Dr. Ivar van Heijningen - Plastich Surgeon
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Doctor Ivar van Heijningen has worked as a plastic surgeon at AZ Zeno Knokke-Heist since 2001 and has led the Duinbergen Clinic since 2006, with a focus on safety & patient-centered work.
Training
Doctor van Heijningen, born in 1961 in Utrecht (NL), began his education at the University of Nijmegen and graduated as a physician in 1989.
During his fellowships, he did an optional health care fellowship in developing countries where he worked as a student doctor in a hospital in Tanzania and also spent several days working with a plastic surgeon who came to operate on difficult cases for Doctors Without Borders.
In the 1990s he completed his training as a plastic surgeon both in the Netherlands and in Belgium. After a tropical training in Almelo (surgery and gynecology Obstetrics) he was able to start working as a plastic surgery resident in Eindhoven, after which he completed his general surgery training at the Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven from 1994 to 1997. He moved to Ghent for training in reconstructive and microsurgery at the UZ of Ghent, and completed his plastic surgery training between 1997-2001 at the hospitals of Nijmegen and then Zwolle.
Internships he did in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany but the United States (Boston, Dallas, Nashville, New York) are also on the list.
Functions doctor van Heijningen
Since 2001, Dr. van Heijningen has been active as a plastic surgeon in Knokke and Blankenberge at AZ Zeno (the former O.LV. Ter Linden hospital and Queen Fabiola hospital. In March 2018, the new AZ ZENO opened its doors. Since 2006, he has been at the helm of Duinbergen Clinic.
Since Duinbergen Clinic stands for safety and quality, it is not surprising that Doctor van Heijningen is associated with several associations to which he is fully committed.
As a member and/or president of several associations, the doctor has traveled all over the world. He is a sought-after speaker at various conferences.
Doctor van Heijningen is:
European standards
Dr. van Heijningen developed 2 Europes standards: the EN 16372 Aesthetic Surgery Services published in 2015 and EN 16844 Aesthetic Medicine, non-surgical procedures published in 2017.
Currently, a standard for Beauty Salons is being developed in which he is trying to arrive at a safe concept where the patient is protected from improper use of lasers, for example.
Organized conferences
Doctor van Heijningen has organized the "Aesthetic Dissection Course" in Liege every year since 2015, together with Professor Jean-Luc Nizet. This is a three-day course for young colleagues concerns facial anatomy, in relation to aesthetic treatments and surgeries.
See Isapscourse.com
In October 2019, a three-day congress was organized in Bruges by the Doctor for EASAPS and ISAPS, with invited speakers from around the world and visitors from 42 countries.
Accreditation - patient safety
Duinbergen Clinic is an accredited clinic, this means it meets the requirements of the AAAASF, which is the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities, where the highest standards must be met.
This is not an obligation, but in Belgium there is no official form of accreditation! So this was a well-considered and conscious choice of Doctor van Heijningen in 2006.
The clinic is reassessed annually with triennial internal inspections throughout the building to judge whether we are fully compliant with all protocols in terms of (patient) safety.
In 2025, we once again passed with flying colors.