John101

Hi guys I found the forums and surgeon/clinic reviews on this site invaluable when considering my HT procedure so I thought I would add my experience of the HT process to possibly help others with their decision. I already had one FUT procedure in 2012 and found, like a lot of people on this network, that I wanted more density to my hair. I did not wish to have the strip method again and decided that FUE was the way I wanted to go. So after a lot of research on this site reading the reviews and peoples experiences with various surgeons I decided to contact Dr Bhatti at Darling Buds clinic. Communication I communicated by email with Dr Bhatti over a number of weeks and I was impressed by his speed of replies and the comprehensive detail of his communication, he also suggested we Skype but in the end I was satisfied by the level of information I received and decided to go ahead and book a procedure with Dr Bhatti. I was given a date within 6 weeks which at the time was the nearest available date. I assume this can obviously go up or down. Having researched most of the surgeons performing FUE on this site and also the reviews in the forums etc I found that the standard of work and overall package of quality, costs of procedure/travel was hard to beat in India. Travel and hotel I arranged my visa which is required to travel to India (checkout the VFS website). I live in Australia and this visa cost me $157(Aus) in Sydney and took 5 working days to obtain form the Indian High Commission. I flew from Sydney to Delhi which cost $1200 then from Delhi toChandigarh airport which cost $117.You can arrange with the clinic to be picked up by car at Delhi and driven to Chandigarh but after reading about the long time the journey took and already having just undertaken a long flight I decided to fly to Chandigarh. Dr Bhattis driver met me at Chandigarh airport and took me to the Altius hotel that I had booked, which is a commonly used hotel for people who use Darling Buds and cost $60 per night. It was perfectly adequate for the short time I would be there and also clean with friendly staff. Last year Darling Buds moved into bigger premises about 20mins from its previous location and ThePark Plaza hotel is nearerand also recommended. Day of procedure On the day of the procedure I was picked up by Dr Bhattis driver and taken to the clinic. On arriving at the clinic I was welcomed by his team of staff who provided some health forms for me to read through and sign, also ask questions as to my health etc all quite normal and expected. Then I dressed into the surgery outfit. Once this was out of the way I was taken to another room to provide a blood sample for testing with no problems there. All the time this was conducted in a relaxed but professional manner. Then afterwards Dr Bhatti came in and we discussed my reasons for having the procedure, obviously including what I wanted to achieve i.e more density, he then said what he thought was possible and I was happy we were both on the same page so I had no concerns. It was decided to take some grafts from under my chin in my beard area to increase the yield and I was happy with this. He then shaved my hair which was quite long and would have hindered the procedure. We then continued discussing the procedure and at all times he was personable, asking me questions and providing enough time for me to ask any questions or queries I had creating a relaxed atmosphere. His team then took me over and washed my head in preparation for the procedure. After a short time I was taken to the procedure room for the graft extraction and made comfortable on a bench facing downwards. You will be in this position for around 2/3 hours plus so its best to get comfortable and my advice is to not drink a lot of water before you go in as its obviously not good to be getting up to the bathroom during this time. Dr Bhatti entered the room checked everything was set and ready to go then proceeded to administer the anaesthetic, numbing the donor area. Other than an initial slight scratch from the injections there was no pain or discomfort and the area was soon starting to numb. Once the injections were done Dr Bhatti left the room while the anaesthetic took its full effect. As I understand Dr Bhatti undertakes 2 separate procedures in a day, one large i.e myself with 2000+ grafts and one smaller procedure of around 500 grafts. When he returned he checked the donor area was fully numb and added a bit more anaesthetic to any areas not quite fully anesthetised then proceeded to extract 2380 grafts. I was feeling relaxed and comfortable during the time with no pain and was regularly asked if I was feeling ok. After this was over I was allowed to get up and stretch for short period and then prepared for the beard graft extractions by having injections into the donor area under my chin. Again there was a slight scratch and the area was soon completely numb. Dr Bhatti extracted the 586 beard grafts and once he had finished his team dressed the donor areas and led me to another room to have lunch and relax for a time before the second part of the procedure implanting the removed grafts. His team were now busy preparing the grafts for implanting. After a nice lunch I was taken back into the procedure room and prepared for the placing of the grafts. Dr Bhatti came in an administered the anaesthetic to the recipient area, made all the incisions and then his two staff implanted the grafts. I felt no pain or discomfort during this time and his staff were friendly, constantly checking I was ok. From time to time Dr Bhatti would come in and check everything was ok. The whole procedure was completed in one day and when it was over I was taken back to my hotel with the donor area safely bandaged and a large loose fitting baseball cap on to protect the new grafts. I had no pain from the op during or after and slept fine through the night. I was provided with saline in a spray bottle to spray onto the grafted area every 30 mins or so. The next day I returned to the clinic the next day for his staff show me how to shampoo the new grafted area and the procedure to follow at home. Also I received a comprehensive bag of post op medications, hair shampoos, oils, saline and spray bottles along with a detailed booklet of instructions on how and when to use and take these meds etc, again his staff thoroughly explained everything in detail that was in the booklet and I felt satisfied and confident for the coming weeks. I flew home the day after and was completely happy with the experience and service I was provided with. All up I had 2966 grafts made up of: 933 singles 1056 doubles 891 triples The cost of surgery incl travel, visa and food etc was $7500(Aus) I found Dr Bhatti and his team very professional and friendly and would happily use Darling Buds in the future. So now it’s over to me to go through the waiting period and try (an fail) not look in mirrors for many months. I hope this review helps people when considering their surgeon options as other reviews helped me with deciding mine. I will post my pics soon