kirkland

Funny you should mention that. Earlier today, I was speaking to the marketing director (?) of Eugenix. I did not catch his name - will get it tomorrow. We talked about branding, but more specifically, I was asking him if Eugenix is considering branching out into the hairloss-related retail sector, such as hair fibers, etc. He told me that Eugenix wants to focus on quality control as its main business strategy. They are currently not interested in anything but making sure that they deliver good, consistent results in their operating theaters. As such, there is a significant emphasis on training and development of staff, including their technicians. While I have nothing to compare them to, it seems that there is a strong sense of loyalty and pride among the staff. They all know how renowned Eugenix has become and they all want to work together to ensure organizational success. Since you coach business at the graduate level, you can appreciate how important it is for the long-term success of a company to have staff all buy in to the mission of the organization (I'm a part-time grad student in human resource development at the University of Toronto so I also appreciate this goal). The techs all seem to be well-trained and skilled in their craft. Now I could have a bias - there are always multiple surgeries going on simultaneously and I could be attributing the skill set of my technicians across the entire workforce. But I think the results that we all see from Eugenix speak for themselves. Of course, success can breed problems. Growing too big, too fast can impair their strategy, particularly if they have to compromise training and development for efficiency and growth. But they seem to have the right ratio at the moment. So, in short, I have come away feeling pretty confident that their techs will do a top-notch job most of the time. I didn't talk to Dr. Bansal about my donor viability but she did remark that I had a good supply and that 3500+ grafts were easily available without having to dig into my pathetic beard hair. Now if I could only harvest part of Melvin's beard for my own purposes... Also, I have a small head which helps a lot since it reduces the number of grafts needed pretty significantly. When I went in today to do a post one-day check up and cleaning, I met a Danish guy who was coming in for 6500!!! grafts. They were going to extract 4000 from his donor region and 2500 from the beard. His donor area was far less viable than mine so I know I have at least 1000-2000 good grafts left. Since I don't give a toss about my crown, and I think a thinning crown is age appropriate for me, my remaining grafts, minus the beard hair, will more than amply get me to where I would like to be after a second surgery.

Also, just a general tip for all travellers to Eugenix who are staying at a nearby hotel. If any staff member (from Eugenix or the hotel) stands out as being particularly exceptional in their customer service, take a few moments to let their superiors know about their achievements. For Eugenix staff, that could be just sharing a kind word with either of the founding doctors, Maudit or Anil about that staff member's contribution. For the DoubleTree Hilton, that could be speaking in person to the manager or by sending a compliment through the main DoubleTree Hilton website (make sure you reference the DoubleTree Hilton in Gurugram Baani Square). That simple gesture can make a significant impact on someone's career opportunities here in India. My lovely friend, Pooja, for example, comes from Agra (the home of the Taj Mahal). She works really long hours and when she gets two days off, she goes back to her home city. People travel far and wide in India for job opportunities. We are ridiculously spoiled in the West (that is a major generalization, of course - there are lots of people in the West who, for historical and other reasons, are far from privileged) and it is easy to forget just how lucky we are. People here work long hours just to enjoy things we take for granted. Be kind when you can and be mindful that simple gestures from you can have significant outcomes for others.

Ok - so you definitely want to stay at least 48 hours post-surgery with that large number of grafts. Lots of trauma to the scalp, 2 days of surgery. You and your head are going to be tired (but happy) by the end of it all. You need a good couple of days rest to allow your grafts to take properly plus you will have to spray your scalp with a saline solution every two hours for a few days, or at the very least, two days post-op. You don't want to be going through the hassle of waiting in airports, stuck on a busy plane for hours or just the challenges of long-distance travel in general with that much surgery for at least a couple of days. I don't know if Eugenix can arrange Genestrings to come and do a PCR test at the clinic. Mine was done by the same company that did my blood tests but it wasn't Genestrings. It's all a moot point if you are not taking a direct flight anyways since Canada will not accept a PCR test result from any Indian company, including Genestrings, if transiting through another country en route back to Canada. Make sure you arrange a return flight schedule that includes enough time in the last leg of the return journey to get a PCR test and receive the results plus upload them into the ArriveCAN app BEFORE you depart that last country. Otherwise, they will refuse you a boarding pass. In London, a couple of people were refused a boarding pass for their flight to India because they did not have timely documents ready. It is a serious business right now with travel. Everything is much more complicated in the COVID travel world so you have to build in enough time to make sudden changes or meet the necessary requirements just in case. You have to be ready to make alternate arrangements if the situation changes. Eugenix is used to dealing with people from all over the world but they are not travel agents. They have a lot of responsibilities already so don't rely on them to know what all the travel requirements are for each country. They have a big and dedicated staff but they work long hours to satisfy patients for their transplants. It's up to the patients to handle all other details of their journey. Good luck!

