When Hurricane Sandy hit New York City in 2012, leaving the subways temporarily shut down and many buildings without electricity, Shafer Plastic Surgery remained open. Owner and board-certified plastic surgeon David Shafer remembers one patient who walked down the 30 flights of stairs in her building and then 40 blocks to his practice to get her Botox injections.
Eight years later, COVID-19 has Shafer recalling how his practice copes through times of city-wide crisis as many New York City hospitals have declared that elective surgeries scheduled to take place in hospital settings be canceled or postponed. The measure is designed to free up beds and resources for a likely influx of patients in the coming weeks.
