SamV7

I think it's appropriate to ask this question here. I am not worried about this, and am more curious about it, but I noticed something that felt like a grain of sand on my scalp. I picked it up and looked closely and it was a multi grafts hair pod that fell down. This came out 35 days post op, but it looked very different compare to any hair that I shed. They appear like a cramped group of hair that grew for a short period of time and then died out, and you can kinda see the bulbs at the end. Is this considered normal, or possibly dead graft that eventually came out? It feels that they were jammed in the slit and didn't make it. Thanks!

Back/crown: 1 month update: This is 1 month post op update, I started shedding transplanted hair since week 3, mostly in the frontal area, and it's been shedding slowly since then. The hairs that fell out are tipical J and L shape hairs, but I still have roughly half of the transplanted hair left. Some of them (circled in red) are very slow growers and barely grew compare to other ones, and don't want to shed either. Most of the transplanted hairs in the back/crown area fall into this category and are 2-3mm in length, very short, and stopped growing. I hope they are not dead grafts. I am a little bit concerned about my donor density but I guess it's too soon to tell. Dr. Bicer mentioned it might take a good 5-6 months for it to look ok. At least I am happy that the area that hairs were removed blend in nicely and it's hard to see a distinct line (looks better in person). Donor areas is still a little bit pink and is more obvious in camera. To be fair I didn't have a dense donor to begin with. I guess I'm kinda going into ugly duckling phase soon? my hair was always in ugly duckling phase when cut short anyway 😂 Expecting more shedding in next few weeks. Any thoughts on the progress? I contacted Dr. Bicer and she said everything looks normal, and I shouldn't be worry about slow growers either. I hope they shed soon. One thing I am impressed so far is that how responsive Dr. Bicer is. She's probably pretty busy, but I receive a video call or voice message from her within 10-15 minutes when I send her pictures and updates.

Do you have any pre-op pictures? Is it possible that you lost the native hairs after 5 years which were adding density to transplanted hair? Or was your frontal area completely bald prior to HT?

Wow your donor looks really good and have enough for another 4k session if you ever need in the future.

Thanks for the update. You still have a lot of transplanted hair in the front. This is one month, right?

Your hair growth is pretty good for 17 days!, any picture from the back and the other side?

Out of curiosity, @JC71 do you know if Dr. Pekiner still working? His website and Instagram are all wiped clean. I Had a consultation myself a few months ago and was considering him based on great reviews, but ended up going with Dr. Bicer. He suddenly disappeared.

I was about to ask this myself! I am 3 weeks post op, and while I had a fair deal of shedding of hairs that came out with scabs, I now see growth of implanted hair (maybe like 60%-70% of them). I contacted my clinic and they said sometimes shedding happens later on, even 5 weeks post op. Having said that, I also wanted to know if this is a good thing or bad thing. Perhaps it means more time to see the full result? Normally people shed in the first 2-3 weeks and their recovery starts 3-4 months from there. But for those who shed late they have to be more patient. Is that accurate?

WOW, this is really insane! I can't believe there were 7k graft harvested from the donor area 😳 It defies the laws of physic.

Just a quick update: These pictures are 12 days post op, and just finished 10th wash as instructed. I still had a lot of scabs left by day 11, and tried to gently message them with my finger to remove without picking any by finger (which is very very tempting!). They were very loose at that point. I hope I didn't damage anything, but they felt very secure after day 10. I contacted Özen and she advised me to massage more with the lotion, and this time they all came out in the shower, but I had to help them with y finger (again I tried to be very gentle). I still have a few left, but they should come off too. I sent the pictures to Dr. Bicer directly, and she called me a few minutes later to do a quick video call. She seemed very satisfied with my recovery, and said everything is on track. I'm happy about the fact that it's very easy to communicate with them post-op and ask questions. Almost all my scabs (about 70%) came out with small hair(s) attached to them. Some of them had 2-3 hair attached to them. I know this is normal, and read everywhere that it's part of shedding process, but you still freak out when you see the hairs falling out 😁 Dr. Bicer mentioned this is very normal and I am shedding hair early. I noticed the first scab with hair attached to it on day 5, and from there more and more came out. I am supposed to resume Minoxidil 1 month post-op. I am a little concern about my donor, but I should give it more time to heal and fill up.I tried to take a pic from front/temple and crown. What do you guys think?

How is this coming along?

