If a face tells a story, Dr. Javier Gutiérrez Santamaría has spent his life learning how to edit those stories with extraordinary care. Not cinematic editing, but the kind done with bone, nerves, and millimeters that quietly redefine how people move through the world.

He graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Navarra in 2007, already convinced that the human face was far more than an anatomical puzzle. It was identity, expression, and function compressed into a remarkably complex structure. That conviction led him to specialize in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona, one of Europe’s most demanding training environments for the specialty. Fellow of the European Board of Oral and Maxillofacial since 2018 and PhD in 2020, with the first thesis in Spain about Facial Feminization Surgery, in the field of the lower jaw contourplasty.

During his residency and career, he sought knowledge far beyond one hospital or one country. His training included observation and advanced exposure at Saint Jean Hospital in Belgium, the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, cosmetic facial surgery programs in Richmond, Virginia, New York Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital, Beverly Hills Center for Plastic Surgery.  Each experience refined a surgical philosophy built on precision, safety, and respect for individuality.

After completing his specialization, he remained at Vall d’Hebron as a consultant surgeon, eventually becoming responsible for the Orthognathic Surgery and Craniofacial Deformities Unit. Alongside his clinical work, he served as a professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, contributing to the training of future maxillofacial surgeons and reinforcing his belief that excellence in surgery must be taught, questioned, and constantly updated.

In 2016, he joined FACIALTEAM, an international reference group in facial feminization surgery, orthognathic and facial aesthetics. Today, he is a senior surgeon and director at Facialteam Barcelona and also treats patients at HC Marbella International Hospital with Facialteam, combining complex functional surgery with aesthetic balance. 

Dr. Gutiérrez Santamaría is known for an approach that blends technical rigor with human attention. Patient feedback consistently highlights his calm manner, clarity in explanation, and empathetic presence before and after surgery. His work often addresses cases where function, facial harmony, and psychological well-being are inseparable — orthognathic surgery, facial asymmetries, post-traumatic reconstruction, and complex deformities.

Fluent in Spanish, Catalan, English, he works comfortably in international clinical settings and frequently participates in conferences and professional meetings, presenting advances in minimally invasive techniques and contemporary orthognathic surgery.

Despite operating in a field where perfection is often expected, his philosophy remains grounded: surgery is not about creating idealized faces, but about restoring balance, function, and confidence in a way that feels authentic to each patient.

There are no dramatic speeches in his story, no exaggerated hero moments. Just a surgeon tying his mask, reviewing a plan down to the last fraction of a millimeter, and understanding that every face carries a life behind it. His legacy is not loud — it is precise, thoughtful, and written quietly in how people recognize themselves again when they look in the mirror.