Interview with Dr. Enrique Exteberria, founder of Clínica Etxeberria.

Dr. Entique Etxeberria is a member of the Board of SECPRE (Spanish Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery), as Member of Private Healthcare. He is also It is also a founding member of the European Association of Plastic Surgery Aesthetic (EASAPS), a Fellow of Stanford University and a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons (FICS). His Clínica Etxeberria opened in 2009 and is located in Bilbao, Spain.

We interviewed Dr. Etxeberria for the Medical Spa MD Physician Report.

Medical Spa MD: Can you tell us a little bit about you and how you got started in cosmetic medicine?

A: I do not know why, but from a very young age I was extremely attracted to surgery. When I was 14 years old, I wanted to become a plastic surgeon with a focus on aesthetics. I started early at 16 years old, I was able to assist as a volunteer attending to the Pathology Department of Hospital Basurto (Bilbao, Spain). Then, at 17, I started helping a team of experimental cardiovascular surgeons at the University of the Basque Country-UPV (Bilbao, Spain) and when I was 18 years old, I published my first scientific paper. Shortly after, I started my medical education.  After finishing my university education and after a required step as lieutenant in the Spanish Army as Medical Doctor, I performed the studies for the title of Specialist in Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery at the Hospital Aranzazu in San Sebastian (Basque Country University-UPV), in the Basque Country, Spain.

I was always attracted to Surgery and Aesthetic Medicine and Private Practice. This led me to be a visiting doctor and to complete rotations in hospitals and institutions renowned throughout the world as:

• SPAIN: HOSPITAL DE BASURTO, Bilbao; HOSPITAL DE CRUCES, Bilbao;
• England: KINGS OAK HOSPITAL, London
• FRANCE: INSTITUTO NECKER, Paris
• MEXICO: HOSPITAL GEA GONZALEZ
• USA: STANFORD UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Finally, in 1998, I fulfilled my dream of opening my own Private Clinic of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery in Bilbao, Spain, my hometown, where I’m currently practicing.

Medical Spa MD:  Can you tell us about your clinic?

A: Clinica Etxeberria currently employs 11 people (2 plastic surgeons, a cosmetic doctor, a team of 6 nurses and 2 aestheticians) plus 4 people in charge of...