Your operation is chosen after a board-certified bariatric team reviews your BMI, your health history and your goals — sleeve, bypass or the non-surgical balloon. We match you to the right one and to the right accredited Istanbul hospital, and coordinate the dietitian, the stay and the year of follow-up that make it work.
Bariatric surgery is one of the most effective treatments medicine has for severe obesity and the conditions that travel with it — type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnoea, joint disease. But it is major surgery with lifelong consequences, and it is a tool, not a cure. This page explains who it is for, the three options we coordinate, and the commitment that makes any of them work.
How we work
Your care is delivered by accredited partner facilities in Istanbul: board-certified bariatric surgeons operating in licensed, hospital-grade theatres with full anaesthetic cover, supported by the dietitians and nurses who make weight-loss surgery succeed. We handle the assessment, the planning, the hotel, the transfers and the aftercare follow-up — and we stay your single point of contact throughout.
Your candidacy and your firm, itemised price both come from the partner team’s assessment — and the dietitian plan that protects the result is quoted with them. Where the balloon, or a medically supervised programme at home first, is the safer place to start, that is what the team recommends.
Why patients choose Istanbul
Istanbul is one of the world’s busiest centres for bariatric surgery for reasons that reinforce each other: experienced surgeons who carry out a high volume of sleeve and bypass cases, modern accredited hospitals, and all-inclusive pricing — surgery, hotel, transfers and a coordinator — well below UK, US or Western-European prices, without lowering clinical standards. The cost difference reflects lower local operating costs, not shortcuts in safety.
Alpha Clinic Turkey has welcomed patients from 70+ countries since 2012, and our coordination team works in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Turkish and Russian.
Who weight-loss surgery is for
Bariatric surgery is not a cosmetic procedure and it is not a shortcut. International bodies such as the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity (IFSO) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) set out who it suits. As a guide, surgery is usually considered when:
- Your BMI is 40 or more, or
- Your BMI is 35 or more and you have a weight-related health condition — type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obstructive sleep apnoea, fatty-liver disease or serious joint problems.
Newer guidance lowers these thresholds for some patients, particularly where type-2 diabetes is involved. The gastric balloon suits a lower BMI (around 27–30 and up), or works as a temporary first step — including as a bridge to make later surgery safer for very-high-BMI patients. These are starting points, not a verdict: your candidacy is confirmed by the partner team after a full medical assessment, and the NHS guide to weight-loss surgery is a useful independent reference to read first.
The three procedures we arrange
Each option below has its own detailed page explaining who it suits, how it is done, the recovery timeline and what it costs. For an all-inclusive price comparison across all three, see the weight-loss surgery cost guide.
| Procedure | What it is | Best suited to | Indicative from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gastric sleeve | About 80% of the stomach is removed, leaving a narrow tube | Most patients with a BMI of 35+; reduces hunger and portion size | €3,000 |
| Gastric bypass | A small pouch plus a re-routed small intestine | Higher BMI, or significant reflux or type-2 diabetes | €3,800 |
| Gastric balloon | A soft balloon placed in the stomach by endoscopy, no surgery | Lower BMI, or a temporary first step / bridge | €1,800 |
The sleeve and bypass are permanent operations; the balloon is temporary and non-surgical and is removed after about six months. If you are unsure where to start, send your details and a short health history through the free consultation — the partner team reviews them and comes back with the procedure that fits, the hospital stay it needs and a firm, itemised all-inclusive price. Our guide on how to choose a weight-loss surgery clinic abroad sets out the questions that matter.
Surgery is a tool, not a magic fix
This is the most important thing on this page. A sleeve or a bypass physically limits how much you can eat and changes the hormones that drive hunger — but the long-term result is built by what you do afterwards. Lasting success depends on:
- A permanent change to how and what you eat, guided by the team’s dietitian.
- Lifelong vitamin and mineral supplements after surgery — the operations reduce how much your body absorbs, so deficiencies are a real, lifelong risk if supplements are skipped.
- Regular follow-up and blood tests, which we coordinate after you return home.
- Realistic expectations: weight comes off over 12–18 months, not overnight, and some regain is normal.
This is the part we coordinate hardest: the dietitian’s staged plan, the lifelong vitamin schedule and the follow-up bloods we book after you are home. Patients who use that support are the ones who keep the weight off — which is why it sits inside the package rather than being sold as an extra.
Safety and realistic expectations
Bariatric surgery is major surgery and carries real risk, so the standards around it matter far more than the price. Every operation we arrange is performed by a board-certified surgeon in an accredited hospital, with a full pre-operative workup, appropriate anaesthesia, blood-clot prevention and a written plan you approve before anything begins.
Pricing shown across these pages is indicative — a typical starting range in euros, not a fixed quote. Your firm price comes only after the team has reviewed your case and confirmed you are a suitable candidate, and it is one all-inclusive figure: the operation, the hospital nights with anaesthetic and ICU cover, the workup, your hotel, VIP transfers, an interpreter, the dietitian plan and the follow-up bloods. Flights are not included, and there is no separate agency fee added on the day.
New to weight-loss surgery? Our guides explain whether you are a candidate, gastric sleeve vs gastric bypass, life after a gastric sleeve, and whether weight-loss surgery in Turkey is safe.
