Plastic Surgery in Burlington: How to Choose a Plastic Surgeon

If you are researching plastic surgery in Burlington, the hardest part is usually not deciding what bothers you. It is figuring out who you can trust to fix it. Every clinic website promises natural results and personalized care, which makes it almost impossible to tell one Burlington plastic surgeon from another based on marketing alone. This guide covers the credentials, facility standards, and consultation questions that actually separate qualified surgeons from everyone else in Ontario, so you can make the decision with real information instead of a gut feeling.

Key Takeaways

• FRCSC is the credential that matters. In Canada, “board-certified plastic surgeon” means Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Plastic Surgery.
• Verify it yourself. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario publishes every physician’s registration status, training, and disciplinary history at no cost.
• Where you have surgery matters as much as who does it. Ontario clinics performing surgery under general anesthetic or sedation must pass a CPSO inspection.
• Hospital privileges are a peer-review signal. A surgeon who operates in hospitals is subject to ongoing oversight by other surgeons.
• Start the consultation with your goal, not a procedure name. The right operation is the conclusion of that conversation, not the starting point.

What “Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon” Actually Means in Ontario

This is the single most misunderstood part of researching plastic surgery in Burlington. In Ontario, any licensed physician can legally call themselves a cosmetic surgeon and offer cosmetic procedures. The title is not protected. What is protected, and what is verifiable, is specialty certification.

The credential to look for is FRCSC in Plastic Surgery, meaning Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Earning it requires completing a Royal College accredited plastic surgery residency, typically five to six years of surgical training after medical school, and passing the national written and oral specialty examinations (Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada).

You can confirm any Ontario surgeon’s credentials in about two minutes. Search their name in the CPSO public register and check three things: that registration status reads Active, that “Plastic Surgery” appears under their specialty, and that the disciplinary section is clear. If a clinic’s marketing language does not match what the register says, treat that as a serious signal.

Questions the credential answers for you

• Has this surgeon completed formal, accredited training in the operation I want?
• Have they passed independent national examinations, not just a weekend certification course?
• Is there a regulatory body I can contact if something goes wrong?

Where Your Surgery Happens Is Just as Important

Most plastic surgery in Burlington happens outside a hospital, in what Ontario calls an out-of-hospital premises. These are not unregulated. Under Ontario Regulation 114/94, any premises where a physician performs procedures under general anesthesia, parenteral sedation, regional anesthesia, or tumescent local anesthetic must be inspected by the CPSO before a single case can be booked, and the medical director must pass a new premises inspection conducted within 180 days of notifying the College (CPSO Out-of-Hospital Premises Inspection Program).

Inspections review procedure room design, infection prevention and control, sterilization, medication storage, patient monitoring and recovery, emergency preparedness, documentation, and staff credentialing. Outcomes are published, and a failed inspection means all procedures at that premises must stop (CPSO OHP Standards).

Dr. Daniel Waltho operates from Appleby Plastic Surgery, a private accredited surgical facility he built with his colleagues Dr. Avram and Dr. Coroneos at 5045 Mainway in Burlington. It was purpose-built for plastic surgery, with a dedicated operating room, private overnight recovery suites, and complimentary parking directly outside, and it is easily reached from Oakville, Hamilton, Toronto, and the Niagara region.

Why Hospital Privileges Still Matter

A cosmetic surgeon who holds active hospital privileges is subject to continuous peer review. Other surgeons see their work, complications are tracked, and credentials are re-examined on a schedule. That accountability does not disappear when the same surgeon operates in a private clinic.

Dr. Waltho holds privileges at Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington, Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, Milton Hospital, Georgetown Hospital, Mississauga Hospital, and Credit Valley Hospital, and he is a staff plastic surgeon at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial. He is also an adjunct assistant clinical professor at McMaster University, and he performs both private and OHIP-insured procedures. You can read his full background on the about Dr. Daniel Waltho page.

What Procedures Are Available in Burlington?

Dr. Waltho performs more than 100 plastic surgery procedures across four categories. Every one of them is available at the Burlington facility.

Category	Procedures
Breast surgery	Breast augmentation, breast reduction, breast lift, implant removal and revision
Body contouring	Liposuction, tummy tuck, mommy makeover, Brazilian butt lift, labiaplasty
Facial rejuvenation	Facelift, brow lift, eyelid surgery, neck liposuction, lip lift, facial fat transfer
Men’s procedures	Gynecomastia surgery, male liposuction, eyelid surgery for men

Procedures are frequently combined when it is safe to do so and the recoveries overlap. A mommy makeover, for example, combines breast enhancement, a tummy tuck, and liposuction into a single recovery. You can browse the full list on the procedures page.

What Happens at a Consultation

A cosmetic consultation with Dr. Waltho is $150 plus HST, and the fee is waived for breast augmentation and abdominoplasty consultations. It is a face-to-face meeting with the surgeon, not a sales appointment with a coordinator.

The conversation deliberately starts with your goals rather than a procedure name. Dr. Waltho listens to what you want to change, examines you, reviews your medical history, explains the realistic options and what each one involves, and then recommends a plan. You leave with a recovery plan specific to that surgery, including time off work and when you can safely return to exercise.

Ten questions worth asking any Burlington plastic surgeon

1. Are you certified by the Royal College in Plastic Surgery, and what is your CPSO registration number?
2. How many of this specific procedure do you perform each year?
3. Where will my surgery take place, and is that facility CPSO inspected?
4. Who administers the anesthetic, and what are their qualifications?
5. Do you hold hospital privileges, and at which hospitals?
6. Can I see before and after photos of patients with a similar starting point to mine?
7. What are the realistic risks and the most common complications for this operation?
8. What does the quoted fee include, and what happens if a revision is needed?
9. Who do I contact after hours if something concerns me during recovery?
10. Based on my goals, is there a less invasive option, or a reason not to operate at all?

Is Plastic Surgery Covered by OHIP?

Most cosmetic procedures are not covered by OHIP. Some procedures performed for documented functional or medical reasons may be eligible under specific criteria, with breast reduction and upper eyelid surgery that obstructs the visual field being the two most common examples. Eligibility is assessed case by case and confirmed during your consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions