A nose job was always a part 26-year-old Courtney Turner’s future.
The Houston, Texas, resident tells PEOPLE that the “small bump” on her bridge had always been something she was “self-conscious about.” She’d broken her nose twice before due to her involvement in two car accidents, and at the age of 13, she underwent surgery for a deviated septum. All of that combined made her “hyper-aware” of her appearance.
“So, when I got the opportunity and the money [for a cosmetic-related nose job], I was like, ‘Okay, it’s something that I want to do.”
Courtney, who works in marketing for a construction company, first looked into plastic surgery options close to home. But the quotes? Around $20,000. Instead of blowing her budget, she began looking overseas, which is how she landed on medical tourism company Phoenix, which offers a variety of surgeries from breast augmentations and dental work to hair transplants through a travel package that reads like a relaxing vacation — but for a fraction of the cost.
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For around $5,100, Courtney secured herself not only a surgery, but also a seven-night stay at a hotel close to the hospital (with complimentary breakfast) and hospital and airport transfers. Also covered were the essentials needed post-operation, including medication, garments and aftercare assistance from staff. The flights were the only “out of pocket” part she paid for, bringing her entire trip to $6,300.
Courtney, who documented her entire journey on TikTok, brought her mom along for the journey and, the morning after they landed in Istanbul, they were already on their way to the hospital. Her surgery proceeded with a round of tests. “It was very fast still and it didn’t really give me time to get cold feet or anything,” she recalls.
The process was similar to what she’d experienced with doctor’s appointments in the States, but “the only time that I was like, ‘This is a little bit different,’ was when you go in for surgery,” she says. “Normally, in America, when you go in for surgery, they give you anesthesia and then take you back, and you don’t see any of the process,” says Courtney, who was fully conscious up until the point she lay down on the operating table.
Courtney Turner
Courtney recovering from her rhinoplasty in Turkey
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Her operation, performed by surgeon Dr. Ulaş Bali, went smoothly. “I didn’t have any complications and as soon as I woke up from surgery, I was not in any pain. The first day [post-op] I was very groggy and then the next day I still wasn’t in a lot of pain, just uncomfortable.” By days five and six, she felt “completely fine” to experience Istanbul.
By that time, Courtney still had a cast around her nose, but she wasn’t the only one putting their fresh surgery on display. “At my hotel, we would go to breakfast and you would see all of the other people recovering from their different surgeries. So there was a girl who got a BBL [Brazilian butt lift], and she was doing her morning strolls. There was another girl [who had undergone] a nose surgery, there was a guy who got hair plugs.”
The concept was so accepted that Courtney “felt completely comfortable” walking around in public with a bandaged appearance.
Returning to the US was, for the most part, hassle-free — save for getting past security. Courtney got a doctor’s note clearing her for air travel, but was picked to go through another round of scans. Communicating with airport staff, especially about her condition, proved difficult with the language barrier. “In that case, I called my care coordinator [whose service was included in the surgery package] and she hopped on the phone with them.”
One month after her surgery, Courtney is feeling totally in love with her “natural”-looking results. “I’m completely happy now.”
Read the original article on People
