Industry News

Advanced Reconstructive Surgery Alliance Paves the Way for Practices’ Expansion

Industry News

The Advanced Reconstructive Surgery Alliance (ARSA), based in Tinton Falls, NJ, is paving the way for practices across the nation and around the world. ARSA partners with leading reconstructive and plastic surgeons who seek a strategic partner with the capital resources and expertise to invest in best-in-class practice infrastructure and facilitate future growth. As part of this alliance, ARSA practice members deliver excellent patient care and enhance clinical quality through collaboration with their new colleagues and ARSA’s management resources. ARSA offers member practices resources to scale their businesses, provide enhanced clinical interaction, and offers an overall competitive advantage. ARSA’s mission is to grow the value of reconstructive and plastic surgery practices by empowering physicians to focus their skill and talent on improving the lives of patients.  


Within ARSA, there is a growing number of unique practices.  Highlighted here are The Plastic Surgery Center and its specialty division The Institute for Advanced Reconstruction (IFAR) and the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery (CRBS).


The ‘go to’ center for revolutionary nerve procedures, as well as world-class reconstructive treatments

The Plastic Surgery Center, based in Shrewsbury NJ, is the largest private practice Plastic Surgery Practice in the country. The IFAR division of the practice was created to promote their specialty programs and advanced reconstructive treatments in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.


This group offers solutions for complex nerve reconstruction and esoteric conditions, ranging from treatment for paralysis and neuropathy, to surgical solutions for brachial plexus injuries and lymphedema. Patients come from across the country and around the world to see the physicians at IFAR, sometimes after being told nothing can be done by a dozen or more doctors in their state or region.  Plastic reconstructive surgery can restore a healthy, normal appearance to those who have suffered some type of trauma.  These surgeons have mastered a wide range of techniques to help patients return to a normal life, while providing compassionate care throughout the patient journey, from patient inception to their post operative visits and annual appointments.


Some of the treatments IFAR surgeons offer, such as phrenic nerve surgery to reverse diaphragm paralysis, are only offered at as few as two treatment centers in the world. Dr. Matthew Kaufman has performed over 600 of these surgeries to date and has treated patients from every continent. Dr. Kaufman pioneered this surgical technique, which involves advanced nerve surgery to reconstruct the nerve and restore function to the diaphragm. The phrenic nerve controls the diaphragm, which is the primary muscle involved in breathing. Many people with diaphragm paralysis are left with no solution, and it is IFAR’s mission to educate more patients and physicians about this surgical treatment option.


Another area of focus is brachial plexus injuries. Dr. Andrew Elkwood , CEO of ARSA and practicing reconstructive surgeon, is a renowned expert in the treatment for brachial plexus injury. In his over 25 years of medical practice, he has successfully treated countless patients with brachial plexus injuries, including some of the most complex cases. At IFAR, surgeons such as Dr. Elkwood perform nerve transplant surgery to help patients who have suffered injuries to the brachial plexus, or other types of paralysis, and have lost function or sensation in their arm or shoulder. In an article that IFAR surgeons published in the Journal of Brachial Plexus and Peripheral Nerve Injury, which highlights the outcomes of brachial plexus reconstruction using a muscle transfer procedure, 33% of patients were able to decrease their pain medication use, while 50% of patients were able to discontinue use of all pain medication following surgery.


IFAR’s team of surgeons are also able to treat a condition called Pudendal Neuralgia (PN). PN is caused by the entrapment, compression, or dysfunction of the pudendal nerve, which is in the pelvic region. This uncommon condition is the source of chronic pelvic pain. Also known as cyclist’s syndrome, it affects many people who are chronic cyclists or who frequent spin classes. Pudendal nerve decompression surgery is an option that is considered after more conservative therapies fail. Surgery is generally considered successful if there is at least a fifty percent reduction in pain and symptoms. During surgery, surgeons enter the pelvis through the skin in the area of the buttocks to decompress the pudendal and other associated nerve structures in an effort to alleviate the symptoms. This technique is often highly effective, with many patients either symptom-free or with a significant relief of symptoms.


Advanced Methods of Breast Reconstruction at state-of-the-art Centers in New Orleans and Columbus, Ohio

The Center for Restorative Breast Surgery (CRBS), located in New Orleans, is another member practice of ARSA that is a nation-wide leader in breast reconstruction. St. Charles Surgical Hospital, affiliated and adjacent to The Center for Restorative Breast Surgery,  is the only hospital in the world dedicated to breast reconstruction for women facing breast cancer. It was established to serve as a dedicated center of excellence for women seeking the most advanced methods of breast reconstruction. Their team of surgeons are pioneers in the art of rebuilding breasts lost to cancer, preventive mastectomy, developmental defects, and deformities associated with previous surgery. Their sophisticated microsurgical techniques allow for recreation of the breast with natural tissue while preserving strength and restoring beauty. The team at CRBS has performed over 10,000 breast reconstruction procedures for women facing breast cancer, seeking BRCA risk reduction, or searching for solutions to existing breast deformities. The Center is tailored and staffed to cater to the needs of clientele who travel from all over the world for their services.


ARSA also recently welcomed a new member practice, Ohio-based Midwest Breast & Aesthetic Surgery, (MBAS). This practice offers both cosmetic and reconstructive breast procedures, offering patients access to the most advanced techniques and procedures to meet their needs.


Allowing Surgeons to “Do Their Best Work”

ARSA prides itself on taking the guess work out of marketing initiatives and back-end resources for busy healthcare practices and individual practitioners. This network has the common goal of improving life through surgery and science. “What makes ARSA unique is its focus on reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. We designed this network with the common goal of bringing together key opinion leaders in the plastic surgery field to provide the best possible care to patients,” explained Dr. Andrew Elkwood, “ARSA has created a business model that enables reconstructive and cosmetic surgeons to have an ownership interest and the ability to participate in ARSA’s future. Practices within the network will continue to drive all clinical decisions and remain highly involved in strategic operations via the Medical Leadership Board.”


About Advanced Reconstructive Surgery Alliance

ARSA is an alliance of likeminded practitioners with the highest clinical standards and shared resources that offer economies of scale. Our reconstructive and cosmetic surgeons benefit from an adaptive business environment with infrastructure, marketing, and the level of excellence which enables them to concentrate on the business of providing extraordinary clinical services. They are empowered to focus unencumbered – on doing their best work for what matters most...the patient.


For additional information on ARSA please visit ARSAhealth.com.


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