In recent years, Australian influencers have been flocking to Turkey for cheap and quick plastic surgery.
Now local residents are furious as more top surgeons are turning their backs on their public health system and switching to the Australian dollar.
With thousands of people travelling to Europe every year for cheap treatments, some residents say they feel like “second-class citizens”. pronounced podcast recently reported.
“It is predicted that 15,000 Australians will travel overseas for medical tourism each year,” presenters Amy, Sophie and Kate Taeuber said.
They further said that Turkey has become “a hotspot” for hair transplants, liposuction, breast implants and porcelain veneers among influencers from Down Under.
Recently, online celebrities like Skye Wheatley have booked an appointment for a treatment called the ‘fox eye face lift’.
With billions of Australian dollars flowing into the country through medical tourism, some clinics have also started putting together ‘tour packages’.
Today, many organizations offer reimbursed trips to Turkey for people willing to pay a few thousand euros for cheap cosmetic surgery in the country.
Australian influencers have flocked to Turkey in recent years for cheap and quick plastic surgery. Pictured: Skye Wheatley
“The sad thing is that all this medical tourism has a negative impact on the local population,” the Taeuber sisters said.
“Many of them say they feel like second-class citizens in their own countries… because many doctors choose to turn their backs on hospitals and open their own private clinics instead.”
In addition, the Voting in Bioethics As recently as 2022, a scientific journal warned that medical tourism in Turkey could lead to “health care inequality between foreigners and Turkish citizens.”
“Due to increased demand for services, medical tourism has led Turkey to develop its healthcare system and expand the number of people who can become doctors,” the publication said.
‘However, more needs to be done to prevent fraud, ensure fair prices that the Turkish population can afford and help public hospitals retain some of their market share in the tourism sector.’
Now the country’s locals are furious as more of their top surgeons are turning their backs on their public health system in favour of the Australian dollar. Pictured: Stock photo
The Australian government generally advises extreme caution when considering medical tourism due to the high health risks associated with this practice.
Some of these risks include infection and mutilation due to lower quality surgical skills and practices, and less regulation of medical environments.
There is also typically a lack of discussion before and after surgery about the best method of recovery and whether the procedure is necessary at all.
It comes after influencer Skye Wheatley, 30, who won this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, shared her plastic surgery demands earlier this month while also revealing plans to travel to Turkey for a ‘fox eye’ lift.
The social media star, who rose to fame in 2014 for her role on Big Brother, revealed in an Instagram video that she is travelling abroad to undergo the controversial cosmetic procedure.
Influencer Skye Wheatley, 30, who won this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, shared her plastic surgery demands earlier this month, while also revealing plans to travel to Turkey for a ‘fox eye’ lift
Skye also revealed that she wants to get liposuction done on her inner thighs and arms, but she admits she’s worried it will look unnatural.
“I’m going to Turkey. I’m getting the fox eye lift. It’s basically a half face lift. The surgery itself is not very invasive,” she said.
“I want the slightest lift, I don’t want to look crazy, I don’t want my eyebrows to be higher than they are. I just want a little bit of lift when my face is relaxed.”
Skye said she’s “wanted this for a long time” and is having the treatment done by the same doctor as her friend.
“I know a few people who have had it and it looks great,” she continued.
‘A lot of people who look at this don’t know much about surgery and will think I’m going to look older. That’s fine, but I’m going to do it anyway.’
The fox eye lift, also known as the fox eye thread lift, involves lifting the edges of the eyebrows with a soft PDO (polydioxanone) thread. The goal is to create the appearance of the surgical fox eye lift, but without the need for surgery.