Istanbul has become the forerunner among other European capitals as a plastic surgery capital. The number of patients is increasingly getting higher across borders. Although there can be several reasons behind this increase, Istanbul’s historical uniqueness and cultural richness have served as the reason for which improvement was initiated. Advances in technology and easy accessibility to Istanbul are considered equally important reasons supporting the growing health tourism in addition to its historical riches. Thanks to its competitiveness, the capital city started to attract more and more people from across the globe, and its beauty has been adorning the pages of various publications.
The rise of Istanbul is not only in faith tourism but also on the map of health and beauty, with the number of operations ranging from eyebrow lifts, hair transplants, teeth renovations, dermal and non-dermal fillers, mucosa enhancement, vaginal repair, and skin care procedures to body pre-shaping, breast implants, belt suction, stent application, and liposuction. It has started to be narrated as the capital of beauty. This paper is a literature review and therefore attempts to cover some conceptual explanations of beauty and health tourism and their global spread. It further covers a range of effects regarding the high demand for beauty tourism services delivered through health professionals and receivers. In addition, it provides evidence of negative unexpected outcomes, and it also aims to establish new knowledge of the association between consumer motivations for beauty tourism and overall health. This is a novel attempt to broaden the area of research. Since beauty tourism is recognized as a modern field, there is little empirical proof to confirm the assumptions being made. Therefore, the study will add to the work done, providing qualitative information from the consumer perspective based on detailed consumer responses presented from a survey of assumptions.
How to find a plastic surgeon which you find comfort in is the very beginning stage of getting ready to undergo a cosmetic surgery. Making sure that top plastic surgeons are board certified should be at the first of your lists of finding one to do your cosmetic enhancement. For achieving this certification, a doctor has to undergo the life schedule of post-graduate surgical training years that are demanded. Additionally, he has to undergo the tough oral and written tests which question his surgical ability. The oral test further demands that one would have to disclose case histories of different patients among many other things. Once all this is cleared, he is on the board. In fact, there are so many cosmetic options the doctor should be very much familiar with to get board certification by the standards of the American board of plastic surgery qualifications. There should also show that knowledge during several procedures candidates are proposed to. Next, they should do operational procedures for some number, which is afterward controlled by ABCS. To stay board certified, the top plastic surgeons must present to and complete an in-depth at-home test with readings and group conferences. The surgeon must also appear before ABOMS and explain his or her patient outcomes. Upon completion of these necessary materials, the surgeon gains entrance into the board and a board certification is given.
Istanbul has a long historical background of successful plastic, reconstructive, and plastic surgery capital in Europe. As such, how did this story begin? Medical operations to develop aesthetic and reconstructive surgeries are an ancient practice in Istanbul that dates back thousands of years to various civilizations that dominated this location. When it was accepted in a contemporary manner, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery began in Istanbul in the late 19th century and peaked in the first half of the 20th century—a history of cosmetic surgery Istanbul I believe gives us the knowledge it needs to embrace the situation we have been living with today.
Modern cosmetic surgery Istanbul has two faces: it began in two separate locations. The first being the facilities under the control of the Ottoman state established in the first half of the 19th century and the second at Christian missions, which were dependent on the Istanbul Patriarchate. The roots of cosmetic surgery Istanbul, however, go further back. When we look at old Ottoman resources, Ottomans preferred to be treated by European doctors. Sometimes, cosmetic and reconstructive procedures by European doctors in Istanbul are the early side of an iceberg that has developed quietly; nevertheless, the lives of people living in many countries of the world are going to be seen in a future that has a real scoop that can reveal real cultural and human wealth. As dragomans used to take Ottomans on beauty-health-treatment tours in western countries for years, sick and wounded individuals began to come to shop for better treatment in Istanbul. This shows that pretensions were not confined to Ottoman surgeons treating poor people from poor countries. Full confidence in surgery in Istanbul has evolved more in terms of reconstruction and facial surgery, which concerns high society members.
There are several factors that have significantly bolstered Istanbul’s status as the plastic surgery capital in Europe. The first, and arguably most important, is its healthcare infrastructure. The healthcare industry in Turkey is fully equipped with hospitals, medical centers, and clinics that cater to a variety of healthcare services, including plastic and reconstructive surgery. Istanbul boasts a recovery period that is both affordable and an attractive destination for many medical tourists, as a majority of the clinical workforce has had extensive training and education in European countries. Additionally, partnering with leading healthcare providers, cross-border medical tourism agencies guarantee international patients a level of care and expertise that they might not receive in countries with less regulated healthcare systems. In addition, most of the plastic surgeons practicing in chic clinics across the Asian and European sides are top-level professionals with expertise in the field.