Hello everyone, After a lot of research here, and consulting with many hair transplant surgeons, I finally decided to do my HT with Dr. Bicer as her name stands out more when it comes to working and managing larger graft numbers. I also would like to thank @Melvin- Moderator and @JC71 for their support answering my questions! My goal with this post is to go over my "unique" case and my personal experience, as opposed to explaining the step by step of procedures that are covered in other very similar reviews and posts of Dr. Bicer and her team on this forum. I think this would be more helpful to people in a similar situation. Some background: I am 39 years old with a history of NW 6 and 7 from my mother side of the family, but my father side all had solid hairs (😡). I am heading to NW6 myself, but I was told by some of the surgeons that I was in contact with that I am NW3 or 4 since I still have a lot of thinning hair. I did a lot of research to pick a surgeon in the US, Turkey, and Europe and ended up going with Dr. Bicer based on many recommendations here. One of the HT surgeons here in New York advised me against FUE. I was told that I have thinning in my donor are and it is best not to move forward with surgery unless this is just how my hair has always been. I found pictures of myself from 2008 with similar hair characteristics and same "average" donor when I was in my 20s, and it looks relatively the same. Having said that a lot of other surgeons told me that I have Ok or good donor, and went to a few dermatologists here in US to confirm that I don't have DUPA and it's just how my hair looks. I also need to mention that my hair now, right before surgery, looked a lot better when I started my research and when I was advised against HT a few months ago. Now that I think about it it could have been due to stress, seasonal/hormonal changes or the fact that I switched the brand of my finasteride. Moving forward to today, Dr. Bicer physically examined my hair and said that I have a good donor area and thick hair overall which was very reassuring. Since my hair is a bit curly that may explain the illusion of thinning. After all, she's been doing this for 20 years at this point I just trust her. Her assistant Ozlem also mentioned that I have good donor when she was taking photos, and I thought to myself that they must have seen it all in this business. Surgery: As everyone else mentioned it started with some paperwork the day before and meeting Dr. Bicer for a quick chat. On the surgery day, I shared my concerns about my donor with Dr. Bicer, and she patiently explained the process and set my expectations. She mentioned that she feels that I can even have a second surgery and I am relatively a low-risk patient, but just to be sure I can wait for a biopsy of my scalp to move forward with surgery. Then she gave me a few minutes to make the decision (which was a very difficult thing to do on the day of surgery after going through all the research and traveling). Both of my dermatologists back home told that I don't need biopsy, and I look normal and it'll just leave an unnecessary scar. I decided to move forward and finally do something about my hair. It'll either go well or back to square one. After I made the decision, Dr. Bicer mentioned that I am in good hands, and she has over 20 years of experience and she will do the extraction herself to pick the quality hair from my donor without over-harvesting, and there might be a possibility for a second surgery. The original plan in her offer letter was to do 3800-4000 grafts in the first session to cover the front and temples, and a year later another 2000 to do the graft, but then she advised that she can blend in the 3800 with my native hair to add an acceptable density to all over my scalp where thinning is more, and this way she can cover my entire head since I am very concerned about my donor. She drew some lines on my head and fixed my very asymmetrical hairline that she didn't like, and I loved the plan. It was actually what I always wanted to do from the beginning. Add some volume and move on with my life! They then shaved my head and it was then that I realized my donor isn't as bad as I thought it was with longer hair: The surgery started at 10:30, and the local anesthesia hurt so bad! I generally tolerate pain very well, and a lot of people here mentioned it is not that bad, but for me, it was very painful! Dr. Bicer kept coming to the room to check on me. When I was numb she started the extraction process herself and I dozed off 30 min later due to lack of sleep. She woke me a few times to ask how I am doing, and then she said I have thick hair which is good, and curly hair which will probably have a longer shock loss in my donor area (not looking forward to that!). She also mentioned that I was bleeding too much and not sure why, but it was all good. I stopped minoxidile a month before as instructed. Extraction finished and the lunch was served at 3pm. I did notice that she took less hair from my left side of my donor that has less hair compare to right side, which I think is a good think and shows she pays attention to over harvesting. Then Dr. Bicer started the incisions and left the two nurses to insert the grafts in. This process took forever! Both nurses were super nice and Dr. Bicer stopped by every hour to check in on me. The surgery was done at 8:30pm, they took some pictures and send me back to the hotel. I saw the outcome for the first time in the mirror before I left and it made me very happy: Next day: Went back to the office and Dr. Bicer removed the bandages from the donor area and gave it a quick wash, and said that it's already healing very well: I did get a chance to chat with a few patients, and then asked Dr. Bicer about graft counts and punch sizes just so I know: Single grafts: 1100 Double Grafts: 2000 Multiple grafts: 580 Total: 3680 The punch size used were 0.8mm and 0.83mm and she mentioned that she had to use a larger than 0.7mm punch size since my hair is thicker. So I hope the scars are not going to be as visible. Overall I am very happy with what I am seeing so far and how she managed to use the grafts to give an acceptable density. I am hoping that my donor area heals fast and doesn't thin out more or gets a bad shock loss. I'm going to day 3 now and my first wash up is coming up. I don't have any pain and I don't feel that my head is swollen too much. What do you guys think overall? About the work done, hairline and quality of work, my donor area and any feedback on the number of grafts harvested. I'll try to post an update every time I hit a milestone, and am hoping for a quick recovery! Time to get more rest and be patient 😆

I think it's going to cost a lot more than $11K in US (i'd say $20K for a good surgeon), and a lot more than $4K at a decent hair clinic in Turkey.

