Choosing a plastic surgeon is one of the more important decisions a person can make, and credentials are the first place to look. Board-certified plastic surgeons in Toronto and across Canada have completed a level of training that goes well beyond a weekend course or a general medicine background, and the difference shows up in outcomes.
Board certification matters more than you think
Board certification in plastic surgery within Canada is granted by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). Getting there means finishing medical school, completing a five-year plastic surgery residency, and passing both written and oral exams. After a surgeon’s name, that credential appears as FRCSC, Fellowship of the RCPSC.
The distinction matters. In Canada, any licensed physician can legally perform cosmetic procedures – not just plastic surgeons. A family doctor, a dermatologist, or even a dentist can offer Botox injections or certain minor treatments without any surgical training behind them. But for something more involved – a breast lift, a rhinoplasty, a facelift- working with a surgeon who holds FRCSC certification gives patients a verifiable baseline of surgical competence and safety standards.
Surgeons trained in the United States may hold equivalent board certification through the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). Many Canadian surgeons pursue fellowship training south of the border and hold credentials from both bodies, which is worth asking about during a consultation.
1. McRae Plastic Surgery
McRae Plastic Surgery is based at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, led by Dr. Mark McRae and Dr. Matthew McRae, both board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeons and Associate Professors at the University of Toronto. Their training spans Cornell, Yale, NYU, and the Buncke Clinic, reflecting a depth of surgical education that informs a wide procedural range. The practice covers facial surgery, breast procedures including breast lifts, and body contouring, with an emphasis on individualized planning rather than templated approaches.
What sets this practice apart operationally is a two-surgeon model available for select complex or combined cases. Two surgeons in the room cuts operative time and supports precision on procedures that might otherwise run for several hours. The practice also keeps the surgeon directly involved from the first consultation through recovery, not a model where the surgeon makes a brief appearance and hands care off to staff.
The practice is located at 30 Bond Street, Martin Family Centre, and serves patients across the Greater Toronto Area including Yorkville, North York, Midtown, and Scarborough.
Features:
- Dual board-certified surgeons (FRCSC), both Associate Professors at the University of Toronto
- Two-surgeon approach available for complex or combined procedures
- Surgeon-led care from consultation through recovery
- Facial, breast, and body contouring procedures offered
- Located at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto
2. DR. Gaby Doumit
Dr. Gaby Doumit is a certified plastic and cosmetic surgeon based in Montréal, Quebec, performing private procedures at the Centre de Chirurgie Plastique & Esthétique de Montréal (CCPEM), a facility that has held accreditation from Canadian professional regulatory bodies and American counterparts since 1985. Dr. Doumit graduated from medical school in 2002 and brings over two decades of surgical experience to the practice.
His background includes time at the Cleveland Clinic, one of the more respected hospital systems in North America, where he served as Director of Craniofacial Surgery from 2010 to 2020. He is also the first Canadian surgeon to have performed two face transplants, a procedure that demands extraordinary reconstructive skill and places him among a very small group of surgeons globally with that experience.
The procedural menu is wide, spanning facelifts, rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty, breast augmentation, breast lifts, tummy tucks, liposuction, body contouring after massive weight loss, hair transplants, and male cosmetic surgery. He’s also one of few surgeons in Canada who performs minimally invasive facial surgery using an endoscope.
Features:
- Former Director of Craniofacial Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic (2010 to 2020)
- First Canadian surgeon to perform two face transplants
- Endoscopic minimally invasive facial surgery available
- Practice facility accredited since 1985
- Services include male cosmetic surgery and post-weight-loss body contouring
3. Canadian Surgery
Canadian Surgery Solutions is a Calgary-based private surgical centre that opened in 2009. It’s recognized as a Non-Hospital Surgical Facility by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta and is described as the largest private orthopedic surgical provider in Canada. The facility runs three operating rooms and private recovery suites, and it’s part of a national network of private surgical clinics owned by Kensington Capital Partners Limited, which manages $2.6 billion in assets.
