The year 2022 has shown us remarkable improvements in patient knowledge. Patients are more and more diligent about checking doctor credentials, procedural details and a clinic’s medical reputation.

With more information online than ever, patients continue to float the question by us: is Turkey a risky place to get my hair back? Has there been improvements and better doctors in the middle east?

Yes there has, but finding and vetting those doctors continues to be a major obstacle.

The main problem persists: a lack of regulation

“People see hair transplantation as a commodity, that you can shop around at the cheapest price. That hair transplantation can be ‘bought’ cheaper in the health tourism destinations, and marketed it to an unsuspecting public.” – Dr. Greg Williams, President, British Association of Hair Restoration Surgery

In the last few years Turkey has become one of the most popular destinations in the world for hair surgery with the main driving force being the lower cost of hair transplantation.  

Medical tourism has always been a popular solution with people traveling to a number of different countries to source medical treatment, however, in recent years the boost in Turkey has been extremely high. It’s really easy for people to get tunnel vision when they look at hair transplantation and focus only on price, but it’s important to think about the issues and what can go wrong if you opt to travel to Turkey.

Although not as invasive as some, hair transplantation is still a form of surgery and ensuring you go to a reputable and regulated clinic is extremely important as it could have a detrimental effect if something isn’t right.  

During a hair transplant, you’ll be given a local anesthetic and be awake during the procedure. At a reputable clinic, an experienced doctor will perform the surgery by transplanting hair follicles from one area of the scalp to another with great care and precision.

Many Anglo-American hair transplant clinics are verified and regulated by professional organizations and associations which keep standards extremely high.

In many other countries, including Turkey, there aren’t official professional organizations which monitor and regulate the industry, making it extremely difficult to tell which clinic does good work.

There have been cases in Turkish clinics where hair transplants are performed by nurses or technicians rather than experienced doctors. With the biggest problem being that these clinics ignore regulations in order to accommodate more patients, many patients have had a consultation with a doctor and are sold the idea that the same doctor would be the one performing the surgery only to find a technician or nurse operating on them.

Medical tourism is slowly becoming a better option, but it has a far way to go. Not every clinic in Turkey or another country will take a responsible approach to hair transplantation. Now more than ever, with the growing popularity of hair transplantation, t’s important to consider what could happen if you end up at a bad clinic.