Hello, this is a blog post to share my experience with Rhinoplasty in Istanbul, Turkey. Bellow you can see what I will cover in this post:
I booked my surgery with Dr. Volkan Kahya through Whatsapp in July. I paid 300€ for confirmation and set the date for 22nd of October, which later I changed to 29th of October, 2021. You're allowed 1 change due to Covid.
I found Dr. Volkan Kahya on Instagram, a friend shared his profile and I followed his work since 2018. He has more than 15 years experience and he is very professional and kind.
You can go to his website to read more about or contact him.
Check the Covid-19 Restrictions and Requirements that your airline have defined. Most probably you'll be flying Turkish Airlines. They offer a great service on board, by the way.
Depending on your Nationality and Residence, Turkey requires you to have a Visa. You can get this online through this link.
Turkey also requires you to fulfil an Entrance Form from 72 hours before arriving. You can fill the form online through this link.
For me and my friend, as Brazilians, we did not need a visa. And as Swedish Residents, we only needed to show our Covid-19 Vaccination Certificates.
Other than the regular preparations, make sure you pack these items:
The Istanbul Airport (IST) is nice and clean. It's quite big so make sure you take a look at the map just to be acquainted to it.
Some good words to know: GİRİŞ (entrance) and ÇIKIŞ (exit). Also, TAMAM (okay, alright).
I advise you to get a SIM Card with Turkish phone number and add an Internet Package to it, this way you'll be able to use many services like food delivery and more. We did not get a SIM Card and we had to ask the Hotel reception to order food for us.
To get the Havaist shuttle from the airport, you must go to the exit on the lower level. Look for Havaist company signs and buy your tickets. This company also has an app that did not seem to work to buy the tickets, but we could see the buses location in realtime and the time table. More information on this link. You can translate from TR to EN on the top bar.
The one-way ticket costs 31₺, which was around 30 SEK or 3€. You can buy with cash at the kiosk or with credit card in the bus.
We took the line HVIST-10 to Bakirköy since we need to stop at station Şirinevler close to our hotel.
(!) Make sure you enter the right bus, there are several lines. Look for signs, in the walls and columns.
We dropped off at Şirinevler station and basically just crossed the bridge over the roads and we were at our hotel. The hospital could be seen from the bridge and it was at short walking distance.
We stayed at Holiday Inn - Ataköy Metro which is 900m walking from the hospital and 1 bus station to the doctor's office. Initially, we planned to stay 11 nights for 4.700 SEK or ~460€ in October 2021. The hotel is nice and clean, everyone is very respectful, there is a great grocery store on its right side, called Happy Center with a good variety of products. In the following blocks in the hospital direction you can find many drugstores.
The breakfast was included and it consisted of different types of cheese, bread, croissants, coffee and other hot drinks machine, some fruits, honey, jam, nutella, boiled eggs, fried onion rings and some more options.
We stayed a few more days at the hotel, since my friend decided to get a surgery too, which, coincidentally, a patient had canceled and she got the spot.
The following morning and 2 days prior to my surgery, we went to do the exams at the hospital. The hospital is beautiful and staff is very experienced and competent. They had no issues finding veins or anything of sort.
We looked for the International Patients area, it's right above the entrance and Starbucks. There we leave our Passport and they create a protocol for PCR Test and Blood Test. Your companion will also require a PCR Test to stay with a night at the hospital.
The blood exams are in a sector of the hospital and the PCR Test entrance is outside. Your assistant will help you find those places. After this exams you can roam around the city, if you'd like.
After at least 2 hours, you come back to the hospital to have a Consultation with the Anaesthesiologist, where she questions you about your health, allergies, weight, etc. The doctor might request additional test that are not included in the price of the surgery if you have any other condition that requires that.
Most of the staff does not speak English. Use Google Translate App and show to them what you need or want. That's easier.
Pack all necessary items to spend 1 night at the hospital. As a patient, you don't really need to bring clothes to change. You'll wake up early.
Do not eat after midnight, and during the day prior to the surgery, try to eat healthy and light.
After the surgery you won't be able to eat solid meals. Go to Happy Center and get some of these. A few solutions we found there were:
You have to be at the hospital at 6am, you can go in through the Emergency Entrance and say you have an operation scheduled and they will direct you to the Patient Admissions, which is on the ground floor, beside Starbucks.
There you and your companion (if you have one) leave your Passports and will receive ID tags to put on your wrist. After this you will be sent to your hospital room, which are very comfortable.
By 7-8am you'll be at your room and the following will happen (maybe in a different order):
Then you wait until your scheduled surgery, which mine was at 11am. (!) Try to pee before the surgery, just so you don't have to do that when you're dizzy. I waited until 11:30am, when a nurse and another person came to the room and took me in a wheeled bed to the surgery area. At this moment, they will give you meds to relax. Then you can fo directly to the surgery room or in my case, I waited a few minutes in the waiting corridor for the room to be fully clean.
