The images show tantalizing sun-drenched beaches, luxurious five-star hotels and bikini-clad models. But this advert isn’t for the holidays – it promotes Turkish clinics that offer cosmetic surgery at a fraction of the cost in the UK.
Anyone considering a breast lift, a buttock lift or even a full-body “mommy makeover” – multiple surgeries including a tummy tuck, liposuction, thigh and arm lift and genital rejuvenation – is offered an affordable procedure performed by “world-class” professionals Doctors’. And on top of that, you’ll stay in a five-star resort on the Mediterranean.
To be too good to be true? Unfortunately yes.
As a consultant plastic surgeon with the NHS in Belfast and spokesperson for the British Association of Plastic and Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS), I have seen first-hand the life-changing and potentially fatal consequences of traveling abroad for low-cost surgery.
I see patients who return with severe infections, wounds that reopen or completely resolve, blood or other fluid buildup, and exposed implants.
As a consultant plastic surgeon on the NHS in Belfast and spokesperson for the British Association of Plastic and Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS), Alastair Brown has seen first-hand the life-changing and potentially fatal consequences of traveling abroad for budget surgery
Reality TV star Lauren Goodger, pictured, has undergone extreme plastic surgery
A patient lost a significant portion of her breast after a devastating complication of surgery in Turkey that resulted in infection and death of breast tissue, known as tissue necrosis.
Doctors who perform bariatric surgery are routinely dismayed by the results of botched weight loss procedures, while dentists describe how the lure of pearly white teeth – so-called “turkey teeth” – can destroy a smile forever.
Other countries have jumped on the surgical tourism bandwagon, with equally mixed results. But there has been a flood of plastic surgery tourists to Turkey in recent years – an estimated 150,000 from Britain last year alone – and at least 25 Britons are known to have died as a result of medical procedures there since January 2019.
There is often a common theme – very poor or inadequate preoperative assessment. Here the patient meets with the surgeon in advance to discuss whether the procedure is suitable for them. For example, is the desired outcome realistic and has the surgeon taken your psychological well-being into consideration?
Charlotte Crosby (pictured) is another celebrity who has had plastic surgery
In Turkish clinics, this is often done via WhatsApp, preventing patients from being properly examined – an important part of the process. I have heard of many cases where patients were forced to agree to a change of plan while being taken to the operating room.
Many fly home too soon after surgery, and I’ve heard of people standing in airports with blood dripping down their legs or fluid oozing from wounds.
That leaves the NHS to pick up the pieces. It treats anyone who finds themselves in a life-threatening situation, regardless of how they injured themselves. However, it cannot be relied upon to fix patients’ disfigurement, so they may have to spend thousands on private surgeons to try to correct any problems.
Even in the best of hands, complications can arise – in the UK or abroad. There are some excellent clinics and surgeons in Turkey, but unlike the UK it is harder to find out who they are. When you get a rock-bottom price on something that normally costs significantly more, ask yourself why it’s so cheap. Is there a lack of experience or perhaps the materials are of poorer quality?
My warning is that what is supposed to improve your appearance can actually do the opposite.
That’s why this cheap deal can end up costing you a lot more in the long run – not just financially, but also physically and psychologically.
Why the UK stopped the Brazilian butt lift
Brazilian butt lift (BBL) surgery, which involves injecting fat into the gluteal muscles to enlarge them, is popular among curvier celebrities and is in high demand despite being one of the deadliest cosmetic treatments in the world.
The danger arises if fat is injected in the wrong place. If it enters the bloodstream and does not remain in the muscle, it can travel to the heart, lungs, or brain, causing a blockage called an embolism.
This led to beautician and mother-of-three Leah Cambridge, 29, from West Yorkshire, suffering three heart attacks and a pulmonary embolism on the operating table.
Louise Bradley, who paid £2,000 for the operation in 2022 after being on the NHS waiting list for four years, will now be fed with a tube for life after Turkish surgeons removed 92 per cent of her stomach, rather than the previously agreed 75 per cent
Two more British women have died from BBL operations carried out in Turkey in recent years.