The Canadian government will not accept PCR test results from India unless you are flying direct and only then, with a specific testing company (Genestrings). If you are coming to Eugenix (and any HT clinic in India but I think most are coming to Eugenix), you have to book a PCR test in the last country you transit through before your flight to Canada. So if you are coming to Toronto via London, like I am, you have to book a PCR test in London and have enough time to get a neg result AND have it uploaded to the ArriveCAN app prior to boarding the flight home. The Canadian government is also requiring a minimum stay of 4 hours in that last transit country. So please make sure you leave yourself plenty of time on your last leg of the trip back to Canada to get tested in that country and get the results. Canada will accept RT-PCR and RT-LAMP tests but not antigen test results. LAMP results are the fastest if time is of essence - in my case, I am supposed to get my LAMP test results within 3 hours of testing at Heathrow airport. But I still had to re-schedule my return flight back to Canada to accommodate the requirements. Is all this hassle worth the travel to Eugenix? Yes. Yes it is.

I love butter chicken but I know that I am getting only a pale version of the real thing in Toronto. I didn't order it here because I am sticking to a strict vegetarian diet for the next few weeks. I had the butter tofu masala the last couple of days at the clinic and now Indian food in Toronto will never be the same again.

Sightseeing is tough for a few reasons: first, the clinic is located in Gurgaon and there really isn't much to see in the immediate area. Lots of industrial park space. There are local streets, of course, with tons of shops but nothing I haven't really experienced before; second, since I had 3500 grafts, I don't want to expose the area to the surrounding pollution and there is a lot of it here (this was also recommended to avoid by the Eugenix team); third, I have a ton of work that I am fitting in around my visit to the clinic. My original plan a couple of years back was to spend about a week in Chandigarh because I love Le Corbusier architecture/design but those plans were scuttled with the pandemic. The trip got shortened to the clinic visit only. It's too bad that I didn't have more time here in India. It really is an incredible country with great food, beautiful sites and wonderful people. I am sure to have hair greed once I see my current results so I will try to create a better travel itinerary the next time I come to visit Eugenix.

That's good to know. Thanks for this. At Eugenix, everything is pretty much covered that you don't need cash except for paying directly for blood tests and a PCR test at Eugenix. These are third-party provided services that Eugenix provides but you have to pay them directly. They only take cash (rupees). The additional blood tests cost was $32 CDN (about 2000 rupees) and the PCR test is supposedly only 1000 rupees. I will know more today since I have to return to the clinic for a check-up and to have the PCR test so that I can submit for my return trip to UK and Canada. Unless anyone plans to spend money outside of the hotel compound or the Eugenix compound, you really need minimal amount of rupees on you. $50 CDN or US is more than enough. Everything at the hotel (Eugenix puts you up at the nearby DoubleTree Hilton since their in-house rooms at the clinic are not currently available due to renovations) can be paid by Visa. The hotel has complimentary buffet breakfast and you can either order room service for dinner or eat in their dining facilities. During the days of surgery, Eugenix provides meals. And might I suggest the Butter Tofu Masala? It is absolutely orgasmic. I haven't had good Indian food for decades so having this dish in such a long time was worth it!

Thanks so much @MazAB This forum helped me so much in my search for the right hair restoration clinic and I want to give back as much as possible.

Thanks @rob7331I know you are here next month so I hope that consider the following: - have some rupees on hand when you arrive or you can exchange at the airport. If you haven't provided the clinic with all of the blood tests before arriving, you have to pay a clinician to come to Eugenix and do the rest of the tests. About 2000 rupees. Plus you will need a negative PCR test to fly back to Canada. Eugenix will arrange. I was told the cost was about 1000 rupees. - bring a comfortable neck pillow to sleep on for first two to three days. Bring something to wrap around the pillow so that you don't get blood on it during the sleep. There will still be a little bleeding after the surgery, particularly when you lay your end down at night. - no need for converter. The hotel has plugs which will take N American devices. - My phone did work at airport but wifi requires that an SMS verification code be sent to phone and that didn't work. There is a kiosk located just prior to the exit doors after baggage pickup. They can give you a wifi password to use if you are communicating with your Eugenix rep via WhatsApp - Because the existing Eugenix clinic is undergoing renovation as they are building a larger building behind it, you won't be staying at the clinic for sleep. They put you up at a local Double Tree Hilton which is about 1 km away. Drivers take you back and forth so no need to walk yourself. - Eugenix covers the cost of two night's stay at the Hilton. If you are there longer, you pay the rest but Eugenix has a corporate rate with the hotel so make sure that either someone from Eugenix contacts the hotel to extend that rate to you, or go ask Boomi at the front desk of hotel. He can arrange for extending the corporate rate. - Hotel has complimentary breakfast buffet. Definitely eat a good breakfast each day of surgery since you have to take a few pills prior to surgery and the breakfast keeps the stomach strong with the meds - Make sure that you have the area being worked fully anesthetized. That's an uncomfortable process as they run a needle over a large area to numb the area having surgery. After they apply the anasthesia, have them poke the whole area to see if they missed a spot. That happened to me a couple of times. When they went to extract or implant in an area not fully numbed, it really hurts. The point is to have no pain at all in the area so make sure you communicate with the techs. - at the tail end of my day two surgery, I believe that the number of grafts extracted fell short by the number of slits created by Dr. Bansal. Suddenly, it seemed the techs were rushed to extract the right of grafts and so they had to numb the areas again. The one tech, who didn't do the anesthesia before, was now applying it and missed some spots so when another tech when to extract the grafts with the motorized punch, it was coring into a part of the scalp that was not numbed. I had to stop the surgery and make sure that the entire area was prepared properly before commencing because it hurt like hell! Still hurts in that region of the scalp. - you can bring a couple of smaller bottles to transfer the saline solution in for the return flight. You need to keep the recipient area sprayed every other hour through the day for 7 days. But Dr. Bansal can write a medical note exempting the airline from withholding a large bottle of liquid if it is used for medical purposes. She is giving me a note tomorrow or Thursday so we will see if it gets it past the security checkpoints at the airport. Let me know if you have ?'s

That's all I kept thinking about during the entire time -"It's going to be all worth it!"

It really is good work. I know that a lot of people focus on the various packages that Eugenix used to offer - the ones where, if you pay more, you have one or both doctors more involved in the surgery. When I put my down payment for surgery with Eugenix two years ago (before the pandemic and lockdowns), I chose the package with Dr. Bansal. But in reality, most of the work is done by the techs. Dr. Bansal designed the hairline, evaluated the donor region, made the slits and did some initial extractions but most of the real grunt work is done by the team which surrounds the doctors. The extractions, the placements are all from their hard work. The slits are important and that's why Dr. Bansal (and Dr. Sethi) are hands-on at this crucial step. They use a needle which looks much like an implanter needle. It creates the direction for the hair placement so Dr. Bansal is creating the foundation for how the grafts are ultimately placed by the technicians. The needle creates the opening just big enough for the graft to be placed at the right angle but not give it any room to move around once in place. Dr. Bansal also did the first few extractions so that she could observe the quality of the grafts, the ease by which they can be removed, etc. And, of course, she does the final inspection at the end of the surgery. But full credit goes to the technicians who work long, exhausting hours.

My god, @Zoomster- how did you bear your first surgery? I know you had even more grafts extracted than I did and my two days were intense. Tough to be in boths side positions for that long. I can now appreciate what you went through.

I didn't need to use any beard hair at all. 3500 grafts all from donor area. Crown is not really touched. I will try to get pics later today. I asked them to leave the crown for now since hairloss in that region is minimal plus it doesn't bother me to have a thinning crown. I'm sure I will get hair greed, though, so still have lots of hair left for a second surgery.

Sorry I haven't taken a pic of donor area yet. Back at hotel and resting since it was an intense two days but I will post later. Really looks great.

