Ashley Modica, MD - Plastic Surgeon in Port Jefferson, New York

Eva Sheie (00:03):
The purpose of this podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you're making a life-changing decision, and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be. There is no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close. I'm your host, Eva Sheie, and you're listening to Meet the Doctor. Welcome to Meet the Doctor. My guest today is Ashley Modica, she's plastic surgeon in the New York City area. I'm so glad to have you here. 

Dr. Modica (00:41):
I'm so happy to be here. This is my first podcast. It's very exciting. 

Eva Sheie (00:45):
Alright, well we're honored. Tell us a little bit about your practice and where you're working right now. 

Dr. Modica (00:51):
Yeah, of course. So I just started in this practice a little over a year ago. It is actually a bariatric surgery practice by trade. So the three other guys who work here are all bariatric and general surgeons, and then I'm the first plastic surgeon to join the practice. So basically the majority of my practice is doing body contouring after massive weight loss surgery. So I do a lot of tummy tucks, panniculectomies, breast reductions, lifts, augmentations, and then we go to the arms and the legs as well. So that is definitely the majority of my practice. And then I also do some breast reconstruction after cancer as well, which is really wonderful way to round it out. 

Eva Sheie (01:34):
So are all the people that you're seeing today coming from other parts of the practice, from the other three surgeons who have helped them lose weight? 

Dr. Modica (01:43):
Yes, certainly that's a big pipeline of the practice. So all people who have had surgery here and they've lost a hundred or over a hundred pounds sometimes and then they're coming to see me. But since starting here about a year ago, I think there's also been some word of mouth referrals and just referrals to other people, which has been really wonderful. So we're growing outside the practice also. 

Eva Sheie (02:05):
It's sort of commonly discussed that people who've lost a lot of weight are the happiest cosmetic surgery patients out there. Do you think that's true? 

Dr. Modica (02:14):
I think so. I think they're on a big journey. They've undergone bariatric surgery, which is really a tool they have to be able to use it to actually lose that weight and keep it off and not sort of relapse. And then once they've done that, they sort of change their whole lifestyle. They get really into the gym, really into health and wellness and exercise and dieting and when they see me, they're super happy with where they are, but they also say, no one told me I was going to have all this loose skin and I wouldn't be able to get rid of it. And so I'm sort of the cherry on top or kind of the end of the journey for them and then they finally get to put that part of their life behind them and kind of go on living their new life, which is wonderful. 

Eva Sheie (03:00):
Yeah, it certainly is. Are you also seeing people lose weight without surgery? Are there people on ozempic that are showing up now in your practice? 

Dr. Modica (03:10):
Yes, there are. Medical weight loss management is definitely becoming a big thing. A lot of people are on Ozempic or Wegovy and Saxenda, all these other semaglutide type medications and they are being successful in losing that weight. Again, it's a tool because it's sort of making your stomach empty less fast and doing some other endocrine things behind the scene, but you still have to be able to maintain that just the same way with the surgery, but they are getting the weight loss and then they're coming to see me as well for skin removal surgery. 

Eva Sheie (03:44):
What kinds of things do those patients say to you after they've finished everything and you've even finished what you're doing and help them get rid of that loose skin? 

Dr. Modica (03:53):
I mean, they're so thankful, like you said, it really is. The patients are just, they're so excited. They feel like they finally have their life back when they come back and see me and they finally have tan lines. I'm like, nice. They went and they put on that bikini and they went outside and they've never worn that before. And so I think things like that are just life-changing. And even a few months down the road, they'll still send me selfies of them and new and different outfits that they haven't been able to wear in the past. So I think it really is a life-changing thing. I mean, even they're able to do things with their kids that maybe they didn't feel comfortable doing before and just feeling more confident in their skin I think is a huge thing. And getting that self-esteem up and just going out and doing things that they would've never thought they would've done. 

Eva Sheie (04:42):
Like sit in an airplane seat without touching the person next to you. 

Dr. Modica (04:45):
Yeah, absolutely. No, I mean there so many things that you don't even think about. 

