DreamLabs Presents: Dr. Victoria Karlinsky-Belini

Dr. Victoria Karlinsky-Belini is a highly trained facial and body sculpting specialist. Having spent a significant portion of her career working closely with leading bariatric surgeons, she has a keen understanding about patients’ end goals following a significant weight loss: removal of excess skin following massive weight loss. She specializes in breast augmentation and lifts, tummy tucks, and thigh, arm and body lifts. Dr. Karlinsky is also highly skilled in facial procedures, including facelifts, brow lifts, eyelid surgery, lip enhancement and ear surgery.

Dr. Karlinsky obtained her Bachelor’s degree from Hunter College City University in New York City and her medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine, concentrating on Cosmetic and Aesthetic Surgery. She completed her residency training at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, graduating with distinction as Chief Resident of the Year and recipient of the Leon Ginsburg Award.

Dr. Karlinsky is a board certified general surgeon, fellow of the American College of Surgeon and a board certified cosmetic surgeon by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery

As a Westchester County mom and one of New York’s leading female cosmetic surgeons, Dr. Karlinsky brings the unique perspective of a woman on the go. This blend helps her empathize with busy Westchester mothers who want to look and feel their best. Her compassionate approach sets patients at ease. Each cosmetic procedure is tailored to enhance the natural beauty of individual patients.

Dr. Karlinsky and her family reside in Dobbs Ferry, New York where they are actively involved in their community. Russian-born, Dr. Karlinsky is fluent in her native language and English.

1. Can you start by telling us your name and provide me with your credentials.

Victoria Karlinsky-Belini, Cosmetic Surgeon, Double Boarded General Surgery and Cosmetic Surgery through the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. Fellowship trained in cosmetic surgery. I attended Ross University School of Medicine at Dominico Espendis. I have been in private practice for six years and prior to that I worked for somebody for about eight months.

2. Do you have any affiliations with any of your local hospitals or does your office have a surgical suite?

I’m affiliated with two hospitals, but most of the things I do are done at an out-patient surgical facility in Manhattan at Gramercy Park Surgical Center.

3. What made you make the decision to become a cosmetic surgeon as opposed to any other surgery?

I’m fellowship trained in cosmetic surgery in particular, which is different from plastic surgery. The reason why I went into it was because it allows me to be a surgeon and at the same time to do happy type of surgery. Most of the people who seek aesthetic surgery are looking to improve the way they look and feel about themselves. It’s not done because somebody has cancer or some major health issues.

4. What are the most common surgery cases that you see in your practice?

My practice really falls in the normal statistics in the United States where you have a majority of what we do is liposuction, breast augmentations, tummy tucks, breast reductions, facial work, fat grafting, and buttock augmentations. It’s a pretty broad spectrum of aesthetic procedures.

5. What is the most common question you get from potential patients before they go through their surgical procedures?

There’s not really one common question. There are usually – depending on what the patient is really looking to do, there are multiple things that have to be addressed. What type of surgery? How long does the surgery take? What are the potential risks and complications? What is the recovery period? What kind of results can they expect? Many patients like to see the before and after pictures of other patients who have had similar procedures just to get an idea as to what to expect from the surgery.

6. What separates you or truly makes you stand out in regards to Cosmetic Surgery from your colleagues in the area?

I think one difference in my practice is that we have a very boutique type of practice. I’m a solo practitioner. I do have a fellow who’s training with me because I’m the only approved fellowship in New York City as far as I’m aware for cosmetic surgery. Every single patient who comes to our practice is seen by me and my fellow, and they must be seen by me. Every one of my patients has my private cell phone number in case of an emergency after surgery, which I think is quite different from everybody else. I’m also available to my patients 24-7, which is also quite different from any other cosmetic or plastic surgeons. So we maintain a very boutique-ish kind of feel. All the injectables are done by me; all the consultations are done by me; all the post-op checks are done by me. So patients never have to worry that when they come in, they’re going to see somebody else who was not involved in their surgery.

7. What if any trends do you see in the next few years that will be changing cosmetic Surgery?

I think we’re going to see more and more of Cosmetic Surgery as the trend and results have been increasingly positive. People don’t look at cosmetic surgery anymore as a big taboo, especially in The States. It became much more accessible to patients than it used to be, and certainly there are pretty marked improvements that are taking place in terms of non-invasive treatments. We’re seeing more and more very nice non-invasive treatments that come out to help people deal with certain aesthetic issues that they want to address, but they really don’t want to go under the knife essentially. I think we’ll see a pretty substantial increase in aesthetic procedures, especially in men. I think statistically the last polls were showing about a 33% increase in aesthetic surgery performed on men.

8. What advice would you give your prospective patients that will read this interview prior to considering Cosmetic surgery?

If there’s a particular procedure that somebody’s interested in, it’s imperative to insure that whoever it is they go to has proper training. It’s always a very smart idea to see at least two to three consultations just to really get a perspective from different doctors. Make sure that whoever they choose is somebody that they’re very comfortable with. Most of the cosmetic/plastic surgeons are very well trained to do the procedures that we do. We all essentially do things in a very similar way. It is very important for the patient to feel that should there be any problem, their doctor will be there for them to deal with the problem and address it. They really have to have the confidence and trust in their physician. I think that’s the most important thing, especially in cosmetic surgery.

9. What have you been noticing in marketing trends (how practices are marketed) for cosmetic Surgeons over the last few years?

I think the biggest trend has been website optimization and online advertisement. It’s really the website’s visibility and just optimizing your website so Google and all the other search engines are interested in your website becomes really the most successful way to advertise at this point.

10. What do you do that makes you stand out from your fellow colleagues? I don’t know, really. My motto is take good care of your patients, and more patients will come. It’s as simple as that – make sure your people are happy. People come in and they spend a lot of money, and I always want to make sure that they would do it all over again anytime.

11. If you could give another cosmetic surgeon or surgeon in general some advice if they read this, whether it is marketing or how they obtain new patients to build a practice like yours, what advice would you give them?

I think it all boils down to the very basics: Take good care of your patients because when patients are well taken care of and they get good results and people do good surgery, they will come back. They will have their friends come to you, their family comes to you, and it’s a referral tree that really makes any medical practice and certainly aesthetic practice thrive over time. It takes time, but I think it just boils down to being honest and good to your patients. That’s the success, I think. There are no other tricks.

Thank you for your time today Dr. Karlinsky. I know the Audience of “I Love Plastic Surgery” is going to love this and that it’s really going to help patients make a better decision regarding the choice of their surgeon and assist other surgeons in helping them market their practice as successful as yours.

If you would like to know more about Dr. Victoria Karlinsky and New Look New Life Surgical Arts please visit http://www.newlooknewlife.com or contact her at (646) 559-2854 for a free consultation.