Hello all
I have recently returned from Istanbul from having my FUE procedure with Dr Resul Yaman and thought i would write a review here based on my experiences. In the past I have been a frequent visitor to this site whilst doing research for myself, I always just sat in the background though and soaked up the information of others and thought it only right to share my experience in the hope of helping others like me. If anybody does have a question though then please feel free to ask and I will answer as honestly as possible.
I will write my review in 2 parts, first part detailing the clinic, staff, procedure, results etc and the second part of the whole Travel to Turkey/Istanbul experience as it is a bit of a hot topic at the moment with the recent troubles in the country.
Arrival - Upon arrival at Istanbul a driver was waiting for me at the exact spot I was told, a nice 9 seater minibus was used with a plush interior so first impressions were good. The original plan was to go straight to the clinic from the airport for a consultation, planning of the procedure and blood tests but as it took so long (2 1/2 hours) to clear passport control this plan was changed, we went straight to the hotel and rescheduled this for the next morning.
Hotel - The hotel was the Divan Suites which was a 10 min drive from the hotel and maybe a 5 min drive to the clinic the day after. It was very comfortable, good free wifi in room, good buffet breakfast which was included and also a good in room dining service, which I used after the procedure. No decent English TV channels though so I would say take a laptop or download some movies on your iPad which is what I did to chill out with after the procedure.
Procedure - I was collected from hotel at 0900 the next day and taken to the clinic, had a chat with a lad on the minibus who had his procedure 2 days before which put my mind at rest a little as he was happy with everything so far. On arrival after a short wait I met a guy called Fikret who had been my contact to set up my visit (great guy speaks perfect English) and also Dr Yaman. We had the initial consultation, planned the hairline, worked out the number of grafts had some blood taken and that was it ready to get going. Dr Yaman was great during the consultation he was keen to make sure I was happy with his proposed hairline and stressed he thought he was going to achieve a good result (I would have been concerned if he didn't to be honest)
Next up I had my hair shaved and head washed and by 1100 I was sat in the chair and about to have my first anaesthetic injection. Now I was expecting this from reading other posts but I will not lie the injections HURT!!! It is however only for a few seconds and there are lots of them all over the head but once done it's totally numb and you genuinely feel nothing afterwards.
Dr Yaman administered these injections and then continued to make the incisions or channels to which the grafts would be implanted later, I can't remember how long this took but maybe 1 a 1 1/2 hours.
Straight after this and after more painful injections the donor area was next and a very competent guy called Ali got to work harvesting the grafts. The procedure was to be done in 2 sittings so when the first set of grafts were taken they were going to be implanted mainly to make the new hairline and outline and then the second sitting was going to fill in. The harvesting was totally painless, I could hear what sounded like a quieter version of a dentists drill and feel a strange sensation of each follicle being removed, I actually fell asleep a few times during the process I think.
Once the grafts were taken a team of technicians then get to work implanting the grafts, they seem very competent and again you don't feel anything apart from a strange pushing sensation as they obviously insert each follicle into the channels (and of course a few top up injections to keep the head numb! Dr Yaman kept popping into the room and kept a close eye on proceedings that I was pleased about. Also worth mentioning is during the whole process the whole team constantly make you feel at ease and check you are ok.
So by the time the first session was finished I was surprised to see that it was almost 5pm and I had been sat in the chair minus a couple of comfort break for 6 hours!!!! We had a 20-30 min break at this stage for some food which was provided and was very nice and then back in the chair for the second session.
Second Session - The second session followed the same format as the first. Injections, harvest donor area, implant grafts and I was told it would be quicker than the first. During the latter stages Dr Yaman took over at one stage and made some extra channels in the crown area which I was happy about as it shows he was interested in achieving the good result he was expecting. The second session was finished and I was finally out of the chair at almost 10pm. After a quick clean up, bandages applied and explanation of medication I was back in my room and shattered by 1030pm.
Day after - The day after I was collected at midday went to the clinic to have bandages removed and cleaned up a little and was back at the hotel at approx 1230. I sat around and relaxed here for a while and then took a taxi to the Istanbul Mall just to get out and have a wander around to break the boredom up a little.
2 days after - My return flight was booked for 5pm so there was no rush on this day, I stayed in my room until 12pm, checked out of the hotel and then sat in Starbucks (right outside hotel) had coffee and waited for the driver to collect me at approx 1pm. From here we went to the clinic was shown how to wash and care for my head and then after a goodbye to Fikret was off back to the airport.
Summary - So far so good is my initial thoughts, I am very happy with my procedure so far although time will obviously tell with the results. I would definitely recommend Dr Yaman at this stage, I am impressed with him, his staff and his clinic. I booked my procedure with him based upon others experiences and mine is good so far. I was researching other clinics at the time some of which were less expensive, but certain things put me off some of which being mixed results/reviews, conveyor belt effect with lots of patients etc. I was the only patient in Dr Yamans clinic and it felt good that I had every bodies attention.
I will now try and post some pics so hopefully that will help, I will do another thread also detailing the journey and my concerns about going to Turkey and if anybody is interested I will also post some more pics as the months pass and hopefully my hair grows!!! I have posted 4 pic 2 with bandages are immediately after procedure the next 2 are the day after. If they don't work I will try and add them again.
Update - only 2 of the pics would upload not sure why?
Regards