Is Weight-Loss Surgery in Turkey Safe? Risks, Complications and How to Avoid Them

Modern bariatric operations are safe when they are performed by experienced surgeons, on properly assessed patients, in a licensed hospital and with follow-up after discharge. The risk rises when surgery is rushed, done without a clear indication, by a team without bariatric experience or without a plan for the days and weeks afterwards.

Bariatric surgeons in the UK and elsewhere in Europe have warned, including in the press, that they regularly treat patients operated on abroad who need further care or a second operation. The problems they describe most often are:

• Operations that are too aggressive or not indicated, for example a bypass with too long a section of bowel bypassed, followed by chronic diarrhoea, deficiencies and anaemia.
• Leaks (leakage along the staple line), which can lead to peritonitis.
• No follow-up: once home, the patient can no longer reach the clinic.
• Paying twice: the complication is treated, and paid for, a second time at home.

All of these problems come down to indication, experience and follow-up, not to the country where the operation takes place.

• Leaks after gastric sleeve: a systematic review of 40,653 patients found an overall rate of around 1.5%; individual studies report between 0.7% and 5.3%.
• Mortality within 30 days: in a registry of more than 611,000 patients, 0.07% after gastric sleeve and 0.15% after gastric bypass.
• The risk rises with age, with a very high BMI and with heart or lung disease, which is why a full pre-operative assessment is not a formality.

In short: serious complications are rare, but not impossible. What makes the difference between a complication caught in time and a dangerous one is monitoring.

A leak does not always appear in the first few days. The medical literature describes many patients showing the first signs only 4 to 6 weeks after surgery, when they are already back home. That is why two things matter: how many nights you stay monitored in hospital and what happens if you have a problem at home.

Go straight to A&E / the emergency department if after surgery you have:

• a resting pulse above 120 beats per minute
• fever or chills
• abdominal pain that is getting worse, or pain in the left shoulder
• repeated vomiting, or you cannot keep fluids down
• difficulty breathing or a new cough
• black stools or vomiting blood

Take your operation report and discharge letter with you, and let your coordinator know.

1. Who will operate on me, and how many bariatric operations have they performed?
2. In which hospital, and is it licensed by the Turkish Ministry of Health?
3. Who decides which operation suits me, and based on which tests?
4. How many nights will I stay in hospital after surgery?
5. How many hours are there between landing and surgery?
6. Will I speak to the surgeon before the operation, with an interpreter if needed?
7. Will I receive the operation report and discharge letter in writing?
8. Who will answer me once I am back home, and for how long?
9. What happens, and who pays, if a complication appears at home?
10. Do I have to pay anything before I arrive?

A serious clinic answers all of these in writing, before you book.

• Free assessment by the surgeon before you travel: you are recommended the right operation, or none at all.
• Experienced surgeon: Op. Dr. Cuma A., more than 10 years in obesity surgery and more than 10,000 bariatric procedures.
• No rush: you arrive in the evening, rest overnight in hospital, and your tests and surgery take place the next day.
• Around 4 nights in hospital, with round-the-clock nursing, then you fly home when the surgeon gives the go-ahead.
• English-speaking patient coordinator at the hospital and on WhatsApp.
• 1 year of remote medical follow-up (WhatsApp, Zoom or email).
• Complications insurance of up to €5,000, valid for 6 months after surgery, including up to €1,500 for care in your home country, according to the policy terms.
• No deposit: you pay at the hospital, after admission.

You can find details of the procedure on our gastric sleeve in Turkey page and our gastric bypass in Turkey page.