B-KW

Same exact thing happened to me. Glad i flew back home next day. I regret not using a headband while on airplane. It seemed that after 3-4 hours of flight the swelling went down from forehead to eyelids/nose much faster. Not sure if this is a coincidence or has something to do with high altitude.

His staff mostly work second jobs by the way. The secretary lady who makes you sign those medical contracts told me that she used to be an assistant/technician in his old clinic which was much bigger. She used to perform lazer hair removal and still does but at a different clinic now (after working hours) since the new place is much smaller. I found this out after asking why the pictures of the clinic on his website look different.

Exactly what i was thinking! I also wondered why his prices were so cheap. Could be that they are set to meet what locals can afford, but then again the area the clinic is located in is full of wealthy celebrities and football players. I was also told by his staff that he was offered several opportunities to perform surgeries abroad in countries like Dubai/UAE all of which he has turned down because he wants to remain close to his family. This is according to his secretary and agent.

Congratulations! sounds like you had an overall positive experience like i did. You seem like an awesome candidate for this procedure btw, tons of grafts to spare by the looks of it. Please post some of the post-op pics if you can, so we can get a better idea of how the new graft placement looks like. Cheers and happy growing

My opinion is to compare methods/tools of extraction and implantation and go with whatever is most appealing (along with your budget ofcourse). 4500-6500 grafts extracted in 2 sessions would be quite exhausting if done manually in my opinion, especially if your aiming for the maximum graft count. To me micro motor seems far more efficient. But keep in mind that graft survival rate will depend on how skilled/experienced your doctor is with the tool, as the doctor will be removing grafts at a much faster rate and there would obviously be much higher risk of transection. As far as im aware both Dr. Hakan Doganay and Dr. Erkan Demirsoy use this method with high success rate and very minimal scarring in the donor area. Best of luck with your future HT very nice list of doctors btw

You're welcome Going2013 and hey Clemens nice to see you here Quick update. I have been shedding hairs from recipient area ever since scabs fell off. This week shedding has increased to about 30-40 hairs a day (only what i can see). Will post update pictures once i hit 30 days. I am now 19 days post op.

Hey dingdong12, yes i did book through Mr. Weber. He made my trip alot easier and was present to provide much needed translation between me and the doctor. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions, i would rather answer them in private as to avoid turning this thread into a promotional one if you know what i mean. Best of luck with your HT!

Hey guys, i will be answering a few PM questions i recieved from some members. With regards to post-op products i was given for free by doctor: 1. Bepanthol Lotion to apply 20-30mins each day for the first week right before washing my hair (this is mainly used to loosen up scabs). I was told to apply it more often after week 1 however i did not need to as i lost all scabs on day 8. 2. Sebamed shampoo once a day for wash (i have sensitive skin and this stuff works great) 3. Batticon (i think this is betadine brown solution) i was told to only apply this stuff on areas that were bleeding so i never used it as i healed fast. The technician actually applied this stuff right after my follow up wash. However my head looks clean in the post-op photo because it had just been washed. That is also the reason why u see a little fresh blood on my head in that photo. The Batticon solution was applied immediately after photo was taken. 4. Apranax 275mg According to google this is a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug that decreases pain. doc told me to take this stuff once a day only when i was feeling intense pain. used it first week on and off. With regards to bleeding, doc said i did not bleed much during surgery which is good. I made sure to stop any energy drinks or coffee 1 week before operation. This helped alot. I have stopped using bepthanol lotion since day 8-9 and purchased some pure aloe vera gel from pharmacy to apply on back donor area. I usually rub it onto scalp after shower and let it sit for 10-20 minutes before rinsing. makes the area feel really cool and gets rid of itching. One last thing to note is that i did have some pretty intense pain in my back donor area on day 4-5. Felt like i was being pinched by a hundred needles constantly (woke me up from my sleep early at one point). But that has all gone away and i am feeling fine for the past few days. The pain killers that doc gave me helped.

Thank you hairshopeing. The pre-op instructions do not ask you to stop smoking. However they do ask you to stop any hair loss medication such as propecia, rogain, etc. and resume 3 weeks after surgery. I too was curious so i asked the doc on day 2 and he said that i am still young and had nothing to worry about. He mentioned that older patients (40 and above) usually have much slower healing and quitting would obviously be beneficial to them. I did cut down quite alot though, from 1.5 packs a day down to 5 cigs during the week of surgery and now up to 10. I'll probably stay around 10 for the next few months. Very very hard for me to quit, been through it all (e-cigs, patches, pills). If i had the willpower you have i would definitely not smoke again. Do you even get any urges to smoke after quitting for 3 months? If i were you i'd stay clean and healthy. But who am i to say that, my longest time off was 4 days .

