Mark Gittos qualified from the Auckland University Medical School in 1984. He completed his plastic surgery training in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, France and the UK. 

In 1996 he became a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at The Saint Andrews Centre for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Essex, where he helped to establish the Basildon Breast Unit. He promoted the concept of immediate reconstruction after mastectomy surgery for breast cancer, and developed the skin-sparing mastectomy.