Dr Imran Tahir
FRCS

In a world obsessed with Desperate Housewives, celebrity perfection, extreme make-over shows and Heat magazine, it’s easy to take cosmetic surgery for granted.

But what happens when you need surgery yourself? You’re going to want someone with at least 20 years of experience in five different countries rather than some Nip and Tuck soap opera surgeon.

You’ll want someone like Dr Imran Tahir.

When we think of plastic surgery we usually focus on cosmetic changes to breasts, noses or stomachs. And this is all very well, but for Dr Tahir, cosmetic surgery is just one aspect of his broader skills in reconstructive surgery.

During his 20-year career, Dr Tahir has become an expert in the reinstatement of severed limbs; the reconstruction of wounds; the repair of severe body and facial damage caused by cancer, burns and accidents; the reversal of facial flaws in children such as cleft palates; breast reconstruction after mastectomies and, of course, the correction of plastic surgery that has gone wrong.

And this is just a handful of examples from an expert portfolio built up by working in plastic surgery centres of excellence in the UK, Australia, Ireland, Pakistan and Dubai as well as the result of Fellowships from the Royal College of Surgeons in Scotland, Ireland and England.

But it has been more than worth it. Today Dr Tahir can handle all forms of minor to major reconstructive surgery from head to toe. From his base in Dubai he is now called upon to treat and rebuild victims from Iraq, Iran and Pakistan as well as patients from all over the world who require his expertise.

With such an in-depth knowledge of the reconstruction of bone, muscle, nerve as well as the ability to reconnect vessels less than a millimetre thick, it is hardly surprising that when it comes to the area of cosmetic surgery Dr Tahir’s skills are in great demand.

“To be honest a tummy tuck or breast augmentation is a straightforward procedure,” he says. “Still I appreciate that as far as the patient is concerned, any cosmetic surgery is viewed as a major operation. I believe that patients have a right to be in touch with me directly at all times. They can call me whenever they want and I will help them with whatever they need.”

Patients would certainly also take comfort from Dr Tahir’s 20-year-old track record and the fact that he carries out breast procedures every day; nose work at least twice a week and a tummy tuck on a weekly basis.

“What makes my clinic different from the others? I believe in a strong connection between the patient and the doctor. Whether it is a major operation to save someone from becoming an amputee or a minor procedure to correct a facial defect, my patients can contact me any time.”

Medical history
Dr Tahir has a fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons in Glasgow; Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and a specialised certificate from the Royal College of Surgeons in England.

Dr Tahir set up his own clinic in Dubai in 2003 after working for the city’s Welcare Hospital from 2000.

He has worked at Salisbury’s Odstock Hospital for Plastic Surgery in the UK as well as at his private clinic in London’s Fulham Broadway.

Dr Tahir completed his senior registrar training at Salisbury and Oxford’s Radcliffe Hospital after almost three years with St Andrew’s Hospital for Plastic Surgery and Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford.

He honed his skills in Ireland at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children and St James in Dublin as well as period in Limerick Hospital.

Dr Tahir’s internship was at the Royal Melbourne Hospital after achieving his Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery in Pakistan.