What to Pack for a Surgery Week in Istanbul
A practical list for a trip that is not a holiday, including the documents people forget and the clothes that matter more than they sound.
Documents First
Passport, insurance details, a list of your medication with doses, your GP practice details, and any test results the clinic has asked for. Keep a photograph of each on your phone as well as the paper.
Bring the clinic's own paperwork too: the quote, the plan, and the name of your surgeon.
Clothes That Open at the Front
Anything you have to pull over your head becomes a problem after upper body or facial surgery. Front-fastening tops, loose trousers, slip-on shoes.
Ask the clinic whether a compression garment is provided or whether you should bring one, and in what size.
The Small Things That Make the Days Easier
A long phone cable, a travel pillow, lip balm, something to read that requires no concentration, and your own toiletries in a form you can use one-handed.
A refillable water bottle. Hotel rooms are not designed around someone who should not be bending down.
Medication You Already Take
Bring enough for longer than the trip, in original packaging, with the prescription details. Do not assume an equivalent is available or has the same name.
Tell the clinic what you are bringing rather than assuming they have it on file.
What Not to Plan
A packed itinerary. The days after an operation are not sightseeing days, and the days before are consultation days.
If you want to see the city, ask when and what is reasonable, and treat the answer as part of the plan rather than a restriction.
Not treatment advice. Every plan is decided by an examination, not by an article.
Keep Reading
Travelling Alone for Surgery: What Changes If You Do
Many people travel by themselves and it is workable. What it changes about the planning, and what to arrange in advance.
Aftercare from Another Country: What Follow-Up Means
Follow-up is the word most often used and least often defined. What to agree, and how to tell a real arrangement from a reassurance.
When the Answer Is Not Yet
Being told to wait is the most common surgical advice nobody prepares for. Why it happens, and what to do with it.
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