Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Riverside Healthcare

Riverside Healthcare is expanding its plastic and reconstructive surgery services. Doing so offers patients more options for both medical and cosmetic care. Dr. Alec Fisher is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Riverside. Here, he shares his background, new services available, and what patients can expect when considering a procedure.

A Comprehensive Approach to Plastic Surgery

Dr. Fisher brings a strong background in both reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. “I started in medical school at Dartmouth,” he states. “Then, I did a comprehensive integrated plastic surgery residency at Cooper University Hospital, which is right outside of Philadelphia. It’s a big level-one trauma center, as well as an MD Anderson Cancer Center.”

During his training, Dr. Fisher gained experience across many specialties. “I was able to run a cosmetic clinic my senior year there,” he shares. “So, a lot of experience in those three domains. I’m very happy to bring comprehensive plastic surgery here to the Riverside community.”

A Full Range of Cosmetic Services

Riverside now offers a wide variety of cosmetic procedures. “I’ll be offering all the gamut of cosmetic surgery services,” Dr. Fisher notes. “Abdominoplasty—meaning a tummy tuck—or abdominal contouring after weight loss. I also do cosmetic breast surgery like breast augmentation, lifts, and reductions and facial cosmetic surgery. That includes rhinoplasty, facelifts, and eyelid surgery called blepharoplasty.”

Dr. Fisher adds he is excited to bring a whole comprehensive array of cosmetic services to all patients. He is happy to have conversations about options that make sense for each individual.

How Cosmetic Surgery Can Build Confidence

Dr. Fisher’s work blends reconstructive and cosmetic care. Both aim to help patients feel more comfortable in their own skin. “When somebody suffers, let’s say an injury, they don’t feel comfortable in their skin,” he offers. “It’s my job and my absolute pride to try and make people look more ‘normal.’”

He says cosmetic surgery can also make a powerful difference for people struggling with self-image. “People may not feel comfortable with the way they look,” he notes. “Something may be distressing to them. It brings me a lot of joy to talk to patients and see what it is that’s bothering them and how I can help.”

Dr. Fisher admits that his perspective on cosmetic surgery evolved over time. “When I started, I thought cosmetic surgery had a bad rap. That cosmetic surgeons were only in it for the money,” he explains. “But, the more I got into it, I saw it was this beautiful practice of helping people feel more comfortable about themselves. It's about enhancing people’s quality of life.”

Favorite Procedures

Facial surgeries like facelifts and rhinoplasty tend to get the most attention. Yet, Dr. Fisher says one of his favorite procedures is a tummy tuck. “I think I do a really nice job of making the abdomen more youthful and slimming the abdomen. Particularly after a woman has babies—or even males. I do a lot of male tummy tucks as well. People seem to find the most joy and confidence in doing that.”

The Appointment Process

Patients interested in cosmetic surgery can start the process easily. If you have a cosmetic interest or consult, you can call the office and schedule an appointment. There is a consultation fee. But, that fee goes toward the cost of the procedure if one decides to move forward.

Dr. Fisher also provides non-surgical options such as Botox and fillers. Consultation fees apply toward those services as well. He sees patients on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Dispelling Myths About Plastic Surgery

Dr. Fisher said one of the biggest misconceptions is that plastic surgery makes people look “fake.” “That’s how you look after bad plastic surgery,” he assures. “The best plastic surgery should be whispers. People should say, ‘Oh, did they have something done? I can’t tell.’ That’s good plastic surgery when somebody says, ‘Oh, you look more awake, you look more refreshed today.’ That’s what I aim for.”

What Patients Should Know

Dr. Fisher emphasizes that cosmetic surgery, while elective, is still real surgery that comes with risks and requires recovery. “First and foremost, I’m not selling like a hair dye or something like that. This is real surgery, and surgery has risks,” he cautions. “I encourage everyone to be healthy, not smoke, maintain a good weight, and eat well. That does reduce your risk.”

He also reminds patients to give themselves time to heal. “You want to look your best after surgery, so that means giving your body a chance to heal,” he urges. “It’s hard for some people who expect to have the surgery and then be done. But, there is a recovery period that we have to get through.”

A Focus on Safe, Meaningful Results

As Dr. Fisher put it, “I’m a board-eligible surgeon. I’m here to perform safe surgery and take the best care of patients as possible. Individuals should not take cosmetic surgery lightly. Even though it’s considered elective surgery, it can transform your life.”

For more information about Riverside’s Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Services, visit myrhc.net/plasticsurgery.