How Turkey became the hair transplant factory destination

A satisfied AraMedica hair transplant patient

Over the last 10 years, Turkey has become the go to for affordable hair transplants for Americans. This growth became very evident post Covid, also due to an increase in hair loss during the stressful pandemic era.

Turkey has not only conquered the medical tourism market share for hair transplants but also for more serious surgical procedures. This is due to a significant investment from the Turkish government to push the medical tourism industry as a whole. In fact, the industry is heavily subsidized by the government itself. Turkish clinics are supported financially in part by subsidies to cover the patients’ travel and accommodation arrangements, which contributes to medical treatment in Turkey being so affordable.

This may seem like an innocuous arrangement, but upon more intense scrutiny, this increases the risks for foreign patients, by putting less emphasis on accountability. And this goes hand in hand with a regulatory framework that is not as robust as it is in the EU and often not enforced . Government subsidies, combined with the less stringent regulations than the EU imposes on Italy, and Italy’s own strict medical regulatory environment are very critical factors that should be considered when deciding to undergo a hair transplant abroad.

It is estimated that up to 10% or one in ten Turkish hair transplants result in problematic outcomes that need additional care. The size of many of the clinics makes it such that they are like hair transplant factories of sorts, in which personal touch and care are not prioritized. Once you leave Turkey, there is no accountability on their part and you’ll have to get it repaired in your home country unless they have a policy that protects the patient, and doctors in the US are becoming more and more reluctant of fixing poorly executed transplants that were done abroad.

Another characteristic in Turkish transplant arena is encouraging transplants where they are not required, or of leaving you with the permanent area of your hair looking quite depopulated, for example. These are risks you definitely do not run at AraMedica as their philosophy is fundamentally different, as are the laws.

This is not to say Turkey doesn’t have some very reliable and safe clinics, but doing very in-depth research is a must, something that is not as required when choosing Italy.

To learn more about our medical tourism services, click here.