BaldCoot

Hello Fredifredo, A mini FUE is indeed where a surgeon shaves only a very small patch at the back of the head and removed hundreds, NOT thousands of donor follicles. This means that the donor area can be covered over with existing hairs and the small number of donor hairs are transplanted where needed. The donor area can be similar in size to the section of skin that is removed for a FUT procedure. In many cases the procedure is undetectable, but of course it depends where the donor hairs are being placed. Also the remaining hairs at the back of the head need to be a couple of cm long to cover over the donor area. It is an alternative procedure for those who do not want their whole head shaved or a major part of the head shaved at the back, and are happy for small incremental changes.

Hello fredifredo, Thanks for your post. I am planning on another FUE procedure, especially for the sides of my head. It is clear that more work is needed there to blend in my HT with my remaining hairs at the sides. If a surgeon can fill in some of the back too that would also be great, but that is not such a big goal for me. Realism is very important for people like me with a high Norwood level. I hope I could obtain another 2000-3000 follicles on my head if a surgeon also uses some beard hair too. I am in fact happy to go for additional FUE procedures, particularly mini FUE procedures, but there are not many clinics who offer them. A mini FUE would mean that I could keep my existing new hair without having it all removed again, but only taking hair from a small area at the back of the head or even just the beard. I have come across one major clinic in London that offers mini FUE procedures, but it would mean several visits. It is a shame that virtually all other clinics to not offer mini FUEs, as I am sure this would be a great business opportunity for any HT clinic. Baldcoot.

Hello abcd0000, Thank you for your comment. After my HT I had a certificate from Dr Maral which stated 3,900 follicles were transplanted. I have no reason to question this number. It appears realistic considering the donor area they had available to them and the result I have received so far.

Hello Kimi, Thanks for your reply and the link to your thread. Looks like your HT result is overall very good. You were lucky in having much more to start with than me. Anyway, I hope you will have better result over the next few months regarding the growth on your crown area. You are only at 7 months. Regarding other HT surgeons, I have done some research, but will do some more before I make further plans on this. However, I will mention Dr Bhatti in India. I have seen some very good results from him on this forum using beard hair, as well as HTs in the crown area. He is also a future possibility if Dr Maral cannot help me.

Thank you so much for your warm, welcoming comment!

Hello UK43, Just a note to thank you very much for your excellent thread and write-up of your experience with Dr Maral. It was because of your thread on this forum that I ended up going to Dr Maral myself last summer/autumn for a HT. I have just started a thread showing my results after 7 months (pics showing results after 6 months here): Norwood 7 HT with Dr Maral, Istanbul - Forum By and for Hair Loss Patients All the best. BaldCoot.

Here are the pictures of the results after just over 6 months:

Hello everyone, I am a Norwood 7 and had an FUE procedure in 2013 (about 7 months ago now) with Dr Maral in Istanbul, Turkey. I had 3,850 follicles implanted and I thought I would share my results with you here. I hope my results will be informative for those people who are considering Dr Maral and his team for a HT procedure. As you can see below, I am a bit older than most people on this forum, and also a Norwood 7 with advanced hair loss, so I am not the typical HT case. First, a bit about me. I am a professional bean counter (also known as a CPA or chartered accountant) and I am based in Germany. I have been losing my hair since I was about 20 years old, that’s 27 years now. Over the years I have tried various hair treatments including medications such as Minoxidil, and even a ‘magic comb’, but without any success whatsoever. About 10 years ago I gave up and abandoned all hope of changing my appearance. However, a year ago I happened to come across something on the internet about how HTs have changed and that there were new surgical procedures that were much more successful than the old plug treatments. I investigated and found out about a particular HT clinic in Belgium offering FUE and FUT procedures, so last summer I contacted them for an online consultation. I didn’t get a response until after a month. They wanted EURO 10,000 for 2,500 follicles using FUE. I was not particularly impressed by the cost or at the speed of their response, so I decided to research further and came across this HT forum via Google. In particular, I came across UK43’s thread on this forum about his experience with Dr Maral. His thread was a real eye-opener for me and I became hooked. The question for me was not if, but when and where would I go to get a HT. I ended up contacting Dr Maral, along with some other HT surgeons in Turkey, but was rejected by a couple of them who curtly told me they could not help me. For me the main objective was to create a natural hairline and to cover as much of my completely bald head as was realistically possible with a surgeon that I would be comfortable using. Dr Maral was without question offering the best value-for-money deal (in my opinion), so I decided to go with him. I have not regretted my decision. I found Dr Maral and his staff to be very friendly and helpful and very competent. Now after c.7 months, I am overall very pleased with my results considering how much my appearance has changed and how much I paid. For me it has been fantastic value for money! I do however, have some issues just like everybody else who has a HT. My HT is not perfect – the hairline in my opinion is too high and could have been a slightly different/better design - but Dr Maral was dealing with a very advanced case of hairloss and he did what was realistically possible, and I am very grateful to him and his team for what they have done. Before anyone asks, I am not taking any meds and have absolutely no intention of taking any meds for cosmetic reasons. They never worked before and I do not intend to start using them again now. Regarding a second HT, yes I will and am considering a second HT with Dr Maral. I have limited donor hairs remaining so I am looking at a second procedure that will utilise some beard hair as well. I have not spoken to Dr Maral yet about this so I might end up using another surgeon for my next procedure, if he rules out beard hair. I would particularly like changes made to the temple areas, a change in the hairline and the sides. I do not expect to get my crown area completely covered, but I am really not bothered by that. For me what is most important is for the front and sides to look as natural and full as possible using the limited hairs I have available. My hair will always look thin, but considering where I have come from and my age, that will be the least of my concerns. Ok, I will first post a couple of pre HT pics then will post some pics showing results after my first 6 months. I know my pics will not satisfy many people on this forum. From comments I have recently read on this forum I expect some people will rubbish my HT, but that does not matter. What does matter is what I think - and I think Dr Maral and his team have done a great job in completely transforming both my appearance and how I feel about myself in a very positive way. If anyone is interested I am happy to upload a range of pictures covering each month, showing progression over the past 6 months. These pictures have been taken with a flash, so they will appear a little starker than how my hair appears in reality. Unfortunately, it is a problem when using flash photography. Anyway, I hope you get a pretty good idea of how my results have turned out so far. Pre op: