Op. Dr. Arda Pelen, ENT surgeon, in İstanbul
The Approach · İstanbul, Turkey

Why an ENT Specialist

G. Arda Pelen is an ear-nose-throat surgeon — so the hands that reshape your nose are the same ones trained in how it breathes.

01The idea

The nose is an airway, not just a feature.

Op. Dr. G. Arda Pelen is an ear-nose-throat (ENT, or KBB) specialist in İstanbul whose practice is the nose. That single fact shapes how every operation is planned: he was trained first in how the nose works — the septum, the internal valves, the turbinates and the sinuses — and treats it as what it really is, an airway as much as a feature.

It’s a natural instinct, when choosing a nose surgeon, to focus almost entirely on appearance. But a nose that has been narrowed or reduced without regard for the structures that carry air can look right in a photograph and breathe badly in everyday life. A weakened airway is one of the most common reasons people return, later, for revision surgery.

For Dr. Pelen, that is the line that isn’t crossed: the appearance of your nose is never planned at the expense of how it functions — because, to him, a result that doesn’t breathe isn’t a good result, however well it photographs. The way it looks and the way it breathes are designed together, in one plan.

None of this is a claim that skilled surgeons don’t exist in other fields; they do. It is simply why, for an organ that is both a feature and an airway, we believe form and function belong in the same set of hands.


02The difference

How Dr. Pelen plans your nose.

The difference his ENT background makes isn’t a title on a door — it’s that, with Dr. Pelen, the way your nose breathes is part of the plan from the very first consultation, never an afterthought. He builds the look on top of a sound, protected structure.

How Dr. Pelen works

  • He assesses the septum, valves and turbinates in every plan
  • He corrects appearance and breathing in a single operation
  • He keeps enough structure so the nose stays supported and natural
  • He judges a result by how it looks and how it breathes

× The approach he avoids

  • · Refining the outside while the airway is overlooked
  • · Over-reducing structure and narrowing the breathing passages
  • · A nose that photographs well but doesn’t breathe well in daily life
  • · The kind of shortcut that so often leads to revision surgery

03Why it matters

A nose that doesn’t breathe isn’t a success.

When a nose is reshaped purely for appearance, the things that make it work can quietly be compromised. The result may look right in the mirror and feel wrong with every breath — and closing that gap is exactly what Dr. Pelen’s method is built to do.

By assessing the septum, the internal valves and the turbinates as part of every aesthetic plan, Dr. Pelen protects the structures that carry air while the nose is made to look better. His results have to hold up not just in a photograph, but every time you breathe in — and protecting that function is also what makes a result last, and what spares many of his patients a second operation later on.

Function, never sacrificed

The airway is protected as the shape is refined — the two are weighed together, not traded against each other.

Fewer revisions

Protecting structure avoids the breathing problems that send so many people back for a second surgery. About revision →

Appearance and airway · one plan

04The advantage

What you get with Dr. Pelen.

Three things follow naturally from a surgeon who trained in the nose as a working organ first, and a feature second.

Planned as one

Dr. Pelen designs the way your nose looks and the way it breathes together, from your first consultation — never one at the cost of the other.

The airway protected

He checks the septum, valves and turbinates every time, so the structures that carry air are preserved as he refines the shape.

One operation

Where breathing and appearance both need work, Dr. Pelen corrects them in a single procedure — so you go through surgery, and recovery, just once.


05The breadth

What Dr. Pelen sees in your nose.

Because his training spans the whole working nose — every structure that moves, warms and filters the air — Dr. Pelen reads more than the outside. That complete picture is exactly what a nose, as both an airway and a feature, asks for.


06The principle

Form follows function.

The most natural-looking noses are the ones built on a sound structure. When the framework is respected and the airway preserved, beauty has something to sit on — and it lasts.

This is the quiet principle behind every operation Dr. Pelen performs. Structure first; the appearance refined on top of it, never by undermining it. It is also why he puts honesty before surgery: if a particular change can’t be made without compromising how you breathe, he’ll tell you — because a result that looks the part but leaves you reaching for a decongestant every night was never worth it. A nose that breathes freely and looks naturally like yours is the only definition of success he works to.


07Where he operates

Surgery at Memorial Hospital, İstanbul.

Op. Dr. Arda Pelen performs his operations at Memorial — one of Türkiye’s largest private hospital groups — so your surgery and overnight care take place in a fully equipped, internationally recognised hospital, not a day-clinic.



08Questions

Op. Dr. Arda Pelen & ENT nose surgery — your questions.

Why choose Op. Dr. Arda Pelen for nose surgery?+
Because he is an ENT (KBB) specialist whose practice is the nose, planning how it looks and how it breathes together. With Dr. Pelen the airway is protected as the shape is refined, a result is judged by both how it looks and how you breathe, and you’re given an honest opinion on what is realistic before any surgery.
What is an ENT surgeon?+
An ENT — ear, nose and throat — surgeon, known in Turkey as a KBB specialist, is a doctor trained in the function and surgery of the ears, nose, throat and airway. For the nose specifically, that means training first in how it works: the septum, the valves, the turbinates and the sinuses.
ENT or plastic surgeon for a nose job — which is better?+
Skilled rhinoplasty surgeons come from both backgrounds, and the single most important factor is always the individual surgeon’s experience with the nose. The case for an ENT surgeon is specific: because the nose is an airway as well as a feature, an ENT-trained surgeon plans how it breathes and how it looks together, rather than treating one in isolation.
Will an ENT surgeon still make my nose look good?+
Yes — aesthetics are central to the work, and many of the most experienced rhinoplasty surgeons are ENT-trained. The difference is simply that the appearance is achieved without sacrificing the airway, so the result looks natural and breathes well.
Does an ENT surgeon perform cosmetic rhinoplasty?+
Yes. Cosmetic and functional rhinoplasty are both core to ENT nose surgery, which is why an ENT surgeon can refine the shape and correct the breathing in the same operation when both are needed.
Why does breathing matter in a nose job?+
Because reshaping the nose without regard for its structure can narrow or weaken the airway. A nose can be made to look good and left harder to breathe through — and that is one of the most common reasons people later need revision surgery.
What does KBB mean?+
KBB stands for Kulak Burun Boğaz — the Turkish term for ear, nose and throat. A KBB specialist is the same as an ENT surgeon.
Is Op. Dr. Arda Pelen an ENT specialist?+
Yes. Op. Dr. Arda Pelen is an ENT (KBB) specialist, TTB registered, focused on functional and aesthetic nose surgery in İstanbul, and authorised for health tourism by the Ministry of Health.

Your surgeon

Op. Dr. Arda Pelen, ENT surgeon
ENT SURGEON · İSTANBUL

Op. Dr. Arda Pelen

ENT (KBB) Specialist · Functional & Aesthetic Nose Surgery — where breathing meets beauty. Read his full profile →

TTB REGISTERED ENT (KBB) SPECIALIST HEALTH-TOURISM AUTHORISED

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