One important point: Canadian Surgery Solutions focuses on orthopedic procedures – total joint replacements and in-patient spinal surgery – not aesthetic plastic surgery. Patients looking for cosmetic or reconstructive work would need to look elsewhere. That said, for Canadians wanting private orthopedic surgical access outside of public wait times, the facility’s scope, accreditation, and national reach through the Surgical Solutions Network make it a credible option in its category.
Features:
- Established 2009, Calgary, Alberta
- Focuses on orthopedic surgery, not aesthetic plastic surgery
- Three operating rooms, private recovery suites
- Accredited by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta
- Part of the national Surgical Solutions Network
4. Landing Surgery
The Landings Surgical Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia holds the distinction of being the first plastic surgery facility in Atlantic Canada, established in 2005 by board-certified plastic surgeons Dr. Richard Bendor-Samuel and Dr. Louis Boileau. It remains the only privately owned and operated plastic surgery centre in the Atlantic Provinces, and is fully accredited by the Canadian Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities (CAAASF).
The centre offers a broad range of plastic surgery procedures, facial work (facelifts, rhinoplasty, brow lifts, eyelid surgery), breast surgery (augmentation, lifts, reduction), and body contouring including liposuction, tummy tucks, and Brazilian butt lifts. Non-surgical treatments such as BOTOX Cosmetic and JUVÉDERM are also available. Dr. Bendor-Samuel currently serves as president of the Canadian Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, a position that places him in the leadership of the national professional body overseeing aesthetic practice standards.
For patients in Atlantic Canada, this is the main specialist option without needing to travel to central Canada.
Features:
- First and only private plastic surgery centre in Atlantic Canada
- Fully accredited by CAAASF
- Dr. Bendor-Samuel is president of the Canadian Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
- Located at 1477 Lower Water St, Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Full range of facial, breast, and body contouring procedures
5. DR. Collin Mcinnes
Dr. Colin McInnes is a board-certified plastic surgeon based in New Westminster, British Columbia, operating across multiple accredited hospitals and private surgical facilities throughout the Fraser Valley and Vancouver. He holds dual membership in both the Canadian and American societies for plastic surgery. His academic and administrative roles include head of plastic surgery at both Royal Columbian and Eagle Ridge Hospitals, clinical assistant professor at UBC, and post-graduate education director for Fraser Health Plastic Surgery.
His training path ran from a UBC medical degree through a five-year residency at the University of Manitoba, a travelling fellowship with select surgeons across North America (including Harvard’s Craniofacial Plastic Surgery Program), and a one-year ACGME-certified fellowship at Washington University’s Center for Advanced Medicine, with additional time in Philadelphia and Beverly Hills. His research output reflects that level of investment, more than 20 peer-reviewed publications in journals including The New England Journal of Medicine and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
The practice sees aesthetic and reconstructive cases including breast augmentation and reduction, facial rejuvenation, liposuction, body contouring, chin augmentation, and facial fillers.
Features:
- Board-certified; dual member of Canadian and American plastic surgery societies
- Head of plastic surgery at Royal Columbian and Eagle Ridge Hospitals
- Clinical assistant professor at UBC
- Over 20 peer-reviewed publications including in The New England Journal of Medicine
- ACGME-certified fellowship at Washington University’s Center for Advanced Medicine
Bottom Line
Across Canada, board-certified plastic surgeons in Toronto and other major cities bring genuinely different training backgrounds, procedural focuses, and practice models. For patients in the GTA, the Toronto options carry both credential depth and institutional affiliations that matter most for elective surgical care. Atlantic Canada has a strong regional specialist in Halifax; British Columbia patients can access academic-level training in the Lower Mainland. Canadian Surgery Solutions serves orthopedic rather than aesthetic surgical needs, a critical distinction before booking anything. The right match comes down to the specific procedure, the surgeon’s demonstrated experience in that area, and the standard of care a patient expects throughout.