Thank you Future_HT_Doc, i will definitely keep you guys updated with better quality pictures in the future. I would also like to add that i am well aware that 3000 grafts will not give me that much density. I am not looking for that, too much density would look unnatural and wouldn't blend in with my sides. I'll be more than happy with any form of decent coverage.

Taken today. Looks great, feels great back seems to have thinned out but too early to tell (hair is way too short). still a bit numb right above the hairline in the mid/front area. Really hope i get some growers but i wont be too sad if it all sheds Again sorry for the bad quality.

sorry for the bad quality. still using iphone. will be purchasing a digital camera for my future photos.

First and foremost I would like to say hello everyone and a big thank you to all the members, mods, and publishers that helped create such an informative forum for hair restoration. Long time lurker here… however, this will be my first post. I was originally going to wait 6 months before posting my results but figured I would create the thread as I noticed a few people here were going to have transplants with the same doctor over the next few weeks. Hopefully this will help you gain a better understanding as there is very little info on this forum about Dr. Demirsoy. I am currently only 2 weeks post op but will update with pictures as time goes by. Doctor: Erkan Demirsoy Location: Turkey - Istanbul Grafts: 3,033 Method: FUE Micro Motor (0.7-0.8mm punches) Price: 1 Euro/graft (negotiated through an agency that works with Dr. Erkan Demirsoy) Why I chose Dr. Erkan Demirsoy: Well, I had intended to have my operation done in Turkey regardless. I’ve heard about and seen so many positive results coming from there. I was also aware that the country was an ideal place to have my HT done with regards to price vs quality. To me, price was probably the most important factor but I was not willing to settle for just any doctor butchering me for the right price. In short words, I wanted the best possible results for my budget which was anywhere between 5000-8000 Euro. My story: I am a 26 year old Canadian national currently living abroad. Have suffered from hairloss since the age of 17 but noticed minor signs as early as 14. I have been a heavy smoker for well over 10 years (1.5 packs a day) and the country I was born, partially from, and currently living in (Kuwait) is notorious for having some of the world’s best tasting junk food. I mean every single corner you take you will find some kind of restaraunt and every single food you can think of can be delivered right to your doorstep…. Luckily I have a fairly high metabolism rate. But the reason why im telling you this is because I believe that my bad smoking habit, combined with my horrible diet of fast food every other day resulted in a very unhealthy set of hair. I am not fully blaming my hairloss on the above factors though as I know that most of it is a result of heredity/genetics. My hair was starting to look a lot like my dad’s. However I knew for a fact that I was going bald at a much faster rate than he was. Consultation: I had 2 consultations, 1 through the agent in which my pictures were forwarded to Dr. Demirsoy. Few days later I got a response back from the agent giving me the doctor’s advice on whether I was a suitable candidate, number of grafts, etc. However one thing that made me worried was that the doctor claimed “your hair was unhealthy looking and could result in under-performance”. At the same time though, I was pleased that the doctor mentioned this because I already knew how unhealthy my hair was. It also showed me that he did not care so much about my money and would rather be honest even if it means to deter a customer rather than mislead me into having an operation for the sake of gaining money. The second consultation was done early in the morning of session 1. Immediately after arriving at the clinic I was approached by all staff and they seemed very friendly. The agent whom I had booked the appointment with was also present to translate from English to Turkish (as the doctor does not speak English) One of the technicians started rubbing her fingers through my donor area before I could say hi lol. Dr Demirsoy came in the room and as I had expected he immediately pointed out that I have very serious diffuse hair loss all around my scalp (including donor). He mentioned that my iphone pictures which were sent through the agent did not show the diffused hair to this extent. Word of advice to anyone looking to have an online consultation…please don’t use your iphone to take photos because the image quality will always be crap. I asked what the maximum grafts he might be able to harvest. He said that originally he had thought 4500 grafts was possible however after taking a closer look it was more around 3000. The doc also mentioned that he would not be satisfied to perform an operation like this because it would lead to underperformance. He said that I was still at an early age and that my sides would most likely recede after a few years unless I hopped on some