At 53, I traveled from the US to Istanbul for cosmetic surgery with Dr. Giray Genc at Vanity Clinic, and I couldn’t be happier with my experience. From the start, Emine answered all my pre-surgery questions, from booking details to transportation and hotel arrangements. Once in Istanbul, Hazal seamlessly coordinated my transfers to and from the hospital, as well as surgery times and follow-ups. The care was flawless.
Dr. Giray Genc was attentive and patient, listening to all my concerns and collaborating with me to plan a deep-plane facelift, neck lift, endoscopic brow lift, and fat transfers to my face and hands. His commitment to achieving a natural look while respecting my wishes made me feel confident in every step. The results—just a week post-surgery—are already remarkable. I feel like I look at least 15 years younger, and the support I’ve received has been outstanding, even as I prepare to fly home.
Dr. Giray also provided an incredibly detailed post-operative recovery plan, ensuring I understood every step to optimize my healing and long-term results. He made himself readily available for any questions or concerns and graciously agreed to give me lip filler before my trip back home (although he thought I was perfection without it) adding a perfect finishing touch to my transformation.
During my recovery, I experienced some nausea, and Dr. Giray and Hazal went above and beyond, making an extra visit to the hospital at 11 PM to ensure I had the care I needed. Dr. Giray even decided to keep me an extra night in the hospital for monitoring and personally arranged for more effective nausea medication.
I’m incredibly grateful for the care I received and the amazing results. Dr. Giray Genc and his team truly exceeded my expectations, and I highly recommend them to anyone considering cosmetic surgery in Istanbul.
As you can see in my photos I’m only 1 week post op but look forward to posting my update photos.
Updated on 2 Jan 2025:
My swelling is slowing going down; Dr. Giray said I'd see a 30% reduction in swelling after 1 month and an 80% reduction in swelling after 4 months. My head and sides of my face are still numb. No pain or discomfort. I still have bruises under my eyes that I tried to cover up with concealer. I'm wearing my face strap ALL the time, but on Saturday I can take off the surgical tape and can start wearing the face strap when I'm home and sleeping for 2 more weeks (I'm looking forward to taking it off). I still feel some dry eye/fatigue with my left eye - the super swollen side - but that's it for recovery deficits.
Updated on 12 Jan 2025:
I still have quite a bit of swelling and some bruising. I’ve been trying to cover the bruises for work. I keep putting my Hirudoid gel on my face and my antibiotic cream on my incisions. My smile is still lopsided but I’m so swollen and numb I’m not surprised. I’m loving everything so far! My incisions are barely noticeable already and I’m not using scar gel yet since I still have dissolvable stitches.
Updated on 21 Jan 2025:
I notice that the swelling is slowly going down, although I still have a lop-sided grin! I’m still numb along the sides of my head and into my temples. And the bruises under my eyes are still evident. No pain. I’m using bio oil and silicone scar gel on my incisions.
Updated on 9 Feb 2025:
The swelling continues to go down and I can see more of my refreshed self. I still have numbness along the side of my face and some swelling.No pain. I definitely think I have a more refreshed look. My lopsided smile continues to get better as the swelling goes down in the left side of my face. I can still feel some twinging from some of the stitches in my neck.
Updated on 26 Feb 2025:
I’ve noticed more settling and I believe that I’m looking more refreshed than pulled. I still have swelling and numbness on the sides of my face into my temples. My smile/speech is still lop-sided pulling to the right as I wait for my nerves to wake back up on the left. Cheek swelling comes and goes depending on my activity level. I still see some dissolvable stitches in my hairline below my temples.
Updated on 19 May 2025:
I’m continuing to heal very nicely. I still have some numbness along the sides of my cheeks, but my lopsided grin is almost completely gone. The stitches on the side of my face are barely noticeable , but the ones behind my ears are still raised and pink. I continue to put bio oil on them daily. I have noticed that as my brow lift swelling has gone down that I will probably want to get an eye lift within the next year! I think I look refreshed
Updated on 19 Jun 2025:
My scars on the side of my face are undetectable. I do need to microneedle or think about injections for the scars behind my ears which still haven’t flattened out (I’m prone to keloid scars). I did get Botox last week. I still have some numbness and swelling in my temples and along the sides of my face by my ears. I think I look refreshed and not like a 54 year old!