mav23100gunther

Go with your gut, and don't let money be the deciding factor. If Erdogan's results seem better to you, then they probably are. Go with whoever you think will give you the best result, and it sounds like Erdogan is the one. I have a funny feeling you will drive yourself crazy second guessing your decision if you go with the other guy.

Best of luck buddy, great choice in surgeons!

Based on my research - there is very little separating Rahal from Hasson. I believe Hasson gets the maximum no of grafts whilst Rahal is renowned for his hairline - but it's like comparing Aaron Rogers to Peyton Manning - you've just gotta pick one, hedge your bet and just roll the dice

He claimed that he never operates on more than 2 patients a day, and will never perform 2 FUEs on the same day, so either a FUT & FUE or a FUT & FUT - but never a FUE & FUE. He also starts one in the am, and the second in the pm.

Hey man, I wouldn't worry about the negative reviews, there will always be the haters out there. I think people are concerned he may be skirting the line between trying to cram in more patients than he can handle, and may not be as hands on as he used to be. Rahal actually answered these allegations in another thread on this site, and bottom line is that this man produces amazing results. Have yet to see actual evidence that he is not still producing brilliant results besides one or two recent haters. Also, this man is booked solid for at lease 6 months in advance, that's all you need to know. I am strongly considering Rahal for my 2nd procedure. If you want someone more hands on then may I suggest Konior. He is hands-on, meteculous and apparently a perfectionilost - another surgeon I am considering. Could you please PM me the price per graft Rahal quoted you for FUT - I want to make sure he doesn't try overcharge me when we negotiate cost.

Any update?

Hey buddy, Follow the link to recommended questions by David above. Think that should cover everything. I think you need to find out if they are going to shave the recipient area or not as they could impact your appearance. I was lucky enough to not shave my recipient area shaved when I had my 2,500 FUT surgery with a diff surgeon. Wore a cap to work until the 10th day when the sutures were removed. It wasn't noticible to anyone that I had a HT, although I did tell them I had an accident and had stitches in my head - hence the cap. In terms of pain, the worst is the numbing. Numbing the donar area isn't to bad, but when they do the recepient area, I won't lie - it hurts like a motherf@$#er at times. Very sharp pain you experience when the needle first goes in on some areas. The rest of the surgery was pain free. The worst pain overall was actually when they removed the sutures. I'm considering Rahal for my 2nd procedure, so will follow your thread, keep us updated. How much did he quote you for FUT?

Hi Matt, how come you excluded Konior from your list?

Thanks Busa, Yeah I had my shoulder hair removed at Romeo & Juliette. The owner Chris is a freak (in a good way) - that's a bad man - he really knows his stuff and keeps ahead of the game with the latest technology. I actually had my back hair removed by Komal at Pulse Laser. I found their prices to be slightly lower, they also had the latest GMAX Pro, and I found Komal to be more efficient than the laser techs at R&J - although there really wasn't much of a difference - just personal preference. You can't go wrong with either. I was surprised by just how well the laser removal works, and am upset I waited until my 30's to get it done. I used to have to spend a good hour using that long hair shaver (the Hairgroomer pro) in front of the mirror trying to shave my back during my dating years when I knew I had a shot at scoring. I'm almost inclined to get my chest hair lasered as well, but its much smarter to keep that reserved for a future BHT. I'm telling you buddy, I used to look like a beast with all my body hair, its so messed up that with all my body hair the big guy upstairs couldn't have just left my head hair alone - LOL - give me a bone or something!!!! I will check our Dr Maras as well. After spending the last few days researching Erdogan, I get the impression that he may be slightly to aggressive for my liking. I get the impression he plays the numbers game (in no of grafts and dense packing) to get that wow factor result - absolutely nothing wrong with that - but I only have approx. 6,000 of lifetime donar hair supply of which I have used 2,500 - so looking for more of a balance between aggressive and conservative - not too conservative though as I want to enjoy the rest of my 30's and early 40s. If I had closer to 8,000/9,000 grafts, then I would definitely be inclined to going for that aggressive mega-session with a sick number of grafts and the max in dense packing.

Thanks Shera - I will definitely consider India if the best surgeons are there, although I get the impression that the best of the best in Europe/Asia are in Belgium. Thanks Cali - I agree with your point on going with FUTs until maxing out the laxicity since my 1st HT was strip, and then switching to FUT and maybe BHT later on (I'm blessed with a good chunk of body hair - one of life's cruelties is that in the last year I went for a HT to get back hair on my head, and went for laser hair removal to get rid of the hair on my back - someone upstairs has a cruel sense of humor). Anyway, not too concerned with the strip scar, as when the time comes to shave it all off, I'll go with MSP which should hopefully reduce its visibility. Too your point, I'd rather go with one of the top quality best of the best surgeons than save money - just trying to figure out if the top overseas surgeons are on par with the very good top surgeons in the US. I really did get shafted by my New York surgeon who charged me a NY premium for very average/mediocre results, and I could class him as 2nd tier to the top surgeons. Deep down I told myself for the high cost he charged me (in excess of $6 a graft for FUT) he must be one of the best - I should have known better - thats why I want to get my 2nd HT right, so if the best of the best is in he US, I will stick to the States.