Eva Sheie (04:51):
I know I love the tan lines milestone because I think when you're losing weight, they'll always ask you, what's your goal weight? 

Dr. Modica (04:58):
Yep. 

Eva Sheie (05:00):
It's not a number. It's like everyone has their own in their head. I want to weigh what I weighed when I got married or when I finished college or when I was in high school, whatever it is. 

Dr. Modica (05:09):
Yep, yep, for sure. And I mean sometimes having a number is a tough thing and some people say, well, my goal weight was one 40, but I am one 60. I feel really good and this is just where I'm happy to be. And so I think that that's fine too. I think you do have to listen to your body because maybe getting that absolutely perfect B M I isn't perfect for you. Or some people are actually like, oh, I don't want to lose too much. I love my curves. And I'm like, well, we can keep those there and try to accentuate them with surgery as well. But I do hear that often going too low is not good either so. 

Eva Sheie (05:46):
When you were in school or in your training, did you ever imagine that this is where you would end up? 

Dr. Modica (05:52):
That's an interesting question. I love all parts of plastic surgery, but I do really love the reconstructive cyto plastic surgery. And to me, as cosmetic as this is in skin removal surgery, I also really do feel like it is reconstructive. I mean, we are moving a lot of things around in these patients and it's really a journey. A lot of it is staged. It's not like we're going to do this one procedure and then we're going to be done. A lot of these patients continue to come back to me and we have to sort of make a plan at the beginning. And so you're figuring out the best way to do that, putting your roadmap together, this is how we're going to get from what your goals are and to sort of complete that journey. So to me, it's sort of a reconstructive thing with of course a cosmetic benefit as most things in plastic surgery are. But that's why I do love this. And could I see myself have ending up here before? I'm not sure. I didn't know exactly what that would look like, but I did know that I wanted to sort of be on this side of things. 

Eva Sheie (06:50):
Do you find yourself building really strong relationships with these patients because they are with you for 1, 2, 3 years going through this? 

Dr. Modica (06:59):
Absolutely. I think that's part of my practice in general. I mean, when the patients come in, new patients, I book an hour long consultation. I want to be able to start building that relationship, get that trust from patients and hear their story. How did you get here? And from that point, I'm kind of with them every step of the way. I want them to feel comfortable. I want them to know we're in it for the long haul. I'm not going to leave you after the surgery. We're going to keep checking in. And so I do really build relationships with these patients. I know that, okay, they're going on vacation here. I have to remember to ask about that. And in the beginning I sort of kept notes on each of the patients. Now I just sort of remember you get to know their faces and they come and it sparks your memory. 

(07:41)
It's like, oh, how was that vacation you went on? And everyone after surgery, actually all my post-op patients get my cell phone number because I think that being able to contact your surgeon anytime day or night is a really important thing. I mean, of course in the immediate post-op period, this is their first time having this surgery and I've been able to do this many times. So something that might look weird to them, I can either quell their fears and say, this is totally normal, or Hey, why don't you come in? Let's check that out. So I definitely try to build a trust in relationship that way. And it's been great getting to know all these patients. They're extremely inspiring the journey that they've all taken so. 

Eva Sheie (08:24):
I think there's something to be said for also keeping your two feet on the ground and not getting swept up in a hundred percent cosmetic. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but I think we forget that this is where the real impact happens is in situations like these. 

Dr. Modica (08:44):
Yeah, no, of course. I mean I think any patient that's coming in for plastic surgery is super vulnerable. They have something, even if it's sort of more on the cosmetic side of things like maybe a nose they don't like or whatever it might be, they're still coming in for a reason and you're still going to make a huge impact on their life. It may not be what one may think of as having that impact, but I think anyone who's coming in for plastic surgery is looking for something to kind of improve their appearance and that's going to improve their confidence or their self-esteem. But yeah, I mean of course these patients that I have, most of them are happy after surgery and that's because you're making a huge change. Maybe not such a subtle change, but I think everything in plastic surgery comes down to that. If you step back and look at it. And of course if it's not overboard, there are some overboard plastic surgeries probably. 

