Aesthetic Surgery in Istanbul
In my opinion, the most beautiful city in the world is Istanbul; An imposing city that smells of history with the sea running through it. Istanbul is a city known to the world, where many Europeans visit at some point in their lives, and where cultural tours are experienced intensively. I think there is nothing in Turkey that you cannot find in this city. With a clearer expression; If there is any service, business, finance, trade, production, material etc. in our country’s geography. If you are looking for and cannot reach, you should definitely take a look at Istanbul.
About 60 percent of the estimated 2000 number of plastic surgeons in Turkey work in Istanbul. This is an indication of how busy this city is in terms of plastic surgeries. So why Istanbul in aesthetics? What different? Are plastic surgeries performed in Istanbul better? Or are the plastic surgeons in Istanbul very good? Does Istanbul have very good hospitals where plastic surgery operations are performed? Or where is the best plastic surgery center in Istanbul? Are Turkey’s best plastic surgeons in Istanbul?
If I add up the period when I studied medicine in Ankara for 6 years, the period when I specialized in plastic surgery for 6.5 years in Mersin, and the period when I operated an aesthetic center for 6 years in total with 2 years of compulsory service in Kayseri; I worked in different provinces of Anatolia for about 18 years. I have operated in A plus hospitals in Kayseri and at the university in Mersin, they are hospitals with all kinds of technological facilities. There was something I noticed during my patient interviews and examinations while I was working there. I am not generalizing here, but some of our patients were asking the following question at the end of our interviews: “Sir, should we talk to the doctors in Istanbul? Say what?” Interestingly, asking this question to a doctor working in that city should be a separate research topic. I can’t say that I liked these types of questions very much when I worked in Anatolia. Because you are a well-educated plastic surgeon who does the right things, but the “magic of Istanbul” in people’s eyes makes people ask this question. Especially in health, the lack of timely hospitals in Anatolia and even the absence of some branch doctors forced people to go to larger cities. For example, people in Mersin go to Adana, Sivas, Yozgat; Nevşehir, Niğde, Aksaray and Kahramanmaraş The patients in Kayseri, even the patients in Kayseri and Adana have gone to Ankara and Istanbul. This tradition still continues, although there are doctors in all branches from the westernmost to the easternmost part of Turkey, domestic health tourism continues. With the increase in social awareness and the more widespread use of the internet, people choose the center and physician to be treated, and therefore they go to different provinces for treatment purposes.
The biggest reason why I decided not to open an aesthetic center in Istanbul was to open up to international healthcare services, and at the same time to respond to the demands of our domestic patients. Because Patients can come from every province of Anatolia to have plastic surgery in Istanbul, and at the same time, many patients from Central Asia and Europe apply. Interestingly, patients who come to Istanbul for plastic surgery from other cities are much more determined and want to have the surgery on the same day or the next day. Because it is necessary to minimize expenses such as transportation and accommodation. However, in other provinces, the decision-making process may be longer by interview.
We can use many technical equipment (eg lasers and similar high-tech instruments) in hospitals in Istanbul. But don’t get me wrong with this. I I perform plastic surgery in the most equipped hospitals in Kayseri, but there is no shortage of surgical instruments. Some laser systems used only in certain surgeries are not available in the hospital, we have to use our personal devices. The more hospitals there are in the city, the more competition there is, so hospitals in Istanbul give more importance to investment.
My recommendations to our patients who want to have plastic surgery in Istanbul; First of all, they should not forget that the plastic surgeons working in this city and the plastic surgeons working in other cities have received similar training and that they have chosen this city for living and working. In other words, they don’t decide just because they are Istanbul’s plastic surgeon, they research the doctor well, they are definitely examined and they decide to operate with their own free will. My advice to foreign and foreign patients; meeting with a few doctors they have decided, listening to them. It is very important that the hospital where you will be operated has certain equipment (the technical support of the hospital and the anesthesia team are very important). Find out the name of the hospital where you will be operated, go and see if possible, meet the anesthesia team.
The thing that our patients, who will come from abroad to have plastic surgery in Istanbul, should never forget; Services such as flight tickets, accommodation, transfers can be very attractive. However, the important thing is not the hotel where you will stay for 3 days, the flight ticket or taxi fare you will buy, but the change you will take in your body when you leave Istanbul. This is what will remain when you return home from this city.
Therefore, not the center selection; What matters is who will operate on you in that center. Especially in Istanbul, it is necessary to be more careful in hair transplantation. Unfortunately, many places are not even a doctor, but are run by operators. When you meet, indicate which doctor will operate on you, and that you would like to see his “diploma” when you come. (This is not a shame, I would be happy if a patient would look at our medical school and specialty diplomas, because it is a document that we studied for 13 years after high school.)