Another aspect that strongly appeals to international patients is the technology offered at these clinics. As Turkish doctors have been at the forefront of many technological advancements in the field of hair transplantation and also with men’s aesthetics, such as beard and mustache transplantation, long before the golden age of pop stars and fitness influencers, they have performed hundreds of cutting-edge hair transplant procedures for men and women using vertex, robotic, and non-surgical methods. Furthermore, Turkish clinics have expanded their services through a massive investment in new technology and are constantly fine-tuning a range of wellness offerings that extend beyond traditional surgery. It is, however, not only the carefully marketed “high standards at a low cost” resulting from the collapse in the lira in 2018 that has contributed to the boom in popularity of the country. The most important factor for all Turkish healthcare is the quality of its services. Moreover, patients enjoy the fact that one dollar is worth four dollars, making services in Turkey significantly cheaper when compared to any Western country. As a whole, the professional expertise and the cutting-edge technology and treatments on offer at Turkish clinics have continued to help the sector expand despite, and indeed because of, the economic depression in the preceding years. The final aspect that gives Turkey a strategic advantage at a national level is related to medical tourism. The large banks, hotel chains, and hospitals, as well as an elite group of entrepreneurs who desired to monetize the millions, have made strict strategic decisions to sell down to a variety of international medical travel businesses.
Another advantage offered by Turkey is the vast healthcare infrastructure spread across the country. However, one of the key attractions that encourages plastic surgery in Turkey is the healthcare infrastructure of Istanbul. Throughout the city, comprehensive medical centers, outpatient clinics, and advanced laboratories are equipped with cutting-edge technology. A wide range of treatment options and services are offered to potential patients. Istanbul is home to almost all forms of medical treatments, from hair transplantation to cosmetic surgery. In addition, large medical institutions regularly provide people with health services at European standards within the intense metropolises. Of course, apart from the quality of healthcare infrastructure, plastic surgery capital centers also attract attention due to the high number of health professionals specializing in their fields and numerous doctors serving in the department of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery. For example, there are over 1,200 doctors dedicated to reconstructive and aesthetic surgery in Istanbul alone.
Istanbul healthcare institutions and surgeons have internationally accepted certificates. The paperwork is also followed strictly by the relevant authorities that regulate balance in the industry and audit periodically. The healthcare institutions in Istanbul are members of these networks, giving foreign travelers a peaceful treatment process. The existence of such a system makes Istanbul attractive for plastic surgery in Turkey. The treatment success of the plastic surgery in İstanbul in these institutions increases the preference of millions of patients, most of them domestic and foreign patients. In turn, a tight control mechanism is implemented. Think only of the fact that, in line with the physician and hospital data taken from various sources, out of 856 health centers that showed themselves on international and local platforms, the decision had to be taken for the weekly printed media and won air time in 370 centers with the highest scores over the specified criteria and stood out in the back, sides, and front.
The digital revolution has expanded into every corner of our lives. For the field of plastic surgery in Turkey, new technologies mean that surgery has become safer and more effective. Treatments have therefore become more applicable to a broader patient demographic, and the adoption of minimally invasive techniques is allowing for reduced patient recovery times. Procedures that are less disruptive to organ systems and blood vessels tend to result in fewer side effects for patients. The venerable tradition of healing is alive and well in Istanbul’s treatment centers. With the rise of endoscopic and arthroscopic procedures, more and more minimally invasive techniques are becoming accessible and affordable. Clinics in Istanbul utilize sophisticated methods of pre-treatment visualization, like 3D imaging and simulations, to provide a lifelike impression of anticipated outcomes. World-class care is no longer beyond one’s reach when it is available in Istanbul. The approach of using the latest medical equipment available to the world places Turkey as one of the most technologically sophisticated countries in the European region. This demand has sparked significant growth in economy-friendly, state-of-the-art healthcare facilities. The availability of technologies used in the course of treatment is a significant factor in the selection of clinics for international patients. It is not only doctors who are highly qualified; they staff technologically sophisticated facilities. Physicians are obliged to continuously educate themselves in line with the latest advancements and treatments available in clinics in Turkey. This includes learning to use the newest technologies with elegance and further educating colleagues. In those centers, operations now appear to be performed without bowel rupture or other serious side effects that could endanger one’s life. All transitions are smooth. The effort begins with the doctor and continues with the quality of the treatment, the friendliness of the staff, the skills of the chief physician, and the availability of current innovations and technologies. In this respect, Istanbul is becoming the European leader in medical treatments.
