Michael Salzhauer (born April 16, 1972) is an American celebrity doctor who practices plastic surgery. He is active on social media as Dr. Miami, has been on reality TV, has recorded a song, and written a children's book. He runs a plastic surgery practice in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida.
Michael Salzhauer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 1972 (age 52) New York City, U.S. |
| Other names | Dr. Miami |
| Alma mater | Rockland Community College Brooklyn College Washington University School of Medicine |
| Occupation | Plastic Surgeon |
| Spouse |
Eva Zafira Zion (m. 1995) |
Early life and education
editAt the outbreak of World War I, Salzhauer's grandfather's family fled Ukraine and pogroms there; his great-grandfather was clubbed to death by a Cossack as the family left. The rest of the family moved first to Vienna and then Berlin. When the Nazis came to power, his grandfather moved to Mandatory Palestine, and Salzhauer's father was born in Tel Aviv. His father moved to New York City in 1958, where Salzhauer was born in 1972 and grew up.[2]
While the rest of his family had attended Jewish schools, Salzhauer wanted to go to public high school to compete on the swim team. He was teased over the shape of his nose, and he left and went to the Frisch School, a Jewish high school.[3] He then attended Rockland Community College from 1989 to 1990 before transferring into Brooklyn College's BA/MD program. There, he met his wife, Eva. After two years he transferred to Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. After graduating he did his residency at first at Mount Sinai in Miami in general surgery, then at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami for plastic surgery, then did further training in plastic surgery at Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Florida. The other residents performed a rhinoplasty on Salzhauer as a gift for the completion of his residency. They also gave him a chin implant and liposuction.[2][4]
Career
editIn 2003, Salzhauer opened his own practice in Bal Harbour, Florida, and six years later moved to a new five-story building there.[5] He told a reporter for Miami New Times in 2012, that "Marketing makes the world go 'round" and that he had courted the publicity of controversy.[2]
Salzhauer authored a children's book in 2008 titled My Beautiful mother, which focused on a young girl whose mother undergoes a tummy tuck, a nose job, and breast augmentation.[6] It was illustrated by Victor Guiza.[7] Salzhauer and the book were criticized for promoting elective cosmetic surgery and for a line that suggests that mother's new nose will "be prettier."[7][8][9] Child psychologist Elizabeth Berger has noted that while an explanatory book will be helpful for children, it "can be difficult for small kids to understand".[10] Salzhauer defended the book, saying that he wrote it to help parents explain such surgeries to their children.[11][12]
| Author | Michael Salzhauer |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Victor Guiza |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Plastic surgery |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Big Tent Books |
Publication date | 2008 |
| Publication place | United States |
| ISBN | 1-60131-032-3 |
| OCLC | 226356256 |
In 2009, Salzhauer published a virtual plastic surgery iPhone application that allowed users to tweak photographs of themselves to simulate operations. The New York Times commented that the results were "worthy of a fun-house mirror".[13]
In 2012, he caused controversy within the Orthodox Jewish community after producing a video titled "Jewcan Sam" with the Jewish punk band The Groggers.[14][15][16] The video features a young Jewish man who undergoes rhinoplasty at the request of his girlfriend. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons initiated an ethics investigation as a result,[14] and both Salzhauer and the band were accused of playing into Jewish stereotypes.[17]
Salzhauer is also active on social media posting under his nickname "Dr. Miami." Apart from using Instagram and Twitter, the surgeon is also active on Snapchat's story mode, where he posts videos of cosmetic surgeries.[18] As of 2016, he had around a million followers on Snapchat.[19] Salzhauer is also active on TikTok, where he has 2.7 million followers as of 2023.[20]
In January 2016, Salzhauer was nominated for the eighth annual Shorty Award in the Snapchatter of the year category.[21][22] He came in second place, losing to DJ Khaled.[23]
In July 2016, WE tv announced a reality television series, Dr. Miami, starring Salzhauer.[24] The series premiered on March 31, 2017, and ran for 6 episodes on WE tv.[25]
In 2017, Salzhauer and recording artist Adam Barta released a song called "Flawless".[26][27] The song reached #24 on the Billboard dance/electronic digital chart,[28] #9 on iTunes dance singles chart,[29] and #32 on the Billboard hot club dance chart.[30]
In 2020, Salzhauer's documentary, They Call Me Dr. Miami, directed by Jean-Simon Chartier, was released on Discovery+.[31]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "WEDDINGS; Eva Z. Zion, Michael A. Salzhauer". The New York Times. July 9, 1995. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
- ^ a b c Miller, Michael E. (June 21, 2012). "Michael Salzhauer, Miami's Wackiest Plastic Surgeon, Risks Everything for Internet Fame". Miami New Times.
