Your Rhinoplasty Journey in Istanbul
Everything your week in Istanbul with Op. Dr. Erdal Erkoç will look like, and everything worth knowing before you come. Roughly ten minutes to read.
You have just spoken with Dr. Erkoç, and you probably have more questions now than you did before. That is completely normal. This guide walks you through the whole week, day by day, so that nothing about your time in Istanbul comes as a surprise.
Your week at a glance
You arrive the morning before your surgery and fly home on the seventh day after it, once the splint is off and Dr. Erkoç has cleared you to travel. That makes eight nights in Istanbul in total: one in hospital, the rest at your hotel. Days are counted from surgery day (Day 0).
Design session and preparation
One night in hospital
First check up
Splint off, cleared to fly
Follow up continues
Book a flexible return ticket
Healing is individual. In a small number of cases Dr. Erkoç may prefer you to stay an extra day or two before flying. A changeable ticket costs slightly more and removes a great deal of stress.
Why eight nights?
Two check ups bracket your stay. The first is on day three, the second on day seven, when the splint comes off and Dr. Erkoç confirms you are fit to fly.
Can I fly home earlier?
We ask you not to book a flight before the day seven appointment. Leaving with the splint still on means no one examines your breathing before you travel.
Can someone come with me?
Yes, and most patients are glad they did. A companion may stay in your private hospital room overnight at no additional cost.
The morning before surgery, in time for your hospital tests and design session.
One, on the night of your operation. The rest of the week you are at your hotel.
Day seven after surgery, once Dr. Erkoç has seen you and cleared you to travel.
Getting ready before you fly
None of this is complicated. Doing it now simply means you arrive with nothing left to think about.
- Every medicine and supplement you take, including vitamins and herbal products. Some must be paused before surgery, and our nurse will tell you exactly which and for how long.
- Any filler ever injected into your nose, and roughly when. This genuinely changes the surgical plan, so please do not leave it out.
- Any chronic condition, previous operation or known drug allergy, even if you think it is unrelated.
- Your flight number and landing time once you have them. If you have booked our accommodation and transfer package, this is how your airport pick up is arranged. If you are arranging your own stay, we keep your flight details on file so we can plan your appointments around them.
- If you smoke, stopping well in advance is one of the most useful things you can do for your healing.
- Avoid peels, laser and other facial treatments around the nose.
- If you colour your hair, do it before you travel. You will not want to for a while afterwards.
- Check your passport validity and, if your nationality requires one, your Türkiye e-visa.
- If you develop a cold, flu, fever or any infection, contact us immediately. Do not simply fly and hope.
- Avoid alcohol.
What to pack
Loose clothing that buttons or zips at the front means nothing is pulled over your head after surgery. Türkiye uses 220V type C/F sockets.
Your days in Istanbul
Where you will be and what happens, from landing to the flight home.
Landing, hospital tests, design
If you have booked our accommodation and transfer package, you are met at the airport and driven to your hotel, a short distance from the clinic. If you have arranged your own stay, you make your own way from the airport and simply meet us at the clinic at your appointment time. Once you have settled in, you first go to Medipol Acıbadem Hospital for routine blood tests, followed by your anaesthesia consultation. You then come to the clinic in Akasya Mall for your design session with Dr. Erkoç, the appointment where the plan for your nose is finalised face to face and you can ask everything you did not think of during the video call. You spend this night at your hotel.
Most patients arrive nervous and leave this appointment noticeably calmer.
Your operation
You are admitted to Medipol Acıbadem Hospital in the morning, having followed the fasting instructions given to you the day before. Dr. Erkoç performs no other surgery that day, so nothing about your operation is rushed. Afterwards you stay one night in a private hospital room, a companion may stay with you at no additional cost, and nursing staff monitor you overnight.
You will not remember the operation itself.
Discharge and rest
You are discharged and go back to your hotel. Expect to feel tired and blocked, and to breathe through your mouth. Your only task for the next few days is to rest, keep your head elevated, and follow the instructions given to you at discharge.
Doing very little is exactly what you are supposed to be doing.
First check up
You return to the clinic so Dr. Erkoç can review your early healing. Swelling and bruising around the eyes are usually most visible around now and then begin to settle.
This is the day most patients find hardest to look at, and the day things start improving.
Quiet recovery
Rest days. Short, gentle walks are fine. Avoid heat, sun, alcohol, bending forward and anything strenuous. Most patients use this time for sleep and films rather than sightseeing, and are glad they did.
The bruising fades faster than you expect from here.
Final check up, then your flight home
Your second and final in person appointment. Dr. Erkoç removes the external splint and any internal supports, examines your breathing, explains what to expect over the coming weeks, and confirms that you are fit to fly. You are given your at home care instructions. Later that day you travel home: if your transfers are included in your package, you are collected from your hotel and driven to the airport, and if you arranged your own stay we help you plan your timing so you leave with plenty of margin. Choose a flight later in the day and keep it flexible.
Removing the splint is quicker and gentler than almost everyone imagines.
Your nose at the moment the splint comes off is not your result.
Most of the visible swelling settles over the following weeks, but the final refinement of the tip continues quietly for many months. Patience is part of the treatment.
While you are in Istanbul
Your week here is a recovery week rather than a holiday. These are the things patients most often say they wish they had known on arrival.
Everything nearby
Our clinic is inside Akasya Mall, so a pharmacy, cafes and everything you might need are a short walk from your appointment.
Paying for things
The currency is Turkish Lira. Cards are accepted almost everywhere and ATMs are easy to find.
Water
Do not drink tap water. Bottled water is inexpensive and everywhere.
Staying connected
If you get a local SIM or an eSIM, please share the new number with us as soon as you have it, so we can always reach you.
Reaching us
WhatsApp is the fastest way to contact us, faster than email, on any day of your stay.
Message us on WhatsAppPharmacies
Turkish pharmacies are excellent, but do not take any new medicine without asking us first.
Around days two to four you will look more swollen and bruised than you expect, particularly around the eyes. This is the normal shape of healing and not a sign that anything has gone wrong. It settles quickly from there.
Contact us straight away if you have bleeding that does not settle, a fever, pain that keeps increasing rather than easing, sudden swelling on one side of your face, real difficulty breathing, or if your splint loosens or comes off. We would far rather hear from you for nothing than not hear from you at all.
After you go home
Two years of follow up is included, and you will hear from us long before you need to ask.
Our nurse stays in contact with you through your first weeks of healing and answers day to day questions.
You will be asked to send photographs at agreed intervals so Dr. Erkoç can follow your progress remotely.
If anything worries you at any point, message us. There is no such thing as a question that is too small.
Follow your at home instructions on sun protection, sleeping position, glasses and physical activity carefully. The first weeks matter.
Good to know
The surgery fee includes
The operation itself, anaesthesia preparation and consultation, routine pre operative blood tests, operating theatre fees, one night in a private hospital room with a companion, and two years of follow up care at our clinic.
Not included
Flights, hotel accommodation and transfers, blood or imaging tests outside our routine protocol, and consultations with specialties other than anaesthesia.
Optional accommodation and transfer package
Eight nights at a hotel close to the clinic with breakfast, plus airport to hotel and hotel to airport transfers. Without this package you arrange your own hotel and travel, and your surgery and clinic care are completely unaffected.
Securing your date
Dr. Erkoç performs only one surgery per day, so dates are confirmed in the order deposits are received. A deposit holds your date and is deducted from your total. The balance is paid on arrival at the clinic. Your date can be changed once, within six months.
Day by day summary
Tap a day below to see what happens, what to expect and where you will be. You can also use the arrows or swipe.
Arrival, hospital tests and design session
You land, settle into your hotel and go to the hospital for blood tests and the anaesthesia consultation. You then come to the clinic for the design session with Dr. Erkoç, where the plan for your nose is finalised face to face.
- WhereMedipol Acıbadem Hospital, then the clinic at Akasya Mall
- BringPassport and your written list of medicines
- TonightHotel. Follow the fasting instructions the anaesthesia team gives you
Your operation
Admitted to Medipol Acıbadem Hospital in the morning. Dr. Erkoç performs no other surgery that day. Afterwards you stay one night in a private room and nursing staff monitor you overnight.
- WhereMedipol Acıbadem Hospital, Kadıköy
- ExpectA splint on the nose, swelling and a blocked feeling
- CompanionMay stay in your room at no additional cost
Discharge and rest
You are discharged and go back to your hotel. Expect to feel tired and blocked, and to breathe through your mouth. Doing very little is exactly what you are supposed to be doing.
- DoRest with your head elevated, drink water
- AvoidBending forward, heavy lifting, blowing your nose
- ContactWhatsApp if anything worries you
First check up
Dr. Erkoç reviews your early healing at the clinic. Swelling and bruising around the eyes are usually most visible around now and then begin to settle. This is the day most patients find hardest to look at, and the day things start improving.
- WhereClinic at Akasya Mall
- TipSunglasses and a hat, without resting them on the bridge of the nose
- RememberBruising is the normal shape of healing
Feeling better
Most patients start to feel more comfortable. Short, gentle walks are fine. The week is still for recovery, not sightseeing.
- DoShort walks, light meals, plenty of sleep
- AvoidHeat, sun, alcohol, anything strenuous
- NearbyAkasya Mall has cafes, a pharmacy and essentials
Quiet recovery
Rest days. Most patients use this time for sleep and films rather than sightseeing, and are glad they did. The bruising fades faster than you expect from here.
- DoQuiet cafes, a short walk, an early night
- AvoidHamam, sauna, pool and sea, full day tours
- KeepFollowing your care instructions
Final check up, then your flight home
Dr. Erkoç removes the external splint and any internal supports, examines your breathing, explains what to expect over the coming weeks and confirms you are fit to fly. You receive your at home care instructions. Later that day you are driven to the airport if transfers are in your package; otherwise we help you plan your timing. Follow up continues online for two years.
- WhereClinic at Akasya Mall, then the airport
- FlightBook a flight later in the day and keep it flexible; head elevated, drink water, no heavy bags
- RememberThe nose you see today is not your result; swelling settles over the following weeks and months
Addresses and contact
Everything you need to find us easily.
Open map
Clinic
Consultation, design session and check ups
Akasya Mall, Acıbadem Mah. Derin Sok. No:8, B2 Block, Floor 5, D:60, 34660 Üsküdar, Istanbul
Hospital
Surgery and your hospital night
Medipol Acıbadem Hospital, Acıbadem Mah. Şehit Emin Çölen Sok. No:4, 34718 Kadıköy, Istanbul
Getting here
Metrobus: Uzunçayır stop, walking distance. Metro: M4 Ünalan station. Medipol Hospital is one stop away on the M4. Parking: first three hours free.
10:00 to 19:00
Op. Dr. Erdal Erkoç is a board certified ENT surgeon and a member of the European Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery. This guide is general information about the organisation of your treatment and travel. It is not medical advice and does not replace the instructions given to you personally by Dr. Erkoç and the clinical team. Every patient heals differently, and the timelines described here are typical rather than guaranteed. Where this guide and your personal instructions differ, always follow your personal instructions. Related pages: Rhinoplasty FAQ, recovery after rhinoplasty, rhinoplasty.