Patients often return with asymmetry, lump formation, or infection. The fat can also be damaged during the procedure, causing the tissue to die – a so-called fat necrosis – and therefore cannot be absorbed by the body.
All of these problems led to British authorities strongly advising against implementing the BBL in 2018.
Any type of filler or implant can cause similar problems. About 25 percent of the complications we see are due to breast augmentation. Patients may experience bleeding around the implant or an infection. The wound may rupture or an implant – often too large for the patient – may become exposed. Sometimes the technology is to blame or the aftercare is not enough.
Breast reductions also cause problems when surgeons plan the operation poorly or have poor technique. Infections can be problematic and skin and tissue can die.
Turkey teeth that can ruin your smile forever
They are a must for the Instagram generation: sparkling white and straight teeth. Former glamor model Katie Price and Love Island stars have flaunted their “turkey teeth” online to promote clinics that offer the perfect smile in just days – and at low cost.
But my dentist colleagues warn that the low-cost procedures permanently destroy people’s natural teeth, cause speech and muscle problems and lead to serious dental infections.
Paul Woodhouse, a dentist at Grange Dental Practice in Norton, County Durham, says he sees two patients every month who return from Turkey and need repair work.
He told me: “A 19-year-old came back with 20 crowns – he could no longer speak properly.”
Former glamor model Katie Price and Love Island stars have flaunted their “turkey teeth” online to promote clinics that offer the perfect smile in just days – and at low cost
“He had a lisp and couldn’t pronounce certain letters.” His jaw was in trouble and he was in agony.
“Three of his teeth died because they had been shaved so badly that the nerves had been killed, and two or three more went that way.”
Turkish clinics often use joined crown strips rather than individual crowns, which means reducing healthy teeth to small tenons so they can fit on them properly.
Dr. Woodhouse adds: “It’s about speed and low cost, not what’s best for patients.” You can’t floss. You can’t clean them properly. You get gum disease because food particles get stuck there and fester.
“And they only last ten years and then have to be replaced.”
Few NHS dentists are willing to repair this botched work, he warns, leaving patients facing hefty private bills – in his example it cost the patient £27,000.
“These people have perfectly good teeth that they destroy,” says Dr. Woodhouse.
“He could have had braces for a few months, some whitening and maybe some veneers to smooth out some edges.”
“It takes time and would be more expensive, but if you buy cheap, you buy twice, as my grandfather always said.”
Life-changing problems caused by weight loss surgery
This is the most serious and growing problem for my colleagues in bariatric surgery.
Professor David Kerrigan, former president of the British Association of Obesity and Metabolic Medicine, says: “We see a regular flow of patients returning from Turkey seriously ill after sleeve gastrectomy.” “Almost every NHS trust that carries out bariatric surgery has had Patients with complications.”
If you actually decide to go abroad
- Weigh the potential savings against the risks before you get started. Get travel insurance.
- Find out about the clinic and the respective surgeon. Do they have the right training and experience and are they a member of a recognized organization with liability insurance? Make sure there are no language barriers.
- Meet your surgeon in person and have a full assessment before agreeing to anything. They should go through the entire procedure and inform you of all possible risks and complications. Are there any before and after pictures? It is not appropriate to visit your surgeon for the first time immediately before surgery.
- Ask what aftercare is available. If something goes wrong, the team must be there within a few hours. Are there any additional costs?
- Avoid getting on a plane too soon after surgery because of the risk of life-threatening blood clots.
- Don’t let yourself be pressured into anything. Some patients need to change their plans just minutes before surgery – at an additional cost. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t continue.
In the UK, gastric sleeve procedures are performed safely and with few complications.
This involves removing about 70 to 80 percent of the stomach, leaving a sleeve shape that reduces both hunger and eating capacity.
But NHS waiting lists are long and private surgery in the UK is expensive, leading some patients to seek treatment in Turkey at cheaper prices.
