Your patient journey, step by step

Travelling for an operation involves a sequence most people have never been through. This page sets it out in order so you can see where the decision points are — and where they are not.

1. Your first enquiry

You send a message describing what you are considering and asking whatever you need to ask. There is no obligation attached to this and no cost. What we need from you at this stage is minimal: what you are thinking about, where you are travelling from, and any medical history that might be relevant.

Please do not send photographs or medical records through the website form. If clinical information is needed, we will tell you how to send it securely.

2. Online consultation

This is a video call with the surgeon. It covers what the procedure does, what it does not do, whether it is appropriate for you, what recovery genuinely involves and what the risks are.

It is worth being clear about the limits of this stage: an online consultation cannot replace a physical examination. Anything discussed is provisional until you have been examined in person. Read more about how virtual consultations work.

A normal outcome of this call is being told that surgery is not appropriate for you, or not appropriate yet.

3. Planning and preparation

If you decide to proceed, you receive a written plan: what is being done, the expected length of stay, what is included, and the cost. You will also be told what to arrange in advance — tests, medication changes, stopping smoking, and anything specific to your history.

This is the stage to arrange flights and accommodation. Book flexibly. Recovery does not always follow the schedule, and a changeable return flight is worth what it costs.

4. Arrival and in-person examination

You arrive in Istanbul and are examined in person, normally the day before surgery. The plan is confirmed or adjusted at this point, pre-operative tests are completed, and you sign consent after the risks have been discussed with you again.

If the examination changes the picture, the plan changes with it. That is what the examination is for.

5. Surgery and early recovery

Surgery takes place, followed by a period of monitored recovery. How long you stay in hospital and how long you then stay locally depends on the procedure and on how you are healing — you will have been given an expected range beforehand.

You are reviewed before you are cleared to travel home. See accommodation and recovery for what this period actually involves.

6. Going home and follow-up

You are cleared to fly only after review — this is a clinical decision, not a date fixed in advance. See flying after surgery.

Follow-up continues remotely once you are home, and you are given a direct contact route for concerns before you leave. See returning home and follow-up care.

How long does the whole thing take?

From first enquiry to surgery is commonly a matter of weeks rather than days, and that is deliberate. Time between the consultation and the operation is not a delay — it is thinking time, and rushing that stage is one of the more reliable ways to end up regretting a decision.

You can stop at any stage

Nothing before the consent form commits you to anything. If at any point you decide against proceeding, say so; you will not be pressured to continue, and you will not be chased.