The death of 57-year-old plastic surgeon Dr Alexander Aslani, who was murdered on Wednesday afternoon (October 7) inside his Cirumed Clinic by a masked gunman who shot him in the head in front of a patient, has sent shockwaves through Marbella, Spain.

According to local media reports, the killer allegedly stormed into the clinic and shot the doctor several times in the head in front of clients before fleeing on a motorcycle.

Dr Alexander Aslani

“An extremely strange murder”

On Thursday, police announced the arrest of an 18-year-old Swedish man on suspicion of carrying out the execution. However, a National Police source described the murder as “extremely strange”.

The investigation is ongoing. News outlet 101TV reports that authorities are examining the possibility that the murder was linked to the death of a wealthy South American patient on the operating table. However, sources close to the murdered surgeon maintained that he had never lost a patient under such circumstances.

Meanwhile, the local newspaper Sur reported that a woman had sent threatening messages just hours before the attack, expressing dissatisfaction with the results of a treatment she had undergone and demanding a refund.

Those who knew Dr Alexander Aslani are trying to understand why a man who was generally described as “smiling and very friendly” was murdered.

As The Olive Press reports, he was a renowned doctor in Marbella. Clients from 40 countries flew in to have him treat them.

For his patients, Aslani was more than just a surgeon. He would almost always greet them with a broad smile and a hug, even if years had passed since their last appointment.

Aslani’s early academic work, much of it published in German, focused on reconstructive surgery. He was a member of the German Society of Plastic Surgeons, as well as American and international professional organisations.

A Marbella journalist who interviewed him a decade ago recalls that Aslani worked from a very small office with a secretary in the centre of the Spanish city.

In the years that followed, however, his reputation grew rapidly. From 2008 to 2018, he headed the plastic surgery departments at the well-known Quirón hospitals in Málaga and Marbella. In 2016, he was named Spain’s best plastic surgeon.

Two years later, in 2018, he founded his own clinic, Cirumed Clinic, specialising in body contouring — procedures designed to improve the appearance and shape of the body. He had hundreds of thousands of followers across his social media accounts, where he frequently posted content related to his work.

The Cirumed Clinic founded by Alexander Aslani

According to figures published by the clinic itself, Aslani had performed more than 14,000 procedures, including over 7,000 Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs). He also pioneered a hybrid technique combining fat transfer with implants.

He was the number-one choice for many influencers, models and celebrities. Following their procedures, international patients had the option of recovering in a private villa rented exclusively for the clinic’s patients.

He also volunteered with the humanitarian surgical organisation Interplast.

He was married to a German woman, with whom he had two daughters, both of whom attended a private school on the coast.

“He was very friendly, always smiling”

One of his patients, Angie Mezaros, who first met Aslani six years ago alongside her husband, said that “from that very first moment, he connected with us so naturally and immediately understood our personalities”.

Initially, they had a professional relationship, but over the years it developed into something more, and they became close friends. Sometimes several months would pass without them being in contact, but whenever they met again, everything felt just as it had before.

Mezaros emphasised that “what I remember most about Alexander was how friendly and approachable he was,” she said. “He was always smiling, always laughing. Even if one, two or three years had passed, he would welcome us with the same broad smile and the same hug.”

“Much more than just a doctor”

One of his assistants also became a close friend, giving Angie an insight into the people around him. “Alexander was someone people genuinely loved. He was a very talented and highly respected surgeon, but to me, he was much more than just a doctor.”

Journalist Giles Brown explained that “he was always well dressed, always very elegant, a little arrogant, but there you go. Beautiful house. Big man, big name.”

“He was a wonderful person, an excellent family man and someone who genuinely cared about people,” Angie stressed.

For her, the question of who murdered Aslani matters less than the loss itself. “His death was so incredibly shocking and heartbreaking. It is still very difficult for me to believe that he is gone.”