The Turkish Delight technique is 25 years old. How many patients have you used this technique on? Can you provide an approximate number, if not an exact one?
O.E: I have an exact number. The most important editor of the American Journal of Plastic Surgery requested an article from me several times, and I prepared it. I have applied this technique to over 10,000 patients. The first Turkish Delight nose surgery was performed 25 years ago.
Do you have other methods?
O.E: Of course, I do. I also developed the tissue cocktail method, which we use to contour the face. I have developed 29 new surgical techniques, such as the Eyebrow Lift method, Scarless Breast Lift, and Otoplasty. More importantly, I was the first to develop a tissue with its own vascular supply (1975), which was my associate professorship thesis, and I won an award in America for it. That’s how I was able to go to America.
What does a plastic surgeon need to be confident in themselves?
O.E: They need to have at least 7-8 years of experience and perform only that specific type of surgery during those years. If they frequently perform other surgical procedures but rarely nose surgeries, they cannot be considered proficient in this area. They might achieve a good or bad result by chance. These skills are not learned out of thin air; they come with experience.
What are your thoughts on Botox?
O.E: I was the first person to bring Botox to Turkey. For many years, Botox was used for tic treatment by neurologists. Its use for aesthetic purposes, specifically to temporarily stop mimic lines, is new. In my clinics, I only allow the use of FDA-approved Botox. Botox is extremely reliable when performed with quality material and by skilled hands. It is also the most commonly used method in aesthetic applications. Consider this: Botox usage has increased by 2270% annually. Plastic surgery statistics confirm this.
What are your patients most in need of recently?
O.E: Nose surgeries continue to be the top procedure, but tissue injection has also increased significantly. I have developed a method that simplifies the process. I freeze and store fat tissues like in an IVF embryo storage method. That fat tissue is taken once, and subsequent applications are easy, administered with local anesthesia. My patients have been very pleased with this method. I also have a story about how I came up with this method. There was a plastic surgeon named Dray. Everyone would go to Paris to have fat tissue injections in their face. I also have many aesthetic patients, famous patients, who would tell me, ‘Why don’t you do these injections too?’
There is a significant difference in Deniz Akkaya’s nose before and after. Can you foresee the outcome of your aesthetic touches?
O.E: Before surgery, we perform simulations on the computer to determine what kind of aesthetic outcome can be achieved. Since she has continuously mentioned it, I see no harm in repeating it here. For three years, no one realized Deniz Hanım had surgery until a journalist found an old music video of hers and published it. News about her old and new nose circulated, and that’s how her surgery became known. I did not say a single word. Petek also got a very beautiful nose, but Deniz Hanım truly underwent a completely different transformation.
