If something isn't right after you're home

I can't and mustn't assess you medically. What I can do is tell you beforehand what the order of steps looks like, so you don't have to think in that moment.

Call 999 or 112 immediately

• heavy or unstoppable bleeding
• breathlessness, chest pain, racing heart
• fever above 38.5°C with shivering
• sudden swelling or pain in one leg
• confusion or drowsiness
• rapidly spreading redness

999 in the UK, 112 in Ireland. Don't ring the clinic in Turkey first, don't ring me, don't Google. Emergency services first, everything else after.

Not an emergency, but not normal

A wound that opens, weeps or smells; persistent pain despite medication; increasing asymmetry; spreading numbness; skin discolouration in one area. Then, in this order: take a photo, contact the clinic in Turkey (they know the operation), ring the practice at home you arranged beforehand, let me know.

What to have ready before you travel

• The practice or consultant at home who's willing to see you, contacted before the trip
• All clinic documents in one folder, digital and paper
• The clinic's emergency number with language and hours
• The knowledge that the NHS or HSE won't fund corrections, so you don't hesitate out of cost worry in an emergency

And legally?

Preserve evidence: dated photos, chat history with the clinic, a written note of what was said. Enforcing a claim against a clinic abroad is difficult and rarely successful, but without documentation it's impossible. Health first, documentation straight after.

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This text does not replace a surgeon’s consent conversation. Timings are typical courses, not promises; yours may differ. Ivy Beside deliberately gives no prices and names no surgeons.