Eva Sheie (09:35):
Probably. Was there a moment in your life where you knew I'm going to be a plastic surgeon or was there something that happened that caused you to think that? 

Dr. Modica (09:47):
It's interesting. I actually took sort of a long journey here. So I actually started out in general surgery residency. I thought I wanted to be a vascular surgeon. As I was in general surgery, I started to figure out that wasn't exactly where I needed to be. I did like the tediousness of it and doing these vein repairs or bypasses and things like that. I mean I loved that, but the actual nature of the surgery and where it was going with endovascular things, I didn't love that as much. So when I was in general surgery, I got to see plastic surgery and a lot of times as general surgeons, we would pass the patients off to the plastic surgery team and they would sort of finish the job. Maybe we would take out the cancer or help the patient initially in a trauma, but then the plastic surgery team would come in and finish it off and I just thought, oh man, I need to be on that side of things. And so actually after five years of general surgery, I did become board certified in that, but then I switched gears, did a burn reconstruction fellowship at Hopkins in Baltimore, which was awesome. I got to work with the plastic surgery team there. The burn team is under plastic surgery. And then I did three years of plastic surgery training down in Tampa at University of South Florida, which was amazing. I made long lasting relationships there. Shout out to any of my U S F residents that are watching right now. 

Eva Sheie (11:05):
Which city was your favorite? 

Dr. Modica (11:09):
Well, I am a hometown Long Island girl, so I do love being up here, but I loved Tampa. It was really great. 

Eva Sheie (11:15):
It is such a fun town. 

Dr. Modica (11:17):
It is, and it's growing fast. It's a very young population down there. Even I went back this year for the residency graduation and in the one year that I was gone, there's all these new hotels, restaurants, buildings going up and you could always be outside. I love being outside, running, riding bikes, playing tennis, got into all that good stuff down in Tampa and you miss it up here, but you get your thermals and you go outside and you still do those things. 

Eva Sheie (11:46):
Not a great substitute for Florida, but I see what you mean. 

Dr. Modica (11:52):
There's nothing like season changes though, so do love the fall up here. 

Eva Sheie (11:56):
It's a trade off for sure. If you were going to Tampa tomorrow, where's the first place you'd go when you land? 

Dr. Modica (12:03):
I'd probably go right down to Bayshore Boulevard. It is I think the longest continuous sidewalk in the world, something like that. It's right on the water. It's got this beautiful side railing along it, and that's where people are always biking, running. There's little fitness stations set up along it. And then I would have to definitely go get some food somewhere, maybe head over to armature Works. It's like a food hall and they have all sorts of different really great things and you could sit outside and be on the water. It'd probably be the order of events and of course see my friends 

Eva Sheie (12:34):
Of course. So you mentioned the residents. 

Dr. Modica (12:38):
Yes. 

Eva Sheie (12:39):
Were you in a leadership role of some kind while you were there? 

Dr. Modica (12:44):
I mean, I was a chief resident in my last year. There were four of us together that were chiefs and we had an amazing relationship actually down in Florida. It is actually a six year program, but because I had done five years of general surgery and was board certified in that, they were actually adding some additional residents to the program. And so I actually joined at the fourth year level, which one would think is kind of hard to do. There was three people coming up the chain and they were all really good friends, but they were so welcoming and I loved them all and I kind of got to join them and they brought me up to speed on what they had gone through in the first three years. And then there's so much volume at that residency program that I was able to just in three years kind of get on board and learn everything I needed to kind of go on from there. But I mean, residency is a great thing. As hard as people say it is, it absolutely. I mean, you're there all the time. You're a little bit sleep deprived, but you build these relationships that are so long lasting. I mean you'll never forget it. And these people went through it with you and you're down in the trenches together. We call each other like foxhole girls, some of my people out there, and you just make it happen. You wouldn't have it any other way. You learn a ton and you make these great relationships. 

Eva Sheie (13:58):
The fact that you had multiple girls in your foxhole 

Dr. Modica (14:02):
Yes. 

