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Publications & Article Excerpts |
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Making his mark: Scar revision, optimized with stamping kit and geometrical scalpel invention
Cosmetic Surgery Times
March 1, 2008 (excerpt)Dr. Harnick has several inventions but only one patent, which is for the Broken Geometrical Scalpel. Dr. Harnick says"...someone had the idea... that surgeons should breakup the visual appearance of a linear scar by surgically cutting in a running W, or triangular pattern...so the eye would be fooled and not follow the line of the scar." He had the idea for the invention, made it and patented it himself more than twenty years ago...[He performed his first case with the geometric-edged scalpel on a patient who sustained lacerations from a car crash.] "If something like this worked on someone with his skin, obviously it would work on someone with better scarring," Dr. Harnick says. The kit includes a stamp, which eliminates the need for freehand drawing...Dr. Harnick, who thinks he is the only person today using the same device, says he wouldn't change a thing. He says the biggest challenge to patenting the device was in doing the research in the library, which took days and weeks to do before computers.
Dr. Harnick has also invented nasal instruments for rhinoplasty. His invention, the nasal frontal osteotome, helps him to break the nose with better accuracy. "The very top part of the nose, on the sides, is hard to break," he explains..."With a scoring on the bone, you can press on it and it snaps where you want it to break." He also invented a solution to the problems associated with breaking the sides of the nose. Since Dr. Harnick asked an instrument manufacturer to put a small stop ball on his osteotome, he no longer needs a partner in the OR to hit the osteotome, as he holds the instrument in his hand. "When I hit [my] osteotome, it cannot go in to the nose too far...," he says. "Part of the problem is, when somebody else is hitting it, they do not know how hard to hit. It's like the old story: Do you want the next one too hard or too easy?"
Dr. Harnick says plastic surgeons are an inventive lot..."People always think that it's something new that's a big breakthrough. But it's really making something already out there much easier or less expensive."
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Portrait of a Plastic Surgeon
Big City Style
(excerpt) ...I was fortunate enough to be given the grand tour by Dr. Donn B. Harnick, a top surgeon from the clinic. He is double trained as a plastic surgeon and as an Ear, Nose Throat Surgeon, which required two separate residences and puts his patients at the advantage of being treated by a specialist among specialists. "Just this morning' Dr. Harnick confided, I had a case where someone was sent to me with a hole through their nose (from Cocaine) and they were sent to me specifically [Because I was double trained]."
According to our expert, going to an accredited plastic surgeon is helpful when making a choice, however your best bet is to go to someone whose results you have actually seen, ie. the doctor of a friend who had a tummy tuck.
Going through the roster of before and after pictorials with Dr. Harnick provided some pretty dramatic proof as to not only his prowess as a surgeon, but also as to the effectiveness of having these procedures done at all. Without exception, the women in the photos, (without makeup or other enhancement) looked dramatically better and prettier.
Medical knowledge, technical ability and an eye for the aesthetics are all intrinsic to the role of Plastic Surgeon. "Surgery has changed a little bit" says Dr. Harnick. He no longer puts nasal packing in after a nose job; a standard procedure years ago. Most people have everything [bandages] removed in 4 - 5 days. They no longer stay overnight in a hospital. If they're done in a clinic or a hospital they still go home the same day. It's totally different than it was years ago. Some people, like the one woman I saw in Dr. Harnick's catalogue (and the most dramatic change I witnessed) looked perfectly normal one week after surgery.... |
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Breast Enlargement: an accessory to the perfect figure
Big City Style
(excerpt) ...I recently had the opportunity to discuss breast enlargement or "augmentation" with a noted Manhattan plastic surgeon, Dr. Donn Harnick. I found Dr. Harnick to be informative and very easy to talk to, especially considering the nature of the surgery. He put me at ease right away, a factor I would find important in choosing a plastic surgeon.
...Over 2,000,000 women have had breast augmentation performed since the early 1960's when the procedure was introduced. ...Dr. Harnick informs me that the procedure can be done on an "out-patient" basis either in a clinic or hospital setting. Generally patients are discharged the same day. ...There are many different types of implants and which is best for you should be discussed with the surgeon of choice.
As Dr. Harnick sees it, "today's society has placed so much emphasis on one body and image, that is has made many women more conscious of their own presence." Many women have augmentation strictly for aesthetic purposes, to make themselves look better in clothing, such as swimwear and lingerie. Others opt for the surgery to make their breasts more symmetrical, and finally some women use the procedure for improvement during post mastectomy reconstruction...
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Be Wary of Making Predictions of Liposuction Results
Cosmetic Surgery Times
(excerpt) Plastic and reconstructive surgeon Donn B. Harnick, MD, of New York City, urges doctors who perform liposuction to be cautious about predicting how extensive the procedure will be. Dr. Harnick said that his 15 years of experience in performing the procedure has shown him that sometimes a patient's appearance can be misleading.
To make sure that standard is met, Dr. Harnick said the surgeon has to continuously check the progress. "When doing [liposuction], you need to stop and check it multiple times," he said. "In cosmetic surgery, if you're doing it right, you're checking the contour, then your checking the contour against the lower leg, against the upper leg, against the medial thigh, the buttocks, and the stomach. Every time you do a different area, you check again."
Dr. Harnick said another advantage of the liposuction [in the thigh region] is that it is a one-time solution to a unique problem area. "Everybody has a certain amount of fat cells, and those cells don't change except for getting bigger and smaller. With those fat cells pulled out, theoretically patients can get fat somewhere else, but not in those fat cells. There are other fat cells in those areas, so let's say they gain a lot of weight, they might get fat there again, bit it 's less likely there than somewhere else.
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Other Publications
"Broken Geometrical Pattern Used for Facial Scar Revision"
Laryngoscope
"A New and Exact Method of Nasal-Frontal Osteotomy"
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
"Rhinoplasty of the 50's Redone for the 90's, No Suction, No Cautery, No Packing, No Implants, No Grafts"
Aesthetic Surgery
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