Is It Safe to Get Plastic Surgery in Turkey? A 2026 Guide for U.S. Patients

Is it safe to get plastic surgery in Turkey?

Turkey has accredited hospitals and experienced plastic surgeons, and it also has the most complaints from British surgeons who repair surgery done abroad. In a British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) survey of its council members, all of the complications they had treated after cosmetic surgery abroad came from Turkey, most often after a tummy tuck (BAAPS, 2022). A London hospital study of 103 patients with complications from surgery abroad found tummy tucks, breast augmentation and liposuction most common, and wound problems and fluid collections (seroma) the most frequent complications (BAAPS, 2024). The UK government reports that 7 British nationals died in Turkey in 2025 after medical procedures (UK FCDO).

Keep in mind that BAAPS members compete with surgery abroad, and that these figures count only patients who had problems. On the travel side, The U.S. State Department rates Türkiye Level 2, “Exercise Increased Caution” (reissued June 2026), and says not to travel within 10 km of the borders with Syria and Iraq; Istanbul is far from both (advisory).

What Turkish law requires since 2025

A new health-tourism regulation in April 2025 tightened the rules for clinics that treat foreign patients (regulation):

• The clinic and any agency must hold the International Health Tourism Authorization Certificate.
• Clinics must carry complication insurance for operating-room procedures on health tourists (deadline December 31, 2025).
• Hospitals and medical centers must be accredited by TÜSKA, Türkiye’s health-care quality institute, by December 31, 2026.
• Each foreign patient is assigned a named responsible staff member, and agencies must run a 24/7 line in at least two foreign languages.
• The clinic and the agency are responsible for their services, including later complications and malpractice.

How to check a plastic surgeon in Turkey

• Health tourism authorization. Since 2025, a clinic or hospital that treats foreign patients needs Türkiye's International Health Tourism Authorization Certificate, and so does any agency that arranges your trip (2025 regulation, art. 5). HealthTürkiye, the Ministry of Health's official health-tourism platform, lists authorized agencies (HealthTürkiye). Ask the clinic for its certificate number.
• Ask for the complication insurance policy in writing: what it covers, for how long, and whether it covers treatment after you are back in the U.S.
• Get the surgeon’s name in writing and check that they are a plastic surgery specialist; ask who gives the anesthesia.
• Be careful with combined operations such as a tummy tuck with liposuction: the complications BAAPS sees most often follow tummy tucks.
• Weight-loss “stomach Botox”. In 2023, 71 people got botulism after stomach botulinum toxin injections at two private hospitals in Türkiye, and Turkish authorities suspended the departments involved (WHO).

Recovery and the flight home

ASPS advises waiting 5 to 7 days before flying after body procedures and 7 to 10 days after facial surgery (ASPS); CDC advises 10 to 14 days after major surgery, because of the risk of blood clots on long flights (CDC). From Istanbul, that means a hotel stay of at least a week after body surgery. Arrange a U.S. doctor for follow-up before you go and bring your records home: CDC warns that treating complications can be expensive and may not be covered by your insurance (CDC). The American Society of Plastic Surgeons warns that U.S. law does not protect patients abroad, so there may be no legal recourse after negligence (ASPS).