Meet cheap cosmetic surgery tourists flying to Turkey despite deadly warnings
According to the Turkish Ministry of Health, the average fatality rate from cosmetic surgery in recent years has been roughly 1 in 3,000 procedures – but despite the dangers thousands still go under the knife abroad
British tourists are dismissing the dangers of cheap cosmetic surgery in Turkey and insist they will continue to fly there for more.
The tragic death of Morgan Ribiero this month has once again put the spotlight on the roaring trade which is estimated to rake in £20billion a year. The bargain basement prices do not come without risk. More than 25 Britons have died after going under the knife since 2019 alone.
According to the Turkish Ministry of Health, the average fatality rate from cosmetic surgery in recent years has been roughly 1 in 3,000 procedures. But despite the dangers The Mirror watched on this week as visitors from Britain and around the world landed in Istanbul for tummy tucks, bum lifts and a “glow-up”. There were visitors from as far away as Australia and Canada.
More than 100,000 foreigners undergoing surgery in Turkey each year, often because it is far cheaper than at home. Ben Leigh, 28, from Leeds, came over for a hair transplant. He dismissed the dangers, telling The Mirror: “It’s cheap and easy, that’s why people come. You can’t stop that temptation.
“They make it very easy for you and I did not think there is much of a risk when it comes to hair so I didn’t think too much about it, to be honest. If it was wanting something a bit more invasive I might think twice but for something simple you can’t argue with the prices. You’ve just got to be sensible.”
Many of the nation’s 913 plastic surgery clinics offer visitors a complete package, including airport transfers, hotel stays and even shuttles to and from their appointments. These can cost less than £3,000, depending on the treatments. We saw liveried vans from the many clinics in Istanbul ferrying visitors to and from appointments constantly.
Hotel lobbies and breakfast rooms look like hospitals with bandaged patients shuffling from room to room as they recover from their procedures. One of them was dancer Dolly, 21, from Melbourne, who had travelled across the world to undergo a plethora of treatments.
She said: “I was going to come earlier but I was really scared I’ll be honest, But then a friend said no I am going to get my boobs done, you should come with me and she was Turkish so I thought if she can do it, it must be fine. So I got a Brazilian butt lift, some liposuction, a mini breast lift and some augmentation and sub-facial work.
“I paid around 8,500 US dollars (£6,688) for mine. I was concerned about safety at first, a little sceptical yes. I did not want to go home with one kidney, but it has turned out great. I would now recommend it to anyone who wants their body done, but you should definitely do you research and make sure you know what each clinic is about and what they are offering.”
Earlier this week we reported the tragic case of Morgan Ribiero who died after having had gastric sleeve surgery at a private hospital in Istanbul. The procedure involves removing a large section of the stomach, leaving only a sleeve of the organ behind so patients feel full more quickly. The cost for private treatment in the UK is between £8,000 and £10,000.
Ms Ribiero paid just £2,500 for the operation in Turkey. She travelled home on January 9 but during the flight back to London she went into septic shock. The plane was diverted to Serbia so that she could receive emergency medical treatment in Belgrade. Four days later, Ms Ribeiro died from complications.
Her mum Erin Gibson, 44, told the Mirror she wants social media adverts for operations to come with details about the risks involved including deaths and injuries. According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), 324 Britons have needed medical treatment or corrective surgery after having gone under the knife overseas since 2018.
They revealed that Turkey was the largest source of botched ops as increasing numbers of people seek to look more like their celebrity idols. Almost 80% of thoses who needed corrective ops were treated originally in surgical tourism hubs like Istanbul and Ankara. Other big surgical destinations for Britons include the Czech Republic and Lithuania, BAAPS said.
Procedures to treat botched cosmetic ops cost the NHS millions of pounds each year. In Turkey, news of Morgan’s death has filtered through this week but the visitors we spoke to said it had not put them off having their own plastic surgery.
Lisa, 43, from Kirkby, Merseyside, told us she had came over for a nose job but was not too concerned about things going wrong.
She said: “I was a bit worried, you do hear some horror stories but I thought what are the chances, honestly? If the clinic I had gone to seemed shabby I’d have been right out of there. It was really sad what happened to Morgan and I am not going to pretend it was not our minds but ultimately what I am having done is much less serious.”
Ahsan Ashraf, 45, from Canada, travelled over to have a hair transplant. He said “I wish I had come here 10 years earlier. But I only picked Turkey after doing lots of research.
“It is so engaging, you can go on their websites and immediately link to them via WhatsApp so you can be in contact with lots of clinics really easily right away. But the best thing to do is do your research and ask professionals locally the right questions. I am very happy with the procedure.”
Alexandra Cloutier-Tardif, 29, came all the way from Montreal with her mother to have a nose job but only after thorough research in Canada. She said: “I got advice on which clinic was best from the Turkish Ministry of Health. I am very happy with how everything went and I would recommend coming here but I would tell people to do as much research as possible before you come.”
