Best Plastic Surgeons in Edinburgh: A Patient-Focused Guide

Choosing a plastic surgeon isn’t something you rush, especially in a city like Edinburgh where several reputable specialists work quietly and consistently without the online noise you might expect. Most people spend days comparing photos, checking qualifications and reading reviews, yet still end up unsure about who they can trust with their face or body. That hesitation is normal. Even UK research shows that outcomes and satisfaction are strongly tied to the surgeon’s experience and communication style, not just the procedure itself, and about 80–90% of long-term satisfaction comes down to choosing the right specialist rather than the clinic alone. (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2015)

At Experts Medical, we’ve seen this play out in real life. Over the past 9 years, more than 12,000 patients have gone through treatments and surgeries with our coordinators, and that experience helped us understand exactly which surgeons in Edinburgh consistently deliver safe, balanced and predictable results. We selected the doctors in this guide based on real patient journeys, not marketing or paid listings.

1. Mr Daniel Widdowson

Mr Daniel Widdowson is a consultant plastic surgeon based in Edinburgh, working at Nuffield Health Edinburgh Hospital. His practice covers reconstructive and aesthetic procedures, with particular experience in burns and breast reconstruction. His background includes extensive NHS work, which means he often deals with complex cases as part of multidisciplinary teams.

• Specialization: Breast reconstruction
• Accreditation: GMC Specialist Register (GMC 4641599)
• Years of experience: Over 20 years in practice

2. Mr William Anderson

Mr William Anderson is a plastic surgeon practicing in Edinburgh, with a focus on breast and body procedures. His work ranges from breast asymmetry correction to liposculpture, and he sees patients privately at Nuffield Health Edinburgh Hospital. His clinical approach is structured and detail-oriented, shaped by many years of surgical practice in both reconstructive and cosmetic settings.

• Specialization: Breast fat transfer, breast reduction, breast asymmetry, tuberous breast, liposculpture
• Accreditation: GMC Specialist Register (GMC 3679250)
• Years of experience: Approximately 25 years

3. Ms Ewa Majdak-Paredes

Ms Ewa Majdak-Paredes is a consultant plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeon based in Edinburgh. She has worked in the field for more than 15 years and has performed thousands of procedures, covering breast, face and body surgery. Her training includes European board certification, and she continues to work across both private practice and multidisciplinary NHS teams.

• Specialization: Breast surgery, facial procedures, body contouring
• Number of procedures performed: Over 8,000
• Accreditation: EBOPRAS, FRCS (Plast), GMC Specialist Register
• Years of experience: Over 15 years

4. Mr Awf Quaba

Mr Awf Quaba is a senior plastic surgeon in Edinburgh with a long career across both NHS and private practice. His work today focuses mainly on facial cosmetic surgery and revision breast procedures, but his background includes decades of reconstructive surgery, trauma work and skin-related conditions. He has trained and practiced in several well-known UK units and now sees patients through his own clinic, Quaba Cosmetic Surgery.

• Specialization: Facial cosmetic surgery, revision breast surgery
• Accreditation: GMC Specialist Register, FRCS (Plast)
• Years of experience: Over 35 years

5. Mr Patrick Addison

Mr Patrick Addison is a consultant plastic surgeon working in Edinburgh across both Spire hospitals and the NHS. His practice covers a wide scope, from facial paralysis surgery and hand operations to aesthetic breast and body procedures. He trained in Scotland, Canada and California, and combines reconstructive expertise with aesthetic work in his private practice.

• Specialization: Facial paralysis surgery, hand surgery, aesthetic breast and body procedures
• Accreditation: GMC Specialist Register (GMC 4332415), FRCS (Plast)
• Years of experience: Around 20+ years

6. Mr Hilal Bahia

Mr Hilal Bahia is a consultant plastic surgeon based in Edinburgh, working across breast and body aesthetics as well as reconstructive skin cancer procedures. His background includes UK and international training, with experience ranging from oncoplastic breast surgery to cosmetic fellowship work in London. He now combines NHS reconstructive responsibilities with private aesthetic practice at Spire.

