Turkey’s health tourism industry is experiencing unprecedented growth every year. However, the word-of-mouth success of the clinics in Turkey has left many wondering if it’s even safe to get safe plastic surgery there.
Many would say so. According to the International Health Services (USHAS), health services were provided to more than 1.2 million people in Turkey in 2022. And the goal is to increase this number to 1.5 million by 2023.
The country has taken several measures over the years to make health tourism safe. Even so, it’s important to do your research before getting plastic surgery in Turkey (or anywhere else) to ensure that it’s safe.
Is It Safe To Get Plastic Surgery In Turkey?
Plastic surgery is safe in Turkey if you find an experienced and specialised plastic surgeon registered with the Turkish Medical Association working at a facility regulated by the Ministry of Health.
You should, however, keep in mind that all surgery carries risks. The same is true whether you’re getting surgery in Turkey or your home country.
Nevertheless, because flying to another country in case of a complication can be challenging, it’s important to find out if your clinic provides aftercare.
Because health tourism has exploded in recent years, it’s true that some clinics have started operating illegally. But, again, that’s not just a problem in Turkey.
For instance, in the UK, an undercover operation by the Milton Keynes City Council found 23 clinics offering Botox and fillers illegally. More recently, MailOnline reported that these were being handed out to individuals in so-called, “cosmetic lotteries.”
The problem is almost endemic to the industry. Therefore, it’s important that you do your research before booking a treatment with any clinic/doctor.
Why Is It Safe To Get Plastic Surgery In Turkey?
Health tourism in Turkey is regulated by laws, which include the Law on the Method of Execution of Medicine and Medical Science and the Law on Health Care Services.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Health must approve specific licences before healthcare can be provided.
Regulations introduced in 2017 also focused on making health tourism more suitable for foreigners. For instance, it entailed the establishment of a separate “International Tourism Health Unit,” with each unit having at least 2 English-speaking employees.
And in order to offer health tourism services in the first place, International Health Tourism authorization certificates had to be obtained.
Therefore, to operate legally, a medical facility needs to have the necessary licences. Of course, this isn’t all. In order to maintain high-quality healthcare, the Ministry of Health Inspection Board conducts frequent inspections as well.
And as far as the doctors are concerned, other than being registered with the Turkish Medical Association, they also need to have liability insurance by law.
You can also find many surgeons who’re members of international bodies like the ISAPS. Due to their patient volume and diverse portfolio, they even have more experience than most doctors.
In general, the healthcare industry has improved quite a lot in Turkey. According to Statista, the healthcare expenditure in 2021 was 354 billion Turkish lira (£15 billion). In the last five years or so, it’s almost tripled.
Additionally, according to the 2021 global survey by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), Turkey is among the countries with the highest percentage of medical tourists.
A total of 950,365 procedures were performed in that year alone – around the same ratio of surgical to non-surgical treatment.
Therefore, keeping Turkey’s modern healthcare infrastructure in mind, you can safely get plastic surgery here. However, there are some things that you should do about that.
How Can You Get Safe Plastic Surgery In Turkey?
It’s important that you do your research before booking a treatment in Turkey. For this, you should:
Check Out The Reviews
Checking out the reviews is always a good starting point. However, you shouldn’t just read the reviews on a company’s website.
Make sure to check them out on independent third-party websites like Trustpilot. Of course, Google reviews are also helpful in this regard (although not all are genuine).
It’s important that you read the reviews to see if they sound “natural” and “human.” Some companies may try to toot their own horn by writing fake reviews.
Keep in mind that reviews also include the before and after photos of patients. To make sure that they actually belong to that particular clinic, you should try to verify them with a reverse image search.
Ask About The Surgeon’s Experience & Verify
For one, you should know all about the experience, training, and specialisation of your surgeon.
It’s important that they’re actually experienced in the surgery that you’re looking to get.
For that, you should check out their actual degrees and certificates. And if they claim that they’re part of an international organisation, try to verify it.
For instance, ISAPS has a member register where you can find actual ISAPS doctors (you just have to put in their names).
The Turkish Ministry of Health also has information on authorised healthcare providers and facilitators on its website. So, you should consider checking that out as well.
Ask About The Surgery
Before getting the surgery, it’s important that you learn about it as much as you can from your clinic/surgeon.
It will give you an idea of their calibre. And you can also get a feel of their behaviour. If they’re being too pushy or over-promising, it’s likely a red flag.
It’s unlikely that a surgeon’s complication rate is zero. So, you should ask about that as well (of course, it shouldn’t be too high either).
Ask About Aftercare
If you’re getting surgery in another country, you need to keep the aftercare aspect in mind.
Your results need to be monitored, and if something’s not right, you should be able to get immediate help from your doctor. It will also ensure your safety after surgery.
Conclusion
Is it safe to get plastic surgery in Turkey? Yes! However, it’s important that you do your research before booking a treatment with any practitioner or clinic (in Turkey, the UK, or anywhere in the world).
Health tourism is a very rapidly growing industry. However, the demand for cosmetic surgery has also increased quite a lot. As a result, you’ll likely find some bad actors in the industry globally.
But by learning as much as you can about your surgeon and the facility in which they’re operating, you can protect yourself from a lot of harm.
