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Ready4Hair, rest assured this is not a marketing term. In fact, when I sat down with him, (with my advanced NW5 pattern) he assured me that we would be going for "the illusion" of hair... and that it would not be perfect. This is why I think you'll get such a great result! The man gave his honest opinion of both our situations with very different assessments. I would have preferred yours, but I'm pretty happy with what I have going...and growing!

Hi Denny, You "know me," through my wife Amy (in the U.S.). I took the plunge last April, and am coming along well! She tells me ASMED wanted to get my pre-op and post-op pics up, and was hoping I could have them help facilitate this? It's pretty astounding how far this head has come in 9 months, and I'd like to share Dr. Erdogan's work!

Temple points were very important to me. Like you, I have noticed that if this is not done properly on higher norwoods, it tends to look unnatural... or "off" at the very least. Dr. Erdogan did temple points for me at my request. He did not initially think they were necessary, but I insisted. After a few iterations with the blue sharpie, we had temple points that I think work great. His concern was that with my advanced balding he wanted to use the grafts elsewhere. But again, I insisted. I think you are smart to do the same if you think you need them restored.

BetterLate, you have done an amazing job chronicling your journey with Dr. Erdogan. As a NW V, I had a two-day 4,900 graft session with him last May. I'm rapidly approaching the 1 year mark, and very happy with my results thus far. Ready4Hair reached out to me recently with some questions, and has inspired me to post my progress. I will not be as prolific a writer as you, but hope to give some additional visuals (and a little insight) that might help the men out there struggling with the decision. Again, bravo on this thread! I wish it had been on the forum when I was making my decision almost a year ago!

I can't really contribute any thoughts on the two docs you mentioned. I can just add that I recently had a 4,900 FUE performed by Dr. Erdogan. I think you're saying you view manual FUE as a benefit, and Erdogan does use manual FUE exclusively. Unfortunately, I don't have any results to report yet. Just a great experience that was very affordable.

Thanks RoyB, I haven't made it to 3 weeks yet, so no working out... I'm really not sure what is causing all this annoying acne on the back of my head. I was planning on starting back up, but if working out exacerbates the problem, i might hold off... I will try out your other advice though. I especially like #4! Probably the hardest!!!

oh well, that's what I get for trying to attach a picture. Anyway, Rootz, thanks! I haven't tried the witch hazel thing. I haven't heard of that. It helps take the redness away too? Would you alternate? Once in the morning with one, and do the other at night? Or would you layer them?

How about rocking this look? I would just have to take some scissors to my pants and I'm all set! lol

What about the donor area? I'm getting a lot of little pimples where the grafts were removed. I've never read that is normal. Anyone else experience this? The only thing I've read about pimples is that it is the new hairs breaking through. I'm only 2 weeks post-op, so I am not expecting them to appear up on top for quite some time. But to have a bunch in the back and sides looks... well, really awesome, you know? lol

Thanks voxman, yes you're right. It's the recipient area. Not just the recipient, as 90% of it actually looks pretty good. It's the new hairline that looks like I'm wearing a red headband. I'll have to post a pic so you guys can see. The worst part is it doesn't blend at all. I have pointy sides which are meant to blend into my sideburns where the temple points were re-built. That's probably the most obvious "red" flag that something just isn't quite right. Since21, I did start using pure aloe vera. You're right, I probably should have run it by my doc, but I researched a lot on this forum, and it seemed to be pretty standard advice. Unfortunately, it doesn't really seem to do the trick, so I was hoping if I put the question out there, maybe some other guys have had success with other treatments? Guys? I even used Vit E oil twice, but it was like spreading molasses on my head, and didn't seem to help either. If I could just live under a hat, none of this would matter! Come next Monday, it's back to a suit and tie. I don't think that would work with a baseball cap... Or maybe I could start a new trend...

That's awesome news! My HT was FUE, so the recipient is the area that is really red. You can't really tell anything happened in the donor area. To add insult to injury I'm losing the transplanted hair at the hairline, so the redness is REALLY visible now... Any suggestions to help with this area? Help it heal? Help camouflage? Anything? And Since21, was your recipient area really red too? I'd love to hear how long I can expect this to go on. Thanks

I just had 4,900 grafts added to the hairline, temple points, mid, and crown of this very balding head of mine. 2,500 of those were added just in the hairline. I'm about 2 weeks post-op and everything is healing great. Scabs are gone, and I have a great head of hair! (I was a NW5) The problem is that the one inch line from ear to ear that created my new hairline is VERY, VERY red. The HT itself looks so great, I thought for sure the redness would subside, but unfortunately, it is still super red. No chance of taking off the hat. To make matters worse, I'm worried that the hat is aggravating it even further. Besides living under this hat, do you have any advice to help heal this area? Camouflage it? I'd love to just hear other experiences so I know what I'm in for in the next days (months?) Thanks

Thanks again Spanker, Does the average hair per graft number mean much? How do my numbers look? Some of the factors you mentioned (like yield), won't be realized for some time, so I'm looking at the data in front of me, wondering if it means much, if anything! What do you think? Do you see this info reported much, and does there seem to be any relationship to a good result? Thanks again

