Weight Loss Surgery Turkey — the bariatric centre of Op. Dr. Volkan Arayıcı

Between £1,200 and £3,500 depending on the procedure: gastric balloon from £1,200, gastric sleeve from £3,000, gastric bypass from £3,500, revision surgery from £3,500. Each figure is all-inclusive and covers surgery, all pre-operative tests, four nights in hospital, VIP transfers and twelve months of aftercare. The flight is not included — the package begins when you land in Izmir.

Op. Dr. Volkan Arayıcı personally, for every procedure. There is no rotating team and no surgeon whose name you only learn on the day. He is an IFSO member and has performed over 5,000 bariatric operations since 2014.

Four nights, from the day you arrive until discharge. We never transfer a patient to a hotel after surgery. The total stay in Turkey is five days, including the final check before you fly home.

The country is not the risk factor — the clinic is. Ask three questions of any provider: is the hospital JCI accredited, does the named surgeon operate personally, and who pays if a complication needs extra hospital days. Here the answers are yes, yes, and we do. Our rate of major complications is below 1 %.

That is a decision only you can make, and it depends on your health, not only on the waiting time. What we can tell you is that NHS bariatric criteria and ours are broadly similar, and that a diagnosis made in the UK does not need to be repeated here — send us your existing results and we will tell you what is still missing. If your BMI or comorbidities are borderline, we will say so rather than book you in.

You have twelve months of follow-up by video call and WhatsApp, directly with the surgeon who operated on you. We provide a written discharge summary in English for your GP, listing the procedure, the medication and the supplements you need. Tell your GP practice before you travel — it makes the handover far simpler.

You walk on the day of surgery and fly home on day 5. Weeks 1–2: liquids only, short daily walks, no heavy lifting. Weeks 3–4: puréed, then soft food; most people return to desk work after two to four weeks, physical jobs a little later. From the second month you eat normal food in small portions and can start structured exercise. You take vitamins and minerals for about nine months, with blood tests at set points, and stay in direct contact with the surgeon for 12 months.

Broadly: a gastric balloon at a lower BMI or as a first step, a gastric sleeve at BMI 35 and above, a gastric bypass where type 2 diabetes or significant reflux is present (the mini gastric bypass, with one connection instead of two, usually for type 2 diabetes; the classic Roux-en-Y for severe reflux), and revision surgery when a previous operation has stopped working. The honest answer needs your height, weight, age and medical history — send them on WhatsApp and Dr. Arayıcı will answer personally. Each option has its own page, linked from the procedure cards further up; the decision itself is explained in gastric sleeve vs gastric bypass.

No. There is no deposit and no instalment plan. Payment is made in cash on the day of surgery. If a complication arises that is our responsibility, there is no additional charge for the extra hospital days, intensive care or a corrective operation.