Dr. Anthony Wilson may originally hail from Philadelphia, but today, he’s well-known on the New Hampshire Seacoast. When he’s not tending his gardens or spending time with his kids, he changes the lives of local residents for the better through his plastic surgery practice.
Let’s talk about your practice, AW Plastic Surgery. With such a range of procedures out there—what draws people to you?
From a surgical perspective, I’m pretty specialized; I do a lot of facelifts, eyelids, tummies, and breasts. Believe it or not, chest surgery is pretty common with male patients if they feel they have an enlarged chest area and there’s a substantial number of men who do eyelids and facelifts.
How often do people find their procedure is life-changing?
We just had this happen yesterday with a patient who had a neck lift procedure performed. The neck area is often a defining feature for many people as they age or gain weight. While eighty percent of her transformation was the surgery, the remaining twenty percent was how she presented herself as a more confident human being afterward. Her new energy now says, “I’m happy with myself.”
How about life outside of work? How long have you been gardening and growing roses?
I’ve been an avid gardener for about ten years. It is a passion of mine. I would define myself as a father, a surgeon, and a gardener. It’s a short season here, but research shows that working with soil is excellent for mental health, and working in nature is good for overall sanity. I get a lot of satisfaction from gardening, and that drives me.
Then, being a parent, I have three lovely children, so I spend a lot of time doing parenting activities, like sports and other things with them. And I am also into cooking and, weirdly, baking. Whether it’s weird or not, the staff certainly like it! Almost everything I enjoy is some form of art. A beautiful garden, to me, is a form of art. Baking and cooking are art forms—I love the presentation of it all and the flavors.
Have you always been creative?
Yes! I am very much a dreamer. Growing up, many people would ask, “Why do you always dream so big? Why not tone it down?” But it pays off to think big, think about the next steps, and not keep yourself in a box. I always say, “Don’t be afraid—what’s the worst thing that can happen?” Creativity and aesthetics drive me as a person, and I think they support me in what I do professionally as a surgeon.
What’s an example of dreaming big that has paid off for you?
From a professional satisfaction standpoint, we’ve built a center of excellence for breast cancer reconstruction here in Portsmouth. That was always a goal. My breast surgeon colleague and I thought, “Why build a program like this if patients will just go to Boston for care?” However, we discovered that if you create a positive experience and deliver unparalleled knowledge to treat and produce a healthy outcome, people will come from Boston to see you.
Almost everything I enjoy is some form of art. A beautiful garden, to me, is a form of art. Baking and cooking are forms of art.
