HTvirgin83

Crown showing less redness than front line.

Redness subsiding but still noticable if close and under particular lighting

Congrats. Looks great. Made really good progress vs your before pic. Hopefully a little more density and you'll be completely happy. I've just been to see Dr Doganay so hoping for similar successful result.

Hard to really see much of transplant hair here really because my native hair has grown out alongside it but this shows the crown status. Will update again probably in a few weeks time once transplant hair has fallen out and donor area has improved.

One side definitely feels/looks more dense than the other, and I did raise this with the Dr but was assured that it is way too early to be coming to these type of conclusions and to stay patient. I'm hoping I can just forget about it all for 4-6 months as looking in the mirror every 10 minutes is time consuming and pointless!

Scabs have now all come off. They were off by around days 9-12. The transplant hair is growing through. Some hair I think may have come off with scabs but not too much and when that happened it was just hair, not root as well.

The donor area has healed relatively well, albeit it is still noticable from close up because I have light coloured hair. Hopefully that'll subside within a week.

I didnt actually, although Ive seen a few other people comment about that so I was on the look out for them!

final few post op photos

post op photos taken following surgery

more pre-op photos taken at the clinic

I got back from Istanbul last night, so here's a brief write up of my experience at Dr Doganay's AHD clinic. Feel free to ask any further questions. Day 1 Arrived at Isbanbul Ataturk airport around 8.30pm and was picked up by an AHD driver who whisked me to my hotel (arranged by AHD) the Park Inn Hotel (part of Radisson Blu group) which was less than 15 mins drive from the airport. Hotel was very modern and as you would expect for a high quality hotel. I was pleased that my recovery period following surgery would be spent in a comfortable room with all the amenities I could ask for at my disposal, including good quality food via room service. The AHD driver couldn't speak English but phoned Didem as soon as I had arrived so we could make introductions and I could ask any questions. That evening I literally ordered some food in and headed to bed knowing I was in for a long couple of days. Day 2 The following morning I attempted to get a decent breakfast down me as advised by the clinic but at this point the nerves were getting the better of me, so my efforts didn't come to much. That said, there was a good spread offered by the hotel which I made the most of in subsequent days when I was feeling more relaxed about being there. At around 9am I was picked up by a different AHD driver, a guy I think called Jonathan who spoke English. He drove me to the hospital where the AHD clinic is based on the 7th Floor. As my surgery was over the weekend the roads were quiet and so it took no longer than 10 minutes. On arrival I was met by Didem and introduced to Dr Doganay and we spent some time discussing my family history for male pattern baldness, the regimen I've been following, the strength of my donor area and my expectations for the surgery. We also discussed any concerns I had and gave me an opportunity to ask the Dr any other questions that hadn't been covered off in the email correspondence prior to my arrival. We then agreed a hairline based on what I wanted to achieve from the surgery. For me, this was to fill my crown area and improve my hairline which had receded during my 20's. I had no real desire to bring forward my hairline, as I didn't want to dramatically change the way I look, and this was taken on board when the hairline was agreed. I was then introduced to Ahmet who would be doing the hair extraction work (I requested in advance for my extraction work to be done by Ahmet after speaking to a former patient who had also used Ahmet). Ahmet shaved my head (leaving it slightly longer on top as requested) and then proceeded to extract 1285 hairs with assistance of 3 other technicians who were separating the hairs and putting them into solution ready for implantation. After a brief break, we were ready for implantation. Dr Doganay spent the first session working on the frontal hairline, and implanted around 800 hairs in this section before implanting the remaining c.500 into the crown. Once I was cleaned up I had a de-brief session with Didem who talked me through some of the medicine to take that evening to avoid swelling and infection. I was then driven back to the hotel where I chilled for evening watching films (there were a few English film channels on the TV) and pigged out on the pizza Didem had kindly arranged for me to take home, and more room service later in the evening. It is worth noting that on my first day, there was one other patient who was getting a similar amount of implants as me. We were the only 2 patients the clinic was attending to that day. Day 3 Pretty similar day in terms of surgery. Ahmet and the team extracted 1,300 hairs from my donor area before Dr Doganay implanted them almost immediately after they had been extracted. The surgery was completed in a slightly shorter time as most of the work was done on my crown which Dr Doganay was able to work quicker on. On day 2 I had around 800 grafts placed into the crown and 500 into the front hairline. Of my total 2585 grafts implanted across 2 days I had around 50% grafts placed into my crown and 50% into my front hairline. As Dr Doganay had agreed specially to come in on Sunday to accommodate my booking, I was the only patient they were operating on that day. Day 4 After breakfast I was taken to the clinic to go through the post-op care stages, shown how to wash the donor and recipient area and provided with creams, shampoos, medicines etc to see me through the next few weeks. I was also given a nice goofy hat to wear, which made travelling home much easier. I was dropped off at the airport and made it back home to UK later that afternoon. Conclusion All in all it was a very positive experience. Dr Doganays team are all very caring and professional in how they approach their roles. Dr Doganay carried out all of the implantation work and they honoured my request to have certain technicians working on the extraction work. Throughout the few days I was there, they went to all lengths to make me feel comfortable and address any concerns I had. I really felt at ease with them all during my time there which is a testament to how they treat their patients. Now I await the results as we all know that whilst the experience and care you receive is important, the yield and end result is what we really want. I was advised by the clinic that I have strong donor area and the follicles extracted were in good condition, therefore to my mind, as long as the implantation work was completed to a high standard, then I should hopefully come away with the result I was looking for. I will keep you updated on my progress over time. In the meantime I attach pre-op and post op photos.

