Is surgery in Turkey safe? British deaths, Turkish rules and what UK patients should check

How many British people have died after surgery in Turkey?

The only official number we could read is in the Foreign Office's Turkey travel advice: “We are aware of 7 British nationals having died in Turkey in 2025 following medical procedures. Some British nationals have also experienced complications and needed further treatment or surgery following their procedure” (FCDO, updated 19 October 2026, read 1 November 2026). The same page says cosmetic surgery, dental procedures and cardiac surgery are the most common procedures for medical tourists, and that the FCDO does not endorse any practitioner or facility.

A longer count, “at least 28 British people have died since 2019 due to complications from elective medical procedures performed in Turkey”, is attributed to the Foreign Office in the Daily Mirror. It was not on the FCDO Turkey page or its medical treatment guidance when we read them, so treat it as the Mirror's report of a Foreign Office figure. Neither source breaks the deaths down by procedure, clinic or city.

What Turkish law requires of clinics that treat foreign patients

Turkey's Ministry of Health replaced its health tourism regulation on 26 April 2025. We read it in Turkish in the Official Gazette (Resmî Gazete No. 32882) on 1 November 2026; the summary below is our translation, and we have not checked later amendments or court rulings.

• Authorisation certificate. A clinic or hospital must hold an international health tourism authorisation certificate (yetki belgesi) from the Ministry of Health to treat foreign patients. An agency that arranges treatment needs one too, issued by USHAŞ, the state health tourism company (Article 5).
• Accreditation. Hospitals and medical centres must be accredited by TÜSKA, the Turkish health accreditation institute, and other facilities need a Ministry certificate (Article 6). Facilities have until 31 December 2026 to meet this.
• Complication insurance. The facility must take out complication insurance for surgical and interventional procedures done in an operating theatre (Article 6), with a deadline of 31 December 2025.
• Responsibility for complications. The facility and the agency are responsible, each for its own part, for the care while you are in Turkey, including complications and malpractice after treatment (Article 6).
• Itemised bill and your records. The facility must give an invoice with an itemised list and unit prices, and on request, free of charge, the list of medicines and supplies used, your lab results and imaging (Article 12).
• You can book direct. A facility may accept a patient who applies directly, without an agency (Article 6).

For hair transplants there is a separate rule set: the unit must sit inside a licensed hospital, medical centre or polyclinic, and only a certified doctor may open the channels (Resmî Gazete, in Turkish). The rules tell you what to ask for; they do not tell you how well a clinic follows them.

What the UK Foreign Office advises before surgery in Turkey

From the FCDO's Turkey travel advice and its guidance on going abroad for medical treatment and planned elective surgery, both read 1 November 2026:

1. Talk to your UK doctor first. Discuss plans with your UK doctor, dentist or clinician before going ahead, the FCDO says.
2. Do your own research. Private companies have a financial interest in booking your treatment, and their literature should not be your only source of information.
3. Be wary of surgery sold as a holiday. The FCDO says to be cautious of websites selling cosmetic surgery as part of a holiday.
4. Plan the flight home. Air travel after major surgery increases the risk of a blood clot, which can be life-threatening. Check when you can fly, and how you would get home in an emergency and what it would cost.
5. Check your insurance. Standard travel insurance does not normally cover you if you travelled for elective surgery, and the EHIC and GHIC are not valid in Turkey.
6. Expect little consular help. Planned medical treatment is a commercial arrangement, so the FCDO usually cannot help with the care or the costs.

Six checks before you pay a clinic in Turkey

1. Is it on HealthTürkiye? The FCDO points to the Ministry of Health’s HealthTürkiye site for approved providers. Look up the clinic and the agency by the legal name on their own website; the regulation says the two must match the certificate.
2. Which hospital, which surgeon? Get both names in writing. Check whether the operation is in a hospital or a smaller clinic, and who does each step.
3. Is there complication insurance? Ask for the policy in writing: what it covers, for how long, and whether it pays for treatment after you fly home.
4. What is the full price? An itemised written quote, so you can compare it with the itemised invoice the clinic must give you at the end.
5. When can I fly, and who looks after me at home? The clinic’s rule in writing, plus who you call and who pays if something goes wrong after the flight.
6. Is the procedure right for me? A seller who offers a second operation or a discount at a sales event is not a consultation. Talk to your GP or a UK surgeon first, as the FCDO advises.

The HealthTürkiye portal lets you search its database of facilities and doctors, and says its information has been verified by the Ministry of Health. The NHS adds that clinics abroad may not provide follow-up to the same standard as in the UK (NHS). Our general guide, is medical tourism safe?, quotes the NHS, CDC and Canadian advice too.

Prices Turkish clinics publish, next to UK private prices

Low prices are why most people look at Turkey, so here is what we found on clinics' own price pages, converted to pounds and rounded, before flights. The UK column is what UK private providers publish. Follow each link for the clinic-by-clinic list and what each price includes.

Ranges cover each clinic's headline price; packages differ in what they include (hotel, transfers, medicines, graft numbers). We do not list cosmetic surgery such as BBLs, tummy tucks or gastric sleeves.