Ashlin Alexander,MD
Rising above the flashy salesmanship that often plagues cosmetic surgery, Dr. Alexander delivers thoughtful, expert, comprehensive clinical analyses, which are centered on the patient’s needs and nothing else.
Our Philosophy
We strongly believe that to provide the best results, one must be focused.
At Ashlin Alexander Facial Cosmetic Surgery we are focused on the face. Our practice has four pillars: rhinoplasty, facelift and aging-face surgery, non-surgical facial rejuvenation and hair restoration. As a Manhattan-trained Facial Cosmetic Surgeon, Dr. Alexander has devoted his entire career to the specialized treatment of the hair, nose and face, and to bringing the flair of New York City back home to Toronto.
He treats each client like family, and this has created long-term bonds with many who have come to consider Dr. Alexander’s practice like a second home. For these reasons, he has earned a reputation as among the best facial plastic surgeons Canada has to offer.
Dr. Alexander has developed his professional practice as an extension of who he is as a person. Born and raised in Kingston, Ontario, the eldest of three boys, Dr. Alexander has a deep appreciation for the importance of personal connections. This has engendered an honesty and humility that guides all of his patient interactions.
Education & training
After completing his undergraduate degree (Applied Math & Engineering) and medical school at Queen’s University, Dr. Alexander was accepted into the highly competitive Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery residency program at the University of Toronto. During his residency, Dr. Alexander enjoyed many successes, including the highest score on the Facial Plastic Surgery component of the National In-Training Exam and the top research award in the country for the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology. For his exceptional performance as a clinician, surgeon, teacher and leader, Dr. Alexander was elected as Chief Resident of his training program at U of T.
Following residency, Dr. Alexander was chosen to join what is arguably the top Facial Plastic Surgery fellowship in North America at New York University (Manhattan). There he trained in all aspects of facial cosmetic surgery, with a focus on rhinoplasty and facelift (aging-face) surgery. He operated on New York City actors and models under the mentorship of some of the most prominent facial cosmetic surgeons in the world. While training in Manhattan, he again achieved academic success by scoring in the 97th percentile of the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Oral Examination.
Dr. Alexander chose to pursue yet another year of fellowship following his training in New York City. He was selected to join the world-famous Sydney Head and Neck Cancer Institute (Australia), where he performed the most complex facial reconstruction surgeries available today, often delicately reattaching blood vessels and nerves under a microscope with sutures finer than a strand of hair.
As a board-certified, dual-fellowship trained Facial Cosmetic Surgeon, Dr. Alexander has devoted his entire career to the specialized treatment of the hair, nose and face, and now brings the renown of New York City and the expertise of Australia back home to Toronto.
Few surgeons in Canada have a comparable academic pedigree. Needless to say, Dr. Alexander is focused on the face.
“Facial Plastic Surgery and Hair Restoration Surgery are deeply personal, intensely delicate, highly technical and profoundly creative undertakings. Understanding the personal nature of these procedures is an integral part of building relationships with my patients, and is inherent in every aspect of my practice.
At Ashlin Alexander Facial Cosmetic Surgery you will never be commoditized or upsold on a product or service. You will never be treated as a generic face on an assembly line, but rather as a highly unique person with innate beauty to be enhanced. With me, you will get a private and comprehensive analysis of your entire face and neck, based on the knowledge I have gained from my years of training at the most famous facial surgery centers in the world. During my time in Manhattan, I learned the formula for the NYC approach: discreet service, speedy recovery and a perfect balance of cutting-edge techniques and classic conservatism to achieve the best natural looking results. This is what I bring to Toronto.
It takes a tremendous amount of courage to decide to have a procedure on your face. I consider this to be a huge responsibility that I take very seriously. Whether in the clinic or the operating room, I am very focused on minute details, on making sure that my patients have exceptional and personalized results. I am always my own harshest critic, which drives me even harder towards excellence in all that I do.
The best advice I got when I started medical school was: “Treat every patient like she is your own mother.”
-Dr. Ashlin Alexander
Certification & Membership
Dr. Alexander is board certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and is a member of the American and Canadian Academies of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is an active member of the Division of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Toronto.