"1,700FUE ~= 2,500FUT in terms of the number of hairs" - this statement can't be true??? It that really the case???

Hi Busa, I travel internationally a lot, so the flight costs will be a wash, especially if I tap on the surgery to a vacation. Not that I'd be able to do much after the surgery, but spending a couple of days touring before the procedure, coupled with a few days recovering in an exotic European city sounds a lot better than spending those days in Ottawa or Minnesota (no offense to the Vikinks though Also a flight to Europe from my home toen in NY will prob cost around $1k compared to $400 it would cost to fly out to Ottawa or Minnesota, so we are really only talking about $600 extra for the flights, so I'm pretty sure it won't eat that much of the cost savings. Thanks for everyone's input so far, I think the Turkish surgeons may be a little too aggressive for my liking, but I'm gonna have to think long and hard about this choice.

Thank you all. I messed up my first procedure by paying in excess of $6 per graft for FUT using a NY surgeon and although I am satisfied with the result, he was way to conservative in graft count and placement, so I need a 2nd procedure to add density and get the finished result. I definitely want to choose one of the top surgeons for my 2nd, but also not get ripped off by paying a premium when I don't need to. I already had FUT the first time, so I guess it's a mute point for the 2nd (scar will still be there if I opt for FUE. I just want to get the best possible result for my own situation. Any other views on US vs Europe? I'm wondering why so many Europeans travel to North America for surgeries if European surgeons are at least on par?

What were your concerns with Erdogan?

Looking real good buddy. Good luck for the 2nd procedure

Also want to point out that I travel internationally all the time, so the cost of flying out to a place like Turkey is mute for me. I could tap it into a bigger vacation. Any advice would be helpful. I just want to make sure I'm not sacrificing on quality just to save some dollars on the surgery itself.

Folks, I've been researching the top US and Canadian surgeons for my 2nd HT procedure. My top 3 are dr Rahal, Dr Ron Shapiro, Dr Konior, and Dr Hasson. Looking at around 2,500 grafts. Quick question, over the last week I've started reading more and more posts on some of the recommended surgeons in Turkey and Belgium. As I live in the U.S. I just figured that the best of the best are in my backyard, but seems as if the top doctors from Turkey and Belgium are in the same league. What has shocked me is how much lower their pricing is, and I can even get an FUE procedure in Turkey and make a signifant saving over getting FUT in the states. I went with FUT for my 1st procedure as the scar doesn't scare me, and also didn't think the premium for FUE was worth it for me. Regardless of the method though, should I be seriously considering a procedure in turkey or Belgium or another country? My first priority is that I use one of the top rated surgeons, even if that means paying the premium. Will I be compromising on that by going with the top guy in turkey or Belgium? Just wondering how they shape up, if I can get the same quality surgery and save cash, why wouldn't I do that? What am I missing here guys? FUE in Turkey at around 3 euros per graft, compared to $5-6 a graft for FUT in North America. What's the catch? As I mentioned, my 1st priority is to find the best surgeon.

Good luck with the next surgery. All three are great, and I keep reading great things about Konior. My top 3 for my next procedure (2nd) are Konior, Ron Shapiro, and Rahal. Please keep us updated on whom you decide to go with.

Any update on this case?

Congrats - great choice in surgeon, you can't go wrong with Konior. Who else did you consult with and what was the deciding factors to go with Konior. I'm also interested in how you viewed Shapiro and Rahal compared with Konior? I'm currently deciding between those three for my 2nd procedure with Rahal currently the favorite.

What exactly are those rates? Cost per graft?

What was the end result? Could anyone from SMG provide an update?

Hi everyone, I have a question regarding pricing. I noticed that some surgeons such as Feller and H&W quote their basic prices on their websites, however many others do not and have that annoying paragraph that pricing can only be determined after individual consults so that the procedure can be tailored to .... Blah blah blah. I also noticed that a lot of members on this forum avoid disclosing the cost they were charged when asked. Why is this so? Is it possible that HT surgeons may charge different prices to different patients for the same type of procedure and same number of grafts? I get that one can negotiate a better deal based on various factors, and that the surgeons are running businesses ect ect, but why isn't there more transparency by the surgeons themselves or by some of the patients? Couldn't us as readers of this forum all benefit by disclosing and comparing what we were charged?

Well said Tom, love it!

Kingarfa, due to the controversy it seems to cause by trying to commit to naming biased views of "the best" surgeon in the world, perhaps you should rephrase your question to "which surgeons would end up on your shortlist if you needed a HT and money was no object". Still believe that there are definitely best in the field, just like Usain Bolt is the fastest man over 100 meters in the world. No doubt that all the surgeons recommended by this site are going to be solid at what they do, but I think it's a valid question to ask who really stands out.