• Specialization: Breast surgery, abdominoplasty, labiaplasty
• Accreditation: GMC Specialist Register (GMC 4003966), FRCSI (Plast)
• Years of experience: Over 25 years

7. Mr Mark Butterworth

Mr Mark Butterworth is a consultant plastic surgeon practicing in Edinburgh, with a mix of cosmetic and reconstructive work. His private practice focuses on facial rejuvenation, breast procedures and body contouring, while his NHS role includes breast reconstruction and management of skin cancers. He trained in several major centres in the UK and abroad before returning to Scotland.

• Specialization: Breast procedures, facial rejuvenation, body contouring, blepharoplasty
• Accreditation: GMC Specialist Register (GMC 3263303), FRCS (Plast)
• Years of experience: Over 20 years

8. Mr Cameron Raine

Mr Cameron Raine is a consultant plastic surgeon who works across breast, face and body procedures, with experience gathered from training in Edinburgh, Sydney, Newcastle and the US. His background spans both reconstructive and aesthetic work, including time in a dedicated cosmetic practice in California, which shaped much of his approach to facial and body contouring. He now divides his work between NHS breast reconstruction and private aesthetic surgery at Spire.

• Specialization: Breast surgery, facial surgery, body contouring, non-surgical aesthetic treatments
• Accreditation: GMC Specialist Register (GMC 3500558), FRCS (Plast)
• Years of experience: Around 20–25 years

9. Mr Kenneth Stewart

Mr Kenneth Stewart is a long-established consultant plastic surgeon in Edinburgh with a practice covering aesthetic breast surgery, facial procedures and body contouring. He was part of the first group of surgeons in the UK to receive full Royal College of Surgeons certification in cosmetic surgery, reflecting comprehensive training across major UK and international centres. Alongside private work, he runs an NHS programme focused on ear reconstruction and manages a range of reconstructive cases.

• Specialization: Aesthetic breast surgery, facial and ear procedures, body contouring
• Accreditation: GMC Specialist Register (GMC 3499203), MD, FRCS (Plast)
• Years of experience: Over 20 years

What Your Surgical Journey in Edinburgh Actually Looks Like

If you’re planning cosmetic surgery in Edinburgh, you’re probably trying to picture what the process looks like in real life - when the assessment happens, how long you’ll stay, and when you’re safe to head home. Edinburgh clinics don’t always spell this out clearly, so having a simple, down-to-earth overview helps a lot.

Before the Operation: Consultations and Pre-Surgery Checks

In most cases, patients meet their surgeon a week or two before the procedure. That appointment is usually quite detailed. You’ll go through your medical history, any medications you’re taking, and the surgeon will examine the area you want to treat. Pre-op blood tests or scans are arranged shortly after. Edinburgh specialists tend to be thorough, and consultations here are often more measured than in larger private markets - people appreciate that slower pace because it leaves room for proper questions and realistic planning.

The Day of Surgery

On the morning of surgery, everything moves in a structured, predictable order. You check in, meet the anaesthetist, sign the final consent form, and go through a quick review with your surgeon. Most plastic surgeries are performed under general anaesthesia, though smaller procedures (like eyelids or minor facial tweaks) can be done under sedation or local anaesthetic.

Your Stay After the Procedure

Recovery in Edinburgh can look slightly different depending on the clinic, but here’s the usual pattern:

• Day surgery procedures: you go home the same day, once you’re fully alert and stable.
• Larger operations like tummy tucks, breast surgery or combined procedures often involve an overnight stay for monitoring.

Nurses check your pain control, drains (if you have them), early mobility and the general pace of your recovery. Edinburgh hospitals are usually very calm environments, which helps you settle into those first few hours.

Recovery at Home

Most of the healing happens after you’ve left the clinic. Surgeons in Edinburgh prefer to see patients for a follow-up around day 3–7, depending on the procedure. That’s when dressings are changed, swelling is assessed, and you get instructions tailored to your progress. After that, you’ll have another check a few weeks later to make sure everything is healing correctly.

Traveling isn’t a concern here because patients are local or within the UK, so you’re not rushing to catch a flight. This gives surgeons more flexibility in scheduling reviews, and you can return for any unexpected issues without the stress of being abroad.

Realistic Timelines for Common Procedures in Edinburgh

• Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty): Usually a same-day procedure. Follow-ups are done within 5–7 days to remove sutures and check early healing.
• Breast augmentation or breast lift: Often one night in the clinic, then home the next morning. Most patients return for their first review within a week.
• Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty): Typically one overnight stay. Follow-up at day 3–5 for drain removal if used, then another check within two weeks.
• Liposuction: Day surgery in most cases. Swelling control and compression guidance happen during the early follow-up visits.

