fueman

sorry for no updates, just have not got around to it.... i'm just over 6 months post op and will update very soon.... one side looks better than the other and overall the yield looks to be 70% so not fully happy... i'm hoping this improves in the coming months

i too had a similar experience waking up during the operation.... it was very brief for about 10 secs but it looked like a female and another guy (the 2 who extracted my grafts) were implanting the grafts.... i gave them the benefit of the doubt as i was drowsy and not 100% certain; but this thread confirms my suspicions.... no wonder they are keen on knocking everyone out before operation.... my guess would be Dr Hakan does the hairline, which is the tricky part and leaves the rest for his female assistant to do?!

Congrats on the op, hope it all works out well

don't worry about the transplanted hair falling out, its all normal

Hey buddy. Looks good.

Are you saying those who mention you hairloss first find out you have hairloss now?

I mean it was not so difficult to see before your HT, unless you used to hide it with concealer.

Hi Mate

my hair loss before although was there it was not too apparent... the pics i put in my opening post were to show the extent of my hair loss, but when i covered up it was much better...

I've added a few pics so you know what i mean:

Hello there.

Congratulations with your HT.

Is it normal to use gas to numb the patients?

Or did the doc ask you if you want it?

Also how Many grafts have you Got?

for me as it was a large procedure in one day, it was important to be under general anesthetic... however i was not gassed! lol for me it was by injection...

i was told they give that option to the patients to choose if they want local or general anesthetic? personally i would prefer local - that way you are awake and know who is doing what

Fueman - how hands on was Dr Doganay during the op, did he implant all the grafts himself, or did the techs do it ?

i was knocked out so have to take the surgery's word for it... he doesn't do the extractions but implants all the grafts himself

@ FUE2014. My request from the start was to fill in the crown. Some work was done on the strip scar as well. After surgery it was tough to see exactly how low the area of the crown (vertex)was filled in but apparently it was not. I will have to wait now after growth to see how it all fills in but based on the post op photo it will require another surgery of which I am not very excited about. My goal was to have accomplished my goal this time around based on the estimated 3500 grafts. The Dr. is working on this with me presently and has been responsive to my concerns.

i hope everything works out good for you at the end, you'll know in a few months if it gives you the coverage you are looking for

Sorry for the late update, i was meant to update monthly....

22 Feb 2014 was the 1 month mark....

70% of my transplanted hair has shed... i tried be as careful as i can be especially when washing by not being too aggressive, but to remove the hard dried crust that looks like dandruff it was inevitable, also using aloe vera lotion made a lot fall out.... i stopped using this now anyway...

i did let me hair grow hoping that i will get enough growth to cover up my bald patches, but it didnt work out, if anything it exposed my hairloss like never before, i even had 2/3 colleagues at work point out my hairloss! which never happened before...

last week i decided to shave it all off like BaldingBlogger suggested... i have to say it was a good decision, i was worried about the donor scaring not being fully healed, but its not as bad as i thought it would be... currently my hair is all shaven off to level 4 of my beard trimmer... now the 30% or less transplanted hair and native hair look almost the same and no balding signs seem obvious... although i'm still shedding! so don't know if my current look will hold lol

i have to say this "ugly duckling" phase is depressing and i cant wait to get out of it... i'm hoping by end of April i'll start seeing growth...

also i should mention i have had a lot of small bumps coming and going regularly in the recipient area.... and in my donor area i have been getting spots

its fine guys, i had the same concerns, i paid in to the same a/c (lloyds)

you got nothing to worry about

Any update? How did it go when you returned at work?

Any people mention anything ?

I'm just waiting for the 1 month mark to upload pics... i plan on putting a monthly update to see the progress. I was going to shave all my head down, but i need my hair to grow so that they can cover my donor region... so i left it to grow.

