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Brain and Spine Surgeons of New York

Plastic and reconstructive surgeon joins BSSNY’s Manhattan office

Dr. Rakhna Araslanova discusses the collaborative approach that drew her to the practice.

Jessica Levy
for Brain and Spine Surgeons of New York
New surgeon joins the Brain and Spine Surgeons of New York team.

Dr. Rakhna Araslanova is the newest Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon to join Brain and Spine Surgeons of New York (BSSNY). She has been working out of the practice’s Manhattan office on Park Avenue since October 2020.

Araslanova focuses on surgical reconstruction of the face and neck following trauma, cancer removal operations or facial paralysis. She is a member of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons as well as the American Academy of Otolaryngology.

In addition to her reconstructive work, which makes up about 70% of her practice, Araslanova also performs cosmetic surgeries such as rhinoplasty, face and neck lifts or otoplasty. Additionally, she performs non-surgical procedures including cosmetic fillers and Botox.

Working in both reconstructive and aesthetic surgery helps Araslanova combine the two most important aspects of any plastic surgery: form and function.

“When you have these two branches of your specialty, you're able to complement your reconstruction with aesthetic principles, and then vice versa, making sure that your aesthetic surgery is always functional,” she said.

Dr. Araslanova’s breadth of surgical know-how brings her knowledge of facial reconstructive surgery to the BSSNY team.

Outside of the office, Araslanova’s academic research ensures that she continues to offer the most effective and cutting-edge treatments available to her patients. As just one of many examples, she has a paper coming out soon about a new, minimally invasive technique to elevate the lower eyelid in cases of facial paralysis without external incisions.

“The field of facial paralysis and surgical facial reanimation has drastically advanced over the past five years. It takes a lot of research as well as staying up to date in order to offer state-of-the-art treatments for this particular problem.”

Another of Araslanova’s academic interests involves ways to measure and improve quality of life after facial reconstruction. Ultimately, she said, improving her patients’ quality of life is what her practice is all about.

“We actually have various quality of life outcome measures, as well as standard photographic and videographic measures that we use to document success. That’s step one towards making sure that the treatment has truly worked.”

“BSSNY is composed of many, many specialties, so we can create a collaborative environment.”

In addition to their leadership in performing cutting-edge treatments, Araslanova cited BSSNY’s collaborative approach to medicine as a major reason that she was excited to join the prestigious team.

“BSSNY is composed of many specialties, so we can create a collaborative environment where it becomes a center of comprehensive care for patients who present with different needs,” she said.

In particular, Araslanova will often work closely with the practice’s neurosurgeons on her reconstructive cases. With a personal interest in treatment and rehabilitation of facial paralysis, her work may be complemented by one of the practice’s neurologists.

“Nowadays, medicine is all about collaborative efforts and having surgeons, physicians and other allied healthcare members work together towards a common goal: making people feel better and function better,” she said. “And it's not just physicians and surgeons. It's also our wonderful allied health professionals like nurse practitioners. They significantly contribute to patient care.”

Even before joining BSSNY, Araslanova was already working closely with one of the practice’s expert surgeons, Dr. Peter Costantino. Araslanova completed a competitive fellowship program at Lenox Hill Hospital, and Costantino was one of her fellowship directors.

“It makes sense to be in an environment where we can all work together and collaborate on certain patient populations,” she said. “Our multidisciplinary, comprehensive environment is helpful to patients as well. You're really taken care of because it's not just me facilitating your care. It's the whole team.”

To learn more about facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Brain and Spine Surgeons of New York, visit bssny.com.