"My son had a horrific motorcycle accident on 9/9/15 and was brought to the Jersey Shore Trauma Center. I met Dr. Elkwood 9/10/15 in the ICU. He told me the depth of my son’s injury, and when I broke down; he hugged me and said he will do everything he can. My son had completely avulsed his Brachial Plexus. My son was so damaged orthopedically; his clavicle and scapula were basically shattered, and we were referred to an orthopedist in Penn Presbyterian and another neurosurgeon. I stayed in touch with Dr. Elkwood while under the other doctor’s care. In January of 2016 I contacted Dr. Elkwood and told him I was very concerned about his recent orthopedic surgery. Dr. Elkwood said to come to his office and he would be happy to see Michael. We made an appointment; both Dr. Elkwood and Dr. Kaufman examined Michael and for the first time I heard that my son’s diaphragm was paralyzed. They spent almost 2 hours with us. Dr. Elkwood and Dr. Kaufman made a surgical plan and took over his care immediately. It was an incredible relief.  Within 24 hours, Michael had surgery with Dr. Elkwood and 7 days later he had additional surgery. In March of 2016 Dr. Elkwood and Dr. Kaufman performed 9-hour surgery on Michael. Dr. Kaufman implanted a diaphragmatic pacemaker and within 5 months it worked and Michael’s diaphragm was working again! Dr. Elkwood performed nerve transfer, amongst many other surgical procedures. Michael is able to move his arm and bend his elbow and is currently enrolled in college. I am so beyond lucky that we have Dr. Elkwood; he is one of a kind! I am also very grateful to Dr. Matthew Kaufman, Lindsey Cuffs, Tara, Carla and the entire staff of The Plastic Surgery Center!"

“Dr. Kaufman performed surgery on Mark last Friday at the Jersey Shore Medical Center in New Jersey, to repair his Phrenic nerve. Immediately following the surgery, Mark’s breathing improved dramatically! When Mark found out that his phrenic nerve was damaged and his right diaphragm was paralyzed, every doctor told us he will just have to learn to live with it, and that there is nothing that can be done. We found Dr. Kaufman by doing our own research on the internet and discovered this surgery is only done in two places in the world, Jersey Shore Medical Center of New Jersey, and UCLA plastic and reconstructive surgery in California, both places by Dr. Kaufman. People from all over the world come to see Dr. Kaufman. He is not only an amazing doctor, he is an amazing man, humble, and he TRULY CARES about his patients, that was clear to see. We will forever be grateful for our paths leading to this amazing doctor, amazing man. God Bless him.”

I had a totally paralyzed right diaphragm and had only about 40% normal breathing capacity overall. I had to be standing or sitting upright or on my bipap machine in order to breathe without feeling like I was suffocating. I couldn’t walk 100 feet without feeling like I was suffocating. I just had the Phrenic Nerve surgery done by Dr Kaufman and Dr Elkwood on 6/2/2017. These 2 experts gave me my lung back and I can live now without feeling like I am suffocating all the time. They took a nerve from my leg and fixed my Phrenic Nerve(next to my neck) with it and put a cadaver nerve in my leg. I know I could walk fast for a few miles if I wasn’t recuperating from my surgery and I’m sure I’ll be jogging again someday from the way I feel today. I actually walked at least a mile 3 days after my surgery getting to and from the airplanes. I’m sure I should have used a wheelchair but I just felt good to walk without suffocating. They also restored lost muscle function in my right arm which had weak spots. Everything went perfect. There are no words even close to saying how much admiration I have for Dr Kaufman and Dr Elkwood. They changed my life and gave me a miracle. I’m 61 years old but you two Doctors are my heroes for the rest of my life. I highly recommend these two miracle workers if you need a miracle like I did. Thank you, thank you, thank you.