Professional Summary

Nicanor G. Isse, MD, holds a singular place in the history of modern aesthetic surgery as the surgeon most closely associated with the endoscopic revolution in facial rejuvenation. With an illustrious career spanning several decades across the United States and international surgical arenas, his influence extends far beyond his own operating room into the standard toolkit and technique vocabulary of plastic surgeons globally.

In the early 1990s, Dr. Isse revolutionized modern aesthetic surgery by introducing and popularizing minimally invasive endoscopic techniques for the brow, midface, and facial contouring — a shift that fundamentally changed how surgeons approached facial rejuvenation, moving the field away from longer, more visible incisions toward smaller, camera-guided access points.

Renowned for his profound three-dimensional anatomical mastery and his commitment to achieving natural, scar-minimizing results, he has invented numerous specialized surgical instruments and tissue-fixation technologies that remain gold standards in operating rooms globally. Today, as a highly sought-after keynote speaker, visiting professor, and masterclass mentor, Dr. Isse continues to shape the future of aesthetic surgery by imparting his groundbreaking methodologies to generations of plastic surgeons worldwide.

Current Positions & Leadership

• Founder & Medical Director: Isse Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Center, with locations in Newport Beach and Burbank, California, directing an elite clinical practice specializing in advanced facial rejuvenation and aesthetic surgery, where his endoscopic techniques continue to be applied and refined on a daily clinical basis.
• Global Surgical Innovator & Scientific Consultant: Actively collaborates with leading medical device manufacturers to design next-generation endoscopic instrumentation and minimally invasive surgical tools, extending his influence on the field beyond his own practice into the instruments used by surgeons everywhere.
• International Keynote Speaker & Visiting Professor: Frequently conducts advanced anatomical dissection workshops, live surgical demonstrations, and instructional courses at major global plastic surgery congresses, positioning him as one of the most in-demand educators in the endoscopic and minimally invasive facial surgery space.

Education & Advanced Surgical Training

• Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Specialization: Completed rigorous fellowship and residency training in plastic, reconstructive, and aesthetic surgery at premier medical institutions in the United States and Argentina, giving him a surgical education that spanned two distinct medical systems and traditions.
• General Surgery Residency: Provided extensive foundational training in general and reconstructive surgery, establishing the deep technical understanding of surgical anatomy and tissue mechanics that would later underpin his innovations in endoscopic technique.
• Medical Degree (MD): Earned from the National University of Córdoba Faculty of Medical Sciences (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba) in Argentina, the starting point of a career that would go on to reshape facial aesthetic surgery on an international scale.

Clinical Expertise & Surgical Philosophy

• Endoscopic Facial Rejuvenation: Undisputed pioneer of endoscopic brow lifts, midface suspension, and subperiosteal lifting techniques, restoring youthful anatomical volume and structure without the traditional long incisions that had previously defined facelift and browlift surgery.
• Minimally Invasive Facial Aesthetics: Expertise extends to scar-minimizing blepharoplasty, aesthetic rhinoplasty, and facial contouring, with a consistent emphasis on rapid patient recovery and natural biological harmony as central goals of every procedure.
• Surgical Instrumentation & Tissue Fixation: Developed the globally recognized Isse Endoscopic Dissectors and retractor systems, and was a key developer of bio-resorbable fixation concepts now utilized broadly in modern facial suspension surgery.
• Philosophy of Anatomical Precision: Rooted in respecting deep facial planes and vector-based rejuvenation, an approach designed to ensure that surgical interventions yield enduring, natural aesthetics rather than the artificial tension associated with older facelift techniques.

Notable Professional Experience & Mentorship

• Pioneering the Endoscopic Revolution: Formally introduced endoscopic dissection to aesthetic plastic surgery in the early 1990s, fundamentally transforming facial rejuvenation protocols globally and earning prestigious awards from international surgical societies in recognition of the scale of that transformation.
• Global Surgical Mentorship: Has personally trained, mentored, and certified thousands of plastic surgeons across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East through hands-on cadaver dissection courses and clinical observerships, a scale of educational reach matched by very few surgeons in the specialty.
• Academic Author & Educator: Authored seminal peer-reviewed scientific papers, landmark textbook chapters, and comprehensive surgical video atlases detailing endoscopic dissection techniques and complex facial anatomy, ensuring that his methods are documented and transmissible well beyond his own direct teaching.

Professional Memberships

• Active Member: American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and The Aesthetic Society (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery — ASAPS).
• Active & Honorary Member: International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), along with membership in numerous other prestigious national and regional plastic surgery societies worldwide.