Coalition Surgeons

Raphael84 · #21 **Top** 10-19-2009, 05:22 PM

I hope that they do post some of their results here for discussion.

After viewing their site, I would suggest that the "gallery" is of a poor standard with no real information on each client. The before and after photos in every case is taken under different conditions, and some of the photos may look potentially edited. Also, the fact that they are selling the "trip to Tblisi" almost sounds like an activity day out. I am not at all impressed by this clinic. But hopefully their presentation of photos here will prove me wrong!

Bill - Managing Publisher · #22 **Top** 10-19-2009, 07:15 PM

I actually heard from this clinic over the weekend asking what it would take to become recommended by this community. I've invited them to send me examples of their work by email to begin the initial private screening process which will also include a comprehensive interview. I guess we'll wait to see if they respond and what their work looks like. Quite frankly, they'll have to provide examples of their work in much better quality than the ones on their website to be considered.

Best wishes,

Bill

Talizi · #23 **Top** 10-21-2009, 10:59 AM

Dear Members!

Our clinic is located in Georgia, Tbilisi and we work in HT for 12 years. Clinic is the member of ISHRS. More information about our clinic you can see on our website.

I want to say something about why our clinic may seem so different from other HT clinics. During 12 years we held scientific researches, we have patents in suture closing method, anesthesia, etc. In our clinic we perform not just Mega (under 3000 grafts) but also Giga (5000–6000 grafts) sessions. We can not afford Giga sessions to each patient, but in major cases we recommend one big session instead of two or three smaller ones.

We also perform FUE transplantation and can afford up to 2000 grafts during one session.

We are proud that our patients never have swells and patients don't feel pain nor during the operation and after it.

We have patients with previous hair transplant made in Europe and America, Thailand and Russia and after hair transplant in Talizi they could compare and they were usually on our side.

The main question asked by our foreign clients "Why the prices are so low?" Our price is defined by lots of reasons: not so high salaries and loyal taxes in our country gave us ability to offer these prices to our patients.

I will attach some of the photos next time I'll be here.
Ready to answer any of your questions, thanks.

Bill - Managing Publisher · #24 **Top** 10-21-2009, 04:19 PM

Talizi,

You are welcome to post here, but can you do it without spamming the site with promotional links? Since you represent a hair transplant clinic, you are also required to add a disclosure in your forum signature. All of this information is written in the terms of service you agreed to when you signed up.

Best Regards,

Bill

Talizi · #25 **Top** 11-03-2009, 10:15 PM

Hello! Here are some of our results:

Patient, male, Russia, 5th grade by Norwood, 38 years, before and 12 months after transplant of 4512 grafts in one session using strip method.

Talizi · #26 **Top** 11-03-2009, 10:20 PM

Patient, male, Georgia, 5th grade by Norwood, 50 years. Before and 12 months after transplant of 3500 grafts using strip method. One session.

Talizi · #27 **Top** 11-03-2009, 10:45 PM

Patient, male, Armenia, 25 years, 6th grade by Norwood, before, during and 2 months after transplant of 6200 grafts using strip method in one session.

On big photo (see link below) you can see that there are 1- 2- 3- and 4-hair grafts transplanted, so we do not separate grafts.

Before

Holes created

After hair transplant

See same photo with big resolution

And 2 months after

Talizi · #28 **Top** 11-03-2009, 10:53 PM

Patient, Male, Kazakhstan, 6th grade by Norwood, 42 years, before and 9 months after transplant of 4600 grafts using strip method in one session.

Bill - Managing Publisher · #29 **Top** 11-04-2009, 11:09 AM

Talizi,

Several of these appear to be nice looking results and/or results in the making. Unfortunately however, some of the photos are relatively blurry and harder to appreciate and evaluate.

If you are still interested in being considered for recommendation however, you will want to post photos in the "Results Posted by Leading Hair Transplant Clinics" section of the forum. For tips on presenting realistic and compelling photos, click here.

All the Best,

Bill

linchpin · #30 **Top** 08-19-2010, 01:43 PM

I’ve just been to the Talizi clinic, I’ve had my transplant and arrived home two days ago. I’m very pleased with the whole process (this is my second transplant, the first was in London 3 years ago) and I’m surprised the clinic isn’t better known.

When I was researching clinics this time around I came across Talizi and what appeared to be amazing prices for transplants, but when I looked around the internet I could hardly find any information in English about them. In the end, after much searching and a considerable amount of emailing the clinic back and forth to check them out, I decided to take the plunge and head there for my procedure. Having just returned this week I thought it would be a good idea to give a full account of my experience for anyone else who might be looking for information about this clinic.

This might get a bit longwinded at times, but I think it’s worth going through the whole trip in detail because some people (me included) might be wary about travelling to a country like Georgia, so a little extra background detail might be helpful for some.

The cost of a procedure at the Talizi clinic includes pickup/dropoff at the airport, the hotel stay and also a one-day ‘tour’ around the sights of Tbilisi. I was happy for the airport pickup because the flights from London get in at 3am, and on my arrival I was happy to see there was indeed someone waiting there for me. We stepped out of the airport and into the hot Tblisi night air (it was over 30 degrees C, even at this time of night).