Day 2 is over. Just over 3500 grafts in total. Looks tight and clean. They did an amazing job. Really spent a lot of time refining the hairline. Intense 2 days though. Glad to have it over and get onto the growing stage (or at least the ugly duckling stage). The team there is fantastic. If anybody has seen the recent promotional material of Eugenix with Dr. Sethi and Mohammad Azharuddin, the former cricket captain of the Indian national team, well he was at the clinic today. Nice guy, wry sense of humour. Dr. Sethi looked starstruck - he was so pleased. But I think it speaks to how well established and renowned Eugenix has become in its own country. Of course, it is gaining traction as one of the top clinics in the worlds now but it really does attract star Indian talent which is good to see.

That's about 3000 grafts. Dr. Bansal did the slits last night for today's session. The stamina and detailed work of the technicians is impressive. 'Delhi-work' is how one tech described the long hours in the operating theatre. I also want to make mention that it takes a team to get the results. Dr.Bansal is an absolute gem but Anil, Maudit, Ramen and other team members are really to be commended for their hard work.

Sorry for not posting about yesterdays surgery. It was over a 12 hour day at the clinic and an early start this morning. Here's some pics form day one. Really nice tight work.

I will ask today for you.

I touched down in New Delhi earlier today. Everything from the Eugenix side of things has been great. Anil, Maudit and their staff have been really helpful. I was met at the airport by a driver arranged through Eugenix and taken to a Doubletree Hilton in nearby Gurgaon. The clinic is a short ride from this hotel. All transportation was arranged by Eugenix. I went to the clinic this evening to have the remaining bloodwork done for the surgery that I couldn't get done in Canada. It seems that Eugenix outsources its blood tests - it's not covered by Eugenix. A clinician shows up to take the sample and has to be paid on the spot so if you are planning on completing the required bloodwork through the clinic, make sure that you have cash (rupees) on hand. 2000 rupees ($32 Canadian) is the price. You can exchange money at the Indira Ghandi airport after landing and clearing customs and its a good idea to have some on hand. You don't need to change much - just enough to tip drivers if you want and to cover the costs of blood tests. Otherwise, Eugenix is on top of everything else. Communication and logistics has been very good with Eugenix. However, the overall experience of flying into India was challenging. I flew in from a connecting flight in London and there might be some retributive political actions going on between the UK and India which is impacting the travel experience. So if you have a connecting flight through the UK, be forewarned. Customs delays are generally longer than normal. Two British expats who came on the same flight said that it was unusual for the delays and suggested it could be politics between the two countries. Maudit at Eugenix also suggested that some tensions between the two countries over reciprocating travel restrictions is likely the cause. Also, flights to India have to skirt Afghani airspace so the flights from Europe are extended by about another hour. That may also apply for direct flights from America and Canada depending on which coast you are flying from. In addition, passengers inbound to India have to wear clear face shields AND face masks (and middle seat passengers have to wear a medical apron - don't ask me why) throughout the entire flight and in the airport. This is what we were told when we boarded. Many passengers removed the face shields mid-flight because it is impossible to get comfortable and eat in the cramped seating space on the airplane. But do be prepared if you are recently flying into India that this may be required on your flight. A couple of other things of note: all passengers on my flight to India had to take mandatory PCR tests at the Indira Gandhi airport -which cost about $8. You can pay by credit card for this test. It is a swab test. They stamped my paperwork stating that I had to quarantine until October 20 even though my outbound flight back to UK/Toronto leaves early Friday morning, October 15. We're trying to figure out what is going on because the new rules don't require a PCR test inbound if you are vaccinated and show a negative PCR test. I will post about my findings. Also, remember to bring an open shirt for the surgery. I will let the forum know how easy it was to arrange my 72-hour PCR test to be allowed back into Canada. My surgery is scheduled for early tomorrow morning. If anyone has any questions, please let me know. Edit: One other detail. If you are not traveling with a SIM card for your phone and just plan on using wifi at the airport in Delhi to contact the clinic, etc, it becomes difficult because you can only access the free wifi service if they can send you a verification code via SMS. You have to wait to you have cleared customs and then go to the information kiosk near the exit of the airport to get a free passcode for the wifi. I will see if I still have the piece of paper with this code so you can use it much earlier in the journey through airport customs to make contact with your Eugenix rep upon landing.

That's great @H3ri! Another Eugenix case that looks like it is going to have a fantastic outcome. Good luck growing!

Are you going on a medical visa?

That's great. I'm glad this forum guided you to a better choice for surgery. Where in Canada are you located?

Thank you all for your words of encouragement. That's why I love this forum.