Unfortunately due to me having darker skin and thin hair in general, its taking longer for the donor region to be concealed... the positive at least is i have had no red markings at all... i think this is due to me not having fair skin and also i know Dr Hakan now offers PRP treatment for free... i think i was given this, i'm going to find out if i was as i don't know due to being unconscious during the whole procedure.

Nobody at work mentioned anything apart from the fact i'm gone bold.... i think it would have been better if pre-op i had very short hair, that way i wouldn't look too different now.

Currently my implanted hair are started to fall out i'm hoping they don't fall out too much until my existing hair start growing so that i can cover it up. My scalp is very dry and looks flakey, i'm using Aloe Vera Lotion to combat this.

It seems i'm in the "ugly duckling phase", i can't wait for next few months to go by until i start seeing improvement

Here's my thread on my FUE:

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/173801-dr-hakan-doganay-3367-grafts-22nd-jan-2014-pros-cons-nerve-pain-etc.html

there are no side effects of general or local anesthetics..... however if its a big session FUE eg 3000+ grafts in one go, then general is preferred, otherwise local, so you can see whats being done and by whom!

Antalya was nice, although i went to Istanbul straight after for 4 nights which was amazing and the people are real nice in general...

I had my hat on outside, but when i returned back to UK, i saw 2 fellow FUE patients in the airport without a hat on and no one even batted an eyelid.

For the deposit, take the cash and pay it in to the UK a/c given (no charge)

Hi guys , thanks for the advice so far , really appreciated plus I don't feel all alone now lol

 

Just a couple of questions i have advised to start using Biotin and Finesterida month before surgery ?

 

Where can I purchase and are these tablets important ?

 

BFA316 I was thinking of taking cash with me and pay in full but ahmet advised me to transfer 50% before treatment and the rest on the day ? Do you get charged to transfer Money via bank ? 8% percent is a lot on full payment .

 

Where will you be staying after the surgery ? Have they booked a hotel for you ?

 

4500 grafts in 2 sessions . Are you having manual or motor extraction , good luck bro please keep me updated , do you have any before pics?

 

Ahmet advised me to stay at the hospital after surgery but honestly speaking I can't stand hospital environments etc never mind staying the night hence I have told him I would like a hotel to stay in.

 

Fueman thank you for the advice matey , how was your experience after the surgery ? Are you taking any medication pre or post surgery? Yes I will be taking suitable clothing and hat

 

Where did you stay ?

i dont take meds pre or post, although i have started taking biotin tab a day which was provided. I was told to take 1/4 tab fin a day too, but i'm uncomfortable with taking it due to the potential side effects!!

I will start minoxidil 5% soon instead...

i stayed at blue garden hotel. nice hotel; was empty though not holiday season, only bad thing was the corner of the road was a hotspot for prostitutes, and i swear i saw one leaving the hotel once when i was entering it...

i stayed in hospital one night; post op, the food was nasty...but it was convenient for me, my op was under general anesthetic so i was proper dazed after the op

You need a visa to travel to turkey and return?

yes it cost ?10 at the Airport, also i'm pretty sure it has to be a ?10 note only, no change...

it last for 6 months...

getting it online saves all the hassle and its real easy to sort out, although the cost is $20 so converting it works out just slightly more than ?10

Saj if you need any advise let me know...

make sure you take with you a travel pillow

very loose hat (head is going to be slightly swollen - also not wool type)

get your visa online (avoid queue)

https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/

take zipped hoodys, buttoned tops etc

something i didnt do - take an empy spray bottle, so you can spay on your head every couple of hours to keep moist, this will help in removing scabs

Hi Bradford.

 

Good luck. I'm booked in with Dr Hakan on the 7/8th March for 4500-5000 grafts.

 

Absolutely right about Ahmet at the clinic, nice guy and literally replied to each email within minutes.

 

Out of curiosity, how do you plan on paying? They told me there was 8% card charge if I paid with my debit card after the surgery, so I am planning on transferring the funds before I go.

