Meet the team

Awf worked as an NHS consultant for over 20 years and has been in full-time private practice for the last 15 years. He has a special interest in cosmetic facial surgery and breast surgery but continues to offer a wide spectrum of both surgical and non-surgical aesthetic care. He is widely recognised by many of his peers as one of the leading cosmetic plastic surgeons in the UK. He talks as a guest speaker at meetings such as those hosted by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS).

He gained his primary medical qualifications in Mosul, Iraq. He was awarded the prestigious Hallett prize by the Royal College of Surgeons of England for outstanding performance in their examination. He completed six years of higher surgical training at the renowned St Andrew’s Plastic Surgery Unit in Essex and was appointed as a Consultant Plastic Surgeon in Edinburgh in 1987.

His NHS work covered a broad spectrum of adult and paediatric reconstructive problems. He established the first NHS pulsed dye laser service focusing on the treatment of birthmarks. He also built up expertise in the management of lower limb trauma, skin cancer, congenital hand surgery and breast surgery.

He has published over 60 papers in peer-reviewed journals, written some book chapters and co-edited a text on reconstructive surgery. Others have cited much of his work in their scientific papers.

He performs an ongoing audit of his practice which is submitted annually to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.

Dr Ben Aldridge is a Consultant Plastic and Dermatological Surgeon, with his major NHS focus being skin cancer diagnostics, cutaneous surgical oncology and soft tissue facial reconstruction. He holds dual consultant posts in the Departments of Dermatology and Plastic Surgery (NHS Lothian & NHS Lanarkshire). He joins the Waterfront Private Hospital team as Lead of Dermatological services.

He uniquely consults on all aspects of the management of skin problems, being the only person in the UK to have undertaken full training in both Plastic Surgery and Dermatology and have passed the qualifying examinations in both specialities. These qualifications mean he can provide a holistic skin service, from diagnosis to prescribing topical and systemic treatments, along with cosmetic dermatology advising on interventions such as LASERs and injectables, through to allied aesthetic surgery and complex plastic surgical reconstructions. He is recognised as a national expert in the procedural management of skin disease.

Ben graduated from the University of Edinburgh medical school in 2002 and went on to undertake higher specialty training in both Plastic Surgery and Dermatology in London and across Scotland. He spent the latter stages of his formal training undertaking multiple national and international fellowships focussing on Cutaneous oncology & Mohs surgery (Norwich 2015), Cosmetic surgery (Quaba Plastic Surgery, Edinburgh 2016), LASER surgery and scar management (Swansea 2017), and as the senior plastic surgical skin fellow at the UK’s National Skin Hospital (St John’s Institute of Dermatology/Guy’s & St Thomas, London) where he had previously trained in Dermatology. In 2018, before taking up his consultant posts in Scotland, he completed a BAAPS sponsored fellowship in Aesthetic Facial surgery and Cosmetic Dermatology at the world-famous La Clinic (Montreux, Switzerland).

He completed a PhD in Dermatoinformatics from the University of Edinburgh, focusing on skin cancer diagnostics, along with a MSc in allergy from Imperial College. He is the Chair of the southeast Scotland melanoma multidisciplinary team and has recently co-authored the updated national SIGN melanoma guidelines.

He has been one of the lead clinicians at SK;N in Edinburgh since the clinic opened in 2008 and the Medical Director there since 2020. He has also undertaken regular commitments in the London Harley Street SK;N clinic over this period. Through his role at SK;N, he has carried out over 7500 skin-focused cosmetic procedures.

Mr Will Anderson is a fully accredited plastic surgeon and is on the GMC Specialist Register for Plastic Surgery. He has private practising rights at the Spire Edinburgh Hospitals and the Edinburgh Clinic. He was appointed as an NHS Consultant in Edinburgh in 2008. He has NHS commitments at St John’s Hospital Livingston and Edinburgh NHS hospitals as well as paediatric commitments in Fife.

His NHS interests include plastic and reconstructive surgery for both children and adults. He is often involved in providing a reconstruction for complex cases from other specialities and is a fully trained microvascular surgeon. He provides a regional service for genitoperineal reconstruction, and he is the clinical lead in the Laser Department at St John’s Hospital. His microvascular skills include providing mastectomy reconstruction using the patient’s tissues, and he performs all aspects of aesthetic breast and body surgery that can help restore patients both physically and psychologically.

Like many Plastic Surgeons, he is also involved in the management and reconstruction of burns, trauma and skin cancers.

Mr Anderson graduated from Glasgow University in 1992 and obtained a Master of Science degree from University College London in 1999. His plastic surgery training has been based here in Scotland but has also taken him around the world, including time in a world-leading microsurgical centre in Taiwan and the Dallas Children’s Hospital. He completed fully accredited UK Plastic Surgical training in 2008 to take up his NHS Consultancy here in Lothian. His blend of surgical skills and knowledge of non-surgical treatments, including his experience with Laser treatments, lend themselves to providing optimal care.