I'd pay $40K to have your hair! don't do it.

Looking great so far! Any chance you can share your donor before and after?

One question I forgot to ask was about losing native hairs due to after surgery shock. My native hair is thin in some area and pretty think specially in the hairline. Will I lose those permanently, or it's varies from one patient to patient. Please keep in mind that I am on Finestride and was asked by Dr. Bicer to stop 3 months before the procedure. I read in a few topics here that it depends on how precise the surgeon places the new transplanted grafts next to native hairs. I think during the shedding period it'll look worse than what it is today.

Ugh that's reassuring. I picked this doctor after doing a ton of research here in this forum. Thanks mate, what you said actually makes sense, and is what I read in different topics as well. I don't want to lose my native hair, as thin as it is. I think they will add density to transplanted hair.

I was told by my doctor to stop both finestide and minoxidil 3 months before the operation, and resume one month after. I think I am NW5/6 and I have thin native hair that I don't want to lose due to the surgery. What is recommended for this case? I know we are supposed to stop minoxidil to avoid excessive bleeding, but 3 months? Last thing I want is to lose my native hair that can add density after surgery.

I'm also very curious to see how it is progressing for you!

@Forty Six & 2 and @MachoVato, thank you so much for the advise. I think I mentioned, but I don't have high expectations from a HT surgery, and just looking to add a little bit of volume to existing hair, not a full head of hair for sure. I'll try to consult with Eugenix but I doubt I'd go to India. Thanks for confirming Dr. Bicer and Nader as good surgeons. I'll contact them to see if they have availability and see if she can work with just adding volume for me.

This is great advise, I should probably meet with someone local here in US and see how bad my case is. Seems like everyone agrees that I have a weak donor area hahaaa, but I am not very convinced if that's the case due to a bad picture, but I will definitely consult here in US. That's what I was afraid of, and wanted to avoid two surgeries. Thanks for the info though. From what I found out so far, both Dr. Bicer and Nader are excellent doctors, and can't go wrong with either of them. Thanks mate.

He is in India, right? Travelling to India feels very difficult to me. I should probably consult with a surgeon here to determine how bad is my donor area. Left side is not very good, but I think my back is pretty dense.

Hey, thanks for reply. So is the donor area that bad? To be fair I used a flash light to take pictures, and I cut my hair really short. and it may show more skin. Here is another with short hair again and moved my hair up to see that grafts better. That was actually my concern that my donor may not be very dense for 6000 graft, and that is why I was leaning more toward Dr. Nader who wants to do up to 4000 grafts. Should I even do a HT surgery? I honestly don't want the scar from FUT, and rather shave it all off.

Hello everyone, I am planning to get a FUE HT in the next few months, and I'm so glad I found this forum. I am 38 years old, have been using Minoxidil and Finasteride for years now, and I think I am NW 4 or 5 (not sure). After a lot of research here I contacted a few clinics and narrowed down my choices to the following doctors in order: Dr. Bicer: 2 sessions (up to 4000 graft for front, up to 2200 graft for crown next year) Price: $10,000 total Dr. Nader: 2500 graft front + next day 2000 crown Price: $8000 HLC: 3800 graft for hairline and close to temple. Requires another surgery next year. Price: $12,500 for just the first surgery Dr. Pekiner: Still awaiting consultation ... Cinik: 3500 graft Price: $3500 ASMED: 5500 graft entire head. Price $16,500 (Not considering these clinics) -------------------------------- Dr. Demirosy: 2800 graft (!!) Dr. Yemen: 4500 graft Price: $3300 Dr. Kesser: Didn't even bother replying. I am leaning more toward Dr. Bicer and Dr. Nader, but my question is about their approach, and evaluations. With Dr. Bicer, I really don't want to do two sessions, and I think 6200 graft from my donor area is just too much, and will be noticeable if I cut my hair short. Do you guys think I have enough donor? I always felt that my donor density is not as good. I need to talk to her and see if they would just do 4000 grafts on my entire front and crown. I am not looking to have a full head of hair, just add some volume to what's already there. Based on the pictures, do you guys recommend that and think that is enough? I am from US, and two travels to Turkey is just not very feasible for me. Dr. Nader is much closer to me, still does two sessions the next day, is that safe? He thinks 4500 graft is enough. Do you think that is enough or will I require another HT in future? Having a really hard time choosing between Dr. Bicer or Nader, specially that their approach is very different. I feel like it's hard to justify the price of HLC, ASMED and Dr. Pekiner. With a few thousand dollars more I can have the surgery in here in US. Based on the information, and pictures, how would you recommend proceeding with HT for me? My budget is up to $10K. I don't think HT worth anything more than that to me. Last question is regarding the DHI method. Dr. Bicer and Nader don't use this method. Is it a marketing thing? I noticed only low budget clinic advertise DHI method. I really appreciate any feedback and advise in advance! This is a hard decision.