The patient handbook · Before you travel
Planning Your Hair Transplant Visit to Istanbul
From the first message to the return journey: the decisions to settle before booking travel.
A visit that begins before you reach Istanbul
Your first contact can be a message rather than an international telephone call. Tell the team which language you prefer, where you are travelling from and what you need to understand before choosing dates. You can also request a WhatsApp voice conversation with an English-, French- or Arabic-speaking advisor.
The practice is presented on our site in Fenerbahçe, Kadıköy, Istanbul. Our clinic photographs show the lounge, consultation seating and the view from the practice. Before making a reservation, ask the team to confirm the address for each appointment, including any separate location if your individual arrangements require one.
Keep a written visit note with the confirmed appointment details, the advice given about preparation and the follow-up contact. It is more useful than relying on several messages scattered across a conversation. We do not prescribe a universal three-day itinerary: your arrangements must follow your own clinical plan.
Build your trip around a confirmed clinical schedule. Do not build a treatment plan around a flight you have already booked.
For an international patient, the procedure is only one part of the visit. You also need clarity about the first assessment, any planned checks, your accommodation and how to contact the team after returning home. Put those details together before committing to dates.
Begin with the assessment
Ask the advisory team which information is needed for the initial discussion and how it should be provided. Explain your goals and tell the clinical team about your medical history and medicines. Photographs may help an initial review, but they do not settle every question an examination needs to answer.
Keep practical and medical questions distinct. An advisor can explain appointment arrangements and communicate in your language. A clinician needs to decide suitability and the treatment recommendation. ISHRS makes that distinction in its patient guidance. ISHRS: planning and medical advice.
Request the whole proposed schedule
Rather than asking only for the procedure date, request the planned sequence: assessment, procedure if appropriate, and any checks before departure. Ask which parts remain provisional until you are seen in person.
Make a simple note of each appointment's location, expected arrival time and contact person. Clarify what happens if the clinical plan changes or you are delayed. The aim is a schedule you can use, not an attractive itinerary that leaves out important clinical appointments.
Choose accommodation after clarifying the location
The clinic website currently lists Kadıköy, on Istanbul's Asian side. Confirm the exact appointment address directly with the team before selecting accommodation. Also check your arrival airport and the journey you will need to arrange.
SERDEN does not include hotel or airport transfers in its clinic-only service. Keep those reservations separate from the clinical quotation, and leave practical flexibility if appointment arrangements need to change. Do not assume any hotel shown online is affiliated with the clinic.
From our own patient archive
Frontal and mid-scalp coverage
This is a clinical comparison from our archive. It is not evidence of the number of days the patient stayed in Istanbul or when they were cleared to fly.
How many days should you stay?
Ask the treating clinician for a visit and recovery plan appropriate to you. A procedure-day estimate is not a clearance to fly. Avoid treating another patient's departure date as permission for your own return journey.
CDC notes that postoperative travel requires planning, including the possibility of complications and continuity of care. Arrange access to your records and understand what to do if you need medical help after returning home. CDC: travel and follow-up considerations.
Before leaving home
- Confirm the appointment and exact location.
- Keep the written quote and service scope accessible.
- Receive personalised preparation instructions from the clinical team.
- Check travel documents and insurance directly with the relevant providers.
- Save the clinic's contact details and agree how follow-up will work.
Can the team answer before I arrive?
English, French and Arabic patient support is available through WhatsApp messaging and requested WhatsApp voice conversations. Send your practical questions before finalising the trip rather than leaving them until arrival.
This guide does not provide a fit-to-fly decision or a fixed length of stay. Follow the treating clinician's personalised instructions.
Questions we can answer clearly
Before you take the next step.
Which part of Istanbul is the clinic in?
The website lists Fenerbahçe in Kadıköy. Confirm the exact address for your appointment with the team before choosing a hotel or arranging transport.
Should I book the cheapest return flight immediately?
Get the proposed clinical schedule and personalised travel advice first. Review change and cancellation terms rather than assume treatment and departure dates cannot change.
Do I need to stay for a fixed number of nights?
There is no universal number in this guide. Ask about the procedure, planned checks and the treating clinician’s advice for your own return journey.
How do I ask questions after returning home?
Agree the contact and clinical follow-up arrangements before departure. Keep your care instructions and records accessible, and seek timely local medical care if a concern cannot wait.
The practice behind this guide
Op. Dr. Mahmut Serden Dinçler
Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery Specialist. His published professional profile describes graduation from Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine in 1997 and specialist qualification in 2003.
Our Istanbul service is appointment-based. Patient advisors communicate in English, French and Arabic. Clinical suitability, the individual plan and the responsibilities of the treating team should be clarified during assessment.
Read the professional profile
Talk it through in your language
Bring your questions to us.
Our advisors communicate in English, French and Arabic. Write on WhatsApp or request a WhatsApp voice conversation. The link opens a chat; the advisor arranges the call. A clinical assessment is needed for an individual recommendation.
Clinical references and scope
General references inform the medical explanation; they do not endorse this clinic or establish an individual plan. This guide does not claim to have been medically reviewed by the treating specialist.