Would you mind doing the same for me please. Thanks

Will put up post-op photos in coming days

Not sure why I can't get them all in 1 post!

Some pre-op photos as promised

Dr Doganay was always my of my top choices for a surgeon after producing consistently good results, with patients happy with the overall experience. It is however well documented that Dr Dogonay then attempted to adapt his business model to more of 'tech' run practise which is common across Europe, and this has clearly failed with a number of poor yielding results. In response he has reverted back to his original, successful way of operating which involves him doing all the implantation work. I expect the strong yielding results to return, albeit I accept the community need to see these results before Dr Doganay can rebuild his reputation again. I hope I will be a case in point. I have taken on all the comments and views from this forum. They have been incredibly valuable.

So my procedure is less than a week away. Obviously feeling a little bit nervous about it. I am trying to get information on the technician likely to be doing my extraction work. Hoping the clinic will be transparent about everyone involved. This I feel is imperative when considering surgery like this.

hmm, not great! Wonder if the technicians did the implantation work?

Speedboatchase do you remember who did the extractions (technician name if you have it noted anywhere)? You look to have got great results, and yield. You must be very pleased.

Yes I will keep you updated throughout, including photos. I have been assured that poor practices of the past have been eradicated and I hope to be able to confirm this.

That is reassuring to hear hyte. I'm pleased for you that things are progressing as you'd hoped. How has the healing process been from motor extraction? In terms of extraction, was there just one technician working on that part of the process?

I am merely posing the question of possible redemption and using my own experience to further the debate/discussion around Dr Hakan as a surgeon. He is clearly a controversial figure, rightly so, based on recent experiences, yet was once heralded as one of the best FUE surgeons. I thought opening up my experience would be useful for those considering using him in near future.

Dr Hakan Doganay - My experience I've been following the forums in this site for many years having suffered with hair loss for 7-8 years. It was the shared experiences of members that helped me take the first steps towards treating my hair loss by using combinations of medicines available which have worked wonders in allowing me to severely slow down the onset of baldness. Notwithstanding this, I've curiously explored the idea of a hair transplant for a long time now and for a few years closely followed the work of Dr Hakan Doganay, who at the time was getting some rave reviews from patients and demonstrating some very impressive work. I have been in touch on and off with his representives for a couple of years and always found them to be helpful and informative. Recently I decided to take the plunge and book myself in. I've a month spell over xmas off work and thought this would be an ideal time to get some work done. When I spoke to Dr Donagay he said he was completely booked up throughout December, however he kindly agreed to work a Sunday to fit me in as I am unlikely to have this chance again for some while. I was naturally grateful and so booked myself in. Ive subsequently spent a fair bit of time catching up on the discussion threads on this site, and note Dr Hakan Doganay has received some bad rep since I first spent time researching him. It is clear there a few unhappy patients, with customer care and end results being questioned to a degree in which Dr Hakans recommmendation has been removed pending improvements. This is somewhat concerning, and to this extent I contacted Dr Hakans representatives seeking answers. I have been assured that changes have been implemented to their customer experience including a relocation to Istanbul with improved premises and hotel facilities, and in respect of poor results, Dr Hakan now conducts the entire implantation work on his own to ensure patients that best results will be received. They stand behind their motorised extraction technique and believe it yields best results for them. I will be providing a full and detailed blog of my experience if only to help guide others in their decision making process, but also maybe to help Dr Hakan regain his reputation for being one of the best FUE transplant surgeons in the world. Time will tell whether that happens or not.

I've been following the forums in this site for many years having suffered with hair loss for 7-8 years. It was the shared experiences of members that helped me take the first steps towards treating my hair loss by using combinations of medicines available which have worked wonders in allowing me to severely slow down the onset of baldness. Notwithstanding this, I've curiously explored the idea of a hair transplant for a long time now and for a few years closely followed the work of Dr Hakan Doganay, who at the time was getting some rave reviews from patients and demonstrating some very impressive work. I have been in touch on and off with his representives for a couple of years and always found them to be helpful and informative. Recently I decided to take the plunge and book myself in. I've a month spell over xmas off work and thought this would be an ideal time to get some work done. When I spoke to Dr Donagay he said he was completely booked up throughout December, however he kindly agreed to work a Sunday to fit me in as I am unlikely to have this chance again for some while. I was naturally grateful and so booked myself in. Ive subsequently spent a fair bit of time catching up on the discussion threads on this site, and note Dr Hakan Doganay has received some bad rep since I first spent time researching him. It is clear there a few unhappy patients, with customer care and end results being questioned to a degree in which Dr Hakans recommmendation has been removed pending improvements. This is somewhat concerning, and to this extent I contacted Dr Hakans representatives seeking answers. I have been assured that changes have been implemented to their customer experience including a relocation to Istanbul with improved premises and hotel facilities, and in respect of poor results, Dr Hakan now conducts the entire implantation work on his own to ensure patients that best results will be received. They stand behind their motorised extraction technique and beloeve it yields best results for them. I will be providing a full and detailed blog of my experience if only to help guide others in their decision making process, but also maybe to help Dr Hakan regain his reputation for being one of the best FUE transplant surgeons in the world. Time will tell whether that happens or not.