Runandy

Your hair is great. Stop obsessing. It’s not healthy. 

You received a great transplant and should be happy. Yes, you have psychological issues and need counseling, just like many other people. The root of your issues is not your hair, but it’s how you perceive your hair (or perceived lack of hair) and correlate that to your self worth. You should not of received a hair transplant to begin with, because any result would not satisfy you and you did not have realistic expectation. Dude look objectively at your hair and pretend it’s another person. You have a great head of hair and the last thing you should be thinking about now IS your hair. That’s kinda the whole point of a transplant.  It’s had the reverse effect on you due to your psychological condition, as it consumes you and you haven’t even been on a date which you pointed out is solely because of your hair. You’ve got to realize this is not healthy. In no way should you receive a refund or have a correction done for free. You can always make another appointment and pay full price for another transplant you don’t need, but I guarantee that unless you receive counseling, you will not be happy after your 2nd transplant either. You need to hear this. 

The questions directly related to Jaxl’s comment about the recommended doctors on this site: 

8 hours ago, Jaxl said:

Most of the doctors on this site are great but when I showed my pics to a leading hair transplant surgeon in Spain he was surprised by the lack of density  on my hair considering that I had 5300 grafts which was   done  by two doctors recommended on this site. I'm curious to know  how do doctors that are recommended here keep their membership going year after year   as some of them have been members for 10 + years?  Do they send photos of their work  on a yearly basis just to show that they are still  achieving the  same results that are expected  and required by this website so that we as researchers can put our trust in them? 

There was nothing offensive regarding my questions about the recommended list and these questions should be encouraged to allow compete transparency. If I’m choosing a clinic and doing research, I would look at the recommended list with a grain of salt because it’s my personal opinion that money is influence. Always has been. Nothing wrong with the information I requested, unless you would prefer for those questions to not be allowed? I’ve had issues with this site favoring certain clinics over other clinics, but by in large the most useful aspect of this forum is actual results listed by patients rather than information provided by so called ‘experts’ 

Would you all add a clinic to the recommended list if it’s been shown they get consistent results but are unwilling to pay the monthly fee? 

Do you have a list of previously recommended clinics that have been taken off the recommended list and subsequently no longer pay the monthly fee? 

6 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/our-hair-restoration-physicians.asp

Melvin the answer is yes. 
To support the costs of operating and promoting our community the physician contributes a monthly fee to sponsor this community.

Is there any financial transaction from any of the recommended clinics on here to continue to be on the recommended list?

No one here is arguing that the skill of the clinic shouldn’t be the first consideration..

Another reply completely not true. My results are the norm from the research I completed of the clinic I went to in Turkey. I did not get lucky. Your characterization of all clinics in Turkey is not accurate. Please stop spreading misinformation. Thanks! 

2 hours ago, paddyirishman said:

You will always remember the price of a poor HT.   You won't care or remember the price of a great HT.

I remember the price of my low cost HT, because I was able to put a down payment on a house as well 😉

We can agree to disagree and that’s totally fine! Turkey probably has the most botched hair transplants out of any location, but it’s my opinion that there are a few great clinics that consistently do a great job. I also think that Turkey can provide an avenue for those who are not wealthy to get a great transplant at a lower cost provided they do their research. There’s many guys out there that would much rather put a down payment on a house or car or emergency fund then to spend all that cash on a hair transplant. I was able to afford a down payment on a house due to going to Turkey and I’m so glad I did. It would be a great for this forum to consider the great clinics that are there rather then to cast them all aside but that’s just my opinion

Melvin has repeatedly said that he would not advise anyone to go to Turkey for a hair transplant. He has written off the whole country. I have said there are reputable clinics there that get great results at a much lower cost. Cost should not be the only factor, of course I agree. 

Dude thank you! Anyone who writes off a clinic just based on the country it’s in, to me is a biased source. 

That’s just not true. There are thousands of guys that get a quality hair transplant at a lower cost clinic. It would be interesting to see what the percentage rate of unsuccessful (can be subjective) hair transplants between lower cost compared to higher cost. The lower cost clinics typically perform 2x, 3x, 4x’s more surgeries than the higher cost. Consequently, there will be a higher number of failed transplants in lower cost clinics due to the sheer number of surgeries they perform. The percentage rate is what is important. 

On 7/20/2020 at 9:57 AM, Melvin-Moderator said:

I don’t understand this mindset. So you’d only invest in yourself it was 2,000? Bet your car cost more than 10,000 when it was new, but that depreciates as soon as you drive it off the lot.

