From the UKto Istanbul.

A private gastric sleeve costs £10,000–£11,000 in the UK, for the surgery alone. Through Alpha Clinic Turkey it starts from an indicative €3,000 all-inclusive at an accredited Istanbul hospital with anaesthetic and ICU cover, a board-certified bariatric surgeon, a dietitian plan and coordinated aftercare. Bariatric surgery is major surgery, so here is exactly how it works from the UK: the case review, the cost, the hospital stay and the aftercare once you are home.

Alpha Clinic Turkey is a health tourism agency founded in Istanbul in 2012. Your surgery is performed by a board-certified bariatric surgeon at an accredited, Ministry of Health licensed partner hospital with anaesthetic and ICU cover, and we coordinate everything around the operation — case review, quote, transfers, hotel, interpreter and aftercare. Since 2012 we have organised treatment for more than 11,000 patients from over 70 countries.

Why UK patients travel to Istanbul

Cost is the first answer: a private gastric sleeve in the UK typically costs £10,000–£11,000 for the surgery alone. Turkey is one of the busiest centres in the world for the gastric sleeve and bypass, and its best hospitals deliver the same keyhole operations, led by board-certified surgeons, from a much lower cost base — lower hospital and staffing costs, not lower standards. The price difference is real; a quality gap does not have to be, provided you choose the right kind of hospital.

The second answer is access: at UK private prices, an established treatment sits out of reach for many who need it most — but travelling does not make the surgery smaller, only more affordable. It deserves the same seriousness it would get at home.

What it costs: the UK vs Istanbul

Packages organised through Alpha Clinic Turkey are quoted in euros, because that is how the partner hospital prices them — converting to pounds would pretend a precision the exchange rate does not have. The indicative starting points:

• Gastric sleeve — from €3,000 · keyhole (laparoscopic) surgery, 5–6 nights in hospital
• Gastric bypass — from €3,800 · keyhole (laparoscopic) surgery, 5–6 nights in hospital
• Gastric balloon — from €1,800 · non-surgical and temporary, 2–3 nights

Set against the UK private figure, surgery only, the gap is large. Every figure above is an indicative starting price: your firm, itemised price is confirmed once the partner team has reviewed your case, and from then on it is fixed in writing before you travel.

What the package covers matters more than the headline number, because in this category the “extras” are the safety:

• the operation at the accredited partner hospital, with anaesthetic and ICU cover
• a board-certified bariatric surgeon leading your care
• a full pre-operative workup and blood tests
• hotel accommodation for the stay and VIP airport transfers
• an interpreter / patient coordinator throughout
• dietitian guidance with a written plan, plus coordinated aftercare and follow-up bloods

Flights are not included — you book those yourself, and there is no separate agency fee added on the day. Full indicative pricing for all three procedures is on our weight-loss surgery cost page.

Your candidacy is confirmed by the surgical team

Your procedure is chosen from your own numbers. As a typical starting point, the gastric sleeve suits most patients with a BMI of 35 or above; the gastric bypass is considered at a higher BMI, or where reflux or type-2 diabetes is part of the picture; and the gastric balloon — non-surgical and temporary — suits a lower BMI or a first step. These are typical criteria, not medical advice — and none of it is decided by us. The partner surgical team reviews your full medical history and confirms whether you are a candidate and which procedure fits.

That review happens before any date is held, and it is what makes your price firm and your operation safe. Our guide to who is a candidate for weight-loss surgery sets out the typical thresholds in detail.

The trip: case review first, then the flight

Nothing is booked until your case is approved: details and health history first — height, weight, conditions, medication — then the partner team’s review, and only if you are confirmed as a candidate a firm, itemised, all-inclusive quote, dates and flights. The consultation is free, and one coordinator stays with you from that first message through to the follow-up bloods.

The journey itself is the easy part: Istanbul is barely a four-hour flight from London. On arrival you are met at the airport; every transfer between airport, hotel and hospital is organised, with a coordinator alongside you.

The stay is built around the hospital, not a hotel. For the sleeve and bypass — both keyhole operations — you spend 5–6 nights in hospital, where the pre-operative workup and blood tests are completed before anyone operates, and where the team monitors the early recovery days rather than discharging you to a hotel room too soon. The balloon, being non-surgical, typically means a 2–3 night stay. You fly home when the partner team confirms you are ready.

Safety: what a serious provider looks like

Four things are in place on every case we organise, and each one closes a specific failure mode reported in surgery-abroad cases: five to six nights in an accredited hospital with anaesthetic and ICU cover; a full pre-operative workup with the authority to postpone the operation; a discharge date set by the surgeon rather than by your return flight; and a named contact you can reach once you are home. None of the reported failures is a feature of Turkish medicine — they are features of cutting corners, and these four are how they are removed.

Here is that list in full — our standard on every case, and a fair test of anyone else you compare:

• An accredited hospital, licensed by the Ministry of Health, with full anaesthetic and ICU cover — never a day clinic for major surgery.
• A board-certified bariatric surgeon leading the operation on the partner side.
• A full pre-operative workup — with the authority to postpone the operation if it finds a reason to.
• A full risk conversation. Leaks, bleeding and blood clots are real wherever the surgery is done; they are managed — never eliminated — by the hospital, the workup and an unrushed discharge, and the surgeon goes through each of them with you before you consent.
• Transparent pricing — the workup, the ICU cover, the surgeon’s time and the aftercare are all inside the figure we quote, itemised so you can see each one.

Our guides on whether weight-loss surgery in Turkey is safe and how to choose a weight-loss surgery clinic abroad go through both in detail, including the questions to ask.

Aftercare back in the UK

Bariatric surgery does not end at discharge; in many ways it starts there. You go home with a written plan from the partner team’s dietitian covering the staged return to normal eating, and with a direct WhatsApp line to your coordinator — medical questions are passed to the partner surgical team, not answered by sales staff. Follow-up blood tests are coordinated after you return, because nutritional deficiencies develop quietly and lifelong vitamins are part of the deal. Tell your GP before you travel, and plan your aftercare with them as well as with us. What the first year looks like — diet stages, vitamins, follow-up — is in our guide to life after a gastric sleeve.

What about the NHS?

We organise the private route to Istanbul: we are not part of any NHS pathway and cannot advise on NHS eligibility or referrals — for that, speak to your GP. Worth knowing all the same: the NHS treats weight-loss surgery as an established, effective treatment for severe obesity, and the independent NHS guide to weight-loss surgery is worth reading before any consultation — including ours.

How to start

Send your details and a short health history — including your height and weight — through our contact form or directly on WhatsApp. You get a straight answer on which procedure fits your case, a firm, itemised all-inclusive quote, and dates that work around your life — with one coordinator alongside you from there to your follow-up bloods.