“There is aggressive marketing by Turkish clinics, but the quality of equipment is lower and the techniques used are poorer,” says Prof Kerrigan, who runs Phoenix Health, which carries out weight-loss surgery for the NHS.
“Patients often experience leaks from the clamps that hold their stomach back together – it’s like a ruptured ulcer where stomach fluid and acid leak into the stomach cavity.”
This leads to peritonitis and can cause sepsis, which can be fatal.
“Other patients have such a narrow stomach that they cannot swallow or eat and require revision surgery.”
Louise Bradley, who paid £2,000 for the operation in 2022 after being on the NHS waiting list for four years, will now be fed with a tube for life after Turkish surgeons removed 92 percent of her stomach, instead of the previously agreed 75 percent. The mother-of-two, 33, from Derbyshire, said: “My advice to anyone thinking about having surgery abroad is not to.”
“People say, ‘Well, that could have happened in the UK,’ which it certainly could have done – but they would have had a duty of care to fix it.”
“I feel like people are being sold a fairy tale, but there’s just a butcher’s table out there.”
Tummy tucks – the removal of excess skin or fatty tissue and the tightening of the abdominal wall – also lead to problems.
We see belly buttons that can become inflamed and fill with fluid and blood.
Facial changes leading to paralysis
When facial surgery goes wrong, there’s no hiding it, as some patients who have traveled to Turkey for cosmetic corrections, facelifts or eyelid surgeries called blepharoplasties know.
There are some very important and delicate structures on the face. If the facial nerve becomes pinched, it can cause severe paralysis that may look like a stroke.
Patients have returned from facelifts with significant scarring. And if too much skin is removed during blepharoplasty, it can pull the eyelid downward and cause other problems such as very dry eyes, watery eyes, and tearing.
A woman shared on TikTok that she couldn’t blink after her Turkish treatment.
And there are countless horror stories of people opting for minor so-called “tweaks,” such as “fox eye” surgery, where a thread is inserted to pull up the skin around the outer edge of the eye and such to create a weird effect Try to imitate some top models, but instead get crooked faces, scars and pain.
Although these “thread lift” procedures are not permanent, they still pose a serious risk of nerve damage. The tiny hooks that hold them to the face can come loose and cause infection or even disfigurement.
Plastic surgeon Monica Fawzy, who specializes in facials, says: “Even facial fillers can have complications.” The filler can be injected into a blood vessel, causing skin death in that area, blindness if it is near the eye, or can lead to a stroke.
“During blepharoplasty there is a risk of blindness if bleeding occurs behind the eye and puts pressure on the optic nerve. There can also be inflammation, swelling and asymmetries.”
The hair transplant that makes you bald
Hair transplant complications may not be life-threatening, but they can still be distressing.
Clinics in Turkey may offer to perform the procedure for around £1,000 – a fraction of the £6,000 often quoted in the UK. But I have heard of cases where the procedure has actually worsened the thinning, requiring a lot of additional work to repair the damage by UK private clinics.
There are two types of transplants. Follicular unit transplantation – the “strip method” – involves taking strips of hair from the back of the head and dividing them into “grafts” of several hairs each, which are then inserted into tiny incisions in the scalp at the site where the hair is to grow.
Hair transplant complications may not be life-threatening, but they can still be distressing
The alternative is the extraction of follicular units. The back of the head is shaved, the hair follicles are removed one by one and inserted into the tiny incisions.
However, with both methods there is always the risk that the surgeon will remove too much hair or that the hair transplant will not take root – especially without good aftercare.
These problems can cause the patient to develop new gaps in the back of the head and continue to bald the problem area.
A good surgeon will also ensure that the graft matches the direction of the existing hair follicles. If this doesn’t happen and the hairline isn’t carefully planned, it can grow back unnaturally – and end up looking more like a transplant than normal hair.
In many of these cases where the procedures are botched in Turkey, even corrective surgery cannot get you back to where you were. The consequences can be lifelong.
In my opinion, that is not a price anyone should pay.