Dr Rozina Ali is an internationally recognised consultant reconstructive and aesthetic plastic surgeon with more than three decades of experience. A pioneer in regenerative medicine and a longstanding advocate for patient-centred care, she has built her career at the intersection of technical excellence, empathy and communication.
The Reality of Being a Female Surgeon
After attending the UK premiere of 1001 Cuts, a documentary exploring the cumulative barriers faced by women in surgery, Dr Ali reflects in this first of two blogs on what it means to have survived and thrived in a profession where women remain significantly under-represented most especially in private practice. In the second, she will consider what patients may quietly gain from being under the care of a female surgeon, from communication and continuity to confidence and outcomes.
I recently attended a meeting of fellow female plastic surgeons, some in private practice, others not.
The event marked the UK premiere of 1001 Cuts, a thoughtful and inspiring award-winning movie made in the US about life as a female surgeon. 1001 cuts also refers to Ghengis Khan’s most terrible of all punishments – slowly flaying someone alive! It was one of those experiences that leaves you both angry and reflective. Angry because so much of what was described still resonates – it happened to me just last week at my place of work. Reflective because after all these years, I realise just how much persistence, resilience and momentum it has taken simply to keep going.
“1001 Cuts”: The Hidden Barriers in Surgery
The title 1001 Cuts is a very apt one. It refers not to one dramatic act of exclusion, but to the accumulation of small slights, quiet diminishment, structural barriers and everyday assumptions that women in surgery have had to absorb for decades. It is about a lack of visibility and persistent attacks. One cut may be survivable. A thousand can change the course of a career. It reminded me that while women are no longer unusual in medicine or medical school, they are still surprisingly rare in surgery, and rarer still in private surgical practice.
Women in Surgery: The UK Statistics
Recent UK data reported in the Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England found that while women make up 16.9% of consultant surgeons in the NHS, they account for only 6.2% of all surgeons in private practice, in some specialties, the figures are even more stark. In trauma and orthopaedic surgery, women represent just 2.2% of consultants. In neurosurgery, 2.3%. These are sobering statistics.
Why Some Patients Prefer a Female Plastic Surgeon
What this means in practical terms is that for those preferring a female consultant surgeon in any speciality, in private practice, choice is seriously limited. For many patients, especially women, being treated by another woman can matter deeply. Not because they are making an ideological statement, but because they want to feel comfortable, safe or better understood. They may want to be able to discuss ageing, childbirth, menopause, breasts, body change, sexuality or confidence as part of any consultation, without self-consciousness. They want to be heard but also understood. This is not mean as a criticism of male surgeons. It is simply an acknowledgment that lived experience can shape communication in powerful ways.
Empathy and Emotional Intelligence in Surgical Care
Part of my own journey through surgery has given me a preternatural awareness of my environment, when you have had to keep moving through spaces not designed for you, you become very attuned to what your environment is/is not saying, what people’s silence, their snubbing, their victim-blaming is showing you. Of course, it also makes you more sensitive to other people’s discomfort- you learn to readhesitation, discomfort, self-protection. You understand the therapeutic value of making someone feel safe enough to express what they really mean.
This, for me, is one of the hidden strengths of being a woman in surgery. Not because women have a monopoly on empathy, but because many of us have been forced to develop extraordinary emotional intelligence alongside technical competence.
Why Representation in Private Practice Matters
So sadly, it is still rare to find a female consultant surgeon in private practice. And I think patients should understand that rarity not as a novelty, but as something meaningful. It represents endurance. It represents a long and successful career built not on shortcuts, but on strength, staying power, and service.
Moving Forward: Strength, Momentum and Change
If 1001 Cuts reminded me of anything, it is that the answer has never been to stop. The answer is to lean in to your strengths, use your momentum. Keep moving. Keep building. Keep making space for yourself. Keep demonstrating what a different kind of surgical care can look like. I am indeed privileged to do the work I d.
