Dr Fiona Smithers

MBChB (University of Liverpool 2002), FRACS (plastic and reconstructive surgery 2015)

Dr Fiona Smithers, from Northern Ireland, graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2002. She moved to New Zealand in 2003 and subsequently trained in plastic and reconstructive surgery in Hamilton, Wellington and Auckland. She became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 2015 and underwent two further years of subspecialty training in aesthetic surgery, head and neck cancer surgery, and vascular anomalies and laser, at institutes located in Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne.

Fiona holds a public appointment in Hutt Hospital which also incorporates clinics in Palmerston North Hospital, and consults and operates in the private sector from Bowen Hospital.

She has been the Supervisor of Training for plastic and reconstructive surgery in the Wellington region since 2018 and Chair NZ Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery since 2024.

Fiona, along with other members of the Board responsible for the appointment and training of doctors to become the plastic surgeons of the future.

She is a co-opted member of the New Zealand Association of Plastic Surgeons Council.

Fiona has been an invited speaker for, and organised various international conferences. She is a published author and is regularly asked to review clinical articles for national and international scientific journals.

Outside interests include rugby (previous international player for the Irish Women’s Rugby Team), skiing, mountain biking (previous competitive cross country rider), running, reading, travel and spending time with her husband and two children.

• New Zealand Association of Plastic Surgeons
• American Society of Plastic Surgeons (International member)
• International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies
• Australasian Vascular Anomalies Network
• Australian and New Zealand Head and Neck Cancer Society