Thanks Spanker If I'm doing the math right, that equals approximately 10,361 hairs. (assuming "multiples" means 4 hairs). Again, not sure what it all means in the grand scheme of things though. And to simplify: Total singles - 944 Total double - 2,374 Total triple - 1,275 Total multiple - 211 Total grafts - 4,804 Total hairs? - 10,361

I just finished my second day of surgery and received 4800 grafts! They broke it down each day with a "per graft hair count." And then gave an average of hairs per graft. It looks like this: Day 1 - Day 2 - Single - 501 Single - 443 Double - 1290 Double - 1084 Triple - 548 Triple - 727 Multiple - 62 Multiple - 149 Ave hair/gft = 2.07 Ave hair/gft = 2.24 Soooooo, what does that mean to you? Are those good numbers? Is this data a predictor of how good a result might turn out? (I know there are lots of factors, but just curious how these numbers stack up on the spectrum) Thanks for your opinions!

Thanks David! Another day at the clinic, another 2400 grafts. A total of 4806!

Thanks James! I was a little nervous to press the issue (about the temple points), but I researched a lot of results, and with the "before" situation I was in, I really felt like it was important. I was glad the doctor let me win! lol I'll post another pic tomorrow. I am interested to see just how far another 2400-2800 grafts is going to go on this head of mine!

Hi James, I will post more pics soon. The doc took a ton of very professional pics (they have a full on portrait studio at the clinic!). As soon as I get access to them I will post some before and afters. I'm not familiar with Dr. Bhatti's work, but curious what makes the new hairline look like his? At first Dr. Erdogan didn't want to do the temple points. He wanted to save the grafts for the rest of the head (like I said, as a NW5, there is a lot of ground to cover). But after hearing my concerns about my hair receding straight back from just above my sideburns, and how unnatural I think that looks (with a transplant on top), he drew in what you see above. I think it is a nice line. Not too aggressive (I hope!) I chose Dr. Erdogan primarily because of this website. I did a lot of research on FUT/FUE, and had several consultations with doctors in the US (both in person and virtual). Every single doctor pushed me to FUT, which is not what I wanted. Even a "famous" HT doc who invented FUE tools. It just felt like US docs didn't truly feel comfortable with the procedure. Dr. Erdogan has been doing it successfully for a decade or more. After going to an italian HT forum and doing even more research, I decided on Erdogan. To be honest the price didn't hurt either. So after this is all over (and assuming my head doesn't swell up like a balloon), my wife and I are going to enjoy this incredible city for a week. Surgery and a vacation, I know it seems crazy... But thanks to this forum, I feel really good about my decision.

Thanks Spanker, that's good to hear. I was a little surprised so many grafts went into the front. And you are right, I have a lot of ground to cover as a NW5. My crown really isn't as much of an issue for me as the front. The plan is to build up the front, and take care of the crown as best as possible, but I wanted the front to look as good as possible with lighter coverage in the back, versus all over light coverage/density. The original plan was for 2400 today and 2400 tomorrow, but it looks like the doctor can get more grafts out than expected. He may bump up tomorrow to 2800-2900. I flew all the way from the US to Istanbul to see Dr. Erdogan.

Here's a pic of my new hairline. I wasn't expecting 2400 in just the hairline. The doctor also rebuilt the temple points which I think is very important. I think it will give me a good result. Anyone else have similar loss with 2000+ grafts in the hairline? Please give me your opinions on my first day of surgery. Thanks

Getting ready for the big day tomorrow! After they shaved my head today, the doctor said I have dermatitis, and showed me tiny red dots all over my donor area that I wasn't even aware that I had. He said that because the scalp is thicker in those areas, they will not remove grafts from the affected area. This could potentially lower my graft count availability. As a NW5 I am hoping for as many grafts as is reasonable. Has anyone else encountered this? Did your doctor do the same? Or has anyone's doctor just ignored the dermatitis, and if so, how was the result? Thanks!

Mickey, You are correct. Dilek does assist Dr. Erdogan with punches. To clarify, I meant that he is there physically doing the punches the whole time, and not just "popping in" to check on a tech. I did a lot of research on Dilek after finding out that she has such an integral role. I was impressed by her knowledge and experience. Again, I will be able to speak on it more after next week!

Thanks FUE2014, it's going to be quite the adventure. I will post all about it when I return. There's so much research that goes into deciding which clinic to choose. I think the bio idea on the techs is fantastic. Once you narrow in on a "short-list" of docs, having that info easily accessible would save a lot of time. I'm sure it would be argued that data like that would have to be maintained, therefore not feasible. I would respond that is why it would be a great addition! For example, Dr. Erdogan's lead tech has been with him for a decade. Pretty easy to keep that info updated. It's the tech's in the "revolving door" position that would be tough to keep updated. So, if you don't see techs that have been working with the doctor for some time (and therefore may end up working on your head!), it may be a factor in making an informed decision.

I have been researching FUE for quite a while. I finally decided that going overseas was the right decision after researching many FUE exclusive docs, and their philosophies. I settled on Dr. Erdogan, who does all of the punches, techs prepare grafts, he cuts the slits, while techs then insert the grafts. He does not perform every aspect, but his results are very impressive and his pricing is very affordable. I'm trusting my head to him and his team in less than one week. So, let's hope I'm right. His lead tech who will be working on me has been with him for a decade. Your question was a very important factor in my decision.