We were lucky to catch up with Asaf Yalif recently and have shared our conversation below.

Asaf, appreciate you joining us today. Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?

I have been blessed with many wonderful patients whom I’ve had the pleasure of helping
through their journeys with cancer. From the very start of my career, helping those traveling
through one of life’s darkest chapters was not just a pastime, but a passion. One of plastic
surgery’s greatest assets is its’ ability to restore form when it is lost. In our fight to remove
cancers, I am left with task of recreating the form that is lost.
Patients are very varied in their responses to cancer, and in their desire to undergo additional
procedures to recreate the form that may help them feel more whole again. Never the less our
patients have come to trust my judgement and partner with me to walk that part of their
journey together.
I can remember a nurse, early in my career, who was diagnosed with breast cancer and
required a mastectomy. After much discussion with her and her husband she decided to
remove both breasts and do a reconstruction. We had many visits and many phone calls, but
ultimately she made the best decision for her. After the first stage she went through chemo and
additional treatment, visiting with us no less than weekly, just to make sure she was doing ok,
making sure her spirits were still high, visiting for a chat or a hug. Once completed we waited
for the post therapy changes to ebb, for the tissue to soften. Finally, we were able to move on
to her second stage and complete her reconstruction.
Shortly thereafter she resumed work, went back to her life and her postop visits started to
space out from weekly to monthly, then finally to yearly. And while we don’t see each other in
person anymore, she still sends a yearly card thanking me for helping her. This year I have 12
cards.

Asaf, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Dr. Asaf Yalif established a boutique plastic surgery practice in 2010 to provide patients with an unsurpassed level of personal care in an upscale yet comfortable environment. A triple board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Yalif is considered by many to be the area’s best plastic surgeon. In Alpharetta, Roswell, and Woodstock, GA, Dr. Yalif and his team offer a range of aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery and nonsurgical procedures.

EDUCATION & ADVANCED TRAINING

Dr. Yalif excelled in academics and his accomplishments continued to be recognized during his surgical training. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Rutgers University and obtained his medical degree at Rutgers’ Robert Wood Johnson Medical School as part of the university’s prestigious combined degree program, one of the few such programs in the country. Dr. Yalif then completed a 5-year general surgery residency at Beth Israel Medical Center, where he served as chief resident and earned several awards for academic achievement and clinical excellence.

After completing two years of fellowship training in plastic and reconstructive surgery, where he also served as chief resident at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, Dr. Yalif completed a highly specialized fellowship in hand and upper extremity surgery at State University of New York in Buffalo. He again served as chief resident at SUNY. Throughout his training, his research has been published in several national, peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Asaf Yalif established a boutique plastic surgery practice in 2010 to provide patients with an unsurpassed level of personal care in an upscale yet comfortable environment.

We are honored to help patients achieve their aesthetic or reconstructive goals in an environment where they don’t feel judged. Where they feel they are a partner in their care. Whether helping someone through cancer reconstruction or addressing a cosmetic concern, the ability to directly help someone through their journey is a privilege and their satisfaction our ultimate goal.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Questions avail changed- this was a heartfelt story:

I have been blessed with many wonderful patients whom I’ve had the pleasure of helping
through their journeys with cancer. From the very start of my career, helping those traveling
through one of life’s darkest chapters was not just a pastime, but a passion. One of plastic
surgery’s greatest assets is its’ ability to restore form when it is lost. In our fight to remove
cancers, I am left with task of recreating the form that is lost.
Patients are very varied in their responses to cancer, and in their desire to undergo additional
procedures to recreate the form that will help them feel more whole again. Never the less our
patients have come to trust my judgement and partner with me to walk that part of their
journey together.
I can remember a nurse, early in my career, who was diagnosed with breast cancer and
required a mastectomy. After much discussion with her and her husband she decided to
remove both breasts and do a reconstruction. We had many visits and many phone calls, but
ultimately she made the best decision for her. After the first stage she went through chemo and
additional treatment, visiting with us no less than weekly, just to make sure she was doing ok,
making sure her spirits were still high, visiting for a chat or a hug. Once completed we waited
for the post therapy changes to ebb, for the tissue to soften. Finally, we were able to move on
to her second stage and complete her reconstruction.
Shortly thereafter she resumed work, went back to her life and her postop visits started to
space out from weekly to monthly, then finally to yearly. And while we don’t see each other in
person anymore, she still sends a yearly card thanking me for helping her. This year I have 12
cards.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Medicine is a tough choice! It requires a tremendous investment of time, energy, resources, life! You basically give up your entire 20’s in hopes that your late 30’s will be good from a business standpoint. That’s a hefty risk!
From a “heart” standpoint it always makes sense. You either have the calling to do more/be more for people or you don’t. I have always wanted to help others, to do more. And I have had the ability to understand medicine and surgery. In what other capacity can I help so many people?
But from the business standpoint it makes no sense. I am still paying off medical school loans and I graduated in 2000! And reimbursement continues to decline. And insurance continues to make more money while the doctor makes less. And liability reform isn’t happening. It just isn’t fair.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yplasticsurgery.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drasafyalif/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yplasticsurgery/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yplasticsurgery/videos

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