# Facial Surgery in Istanbul, Turkey

> Canonical (HTML): https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/facial-aesthetic

By Muhsin Yilmaz, MD, FEBOPRAS · Medically reviewed September 2026

This is the map of the facial operations I perform, by region: the eyes, the midface, the lips, the nose, the ears and the skin — with the face and neck lift family covered separately. Its purpose is to tell you which operation treats which problem, so that you arrive at the right page rather than the most advertised one.

## How I Assess a Face

I assess facial ageing in three components: **position** — how far the deep tissues have descended; **volume** — how much fat the face has lost; and **skin quality** — what sun, time and texture have done to the surface. No single operation treats all three, and most faces need more than one addressed.

That framework decides everything else on this page. A problem of position is corrected by lifting and repositioning; a problem of volume by [fat grafting](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/facial-fat-transfer); a problem of skin by [resurfacing](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/fractional-co2-laser). Features that were never about ageing — a nose, prominent ears, a long upper lip — are a fourth category and are planned on proportion rather than on descent.

## The Face and Neck Lift Family

Where the deep tissues of the face and neck have descended, the operation is a lift, and that family has a hub of its own: the [deep plane facelift](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/deep-plane-facelift), the [deep neck lift](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/neck-lift), the [endoscopic](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/endoscopic-facelift) and [temporal](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/temporal-lift) lifts, [revision surgery](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/revision-facelift) and the [male facelift](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/male-facelift) are all described on the [facelift](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/facelift) page. The rest of this page covers everything else.

## The Eyes

### Blepharoplasty

[Blepharoplasty](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/blepharoplasty) treats the lids themselves: the skin that hoods the upper lid, and the fat, the hollow and the laxity that make the lower lid look tired. Upper and lower lid surgery share a name and little else, and they are planned separately even when performed together.

### Canthopexy and canthoplasty

[Almond eye surgery](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/almond-eye-surgery) — sold elsewhere as fox eye or cat eye surgery — is surgery on the anchor at the outer corner of the eye. A canthopexy supports a lax lower lid; a canthoplasty repositions the corner and changes the shape of the eye. It is one of the operations I decline most often, because the lift most patients want comes from the brow.

### The brow above the eye

A heavy upper lid is frequently a descended brow rather than an eyelid problem. That is treated by a [brow lift](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/brow-lift) or, where it is the outer brow and the temple, a [temporal lift](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/temporal-lift) — and operating on the lid instead leaves the brow lower still.

## The Midface and Cheeks

### Midface lift

A [midface lift](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/midface-lift) repositions the cheek back onto the cheekbone and shortens the lengthened junction between the lower lid and the cheek. It suits a face whose ageing is central while the jawline is still intact; where the jawline has gone too, the midface is treated as part of a deep plane facelift instead.

### Fat grafting

[Fat grafting](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/facial-fat-transfer) restores volume the face has lost, using the patient's own fat, in the temples, the cheeks and the area under the eyes. It fills; it does not lift, and the two are not interchangeable.

### Buccal fat removal

[Buccal fat removal](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/buccal-fat-removal) does the opposite: it removes the deep pad in the cheek to sharpen the line beneath the cheekbone. In a genuinely full young face it works well. In a face that is already losing volume it takes away what will be missed, which is why I decline it more often than I perform it.

### Chin and neck fat

[Chin liposuction](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/chin-liposuction) removes superficial fat under the chin where the skin still has good recoil. Where the neck has also loosened, or the fullness is beneath the muscle, the operation is a [deep neck lift](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/neck-lift) instead — removing fat alone from an ageing neck makes it look looser, not sharper.

## The Lips

A [lip lift](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/lip-lift) shortens the distance between the base of the nose and the upper lip, so more of the lip's own red shows and the mouth sits in a younger proportion. A corner lip lift raises outer corners that turn down. Neither adds volume: filler adds volume and does not change proportion, and in a long upper lip it usually makes the proportion worse.

## The Nose

[Rhinoplasty](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/rhinoplasty) changes the framework of the nose — bone, cartilage and the skin over both — and it is planned on your proportions rather than on a shape taken from someone else's face. Breathing is assessed and treated as part of the operation, not as a separate problem, and a significant part of my rhinoplasty practice is revision of noses operated on elsewhere.

## The Ears

[Otoplasty](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/prominent-ear-surgery) reshapes ears that stand away from the head, through an incision hidden in the crease behind the ear. The mark of a good result is an ear that still has its own folds and shadows rather than one flattened against the skull.

## The Skin

[Fractional CO₂ laser resurfacing](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/fractional-co2-laser) treats the surface: fine lines, texture, sun damage and some scarring. It is the third component of ageing and the one surgery cannot reach — which is why I most often perform it in the same session as a lift, with restraint over skin that has just been undermined. It does not lift, and resurfacing a face that has descended gives it better skin in the wrong position.

## How These Operations Combine

Most of my operations are combinations, because most faces age in more than one component at once. A lift with eyelid surgery, fat grafting and resurfacing in one session is a common plan; a lip lift beside a facelift is common; rhinoplasty alongside a long rejuvenation operation is not, and I usually plan that as two operations. Healing from combined procedures runs largely in parallel rather than adding up, which is the surgical argument for combining — and the limit is the total operative load a particular patient can safely carry. The full logic, and where I draw the line, is on [combining facial procedures](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/combination-facial-procedures).

