Hi all , First off I am in no way affiliated to this clinic .
I feel i owe it to this community for being a fantastic source of information for me during my research into my journey in trying to resolve my hair loss problem. I am not a new member but I needed to change my name for privacy but you cannot do that on this site so I had to re register.
I am early 50's and a norwood 3a i think,I have had hair loss since i was in my late 20's. It has progressed albeit slowly to leave me with a forelock and high receding temples. I have taken no meds and in the last few years dabbled with concealers.
From the research and info I have done mainly on this site my plan was as follows
· Fue hair transplant to cover current hair loss and fin 1mg day for maintenance. Ill use minox post op only as im not convinced.
I had my procedure with Dr Demisroy and his team in turkey and I am currently 6 days post op.
With all the fears of traveling to Turkey, I must say I did not feel threatened or in danger any more than I would have done anywhere else. Life goes on and the airport is huge and very busy with passengers from all over the world. I would say the security is tighter you get scanned and searched twice over but hey that’s reassuring.
All went well on arrival, I got picked up from the airport by organized transport.The journey though to the hotel was something else, the traffic and the way they drive there is horrendous how they live with that stress every day I don’t know. Anyway prepare with drinks and snacks as it took nearly 2.5 hours.
Hotel was great and I saw lots other patient from other clinics that were there so it made me feel more comfortable. The attitude about Hair Transplant there is so different , apparently they go straight on facebook !Muzaffer
Next morning 08:00 I was met by Muzaffer a lovely guy who was the contact for me for Dr Demisroy, to be honest his quick and timely responses and his genuine keenness to help was one of the reasons I chose this clinic. This along with the amount of the Dr’s involvement with the procedure , results , ethics, patient experience etc.
At the clinic after filling in forms /heath questions etc. Dr Demisroy examined me and we both decided on a hairline. The first hairline he drew I personally thought was low , he explained that that was the maximum he would go down too taking in to consideration my age ,head shape , existing hairline etc. I have always had a high forehead and I wanted a natural look and to plan for future loss etc. So my choice was to come slightly above this as he also said looking at my donor site I would have plenty there for future plans. This is a personal choice and I didn’t see the need to try to alter my looks drastically as even in my early 20’s my hairline was roughly where my line was anyway.
oh I also asked for something to help me keep still as I’m a fidget and I worried about lying there for so long , they gave me what I think was a form of valium , well it did the trick as I dozed in and out through most of the extractions.
Usual stuff got marked up then shaved by the nurses then had the injections, The injection pain was as expected, initially sharp but quickly fades. Dr Demisroy did all the extractions and did comment that the grafts were good with lots of 2’s and 3’s with some 4’s. We then we stopped for lunch and then the nurses injected my recipient site and Dr Demisroy did all the incisions. I must say I was surprised how long this took and I was impressed that Dr Demisroy was very focused and took his time especially around the hairline. Again no pain.
After a quick Toilet break, the nurses settled into placing the grafts, this again took a long time and halfway through I started to experience some pain which the nurses quickly topped up. That was fine but by now I was getting bad pain from my neck , I forgot to mention I had a previous neck injury from playing rugby and lying in that position for so long bought on pain which over time became worse. This was my fault entirely as I didn’t think it would affect me, but the pain was much worse than the procedure by the end of it , they did try to help with adjusting the head position etc but really I wish I’d have taken my own pain killers , Co Codamol or something strong. Anyway this was towards the end of the surgery, when it finished we took some more photos then I went back to the hotel.
That night I just used the room service for food, next morning I went down early for breakfast and I must say nobody really took any notice of me with the blood stained bandage on the back of my head. Muzaffer came at 08:00 again and we were off to have my first hair wash and post op instructions and photos.
Dr Demisroy noticed my head had swollen and recommended the band which they put on after surgery to prevent swelling comes off as it could put too much pressure on the grafts.
I then went back to the hotel and rested the whole day, in fact I couldn’t be bothered to go down to the restaurant so I sat and watched films all day and had room service. My flight was an early one so I had to be up for 4am. My biggest concern was the swelling, as there was no band on and the swelling was coming down to my eyes and sure enough by the next day I looked horrific.
My journey back was stressful because I was so concerned about how I looked , I was barely recognizable , I thought how am I going to get through customs.
I didn’t have any problem through the airport , I had to take my hat off twice through the 2 checks they do , but when I got on the plane I had my hat off all the way back and thought what the heck im not risking damaging these grafts. I put it back on briefly to go through the UK airport.
The last 6 days ive been following the post op protocol and here’s a brief summary
Swelling almost gone by day 5 post op
Pain continues in donor site , like a burning pain , taken painkillers and using aloe vera gel
Recipient no pain , just scabbing over which I will deal with from the 7th day.
Here are a few important tips from my experience .
· Take some stronger painkillers I use co codamol 30/500 these help with sleep too they supply naproxen which really isn’t enough.
· Prepare for the swelling, it makes you look like a freak, unless you are staying for 5 or 6 days you will have to go out in public and a hat doesn’t hide your face.
· Take a chromecast , Turkish t.v. is Turkish t.v. only a boring bbc channel in English , with so much time to kill Watching films is better on the hotel tv than watching on your phone or laptop.
· I am glad I let the clinic organize the hotel and transfers with all that went on the last thing I would have wanted is that stress , everything was spot on
· Prepare for the traffic in Istanbul , have drinks and snack you forget after 4 hours on a plane you still have 2.5 to do
· Neck pillow, I would have been lost without this, I bought a decent one of amazon not a cheap airport one , it is memory foam and has adjustable inflatable pads to support your head. I was able to sleep sitting up easily and have done so the last six days to protect my grafts. It also helps with the donor pain as my head doesn’t rest on the bed head.
All in all I am very pleased with the whole experience form the clinic and hotel and especially the hard work Dr Demisroy and his Team did, it’s a tedious painstaking procedure but I was impressed with their skill and professionalism and friendliness. Looking at the work done since the procedure, I am again very pleased so far, the rest I believe is down to me , whether I respond and heal well and able