After setting off in a nice new Mercedes MPV we went on a rapid drive-by of the city’s main sights on the way to the hotel. It struck me as a rather elegant city, a little bit like Rome. The hotel was pleasant in an old-world kind of way. Huge rooms, clean and with private bathroom, and two huge lobbies full of antique furniture. I had agreed with the clinic’s director that I would have my procedure the next day, so I needed to get some sleep. (it was up to me which day the procedure was done, but I saw no reason to delay). I would be met at the hotel at 11am after breakfast by one of the clinic staff, who would take me there.

Sure enough, bang on 11 o’clock I was met by Aleko, who walked with me the 150 metres or so to the clinic. There I met the director and chief surgeon, Akaki Tsilosani. He’s about 40 years old, friendly and likeable, and he speaks English well enough to hold a decent conversation.

The first order of the day was to examine my scalp to determine which areas we thought needed to be transplanted, but also to work out what sort of density I had in the donor area at the back of my head. This would determine the maximum number of grafts that could be achieved in one session. The process was not hurried; there was plenty of time to ask all the questions I wanted, to examine some of the results from previous patients and to look around the clinic – which, by the way, is modern and spotlessly clean. There was also time to meet some other members of staff (only a few of them speak English), as well as some time to relax with a cup of tea. Dr Tsilosani uses a clever computer system to calculate the donor density, and he explained the whole process to me as he went along.

Eventually we had some numbers to go on, and Akaki told me he was sure he could harvest 3300 grafts for transplantation. The cost would be 3800 Euros, in accordance with the prices I had been given before my visit. He then guaranteed that I would get at least this many – and any extra would be given to me for free. (This is in contrast to the procedure I had 3 years before in London, where they fell short of the number of grafts I paid for, but I wasn’t given any kind of refund for the difference).

So, on to the surgery room. By this time there were about a dozen people in attendance, mostly nurses, and all of them present on my behalf as I was the only patient. It was clear that they were all well-trained, and clinical standards of cleanliness were strictly observed – full theatre aprons, gloves, masks and shoe coverings, and all dressings etc. were in brand-new packaging. The full deal.

First of all came the anaesthesia. Apart from a slight prick from the first couple of jabs, the rest were totally painless. It is a very strange sensation, having your head numbed as more and more liquid is injected, and your head feels like a football after a few minutes. But not painful at all.

Next came the FUE extractions. We had agreed that most of the grafts would be extracted using the Strip Method, but a small number would be done using FUE to supplement the total. These would come first, and I had to lay on my front for about an hour while the extractions were made. Again this was totally painless, except for the fact that I was lying on my bladder after being asked to drink plenty of liquids, meaning that I was desperate to relieve myself half way through!

After this was another tea break (there were lots of these) and then I had to lie down again for the strip extraction. This took about an hour again, and there was no discomfort at all. Following this there was quite a longer break while the nurses were busy separating the follicles so they could be implanted one by one. I had a chance to watch them doing this, and there were 7 or 8 nurses all peering into stereo microscopes, placing each graft onto a petri dish before going into a fridge (I think there’s a picture of this on their website).

Next came the creation of the implant sites. It appears Dr Tsilosani has developed a number of new techniques to improve the transplanting process, and this was noticeable in the creation of these sites. The process seemed much more speedy, accurate and painless than it had done during my first transplant. Akaki explained to me how I could expect to have better results with faster healing, greater density and less trauma than normal, and after seeing his methods and making the comparison with my last transplant I fully agree. He also has an electronic system that automatically counts the number of recipient sites, so you don’t have to take the doctor’s word for it. I tried counting along for a while to see if the system was accurate, and it really is. The recipient sites were all aligned with my own hair in each particular area so that it will grow out in the same direction as the existing hair around it. He explained some of his research to me, and apparently it is an ongoing process of developing new techniques that improve the procedure and give him an advantage over other clinics. Having experienced it for myself, I would have to agree.

The implantation came next, and this involved me sitting in a chair, watching TV while five nurses hovered around me implanting the individual follicular units (unfortunately there was only one channel in English – BBC News). They have a system for distributing the different types of graft in different parts of the scalp to increase the naturalness of the result. In the end I received 3,360 grafts which was 60 more than I paid for. This all took about two hours, after which I was bandaged and ready to go. So the whole operation from start to finish had taken about 4 or 5 hours in total. The level of professionalism had been outstanding throughout (and I suppose it needs to be, if they want to draw customers from around the world).

I was taken back to the hotel, where a dinner of roast chicken and potato wedges was waiting for me when I arrived. After that, straight to my room. I had made arrangements to visit the clinic in the morning for a shampoo, after which I would be taken for my free tour. It was up to me to choose where I wanted to go, but I opted for a trip up into the Caucasus Mountains about 60 miles away, as I could look around Tbilisi on my own with my remaining time left.