I always tell guys, if you cant afford a decent surgeon don’t  get one. If you’re not willing to save to invest in yourself, definitely don’t get one. 

The fact that you equate getting a HT to buying a car is one of the most elitist and hopefully soon to be outdated mindsets. It’s an accessibility issue. You’re mindset is not accessible to the average person.  I’m so happy I did my research and went to a reputable clinic in Turkey and being 6 months in, beyond ecstatic with my results and I don’t have to worry about my hair anymore. Did I take a risk. Yes. You only live once and I’m not going to be 20k in debt for hair. 

Do your research! Supply and demand drives the cost in Turkey. Go to a reputable clinic there if you do choose Turkey. The idea that a HT should set someone back 20k or more should be seen as something of the past. The mystique and novelty of it should wear off to where the surgery becomes more common and not just for those who are wealthy. Gone should be the day where clinics gouge patient’s pocketbooks because they can playing on their insecurities. I stopped visiting these boards mainly because I felt I could get better information elsewhere, felt it was biased towards the clinics it panders to, and I could see way more real life cases that poured in daily and I could follow their progress. 

I went to Cinik in Istanbul and very pleased after 6 months. You won’t find any place without good and bad reviews. Cinik was a bit of a hairmill but they run the surgery like clockwork so perhaps ‘hairmill’ can not always be viewed as a negative. Paid about 3k (lodging included) and would of paid 5 times as much if I stayed local. Good luck!

No one is going to pay 10k+ for hair transplant surgery in Turkey. It's supply/demand that rates the cost of surgery there and with hundreds of clinics competing for business, it drives the cost down. For many, we all think the higher cost something is, the better it is. That is not always the case. Fortunately, these lower cost clinics in Turkey provide an effective result to those who don't have disposable income. No longer are these procedures just for the rich. There ARE great clinics (more than a handful) that provide excellent results time after time in Turkey at a fraction of the cost. The best research is to look at unbiased patient reviews on this site and multiple other forums.

5 hours ago, 1978matt said:

AA have not been a renowned clinic for years, 10 years + in fact, and are know for the occasional botch job.

I work with someone who paid $3000 in Turkey in December 2018, 5000 grafts.  One year on he looks no different to what he did (NW6 with a few hairs on top).  the result looks like 1000 grafts at best with a hairline too low and stalky.

He only went to this place as another guy in our office went there and got an OK outcome.  So in a sample of 2 Turkish surgeries I have seen live there was a 50% failure rate.

I’m not here to defend Turkey, but like I said there are wonderful clinics there that put out consistent work. To just write off a whole country from a sample size of 2 people seems a bit extreme. 

4 hours ago, Curious said:

The placement of the grafts looks  pretty good.  It's hard to tell what you're talking about with respect to density given the pictures you've posted.  Have you lost more hair due to mpb since your transplant two years ago?

You really think the density is acceptable?! 

5 hours ago, 1978matt said:

I would recommend NOT going to Turkey. 

There is a difference between implanting into a wide donor scar versus an area that was peppered with incisions. You need a considered approach where a modest density is attempted first, to see how well the growth pans out. If that works out well you can boost the density another time. 

In Turkey you run the risk of the doc just pushing maximum grafts and profit. 

From all the research I’ve done the past several years, there are amazing results coming out of Turkey for a fraction of the cost. There are bad clinics there and good clinics there. For 18k the poster got this result from a ‘renowned clinic’. Results should dictate whether a surgeon is renowned, not the price of the surgery or through previous reputation. I do know that some people complain of how many patients are processed through each day at some of these Turkey clinics, but I don’t know about you, but the more I do something the better I get...

Any update after a year?

Any update? I plan on going to Cinic in mid January.

In regards to laser, does it provide cosmetic results? And, in some extent in regards to Fin and Minoxidil does it provide satisfactory cosmetic results? Sure, they are proven to retain the hair that you have or in some cases help to regrow some hair, but is it a satisfactory ‘cosmetic’ result? For majority, no.  When someone says, but there’s an actual increase in hair or small improvement that can be seen through scope my reaction is always who cares if you can’t really see it! Being bald is not a disease. We are not here because we are sick. We are here because we want satisfactory cosmetic results and I’ve yet to see medication or laser to provide that. The only thing I’ve seen to provide that is a transplant, aside from wearing a hairpiece. So more power to those who undergo laser treatment for years upon years for an inferior result to that of a transplant. I think this poster is on to the right idea of transplant in combination with smp.