Turkey: A Mecca for Hair Transplant Operations?

Does £30k sound steep?? Turkey sees huge rise in surgical tourism.

Thanks to the number of celebrity devotees, hair transplant operations have become extremely well-known and continue to increase in popularity. Wayne Rooney, Will Ferrell and Robbie Williams have all confirmed they have undergone Follicular Unit Extraction operations, with varying degrees of success.

Cut price consultants?

Hair transplant surgery is notoriously expensive, with some claiming costs of up to £30,000 for each operation. So it is perhaps surprising that hair transplant operations are on the rise in countries like Turkey.

In a recent report for Drexel University’s online magazine ‘The Smart Set’, reporter Bernd Brunner looked at the explosion in popularity of hair transplant operations in the Turkish city Istanbul. According to Brunner, the area around Taksim Square on the European side of the city is heavily populated by hair loss clinics.

Surgical tourism on the rise

According to the surgeons themselves however, the patients do not tend to be local. Many of the men seeking treatment have flown in from the Middle East, attracted by the virtual anonymity of the area. Brunner reports seeing dozens of men in the Taksim Square area wearing black bandages. He goes on to note: “They are a constant. If you look closely, you can see the rosy shine on the treated areas at the front of their scalps, and if you look even closer, you can see the actual stitches from the operation.”

The importance of hair

Hair loss treatment is particularly popular with men from the Arab states because of the cultural importance attached to healthy hair. “Full hair and a finely trimmed moustache or beard are a matter of manliness and respect, a real must,” explained Bülent Cihantimur who runs one of the Istanbul clinics.

Cihantimur went further, explaining that many of his clients believe that having a full head of hair is closely related to the concept of “sünnet” following the rules and behaviour of the prophet Mohammed. According to tradition, Mohammed had a full head of hair and a healthy beard, so sünnet adherents endeavour to do the same.

Avoiding travel and surgery

The lure of lower prices coupled with anonymity may lure many men to Turkey for surgery. However in doing so, some men may actually be missing out on  cheaper and more effective non-surgical techniques for restoring their hairlines.

Depending on the type of hair loss involved, the best solution is usually an holistic hair loss treatment plan which deploys a combination of proven medications, complementary therapies and expert monitoring.

This sort of custom treatment plan can sometimes be implemented from the comfort of one’s own home. In this way, men can avoid travelling abroad and complete a custom treatment plan with professional advice and assistance for natural hair regrowth success. Hairlines can be successfully restored and embarrassment avoided with minimal disruption or inconvenience.