Dr. Tim Christofides qualified as a doctor in 1995 and performed his internship at the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital. Although he always knew he wanted to perform surgery, it was during his rotation through plastic surgery as a junior doctor that he decided he wanted to be a plastic surgeon. He was always amazed at the improvement in quality of life that this type of surgery provided for the patients in both cosmetic and reconstructive operations. He then embarked on my quest to become a plastic surgeon. He started with 2 years of general surgery training, during which time he obtained the necessary exams to be accepted to the plastic and reconstructive surgery department at the University of the Witwatersrand. In 2000, he was accepted to become a registrar in plastic surgery, and he rotated through Johannesburg, Chris Hani Baragwanath, and Helen Joseph hospitals. I was lucky enough to be assisted in my training by Professor Psaras, Professor Chait, Professor Widgerow, and many other senior consultants in plastic surgery. He became a fully qualified plastic and reconstructive surgeon in May 2004. During his training, he uncovered a special interest in paediatric plastic surgery. This mostly involved cleft lip and palate surgery as well as craniofacial surgery. After completing my training in 2004, he performed a fellowship in craniofacial surgery in Oxford in the United Kingdom. He was under the tutelage of Dr. Steve Wall who was the president of the International Craniofacial Society, in 2008 and 2009. During his time in Oxford, he gained experience in craniofacial and cleft surgery and he was exposed to the art of cosmetic surgery. He is practicing at Sunninghill Hospital and Morningside Clinic as a fully qualified plastic surgeon. In addition to this, he works at Charlotte Maxeke (JHB General) hospital where he is very involved in the training of registrars who are becoming plastic surgeons. In 2014, he was made an adjunct Professor of Plastic Surgery by the University of the Witwatersrand for my academic and research achievements. He is registered as a fully qualified plastic and reconstructive surgeon with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). He is also registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) in the United Kingdom as well as the Cyprus Medical Council (CMC). He is currently a full member of the Association of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons of South Africa (APRSSA) and he is the president-elect for this association. In addition, he is an International Associate Editor of the acclaimed "Plastic and Reconstructive Journal". Although he enjoys surgery, he is also interested in research and he has had the opportunity to publish many articles in the fields of both craniofacial surgery as well as cosmetic surgery. These articles have been published in peer reviewed journals such as the "Journal of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery" as well as the "Journal of Craniofacial Surgery".
