Buccal Fat Extraction in Istanbul: Best Clinics and Costs 2025

The entire experience was top notch, particularly for someone traveling from the U.S. alone.

Surgery in Turkey, I am 60 years old, and I travelled to Istanbul for a Deep Plane Facelift and a lower and upper Blepharoplasty. Bookimed, I am so grateful to you, I could not have made this journey without your assistance. Thank you very much for your guidance and patience. I hope I did not give you a hard time. Turkey is a safe place to travel, it is safer than Paris, Milan or Manhattan. I never felt in danger in Istanbul. From the moment I arrived at Lokman Hekim Hospital, everything was taken care of by Ismael Ali, who is an easy going and friendly translator. The pre-operative test were done as soon as I arrived. The day after I met Doctor Murat Yaman who is a friendly and open person. Before travelling to Istanbul I checked his background and found him to be a very good and competent surgeon. So, on that day I was relaxed for the surgery because I knew I was going to be in good hands. The work he did on me was outstanding. I am still in the healing process. My eyes are a bit irritated, but that is normal. My face is still a bit swollen but it no longer hangs. My face has changed expression from appearing to be sad or angry to reflecting a normal emotion. A big thanks to the Lokman Hekim Hospital staff some of them spoke a little bit of English others were fluent but all of them were caring, kind, super friendly and always ready to help.

I want to share my experience. In the summer I planned a breast augmentation surgery. I thought for a long time in what country, that it would not take long to fly, price, quality, etc. Having decided on the country (Turkey), was the choice of clinic. With the coordinator Bogdana very quickly selected a clinic. There were a lot of offers from different clinics, but intuitively the choice fell on Dr Ramazan Arslan from Quartz Clinique. Then I cooperated with the coordinator Ali from the clinic. I have never met a more attentive and patient person))). As soon as we arrived in Turkey, Ali was on call 24/7. Any question was solved instantly. At the consultation, the doctor said I needed a lift of one breast, the healing process with a lift is complex and painful, so all 10 days I needed attention. I was at the clinic for 2 days, then stayed with my husband in a hotel across the street. Which was very convenient. Ali, the doctor, all the girls from the clinic were very friendly, always smiling, trying to help. I highly recommend the doctor as he did exactly the shape I wanted. The coordinator Ali, I can't imagine if he wasn't there... The clinic is very friendly staff. Kudos to the girls!

I liked my doctor and translator. The doctor had a kind and reassuring energy to him. There were two things that bothered me about the experience.One was having to wait several hours past my scheduled consultation with him after a 16 hr travel period after being brought directly to the hospital. The second was being told they may have to harvest cartilage from my ear or rib minutes before my surgery after being told they would not have to do that during the consultation. That really stressed me out. They wound up not having to do that but it made me feel like they had not prepared properly. That being said, the surgery went well and I’m happy with the results so far. I’m posting this only a week and a half from my surgery date but so far, so good.

I asked for help in getting massages and they helped with that which is where the additional cost came from. I also had a massage for general pain from a nurse, which was a little out of their scope but they were happy to oblige.

I elected to do a facelift , and fat transfer with Dr Safa Manav in Istanbul and I am a patient who has had surgery for liposuction and lip lift and threads in Istanbul before with a different clinic. So it has been very interesting for me to make the comparison. I will not name the other clinic but will say that Dr Manav is streets ahead. I am only four days into my operation but I am so impressed with everyone who I have come into contact with. Delfe who handles the what’s app while you are in your own country is clear and prompt on what’s app. Upon arriving a driver collected me and the car has tv , WiFi, water and a very polite driver. Then I met Elif ( her full name is Elif bilge yavuz ) and she is your coordinator. She speaks perfect English and understands absolutely everything, is intelligent and empathic and I can entirely understand why Dr Manav took her with him when he set up his win clinic. The woman is a powerhouse. You feel entirely safe in her hands while she navigates getting heart tests and blood tests on the first day so they can establish whether it’s safe to operate. During the consult I did test Dr Safa Manav by asking him about additional procedures that I didn’t have much interest in and knew I didn’t really need . I wanted to see if the clinic were only interested in the money. He immediately advised me to not do these procedures , that they were unnecessary, and I didn’t need them. And In Fact advised me to never do one of the procedures at all as he could never see me ever needing it. This totally assured me of where the clinic and his priorities lie…with his patients and not with his bank account. I also wanted a dr who ensure that I looked natural as I do not like the over the top look of large lips or extra small nose and I could see that he is very much about keeping things natural. That wa also very important to me. But of course I understand that some patients love this unnatural look. He was to the point and clear in the consultation. I also had been considering hiring him to also remove old implants at a later stage so we also had a chat about that too. The morning of surgery I was told I was the only person he was operating on which was also hugely comforting . He came to check on me twice and assured me. The hospital is faultless. It’s like a five star hotel. I had a private room with en suite and my own nurse from Dr Manav as a well as the hospital nurses taking care. If I pressed the button they came immediately. And they would do constant regular checks on my during the 24 hours I was in the hospital. Even if drugs didn’t need to be administered they still came in to check on me like clockwork. I had low swelling and low pain, but I think each patient is different. By the evening of that surgery day I was walking around the corridors with no support and even able to watch a film. Which was totally unexpected. But of course I wouldn’t assume you would be the same as everyone heals differently. I am now back at the Antwell hotel. Each day Elif or her friend Busa come to check on me. The pics which they send back to the dr and check the dressings. And check I’ve remebered to take the daily drugs. A corner comes in daily and she even also asks did I eat something, did I take a walk. The hotel is an apartment hotel. I even have a washing machine and dryer and dishwasher . It’s spotlessly clean , there are nurses in the building and emergency pulls in every room. Smart tv, and controlled heating. There are restaurants , a pool , spa, library, cinema room, roof terrace and even an art room. The staff are amazing. My speaker charging lead broke and the concierge went out to fetch me a new lead. Within an hour. Because I didn’t feel strong enough to go walking around outside. Most of the guests here are patients so you meet people in the corridors , lift, cafe, but if you want privacy that’s also respected. There is a large mall just a five mins walk , it’s called Emaar mall. It’s a great mall. Two days after surgery I felt well enough to walk around in it for three hours alone. There are also a few cafes near the hotel. I have not even seen my operation results yet as I am still bandaged up. However from a professional point of view of the team, the cleanness , the way it’s run, the staff behaviour, the accomodation, and transport , I honestly cannot fault it. And I am able to make comparisons because I have been here before and done surgery in Istanbul. This by far outweighs my other experience. And my other experience was not a bad one at all. I also would like to say that the hospital staff were amazing. I live over seas and have experienced staff in hospitals in my 53 years in many countries. The staff seem to enjoy their work, they seem to truly care. Sadly i have not witnessed this in the uk on the nhs, in India, Cambodia, or in spain. In a world where so many people are chasing fame and fortune on the internet and not interested in normal jobs any more it has been so wonderful to witness people in their 20s who are in the care service industry , working hard and long hours and are enjoying it and doing an amazing job. I cannot be more grateful to witness that. They all deserve an award and far more recognition than they get. I will eventually write a secondary review when I have recovered , which will be about the results of the actual surgery. I have not been paid to write this review. I know no one at the Dr Manav clinic. This is an honest review of my own personal experience.