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Once the room was clean I was taken inside the surgery room. There was several people in the room and soon the Anaesthesiologist and Doctor came to the room. Once they start giving you the anaesthesia, you'll feel cold and soon you will be asleep. You won't notice you fell asleep. You will wake up after everything is finished with your nose in a cast already.
It is very important to know that once you wake up you will still feel the anaesthesia effects. These can be:
In any case, keep calm and wait. These effects will go away and you will feel better. You might also wake up with an ice pack over your eyes.
You will be take back to your room. Expect a nurse coming around all the time and administering meds on your vein. They switch every 6-8 hours I believe and they kinda introduce themselves. If you feel anything weird press the red button and the nurse will come to help you.
You should not get up, sleep, eat or drink for a couple hours. When you're allowed to eat and drink a person will bring food and water. Just smashed vegetables and soupy things, like pumpkin, potato, some soup and water. Later more food. Your companion get all meals too, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Your nose will be very swollen and upwards. You will look like a pig, but don't be scared. That is normal and it will go down in size and the tip will drop slowly in the following weeks. The tip may take 6 months to 1 year to find its final position.
You can ask the doctors assistant to send you pictures from the after-surgery result. This is mine:
You will be assisted and medicated the whole night, probably every 4 hours at least. If you feel pain, you can ask for more painkillers.
The doctor's assistant will come with instructions and the prescription for your meds. You will be released around 9-10am.
You might be able to walk out of the hospital or you might still be dizzy. This depends a lot on when was your surgery and how fast you recover.
I walked from the hospital to the hotel and made a stop on the way at the drugstore to get the medication. After that you will probably spend the next 3 days at the hotel. Netflix! But not that fun.
There are 9 different medications you should take. This were prescribed by my doctor and it might change from doc to doc. Here is the list:
I recommend geting 2 of the Nasorinse and NazalNem as you will need them for 1 month. For the painkillers - Arveles, I took it every 4 hours, and on the 3rd day I stopped taking, since I did not feel any pain or discomfort.
You will not be able to breathe through your nose. I suggest trying to eat and drink holding your nose to see how it feels like. It's not easy, but only lasts for 3-4 days. You will have to lie and sleep on your back, chest up, for 20 days. Do not sleep on your side or belly down.
Your face will swell A LOT! You will be unrecognisable. No kidding, be prepared. The swelling goes from your nose, then moves around the nose, cheeks and lips. And it starts to go down to your jaws and chin. The worst swelling is around the second day and from there it starts to go down.
Some things to keep in mind:
He will remove the silicon inside your nose and you will be able to breathe a little. This is not painful at all and very fast. He will also try to clean a bit of the blood around your nose, this can hurt a little.
He will remove the cast and put a tape over your nose. He will instruct you to massage your nose in a certain way and will analyse how your nose is healing.
BIG TIP! If you get your flight ticket and it says Gate I(i) for Check-in Luggage, talk to the airport staff. There's no Gate I ((i). Look for International Check In on the screens, might be F or J.
You might be able to remove your tape after 1 week or you might need to redo it at home. You can find videos on youtube on how to do it. The proper tape type is called Micropore and 1.25cm roll is ideal.
The stitches will dissolve on their own in a couple of weeks. The annoying part is that blood gets attached to it and it might take weeks to fall out. Be patient and let it fall on their own.
Avoid touching your nose tip or the stitches. Follow your doctor's instruction. Use the Nasorinse and NazalNem sprays for the following 1 month.
Recovery is much better after the 3rd or 4th day from surgery. Keep that in mind.
You won't be able to see the results instantly or even a month after. The swelling on the nose goes down very slowly, week-to-week progress. Expect to be able to go out confident with your nose after 1-1,5 months.
Your result is only final after 1 year.
It costed 3.000€. It includes the blood exams, PCR Test, anaesthesiologist consultation, surgery and 1 night at the hospital.
The tip of the nose went down when I spoke or laughed. There was a bump on top. The bottom part was too long. It was deviated. It would get wider when I laughed too. I had to use make up to balance it out andgive some illusion.
No. I would do it only once. So far, so good, I don't think it will need revision. We will see.
No, it's just uncomfortable the first 3 days and then it's totally fine.
Yes, if you really want to do it, do it. Just know it's not so fun in the beginning.
I had a c-section and breast implants. Rhinoplasty was worse.
Yes. But I cannot say 100% sure yet, since it takes 6 months to 1 year to see the final result.
It is good, not too thin and not too thick.
Eat without breathing and being scared of choking to death.
Yes, he listened to me and advised me on what I could go for.
If you want to know more, ask me with the contact form below and I'll answer. If you want you can also add me on instagram.
This is my experience solely. Remember to always follow your doctors recommendation. I do not take any responsibility.
