Patients from Nigeria: urological surgery in Istanbul
Istanbul is reachable in a single flight from Lagos and Abuja, and consultations are held in English. This page covers what applies to you.
About 6–7 hours on a direct flight
Direct flights to Istanbul are available from Lagos and Abuja. Because these are long-haul services with fewer daily departures than short-haul routes, allow a day of margin either side when planning around an operation date.
Consultations are held in English, so no interpreter is needed. The international patient coordinator also works in English, which means written correspondence before you travel is direct.
Payment is normally settled in euros or US dollars. International transfers from Nigeria can take several working days and may be subject to limits, so begin the financial arrangement well before travelling rather than on arrival.
Visa
Visa rules vary with the type of passport and are updated from time to time. Because wrong information could leave you stranded at the airport, we do not state the rule here; check your own position with the official source.
Planning around a long-haul flight
The flight matters medically, not only logistically. After operations that involve a longer recovery, flying too soon raises the risk of clots in the legs. For that reason flight clearance is given as a date, not as a guess, and for longer flights we tend to be more cautious than the figures stated on the treatment pages. Book a changeable ticket if you can.
Bring your imaging, not just the report
Many patients arrive with a printed report but without the scan itself. A written description is not enough for surgical planning: the surgeon needs to look at the images. Ask your hospital in Nigeria for the CT or MRI on a disc or as a digital file before you leave. This single step frequently saves a day and the cost of repeating the scan.
One trip, one plan
Because the journey is long, the aim is to complete assessment and treatment within one trip wherever that is medically sound. That means sending your file in advance so that the investigations needed can be booked for the day you land, rather than discovered after you arrive. Where a condition genuinely requires staged treatment, we say so before you buy a ticket.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a visa?
Visa rules vary by passport type and change from time to time, so we do not state them here. Check your own position with the official Turkish source before booking.
How long should I plan to stay?
It depends entirely on the procedure — a few days for endoscopic stone surgery, longer for radical prostate surgery because of the catheter period. The length is set after your file is reviewed, not before.
Can I be followed up by my doctor at home?
Yes, and that is the usual arrangement. Reports are written so that a doctor in Nigeria can continue the follow-up, stating what was done and what should be monitored.
Let us review your file
If you have test results, imaging or a pathology report, share them in advance and avoid having investigations repeated unnecessarily.
Back to the international patients page: ME Urology Clinic