As it turns out, selling affordable hair transplants to bald men in other countries may be harder than selling dry-aged steaks to vegans. reason? People tend not to trust what they don’t understand. In the United States, many people have been led to believe that the only good medicine is American medicine, and we complain about exorbitant medical costs, but exorbitant costs mean that we cannot afford world-class medicine. We think that means you’re paying for a service. Go elsewhere.
That’s not true.
While American doctors are certainly some of the best in the world, there are many other countries that offer similarly high-quality medical services at a fraction of the cost. That’s why medical tourism is soaring in popularity, with people flocking to places like India, Serbia and Mexico in search of affordable treatments that would hit their bank accounts hard in the United States. In fact, a hair transplant at Turquier’s Esthenove clinic costs him $3,500, while the same hair transplant in the United States can cost him as much as $16,000.
Let me back up a bit. I was asked by EsteNove, a hair transplant clinic in Istanbul, Turkiye, one of the many reputable clinics in the capital, to help educate a global audience about the medical tourism experience in Turkiye . They understood that receiving medical treatment abroad was not just a travel inconvenience, but a great opportunity to experience a new culture while receiving affordable treatment. This intersection of medicine and travel is why they contacted me.
Of course, I couldn’t expect to write about medical tourism in Turkiye without experiencing it firsthand. And unfortunately (well, lucky for me) I myself am not yet a candidate for a hair transplant. So they asked me if I had any friends who were in trouble.
After six “no’s,” I finally got a “yes.” My friend Jeff, who had been considering a hair transplant in Boston that very week, decided to go ahead with it with almost no questions asked. I’ll be honest, I was surprised and impressed by Jeff’s willingness to try a new experience and his tolerance for the extreme (but unfounded) skepticism of others.
The first step for Jeff was a virtual consultation. They expected people to board a plane halfway around the world, meet a surgeon for the first time in Istanbul, and potentially learn at the last minute that they may not be medically eligible for a hair transplant. It’s not just about being there. The virtual consultation is intended to provide the surgeon with valuable medical information about the patient to determine if the patient is a candidate for hair transplantation and to establish a patient-doctor relationship.
Once Jeff’s medical exam was completed, we were officially on our way to Turkiye, courtesy of Turkish Airlines. Even if you’re not flying in the famously luxurious Business Class (where suitably attired “flying chefs” take food orders), the space and amenities of a typical Turkish Airlines flight will save you time. It goes by in the blink of an eye. When we arrived in Istanbul, we were immediately in awe of the VIP level treatment we received. The features of hair transplant surgery in Turkiye are as follows: It feels more like an all-inclusive vacation than a medical procedure. In the United States, you are responsible for your own airport transportation, transportation to and from the clinic, and hotel stay. In Turkiye, it’s all resolved. In addition to the low cost of the transplant itself, Estenove will pay for transportation to and from the airport and clinic, as well as her three-night and four-day stay at her five-star hotel in Istanbul.
When we arrived, we were promptly greeted by a driver holding a sign with Jeff’s name on it and taken to a black Mercedes that resembled a party bus more than a hair transplant mobile. It had three rows of plush leather seats, water and snacks, blackout windows, and a roof sparkling with fake stars. But it wasn’t taking us to a hip-hop concert. It was taking us to Marmara Pera, in the heart of Istanbul.
Photo: Marmara Pera
Located in the Taksim Square district, it was the perfect base for Jeff to prepare for and recover from his hair transplant. A high-rise building with panoramic views of the city and the Bosphorus, the Marmara is also home to the Michelin-starred Mikra restaurant, which served as a crash course in Turkish fine dining. While you may have already dipped your toe into the pool of traditional Turkish cuisine on board a Turkish Airlines flight, going to Mikra is like diving in headfirst. You won’t find the kebabs and lamb meatballs you’ll find on the roadside, but you’ll find hard to beat fine Turkish dishes like İskenderun shrimp, Štlác (rice yogurt) or, if you’re really hungry, beef rib steak topped with sakiz artichokes.
Enjoy an aperitif or after-dinner drink on the restaurant’s rooftop terrace, which has its own bar and offers views across the city. If you arrive early enough, you can even take a dip in the hotel’s pool, with equally stunning views. Tourism possibilities may be limited for hair transplant patients due to the importance of staying out of the sun, but all of Estenov’s affiliated 5-star hotels are centrally located and close to the city at night. Great for exploring and checking out indoor facilities like mosques and museums.
Photo: Marmara Pera
The next day at 8am, the hair transplant party bus immediately picked me up at the hotel and took me straight to the clinic. As soon as we walked in the door, we were greeted by his three members from the EsteNove team. They showed us around the clinic, explained the details of the surgery, and introduced us to the surgeon, Dr. Zafer Cetinkaya. Approximately 30 minutes were set aside for Jeff to ask clarifying questions to the surgeon before surgery and for Dr. Cetinkaya to take final measurements of Jeff’s hairline.
Photo: Esthenove
I wasn’t allowed to witness the surgery itself, so I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon exploring Istanbul, visiting the Topkapi Palace Museum (a former Ottoman stronghold) and the underground Basilica Cistern. Ta. The outpatient surgery took just over five hours for him, but he counted the minutes on his finger with anticipation and impatience, feeling as if he was waiting for a close friend to give birth.
When I met Jeff again at the hotel, a small, irrational part of me expected that he’d suddenly have a lush head of hair, maybe a Cousin’ It-style mop or a disco-era afro. But it takes about three months for new hair to start growing in. Jeff looked pretty much the same as I remembered, except for a haircut and a bandage on the side of his head.
“Did it hurt?” I asked. As it turns out, these procedures don’t even require anesthesia, only local anesthetics.
“Not at all. It hurts so much I can’t go out in the sun.”
Photo: Eben Diskin
Luckily, Istanbul at night is even more enchanting than it is during the day. That evening, we went to Hagia Sophia, the famous 6th-century Byzantine church converted into an Ottoman mosque. As the moonlight filtered in through more than 40 domed windows, we sat on the carpeted floor admiring the mosque’s opulent interior and contemplated the incredibly strangeness of what we’d done that day. But then I looked around and saw at least three other bandaged men, each sitting or lying on the floor, gazing up at the mosaics. Maybe it wasn’t so strange after all. 
