JohnnyLight

Hello, Hope everyone is in best shape and thanks for all your efforts in these helpful forums. Actually though this is my first post, but I've been reading a lot of information here since last year about hair transplants and other hair restoration related subjects. In the beginning, I would like to thank the creators of this forum as well as all the members who are helping each others on a daily basis. I'm not a good writer but I'll try to make my post as organized as possible with hopefully all the information I can provide as my contribution to this forum. I thought to make it like a short novel in order to make it interesting & informative to read. Just yesterday, I've successfully completed my hair transplant surgery at the ASMED clinic, led by Dr. Koray Erdogan in Istanbul. It was indeed one of the most wonderful experiences in my life. To make my post clear and helpful to others, it will be divided into the following sections: Prologue: A Hair Loss Story. Chapter 1: Decisive Decision, Finding the Surgeon. Chapter 2: Contacting the Clinic. Chapter 3: Getting Ready for Hair Transplant Operation. Chapter 4: The Hair Transplant Operation. Epilogue: What's next? Prologue: Hair Loss Story. I started losing my hair When I was 21 due to a lot of stress caused by several reasons. The hair in front started to get thinner and weaker. After a couple months, I started noticing empty spots in hair (both beard & head), it was very frustrating and I was diagnosed with alopecia areata. I used Minoxidil for almost 6 months but unfortunately without any good results, I went to several doctors and they all suggested me Minoxidil until I lost hope and just get used to shave both hair & beard. But still, everyday I look to the mirror I just get more frustrated. After two years, alopecia areata just gone. The beard was healed but the hair was still falling quickly in the front, vertex and crown areas. It was clearly genetic but I was still also suffering from a lot of stress because of work and also the sadness because of hair loss since my hair meant a lot to me and it was part of my personality. For the previous 3 years, I read a lot about hair transplant solutions but was afraid to try because of the high prices and had doubts it may not succeed. So I sat back, gave it up and just kept wearing hat and shave my hair weekly until maybe one day I'll take the decision. Chapter 1: Decisive Decision, Finding the Surgeon. At the beginning of 2015, I've decided that it is the time to make the surgery, I cannot waste more time, life is way too short to just keep thinking without taking actions even if they are risky actions. I'm 26 years old and this is supposed to be the most wonderful days in my life, and all what I'm thinking about is just my hair and I cannot stop thinking about it! So I've decided to start the journey of healing. Choosing the right surgeon was very confusing. Most of them seems very good and it's a hard decision to make, especially when reading about various patients reviews, you just keep getting more confused. To make the long story short, I set a plan to choose the correct surgeon based on the following criteria: 1- The surgeon profile, personality, clinic, website and patients results should look professional and credible. 2- Replying from the surgeon team will sure approve if they are a professional team or not. 3- Location should be close to my current country, which is in Gulf. 4- I didn't care about the price, but if it is too low, then something will be wrong. I heard from a lot of friends and from researching that Turkey has improved rapidly in Hair Transplant field, so I narrowed my choices to Turkey as it is also close to my country. And I searched for the top surgeons in Turkey. Chapter 2: Contacting the Clinic. After some comparison between the surgeons and spending some time on their websites and patients results and reviews, I felt comfortable to contact Dr. Koray Erdogan. He looked like an honest guy and very professional in almost every aspect. Looking at the results, I was fascinated about the accuracy of hairline draw, this is actually the most important step for me. Also the reviews from patients, while not too many reviews, but I've found them realistic without exaggeration. Another reason is that the email support team was highly professional in responding for questions and queries. One more reason was their website, which is very professional in design and content when compared to other. In short, it looked clear to me that they spared no expense, and that was comforting. In August 2015 I sent my pics through their website and got reply in the next day from the patients coordinator, Sevinc with a complete evaluation from Dr. Erdogan. He proposed 5000 grafts FUE surgery for the frontline, mid scalp and vertex area, in 2 operation days. The email contained total operation prices as well as the accomodation and transfer and almost every information I needed to know. That was a great start since it almost answered all my questions. The doctor recommended that I should start use Finastrid in order to maintain and optimize my original hair. After reading their email, I've decided to continue with them. So I booked my surgeory on 14th and 15th of October 2015. The plan was to arrive to Istanbul in the 13th of October to have a personal evaluation from the doctor, and then the operation will be divided in the next two days. Chapter 3: Getting Ready for Hair Transplant Operation. First day (13th of October) A. The Arrival. I arrived at Ataturk airport and the driver was waiting for me holding a sign with my name. He dropped me at the hotel and after two hours dropped me at the clinic. It was very cold by the way and I forgot to buy a jacket. Once arrived at the clinic, I met the patience coordiantor, Sevinc, at the door. She warmly welcomed me with other two staff members. They have this cool device that you put your shoe on some nylon material and it will automatically create an isolation layer to keep the clinic clean. That was a simple but yet cool start. Gotta emphasis here that the clinic design, technology, hygiene and the overall atmosphere has exceeded my expectation. I was right when I said before that they've spared no expense. I went to make the blood & sugar tests. Note that Sevinc is my interpreter and she was the guide for me in all the stages since my arrival and until I left. Since most of the staff speaks Turkis they have various translator from different countries such as france, italy, sweden and so on. Once the