As I sit here awaiting the opening of the Y Gallery event for famed Puerto Rican artist Celestino, I am thinking of how I got to this point. Opening Yager Plastic Surgery in 1997, my goal was to serve the Hispanic community with safe and affordable cosmetic surgery. Sixteen years and two expansions and renovations later, I have created Yager Esthetics/Estetica.

Here in Washington Heights in upper manhattan, I now have a state-of-the-art 6000 sf facility, complete with an accredited Surgery Center, Laser center, the Yspa, and Y Gallery. Y Gallery is a free art space within my office for the benefit of Hispanic artists looking for a venue in NYC to have their art seen. There is no fee to the artist, they can sell art and we do not take one penny. We also print a mailing postcard, provide music, food, and drink as well as an exhibition night and up to 2 months of time to show the work.

The yGallery events have become more popular over the 3 years we have been doing it, and virtually every artist sells something. The stature of the artists has also grown, leaving us to vet the best for inclusion. The Pequenos Picassos program to introduce children of single mothers of low income Hispanic families to art and help provide funding for art programs and scholarships to the community has also been an incredible success.

Why art in a Plastic Surgery center? Plastic Surgery is the perfect blend of art and medicine, and being able to enhance the experience of my patients means the world to me. In The Community, For The Community is not just a slogan for me, it is a way of life.