Tummy tuck in Turkey

A tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, removes excess skin and fat from the abdominal wall and, in most cases, repairs the abdominal muscles that have separated. It is a real operation under general anaesthesia, not a treatment, and the recovery is measured in weeks rather than days.

Turkey is one of the larger destinations for it, and the reason people arrive here from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia is usually price. That is a legitimate reason. What follows is written so that the price you are comparing is the whole price, and so that you know which parts of the decision are clinical rather than commercial.

Three things on this page are worth more of your attention than the cost table. The first is that combining a tummy tuck with liposuction and another body contouring procedure, which is what a "360" package usually means, has a measurably higher complication rate than a tummy tuck on its own. The second is that flying too soon after abdominal surgery raises the risk of a blood clot. The third is that abdominoplasty is not offered to people at a high body mass index, which means a clinic that says yes without discussing your BMI has skipped a step.

Flymedi offers instalment plans of up to 36 months on treatments booked through the platform. Flymedi states that the interest rate on those plans falls between 7.5 and 15 per cent depending on credit history and employment status. Those are Flymedi's own product terms rather than a market average, and the exact rate you are offered is set at application. The current terms are on the payment plans page.

Two points that matter more than the headline rate:

• Work out the total, not the monthly figure. A plan spread over 36 months makes a €3,150 operation feel like a small monthly commitment. Ask for the total amount repayable in writing and compare that against the cash price, not against the monthly instalment.
• Budget for the things the package excludes. The list above is the realistic set of extras. If the finance covers only the clinic invoice, the flights, the extra hotel nights and the second garment still have to come from somewhere.

If a clinic asks for a deposit before you have a named surgeon and a written list of what the price includes, that is a reason to slow down rather than to pay.

A mini tummy tuck treats the area below the navel only. The incision is shorter, the navel is not moved, and the muscle repair, if it is done at all, is limited to the lower abdomen. Recovery is quicker for the same reason: less tissue is lifted.

It suits a specific person. If your loose skin sits below the navel, your skin above the navel is still firm, and any muscle separation is confined to the lower abdomen, a mini is the right operation and a full abdominoplasty would be more surgery than you need. If you have loose skin above the navel as well, a mini will not reach it, and the usual outcome is disappointment rather than a complication.

Flymedi has a dedicated page for this operation with its own prices and clinics: mini tummy tuck in Turkey. If you already know a mini is what you want, start there rather than here.

• Mini abdominoplasty. Below the navel only. Covered above.
• Full or standard abdominoplasty. The whole abdominal wall, navel repositioned.
• Extended abdominoplasty. The incision continues around the flanks to treat the hips as well. Usually chosen after substantial weight loss.
• Fleur de lis abdominoplasty. Adds a vertical incision to the horizontal one, forming an inverted T, to remove skin sideways as well as downwards. It is the option after very large weight loss, and it trades a more visible scar for a flatter result. Flymedi has a separate page for it.
• Reverse abdominoplasty. The incision sits under the breast fold and the skin is lifted upwards, for loose skin in the upper abdomen. Uncommon, and covered on the reverse mini abdominoplasty page.
• Revision abdominoplasty. Correcting the result of an earlier operation, including scar revision and dog ears. See tummy tuck revision.

The name matters less than the plan. Ask your surgeon to mark on your abdomen where the incision will sit, in the position you will be standing in afterwards, and to say which of these they are proposing and why.

They solve different problems, and choosing the wrong one is the most common reason people are unhappy with an otherwise well performed operation.

A simple test in the mirror. Pinch the skin of your lower abdomen. If what you can hold is mostly soft fat and the skin snaps back when you let go, liposuction may be enough. If the skin stays creased, or you can feel a gap between the muscles when you lift your head off a pillow, liposuction alone will not improve it and may make loose skin look looser.

