highlander6

Post Op Day 1 I was flying home today, so had to be at the clinic for 9:20 and I had a slight swelling but not massively noticeable. I also think I lost 1 graft last night! I had my bandages off, which felt a little raw but was fine. Sema was there to describe the washing process which was easy and didn't hurt and she gave me my goody bag including: shampoo, mousse, usb, hat, charging dock and a present from Dr Umut... a Xanax pill, I asked for this so I wouldn't give a f*ck in the airport I bid a sad farewell to Sema and off the driver took me to the airport. In the airport I saw 2 other guys who had HT's... one with the horrible hat on and one with the headband on, i sat there quietly thinking to myself how wrong they had been choosing those clinics . I was really enjoying the Xanax and didn't have a care in the world! On arrival to the UK the Xanax had warn off, my head had swollen on the plane and I looked like a mutant, everyone looked at me and the digital passport control couldn't recognise me . This day I had no pain what so ever. Also I had bought the neck pillow JustJax had mentioned... wow what a difference this made, you can actually sleep on your sides/front without damaging the grafts!! I got a full 7 hours sleep with this

Surgery Day 2 I was awake really early, and after showering and getting dressed, went down for breakfast at 6:30. I met the other guys down there and we complimented each others hairlines lol. We got few double takes from other guests but by now you don't care what people think and we were probably the loudest people sat and breakfast chatting and laughing. Again the driver collected us at 7:10. Today was very similar to yesterday except the injection pain was much worse for me but I had declined Dr Umut's IV anaesthetic. If you can't handle pain i'd advise to have this! Also today incisions and implantation of the crown were performed face down, which was also a comfy position for me! Buket Today I met another patient coordinator who looked after me. Her name is pronounced "Bouquet". I have a massive crush on this girl!! We seemed to have everything in common with our hobbies and pastimes (movies, fitness, food etc)! She is very alluring and it shows she used to be a teacher by her caring nature. Wish I could've stayed in contact with her! After returning to the hotel, I too was weak and shaky but I have felt like this a couple of times before when I have had full 8 hour sessions on my tattoos. I believe its just your body reacting to 1000's of micro traumas. I put the heating on and got in bed with a chocolate bar and a coca cola, within 30 mins I was fine, and again ordered room service. Again I didn't sleep well with this neck pillow! 2 - 4 hours! Regrets I really regret not learning basic Turkish, to show my gratitude to this great staff. I regret not keeping in touch with Dr Umut and Buket.

Thanks ... I've written a lot more but its been held for moderation, ive written up to day 6 post op all with photos. I transferred the deposit via bank transfer in euros, and I exchanged pounds for euros at eurochange in the UK. No they didn't charge me for the extra grafts, nor the extra nights stay. Don't be too demanding, these guys do a lot Why would you not want the hotel? Where are you going to eat evening meals?

Surgery Day 1 I woke at 6ish and went down for breakfast wearing a cap as I had blue marker on my head. I sat with one of the Aussie guys and we had a laugh. The driver again was bang on time and myself the Aussie and 2 French guys headed off to Asmed. I also took my Xanax Dr Umut had given me. On arrival the 4 of us went into a room to change into the surgery clothes and then were escorted outside for breakfast where we chatted. After breakfast I was led downstairs to the surgery room, I was having 2500 extractions before lunch. I was sat in an upright position for the 4 hours this took. The injections were fine for me , but every hour I needed to get up to stretch my back and legs! During the 4 hours, I chatted to Sema and Dr Umut, watched a movie and vikings. Once the 2500 grafts were extracted, it was time for lunch and time for me to stretch my back! Dinner was really nice Turkish food and I sat with Dr Umut. After lunch it was time for the incisions, again I was anaesthetized, which was fine. Dr Erdogan performed the incisions which took about 30 mins. For the incisions and implantation I was in a more laid position which for me was really comfortable, I kept nodding off and jumping back awake ! (It must have annoyed the technicians because I was moving my head). We went straight on to implantation after as I was comfy and I just wanted to get finished up. This took another 2.5 hours and again was painless. After I was taken upstairs for the laser treatment which is meant to help with healing. Dr Erdogan came to check over the work and Sema told me how to look after my HT that evening. I was back at the hotel by 5PM. I found the first day really easy and relaxing. The hardest parts were the extraction as I have lower back pains. The worst part for me was the cold ATP spray they moisten your scalp with I ordered room service in the hotel and tried to sleep with the pillow but probably only slept 2-4 hours! I took paracetamol incase of any pain.

