The books behind the clinic

Prof. Karacalar writes the way he operates: to explain. Six books — on lipoedema, on the philosophy of aesthetic surgery, on sculpture, and on the history of the female body — carry the thinking that shapes every consultation at Ikonoplasti.

Lipoedema

Two books on the condition this clinic was built for

2023 · English, German and Turkish

Lipoedema: An Evolutionary Mismatch

Why do so many women carry fat on the legs that neither diet nor exercise will shift? This book argues that lipoedema is an evolutionary mismatch — a body designed for one environment, living in another — and follows that idea from origin to diagnosis and treatment. His most recent book, and the one most UK patients read first.

Turkish · the first monograph on lipoedema surgery

Lipoedema and Its Treatment

Written when there was no book on the subject at all. It describes lipoedema as a chronic disorder of fat tissue that is also an aesthetic problem, explains why it resists diet and sport, and introduces the Superdry 4D method and the psycho-aesthetic approach he developed for it. Its opening line — “legs are the starting point of holistic beauty” — is close to a mission statement for Ikonoplasti.

Philosophy of aesthetics

Why a surgeon needs a philosophy

Turkish · sculpture and surgery

Iconoplasty — Messages to Aesthetic Surgery through Sculpture

Grew out of the Organic Art and Aesthetic Surgery course he taught at Yeditepe University’s Faculty of Fine Arts. The argument: the body is an image, and the surgeon who changes it should think like a sculptor — proportion first, the whole figure before the detail. This clinic takes its name from this book.

Turkish

Aesthetic Surgery and the Cinderella Tale

A map for the conversation between surgeon and patient — what each expects, what each fears, and how to get it right. Draws on psychology, literature, mythology and philosophy rather than on before-and-after photographs.

Amazons and women's history

Where the female body meets history

Turkish edition

Turkish

Amazonism, Breast and Aesthetics

Begins with the historical record of the Amazons, focuses on the most disputed of their traditions — the destruction of one breast — and reads its historical, artistic and aesthetic meaning through a plastic surgeon’s eyes. Related work was published in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery.

Turkish

The Amazons and the Cry of Matriarchy

Anandros, androdamas, oiorpata — the names given to the Amazons were all coined by men. This book asks what the women themselves were saying.

Sculpture

The same hands, in bronze

Two of Prof. Karacalar’s works. Aesthetic Meditation: the body is a temple, and it needs care so that the self can live in it comfortably. Nose and Breath: a bronze nose on a bronze face — a reminder, borrowed from the yoga master Krishnamacharya, that the nose is where breath and therefore life begins.

In his words

Three sentences he keeps coming back to

“Cosmetic surgery should capture or preserve the nuances of beauty.”

“Although we are equal before the law, our appearance creates inequality in life. Aesthetic surgery corrects an injustice of life.”

“Our image shapes our destiny. A surgeon with the power to change the image should act with that knowledge.”

Books are presented here for scientific and cultural information only. They are not a health service and make no promise of any treatment outcome.

Read the book, then meet the author

Prof. Karacalar consults in London every month — free, and without obligation.

ik●noplasti

Lipoedema & leg aesthetic clinic in Istanbul, led by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Karacalar — Professor of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery.

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Surgery carries risks and results differ from person to person. Content on this site is general information, not medical advice. Please seek an independent opinion before deciding on any procedure.