 

Regards,

 

BFA

i just had an HT last month with Dr Hakan

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/173801-dr-hakan-doganay-3367-grafts-22nd-jan-2014-pros-cons-nerve-pain-etc.html

I paid 20% advance by bank, the rest i paid in cash (pounds)... just take the money with you

I have never used meds before, i want to use kirkland minoxidil 5%, i'm 2 weeks post op at the moment. When would be a good time to start using it?

i had a hat on from the very next day, no problems whats so ever.... just make sure its loose and not a wool hat. I had a flatcap myself.

When placing it on your head make sure you put it on from front to back i.e put it on your forehead first and then the rest of your head, similarly when taking it off, do so from the back first..... you dont want to damage the grafts!

Day 15

99% of the scabs are gone, hair still growing, i'm getting the odd pimple.

Still taking 1 Biotin tablet a day, i have ordered: Doctors Best MSM Powder which hopefully will increase my hair growth!

I'm still applying Aloe Vera lotion.

Donor scaring looks bad, my hair has not grown fast enough to cover it. I'm real concerned about this as Day 19 i'm back to work. There is no way it is going to get covered by then. I think i will just phone in sick for the week; i need all the days i can get.... 3 weeks just was not enough for me!

I've also got uneven hair growth all over which makes the HT more obvious. I'm thinking of trimming it with my hair trimmer but i'm not sure if its too early?

Dr Hakan Doganay, Antalya, Turkey. I had my FUE 11 days ago by him

Thanks for the replies, i did read your threads before i had my op... good to see things are going well with your FUE

i'm in Day 11 now:

The nerve pain has drastically reduced, i hardly feel much pain now, still feeling the itch but not as bad as before, i'm using the Aloe Vera Lotion all over my head now which seems to be helping, it also is helping with the scabs, however i'm a bit concerned that my scabs are not going away!

I have no choice but to start rubbing the recipient area, i have been doing this since yesterday day 10. I'm gently rubbing with the shampoo. Scabs have started to come off but so have a lot of hair with the scabs; which i would love to avoid if i could but it seems unavoidable!!

is losing a lot of hair with scabs normal??

I'm glad i took 3 weeks off work and not 2, i would have been proper stressed now if i didn't with the long

time its taking with the scabs to be removed...

OK this is just another Dr Hakan Doganay thread., there seem to be so many lately.

I had a FUE 7 days ago, since I have been a long term lurker on this forum I may as well make my own topic and contribute, hopefully my experience may help someone else just like many peoples’ post on here have for me.

History

I started noticing hair loss at the hairline when I was 17. I’ve always had the M looking hairline as far as I can remember, I think I was born with it, but after noticing how much it had receded out the blue(maybe inch and half each side) I was shocked. Since then I have been covering it up. I’ve been doing this for the last 16 years. I’m 33 now. Over this time it has been getting worse, I would say when I turned 30 it started getting more aggressive. I can talk about how it got to a stage it effected my life, how I had to change my face direction according to the wind, how every other hour at work I had to go to toilet to cover my bold spots, or here’s one for you, there is a girl I knew and liked I once saw her in town, I wanted to approach her but it was extremely windy and my hair was a mess, i looked awful so I didn’t approach her, that was the last time I saw her! I could go on and on but then I’ll be here forever writing about it, so I rather not…. To cut the story short it got to a stage my temples, frontage, including the hairline centre got so severe that I couldn’t do the comb over thing properly. To top this up pun intended I noticed my crown has been receding fairly badly too, I never noticed how bad until I took some pics with intention to send to FUE surgeons. I also have a weird shape head so going bold would not suit me!

Research

I’ve been waiting it out to find the right time to do the FUE, researching etc… my older brother is a Norwood 6; his hair loss had been more aggressive than mine at my age. My dad is 4 and he is in his 60’s, I didn’t want to do it too early and lose more hair, at the same time I want to enjoy my 30’s to the fullest and not worry about hair issues for now.

