Dr. Frederick Weniger — The Art and Heart of a Lowcountry Surgeon

In his welcoming Bluffton office, a conversation with Dr. Frederick Weniger feels less like meeting a surgeon and more like meeting an old friend who happens to be remarkably good at fixing things. His manner is calm, his words thoughtful, and his focus unwavering. It doesn’t take long to realize that for Dr. Weniger, plastic surgery isn’t about vanity — it’s about restoration, confidence, and care.

Every year since 2009, Bluffton Today readers have named him Best Plastic Surgeon in Bluffton. Awards like that don’t come from flash or clever marketing. They come from consistency, compassion, and results. And those values trace all the way back to his childhood.

Curiosity and the Making of a Mind

As a boy growing up in a family of physicians, Frederick Weniger was endlessly curious. He was the kind of child who took things apart just to see how they worked. His favorite toy wasn’t a video game console — it was a large bin of Legos. Without instructions, he’d spend hours creating airplanes, cars, and inventions from imagination alone.

That creative impulse, combined with the influence of his father (a doctor) and grandfather (a psychiatrist), quietly shaped his path toward medicine. But Dr. Weniger’s interests were never limited to science. He’s an accomplished trombonist, a licensed pilot, and an all-around academic — someone who likes to explore every angle before choosing a direction.

A Calling, Not a Career

While studying at the University of Notre Dame, he briefly considered other fields — investment banking, engineering, even aviation. But one Sunday night, sitting in Mass, he heard something that changed everything.

“The priest said, ‘Whatever you choose, make sure you’re helping people as much as you can,’” Dr. Weniger recalls. “That stuck with me. It clarified what I wanted to do.”

That single moment of insight became the foundation for his career and his life. It also explains why his patients, many of whom drive from across the Lowcountry and Savannah, describe him as both brilliant and deeply human.

The Journey to Surgery

At the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Weniger’s natural curiosity found its match in plastic surgery — a field that demands equal parts creativity, logic, and precision. Early in his training, he met Dr. Peter Johnson, a respected surgeon who challenged him not with a scalpel but with a test of initiative.

When Weniger asked to work in his lab, Dr. Johnson replied, “Write me a paper explaining why you belong here.”

The next morning, the paper was on his desk. That work ethic — the willingness to go the extra mile without being asked — set the tone for the rest of Dr. Weniger’s career.

His work in tissue engineering and reconstructive techniques led him to see plastic surgery not as cosmetic tinkering, but as architecture in human form. “It’s problem-solving at its highest level,” he says. “Every person, every case, is different. That’s what keeps it fascinating.”

Bridging Art, Science, and Business

Dr. Weniger didn’t stop with a medical degree. During residency, he took what some might call an unexpected turn — earning an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School of Business.

That decision, unusual for a surgeon, proved transformative. “Understanding how systems work, how people make decisions, how value moves — it all ties back to how you care for patients,” he says.

Today, as the owner and director of Weniger Plastic Surgery and Hilton Head Surgical Suites, he applies that same business acumen to create an environment where safety, privacy, and personal care are paramount. His surgical facility is AAAASF-certified — the highest standard in office-based surgery. It allows him to oversee every step of the patient experience, from consultation to recovery.

A Different Kind of Practice

Walk into Dr. Weniger’s office, and you’ll notice something unusual: warmth. The space feels less like a clinic and more like a living room. Patients are greeted by name. They meet the entire team. Consultations aren’t rushed.

“I want people to feel seen and understood,” he says. “We spend as much time as we need to understand what someone truly wants — not just what they think they need.”

That approach is why patients describe his practice as “concierge-level care.” Every detail matters, from the first phone call to the follow-up visit. In fact, Dr. Weniger personally gives his cell phone number to surgical patients. “If it were my family, I’d want that accessibility,” he explains. “So that’s what I provide.”

Faith, Family, and the Full Picture

Ask Dr. Weniger what matters most, and he doesn’t talk about awards or techniques — he talks about his family. He met his wife, Jennifer, while she was working as a recovery nurse and he was completing his medical training. He remembers thinking she looked “like Snow White with blue eyes and black hair.”

More than two decades later, they’ve built a full life together in the Lowcountry, raising three children while balancing work, faith, and community involvement. Jennifer helps manage aspects of the practice, and together they’ve created an atmosphere that feels both professional and personal.

“I used to think of myself as a plastic surgeon who has a family,” he says with a smile. “Now I know I’m a husband and father who happens to be a plastic surgeon.”

Beyond the Operating Room

When he isn’t in surgery, Dr. Weniger might be found fly-fishing with his teenage son, visiting his daughters at Notre Dame, or mentoring medical students who shadow him to learn about life in practice. He’s as comfortable talking about the history of medicine as he is about the nuances of facial symmetry.

Those who know him well describe a man who’s never really stopped being a student — of science, of people, of life itself. He approaches each day with gratitude and focus, qualities that have made him not just a trusted surgeon, but a respected neighbor and friend.

The Lowcountry Connection

After years of training in Pittsburgh and across the country, Dr. Weniger could have chosen to work anywhere. But he chose Bluffton and Hilton Head. “This area has a sense of community you don’t find everywhere,” he says. “People look out for one another here. I love that about the Lowcountry.”

He’s proud to serve patients throughout Beaufort County and the surrounding region, and even prouder to call it home. His work may deal in precision, but his heart belongs to people — those he helps, those he teaches, and those he lives among.

For Dr. Frederick Weniger, success isn’t just about recognition or reputation. It’s about the quiet, daily work of helping people feel like themselves again — and doing it with skill, empathy, and grace. That’s the art and heart of a Lowcountry surgeon.