When TikTok momfluencer Cayley, 35, saw that a mommy makeover in the U.S. would cost $40,000, she started looking abroad for options.
The 35-year-old Arizona mom booked a 10-day trip to Istanbul in May and paid just $14,000 in total. That price included her flight, surgery, hotel, meals, and recovery.
She shared her journey on TikTok, where her transformation went viral.
U.S. plastic surgery prices pushed Cayley to look for options overseas
Cayley always planned to get a mommy makeover once she was finished having children.
After giving birth to three kids in four years, she began researching surgeons in Scottsdale, Arizona. The numbers she found were discouraging.
“I live in Arizona, so obviously Scottsdale’s right here, it is plastic surgery central. I started looking up some surgeons in my area, and I’m like, ‘I have three young kids, I can’t spend $40,000 on this.’ So that ruled that out,” Cayley said in a comment to People magazine.
She began looking into medical tourism, googling “plastic surgery capitals.” She narrowed her options to Mexico, Colombia, and Turkey. Although Mexico was closer to the United States, Cayley was intrigued by what Turkey had to offer.
After contacting a few clinics, she found one that made her feel instantly at ease: the office of Dr. Safa Manav in Istanbul.
“They were so warm, friendly, nice, kind, caring, just kind of checked all the boxes,” she said of the staff, who handled all communication via WhatsApp.
Her $14K package included surgery, a hotel stay, and a full VIP experience
Once the clinic quoted her the price, Cayley said it “almost felt surreal.”
For $11,000, she would get a tummy tuck, breast augmentation, liposuction, hospital garments, a medical hotel stay, breakfasts, and transportation between the airport and clinic. Her round-trip flight added $1,500.
With meals and small purchases, the full 10-day experience totaled around $14,000. That’s a whopping 35% of the cost quoted by the clinics in the United States.
She brought her mother along to help with recovery and provide emotional support.
On her third day in Istanbul, she underwent surgery that included a full tummy tuck with minor muscle repair, liposuction on her sides, and a breast lift with augmentation.
She spent two nights recovering in the hospital before heading back to the hotel, where a nurse was available to check on her.
“The first couple of days truly were rough,” she admitted, but resting away from her kids made healing easier.
She shared every step of the journey on TikTok
Cayley documented the entire trip for her TikTok audience, where she often posts “hot mom things” for her nearly 300,000 followers.
She got flooded with questions about her doctor, how she was feeling, how her husband reacted, and what she thought of her surgery’s results.
Cayley shared that her husband was actually supportive of her surgery.
“I told him, I was like, ‘Aren’t you excited I’m going to come home with new boobs?’ And he’s like, ‘Honestly, whatever makes you happy,'” she said.
While most of her followers were supportive, Cayley said some comments were aggressive or xenophobic, so much so that she ended up filtering replies.
“They don’t think those problems could also happen here in the States? Guess what? They do,” she said. “People always have something to say.”
Numerous netizens were very supportive of Cayley’s surgery, however.
“What does this tell you about the state of medicine in America?” one commenter wrote.
“I had a family member travel to Turkey for dental implants and crowns. It cost her 1/5 of what it would have cost here in the states,” another wrote.
“She looks great! And her hubby had the right answer. Let her live her life and whatever makes her happy!” another commenter stated.
Cayley says the cost, care, and confidence were all worth it
Cayley is now almost fully healed and loving her new look. She even felt well enough during the trip to explore Istanbul with her mom.
“Everyone’s recovery is different, but it was great for me. I got to actually see (Turkey) and enjoy it,” she said.
@cayleyxox worth every penny I couldn’t be happier 💋🇹🇷 #mommymakeover #fyp #istanbul #turkiye #medicaltourism #foryoupage #plasticsurgery #tummytuck #MomsofTikTok #mmo #breastaugmentation ♬ original sound – CAYLEYXO
She also said she waited to reveal her belly button in videos because it looked “crazy” during the healing phase, but her overall transformation has been a huge confidence boost.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the average cost of a mommy makeover in the U.S. can start at $20,000. That figure doesn’t include anesthesia, facilities, or aftercare, and can go much higher based on the location and provider.
Some netizens were quite supportive of Cayley’s decision to do her cosmetic surgery in Turkey