medication. I asked him whether he would go through with this procedure had he been in my shoes and he immediately said no. Doc said that all locals (of my age 26) that come in with diffused hair like this (especially sides as thin as mines) are usually turned away for their own good. They are asked to return a few years down the line once their hair loss has stabilized. At this point I’m sure you can tell how bad I felt… I have been holding up on this procedure for 5 years if not more. Doc said he would step out to let me and my mom (who had been there with me) discuss our options. I honestly could not wait any longer for this procedure, so when the doc returned I asked him if he was willing to go through with it. He said that the only reason he would was because he knew how desperate I was to have the operation done and because I had gone through the trouble of flying over to see him (in a respectful manner). So I let him draw the lines on my scalp to give me an idea of what I could fill with an estimated graft count of 3000. We decided to leave the crown area as it is and focus on hairline + upper portion of scalp. I could later treat the crown with meds. The clinic: Located in an apartment complex on a busy street named Bagdat Cadessi. Lots of clothing stores, restaurants, and bars around the area. The clinic was super clean. I had to put a small plastic bag on my shoes before entering. That was more than enough to give me a good first impression with regards to the clinic’s hygiene. Prior to surgery I was given clothes (scrubs?) and a clean pair of slippers to roam around with. There are also several balconies incase you are a smoker like myself. They served me lunch/refreshments in between breaks. Overall good experience. Surgery: Head was shaved, doc redrew lines, and another set of before photos were taken. Anesthesia was given by a technician. I would say this is the only thing close to pain that I had experienced throughout the procedure. The rest was painless. My hands were shaking like crazy as it was my first time having any kind of operation, doc laughed when I showed him how shaky my hands were. I was given a pill which helped calm me down though (do not recall what name of pill was). Shortly after, doc began removing 1500 grafts using the micro motor tool. A technician was dissecting the grafts at the same time. Had a few short breaks in between. Not exactly sure how long it took to remove the grafts but if I were to guess I would say 2-3 hours to remove about 1500. Once grafts were removed, anesthesia was given in recipient area then I took a 20 minute break for lunch and a smoke. Doc then made incisions in recipient area and 2 technicians inserted the grafts. Day 2 was similar, I arrived at 8:30am and was out by 4-5pm or so. Another 1500’ish grafts were transferred. My overall experience: Unfortunately I do not have any idea how many 1’s/2’s/3’s etc grafts were used as I forgot to ask the doctor. However I do know that 3,033 grafts were transplanted. I also believe that this doctor is 100% legit and honest. When I got back home, I looked through the cd of pics he had given me and noticed that he took pictures of the grafts aswell. I cannot tell you whether I am happy with the results yet as I am only 2 weeks post op. However, I am very happy with the professional work done by Dr. Demirsoy and his technicians so far. Also, I have healed alot faster than I thought (still smoking about half pack of cigs a day unfortunately.. not able to quit). Scabs all fell off on day 7-8. Have noticed a few hairs shedding here and there, nothing out of the ordinary. I just really like the way the hair has blended in with my sides so far. Grafts seem well aligned. I did have pretty bad swelling from day 2-5 under my eyes, sides of head, etc.. but I look and feel normal now. Bit of tingling in the donor area that’s about it. Thank god I flew back home the day after surgery though, would have been a little embarrassing to be out in public with all that swelling in the eyelids. Medication: I have been taking biotin supplement since day 4 post op. I was also told by doc to start using minoxidil beginning from 3 weeks post op which I might. Reason why I say I might is because we all know how much of a pain it is to apply that stuff twice a day, gets annoying. Much rather take a pill. So I’m also on Avodart 0.5mg now. I never knew they sold that stuff here (Kuwait) but after arriving home I went to the pharmacy to purchase my biotin and decided to ask. To my surprise the lady said she had it, so I ended up purchasing a pack of 30 capsules (without prescription too, lady behind counter did not seem to care). Oh and the best part, it was only 12.540KWD (45 bucks?) Cheaper than propecia… lucky me! Lets just hope I don’t get hit with any serious sides.. Doc also advised me to have some bloodwork done and see if I have any kind of deficiency (iron, etc). I will have that done sometime next week. If you have any questions regarding my HT please do not hesitate to PM me. I cannot give you any medical advice however, sorry. Thanks for reading! pics will be posted below shortly.