Consultation Day I woke around 9:00, knowing I was in no rush while I waited for Sema to message I checked out the TV and room, I got showered and dressed and decided to go get some Lira from the ATM. What to do with the 10,000? The safe seemed broken! Call reception and get someone to fix it? I have no money to tip! Take it with me? Maybe i'll take a wrong turn and get mugged! I know, i'll hide it under the plastic bag in the bathroom bin, no-one will look there and I've only been here 8 hours it won't be cleaned. In the lift on the way down I decided i'd have a quick breakfast in the buffet bar. Gave them my room number and went in. The breakfast buffet has a large selection of breads, fruits, cereals, yoghurts, juices, and you can also have eggs poached and omelettes made etc. After breakfast I walked to the ATM and drew some Lira for tips and evening meals and walked back. On returning to my room I realised the cleaner was in, I walked in and said "hi", she was in the bathroom, but she didn't hear me... I think she was shocked by what she had found in the bin, anyway she looked at it, realised what it was, put it back in the bin, and replaced a new bin liner over the top of it she then turned round, saw me and jumped lol. I explained to her the safe didn't work and she rung reception who sent someone to fix it for me. What an honest trustworthy lady! Hats off to her! Sema text about 12 to say I would be picked up at 13:20, the driver was bang on time and I sat in the minibus and 2 other guests jumped in. They were from Australia, cousins, one was a return patient, having 3000 grafts, his cousin was having a 2 day procedure of 5500. I was still nervous carrying all this cash! Sema Upon arriving at the clinic, Sema was at the door to meet me. Sema is beautiful, gently spoken, and how I imagined a Turkish girl to look. She instantly put me at ease and my worries started to fade. Throughout my visit, Sema was there whenever I needed her and answered all my questions. She is very reassuring, to me she has a sisterly nature about her. She does a lot this girl and I think she is indispensable to the clinic! I cannot thank her enough! Clinic & consultation On arrival Sema showed me how to wrap my shoes in plastic at the front door, then we walked into the reception of the clinic which is immaculate, with finance department to the right, and a lady on the piano to the left (nice touch). Sema showed me downstairs where I was greeted by more beautiful girls! Seriously! We went straight into the photography room and I had photos taken of all sides with dry hair and then with wet hair. This was the point I really started to relax! After years of hiding my hair, I was now at my most vulnerable with wet hair and 6 or 7 beautiful girls all looking at me and taking photos. It felt quite liberating to be honest. After photos Sema and I went back upstairs and chatted and filled the forms in whilst waiting to see Dr Erdogan. Dr Erdogan Dr Erdogan is professional, and always smiling, I had confidence in him. He examined my hair with a loupe, did some calculations, told me my donor capacity, and asked if id like to try a hairline. The first he drew was just how I wanted it, but I asked him to look at some photos of when I was younger just to check, which he did, and we both agreed on the hairline. I was maybe with him for 15 minutes, and this is all we needed. Health checks After the consultation, Sema and I headed downstairs into a room with 2 nurses. I was asked to remove my top and lie on the bed. Again in front of beautiful women! I'm fine with needles but many must not be as the nurses were trying to be as calming and re-assuring as possible. My blood was taken and I had an ECG and blood pressure test. Finance Back upstairs again after my health checks came back all clear. Finally got rid of the 10,100 that had weighed so heavily on my mind! They ran it through a cash counting machine, and gave me back the extra money I had bought for an extra nights stay! Head shaved and more photos Back downstairs into the salon, I took a last photo of myself with hair, then off it went I really enjoyed having it shaven, and didn't look too bad with a shaved head. You also get to keep the razors after the HT. I then went back into the photography room and had the days final snaps with a skinhead and blue lines. Dr Umut I also met the anesthesiologist Dr Umut? while downstairs. He gave me a Xanax and explained to me the certain drugs I could be administered. I have got to say I love this guy, to me he seems like an old Yorkshireman , dour and intelligent with a dark sense of humour, a real movie buff. Very funny guy who I also think was keen to chat. Id loved to have gone out for a few beers with him! Upon leaving Sema handed my some printed information to read about the following days and told me i'd be picked up at 07:10, we bid our farewells (I had been there maybe 3 hours)and the driver took me back to the hotel where I watched movies and ordered an Aberdeen Angus cheeseburger from room service and went to sleep.

