Professor Iain Whitaker is the only Professor of Plastic Surgery in Wales, based at The Welsh Centre for Burns & Plastic Surgery. After studying medicine at Cambridge University (Trinity Hall College), Iain received a Certificate of Honours in Plastic Surgery from Harvard Medical School. Following specialised plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery training in the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, USA, Australia & France, he was awarded the Plastic Surgery Fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS Plast). Iain won multiple prizes during his training including the Mentor Prize in Aesthetic Surgery from BAPRAS. Iain was the first plastic surgeon ever to receive the Rowan Nick’s Award, the most prestigious of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons international awards, which allowed him to complete a year in Melbourne, gaining extensive experience in state-of-the-art cosmetic and reconstructive surgery including Breast surgery, Liposuction, Fat transfer, and Body contouring. Following this he was awarded the European Association of Plastic Surgeons (EURAPS) Young Plastic Surgeon Scholarship to work in Paris, he later completed another fellowship in Paris focused on facial reconstruction and aesthetic surgery. On his return to the UK, Iain was a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Cambridge University Teaching Hospitals before being appointed a substantive Professor in Wales.

Iain is renowned for his body transformations, including tummy tucks (#whitakerwaist), breast surgery, mummy makeovers and liposuction, and these results can be seen on his Instagram profile (cosmetic_surgery_wales). In recognition of his results and approach, Iain was featured as ‘best for bodies’ in the prestigious 2024 Tatler Health & Beauty Guide.

In addition to having completed over 8,000 plastic surgery procedures, and experience working in 5 continents, his research efforts are internationally recognised, having published over 300 papers and 5 books. Iain is a BAAPS Honorary Advisor on Council, as the Wales Representative. Alongside his focused cosmetic practice, he was the founding director (2012-) of a Plastic Surgery Research Centre (www.reconregen.co.uk) which is now one of the largest in Europe. The recent Royal opening of the £2.5m research programme saw widespread international coverage. One of the themes of Iain’s research is optimising and measuring results and patient safety in cosmetic surgery and he is working with BAAPS to highlight the risks of travelling overseas for cosmetic surgery. He is leading the world’s largest study of tummy tucks and has been a keynote speaker on the topic at several International Conferences. Iain is recognised as a key opinion leader in several areas of plastic surgery, having regularly featured in print, online and television media (BBC, ITV, BBC4, OK!, TalkTV, The Times, Times Radio).

Iain is very down to earth, patient-focused, an excellent communicator and very particular when it comes to achieving the best results. In his spare time, now his playing days are over, he enjoys following rugby and running around after his young children.