Professor Assaf Zeltzer is the Director of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Rambam Health Care Campus. A graduate of the University of Antwerp (Belgium, 2003), he also graduated from University of Ghent (Belgium) in plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery with high honors (2011).
Most of Dr. Zeltzer’s work is in the field of complex breast surgeries and reconstructions; treatments and surgeries for lymphedema after cancer treatments; and trauma, congenital lymphedema, and functional nose surgeries.
He leads his department in the provision of plastic surgery in a number of areas, including: breast surgery (breast reduction, malformation and asymmetry corrections, breast reconstruction via implants and microsurgical surgeries), body contouring surgery (tummy tuck, arm and thigh lifts, post-bariatric surgeries), skin cancer surgery (melanoma, and non-melanoma skin cancers), skin lesions, birth defects (cleft lip and palate, ears, etc.), facial surgery (ears, eyelids, asymmetry corrections and malformations), functional nose surgery, limb reconstructions after trauma, reconstructions after oncological surgeries, etc.
Under his leadership, a team of 8 senior physicians, 8 residents in training, and nurses care for every aspect of plastic and reconstructive surgery ranging from esthetics to reconstructive procedures for deformities, birth defects, functional problems, traumatic injuries, and more.
Dr. Zeltzer also manages the medical and aesthetic surgery services at Rambam, which offers all available treatments and surgeries in the field.
Dr. Zeltzer is an international expert in the field of micro surgical breast reconstruction and lymphedema surgery. He is one of the founders of the Belgian Association for Lymphedema and was chairman of the association from 2019–2021. He was the co-Founder of the European Center for Lymphedema Surgery in Brussels and director of their center until 2021. He is also an active member of the World Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery (WSRM), the International Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), the Belgian Association of Lymphedema (BeSL), the European Association of Lymphedema (ESL), and the Royal Belgian Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (RBSPRS).
His research interests include tissue regeneration and aging, lymphedema treatments, emerging technologies for breast reconstructions, and tissue engineering.