- ^ Staff. "Behind the Jewcan Sam controversy: Controversial Plastic Surgeon Offers Free Surgery To Jewish Singles", South Florida Jewish Home, March 29, 2012. Accessed May 12, 2021. "I went to A.S.H.A.R. in Monsey, Moriah in Englewood, NJ; spent freshman year of high school in Public School (Tappan Zee High School), where incidentally I was teased pretty regularly for my 'big Jewish Schnoz'; then went to the Frisch Yeshiva High School in Paramus, New Jersey."
- ^ "Dr. Michael Salzhauer". U.S. News & World Report – Health. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
- ^ Garcia-Roberts, Gus (February 5, 2009). "Let's Get Jiggly". Miami New Times.
- ^ Springen, Karen (April 14, 2008). "Kids' Book on Plastic Surgery". Newsweek.
- ^ a b Abate, Michelle Ann (2010). ""Plastic Makes Perfect": My Beautiful Mommy, Cosmetic Surgery, and the Medicalization of Motherhood". Women's Studies. 39 (7): 715–746. doi:10.1080/00497878.2010.505152. S2CID 144928492.
- ^ Reist, Melinda Tankard (July–August 2008). "The pornification of girlhood". Quadrant. 52 (7–8): 13.
- ^ Alter, Cathy (March 26, 2011). "'My Beautiful Mommy': How a Picture Book Explains Liposuction to Kids". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
- ^ Springen, Karen (April 14, 2008). "Mommy 2.0". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
- ^ Bierly, Mandi (April 18, 2008). "My beautiful, scarring-me-forever mommy?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- ^ "Mom's having tummy tuck? What to tell the kids". Reuters. April 17, 2008.
- ^ "The Doctor Can See You Now". The New York Times. January 20, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
- ^ a b McCorquodale, Amanda (March 22, 2012). "Michael Salzhauer Offers Free Plastic Surgery To Single Orthodox Jews". Huffingtonpost. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
- ^ Ravitz, Jessica (April 2, 2012). "Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me … a nose job appointment?". CNN. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
- ^ Miller, Michael (June 21, 2012). "Michael Salzhauer, Miami's Wackiest Plastic Surgeon, Risks Everything for Internet Fame". Miami New Times. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
- ^ "Jewish Plastic Surgeon In Trouble Over 'Jewcan Sam' Video". The Huffington Post. March 30, 2012.
- ^ "Meet Dr. Miami, the Plastic Surgeon Who SnapChats His Operations in Real Time". Vice.com. April 24, 2015.
- ^ Carroll, Marisa (May 12, 2016). "Lights! Camera! Suction! How A Plastic Surgeon Became A Snapchat Sensation". BuzzFeed.
- ^ "Dr. Miami & The Twilight Of The BBL". Bustle. October 4, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ "Dr. Miami Michael Salzhauer Up For Snapchatter Of The Year Award". Inquisitr. February 12, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
- ^ "Real Dr. Miami Finalist In Snapchatter Of The Year". Shortyawards.com. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
- ^ "Snapchat's 'Dr. Miami' Records Surgeries Live in Operating Room". ABC News. April 29, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (July 11, 2016). "We TV Orders 'Dr. Miami' Plastic Surgery Reality Show". Variety. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- ^ "Dr. Miami". WE tv. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- ^ "The Making of Flawless". WE tv. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
- ^ "WeTV's Dr. Miami Wants to Give Donald Trump a 'Butt Lift' And 'Make Lena Dunham Look Like Jemima Kirke'". toofab. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
- ^ "EDM Digital Songs: Top Dance Music Chart". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
- ^ "Dr. Miami Net Worth 2023: How Much Does Dr. Miami Make?". January 15, 2017.
- ^ "Billboard Dance Chart Upstarts: San Holo, Justin Caruso and Dr. Miami & Adam Barta". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- ^ White, Peter (January 21, 2021). "Discovery+ Picks Up Plastic Surgery Doc They Call Me Dr. Miami". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 30, 2022.