Eva Sheie (14:02):
Is huge progress, and I think that I'm pretty sure on episode number one of Meet the Doctor, I talked to Sheila Bond and she's in New Jersey and she went to school in the sixties. I don't want to make her too old. It was the sixties or the seventies, and she was the only female and she was black female. 

Dr. Modica (14:22):
Oh my gosh, amazing.

Eva Sheie (14:24):
And now, I mean, I think we've made a ton of progress and there's a lot more women in science and in medicine, which is great, especially in plastic surgery. How did you even get on the track? What was it in your childhood that pushed you towards science and pushed you into medicine? 

Dr. Modica (14:42):
Yeah, I think I always loved science and math and also art. Actually, those were probably my favorite things. I ended up not being so good at math. My brother and sister are really good, but I didn't really get that gene, so I was more on the science and art track. But you know what really honestly made me want to go into medicine to begin with. I always played soccer growing up, played soccer in college and a bunch of my friends were tearing their acls and having these issues, and I really loved sports medicine. And so that's where it kind of started. I was like, am I going to be a physical therapist or am I going to be an orthopedic surgeon? Then I think as time went on and I got into that pre-med track in college, I was like, no, I really, I want to learn everything I can and be as involved as I can in the medicine world. 

(15:28)
And initially I was kind of into orthopedics and then as I said, I went towards vascular. I think surgery was always in the cards for me. I love doing things with my hands and making art, I used to make jewelry a lot and stuff like that. So I dunno, it all seemed to come together. And so once I got into medical school and you're doing those rotations, I saw the guys hammering away in the ortho room and I was like, I don't think that's for me. And then it kind of went to the more dainty sort of tedious things and then the path kind of continued from there. 

Eva Sheie (16:02):
Tell me about the team of people that you have working around you. Who could we expect to meet if we came to see you? 

Dr. Modica (16:08):
Yeah, definitely. So we have a great front office staff here. Everyone's really sweet. I did though recently hire I own surgery coordinator. Her name is Jenny. She is just wonderful. She's sort of an extension of myself, and that was really a prerequisite for whoever I was going to hire because I mean, I try to treat my patients with compassion and kindness, and she absolutely does that as well. I mean, when my patients come in, they're like, oh my gosh, can we meet Jenny? We've talked to her a ton of times on the phone and she's so sweet and this is the completion I met. So she is the number one girl you're going to meet here when you come to see me for sure. And then different from the front office may help put you in a room occasionally, but she's going to be the one who's going to be on the phone with you, getting things approved by insurance, making sure that everything is running smoothly. And then we do have a few PAs on staff as well. They help out a lot with the bariatric team. They occasionally help me out in surgeries, but for the most part in the office, you're going to be meeting my surgery coordinator and some of the front office staff. 

Eva Sheie (17:12):
When I Google you, I see that there's three locations of the larger practice. Which one are you in most of the time or all the time? 

Dr. Modica (17:19):
Yep. I am at the Port Jefferson location pretty much all the time. At this point, I probably will branch out to the other locations as well, but I actually live right here in town, so it's very close and be 

Eva Sheie (17:32):
Like you can walk there?

Dr. Modica (17:34):
There's a pretty big hill. But no, I mean it's about a six minute drive, so I guess it'd be a little bit of a walk in the beginning and it is pretty hilly over here, but maybe I could do that on a nice day where it's not too hot. 

Eva Sheie (17:47):
Wait, and didn't you go to school in Stony Brook? 

Dr. Modica (17:50):
Well, I grew up in Smithtown, which is about a 20 minute ride from here. So I grew up there, went to high school, and then I actually went up to Geneseo, which is upstate New York for my undergrad. So that was further up. And then I actually went for medical school. I went down to the Caribbean. I went to American University of the Caribbean, which is in St. Martin, which was a great experience. 

Eva Sheie (18:09):
Terrible weather. I know. 

Dr. Modica (18:11):
Terrible weather. Yeah, I've had my fair share of palm trees, but it's good to be back. 

