Weight Loss Surgery in Turkey
Gastric sleeve, bypass, gastric botox and metabolic surgery in Turkey: which one fits which BMI, what each cannot do, and what the package covers.
4 procedures arranged in Turkey · Written and kept up to date by the CureBooking medical travel team
The short answer
Three of the four options here are operations and one is not. The sleeve and the bypass permanently change how your stomach works. Metabolic surgery is a bypass chosen for type 2 diabetes rather than for weight alone. Gastric botox is an injection into the stomach wall that wears off in four to six months — it is a trial, not a treatment.
Which one fits is decided mostly by numbers you already have: your BMI, and whether you have diabetes, reflux or sleep apnoea. Below a BMI of 30 no surgeon here will operate, and we will say so rather than quote you.
None of these operations removes the work. They shrink appetite and portion size for a period measured in months, and what you build in those months is what you keep. People who treat the operation as the finish line regain most of it within three years. That is not a disclaimer, it is the main variable.
Which operation fits which situation
BMI 35+, or 30+ with diabetes, apnoea or hypertension
Gastric sleeve — the commonest choice: about 80% of the stomach is removed, no rerouting, no implant.
Significant reflux or heartburn already
Gastric bypass. A sleeve can make reflux worse; the bypass usually improves it.
Type 2 diabetes is the main reason
Metabolic surgery — the same rerouting, chosen and timed around blood sugar rather than weight.
BMI 27–32, or not ready to commit to surgery
Gastric botox. No incision, no permanent change, and no lasting effect either — it buys four to six months.
A previous sleeve that has stretched or stopped working
Revision to bypass. This needs the original operation notes before anyone can quote.
Every bariatric & metabolic surgery procedure we arrange
| Procedure | Package price | Stay | Back to desk work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gastric Botox | €1,490 | 2 nights; fit to fly the next day | The next day |
| Gastric Bypass | €4,260 | 10 nights (4 hospital + 6 hotel) | Desk work in 2–3 weeks; manual work in 4–6 weeks |
| Gastric Sleeve | €3,830 | 8 nights (3 hospital + 5 hotel) | Desk work in 2 weeks; manual work in 4–6 weeks |
| Metabolic Surgery for Type 2 Diabetes | €4,300 | 11 nights (4 hospital + 7 hotel) | Desk work in 2–3 weeks; manual work in 4–6 weeks |
Package prices cover the treatment, the nights listed and private transfers. Flights are not included. Each page lists what is included, what is not, what may change after examination and why, and what is free.
Gastric botox is not weight loss surgery
Botulinum toxin is injected into the stomach muscle during an endoscopy, which slows emptying so you feel full sooner. It takes about twenty minutes, there is no incision and you fly home the next day.
It also stops working. The effect fades from around the fourth month and is gone by the sixth, and the weight comes back unless the habits changed while it was working. Published results cluster in the range of a few kilos to low double figures over those months — real, but a different order of magnitude from a sleeve.
It is honest for two people: someone whose BMI is too low for surgery, and someone who wants to find out whether they can live with a smaller appetite before committing to an irreversible operation. It is not honest as a cheaper substitute for the sleeve, and we will not sell it that way.
What the sleeve and the bypass actually commit you to
- A sleeve cannot be reversed. The removed stomach is gone; the only route back is a further operation to a different configuration.
- Lifelong supplements. B12, iron, calcium and vitamin D after a bypass, usually fewer after a sleeve, but blood tests every year either way for the rest of your life.
- Two to four weeks of liquids and purée before normal textures, and no alcohol for months.
- Loose skin. Significant loss leaves it, and dealing with it is a separate operation at a separate cost — budget for the possibility rather than being surprised by it.
- Pregnancy postponed for twelve to eighteen months, because rapid loss and low nutrient levels are a poor start.
Why we ask for blood tests and a weight history before quoting
A bariatric quote that arrives before anyone has seen your bloods is a price list, not a plan. Thyroid function, HbA1c, liver condition and current medication all change which operation is appropriate and sometimes whether one is appropriate at all.
We ask for recent blood results, your height and weight, your medication list and what you have already tried. If the answer is that surgery is not the right step yet, that is the answer you get — it costs us a sale and saves you an operation you would have regretted.
What the package covers and what it does not
The quoted figure covers the operation, the anaesthetist, pre-operative tests and imaging, the hospital nights, hotel nights for the rest of the stay, private transfers and the dietitian plan you leave with.
Flights are separate. So is travel insurance, and ordinary policies exclude elective surgery abroad — you need a policy that names it. Treatment of a complication after you are home is handled by your own health service, which is the part people price last and feel first.
Guides on these treatments
Questions people ask
How long do I stay in Turkey for a gastric sleeve?
Usually seven to eight nights in total: two to three in hospital and the rest in the hotel, with a leak test and a fit-to-fly check before you travel. Gastric botox is much shorter — one or two nights.
How much weight will I lose?
Published series put sleeve patients at roughly 60–70% of their excess weight over twelve to eighteen months, with a spread wide enough that an individual promise would be dishonest. We will not give you a target figure for your own case, because the surgeon controls the operation and not the two years after it.
Is it safe to have bariatric surgery abroad?
The operation itself is routine and high-volume in Turkey. The genuine difference is what happens if a complication appears on day ten, when you are at home and your surgeon is three hours away by plane. Ask any provider exactly who you call, in what language, at 3am — and get the answer in writing before you book.
Can I have a sleeve if my BMI is under 30?
No. Below 30 the risks of the operation outweigh what it gives you, and the surgeons we work with decline it. Gastric botox is the honest option in that range, with its real limit stated: it wears off.
Will the NHS look after me afterwards?
Your GP will see you and the NHS will treat an emergency, but structured bariatric aftercare — dietitian follow-up and the monitoring programme — is generally reserved for patients operated on within the NHS. Plan on arranging your own blood monitoring, and tell your GP what was done, with the operation notes.