5 steps to book a Lipo (liposuction) in Turkey
Nowadays, Turkey is one of the most chosen places to perform plastic surgery, being lipo one of the most common procedures. I am a post surgery recovery specialist with more than 15 years practicing cosmetic surgery post op in the UK. I decided to do my own research, pretending to be a patient looking to book a liposuction in Turkey. For that reason and based on my own experience, I’m answering, in this blog, the most common question you may have about how to start your booking surgery process in Turkey. Here, you will find my position as a patient who doesn’t know anything about the procedure and my position as a practitioner.
Just to start with, for each 10 patients that come to my clinic for post-cosmetic surgery from Turkey, I need to refer 1 to the NHS for related post surgery complications!. I hope this information is useful for you. Let’s start…
Is it safe to get a Lipo in Turkey?
Yes, it is if you are in the hands of a good surgeon. It is important for you to know that all surgeries have risks. However, the best option to avoid as many risks as you can is by choosing a recognised and specialised surgeon. For your safety, it is key to check the background of the clinic and surgeon (get as much information as you can,e.g. pictures and reviews of previous patients, joint forums in Facebook, etc.). This is the best way to be in a good and safe place.
Just find the right surgeon (who fulfills your expectations and budget). Remember you are not going to Turkey to find cheap surgeons, you are having your surgery in country because you will be able to afford the best surgeon you need, for example, at the time I wrote this article £1= ₺ 22.72 Turkey liras. Other options are: Colombia, Argentina, USA, or your own home UK.
Is lipo cheaper in Turkey?
Yes, it is due to an exchange benefit for British people (same happens in Latin America). For example, a liposuction in Colombia with the best surgeons in the country (they only operate celebrities or wealthy people) you will pay around $25.000.000 Colombian pesos. This is equivalent to £ 4248.52 at today’s currency change. For this precise you will have a full medical team, your fajas and your post aftercare treatment included. As I said before, our currency has a good price in Turkey, however, go for the best as you can afford it.
How to book a lipo in Turkey
1.Research
I wanted to see what the lipo journey was for most of my clients when they book their surgery in Turkey. The first thing I did was to do a research of the most recognised clinics and surgeons in Turkey to perform the lipo, and I found that most of them are located in Istanbul.
To my surprise there is a whole marketing industry around plastic surgery in Turkey, so you can find agencies that work with different clinics and surgeons at the same time. These agencies offer you packages according to the treatment they suggest is the best for my needs. None of them mention that after the surgery I will need a post surgery after treatment, some sessions will be done in Turkey and the rests back in the Uk. So you need to budget for it. This could be £500 to £2000 if you have complications.
This Packages include:
- Nights at a 4 star hotel(the number depends on the procedure).
- 1 night hospital stay in a private room.
- Transfers in a private car.
- Free physical check-up (I’ll explain it below).
- Aftercare in the UK if necessary.
- Preoperative blood test.
- Personal host
- Check-up
- Medical garment.
- You can go with one companion free of charge.
- 1 year follow-up by aftercare team (it is virtual).
*They offer special discounts for groups and on special campaigns.
2.contact the agency
- You can find in all agencies’ webpages, a WhatsApp, a chat or an email to contact them.
- I wrote to them explaining that I wanted a lipo.
- Then, a host wrote to me back to offer me different packages and gave me the information I needed.
- you can ask the host all you need to know.
- Some agencies send me pictures of previous patients, testimonies and videos.
*Remember you are dealing with Marketing people not with doctors at this stage.
3.Assessment and treatment plan
( all performed by WhatsApp text message)
- The host asked me to provide pictures from different angles of the area I wanted to treat.
- These pics were evaluated by “the expert” (I had the answer in less than 24h). I didn’t have the opportunity to talk to the surgeon despite asking several times that I wanted to ask questions directly.
- I was informed that I was suitable for a 360 Vaser liposuction procedure
In this procedure, excess fat is suctioned from the affected areas (in my case abdomen, flanks and back).Then, the contour is improved to get the desired curly hourglass shape and a flat tummy.
4.Medical form
A link is sent through WhatsApp, you just have to fill it up. It is an easy and short questionnaire, the questions are focused on knowing your general health.
5.Booking
After the medical form was approved by “the experts”, There were two options:
- Some agencies ask me to pay a deposit of USD 200 to start the booking process.
- Other agencies just ask me to give them the flight information to start the booking process, they don’t ask for money before traveling.
How much does a lipo cost in Turkey?
Vaser liposuction is around USD 3.240 and you need to deposit USD 200 to book it before traveling or pay the total amount in Turkey, that depends on the agency you choose. Remember that flight tickets are not included.
How many days do I need to stay in Turkey?
The “specialist” advised me to have a Vaser lipo due to the characteristics of my body, for this kind of procedure I need to be in Turkey for 5 days. The host told me that I won’t be allowed to travel if I’m not ok. However, being allowed to fly in less than a week after being under general anesthetic is wrong advice in my opinion. This is a high risk to develop DVT and increase the water retention, this means you will need more post op treatments and you could end up in hospital if you present DVT.
A final word…
If you decide to have a lipo in Turkey, I would recommend to go and invest on second opinions from surgeons in your country (UK for us) that can see you in person, this way you can ask as many questions about what to expect and more importantly to have a full understanding about the procedure and what is best for you , specially if there is a language barrier. We hope this information is useful for you. If you need advice before travelling to have your surgery or have any questions about your post surgery treatment or any of our treatments, please contact us. You can find us in Mill Hill Broadway and Islington. We are always happy to help. If you like this blog, please share!
Have you ever thought about having lipo abroad?
References:
https://www.healthline.com/health/cosmetic-surgery/vaser-liposuction
