Dear all,
I am writing my full review for my hair transplant treatment which I had on October 17th 2015 at the AHD clinic in Antalya, with doctor Hakan Doganay.
I hope this review will help you choosing the surgeon for your treatment, which I think is a critical step after you have decided to pursue this solution.
I am 38 years old and since the last 8 years I have been noticing a little thinning on my front hairline and in my temple regions. I could not define myself as someone who was balding, but I thought that advancing the hairline (front and sides) and refilling the temple regions would have added a significant boost to my overall look.
When I learned about the possibility of the hair transplant, I didn't think twice of having the treatment done.
So I started doing research on the internet about good surgeons. There are many out there, and of course when you see the results that they present, not surprisingly they are all great. But that didn't impress me a lot: who would present a bad result?
So I started reading reviews and I quickly narrowed on doctor Hakan Doganay. I read all good reviews, I was impressed by the results, apparently he is member of lots of Associations, the CV shown on the internet was impressive. But most importantly, and this is what really made me decide, his face inspired me trust.
So I followed my instinct.
So I contacted the clinic with a first, exploring email, and his assistance Muslum almost immediately replied to me with all the necessary information.
All my queries and doubts were answered in a professional way by Muslum in a very short time. Communication was quite good.
So I booked my treatment.
Before going, I spent lot of time deciding what my hairline would have looked like. I drew it with a pencil and I took photographs. I sent these pictures to Muslum and he advised of how many grafts I would have needed to established my wished hairline.
This is an advice that I give to everybody.
Be sure that when you go there you have your ideas clear of what you want. Remember that the surgeon is there to make you happy. So of course he can advise you, thanks to his experience, a hairline that would suit your face, but ultimately YOU must be happy with it, not him.
So be sure to know what you want BEFORE going under your surgery.
The clinic was very good, a nice environment I would say.
Musulm, the assistance was very nice and he helped me relaxing a bit.
The morning of the surgery we started with the most critical part: drawing the hairline.
I presented my prints, showing what I wanted.
The doctor went through them with a careful analysis, and drew on my brow basically the same hairline.
Please remember that the Mr Doganay does not speak English, apart some sporadic sentences, so communication with Muslum is critical to ensure that the process will work.
It was ultimately decided that the hairline would have cost me 2000 grafts.
I was happy to hear that number, because it was the maximum number of grafts to be extracted I would have accepted. I didn't want to go through a bigger session in order to minimize the costs and the risks.
So I went through the extraction phase.
Extraction phase is performed by a very well organised and professional team of nurses, managed by the head nurse, who appeared to me to be very competent and confident with her job.
Extraction lasted more than two hours, at least this is what I was told (and I confirmed looking at the watch), but time flew when I was on the bed. Not sure why.
Then I had lunch and almost immediately afterwards they walked me to the operating theater for the implantation phase.
Then Mr Hakan came to carry out the work.
The operation was performed by Mr Hakan, the head nurse and the team of nurses.
For what I could see, they were extremely organised, fast and precise.
The only thing that I was not really happy about (and put me in a bit of a worrying state) is when I noticed that the doctor actually left the room for a consultation with another client, leaving the head nurse alone performing the implant.
I didn't really appreciate that because hey, I came from Switzerland to have him doing the work, or at least supervising it. I also think that implanting the grafts to a patient is more important than having a preliminary chat with a possible client.
However, his absence did not last long, and when I expressed my resentment he appeared back shortly afterwards.
After 6 hours treatment, I was done. My new hairline was there, in a red-crusty looking layer on my brow.
I am posting pictures just after the treatment and after two weeks.
Overall, my experience at the AHD clinic proved to be very positive. Doctor Dogany seemed very competent and extremely skilled, the head nurse very talented and the team very efficient.
I was a guest in the clinic for 3 and a half days and I had breakfast, lunch and dinner. Wi-Fi worked very well.
I was told that shock loss should start around the 20th day, so this means it should hit me next Friday ...
I am a bit scared about it, and I still haven't understood if shock loss hits native hair located around the treated scalp, the implanted hair, or both.
However, I will keep posting pictures monthly.