First and foremost among the appeal of plastic surgery capital for international patients is cost-effectiveness. Prices for an aesthetic intervention in Istanbul are, on average, just a quarter of the cost of the same surgery in Germany and other Western European countries. Indeed, an abdomen lift in Istanbul is priced at €1,676, compared to €6,822 in Western Europe, while a facelift is priced at €2,136 in Istanbul versus the mean of €6,315 in Western Europe. With price gaps as large as this, prospective patients can finance both their facial and body treatments, given these lower overall price tags. Research suggests that most patients pay for their surgery out of pocket, whether with a credit card, bank transfer, or cash. Typically, money transfers from abroad take place in part, especially for patients from the West. Additionally, the completion of an operation with no requirement for recovery in a specific care facility after the process means that the budget for international patients is quite comprehensive, as hotel overnight stays do not need to be counted. This well-fitting pricing seems to take quality care across the process into consideration, all the way from medical procedural care to comprehensive care in the era of aesthetic medicine. Effectively appraising the diverse financial elements of such attractive packages, which patients trust, is the initial stage in the acceptance process that corporate bodies worldwide have to make. Indeed, the current package offer has not just succeeded in terms of reasonable pricing; it has also achieved the goal of ensuring transparent price requirements through measurement methods that are underpinned technocratically. Ideas such as these must be reinforced in the price concept of the corporate world by tightening the system according to scientific measurements, and then set out at such a level that the probability of disarray among prospective patients is lowered, and these parties are made to see the corporation as one that employs a financial policy determined on the basis of trust.
The cost of living can factor into the price of an improvement in the human body or face, and living costs can be as vital for a company’s pricing strategy as the actual cost of the operation. The price coefficient of a facelift, for example, not only takes into account the cost of the operating room but also shows an increase in some societies, given that some mixture of administrative and operational costs could be covered with such a coefficient. This vital breakthrough in transparency also serves as a clear indicator of aesthetic surgery’s close relationship with other changes in society. Transparent prices are, after all, a technical model mainly targeting the essence of human-computer cooperation. The offering of micro-fat grafting at a cost means that every step in the operational chain is conducted in a transparent and technically quantifiable manner. This implicitly means that one tin of autologous micro fat, extradural or subcutaneous, should be charged at a price if purchased separately. As a result, if you can submit this calculation on a verifiable and transparent itinerary, which patients will not object to, we see that the vivid and transparent price in our minds, driven by such a kind of procedure, also bears technocratic properties. This is a measure of trust, and revenues “should not undergo much change for the next decade either, because people want quality, and failure is not an option.”
The rise of the industry has surprised experts, both from within the country and abroad. Istanbul has rapidly gained fame as the new capital of cosmetic interventions. The most frequent types of plastic surgeries in Istanbul are: Rhinoplasty – also known as the nose job; Breast augmentation – involves either silicone or saline implants, commonly called a boob job; Vaser liposuction – an advanced procedure that selectively removes unwanted body fat and sculpts the body, sharpening the appearance; BBL (Brazilian butt lift) – a technique that redistributes the fat taken from the abdomen or elsewhere in the body and injects it into the hips to create a curvier, rounder, and more voluptuous posterior; Tummy tuck – tightening and reshaping of the abdominal area; Hair transplant.
The preference is shifting towards smaller, elegant noses; and for Caucasians, fighters will often show plastic surgeons photos of Turkish actors who have just enough of a bump on the bridge. This is becoming a very popular look for rhinoplasty. Print, television, and cinema seem to play a role, and many cite the attention that Turkish film has received in South Asia as a reason why the procedure is so popular. The reasons for Istanbul’s attractiveness are varied and include advanced medical techniques and Turkey’s popularity as a travel destination. Given the growing demand, the clinics invest in new aesthetic technologies such as Botox, Restylane, and Juvederm. One in five Istanbul women have had plastic surgery in İstanbul. Only the best materials, implants, and technology are used in the clinics, all of which are approved by Turkey’s Ministry of Health. The clinics claim to perform many successful surgeries, and most of our patients choose our surgeons because of their good reputation and excellent results.
In summary, the rise of Istanbul as a destination for plastic surgery in Turkey tourists is a testament to the impacts of globalization, whereby capitalist medical enterprises have flourished alongside technological changes and the international migration of surgeons and medical professionals to destinations that possess more favorable economic and political environments to practice their trades. The study has sought to address some of the gaps in the medical geographies of plastic surgery in İstanbul by examining the dynamics of destination choices. Indeed, the holistic nursing care that is offered in Istanbul has also played its part in attracting international patients. Despite Istanbul’s increasing prominence as a medical tourism destination for plastic surgery in İstanbul tourists, along with other health care services, the future prospects for Istanbul and its private hospitals may well be challenged by the increasing interest from other Eastern European cities in attracting patients. The emergence of competition for inbound plastic surgery in İstanbul tourists raises interesting questions as to who will prevail and who will cease to attract patients. Will a new competitor emerge as the new plastic surgery in İstanbul capital of Europe, in the future? The answer is uncertain, but what we do know is that the next decade will be an exciting time for cosmetic surgery Istanbul providers across the world.
