NYC1180

I had FUE by Erdogan about 3 and a half years ago. It was just the hairline and all of the transplanted hairs have been quite frizzy/dry since I had the surgery. I previously read that sometimes this could last up to 3 years post surgery from some of the online forums, so I have been patient to see if there was any change after several years. It’s now been over 3 years and the hairs are still quite frizzy/dry/kinky. I've tried serums and deep conditioners without much luck and the quality of the hair is significantly different from the native hair. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Any recommendations or tips on how to manage this would be greatly appreciated? Thanks!

It is interesting though, of the 5 surgeons I initially consulted, Erdogan quoted almost double the grafts (similar to the OP). When I first read this thread I went back and looked at each of the other surgeons results. Their patient's hairlines were just as dense appearing as Erdogans patients. Not saying anything about any particular surgeons, but it is a curious observation.

Ahhh, so it was only the scabs that got infected and not all the scabbed area that the hair might not grow?

Interesting. I had a small area like this (.75 cm) on my hairline. I sent a photo to my surgeon who told me not to worry about it. I'm only 1 month out. I wonder if this will be a patch where hair won't grow. It was hard to tell if it was a heavy scab or small blood blister. Now I'm worried that any hair transplanted in this area won't grow. Did you doc say any areas like this represent areas that will not grow?

I keep meaning to, just busy lately. Hopefully within the next few weeks!

Nice results so far! I had my surgery by him almost exactly a month ago. It's a bit early for a full shed but everyone goes at a different pace.I started losing at a faster rate about week 2. As a side note, your hair seems to be growing pretty fast for just a little over a week.

I felt the exact same way. They had an explanation about Turkish credit card fees being extremely high, though it appears none of the other Turkish clinics have this issue. It did raise red flags but he appeared to have very impressive results so it was a red flag I was willing to overlook.

They wouldn't accept anything other than cash and the clinic was fairly strict about this. I ended up having some of the money wired (maxes out at 3000 USD) and then withdrew my daily ATM limit each day. Lots of headaches and fees and banks giving contradictory information. I literally didn't get to rest or explore after the procedures because I was going from bank to bank trying to see if I had any other options. VERY frustrating experience.

Erdogan's clinic is definitely cash only. I had a horrible experience trying to get cash while i was over there because my bank gave me bad information about being able to withdraw from their partner bank in Turkey. My trip would have been so much better if the clinic accepted credit cards. I would have gladly paid a fee.

I have my surgery scheduled in this month with Dr. Erdogan. I noticed some of his hairlines are more straight, some more rounded and a few with more of a v-shape (widows peak). For those of you who have had surgery by him, does he draw the hairline based off your face shape or does he ask what kind of hairline you want? Thanks!

Thanks for the advice and comments. I have decided on Erdogan. I believe he mentioned his techs do the extractions. I didn't ask who creates the recipient sites? Does this vary for each patient with him? Should I ask if he will do the extractions himself?

Hmmmm, interesting. I just read your story and I'm very sorry to hear of your outcome. If the doctor doesn't normally do the extractions and the techs do, then I would be a little nervous about trying to talk him into it. Since the techs are doing it all day every day, they might have more experience with actual extractions than the doctor, no?

I'm close to a norwood 2-3 and have consulted with several doctors and decided on Erdogan. I really liked Feriduni's work also but he quoted approx 1500 grafts while Erdogan quoted approx 3000. I definitely want a fuller density in the hairline, which is the primary reason I ended up going to Erdogan. However, does the quoted graft number typically change significantly once you see the surgeon? On the consultation Feriduni's response said that any additional grafts over the quote would be 3 euros/graft. If I convinced him to do 3000 grafts, it would be 2-4 thousand euros higher than Erdogans. From the photos and stories I've seen on here, it seems like they do comparable and quality hairline work. Any differing opinions on this? I've got several weeks off to travel after the surgery (of course if I'm feeling up for it) and was also considering Belgium being a personally preferable place to visit over Turkey. Is it worth pushing for higher graft count with Feriduni or should I just quit overthinking this and go with Erdogan.

Ha, the beanie idea is not a bad one. I could move it back a few months for the fall since I commonly wear a beanie anyway. I'm a norwood 3 and will be lowering my hairline. The surgeon shaves the recipient area so it would be shaved. My audience would be clients at work.

What all have been done successfully to hide the transplant while in the ugly duckling phase or even immediately post op? I know you aren't supposed to wear anything tight fitting but for how long? When can you start wearing a hat?

hmmmm, I would say medium?

I know the argument against a dense hairline is preserving donor hair for later potential transplants. My issue is that my dad and both my grandfathers had high hairlines but never went totally bald (norwood 2-3). I've essentially had a high hairline with widow's peak since I was a teenager. It really hasn't changed much and I'm 35 now. Of course I may have a different hair loss pattern to them but I would like a relatively dense hairline reconstruction. It's down to Erdogan, Bisanga and Bhatti. Part of the narrowing was due to timing issues. These three surgeons would be able to operate in the only month this year I can get a 2 week period off. I do appreciate further input as I'm having trouble narrowing further.

Posting as a new thread

the top line was Lorenzos?!?! Geez!

Lorenzo seems to have good hairlines, it's just they consistently seem to be high.

Wow....so Feriduni is out. Next surgical opening is summer 2016! As good as he is, I do not wish to wait that long.

Who has consistently better hairlines and density between Bhatti, Erdogan and Feriduni? I've looked at multiple photos from each and all seem to be relatively equivalent.

What are your opinions between Lorenzo, Feriduni, Bisanga and Erdogan? From what I've read on here Lorenzo seems to be a bit too conservative with hairlines. It seems like the most popular on the forum between those is Feriduni. Between those, do you know the approx cost per graft? Any of the have max out deals (I.e. The NY surgeon I spoke with doesn't charge additional above a certain graft count)?

Other than the obvious huge cost difference, what would some of the other differences be between say a top NYC surgeon and one of the reputable foreign surgeons, such as Bhatti? My initial argument was that a local surgeon in NYC would be be able to have close follow up if there was any complications. However, it seems from this message board follow up is rarely needed. The surgeon I spoke with does a good amount of FUE so experience level of FUE vs strip seems to be good. Any other reasons you guys would chose someone like Bhatti over a reputable US surgeon? I guess more specifically speaking from those of you who have been analyzing the work from photos and stats over the years. Would the hairline quality, transection rates, and hair density be relatively equal? It seems Bhatti doesn't do PRP, but I understand the data hasn't really supported this fully yet anyway. It seems to be anecdotal at this point.

That's useful information. I was told by the surgeon here that he could do shaveless as well as if I shaved the recipient area. However, I am guessing that is likely not the case with most other surgeons (i.e. the ones in turkey/india) from your statement. I am not adamently opposed to shaving my head if that is necessary, just preferred not to if the surgeon was just as comfortable.