Should I Go To Turkey For My Hair Transplant?

With many patients looking at Turkey and other countries for their hair transplant, this topic is incredibly important. There are pros and cons of going abroad for any surgery let alone hair transplantation. However, there is a wider issue of poor surgeries being performed in Turkey with many patients coming back to the UK and asking for a fix from a reputable Surgeon-led hair transplant clinic like The Treatment Rooms London. In this article we help patients to understand whether they should go to Turkey for their hair transplant.

Turkey and Modern-Day Medical Tourism

In many clinics in Turkey surgery is not being carried out by a qualified Doctor or Surgeon but a lay person instead. Ultimately this really does put patients at risk. Often clinics in Turkey advertise hair transplants in the following way:

• 2000-4000 graft one session transplants (so called “giga-sessions”)
• 5 star hotel stay, airfare and airport transfers
• A “Guarantee Certificate”
• Gimmick technology concepts like “Sapphire technology” or “Ice technology”
• A meaningless “Certificate of Quality”

Patients can often become victims of such practices suffering severe mental health conditions following an initial surgery. There was a report in 2024 of a french student who took their life after having surgery in Turkey where he was operated on by an alleged Estate Agent, you can read more about this story here.

UK Hair Transplant Surgery

In the UK, all hair transplant clinics should have a CQC license in place alongside having a GMC– registered surgeon who is carrying out the procedure. This helps to ensure the safety and quality of hair transplant surgery is kept high.

Processes are put in place to keep patients safe from poorly planned surgery and help to ensure they have recourse where things haven’t gone to plan.

At The Treatment Rooms London, we are a licensed and regulated CQC clinic with GMC registered surgeons, Dr Vara, Dr Fernando and Dr Pather.

In addition, Surgeons in the UK can be members of the British Association of Hair Restoration Surgery, a body that upholds stringent ethical and professional codes of conduct.

Advertising surgery in the UK vs Turkey

In the UK, hair transplant clinics are bound by the Advertising Standards Authority. The ASA puts a framework in place whereby clinics cannot advertise false claims or incentivise patients to undergo a medical treatment- including having a hair transplant. This means patients are given the time to reflect on whether a UK hair transplant clinic is suited to them. There are no “add-ons” like those listed above to cloud a patient’s judgement.

With the rise of social media some clinics are now able to aggressively advertise treatments attracting people from abroad for low cost treatments. In many cases these treatments are cheap because the clinic is cutting corners in the quality of care. In such instances, it is important to question whether those clinics truly had the patient’s best interests in mind.

How to choose a clinic in Turkey

Patients may still want to go to Turkey for their surgery and it is important to note there are many good, reputable and ethical clinics in the country.

Ultimately, a patient should judge a hair transplant clinic and surgeon on the following baseline criteria:

• The licensing and regulation of the clinic and surgeon
• Trust in the surgeon and their experience around managing hair loss not just hair transplantation
• Understanding that their surgeon will be operating on them
• Reviews and before and after photos of previous patients

Turkey Vs The Treatment Rooms London

In The Treatment Rooms London, our Surgeons lead their patient’s care, providing direct one to one care. This will ultimately benefit a patient in the following ways:

• The patient can ask questions about his or her procedure at any time directly to the person in charge of their care
• The Surgeon can check the quality of grafts– making sure everything is being done to ensure the patient’s best outcome
• Better aftercare management, as the Surgeon have been directly present during the transplant- noting any difficulties or problems that may have occurred
• If you live in the UK, choosing a UK hair transplant clinic is an easier decision. As you may know already, hair transplant surgery is a long day and being able to go back home to rest afterwards is important.

Secondly, as a transplant involves surgery, there can be side effects and complications. You will want to see or touch base with your Surgeon at your convenience. Not only will this mean your mind is put at ease but also any treatment that is needed can be started immediately. This is obviously very difficult if you have had your transplant in Turkey.

Do you regret going to Turkey for surgery?

At our clinic we are seeing a rising number of patients seeking a repair for their hair transplant. Patients who have gone to Turkey often have issues with:

1. Poor density
2. Poor hair direction
3. Poor hair angle
4. Poor wound healing

Sometimes, patients can be left without any follow up or advice from their original clinic. You can hear from one such patient in the video below:

Our clinic has started a renowned repair programme where our Surgeons are able to help fix patients who have gone to Turkey, helping to improve their mental health following their initial poor experience.

We are able to thicken poorly implanted areas, remove previously implanted grafts and more. You can see how we were able to help Tom who originally chose to have surgery in Turkey for £1,300 in the video below.

If you were interested in booking a consultation with Dr Fernando or Dr Vara at The Treatment Rooms London please feel free to contact us today.