Questions and answers
Questions patients ask before coming to Turkey
These are the questions our team is actually asked, in the order people tend to ask them — and the ones patients raise themselves in our filmed interviews. Where an answer depends on your own case, it says so rather than guessing.
Before you book
How do I know whether I am suitable?
A surgeon decides that, not a coordinator and not a price list. You send photographs and a medical history, the surgeon reviews them, and you are assessed again in person before surgery with blood tests. Being told to lose weight first, stop smoking, change medication or wait is a normal outcome — several patients in our videos describe exactly that, including one whose surgery was postponed by three days until her blood results were right.
Can the surgeon refuse what I ask for?
Yes, and it happens. A surgeon here will decline a procedure if the anatomy will not support the result you want or if it would be unsafe. One patient in our video library was told the operation she had asked for would not look good and would be dangerous, and was offered a different approach instead.
Do I have to fly out just for a consultation?
No. Most patients start with a free online consultation. We also hold in-person meetings in London and Manchester where you can meet the team face to face before committing to anything.
Who will actually operate on me?
A named surgeon, listed with their qualifications on our surgeons page — not an unnamed “partner clinic”. You will know who it is before you travel, and you can ask for them by name.
Where does the surgery happen?
In contracted private hospitals in İzmir, which are named on this site so you can look them up independently. We do not operate in a converted clinic or a hotel suite.
Do the surgeons speak English?
Our surgeons and dentists consult in English and Turkish, and an interpreter is with you where one is needed — patients in the videos mention having someone with them throughout, including in hospital.
Money
What does it cost?
The cost depends on your case: the technique the surgeon recommends, whether procedures are combined, the length of the hospital stay, the tests you need, and the accommodation, transfers and aftercare in your plan. Your price for a facelift, or any other treatment, is confirmed in writing after a free online consultation, once a surgeon has reviewed your case. The written plan names your board-certified surgeon and sets out the hospital stay, tests, accommodation, transfers and aftercare, so you know exactly what is included — our facelift cost page explains what to compare.
What is included, and what is extra?
Ask us for it in writing before you pay anything, and ask every other provider the same — tests, surgeon and anaesthetist fees, hospital nights, accommodation, transfers, medication and garments, post-operative checks. Two quotes that look hundreds apart are often identical once itemised. Our package structure is on the packages page.
Travelling and staying
How long do I need to be in Turkey?
It depends on the procedure. A tummy tuck package, for instance, is built around an eight-day stay; facial surgery patients are typically here for around a week to ten days. The surgeon confirms when you are fit to fly — that decision is medical, not a booking preference.
Can I come alone?
Many patients do, and several say in their interviews that it was the part they were most nervous about. You are met at the airport, staff are on site at the retreat around the clock, and other patients are recovering alongside you. You can also bring a companion — partners appear throughout our videos.
Where do I stay?
At Mandarin Grove, our own recovery retreat near Urla, rather than a hotel room on your own. Meals, medication and dressing changes are handled there, and there is a call bell in the room.
Am I on my own in hospital?
No. A patient assistant stays with you for your hospital nights — patients in the videos describe having someone there for the full two days, and several mention them by name.
Safety, recovery and afterwards
Is it safe to have surgery in Turkey?
Surgery carries risk everywhere; travelling changes what happens afterwards rather than the risk of the operation itself. We answer this properly, including what we do not promise, on is Revitalize in Turkey safe? and compare the two systems on Turkey vs the UK.
Do you guarantee the result?
No, and neither should anyone else. Results vary between people, swelling misleads you for weeks and final shape settles over months. What we can commit to is who operates, where, and what happens around it.
What follow-up do I get before I fly home?
Wound checks and dressing changes during your stay and a final check before departure — in the videos, patients describe being seen repeatedly across the week rather than once. Ask for your operation notes and any implant details in English before you leave; your GP will want them.
What if something goes wrong once I am home?
Tell us early rather than late — problems are far easier to manage in week one than in month three. If you are unwell in the UK, see your GP or attend A&E first and deal with the immediate problem, then contact us so we can involve your surgeon.
What about revision surgery?
A proportion of cosmetic operations need refinement anywhere in the world. Get the position in writing at consultation stage — who pays for what, and for how long it applies — rather than after surgery. That advice applies to any provider you are considering, not only to us.
Does my travel insurance cover this?
Usually not. Most standard policies exclude planned surgery abroad and anything arising from it. Read the policy wording rather than the summary, and ask the insurer directly about elective surgery abroad.
Not answered here? Put it to the team at a free online consultation — and see clinic facts for who we are in checkable detail.