Facial Surgery

Which area is changing?

Choose the area that bothers you most. Each page explains what the operation can and cannot change, preparation, recovery and travel planning.

Eyes, brows and upper face

Cheeks and lower face

Lips and ears

Nasal surgery is covered separately on the rhinoplasty page and in the ENT and nasal surgery section.

Surgery, a smaller step, or no surgery

Facial ageing is not one problem. Skin, fat, muscle, the deeper support layers and bone change at different speeds, and a request (“I want a facelift”, “I want almond eyes”) is not automatically the right treatment.

• Some concerns need surgery, because only surgery can reposition descended tissue; for example, non-surgical treatments cannot achieve the results of a neck lift.⁴
• Some are better treated with a smaller procedure, or by treating a neighbouring area: upper eyelid surgery cannot lift a low brow.⁵
• Some are better left alone for now, or not treated at all, for example removing cheek fat in a face that will lose fat with age.⁶

How a plan is made

Safety before any facial surgery

Every facial operation starts with the same safety review, weeks before surgery:

• blood thinners such as warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban, clopidogrel or aspirin are reviewed with the doctor who prescribed them; they are never stopped on your own;²
• supplements that increase bleeding, such as vitamin E, ginkgo, garlic and ginseng, are usually stopped at least two weeks before;⁷
• all nicotine, including vapes, is stopped three to six weeks before and after surgery;³
• weight-loss injections (GLP-1 medicines) are discussed with the anaesthesia team;⁸
• a known bleeding disorder, or a history of unusual bleeding, is assessed with blood tests before any plan; people whose blood cannot clot normally are not candidates for a facelift.⁹

Each procedure page includes a detailed table of what usually happens with each medicine.

Travelling to Istanbul for facial surgery

Many patients travel from other cities or countries. A clear plan makes the trip calmer and safer:

• Online consultation first: most international patients start with an online consultation. Send your concern, your medical history, your medicines and a few clear photos through the channel the practice arranges, before you book flights.
• Arrive at least one day before surgery: the anaesthesia assessment and the final examination take place before the day of the operation.
• Hospital stay: usually one night after a facelift, neck lift, midface lift or brow lift; a second night is optional. Smaller procedures are often same-day.
• Time in Istanbul: this depends on the operation: about seven days after a facelift or neck lift, five to seven days after eyelid or almond eye surgery, and shorter for smaller procedures.
• Follow-up: reviews are planned at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. They can be done online if you live abroad; you will know whom to contact for urgent questions after you return home.

Dr. Atmış and facial surgery

Op. Dr. Esin Özlem Atmış is an ENT and facial surgeon in Istanbul. She completed her specialist training in otorhinolaryngology at Ankara University Faculty of Medicine in 2014 and is a member of the Turkish Facial Plastic Surgery Association. She is one of the congress presidents of Face Bosphorus 3 (Istanbul, April 2026), a meeting on facial anatomy and medical practice. At Face Bosphorus 2025 she gave an opening talk and chaired sessions on the upper face and periorbital region, biostimulators and whole-face assessment; she was a listed speaker at Face Minima 2025, and at the 4th Congress of European ORL-HNS in Barcelona (2017) she chaired sessions that included facial anatomy. Details are on her scientific activities page.

This section brings together the facial operations she performs, from eyelid and brow surgery to the deep plane facelift. Rhinoplasty and voice surgery remain part of her practice and have their own sections.

Her approach starts with understanding the concern before discussing an operation: what has changed, how it affects you, and which structures are actually responsible. The aim is a proportionate plan that keeps your expression and character, which sometimes means a smaller procedure, a different order of treatment, or no surgery. Besides Turkish, she speaks English and Italian.

Frequently asked questions