Patients sometimes hesitate to ask hard questions of a surgeon — about complications, about confidence, about the limits of what the operation can do. This page collects ten of those questions, with direct answers from Dr. Erdal.
Yes — and saying so is part of practicing well. If a patient's expectations are unrealistic, if the technique they want isn't appropriate for their anatomy, if they're unwilling to stop smoking, or if there's a meaningful psychological concern, declining the surgery is the right answer. A good outcome means a happy patient at 12 months. If I can't see how to get there, the answer is no.
Comparing surgeons primarily on price. Price is a real consideration, but it's the easiest variable to compare and probably the least predictive of outcome. Better to evaluate: training and certification, case volume, photographic outcomes at 12 months (not 6 weeks), how the surgeon communicates, and how the surgeon handles complications when they occur.
Minor wound healing issues — a stitch reaction, a small area of delayed closure — happen in maybe 5-10% of cases and resolve within weeks. Serious complications (infection requiring drainage, hematoma needing surgery, partial nipple loss) are uncommon, well under 5%. Major complications (full nipple loss, VTE, anaesthesia-related events) are rare, well under 1%. The relevant question isn't whether complications occur — they do, in any practice. The relevant question is whether the surgeon recognizes and manages them well when they do.
It's easier than most patients fear, harder than the most polished marketing suggests. The first 48 hours are uncomfortable. Week 2 is good. Weeks 4-8 are the patience phase — you feel ready to do everything, but you can't yet. By week 8 most patients describe it as 'I forgot I had surgery.' Honest expectation-setting helps everyone.
Anatomy first: tissue volume, skin quality, ptosis grade, nipple-to-fold distance. Patient priorities second: scar tolerance, future breastfeeding, recovery time. The two together usually point to one technique for most patients; sometimes two are reasonable and the patient chooses. Rarely is it a wide-open choice.
About 4 hours, for a gigantomastia case with significant pre-op asymmetry. Most cases are 2.5-3.5 hours. Time isn't the metric, though — taking your time to do it right is the metric. Rushing is how complications happen.
Yes. Every honest surgeon has. Healing biology is variable; no two patients heal identically. A small percentage of cases have outcomes the surgeon would refine if given a second chance. When that happens, we say so, we offer revision when warranted, and we learn from it. The pretense of perfect outcomes isn't credible and isn't fair to patients.
If there's a clear technical issue at 12+ months — meaningful asymmetry, hypertrophic scarring not improving with conservative care, a problem with shape or symmetry — yes. Minor revisions under local anaesthesia are typically not charged for the surgeon's time; theatre and anaesthetic fees may apply. Major revisions are discussed case by case. The threshold is patient distress, not a fixed metric.
Two reasons. First: regulatory — Turkish Ministry of Health regulation prohibits price advertising for medical services. Second: ethical — every patient is different, and quoting before consultation creates either over-promises or padded estimates. After examination I can give a precise, written, all-inclusive quotation. That's more useful than an online number.
Don't book. Send your questions on WhatsApp. Read the techniques page, the recovery page, and three or four blog articles. Look at multiple surgeons and compare their websites, their tone, the questions they ask in initial consultation. Sleep on it for a few weeks. The patients who do well are the ones who understand the operation, the recovery, and the realistic outcome before they decide. There's no rush — and any surgeon pressuring you is the wrong surgeon.
WhatsApp directly. The surgeon personally reviews each consultation message.