The Tenerife doctor Antonio García-Cáceres Hernández is 60 years old and tells me he will work until he is 70. When he reaches that age, he’ll dedicate much more time to living. We are speaking with one of the best plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeons in Spain.
He holds a degree in Medicine from the University of La Laguna, completed his doctorate with honours – that is, cum laude – and became the first resident, via MIR, in plastic surgery at the University Hospital of the Canary Islands (HUC). He is the founder and director of the Clínica Salud Estética, a benchmark in the islands, and has an extensive international training background in breast and facial surgery, along with periods at prestigious centres in Europe. He is a member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and has been head of various plastic surgery departments in referral hospitals, having received national awards for excellence in breast surgery.
He is part of Gournay, an institution that encompasses the best plastic surgeons in the country. I start with this topic because it is recent and represents pure prestige.
“For the clinic and for me, it is a boost. Joining Gournay means consolidating our work philosophy under a network that represents medical excellence, rigorous standards, and innovation.”
– This says a lot about your professional recognition.
“We have not changed our essence, but we have gained support, synergies, and projection. It means being part of an institution that includes the best plastic surgeons in the country, sharing knowledge within the group. The experience accumulated by each of us allows us to provide even greater excellence in treatments for our patients.”
– Antonio, what have been the major advances in plastic surgery in the 21st century?
“Many. From minimally invasive techniques to advances in regenerative surgery, artificial intelligence in surgical planning, and the use of cutting-edge biomaterials. But the true leap has been in personalisation: understanding each body, each story, and adapting the procedures to the individual.”
– Your father brought my daughters into the world, assisting his great friend Dr Joaquín Delgado Curbelo, may he rest in peace. I know that your father was a role model for you.
“Look, he was orphaned at a young age. He was the youngest of three siblings, and my grandmother, with great effort and very few resources, raised her family working as a seamstress.”
– His great passion was Medicine.
“Yes, Medicine was his great calling, and he managed to go to Cádiz to train as a nurse. Upon his return, he worked tirelessly for years at the old Civil Hospital, at the Casa Cuna, the Savings Bank, in a cement factory, attended births, going on a motorbike to almost inaccessible places to care for the sick. Often, he worked for free until my mother insisted he find a bit of balance. Thanks to his sacrifice, I was able to study at CEU San Pablo and my sister trained as a pianist in Vienna. My father taught me that before being a doctor, one must be a person and that patients should be treated as if they were family. I always wanted him to be proud of me and to achieve what he could not.”
(Until he was able to practice, Dr Antonio García-Cáceres’s father helped him in all his interventions. He was an exceptionally prepared man, who lived for Medicine. A warm, approachable person, adored by his peers. A pillar among the practitioners on the island and in Tenerife’s Medicine in general.)
– You were the first resident, via MIR, in plastic surgery at the HUC. Quite a milestone.
“For me, yes, certainly. When I finished my medical degree, I was clear that I wanted to become a plastic surgeon. At that time, it was a new but highly sought-after specialty. I applied several times for the MIR with the sole aim of securing one of the few positions offered in Spain. Each time, I gave up other disciplines because I knew exactly what I wanted. I went to Mexico to specialise with one of the best professionals in the world at that time, but I struggled to adapt to the country and missed my family and my partner a lot.”
– And you returned.
“I decided to come back to the island and started working for the Canary Islands Health Service. Meanwhile, I continued preparing for the MIR until I finally succeeded. Just so happened, it was the first year plastic surgery positions were available in Tenerife. It seemed like it was waiting for me. I had achieved my dream without leaving the island. As it was a new specialty in the Canary Islands, I made sure to rotate through the best hospitals in Spain – in Seville, Barcelona, and Burgos – and also in Europe – Great Britain and Germany – to complete my training at the highest level.”
– A perhaps impertinent question. Can the human body be transformed?
“Yes, but always with respect and medical ethics. Plastic surgery transforms, improves, and harmonises. However, it is essential to always seek balance, enhancing with naturality. We must also educate, guide, and have limits. Our work goes far beyond technique: it is about accompanying deep human processes.”
– You plastic surgeons are largely psychologists. Am I wrong?
“No, you are not mistaken. We listen much more than we intervene. There are cases where the most important thing isn’t to operate, but to understand. Often, a patient needs to see themselves differently, to reconcile with themselves. And that process starts in the consultation, not in the operating theatre.”
– I believe that plastic surgeons have gone much further, they have progressed. Have their competencies changed that much?
“Absolutely. Today, plastic surgery is a discipline that combines science, art, and technology. We deal with everything from complex reconstruction to minimally invasive beautification. Training never ends, and the range of techniques has expanded enormously. This demands constant responsibility and updating.”
(I ask Dr García-Cáceres about the percentage of interventions on men and women in his specialty. He notes that 80% are women and 20% men. He adds: “However, the trend among men is growing strongly, particularly in facial interventions, gynaecomastia and liposuction. There are fewer taboos and more awareness of well-being and image in both sexes.” The conversation continues with him recounting his activity. He has performed around 7,500 interventions. His mentor was Dr Edmundo Rodríguez. Dr García-Cáceres has been practising plastic surgery for a quarter of a century, and his reputation has spread throughout Spain. It has been four months since his clinic and he himself, as previously mentioned, have joined Gournay, along with the eleven best plastic surgeons in Spain, who work in Madrid, Barcelona, Córdoba, and the Canary Islands. On the human side, Antonio is an animal lover, which I believe is a hallmark of his identity. Moreover, he personally cares for his elderly mother, who lives in his home. I have always known him to be extremely approachable and, most importantly, close to his patients, having inherited his father’s capacity for sacrifice and possessing simple tastes.)
– How medicine has changed, my friend!
“You see, in the past, practitioners administered anaesthesia. My father would put patients to sleep, sometimes in conditions that are unimaginable today. But lives had to be saved. Look, boxes of sweets still arrive at my home each year from the children and grandchildren of my father’s patients. This moves me and makes me value even more what he was.”
– And what is the future of plastic surgery?
“The integration of science and humanity.”
– Why?
“Because we are moving towards regenerative techniques, towards intelligent surgery, towards extreme personalisation and towards safer, more natural procedures.”
– And there is also the closeness to the patient that we mentioned, is there not?
“The future also involves listening, accompanying, and understanding what the patient truly seeks. Not everything possible is necessary.”
– Tell me about the Gournay group, what it means to belong to it and who makes it up.
“Gournay is more than just a group.”
– Why?
“It is an institution that champions plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine with rigour, training and cutting-edge technology.”
– The elite?
“It is composed of clinics that are a benchmark throughout Spain, by professionals with an established trajectory and by a team that believes in quality work. We share values, and this has united us. Being a member of Gournay also means being part of a community that wants to lead the present and future of the sector in Spain with ethics, knowledge, and excellence.”
– Well, congratulations, doctor.