Georgia, I was surprised to find, is a lovely country. After the Soviet breakup in the early 90’s there were problems with corruption and separatism movements, however they have firmly extinguished all of these and now the country is stable and law-abiding. The people I came across were incredibly friendly and welcoming, and I discovered that Georgia is now a very safe place for locals and tourists alike. Tbilisi is an elegant, cosmopolitan city with wide tree-lined avenues, and felt very safe even when walking around on my own at night. In fact, the most notable danger was from traffic, as Georgian men seem to have a habit of driving at speed whilst talking on their mobile phone. Zebra crossings are ignored by drivers, though they scrupulously obey traffic lights.

On the tour I was whisked out of the city with Gyorgi my guide and Aleko the driver, who was the same person who had collected me from the hotel each day. We drove along the ‘Russian Military Highway’ which is the old road linking Tbilisi with Russia on the other side of the mountains. We stopped at some old churches on the way, and eventually went up into the hills where we had a very nice barbecue over an open fire. There was time for plenty of conversation and toasting with Georgian wine (in Georgia, toasting is a national pastime and is done at the drop of a hat - fortunately the wine is excellent). So I discovered a lot about Georgia and its history, and came to like the country and its people even more.

Apologies if this is beginning to sound like a travelogue, but the thing is that although my reason for going there was simply to have an operation, I was made so welcome and had such a good time that it became an enjoyable holiday too, and I felt as though I had made some friends along the way. I wish I’d stayed longer. Anyhow, that’s about it for the trip – I had one more visit to the clinic the next morning, just to have a quick check-up with Akaki. Everything looked great, he said, so I was free to spend the rest of the day as a tourist before being driven to the airport again for my journey home.

A few extra notes for anyone thinking of going:

Price breakdown – I received 3,360 grafts for a cost of 3,800 Euros (about GBP 3,150) and the flight cost about GBP 400 return. During the trip I spent only GBP 10 of my own money (food and drink are very cheap, and most things are laid on already). That’s a total of just under GBP 3,600 for the entire process. Compare this with my last procedure in London, where I paid almost exactly the same amount, but for only 1,300 grafts. That’s two and a half times the price, and it has gone up since then.

Furthermore, I really feel that the quality of the operation was much better this time. Back in London, I chose what I thought was the best clinic in the country and at the time I was quite happy with the results. But the way things are done at Talizi are much, much better and I can tell the difference. The procedure was much better orchestrated (with about 12 assistants all working on me). It’s clear that Dr Tsilosani is not just there to rush patients through and make as much money as he can. He could have sold me a more expensive option, but chose to be honest and open with me instead. And the whole procedure was a relaxed affair, with plenty of time for questions, tea breaks etc. The impression I got was that the staff were there for me, and were more than happy to stay there for as long as it took to do the job properly. (I mention this because I’ve seen one or two posts suggesting that in order to offer such good prices they must cut corners somewhere. From my experience I can say that this is absolutely not the case, as everything here was of a better quality than it was the first time in London. Wages in Georgia are about one tenth of those in the West, so labour costs are not a problem even when they use highly-trained staff who are paid many times the national average. They also don’t have the same rent to pay as a Harley Street clinic).

The methods he uses in the procedure are a considerable improvement on last time, too. The recipient sites are healing up very nicely – last time they were still bleeding for more than a week, but this time they were all clear on the 2nd day, and they feel much less sensitive. The donor area at the back of my head is also healing much better than last time. The closure is tidier and less bumpy, and it feels as though I’m ready to go straight back to work (the only thing stopping me is the fact that I still have a small shaven area showing at the back, so I’ll need to wait a couple of weeks until that grows over). Really, there’s no comparison.

As for the results, it’s a little early to be giving a judgement on that but the fact is I can already see that it’s going to be great. The distribution of the grafts is really good and the density seems to be very natural. I’m really pleased so far, and I know it’s going to be even better once these grafts start to grow out and thicken.

Local amenities: The gorgeous town centre is within walking distance, or you can take a taxi anywhere in the city for about GBP 2. Just around the corner from the hotel is a large, modern deli/supermarket that sells anything you might need in food/drink. There are also 3 branches of McDonald’s in the town, the closest is about half a mile from the hotel. The only foreign bank I saw was HSBC, with two branches within walking distance. The time difference is 3 hours from London time.

Payment: Akaki mentioned that, unsurprisingly, they sometimes have problems processing card payments from customers, so it is worth taking a number of different payment options or at least making sure that you have the phone number for your bank handy. Georgia is one of those countries that credit card companies may be suspicious of, so it may be worth advising your bank in advance that you intend to travel there. The alternative is to take cash (Euros or US$), as I did. This may seem foolish, but I’ve travelled to a lot of different countries and think I have a good feel for which places are safe. The reason I took cash was that by buying Euros in the UK I was able to get the best possible rate, and I didn’t have to pay the outrageous card fees that many banks charge on overseas transactions. This may have saved me a couple of hundred Euros on the final bill, plus there was never any danger of having a failed card transaction on the day. As I would be picked up at the airport and driven to the hotel, I was prepared to risk it.

I think that’s about it; apologies if you think this was too much detail, but I would have really welcomed this kind of information before making the decision to go out to Georgia myself. If anyone has any questions about my experience I’d be happy to do my best to answer them.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Coalition Surgeons

Do Hair Transplants Work?

Get Your Treatments