Timeless Vision – Interview with Dr Ahmed Elborno, Founder of Elborno Clinic

Timeless Vision

The tenacious Dr Ahmed Elborno tells us why he will never settle for staying in the comfort zone

Dr Ahmed Elborno is someone who never wants to stop learning. Throughout his impressive medical career, he has taken it upon himself to continuously delve deeper into the human body to uncover every facet there is to know. “The human body, to me, is like the universe – everything is in motion,” he explains. Through the years, Dr Elborno has worked as a surgeon, in anesthesiology, pain management, regenerative medicine and more and he is now a five-time American board-certified doctor – he holds board certifications from the American Board of Anesthesiology, subspecialty in Pain Medicine, American Board of Pain Medicine. Competence and Narcotic Certification, American Board of Minimally Invasive Spine Specialists, The American Board of Anti-Aging & Regenerative Medicine (ABAARM, American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians (ABIPP), and is also a Fellow of International Pain Physicians (FIPP). With a tenacious zest to continue his quest to learn and to help people, Dr Elborno will never reach a final destination because, to him, there isn’t one. “I learned success is a journey, not a destination,” he tells Emirates Woman also adding, “I learned the harder the problem is the more limited the competition and the greater the reward for whoever can solve it.” In our exclusive interview with Dr Elborno, he talks us through his extensive career in the medical field, why he chose Dubai to open the second-ever Elborno Clinic and the philosophies he has carried with him throughout his entire working life.

Can you talk us through your career? My career was a journey and a discovery through the human body which became more and more fascinating. To this day I continue to add to my knowledge and specialise in new fields. The human body to me is like the universe – everything is in motion. I went to medical school to study and in the first few years I learned about the normal and abnormal mechanisms of the body. I learned about how medicine works inside the body, how our body reacts to medicine and how the disease conditions started as well what it leads to. In my last year of medical school, I learned how to treat disease. I went on to achieve my goal of being a heart surgeon but my aim was to go deep inside the body and understand more so I then moved to critical care and ICU. Medicine took me deep inside the body to look at the orchestra, the symphony playing

IMAGE: SUPPLIED

inside. I was fascinated with the fact that I can do all of this fixing without interference from the patient. The patient is completely asleep under anaesthesia and this is why I wanted to specialize in anaesthesia. I also wanted to study more about pain and to know the secret as to where this comes from and therefore undertook a fellowship that specialized in pain management. Then, I went further into anti-ageing and regenerative medicine fellowship, going deep inside the cells of our body is my goal and journey to explore the magnificent work by the creator at the level of one cell. What inspired you to go into the medical field in the first place? I was born to be a doctor. I did my first anatomy class when I was in elementary school. As a kid, I always played the role of the doctor. I was always dreaming about being a doctor – it was my destiny. You opened the first Elborno Centre in Chicago and then made the leap of faith to open a clinic in Dubai. What attracted you to this region? Dubai is a fast-growing city and it was always a place where I wanted to pass my help and services to people here in the whole region. There is a similarity between Dubai and my continual fascination with the universe. Can you talk us through what Elborno Clinic does? Elborno specialises in anti-ageing and regenerative medicine – the medicine and science that dive inside the cells of our bodies to know the secrets of why we are ageing. It is a unique clinic in the centre of Dubai that takes everybody into that journey of looking beautiful inside and out and feeling their best. How do you set yourself up each day for success? I am always taking advantage of life’s many opportunities before they slip away. I feel I was made to succeed not born to succeed. I never stop learning. I study people and organisations in my life that have enormous success and I’m open to new input whether that be from people, experiences or gaining knowledge through learning. In your professional life, what is a philosophy that you live by? I have to believe in something greater than myself and my personal need, it is my work to deal with any challenges. I will never deviate myself from a sense of right and wrong, my integrity must be unquestionable. I have to be bold and act when the moment seems right. I will accept risk when others are cautious and take action when everyone else is frozen and do it smartly. I always see a way to reinvent and improve myself. I learned the harder the problem means the competition is more limited and the greater the reward for whoever can solve it. Success to me comes down to rare moments of opportunity, I am always open, alert and ready to seize them by gathering the right people and resources. What have been the biggest lessons you have learned throughout your career? I learned that my version of success is di erent from everybody else – I never stay in my comfort zone. I learned that failure goes hand in hand with success, I learned nothing is free in life. Most importantly, I have learned, success is a journey, not a destination. I always learn from success, not failure. Lastly, the one thing I believe is that one thing that can always be controlled is attitude. Create a daily to-do list, formulate goals, always be honest and clear and prepared, evaluate each goal separately. This is The Timelessness Issue – how would you define this? Definitely that it has no definite time as this is always dependent on quality and quality always changes with time by depending on many factors. This year we celebrate the UAE’s 50th Anniversary – what makes this region unique to you? This region is very unique as it is unlike any other country in the world due to the high number of expats – you can meet the whole world here in the UAE. It also has the biggest mall in the world, the tallest building in the world and a vibrant array of di erent cultures and religions.

“Success to me comes down to rare moments of opportunity, I am always open, alert and ready to seize them by gathering the right people and resources.”