Tummy tuck in Turkey: Reviews from Real Patients

The co-ordinator at Bookimed, Winnington was brilliant. No matter how many questions I had he was able to answer them promptly and with one small hiccup from the hospital Winnington went out of his way to try and package a new procedure for me. My co-ordinator Eyyub at Optimed hospital was outstanding. The hospital was great, the staff on my floor were fantastic. We used goggle translate when the co-ordinator wasn’t with us if we came up against a language barrier but that was not very often. I was cared for before and after my surgery by the nursing staff who could not do enough for myself and my mum. I 10000000% recommend Bookimed & Optimed hospital

Post op instructions could be better. I have suggested to them to put together a general guide of what to do and not to do and for however long. What’s normal and if something doesn’t feel right who to contact etc. I think this will greatly help international patients and help the hospital co-ordinators from being hounded with a load of questions from several patients all at once. Peace of mind for the patient and a little more support for the co-ordinator. The food is catered for Turkish patients and can be hard for international patients to eat. Again, I have suggested to them to try having a small box of fibrous cereal available at breakfast time and instead of a full meal at lunch time something simple like sandwiches or rolls/bagels/baked goods. Dinner was usually ok and we were able to eat most of that but our daytime diet is a little less than they were providing and there was a lot of food waste which they could minimise & use the money elsewhere if there was a cater to international patients diets.

My surgeon did excellent work and the nursing staff kept close post-op care of me. I appreciated all of the provided transfers to and from the airport and between the clinic and my hotel. The whole experience from start to finish was a great value for the price. If I had the same procedure done in the US (tummy tuck, abdominal muscle repair, and lipo), I have spent close to $20k. I spent a fraction of that in Istanbul and I was so impressed by the results one week after surgery.

Please be aware that some of the medical staff do not speak much or any English, so they provide support rather silently. Turkish people are also fairly serious, so while efficient and thorough, I was not coddled or babied. Also, there's also smoking allowed in the nurses' lounge or illegal smoking in the stairwell because I frequently smelled smoke in the corridor outside my recovery room while completing my post-op walking. Lastly, I would recommend the clinical staff provide more post-op directions for safe and expedient recovery. Everything I've learned was from my own online research.

I had a 360° VASER liposuction procedure, tummy tuck and abdominal muscle repair, and overall I’ve had a really positive experience from start to finish\. From the very beginning, Bookimed answered every question I had and were incredibly helpful\. No matter what time I messaged, someone was always there to answer my queries and put my mind at ease\. The transfers between the airport, hotel and hospital were excellent, and the instructions for where to go and what to expect were very clear\. The hotel was clean and comfortable, and the breakfast each morning was lovely\. My coordinator, Ege, was absolutely fantastic throughout the whole process\. He was always at the end of a message whenever I needed him, kept in constant contact, explained everything clearly, and was always able to reassure me whenever I felt anxious\. At the hospital, I met the anaesthesiologist, who was kind, professional and explained everything clearly\. My surgeon, Dr Ergin Er, was equally reassuring\. He carefully went through the procedure with me, completed all of the markings and made sure I understood what would happen before surgery\. I’ll admit I became quite emotional as I was being taken down to theatre, but the nurses were incredibly kind\. They held my hand, comforted me and made me feel safe, which meant a great deal\. When I woke up after surgery, I was looked after wonderfully\. The nursing staff were attentive throughout my recovery and were always there to help whenever I needed anything\. Even the hospital food was surprisingly lovely\. My mum stayed with me throughout my time in hospital, and she was provided with meals as well, which was a lovely touch\. Before we were discharged, we were both even given breakfast and lunch, which was much appreciated\. There was occasionally a slight language barrier with some of the nurses, but it was never a real problem\. Most spoke good English, and anyone who wasn’t confident simply used a translation app, so communication was always possible\. Throughout my recovery, Ege continued to check in regularly and made sure I knew exactly what I needed to do at each stage\. Although I’m still healing, my scar already looks very neat and tidy, and from everything I’ve seen so far, I’m extremely pleased with the results of my surgery\. I would happily recommend Bookimed, Ege, Istanbul Aesthetics Centre and Dr Ergin Er to anyone considering cosmetic surgery in Turkey\. Travelling abroad for surgery is a big decision, but I felt supported every step of the way and wouldn’t hesitate to choose them again.

Genuinely I can’t think of anything. It’s such a massive decision and the whole time I had full confidence in what was happening and the staff.

From start to finish the whole experience went smoothly. Communication between staff and Dr was exceptional and by having a translator present helped greatly. Understood what and when was happening more than I would have in my local hospital. Clean, Caring, Smooth transitions, patient led and patient at the front of every decision, even being home I can contact the clinic and get a timely response. The Dr was open and honest, had a great sense of humor and has given me some neat scars. The staff were fabulous , they listened and talked you through as much or as little as you wanted

I would have liked an itinerary, some more information of where to be at what time and how I was getting there. Some aftercare in paper format so that I could go back and read that rather than contacting the clinic would be great.

So, in the end, the whole package was just right. The coordinator was always on hand for me, organised everything she could and also cleared up any uncertainties. She was absolutely brilliant. The doctor was very friendly, but always rather curt. Because of the language barrier, it wasn’t that easy to sort out many things straight away. That usually only happened afterwards in the coordinator’s WhatsApp group. The transfer and the hotel we’d chosen were also great, and above all, everyone was friendly. The clinic was OK. The rooms didn’t feel as sterile as they do in Germany, but the medical care was very good. Even with the language barrier, the nursing staff always made an effort to chat with you. It was a good thing I had Google Translate.

I was promised a detailed preliminary consultation, but this did not take place. An interpreter on site would have been very helpful. I would recommend a longer stay of at least 10 days. My journey home was anything but pleasant. The wound drains were removed on the day of departure, even though there was still too much wound fluid being produced. On arriving in Germany, I went straight to A&E to rule out any more serious complications.

Everything was quick and efficient. There was a mix-up with my tickets, so I arrived a day early; they arranged a hotel for me, and the price we’d originally agreed on didn’t change. The doctor is brilliant; he did everything to the highest standard. I’m still in the recovery process, but it’s already clear that the result is fantastic. Thanks to Olesya, the interpreter, for her promptness, even outside working hours.

The whole experience was seamless. The doctors, nurses and interpreter made the process so simple for me.

The food at the hospital wasn’t great. I had said I was vegetarian but there was meat in pretty much all meals.

Excellent anaesthesia team; the preparation and administration of the general anaesthetic went smoothly (I didn’t feel a thing – it was like falling asleep for a minute) Care in hospital was provided by the nursing team, though the standard varied. The doctor took the time to talk to me, and all my questions were answered

The nursing staff have a serious lack of knowledge; they generally know very little about nursing. The medical care was fine. Hygiene was appalling; I never once saw the nursing team disinfect their hands after any procedure. The doctor’s visit after the operation lasted less than 5 minutes. The attitude seemed to be: ‘It’s already been paid for, so that’s that’ – with little attention paid afterwards. Poor information regarding discharge; I was practically discharged from the clinic within 30 minutes.

My surgeon

There were some minor glitches in contact with the transfer at the hospital on discharge but all resolved, thank you very much

Co-ordinated work of professionals

-

Everything is included in the price. The result obtained

My tummy tuck results.

If I had to say something bad, honestly the only thing I can think of; language barrier- if only the staff could speak english, it was difficult on times after my surgery to communicate with the nurses. But saying that they were excellent in my after care whilst at the hospital.