Traveling to Turkey for medical care now has several humorous taglines and associations: men traveling for hair transplants on “Turkish Hairlines,” veneers dubbed “Turkey Teeth,” and tourists walking around Istanbul looking as if they got in a back-alley brawl from post-surgery swelling.
This isn’t a niche market or recent trend. Millions of Americans venture internationally each year for medical or cosmetic procedures, and the market continues to grow.
My interest in medical tourism began after I wrote for a travel-focused website about a viral TikTok influencer who praised the quality and affordability of medical care in Turkey. Months later, after an extremely disappointing annual physical at home in South Florida, I was compelled to seek medical care abroad.
I originally planned to only get a comprehensive physical and enjoy Istanbul. After further research and some cosmetic care, I decided to indulge in a full-body reset this past April.
My care was extensive
The obvious overhead of participating in medical tourism is travel costs. Because the flight was roughly 10 hours, I knew I wanted to fly business class. Fortunately, I was able to save up enough credit card rewards to fly Turkish Airlines from Chicago O’Hare to Istanbul for free. The cash price of this flight is normally thousands. It was a great deal, and I used it as an excuse to see friends in Chicago for an evening before my adventure.
The Memorial Hospitals Group in Turkey offers several comprehensive health checkup packages, which foreigners are able to book. I chose the most basic plan. I’m a healthy 32-year-old male, and figured I didn’t need to invest more.
For $1,100 USD, I received: a full lab panel, cardiology tests, a chest X-ray, a dental radiograph, a thyroid ultrasound, and a whole-abdomen ultrasound. I also had internal medicine, ophthalmology, urology, and dental exams. Estimating an equivalent is difficult, but there are now domestic clinics, like Prenuvo, that run similar programs, though at much higher cost.
I also found a cheaper dental clinic outside Memorial Hospital and got my teeth cleaned and had x-rays for only $88 USD.
For cosmetic work, I had an upper and lower blepharoplasty, canthoplasty, and four moles removed. The total cost for these procedures was $6,035 USD, a fraction of what I would pay to do this near my home.
The price tag included an overnight hospital stay, transportation to and from my Airbnb and the airport, two follow-up appointments, and an English-speaking translator. I did have to pay an additional $55 USD for post-surgery medications.
I secured pricing months in advance, working with a hospital representative via WhatsApp. The care I received was fantastic, communication with hospital representatives was crystal clear, and I even built a friendship with my translator.
During the full-body scan, she was with me the entire time. The next day, during my blepharoplasty, she was with me when I had to communicate with doctors and nurses. When I stayed overnight, the nurses knew what to do, and I didn’t need to communicate with them much. But my translator was always a text away via WhatsApp, which was reassuring to me.
Throughout my trip, I also opted for several massages and a haircut, all significantly cheaper than they would have been at home. My normal haircut in Florida is roughly $45, including tip; I paid $20 for a haircut, face shave, and face mask in Istanbul.
Overall, I combined a two-week adventure with an investment in my health and appearance for roughly $7,500.
This is the type of care I want
For me, the American healthcare system doesn’t offer the results it should. We spend nearly twice as much on healthcare as residents of comparable countries, yet Americans have shorter life expectancies.
Despite the shortcomings of the American healthcare system, there is still a lingering fear of leaving the United States for medical care. Nearly 100 Americans died between 2009 and 2022 from cosmetic surgeries in the Dominican Republic.
When I shared my plans, I could sense people’s anxiety over the potential risks of getting medical care abroad. My mom offered to come with me, but I reassured her, and she ended up staying behind.
Though some days were uncomfortable, and I flew home with facial bruising, the experience proved worthwhile for me. Now, months after my trip, I’m still satisfied with my results and how much I paid.
For now, I’m staying put, but if I have a big medical expense in the future, I may consider going abroad again.
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