• Consultation and marking. Your surgeon examines you standing up, checks for muscle separation and hernia, and marks the incision line while you are upright. Ask to see it.
• Anaesthesia. General anaesthesia in almost all cases, with clot prevention measures that should include compression stockings and, depending on your risk, blood thinning medication.
• Incision and lifting. The low horizontal incision is made and the skin and fat layer is lifted off the abdominal wall up to the ribs in a full abdominoplasty.
• Muscle repair. Where the abdominal muscles have separated, they are stitched back together along the midline. This is the part that flattens the abdomen and the part that makes the first week uncomfortable.
• Removing skin and moving the navel. Excess skin is trimmed, the remaining skin is drawn down, and a new opening is made for the navel.
• Drains and closure. Drains are often placed to reduce fluid collection, then the incision is closed in layers. You will usually be fitted with a compression garment in theatre.
• Hospital and first days. One to two nights in hospital is typical. You will be encouraged to walk early, bent forward at first, because early movement is part of clot prevention rather than an optional extra.

The honest answer is that the operation carries a measurable risk everywhere, and that where you have it changes who looks after you when something goes wrong rather than changing the surgery itself.

On the operation: across 25,478 abdominoplasties in the CosmetAssure database, 4.0 per cent had a major complication, against 1.4 per cent for other aesthetic procedures.[3] Abdominoplasty is at the higher end of aesthetic surgery for complications, and that is true in London as much as in Istanbul. Fluid collection under the skin flap, called seroma, is the most common problem and is usually managed in clinic. Wound healing problems, hematoma, infection and blood clots are the ones that need prompt attention.

On the destination, the NHS makes the relevant point about aftercare rather than about surgical standards: "If you have complications after an operation in the UK, it's the surgeon's responsibility to provide follow-up treatment. Overseas clinics may not provide follow-up treatment, or they may not provide it to the same standard as in the UK."[2] It also notes that travel insurance "does not normally cover if things go wrong in surgery".[2]

What that means in practice, and what to check before you pay a deposit:

• The facility holds Turkish Ministry of Health health tourism authorisation. The ministry publishes the list of authorised providers.[4]
• You have the operating surgeon's name and can look up their registration and their membership of a professional body, before the deposit rather than at the airport.
• There is a written policy on what happens if you develop a complication in Turkey, and a separate one for a complication after you fly home. Get both in writing.
• You know who reviews you at home. Arrange this before you travel, not after.
• You have a written medical summary in English to take home, naming the procedure performed, any implants or mesh used, and the medication you were given.

Compression garments are usually worn for around six weeks, often day and night at first. Most people need a second one, since the first stops fitting as swelling reduces. Numbness across the lower abdomen is normal for months and sometimes permanent in a band above the scar.

Setting the marketing aside, there are three real reasons people choose Turkey for this operation, and one reason that is worth being careful about.

• Price. The listed range on this page sits below the NHS figure for private UK treatment.[1] Both numbers are published and you can compare them yourself.
• Availability. Cosmetic abdominoplasty is not routinely funded by the NHS, so in the United Kingdom this is a self-funded operation either way. That removes waiting lists from the comparison and leaves price and aftercare.
• Volume. Turkish plastic surgery units treat a high number of international patients, and coordination, translation and transfers are set up for it.
• The thing to be careful about. Volume also produces packages that bundle procedures. As the table in the 360 section shows, adding procedures raises the complication rate in a measurable way. Convenience and clinical caution point in opposite directions here, and the decision should be your surgeon's rather than a package designer's.

Reviews are the most searched and least reliable part of this decision. A few habits make them more useful:

• Look for reviews written more than six months after surgery. Abdominoplasty results settle over three to six months and scars change for a year or more. A review posted in week two is describing the hotel and the coordinator.
• Read the complication reviews properly. Complications happen at every clinic. What distinguishes clinics is what happened next. A clinic that answered at 2am and brought a patient back in is telling you more than a wall of five star ratings.
• Match the procedure. A glowing review of a mini tummy tuck tells you little about a fleur de lis after 50 kilograms of weight loss.
• Treat before and after photographs as marketing. Ask instead to see results from a patient with a similar starting point, and ask how long after surgery the photograph was taken.
• Check whether the review platform verifies that the reviewer was a patient. Flymedi publishes verified reviews only; other sources vary.