Michael Salzhauer

Education

Salzhauer attended a public high school his freshman year. After being teased about his nose, he moved to Frisch School. After high school, he began his college education by attending Rockland Community College from 1989 to 1990. He attended Brooklyn College for 2 years, where he met his wife, Eva, and subsequently graduated from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.

Career

Salzhauer authored a children's book in 2008, titled My Beautiful Mommy which focused on a young girl whose mother was undergoing abdominoplasty and rhinoplasty. The book caused vigorous online debates due to it appearing to glamorize plastic surgery and that it could "undermine the self-esteem" of children. Salzhauer clarified that the intention of the book was only to aid parents who were undergoing plastic surgery and not to "corrupt society".

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".

In 2012 he caused controversy within the Orthodox Jewish community after producing a video titled "Jewcan Sam" with the Jewish punk band The Groggers. 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, and both Salzhauer and the band were accused of playing into Jewish stereotypes.

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. He currently receives around 1.2 million SnapChat views daily.

In January 2016, Salzhauer nominated for the eighth annual Shorty Award in the Snapchatter of the year category. He came in second place, losing to DJ Khaled.

In July 2016, WE tv announced a reality television series, Dr. Miami, starring Salzhauer. The series premiered on March 31, 2017 and ran for 6 episodes on WE tv.

Music career

In 2017, Salzhauer launched a music career with recording artist Adam Barta, after collaborating with him on his TV show. The duo released a song called "Flawless", which peaked at #24 on the Billboard dance singles chart and #32 on the Billboard hot club dance chart. It also topped the iTunes dance singles chart at #9 in its first week of release.

Discography

My Beautiful Mommy

My Beautiful Mommy is a children's book written by plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Salzhauer. It is the first book ever written for children about plastic surgery and was illustrated by Victor Guiza. According to WorldCat, the book is held in seven libraries as of May, 2015.

The book focuses on a young girl as her mother undergoes abdominoplasty and rhinoplasty. The book is intended to help parents who have chosen to have plastic surgery explain their children the process of their surgery.

Controversy

My Beautiful Mommy has been criticized for depicting cosmetic surgery and for a line that suggests that mommy's new nose will "be prettier." 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".

Salzhauer has responded to the criticisms by saying, "The book just goes toward trying to make the process as understandable as possible for the kids, so they can feel included and don't have to make things up in their minds on what's going on" and "This book was written with the best of intentions. It wasn’t trying to corrupt society. It is not glamorizing plastic surgery. It is not intended to be a best seller that children read with their parents before they go to sleep."