I chose Dr Hakan due the price and the good results I’ve seen of him, also the communication was very good, very fast replies to my queries which is very important to me. I was booked in for 2 days, told I will need around 3000 grafts. So I booked 3 weeks off for work, hopefully this should be more than enough for people to not notice anything.

Day of operation

Mass confusion just my luck, I was meant to have surgery originally 22 and 23 Jan, but about 10 days before I asked if I could have it 21 and 22 as I was arriving on 21 and that way I will have more days to recover. I wanted this as I planned on going to Istanbul for a 4 nights after. I was told that is fine, but when I got there, there was some mix up. They couldn’t do 21st. I was told 23 they have 2 other people booked in so Dr Hakan wants to do it in 1 day! Not what I wanted to hear after all that planning. I was very uncomfortable about 1 day op, especially potential trauma to donor issues. The only reason I went ahead with it at the and is they convinced me, especially the other Dr whose name I cant remember. Dr Hakan has about 10 nurses, the grafts are not out too long and kept in the same solution that is used in when carrying a heart in a heart transplant, they have done many large operations in 1 day in the past too. They recommend less than 3500 grafts a day.

Actual day of operation

Met Dr Hakan, there is a nice calm presence about him, you feel relaxed in his company. Went over the hairline with him and the other Dr, was told my donor hair is thin and not great. I wanted my temples done as well. I have seen a lot of hair operation work and to me not having the temples done looks odd on many patients.

I was then told to relax in my room for a couple of hours. 12.00pm was time of operation, I went to the operating room full of nurses and was told to take my clothes off, which I found rather strange as I could of done this without going right up to the nurses. It turns out they just wanted my top off lol, lucky or unlucky for the nurses

My head was shaven, whilst waiting for Dr Hakan to come, I asked to have my hairline re-drawn for the second time, the one I chose first was too aggressive and the one recommended was too conservative. I realised I need to be more sensible due to my hairloss at the top. So I had another drawn in the middle (many will think its still aggressive). Dr Hakan drew it with a marker and his laser tool. I felt the right side was higher than the left, he adjusted it (I’ll talk about this later), I was introduced to another Dr who was a pleasant fellow who did the extractions.

Due to the size of the operation I was going to be under general anaesthetics for the operation. For the grafts I was given an injection which I hardly felt pain 2/10. So the extractions begin. I only felt slight pain 2/10 and the feeling of the cuts twice and both times I was give more injections to numb the site. Before I knew it I was told its done, turn over. Now after I turned over I don’t recall a thing. I just remember waking up and told its done.

I was escorted to my room as I was very drowsy, I asked for the time, it was 6.20pm. So the whole process took just over 6 hours with zero pain! I was told I will rest for the night. The first thing I did in the room was look at the job. The first thing I noticed was that the hair line was slightly bent. The right side was still a little higher. Its very minor about 1 mm but I notice it. I’m not too happy about it although at the same time when it grows it shouldn’t make any difference hopefully and, not everyone’s hairlines are symmetrical. Other than that everything looked good. Due to the drugs and Travel pillow I had a good nights sleep.

Day 1

Had bandages removed, minor bruising on forehead, hair washed, meds given, made payment. The washing the hair stung the recipient area, the pain was more than whole operation I told the nurse who later told Dr Hakan who couldn’t stop laughing. I was told I had 3367 grafts. 2700 in the front and 667 in and around the crown.

Single Graft 1492

Double Graft 1750

Triple Graft 125

I feel I needed more in the crown, also the grafts on the top are spaced out kind of all over. I was told that this was due to not risking/harming existing native hair. I think I will not have the coverage I desired for the crown, which to be honest I kind of knew will be the case. Maybe in the future I might use beard hair for the crown depending on how things go.

I talked to Dr Hakan about any questions I had and then went to the Hotel, nothing much to report. I was given a Nike bucket hat to wear, luckily I was provided this as my hat even though was loose, due to the swelling I was too tight. I folded the front part of the hat up as it was hard to judge size and wanted to avoid bumping my head.

