People compare the United States and Turkey for cosmetic surgery because of price, procedure volume and reputation, and most of what circulates online is either a sales pitch or a warning. This guide sticks to published sources. In short: Turkey does rank high in rhinoplasty volume and in the share of foreign patients, the US has a mature credential system, and no neutral source I found shows that either country is safer as a whole. What differs is what you can check, what it costs in total and how aftercare works when you live somewhere else.

Key takeaways

  • In ISAPS's 2024 survey, rhinoplasty made up 10.7% of surgical procedures in Türkiye against 2.0% in the US (calculated from the survey figures), and Türkiye reported a larger share of foreign patients.
  • The old claim that Turkey costs '60 to 70% less' does not survive checking; compare itemized, all-in written quotes that include travel and follow-up.
  • Studies that count patients who return home with problems cannot rank countries, because nobody counts the patients who had no problem.
  • No neutral source I found shows that either country is safer as a whole, so compare specific offers rather than countries.

What do the data say about volume?

The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) publishes an annual global survey. Its 2024 edition, released in June 2025, reports these figures for the two countries:

2024 figure (ISAPS) United States Türkiye
All procedures 6,165,173 1,110,306
Surgical procedures 1,999,528 570,478
Rhinoplasty 39,978 60,982
Rhinoplasty as share of surgical procedures (my calculation) 2.0% 10.7%
Rank in the survey’s rhinoplasty table 8th 3rd (after Brazil and India)
Patients from other locations, median / average not reported 15% / 29.6%

Turkey’s most common origin countries for foreign patients in the survey are Germany, the UK and the US. The worldwide median share of foreign patients is 5%.

Three cautions apply. First, ISAPS surveys plastic surgeons who are board certified or hold their country’s equivalent; its totals are projections built from 2,975 respondents. Rhinoplasty is typically performed by either ENT surgeons or plastic surgeons, according to a 2025 study in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, so the survey does not capture every nose operated on in either country (see our guide to ENT versus plastic surgeons for rhinoplasty). Second, the figures are counts, not outcomes: ISAPS does not link volume to results. Third, the US and Turkey differ greatly in population, so raw counts say little about how common rhinoplasty is for a resident.

What the table does support is narrower: rhinoplasty is a much larger part of the surgical caseload that Turkish plastic surgeons report than of the US caseload, and Turkey sees more foreign patients. That points to experience with the operation, but it does not tell you about any individual surgeon.

What can you compare on price?

Country What a published source says Caveat
United States ASPS gives an average rhinoplasty cost of $7,637 The year is not stated, and the page says it excludes anesthesia, operating room facilities and related expenses
United Kingdom The NHS gives £4,000 to £7,000 Also factor in consultations, further surgery or follow-up; page last reviewed 22 September 2023
Türkiye No neutral public price list Clinic and agency pages disagree by thousands of dollars; our cost guide uses labeled, illustrative ranges

The old claim that Turkey costs “60 to 70% less” does not survive this check. The US figure is a surgeon’s fee that leaves out major costs, the Turkish figures are sales prices, and a trip adds flights, hotel nights and a companion. Using the illustrative ranges in the cost guide, a solo trip from the US East Coast comes to roughly $4,310 to $11,700 in total. That is a planning range, not a market price, and it covers the whole trip while the US figure covers only the surgeon’s fee.

The fair comparison is an itemized, all-in written quote from each option, plus travel and a plan for follow-up. A cheaper headline price can disappear once return visits, an extended stay or treatment at home are included. BAPRAS notes that returning to see a surgeon abroad after complications could add hundreds of pounds and time away from work.

What are the rules and credentials in each country?

