The 'Menopause Face' Is Real, Says Rockville Centre Surgeon in New Book

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY — Dr. Roger Horioglu has heard the same concern, in one form or another, from thousands of patients over his three-decade career:

"Doctor, I don't feel old, but when I look in the mirror, I feel like a tired stranger is looking back at me."

That disconnect — between how a woman feels and what she sees in the mirror — is the starting point of his new book, The Menopause Face, co-written with obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Meric Cagri Agir.

The book uses the hormonal changes of menopause as a lens for a much broader subject: how the face actually ages, what happens beneath the skin over time, and how modern facial plastic surgery can restore a more youthful balance without erasing a person's identity.

"The face doesn't just get a few extra wrinkles — the underlying architecture shifts," said Dr. Horioglu, a dual board-certified facial plastic surgeon and otolaryngologist at South Shore Clinic in Rockville Centre. "Bone resorbs around the eyes and jaw, deep fat pads that give the face its youthful volume start to atrophy, and collagen production slows. Once you understand why that's happening, the decisions about what to do about it — surgical or not — become much clearer."

Rather than presenting facial rejuvenation as a simple before-and-after transformation, The Menopause Face walks readers through the anatomy behind concerns such as heavy eyelids, a softening jawline, hollowed temples, and what is commonly called a "turkey neck."

The authors also explain the reasoning facial plastic surgeons use when choosing among different approaches, including fat repositioning, tightening deeper facial layers rather than simply pulling the skin, and repairing the platysma muscle in the neck.

A recurring theme throughout the book is naturalness.

The authors argue that successful facial rejuvenation should not make someone look like a different person. Instead, the goal is to restore balance and address structural changes in a way that still looks recognizably like the patient.

Dr. Agir, an OB-GYN who has spent his career caring for women through pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause, approaches the subject from another perspective. In the book, menopause is presented not as a decline, but as a major biological transition — and the desire to close the gap between how a woman feels and how she looks is framed as a personal choice rather than vanity.

Dr. Horioglu is a Yale-trained surgeon with more than 30 years of experience and affiliations with Mount Sinai South Nassau and Mercy Hospital. He sees patients from across Long Island and beyond at South Shore Clinic and can consult with them directly in English, Spanish, and Turkish.

"My goal with this book, and with every consultation, is the same," Dr. Horioglu said. "Help people understand what's actually happening to their face so they can make an informed decision — whether that decision is surgery, something non-surgical, or nothing at all."

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The Menopause Face is available now on Amazon. a.co/d/0cVQmEtx

South Shore Clinic is located at 176 N Village Ave #1A, Rockville Centre, NY.
For more information, call (516) 678-0303 or visit southshoreclinic.com/the-menopause-face-book/