This is a summary of my experience. I booked with Dr Maral, my decision was based on having good email dialogue with the Dr and his team and researching his qualifications, which showed that he had been undertaking successfully HT Ops and plastic surgery for a number of years. I know that cost shouldn't really come into it but the price was also fantastic and a third of what you pay in the UK!
I took a flight from Manchester to Turkey with a short transfer in Amsterdam arriving on Sunday afternoon. I was met by a representative from the clinic who took me to the hotel, which was called "the Levent" and it was only a 15 minute drive to the clinic.
I woke early on Monday morning and went for a hearty "continental style" breakfast in the hotel, which was included within the price. The rest of the hotel was clean and tidy and my room was a double, which had an en-suit, satellite TV, air con and mini bar fridge. The only downside was that it was an internal room so it didn't have a view. The only window looking into an internal ventilation shaft, which made the room quite dark.
A representative called my room at 9.30am and we then travelled to the clinic. There were two Kosovan guys in the car who had travelled from Germany to also have a fue transplant. Both were older than me and completely bald on top, which made me think that I was a good candidate in comparison. They said that they were staying a bit further away in a hotel called My Rose, which they said was ok as there were lots of shops and bars nearby.
We arrived at the clinic after a 15 minute car journey. The area was what I would describe as a shopping district and the door to the clinic overlooked a courtyard with a statue in the middle. The clinic was on the first and second floor of the building. I went up the stairs and was greeted by the receptionist. I paid her in full for the op and then sat down in a seating area waiting for my consultation with Dr Maral. My first impressions of the clinic were good as it was clean and modern with a front reception area, Dr Maral's office and a number of treatment rooms.
I was called for my consultation with Dr Maral where he greeted me in English and took a look at my hair, especially the density of the donor area. He explained the risks of the procedure and I had to read though and fill out a medical questionnaire. He said that that I was a good candidate and he would try his best to get the most grafts from the donor area, which he estimated to be between 3200 to 3500. We discussed the hairline for someone of my age and then Dr Maral marked out where it should be and I agreed with him. At the end of the consultation he took a number of pre-op photographs, which he said would not be published but for his own records.
I was then taken to the treatment room where I placed all my possessions (watch, wallet and mobile telephone) in a sealed plastic bag which was placed on a shelf in the treatment room. I took off my clothes apart from underwear and was given a medial gown to wear. All of the staff were already gowned up with surgical gloves, masks hairnets and shoes etc. I was asked if I felt ok and replied to say I was a little nervous, so I was offered some tablets to help calm my nerves. I was asked to lie down face first and they then prepared and started to administer all of the injections, which started with anaesthetic and then saline solution, which I think was used to plump up the graft area ready to take out the grafts. I am not a lover of needles and this was in my opinion the worst part for me, however once the anaesthetic had numbed the donor area it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It still felt like 100 injections though!
A team of two, one male and one female then started to remove the grafts with a motorised tool I think the end was 0.8mm. The process took all morning and they kept topping up my anaesthetic and asking me if I was feeling any pain. During the graft extraction I had to move my head from side to side as they took the follicles from the back and sides. They finished extracting the grafts by about 1.30pm, after which a bandage pad was placed around my head so I could have a break and something to eat and drink.
Lunch was a chicken kebab, chips, salad and a drink, which I presume they got from a take away restaurant nearby.It was nice food and I ate it on a table just outside the treatment room. Dr Maral did not undertake any of the graft extraction, he spent most of the time going between the treatment rooms checking on how everything is going.
After the lunch the technicians started to implant the grafts. As the technicians were fully gowned up I was not sure if it was the same team of two or different ones?. There was another lady though that made the incisions for the hairline and the crown swirl who I was told was the most senior technician. It all started again with lots of injections into the top of my head, hairline and crown, followed by the incisions and planting of the grafts. This part took around 6 hours and I spent most of the time lying on my back or sat back with my head resting on a pillow. This allowed me to watch the satellite TV in the treatment room, which I had the remote control for! and I must have drove the technicians crazy by constantly flicking through the channels to find English programs!
After around 8.5 hours I was able to get up and a thick white cream was then rubbed over the donor area and a cotton pad and bandage was placed around the back and sides of my head. I was told that they had successfully implanted 3200 grafts. The two Kosovan guys were sat waiting for me in the seating area with their head bandaged like mine! we were seen by Dr Maral who gave tablets and post op care instructions and said that he would see me in the morning for another consultation. We were all then taken back to our hotels.
I got back to my room and sat upright in bed watching TV until 12pm. I then tried to get some sleep. I was given a medical cover to place on the pillows so no blood would stain them and I used the pillows to prop up my head whilst I slept on my back. I rolled up some blankets as well and tucked them by my sides to stop me trying to roll over in the night.
The next morning I had another hearty breakfast and I was then taken again along with the two Kosovan guys back to the clinic. I waited my turn and then went in to see Dr Maral. The Dr asked how I had slept and then removed the bandage and inspected the donor area. The Dr then cleaned the donor area with some type of solution and once the back of my head was exposed to the air it stung like mad for a while! The Dr then explained about the post op care, the tablets, creams and shampoo's. I was then given a trilby style hat for travelling home. After the final meeting with the Dr we were taken back to our hotels and spent the afternoon resting and walking around some local shops prior to travelling back to the UK the next morning.
I didn't experience any swelling or bruising afterwards only a bit of pain and numbness in the donor area followed by really bad inching, that lasted a number of weeks. I overcame the itching by taking antihistamine tablets, which really helped. I also got quite a lot of nasty spots on the donor and graft areas. However everything eventually settled down by 6 weeks after the op and then its a waiting game. I suppose we are all impatience for something to happen and this is the hardest part especially after all the grafts shed and you look worse than you did before! realistically it is only after 6 months that the real changes start and the new hairs come through.
