermore, each company offers very robust "warranty" programs for their implants, and this makes the operation less of a financial risk too.  Little has changed in the landscape of saline implants, in fact, I would say they are sort of fading out; at least they are in my practice.  The silicone gel filled implants have improved dramatically, though.  In addition to the implants themselves, I would also say that our understanding of the anatomy of the breast and the techniques of breast augmentation have evolved and become more refined.  Even advances like the Keller funnel have improved the way we do the operation.  We have more ways to deal with differnet types of bodies and situations and more ways to deal with complications like capsule contracture too.  All in all, I think that if you look at the details of breast augmentation instead of just considering it as a "commodity" - merely putting in an implant to make the breasts bigger - you will find that the operation has improved dramatically over what it was, even 10 years ago.

2. I'm interested in breast augmentation at age 49. Is age a factor?
   What our experts say:

   For me, age itself is not a factor, rather the health of each patient as well as her needs and goals are much more important considerations.  Some of my 40 - 60 year old patients are actually better candidates for surgery than ones in their 20's!  One thing I do find related to age, however, is that goals often change, and the surgeon must be very attentive to each patient's individual goals and stage in life so that he or she can advise the patient appropriately.  One of my favorite patients was a 64 year old lady, who came in with  her very dashing and dapper husband, to ask about breast augmentation so that she would feel better in her competitive ballroom dancing gowns.  She had a very reasonable augmentation with 250 cc implants and looked and felt fabulous after her surgery.  Life is what each of us makes of it, at any age.  What is it that they say?  "50 is the new 30!"

3. Is it possible for the breast to get bigger after surgery?
   What our experts say:

   Your breast tissues can still respond to the same factors that any other normal breast tissue will respond to after breast augmentation surgery.  Thus, hormonal changes, such as with pregnancy, breastfeeding or hormone treatments, or  weight gain can all cause some increase in the size of your breasts.  Some of these changes may be temporary, while some of them may be permanent.  This is one of the reasons why I advise my paients that while it is uncommon for ladies to have reoperation on their breasts in the future for this reason, it is not unheard of, and no breast augmentation should be thought of as an absolutely permanent thing that can't change over time or that won't ever need to be altered or corrected for some reason in the future.

4. My doctor says during the next few months my implants will move upwards to give me a full roundness at the top of my breasts. How does this happen?
   What our experts say:

   Typically breast implants tend to settle a bit after surgery, and the slight overcorrected fullness at the upper pole that is often seen tends to decrease as tissues loosen up and soften. Thus, it is very unusual for the implants to migrate upwards and create more fullness over time.  That is, unless there is some capsule contracture, in which case what we typically see is firmness or hardness of the involved breast(s), increased roundness of the breast shape, and increased fullness in the upper part of the breast.  However, this is not the desired kind of fullness usually.  If you feel as though your breasts aren't full enough after augmentation, you may need to revisit the issue with your surgeon and consider larger implants, higher profile implants, or a lifing procedure to increase the tone of the breasts.

5. Can you treat asymmetry in the breasts with augmentation alone?
   What our experts say:

   Each breast augmentation is different, thus each case is individualized.  In cases with asymmetry, as long as it is relatively mild and can be camouglaged by volume or dimension of the implant, the asymmetry can ususally be corrected with augmentation alone using differing implants between the two breasts.  The limitation in doing this however, is that the formula is not always one of simple volume adjustment.  That is to say, just because one breast may have 50 cc more volume than the other, doesn't mean the correction can be accomplished easily by just using a 50 cc larger implant.  Because implants have not only volume to consider, but also three dimensions - width, length, and height (with round implants width and "length" are really the same), you will often see differences in these variables even if the volume adjustment corrects the difference in volume.  For example, even though the volume in a bra is now equal when a 350 cc implant is on the right and a 400 cc implant is on the left, the left breast may now project outward more and appear fuller or it may be wider than the right, and this creates its own asymmetry.  Thus, the correction of asymmetry with implants alone requires a keen artistic eye and good analytic judgment on the part of the surgeon.  In addition, this does nothing to correct any asymmetry in the position of the nipples.  In order to do that, one must usually add some type of lifting procedure too, at least to the lower breast/nipple.  Usually in cases of mild nipple asymmetry it either improves sufficiently with augmentation alone, or the patient and I decide to accept the mild asymmetry as a reasonable trade-off for a less complicated procedure.  Not every asymmetry NEEDS to be conrrected; you are really the boss when it comes to that.

6. Can you treat asymmetry in the breasts with augmentation alone?
   What our experts say:

   Each breast augmentation is different, thus each case is individualized.  In cases with asymmetry, as long as it is relatively mild and can be camouglaged by volume or dimension of the implant, the asymmetry can ususally be corrected with augmentation alone using differing implants between the two breasts.  The limitation in doing this however, is that the formula is not always one of simple volume adjustment.  That is to say, just because one breast may have 50 cc more volume than the other, doesn't mean the correction can be accomplished easily by just using a 50 cc larger implant.  Because implants have not only volume to consider, but also three dimensions - width, length, and height (with round implants width and "length" are really the same), you will often see differences in these variables even if the volume adjustment corrects the difference in volume.  For example, even though the volume in a bra is now equal when a 350 cc implant is on the right and a 400 cc implant is on the left, the left breast may now project outward more and appear fuller or it may be wider than the right, and this creates its own asymmetry.  Thus, the correction of asymmetry with implants alone requires a keen artistic eye and good analytic judgment on the part of the surgeon.  In addition, this does nothing to correct any asymmetry in the position of the nipples.  In order to do that, one must usually add some type of lifting procedure too, at least to the lower breast/nipple.  Usually in cases of mild nipple asymmetry it either improves sufficiently with augmentation alone, or the patient and I decide to accept the mild asymmetry as a reasonable trade-off for a less complicated procedure.  Not every asymmetry NEEDS to be conrrected; you are really the boss when it comes to that.

7. How are injectable treatments a large part of your practice?
   What our experts say:

   Nonsurgical options such as injectables allow me to offer a broader spectrum of treatment to my patients. A lot of people don’t want or don’t need surgery, so if I can use nonsurgical options to meet their goal, I think it’s a win-win situation. I am registered as an ExpertInjector^TM, and I’m also a faculty member on P.A.L.E.T.T.E., a national workshop faculty that teaches advanced injection techniques to other surgeons and medical professionals. 

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