edwilliamsfin optAlbany, NY-based facial plastic surgeon Edwin F. Williams III, MD, is a busy man. He is the director of the Williams Center for Excellence and the vice president for public and regulatory affairs for the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), but he is also quite the family guy.

Williams sat down with Plastic Surgery Practice to discuss his practice and how he remains so grounded. The father of four also told us how he really feels about teen plastic surgery and what he would say if his teen daughter wanted a breast augmentation.

1 Procedures you perform most often?
Rhinoplasty and facial rejuvenation.

2 Procedure you perform least often?
Cheek augmentation.

3 How come?
I think we are learning that we can do more with fillers than with one-sized implants.

4 How much of your practice is cosmetic?
95%

5 What is the secret to your success?
More than ever, what drives our practice is the staff that we have. It all comes down to your people. We have an amazing staff. There are 45 people working at the Williams Center today.

6 Has social media affected your practice?
Yes. Social media is influencing the procedures that our patients are pursuing. People are seeing themselves on their friends’ Facebook pages and saying, “I saw my nose. It’s time.” They don’t have control of their photos anymore. You can’t just throw a bad picture away. Instead, you are tagged and your photo shows up on many people’s Facebook pages or Instagram accounts.

7 You are very involved in the AAFPRS and always have been. Does that take its toll on your practice?
No, I make sure I have time for both. It’s an important part of giving back and building our organization.

8 What is your charity of record?
We are very involved in FACE TO FACE: The National Domestic Violence Project, which is an AAFPRS initiative. Every April, we have a fun night out for women where we raise awareness and money for victims of domestic violence. We give half of the proceeds to a local women’s shelter and half to the Academy. My whole staff rallies behind this in an incredible way.

9 What keeps you so grounded?
Not losing sight of my family. I always make my family and getting home for dinner a priority.

10 As the father of teen girls, how do you feel about teen plastic surgery?
There has been a lot of publicity and press in the past 10 years about teen plastic surgery. It really depends on the procedure. If my daughter came to talk to me about a breast augmentation at 16, I would tell her to do it when she can pay for it. I do perform otoplasty on 4- or 5-year-olds, but I certainly wouldn’t push it on a kid. If a mom and daughter come in and the mother is pushing for a rhinoplasty, but her daughter has mixed feelings, I say, “Come back when your child wants it.” n

Denise Mann is the editor of Plastic Surgery Practice. She can be reached at [email protected].