tests have finished they started to take photos for my head from different angles. B. Meeting the Doc. So finally I got to meet Dr. Erdogan personally. He is a nice guy and also warmly welcomed me and asked me about the history of my hair loss. He told me that my donor area is a little bit weak and recommended the use of Finastride. Then he took a look at my hair and drew a suggested hairline.To be honest I was really sad at the beginning because the hairline was slightly higher than my original one. The doctor noticed that and told me not to worry, if I used Finastride within 6 months to 1 year without any problems, then the donor area will be strong and then we can use it to extend the hairline, but for now I have to save the situation before my vertex and crown goes completely bald. I was still happy about the new hairline and said to myself: heck! I was very lazy and didn't use anything to make my hair stronger in the past 3 years, it's about time to take care of my hair again after the new transplant. After the meeting they shaved my head and then the doctor redraw the hairline and they took the final photos. The overall atmosphere was really cool and fun, I enjoyed every minute of it specially at the photography section, the whole staff is awesome and very active. The driver then dropped me at the hotel in order to get ready for the operation tomorrow. Chapter 4: Hair Transplant Operation. Second day (14th of October) A. 1st Operation Preparation The driver came at 7:20 am, I went to the clinic and they provided me the operation clothes. Then I had my breakfast there (it was really nice breakfast) along with the staff and other patients. Next we went for the operations room where I met the two nurses who really welcomed me warmly and also Dr. Umut who is the incetion supervisor there. The operation is divided into 3 parts: Extraction It's the process where the nurses started the Extraction of hair grafts. The nurses injected my donor area with local anesthesia and it took almost 2 hours to finish the Extraction process. I was watching some songs during the process and truly enjoyed it as the team worked very smoothly and it was really fun. During the process, they gave me a wonderful leg message, the masseuse was from Japan. That massage made me forget that I was having an operation! After the Extraction they gave me launch (it was also a nice meal) and I had a chat with Dr. Umut, Sevinc and other patients there. Incetion Dr. Erdogan personally performed the incetion part very smoothly and it took almost 30 minutes until all is done. I was also watching some songs and there's actually a library full of movies that you can choose and watch during the operation! There was no pain at all during the step also, the whole operation was a great experience indeed. The team is highly trained and professional. After that I took a little break again to get ready for the final step, implantation. Implantation Final step, it took approx. 3 hours to finish. It was done by Dr. Erdogan's team and it went also very smoothly. Actually as I said earlier, the atmosphere is very friendly and the team is very interactive. The doctor kept passing by to supervise the progress and talking to me. This was another sign of professionalism in which the doctor doesn't do everything himself, he has a highly trained professionals to assist him. After the implantation they gave me a laser therapy for the hair and also the medical package which includes the Finastride, spray, hot-cold gel packs to help remove swelling and neck pillow to keep my neck straight. I went that night to the hotel, every 1 hour I apply the spray over the planted grafts and put the gel packs on my forehead for 10 minutes. Third day (15th of October) In the morning I went also at 7:20 am, had the breakfast and they washed my head and shaved it. Then exactly like the previous day the whole scenario occurred except that the operation was applied to the vertex & crown. And also they injected me PRP, which is a plasma treatment that will help making the growing process faster. It was a little bit longer than the previous operation, maybe 1 hour more. Same scenario, went back to the hotel and applied the spray and gel. Fourth day- The Finale (16th of October) I woke up sleeping on my side with a little swelling on my forehead. Went to the clinic at 9:00 o'clock and they did the washing process and told me that the swelling is normal and it will disappear within 3 days. Then they gave me the washing technique, that involves putting the lotion on the planted grafts, leave it for 10 minutes, rinse it, then put the shampoo and rinse it. I should keep doing that for the next 10 days until all the scabs fall out. That's all, we then had a final chat me and the staff. And since I'm staying in Turkey still for a couple of days, I'll go every morning for a good wash there. Epilogue: What's next? For the next 10 days I'll keep using the lotion & shampoo until all the scabs fall out. Finastride will be used daily (quarter piece) starting from two previous days. I'm expecting the results within the first 6 months to 1 year, I still have a long way to go. Sorry if it was a long post, but I wanted to share my experience in details because I know there are a lot of people who still don't have enough information about hair transplant procedures and they are afraid to do it. You see, as I said earlier, life is shorter than what you think. Time is passing by quickly and you are growing older. Whatever problem you face, you must find a solution. Even if the problem seemed ridicules for others, it is still your problem and it is still affects only you. Forget about what others think, just do whatever you need to be happy as long as it's not hurting to others. The hair transplant procedure is much easier and enjoyable than I thought, it was like a fancy dream I'm having. Just make sure to choose the correct surgeon for you. Don't depend on what you read by others, this is your decision to make and it will live with you for the rest of your life. Choose wisely and go ahead and do it to get your life back and better, to start your new life with your new style. Hopefully this post will give you all the details you need, if you have any questions I'll be available here for a couple of days. I'll do my best to keep the thread updated with my progress. Thanks.

Hi, This looks promising, congratulations! I've just finished my hair transplant surgery yesterday also in ASMED, I'll post my experience shortly as well. Good luck man, keep us posted.