Clinical Lecturer
- University of Toronto, Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
- Staff Surgeon, Scarborough and Rouge Hospital
Consulting Surgeon
- Consultant Surgeon to MD Direct
- Consultant Surgeon to Toronto Head & Neck Clinic
Teacher & Course Director
- Course Co-director, University of Toronto Cosmetic Injectables Course
- Course Co-director, University of Toronto Soft Tissue Dissection Workshop
- Invited Speaker, University of Toronto Skin Cancer and Facial Aesthetics Day
- Faculty Instructor, Toronto Rhinoplasty Course
- Medical Consultant, Merz Pharma
- Medical Consultant, Allergan
Curriculum Vitae
Education & Training
Head & neck oncology/microvascular reconstruction
Sydney Head and Neck Cancer Institute
Facial plastic & reconstructive surgery
New York University
Otolaryngology—head & neck surgery
University of Toronto
- Chief Resident
Doctor of medicine
Queen’s University
- Honours standing
Bachelor of science in engineering
Queen’s University
- Mathematics & Engineering (Mechanical Engineering)
- Graduated as a “Dean’s Scholar”
Honors & awards
Poliquin national residents’ research competition
Canadian Society of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery
- 1st prize for best research project across Canada
Percy ireland day research competition
Dept. of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, University of Toronto
- 1st prize among all Resident and Fellow research projects
Shiley e.o. pelausa award
Dept. of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, University of Toronto
- Top 3rd-year Resident
National in-training exam
Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery
- Highest mark in Canada in “Head & Neck Surgery
- Pediatrics” and “Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
- among third-year Residents
Chancellor’s scholarship
Queen’s University
- 1 of 40 entrance awards granted across Canada, for overall achievement
- First applicant in the history of the scholarship to receive a perfect score
Lectures & Publications
Ashlin J. Alexander, Anil R. Shah, Minas S. Constantinides. “Alar Retraction: Etiology, Treatment and Prevention”. JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery 2013 Apr; 25: 1-6.
Ashlin J. Alexander, John R. de Almeida, Mark G. Shrime, David P. Goldstein, Ralph W. Gilbert. “A Novel Outpatient Approach to Lower Lip Reanimation Using Palmaris Longus Tendon Sling”. Journal of OtolaryngologyHead & Neck Surgery 2011; 40(6): 481-488.
Ali Sepehr, Ashlin J. Alexander, Nitin Chauhan, Andres Gantous. “Detailed Analysis of Graft Techniques for Nasal Reconstruction Following Wegener Granulomatosis”. Journal of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery 2011; 40(6): 473-480.
Ashlin J. Alexander, Lee Bartel, Lendra Friesen, David Shipp, Joseph Chen. “From Fragments to the Whole: A Comparison Between Cochlear Implant Users and Normal Hearing Listeners in Music Perception and Enjoyment”. Journal of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery 2011; Feb 40 (1): 1-7.
Ashlin J. Alexander, Daniel S. Alam, Patrick J. Gullane, Benoît G. Lengelé, Peter A. Adamson. “Arguing the Ethics of Facial Transplantation”. Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery 2010; 12(1): 60-63.
Lee J, Alexander A, Higgins KH. “The Sunnybrook Experience: A Review of Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism in Otolaryngology.” Journal of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery 2008; 37(4): 547-551.
Ashlin J. Alexander, Glen Bandiera, Laurie Mazurik. “A Multiphase Disaster Training Exercise for Emergency Medicine Residents: Opportunity Knocks”. Academic Emergency Medicine 2005; 12(5); Career and Technical Education: 404-409.
Ashlin J. Alexander, Andre K.W. Tan, Gerald A. Evans, Janet Allen.“Infection Control for the Otolaryngologist in the Era of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome”. Journal of Otolaryngology 2003; 32(5): 281-287.
Ashlin J. Alexander.“Health, Environment, Healthcare: Evaluating the Relationship between Global Health, Climate Change, and the Delivery of Medicine”. Presented at the Department of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery Grand Rounds, University of Toronto; December 4, 2009; Toronto, Canada.
Ashlin J. Alexander, John R. de Almeida, Mark G. Shrime, David P. Goldstein, Ralph W. Gilbert. “A Novel Outpatient Approach to Lower Lip Reanimation Using Palmaris Longus Tendon Sling”. Presented at the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Annual Meeting; October 2, 2009; San Diego, CA.
Ashlin J. Alexander. “Facial Transplantation: Framing the Debate”. Presented at the Department of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery Grand Rounds, University of Toronto; February 6, 2009; Toronto, Canada.
MW ten Hove, M Melanson, AJ Alexander. “A Novel Method of Measuring Orbicularis Oculi Strength”. Presented at the European Neuro-ophthalmology Society Annual Meeting;May 26, 2007; Istanbul, Turkey.