Choosing Asmed Hi guys ... long time lurker here. Its taken me 5+ years to decide on a HT. I am 38 from the North of the UK. I have chosen to go with Dr Koray Erdogan of Asmed in Turkey, I have not taken this decision lightly and believe Asmed to be at the forefront of FUE from my research, hopefully I am proven correct! Of the negative reviews I can find of Dr Erdogan, I believe it to be more the wrong patient than a bad hair transplant. I have researched heavily on this forum and others, the following members helped me choose Asmed & Dr Erdogan: DEBS Vchorro SK78 HG1 And a youtube diary: HT Fanboy Thanks to all these guys for your in-depth reviews! I will try to leave a review in DEB1982 style as I feel this review made up my mind! Pre Surgery Care My patient coordinator is Sema , she has been excellent so far, made the deposit and all information I need to comply with so clear, it has been a breeze so far. Deposit paid, flights booked, insurance bought, visa bought. Finances After having bank transferred the initial deposit to Asmed, about a week before travel I exchanged 10,100 euros at Eurochange to take with me to Istanbul for the final payment. This took longer than I thought, Eurochange did plenty of checks on me and asked me lots of questions. I just told them I was going travelling through Europe for a few weeks. It took about 40 mins at the desk to get the money, and that's after I informed them by phone I would be coming for that amount. Flights Sema informed me of the times and dates I had to arrive/depart for. I booked my flights accordingly but could only find one that arrived at 11pm the night before the consultation. So I took enough money to book 1 extra night at the hotel as only 3 nights are included with the price. (Upon consultation, I was told I didn't have to pay for the extra night, it was yet another gift for me ) I decided to declare the money I was taking as customs can confiscate it for 48 hours and fine you upto ?5000 , so didn't want to risk it. Was really simple, filled in and printed out 2 copies of the C9011 form, kept one and dropped the other in the customs dropbox at the airport (ask a customs guy after security scans for where this is). More info can be found here. My nerves started to kick in when I was sat in the airport, not about the HT but about the money I was carrying. I was also a little on edge as I was travelling to a country I had never been, I could not speak the language, it was next to a war zone etc etc. Arrival in Istanbul The flight went smoothly and I arrived in Istanbul at 11:00PM. The driver recognised me within seconds of coming through arrivals, he was holding a sign with my name and I also instantly recognised him from the photo send from Asmed. He took my carry bag (containing the 10,000) and we headed for the minibus. On the way he phoned Sema and we had a chat that he was taking me to the hotel and she'd whatsapp me in the morning to tell me when id be picked up for the consultation. We got to the minivan, really smart and clean with complimentary drinks,nuts, and haribo's in the back! The driver was really pleasant. The Hotel It took maybe 35 - 40 minutes to get to the hotel Radisson Blu. I was relieved to finally get there and it took about 5 mins to check in and the driver showed me and and bid his farewells. I would 100% recommend staying in the hotel for your duration. Comfortable, great food. And you meet plenty of other Asmed patients ( As you will read later). I was shown to the room by the concierge and suddenly realised i'd brought no Turkish Lira for food & tips etc. I apologetically explained and asked where the nearest ATM was for the morning. ( I will attach an image of the route to the nearest ATM from the hotel). On arrival I forgot to ask about the safe (thinking i needed to have it switched on) but I was tired so just un-packed, stuffed the money under the matress, had a shower and went to bed. Below are some images of my hair pre HT

nice... beginning to look good now! all the best... im 5 days post op!