## What I Do Not Do

I do not perform [thread lifts](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/thread-facelift), for reasons set out on that page. I do not perform body surgery; this practice is facial. I do not perform [mini facelifts](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/mini-facelift) as a substitute for an operation that a face actually needs, and I say so in consultation rather than after. And I do not operate on patients whose expectations surgery cannot meet — declining is part of the job, and it is the part that protects both of us.

## Who I Accept

A good candidate for facial surgery has a specific complaint they can point to on their own face, is in good general health, does not smoke or can stop nicotine for the period safe healing requires, and has expectations an operation can meet. Age by itself is not how I decide; anatomy, health and expectations are. [What I look for in your photographs](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/am-i-a-candidate) is set out plainly.

## Results

Every case in my [results gallery](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/results) is unretouched, published with written consent, and lists the full combination of procedures performed — so that a facelift with eyelid surgery, fat grafting and resurfacing is never presented as the work of one operation.

[See before & after results](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/results)

## Surgery in Istanbul: Safety, Travel and Cost

I operate at a modern, fully equipped Acıbadem group hospital in Istanbul with a dedicated anaesthesia team, and I am registered with the Turkish Ministry of Health for international health tourism. How to verify any surgeon and hospital — including me — is on [is Turkey safe for plastic surgery](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/is-turkey-safe-for-plastic-surgery). How the trip is arranged, and who decides when you are fit to fly, is on [travelling to Istanbul](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/travelling-to-istanbul). There is no single price for facial surgery because there is no single operation; [what determines the cost](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/deep-plane-facelift-cost) is explained separately, and deposits, dates and policies are on the [international patient FAQs](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/international-patient-faqs).

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Which facial surgery do I need?**

It depends on which of three components has changed: position, volume or skin quality — and whether the feature that bothers you was ever about ageing at all. Descended tissue needs lifting, lost volume needs fat grafting, poor surface needs resurfacing, and a nose or prominent ears are planned on proportion. This page maps each region to the operation that treats it.

**What facial procedures do you perform?**

Face and neck lift surgery in its various forms, eyelid surgery, canthopexy and canthoplasty, brow and temporal lifts, midface lift, fat grafting, buccal fat removal, chin liposuction, lip lift and corner lip lift, rhinoplasty, otoplasty, and CO₂ laser resurfacing — most of them in combination rather than alone.

**Can several procedures be done in one operation?**

Usually, and that is how I work: healing from combined procedures runs largely in parallel rather than adding up, and treating the components together is where natural results come from. The limit is the total operative load a particular patient can safely carry, and I decline combinations that exceed it.

**Do you perform non-surgical treatments?**

I do not perform thread lifts, and I say why on that page. Where a problem is genuinely not surgical I say so rather than proposing an operation — but this practice is a surgical one, and skin-quality treatment here means resurfacing as part of a plan rather than a menu of injectables.

**Do you perform body surgery?**

No. This practice is facial. That focus is deliberate: facial rejuvenation and facial surgery are what I do every operating day.

**What is the difference between this page and your facelift page?**

This page covers the face by region — eyes, midface, lips, nose, ears and skin. The [facelift page](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/facelift) covers the face and neck lift family and the techniques within it. Between them they cover everything I perform, without repeating each other.

**Am I a candidate for facial surgery?**

If you have a specific complaint you can point to on your own face, are in good general health, do not smoke or can stop nicotine for the required period, and have expectations an operation can meet. Age by itself is not a criterion. I regularly advise against surgery, and that advice is part of what an assessment is for.

**How long do I stay in Istanbul?**

Until I have examined you at the final check and confirmed you are fit to fly — the decision is made at that examination rather than on a fixed day. The indicative range for each operation is on its own page, and the trip is explained on travelling to Istanbul.

**How much does facial surgery in Turkey cost?**

There is no single price, because there is no single operation. After reviewing your photographs, and a video consultation where needed, I provide a transparent, itemised quote based on your own plan; what determines it is explained on the cost page.

## Start Your Assessment

**Start with photographs, not with a procedure name.** Send them over WhatsApp or through the form and you will receive my initial assessment of what is actually driving the change you see, which operation — if any — fits your face, a proposed plan, an expected length of stay and an itemised quote before anything is arranged.

[Request a personal review](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/contact) [See before & after results](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/results)

*Every enquiry is reviewed personally by Dr. Yilmaz; scheduling is handled by the patient coordination team.*

## About Dr. Muhsin Yilmaz

Written and medically reviewed by Muhsin Yilmaz, MD, FEBOPRAS — Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeon. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Dr. Muhsin Yilmaz is a **double board-certified plastic surgeon**, holding the FEBOPRAS diploma of the European Board of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery and the certification of the Turkish Board of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, and practises in Istanbul, Türkiye. His practice is focused on facial and neck rejuvenation, centred on the deep plane facelift — around 150 facelift operations per year, performed at Acıbadem Kartal Hospital. He is a member of TSPRAS and ISAPS, and is registered with the Turkish Ministry of Health for international health tourism. Read his [full profile](https://muhsinyilmaz.com/en/about-us).

## References

- Rohrich RJ, Pessa JE. The fat compartments of the face: anatomy and clinical implications for cosmetic surgery. *Plast Reconstr Surg.* 2007;119(7):2219–2227. [doi:10.1097/01.prs.0000265403.66886.54](https://doi.org/10.1097/01.prs.0000265403.66886.54)
- Stuzin JM, Baker TJ, Gordon HL. The relationship of the superficial and deep facial fascias: relevance to rhytidectomy and aging. *Plast Reconstr Surg.* 1992;89(3):441–449. [doi:10.1097/00006534-199203000-00007](https://doi.org/10.1097/00006534-199203000-00007)