I was given meds and post op instructions.

Body lotion & Shampoo for use 3 times a day for 2 weeks

Vitamin H Tablets 1 a day

Small tabs to take for the swelling for a couple of days

Some next tablet x10 to take for 5 days I think it was called Efigin

Finersteride tabs given.

I told Dr Hakan that I have never taken any meds ever and have no intention to take any in the future. I was told that is my choice although if I do take the finns then I should take just a ? a day due to the potential side effects. I think I will have to start taking something for the crown area now, but after reading up on the side effects of finersteride I will not take this for sure.

Sleeping was awkward upright, I got maybe 1 hours sleep from 8 hours of trying.

Day 2

On my way to Istanbul, making sure I don’t bump my head anywhere, sleeping was same; I kept waking up and maybe managed another 1 hour proper sleep.

Day 3

Travelling about exploring Istanbul but not pushing it, I don’t want too much stress on my head, I don’t want to sweat either, also I have to wash hair 3 times in a day.

Proper bad stinging sensations have started all over, I must resist! Still sleeping upright. Maybe got a couple of hours sleep after waking up so many times.

Day 4

Same as day 3, stinging sensation, I want to itch so bad! Started getting pain in donor area, I start checking up on neurological pain, sleeping is getting hard due to the pain 5/10

Day 5

Same as day 4 but nerve pain getting more frequent, sleeping is so so hard, I keep waking up!

Day 6

Travel back to UK, I see a guy in the airport with a black bandage on who looked like he only just had the FUE a few hours ago. Then I see another guy, a white older age gentlemen on the same plane as me who just had an FUE done as well. I didn’t speak to him due to the circumstances at the time, but it seems a lot of people are going for hair transplants to Turkey.

Still getting itching feeling, but the donor area nerve pain is on the next level now 6/10, but when trying to sleep/lean on travel pillow pain 8/10. I had one pain killer tablet given to me at the clinic to take if felt pain straight after the operation. I never need it until now. After tablet the tablet I felt no pain, finally i get a good nights sleep.

Day 7

Wow that tablet was powerful, I feel drowsy. Also all that travelling yesterday did upset my stomach system. I needed to go the toilet ASAP, I was drowsy and needed to go, when you gotta go you gotta go! I rushed in, closed the door and immediately banged my head on the door frame. I cant believe it all that travelling and I bang my head at home, lucky I’m 7 days in and nothing looks out of sorts. Nerve pain is still there, but it has not increased thank God. I’m guessing I have it due to the general anaesthetics and having a large op in 1 day, but this is all guess work, I have read about small FUE procedures resulting in nerve pain too. I guess I’m unlucky in this sense as it does not effect most patients.

A couple of transplanted hair shed today, I’m not too worried as this is expected now, scabs are started to loosen a little. My transplanted hair has already grown a lot in 7 days which I think is encouraging even though I expect most of it to fall out.

I started using Aloe Vera lotion (with Jojoba Oil and Vitamin E) on the donor area today to keep things moist, I will start using it in the transplanted area from maybe day 9. I also had some Co-dyramol Tablets so that I have relief for the pain, I got a nice sleep. I could start to sleep normal now without travel pillow but I’m the type of sleeper that twists and turns a lot so I don’t want to mess the recipient area just yet. Even though I,m sleeping with my travel pillow I wouldn’t say I’m sleeping 90 degree angle, I just use that and use a pillow length ways so I sleep flat and don’t turn on my sides.

To summarize

Operation is an operation, big or small still a pain in the ass, well actually pain in the head is more appropriate lol. The negatives for me are I had my operation in 1 day and not 2 which I wanted. The hairline is slightly bent. The occipital nerve pain is not nice and I pray it is temporary and goes away soon. The pros, the work itself looks real good, I have a hairline I never had before, I still can’t believe it, I already look many years younger, I can’t wait for 6 months mark to see the real results., so far no regrets.

Apologies for the bad pic quality