Would just like to say a big Thankyou for your posts, made me pull the trigger and get it done at asmed... Back home now just writing up my review. Will try make it as detailed as yours. Cheers Debs

hahaha, sat in airport now, downing pints, nerves kicking in...

You make a good point about disconnecting from the HT. Did you wear a cap on the return home?

Thankyou for your wishes. I have bought a soak and sleep neck pillow recommended by justjax i think, but i will leave it at home for when i return as it is quite bulky. Would you recommend to stay in the clinic on the evenings of the procedure? And would you recommend a cap for the return flight?

Flying out today... No nerves about the HT at all today, though it will probably change tomorrow! For the guys that are worried about telling people of the HT procedure... I am a builder myself and a construction site is renowned for taking the mickey out of friends/people and I am a prime culprit so expect to have the mickey taken of me. So about 6 months ago I just started dropping hints that I might have a HT, mentioning it every week, showing people images/videos etc, all the guys at work are like : f*ck off you'll never do that you'll look like kajagoogoo where they taking the hair from... your arse But yet they were all interested in seeing the images/videos of procedures. Every week the jokes got less and less, then 6 weeks before the op I went in and told them I'd booked and was going in 6 weeks... Their reply "Oh have you!" "How much you get it for?" "Have you chose Turkey?". Now they're supportive and can't wait to see the results (maybe a couple are hoping it goes wrong so they can take the piss!) I did the same with family and close friends. At the end of the day, most people are going to realise you've had it done later down the line. Drip feed people info that you're considering the idea of a HT so when you hit them with the news of booking it , they are bored of you Others are not as interested in our hair as ourselves!

Hi Payam, are you any happier yet?

I havn't had the HT yet But I believe your correct here, although it shouldn't really matter what part Dr Erdogan plays in the procedure, at the end of the day it's Erdogans name that's at stake, he is the top man, the manager, the owner. To achieve consistent top results he has to train and manage his staff to meet his and our expectations. He has proven this trait again and again from the (many) results that I have seen. He also has complete trust in his staff which in itself exudes confidence.

Did any of you guys continue/start to take msm and biotin during/after your procedure? I believe it helps grow back the shaven hair quicker

Hi, good choice with Asmed... could you please explain the use of a taxi driver as asmed provides its own courier service from the airport?

Thanks guys, starting to get nervous/excited now! I'm there for 4 nights , how much extra did you guys take for evening meals etc? Any problems with bringing cash at the Turkish customs?

At the members request, this topic has been closed. You can view his more detailed account with photos by clicking here. Hi guys ... long time lurker here. Its taken me 5+ years to decide on a HT. I am 38 from the North of the UK. I have chosen to go with Dr Koray Erdogan of Asmed in Turkey, I have not taken this decision lightly and believe Asmed to be at the forefront of FUE from my research, hopefully I am proven correct! Of the negative reviews I can find of Dr Erdogan, I believe it to be more the wrong patient than a bad hair transplant. For example, I believe this patient would not be happy with any surgery from any Dr : Payam I have researched heavily on this forum and others, the following reviews helped me choose Asmed & Dr Erdogan: DEBS Vchorro SK78 HG1 And a youtube diary: HT Fanboy Thanks to all these guys for your in-depth reviews! I will try to leave a review in DEB1982 style as I feel this review made up my mind! Pre Surgery Care My patient coordinator is Sema , she has been excellent so far, made the deposit and all information I need to comply with so clear, it has been a breeze so far. Deposit paid, flights booked, insurance bought, visa bought. Thanks guys I will update from the 17/4/2018 onwards I didnt realise my hair was so bad until I got a friend to take the following image: