Background
Dr Watts graduated from the University of Western Australia with Honors in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. Dedicated to a career in Plastic Surgery he immediately followed his degree with a Post Graduate Diploma in Surgical Anatomy also awarded through the University of Western Australia. His thesis paper detailed the important role of angiosomes of the human body – a cornerstone of understanding for Specialist Plastic Surgeons. Dr Watts completed four years of Basic Surgery Training in Perth before being selected into the Advanced Surgical Training to become a Specialist Plastic Surgeon. A fellowship in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery through the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) is the only government recognised training program for Specialist Plastic Surgeons in Australia and is highly competitive. The overseeing Society is the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and only qualified surgeons are listed in the member directory. Training between his childhood home of South Australia and Western Australia, Dr Watts completed his Fellowship examinations in Plastic and Reconstructive surgery in 2010. In his final year of training Dr Watts was awarded the Australian Johnson and Johnson Cosmetic Surgery Prize for the best Cosmetic Surgery Paper.
Dr Watts then embarked on a further four years of training in internationally renowned centres. Two years were dedicated to completing a subspecialty fellowship in Cleft and Craniomaxillofacial Surgery. One of these years was spent working in Brisbane, Australia at the Mater Children’s and Royal Children’s Hospitals. During his second year he travelled to Toronto, Canada to the Hospital for Sick Children. Cleft and Craniomaxillofacial surgery is dedicated to the correction of congenital and traumatic skull, facial, eye, ear and nasal defects. Here Dr Watts was awarded the Lindsay Research Prize for the top research paper. Dr Watts also participated in surgical missions in China and Africa as a part of his Cleft and Craniomaxillofacial training.
Dr Watts was then invited to work in Manhattan, New York with leading cosmetic plastic surgeons to refine the skills he had learned over the many years of training. The year was dedicated purely to cosmetic surgery, learning the latest techniques and more importantly how to deliver tailored natural and long lasting results. Working at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and rotating through Manhattan Eye and Ear Infirmary and Lennox Hill Hospital, Dr Watts was exposed to the best surgeons in New York. His mentors also included Ear Nose and Throat Surgeons and Ophthalmologists to finesse the functional aspects of rhinoplasty and blepharoplasty procedures. His fellowship was awarded through the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.
His further training in North America took him to leading plastic surgery centres in California, Texas, Phoenix, Miami, Pennsylvania and Alberta. His travels through Europe included advanced rhinoplasty training in Stuttgart Germany, at Marienhospital. During his return journey to Australia Dr Watts accepted a fellowship in Brazil, where he trained in the countries leading cosmetic surgery centre the Ivo Pitanguy Clinic. The Brazilian plastic surgeons are renowned as world leaders in their cosmetic surgery techniques and artistic flare particularly with breast and body procedures. South American training combined with European, North American and Australian give Dr Watts a strong foundation and expertise in plastic and cosmetic surgery. His plastic surgery experience qualifies him as a member of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ISAPS). After 17 years of training in seven countries and numerous hospitals Dr Watts returns to Perth to establish his private practice.