Yeah, I guess that sounds odd. He was in front of me walking off of the plane and he wore his hair on the back super short, like 0.5 cm or a 1 on the buzzer. I could see what looked like FUE scars/inflammation, so I asked him about it. He opened up to me and actually raved about this guy at medicalFUE Koksal Deniz. He liked that 2 doctors did the operation.
I want to thank all of you for your input so far, which has been really valuable. I've been getting my consults back from these surgeons (with grafts numbers) and I've distilled my thinking to what follows. I only need hairline work if that helps people evaluate.
Muttalip Keser:
Location: Ankara, Turkey (more difficult flight vs Istanbul)
Cost: $7,875 for 2250 grafts FUE (3.5 euro/graft).
Procedure type: FUE
Reputation: Top in Turkey (1T)
Notes: Very well-regarded. Have not seen any negative experiences. Does entire procedure himself. Does not employ any nurses, assistants, techs, etc. Only does 700 grafts per day. All grafts are manually extracted. Been doing FUE since 2003. Surgery will be spread over 4-5 days.
Final thoughts: I think he represents the closest thing to a “sure thing”. You know exactly who will be working on you, not rolling the dice on what tech will be there that day.
Koray Erdogan
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Cost: $7000 for 2800 grafts FUE. $8400 for unshaven FUE.
Procedure type: FUE
Reputation: Top in Turkey (1T)
Notes: Uses a manual punch, but techs perform the extractions. Unclear what parts of the operation he performs. Mainly known for his use of “dense-packing” of the hairs to create a more natural looking hairline (also the reason for the high number of grafts quoted).
Final thoughts: Seems like he runs a very well-oiled machine, but uses lots of techs in the process. No negative reviews out there, but seems like a little bit of a factory.
Hakan Doganay
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Cost: $5,000 for 2500 grafts FUE. $6250 for manual punch FUE.
Procedure type: FUE (will also allow me to not shave recipient area)
Reputation: Mixed
Notes: Used to be regarded as one of the top two or three in Turkey. However, 2 years ago he started having complaints on the forums. He started having technicians perform the implantations. An ex-employee said that he was also re-using needles (after sterilization) used for the extractions to save money. He has agreed to do all of the implantations himself in my case. Uses a micro-motor for extraction rather than manual punch.
Final thoughts: Could be an opportunity to have the attention of a master at a good price. If he knows I am a doctor maybe I'll have some more attention due to professional courtesy. I'll also be documenting the experience on some of the forums, and maybe he will be likely to behave well.
Koksal Deniz
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Cost: $2100 for 2000 grafts FUE.
Procedure type: FUE
Reputation: Very little known.
Notes: This is the surgeon who performed the operation on the man I met. He had about 6000 grafts done, which is one of the reasons I think he opted for this guy (flat rate and will agree to a lot of grafts). Says that extractions are performed with needles less than 0.5mm.
Final thoughts: I know I saw a real patient (with a great result after 6000(!) grafts), but feels like I’m taking a bit of a chance here. Seems very tech-heavy, but without the extensive number of reviews Erdogan has. His rep says that he trained with Levent Acar.
Overall, I'm leaning towards Keser despite the higher price and the worse flight for me. It seems that with him I know what I'm buying at least. I understand Erdogan has more results posted, but I also think he has an extensive marketing team and I'm not sure how unbiased the reviews I'm seeing online are. I'm betting that there's a lot of great surgeons out there that we never give a chance because we don't want to take a chance on something we have to wear on our forehead every day for our lives, I get that. It just seems like as a community we're missing out on some good talent (how I feel Koksal Deniz could be).