Edinburgh clinics deal with a steady but not overwhelming flow of cosmetic surgery patients, which means care tends to be more personalised. Surgeons take their time in consultations, follow-ups are spaced sensibly, and the overall experience feels less rushed than in high-volume cities.

These timelines aren’t guesswork - they reflect the patterns seen across reputable surgeons practicing in the city. The process is structured to be safe, predictable, and comfortable for patients who want high-standard care without leaving the UK.

Treatment Outcomes and Patient Satisfaction in Edinburgh and Scotland

It’s surprisingly hard to find data that isolates only Edinburgh outcomes because clinics here don’t publish procedure-level statistics in the same way some private hospitals abroad do. Scotland sits within the wider UK regulatory system, so the most reliable picture actually comes from UK-wide research and long-term studies on cosmetic surgery outcomes. When you read that data with a local lens, it gives a very reasonable idea of what patients in Edinburgh typically experience.

How Patients Generally Feel After Cosmetic Surgery

Across the UK, satisfaction rates for cosmetic procedures tend to be high when surgeries are performed by board-certified specialists. And honestly, that matches what many Edinburgh patients report anecdotally: if expectations are realistic and communication with the surgeon is solid, people usually feel the outcome was worth it.

A well-known prospective study in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal followed cosmetic surgery patients over time and found that roughly 87% were satisfied with their results, including improvements in confidence and day-to-day wellbeing (Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 2005).

Another large review published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery showed that long-term satisfaction for breast and body procedures often stays above 80–90%, especially when patients understood the limitations and recovery process from the start (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2015).

These aren’t Edinburgh-specific numbers, but they’re considered the gold standard data used across the UK, meaning Scottish surgeons benchmark themselves against the same expected outcomes.

What This Means for Patients in Edinburgh

Most plastic surgeons in Edinburgh are on the GMC Specialist Register and many are members of BAAPS or BAPRAS, so they’re practicing under the same training and audit rules as surgeons in London, Manchester or anywhere else in the UK. That’s why national data tends to map pretty closely onto the Scottish experience.

If anything, one thing Edinburgh patients often mention (in informal reviews, not formal studies) is that consultations here feel a bit more measured and slightly less sales-driven than in big private markets. That slower pace can translate into better expectation-setting, which is one of the biggest predictors of post-surgery satisfaction.

Experts Medical: Expert Guidance From a Team That Knows the Field

When people ask what exactly we do at Experts Medical, the honest answer is that we help patients find the right doctor and move through treatment abroad without confusion or stress. Over the past 9 years, more than 12,000 people have trusted us with that process, and everything we’ve learned from them shapes how we work today.

We don’t charge for our support. You pay only at the clinic, and we stay connected from the first message to the final follow-up. Our coordinators guide you through medical preparation, organise the logistics around your trip, and make sure you’re not going through any part of the experience alone. Most patients don’t want endless clinic options - they just want the correct specialist and a clear plan, and that’s exactly what we focus on.

What We Offer

• Free analysis of medical documents and case review.
• Selection of the right doctor and clinic based on your diagnosis.
• Arrangement of online consultations before travel.
• Coordination of pre-treatment tests and preparation.
• Full organisation of the treatment trip (tickets, hotel, transfers).
• 24/7 support from a personal medical coordinator.
• Translation during appointments and communication with the clinic.
• Assistance during hospital stay and post-treatment follow-ups.
• Help with medications, reports, and recovery guidance after returning home.

For urgent situations, we can arrange a full treatment pathway within hours, including doctor selection, clinic confirmation and travel support.

Final Word

Choosing a plastic surgeon in Edinburgh often comes down to details most first-time patients don’t even think to look for: how surgeons handle complex anatomy, how they revise previous work, how they assess long-term tissue stability, and how they manage the subtle trade-offs behind every procedure. Once you start comparing specialists on this level, differences in training, case volume, and aesthetic judgment become clearer than any before-and-after gallery.

Across the surgeons listed above, each brings a different type of depth - whether it’s extensive reconstructive experience, a subspecialty in facial work, advanced breast reconstruction methods, or decades of multidisciplinary NHS practice that shapes their decision-making.

FAQs