Kraistoff

Day 3 post op photos .....

I have been losing hair since i was 18, and the reason for this post is to give something back to the online forums which have helped me over the years

i chose Asmed due to the high reviews online, natural hairlines a good value.

i did the online consultation and i was advised i could need a total of 4500 grafts (TBC in person)

i paid the deposit and booked!



Arrival

I flew from Stanstead and arrived at Istanbul S Gokce at around 5am Turkish time. Upon landing, we got onto a small bus which took us to the arrival section of the airport

I cued for about 45 mins on the “other nationalities” section of passport control. Once I arrived at the booth, the officer said the words “visa” about three time and pointed at an area back in the direction I came from. 

I went to the visa booth, and the man working there didn’t speak any English . I asked him a question about the visa but he said “no English” and then “20 pound” , I didn’t have £20 so I had to give him €25. By the time I did this the que had doubled so I had to cue again for over an hour which wasn’t what I needed after the flight. Be sure to sort your visa out before you cue, my own ignorance costed me an hour of my life ! 

Whilst I was in the cue I noticed a missed call from my patient coordinator . I didn’t call back immediately as I was worried about the charges. She called again asking where I was and told me the driver was waiting for me on the gate and had a sign with my name on it. This made me feel comfortable 

Once I met the driver , he offered me a coffee which I refused as I needed to sleep, and walked me to a tinted out Mercedes people carrier with leather seats and an assortments of snacks and drinks inside for me to help myself. We drove through some impressive buildings such as mosques and saw some really tall bulldogs. I was impressed with the architecture in isntanbul and the standard of the roads . 


I arrived at the hotel at around 7am, and and went straight to my room. Texted my mum to tell her I had arrived , called my wife and went down for some breakfast which was brilliant. For those of us who like fried breakfasts this was ace, no pork but the beef sausages were better and here was lots to choose from 

I went to sleep in the room until 1200 and woke up and went down to find some lunch. I wasn’t sure if this was included in my stay but the receptionist let me through (later got a call telling me I needed to sign , assumed at the time it was due to a charge) but again food was excellent so I won’t have any issue on paying for this ! Lovely mashed potatoes and meat stew 

I was included by asmed driver would pick me up for the consultation between 12:30 and 1330 the next day



Day 2 - Consultation

I awoke at about 8am and went for breakfast

The driver arrived at 12:50 and I was taken to the clinic with 3 other passengers . A couple from Spain and a man from Italy 

When I arrived we listened to a band on a grand piano and a double bass in the lift lobby and went for blood tests, heart monitoring . I had to wait on the lobby drinking Turkish tea and eating French toast until the Dr was ready to meet me (a few patients were around)

Once he was ready I was taken up stairs and we discussed my hair. I was given the bad news (half knew it but was in denial with myself) that I had miniaturisation into a NW6 pattern which was like a kick in the balls. He measured my donor which was good (8900) and hair diameter and said he would use 3500 on the thinning areas in the front and the other thousand along the top and to the crown. He drew a hairline 

I went to finance office to pay, then and then to get me head shaved.

The other patients from the car to the clinic were in there. I shaved my head and then the doubt started . Was I doing the right thing? I don’t look bad with a shaved head etc . I think the staff could see I was worried and they tried to help me feel comfortable


Once head was shave it was back into the photo room and the Dr was there again. He re-drew the hairline and marked the figures on my head before more snaps were taken 

I then went to a robotics lab where they took a load of video motion images of my head which was interesting 

Back to the hotel by 17:00. Still worried. I spoke to my wife and mum which made me feel better.


Day 3 - operation day 1


I was told to get breakfast at 0630 ready for the pick up at 0710

All went well with breakfast and we arrived at the clinic about 0730. The staff were there to greet us

I was taken to the operation room and had about 3/4 hours of extractions which I felt hardly anything and slept through most (the painkiller knocked me out) . What I did feel was like a bee sting . 

At lunch time other patients were in the kitchenette as well as the pain killing doctor ( really nice bloke) and the food was lovely 

In the afternoon, Koray did the incisions and then the techs planted . Just before the end of the day another woman tech cam into the room , I don’t remember much as I was completely out of it but they told me she was checking the hairline and ensuring the density was there. I do remember feeling a lot of pain at some point in this period , it felt like she was twisting the graft in my hairline . Maybe to ensure it was in the correct orientation. I was told she was an associate of the business and quite senior 


I was in the hotel by around 1830


I must say it is all rather blurry as the pain killer must have that effect on me. I also took Xanax everyday.  

They painted 2300 grafts in my hairline alone this day. I was initially worried about the aggressiveness of the Hairline design but turns out it isn’t aggressive at all , it’s just normal and I’m so used to seeing myself with crap hair it was all a bit of a shock !


Day 4 - operation day 2


Much of the same except now they planted to vertex and the 1000 to the crown due to my newly diagnosed crown thinning !

I had knocked 2 grafts out in my sleep, and I could tell the patient coordinator wasn’t happy about it and told me I should be more careful. They extracted an extra 10 free of charge and replace the 2 that is ruined (legends) 

At the end of the surgery we went back to the photo room, and the Dr was her eto give his seal of approval. 

Day 4 - wash day and home. Watch Liverpool beat Spurs 2-1 in the hotel before being picked up at 1800 and leaving for London

Hello all

i have just had 4500 grafts in Istanbul.

happy with the results, and want to post my jounrney on here so that I perhaps have advice from fellow forum members

here are some photos before surgery and after . I had such a good experience in the Asmed clinic, the professionalism of the team, the efficiency of all team members, friendliness and how they made me feel beats anything I’ve ever expedited in a hospital , dentist etc. It was like being on holiday! 

If you have any comments let me know. I am hoping that I will have a dense hairline and be able to spike hair up without it looking see through.