United States Türkiye
What the state regulates The FDA regulates medical devices and drugs. It says it does not regulate the practice of medicine and has no registry of doctors A 2025 regulation on international health tourism requires facilities and intermediary companies to hold an authorization certificate to treat international patients (Article 5)
Facility rules Not reviewed here; ask the surgeon which body accredits the facility Hospitals and medical centers must be accredited by TÜSKA, the national quality and accreditation institute, by 31 December 2026 (Article 6 and a transitional article); facilities must carry complication insurance for operating room surgery (compliance deadline 31 December 2025, now passed)
Billing Not reviewed here; ask for an itemized quote Itemized breakdown of services and unit prices with the invoice, and on request free copies of lab and imaging results the patient paid for (Article 12)
Surgeon credentials ASPS membership requires an unrestricted license to practice medicine and certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery or its Canadian equivalent. ASPS says it does not independently verify members’ status and that you must verify credentials. ABMS certification covers both plastic surgery and otolaryngology Check the facility on the Ministry of Health authorized-provider lists and the surgeon through the registers in our guide to checking a surgeon

I read the Turkish regulation text but did not verify how closely it is enforced. The accreditation deadline had not passed when this page was updated, so some facilities may not yet be accredited. In both countries the practical advice is the same: the credential databases exist, but they only help if you use them. Our guide to Turkey’s safety rules and data goes further on the Turkish side, and the guide to checking a surgeon above lists the registers for any country.

Complications: what the evidence can and cannot say

The reliable statement is the NHS’s: no surgery is risk-free, and complications can happen after surgery in the UK or abroad. The difference is aftercare. The NHS says overseas clinics may not provide follow-up treatment, or not to the same standard, and that you may not have a healthcare professional at home you can go to. Its travel advice is not to fly for 7 to 10 days after facial cosmetic procedures.

The CDC’s Yellow Book lists rhinoplasty among cosmetic procedures frequently sought abroad by US residents and says the most common complications among medical tourists are infection-related. It tells travelers to consider the destination and the facility, adds that accreditation does not guarantee a good outcome and says to find out whether follow-up care will be at the same facility. A 2026 CDC report on travel-related cosmetic procedures covers both international and domestic destinations (17 international and 4 domestic consultations among the 21 it analyzed), so the risk is not only overseas.

Studies that count patients who return home with problems cannot rank countries, because nobody counts the patients who had no problem. A 2026 rapid review in BMJ Open found 655 patients treated in NHS hospitals for complications of surgery tourism (bariatric, cosmetic and eye surgery combined) and that Turkey was the most common destination, at 61%. The authors state that better data on how many people travel are needed to understand the risk. A 2026 survey of 250 European plastic surgeons found that 89% had managed complications from procedures performed abroad in the previous five years, most often after abdominoplasty, breast augmentation and liposuction. Rhinoplasty was not among those three, and the study offers no per-country rates either.

Three claims that do not hold up

“Turkish surgeons pioneered closed rhinoplasty.” The endonasal (closed) approach was reported in 1887 by John Orlando Roe, and Jacques Joseph published similar techniques some years later, according to a review in GMS Current Topics in Otorhinolaryngology. Turkey’s high volume is real, but it does not make the technique Turkish. See open versus closed rhinoplasty for how the two approaches differ.

“The FDA makes US procedures safe.” The FDA’s own statement is that it regulates devices and drugs and does not regulate the practice of medicine. In the US, safety depends on licensing, specialty certification, the facility and the individual surgeon, the same things you check anywhere.

“High volume proves quality” or “low price proves risk.” Neither follows from the data above. Volume shows experience with a procedure in aggregate, and price differences reflect currency, costs and what a package includes. Both are reasons to ask questions, not answers.

Strengths and trade-offs, side by side

United States Türkiye
Where the evidence is strongest Published average fee, established certification registry, aftercare near home if you live there High rhinoplasty volume and share of foreign patients, mandatory itemized billing and an authorization list for international patients
Where to be careful The headline fee is only part of the price, and ASPS says you must verify credentials yourself No neutral price list, new rules whose enforcement I could not verify, and aftercare after you fly home
What you must plan Costs of facility and anesthesia Travel, a stay long enough to meet flying advice (the NHS says 7 to 10 days), follow-up by video or photo and a route for care at home

How to decide

Skip the country question and compare specific offers. Ask for the surgeon’s name, specialty and registration number, an itemized written price, the facility’s accreditation, the complication and revision policy, and exactly who handles follow-up once you are home. If you cannot get clear answers in writing, that tells you something regardless of the country.

Sources

All pages were opened and checked on 9 October 2026.