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To check a hair transplant doctor in Turkey, confirm that the clinic is licensed and authorized by the Turkish Ministry of Health to treat international patients, find out who examines you and who performs each surgical step, and ask for a written plan that explains your donor area, the expected number of grafts and the risks. Professional memberships are useful signals, but none of them is a guarantee. The questions below help you compare clinics on facts rather than on marketing.
Searches such as “who is the best hair transplant surgeon in Turkey” are understandable, but there is no neutral ranking that answers them. What you can do is ask every clinic the same questions and judge the answers. We suggest you ask us the same eight questions too.
8 questions to ask before you book
1. Is the clinic licensed for international patients?
In Turkey, health facilities that treat international patients can hold the Ministry of Health’s International Health Tourism Authorization Certificate. The Ministry’s Health Tourism Department publishes lists of authorized facilities and intermediaries. Ask the clinic for the exact legal name of the facility and the certificate number, and compare it with the official list. A brand name on a website is not always the name of the licensed facility.
2. Who is the doctor, and what is their training?
Ask where the doctor studied medicine, when they were licensed, what training they have in hair restoration and how long they have worked in the field. The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) recommends asking exactly these questions about everyone who will evaluate your hair loss and take part in your procedure.
3. Which steps will the doctor perform personally?
This is the most important question. According to ISHRS, the medical history and examination, ruling out other hair diseases, drawing the hairline and making the incisions are tasks for the surgeon. Trained assistants may help with other steps under supervision, depending on local rules. ISHRS has repeatedly warned about clinics where unlicensed technicians perform surgical steps, sometimes without a doctor present. Ask for a clear answer: who designs my hairline, who makes the incisions, who places the grafts, and who is in the room?
4. How many patients does the team treat on the same day?
A hair transplant often takes most of a day. If one doctor is responsible for several patients at the same time, it is harder to be personally involved in each case. Ask how many procedures run in parallel and how the doctor’s time is divided.
5. How will my donor area be assessed?
Donor hair is limited. A careful clinic explains how many grafts your donor area can provide now and in the future, which areas will be prioritized, and why. Be cautious if a number is promised before anyone has examined your scalp, or if the plan aims for very high numbers in one session without explaining the long-term effect on the back of your head.
6. What are my risks, and what happens after I fly home?
Every procedure has risks, including bleeding, infection, scarring, grafts that do not grow and results that fall short of expectations. Ask how complications are handled, who you contact after you return home, how quickly you get an answer and whether a return visit is possible if needed.
7. Will I get everything in writing?
You should receive written information about the plan, the number of grafts, what is included, consent, aftercare instructions and the follow-up schedule. Written information is easier to compare between clinics, and it helps your own doctor if you need care at home.
8. Are the before-and-after photos the clinic’s own?
ISHRS warns that some clinics use photos taken from other doctors. Ask whether the photos show the clinic’s own patients, whether they are unretouched and how long after the procedure they were taken. Remember that photos show selected cases and that results vary from person to person. Some countries restrict such images: in Norway, marketing of cosmetic procedures may not include before-and-after photos at all.
Red flags
- A guaranteed density or a guaranteed number of grafts before an examination
- Pressure to book quickly or to pay before you have received a written plan
- No clear answer about who performs which step
- No direct contact with the doctor before the procedure day
- Little or no information about risks and follow-up
- Prices that seem far below what other clinics quote for the same plan, without an explanation
What memberships and certificates do and do not mean
| Signal | What it tells you | What it does not tell you |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Health authorization | The facility is authorized to provide health tourism services | How a specific doctor plans or performs your procedure |
| Medical licence | The person is a licensed physician | How much experience they have in hair restoration |
| ISHRS membership | The doctor belongs to an international professional society in the field | How each case is handled; ISHRS notes it cannot guarantee that doctors who sign its pledge to perform surgery themselves actually follow it |
| Before-and-after photos | What has been achieved in selected cases | What you can expect; your donor area and hair type may differ |
How this applies to us
We think it is fair to answer the same questions openly. Istanbul Hair Center is the brand of Dr. Yetkin Bayer’s clinic in Ulus, Istanbul (Ahmet Adnan Saygun Cd. 69/B, Ulus, Beşiktaş 34340 İstanbul). The facility, Özel Dr. Bayer Polikliniği, holds the Turkish Ministry of Health’s International Health Tourism Authorization Certificate (certificate no. ST-2237), which you can see on our certificate page. Dr. Yetkin Bayer graduated from Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, trained and practised in the USA in the 1990s, and has been a member of ISHRS since 2016. You can read more on our about us page.
If you would like an assessment, you can start by sending photos. Ask us who will do what on the day, how many grafts your donor area can realistically provide, and how follow-up works once you are home.
Frequently asked questions
Is ISHRS membership a guarantee of quality?
No. It shows that a doctor belongs to an international professional society in hair restoration. It does not tell you how a specific procedure will be planned or performed, so use it as one signal among several.
How can I check a clinic’s Ministry of Health authorization?
Ask for the facility’s legal name and certificate number, and compare them with the lists of authorized facilities published by the Turkish Ministry of Health’s Health Tourism Department.
Can technicians perform parts of a hair transplant?
Assistants often help with some steps under a doctor’s supervision, but the examination, hairline design and incisions are considered physician tasks by ISHRS. Ask exactly who performs each step in your case.
Should I choose the clinic with the lowest price?
Compare what is included and who performs the procedure before comparing prices. A plan that needs correction later, or a donor area that has been overused, can cost more in the long run.
Further reading
- Hair transplant in Turkey
- Hårtransplantation i Turkiet: guide för dig som reser från Sverige
- Hårtransplantation i Tyrkiet: hvad danskere bør vide før rejsen
- Hårtransplantasjon i Tyrkia: dette bør du vite før du reiser fra Norge
Sources
- ISHRS: Beware of unlicensed technicians performing hair restoration surgery. ishrs.org
- ISHRS Fight the FIGHT: Before you choose a surgeon. fightthefight.ishrs.org
- Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Health, Health Tourism Department: Authorized health facilities and intermediaries. saglik.gov.tr
- Lovdata: Forskrift om markedsføring av kosmetiske inngrep (Norway). lovdata.no
- MedlinePlus: Hair transplant. medlineplus.gov
- Khatib M, Skorochod R, Wolf Y. Complications Following Hair Transplantation: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2025;49(23):6393–6405. PubMed 40913181
