Plastic and reconstructive surgery and aesthetic medicine in Spain

Several specialist teams from Barcelona are renowned experts in reconstructive surgery, compound tissue transplants, facial cosmetic surgery and microsurgery. Among the most common plastic surgeries are breast reconstruction after a mastectomy and surgery after large burns. In 2010, a group of more than 30 experts successfully performed the world’s first full-face transplant. Each of the more than 30 experts contributed to the transplant: working with the skin and muscles of the face, nose, lips, upper jaw, all teeth, palate, bones of the cheek and jaw, with reconstructive microsurgery of the vessels and posterior plastic surgery.

Barcelona is also the international capital for breast reconstruction using the DIEP technique (reconstruction using the patient’s own tissue and skin), for lymph node and lymph node transplants after mastectomy and the surgical treatment of lymphedema, the most common complication after a mastectomy, which, by the way, can now be avoided thanks to the technique developed by the Barcelona team under the direction of Dr. Jaume Masia.

Of course, most plastic surgery aims to improve only some aspect of physical appearance. Among the most requested surgeries are breast augmentation, liposuction, blepharoplasty, lifting, rhinoplasty, mastopexy, abdominoplasty and lipectomy.

Spain is one of the countries with the largest number of plastic surgeries in the world: around 450,000 people annually get plastic surgery in the country, and this with a population of only 46 million! In absolute figures, Spain trails South Korea and Brazil in terms of the number of plastic surgery operations performed. About 87% of the patients are women (breast augmentation is the most popular procedure, followed by liposuction and blepharoplasty) and approximately 13% of the patients are now men (blepharoplasty is the most requested procedure among men). Given the high level of training of Spanish professionals, along with excellent facilities, the tradition in the country and a continuously aging population (who wants to continue looking good!), makes it clear that the number of plastic surgery and beauty enhancement procedures will continue to rise.

Most of the plastic surgery operations in Spain are performed at clinics in Barcelona, the “medical capital” of Spain, home to several teams of world-class, internationally recognized specialists, including Dr. Ramón Vila Rovira, Dr. Jaume Masia, Dr. Ivan Mañero, Dr. José María Palacin, Dr. Javier Herrero, Dr. Vicente Paloma, Dr. José María Serra Renom, Dr. Antonio Tapia, and Dr. Javier de Benito. True magicians of plastic surgery, they are also pioneers in the introduction of new techniques, pooling technical knowledge and skills with great sensitivity towards patients.

These specialists, as a general rule, are not confined to operations in a single area of plastic surgery, although each has its “star operation”, that is, the area in which the doctor has the most expertise. The names of some of these professionals are linked to the introduction of new surgical techniques, which experts from around the world subsequently use.

A perfect example is BLAST (Barcelona Lymphedema Algorithm for Surgical Treatment), developed by Dr. Jaume Masia and his team; this therapeutic algorithm for the choice of surgical technique is used today by the best surgeons in the world to treat lymphedema.

These innovative solutions serve both in and out of the operating room. For example, Dr. Ivan Mañero uses the latest 3D printers at his clinic, making it possible to create a silicone mask identical to the patient’s face in order to visualize the exact result of his aesthetic work, and Dr. Ramón Vila-Rovira has developed a new technology to perform “mammograms” that recreate the movement of the chest of each woman before and after the implant, which also serves to anticipate the surgery and visualize the effect well before the operation.

Another important element: the best plastic surgeons in Barcelona tend to perform surgery at large hospitals and not small clinics, which allows them to ensure the most advanced techniques combined with the presence of the best specialists in other disciplines. On the other hand, all international patients who come to Barcelona for plastic surgery are guaranteed the highest level of comfort and total confidentiality.

Barcelona is home to one of the most reputable clinics in the world in plastic surgery: Clínica Planas. Founded nearly 50 years ago, the clinic was one of the world’s first specialized centers and is still recognized as the leading beauty and health center on a global scale. International congresses and plastic surgery courses are held at the clinic, which treats the largest number of plastic surgery patients in the world: around 12,000 patients per year.

And when it comes to the Ivan Mañero Beauty Institute –recognized by many as the most comfortable aesthetic medicine clinic in Europe– care goes beyond the best technologies, experience and comfort, and simply becomes an experience that has little to do with a hospital stay. The clinic gives an impression similar to a five-star luxury hotel: over 5,000 meters of glass and futuristic design, the most innovative applied techniques and information technology, meticulous décor, and impressive views of Tibidabo…possibly the most modern beauty institute that Europe has to offer.

Spain has the highest life expectancy in Europe, and its people clearly refuse to reach old age with loose skin. They want to look (and feel) attractive. This desire, while it may seem frivolous to some, has resulted in the creation of an excellent “school” of plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine along with leading beauty institutions, making Barcelona the preferred destination of increasingly more patients from all over the world.