Dr. Bruce Katz: JUVA Skin & Laser Center’s Pioneering Cosmetic Dermatologist
A leader in advanced laser technology, body contouring and cosmetic dermatology, Dr. Bruce Katz, of JUVA Skin & Laser Center on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, was an original pioneer in the field of cosmetic and laser surgery.
Always interested in medicine, Dr. Katz was on the frontier of skin tightening and fat reduction before anyone even knew what that meant. It was during his rotations in medical school, however, that he realized his passion for cosmetic dermatology—at a time when it was still in the very early stages.
“Not a lot of doctors considered it serious medicine, but I saw it as an area we could improve upon and that had a lot of potential,” said Dr. Katz.
After he finished his residency at Columbia Presbyterian, Dr. Katz became chief resident there, where his superiors tried to persuade him to do bench research. Dr. Katz, who would go on to develop breakthrough methods, was not to be deterred from starting his own cosmetic dermatology clinic, though. Unsurprisingly, he was once again told it wasn’t “serious medicine.”
This dedicated doctor would go on to set up his cosmetic dermatology clinic at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, where he became the only dermatologist with operating privileges, and that was just the beginning.
Upon traveling to France in 1983 to learn from Dr. Illouz, known as the founding father of liposuction and inventor of the Illouz Method, Dr. Katz brought his knowledge back to the states.
This liposuction leader then turned his attention to laser technology.
“Lasers were in their infancy during the early ‘80s and ‘90s, and I decided it was a great new area to get involved with. I underwent extensive training and now lasers are one of the most frequently
used energy-based devices in cosmetics.” His JUVA Skin & Laser Center is one of the largest laser centers in the world.
This forward-thinking doctor, who is currently a clinical professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, continued to believe that the field had a big future. He also became one of the first doctors to perform SmartLipo using lasers. Katz realized that while the procedure could remove fat, it could also produce collagen, and tighten the skin as well.
“The first time around we saw that while we could use liposuction to take fat away, the patient would wind up with loose skin, so we needed to find a way to tighten the skin. I had heard about a laser being used in Brazil and Italy that could remove this excess fat. But what was not understood is that the laser could potentially tighten skin at the same time.”
Once he knew there was a solution to sagging skin, he went to see things for himself.
After doing the FDA trials, he was once again at the forefront of this latest technology. People magazine even featured the doctor for his work in SmartLipo back in 2005, in what would be the longest article ever published about any cosmetic procedure, showing just how much Dr. Katz was helping to expand and popularize the industry.
Even decades later, Dr. Katz is sought after for his techniques, personalized care and latest procedures using SculpSure, Cellulaze, Emsculpt, Sofwave, Ellacor and the Madonna Lift among others. His JUVA Skin & Laser Center is an all-inclusive space for dermatology, cosmetic surgery and even a MediSpa that offers facials, hair removal and makeup services. Doctors come from all over the world to train with him.
With a team dedicated to clinical research, the Center is also focused on toxins that last twice as long, in fillers as well as other lasers and energy-based devices. Having been a researcher for 25 years, Dr. Katz has also been involved in pharma research for acne, psoriasis and eczema.
When it comes to the latest looking-good trends, Dr. Katz says that it’s all about non-invasive procedures to take away fat—and build new muscle. He did research on a technology called EmSculpt that does both of these things to produce a more sculpted area.
“These latest technologies tighten the skin non-invasively with no downtime, are not painful in any way and work to treat cellulite and other areas that are popular in body sculpting. Now, we can remove fat and patients can go right back to work and exercise without any incisions.”
This leader in all things laser and liposuction is also a world-renowned lecturer who continues to speak both nationally and around the globe. He has lectured to crowds in Brazil, Dubai, China, Japan and all over Europe and South America. Dr. Katz also continues to teach other doctors from around the world about his pioneering expertise.
The celebrity doctor, who counts rock stars, actors and politicians among his clients, also prefers giving his patients a more natural look.
“We want people to have realistic expectations of what they can improve. We don’t want them coming out with unnaturally big cheeks or overly large lips. We don’t want the surgery to look obvious. It’s about doing things in a way so that people can’t tell what you’ve done, just that you look like a better version of yourself, maybe ten to fifteen years younger. The goal is not to make someone look like a completely different person.”
For one-stop laser and cosmetic surgery shopping with one of the country’s most skilled surgeons, JUVA Skin & Laser Center has a customized procedure or full package for anyone.