Eva Sheie (18:16):
You really sacrificed a ton. I can see that. 

Dr. Modica (18:21):
It was hard to stay inside and study when it was so nice out. 

Eva Sheie (18:24):
Oh, I bet. I didn't have that problem. I went to school in Minnesota. It was cold. 

Dr. Modica (18:29):
Oh my goodness. 

Eva Sheie (18:30):
I still didn't study. I had no excuse. 

Dr. Modica (18:32):
Oh no. Yeah, Minnesota. 

Eva Sheie (18:36):
Well, you kind of came all the way back around then if you grew up in Smithtown and now you're in Port Jefferson. 

Dr. Modica (18:41):
I did. I did. I came back around. My family still lives here, which is awesome. I just got married last year and my husband's actually from Long Island as well, so he got to come back too. So we're both happy to be here. 

Eva Sheie (18:56):
And what does he do? 

Dr. Modica (18:58):
He is in financial tech sales. Very cool. He gets to work from home, which is nice. So he's at home. I'm about six minutes away. Sometimes we can have lunch together. 

Eva Sheie (19:07):
That's so nice. 

Dr. Modica (19:08):
Yeah, it is good. But yeah, it's nice to be back around family. My brother and sister both live more towards the city, but my parents are right here in Smithtown still, so they're happy to have all their babies back. 

Eva Sheie (19:23):
Oh, I bet they are. And it's not easy to end up back home when you're a doctor. 

Dr. Modica (19:28):
I know. I know mean. You can end up anywhere. And I was just lucky enough, honestly, that this job sort of presented itself and I felt that it would really be a good fit for me. So I mean, the location being perfect was really a bonus to all of that. 

Eva Sheie (19:45):
Yeah, that's great. Well, it's really exciting to hear about where you landed after so much, so much hard work, and I personally find it very inspiring. Thank you for sharing it all with us. Is there anything you want patients to know about you before they come see you? 

Dr. Modica (20:04):
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think my number one thing is that I want patients to feel comfortable. They're coming to me in a vulnerable place usually, and I just want you to feel comfortable. I want you to tell me exactly what you're feeling, exactly what your goals are. I'm going to spend the time with you, and I want you to give me as much as you can as well, and I'm going to be there with you every step of the way. It's not just the pre-op consultation, it's not just being in the operating room. I'm there when you go to sleep. I'm there when you wake up. I never leave the operating room. I don't feel like it's good form, so I'm there the whole time. And then I take care of you after surgery too, for as long as you need me to and beyond. And I always tell my patients, I'm only a phone call away. I will make sure that I am taking care of you, making you feel comfortable answering all your questions and being extremely thorough. 

Eva Sheie (20:55):
Can we find you on Instagram somewhere? 

Dr. Modica (20:57):
Yes, absolutely you can. I am Dr. Ashley Modica on Instagram, and yes, you can definitely find me there. I try to do a lot of educational videos and some fun videos too. Of course. I think you have to see a little bit of the personal side, which is always nice, but we try to keep it pretty educational on there and anyone who has any questions can always direct message me and I'd be happy to do a post on it as well, just to further the knowledge in the plastic surgery world. 

Eva Sheie (21:26):
You answer all your DMs yourself. 

Dr. Modica (21:28):
I do. I do. Yes. 

Eva Sheie (21:31):
That's great. I'll make sure I put the link to your Instagram in the show notes of this episode too. 

Dr. Modica (21:35):
Yeah, absolutely. Please do. 

Eva Sheie (21:37):
Thank you so much for joining us today, Dr. Modica. 

Dr. Modica (21:40):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It's been such a pleasure. 

Eva Sheie (21:47):
If you are considering making an appointment or are on your way to meet this doctor, be sure to let them know you heard them on the Meet the Doctor podcast. Check the show notes for links including the doctor's website and Instagram to learn more. Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who'd like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book your free recording session at Meet the Doctor podcast.com. Meet the Doctor is Made with Love in Austin, Texas and is a production of The Axis, t h e a x i s.io.