Safety, standards and aftercare

Who operates

Your operation is performed by Op. Dr. Reşit Burak Kayan, a specialist in plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery. His training and qualifications are set out in full, including where he trained and what his specialist qualification is.

You should expect to know who is operating on you before you travel. If a provider will not tell you, that is information in itself.

Where surgery takes place

Consultations take place at Eticlinic in Istanbul. Surgery is carried out in a licensed hospital facility with the necessary theatre and post-operative care provision. Details of the facility are confirmed as part of your written plan.

Anaesthesia

Anaesthesia is delivered by a qualified anaesthetist, and your fitness for anaesthesia is assessed before surgery. Tell the team about any previous problems with anaesthetics, in yourself or in your family — this genuinely changes what is done.

If something goes wrong

Complications are uncommon but they happen in any surgical practice, and a provider that implies otherwise is not being straight with you. What matters is that there is a plan.

While you are in Istanbul you have a direct contact route to the team and are seen if there is a problem. Once home, follow-up continues remotely — see returning home and follow-up care. If a problem is urgent and you are abroad, seek care locally first and inform us as soon as you can.

Questions worth asking any provider

These apply to us as much as to anyone else:

• Who exactly is performing the surgery, and what is their specialist qualification?
• Where is it performed, and is it a licensed hospital facility?
• Who administers the anaesthetic?
• What happens if there is a complication while I am still in the country?
• What happens if there is a complication after I have gone home, and who pays for it?
• How do I make a complaint, and to whom?

A provider that answers these plainly is telling you something useful. So is one that does not.

Regulation differs from your own country

Treatment here is provided under Turkish law and regulated by Turkish authorities. Standards, professional regulation, complaints procedures and legal remedies are not the same as those in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the European Union, Australia or Canada. This is worth understanding before you decide, not afterwards.

Insurance

Ordinary travel insurance commonly excludes planned surgery abroad and its complications. Check your policy wording specifically, and consider specialist cover.