urbanite88

Oh no not complications. Just that I was thought my procedure was meant to start at 11am but it didn't start until about 2.30pm with me twiddling my thumps for a while and getting tense haha also I wanted to spend some time with Dr Das the day before, which i asked for months in advance but the support guys insisted any planning session would need to be on the day and they will not rush me ( which was a concern from other reviews) I did see her very briefly the day before for about 30 seconds in passing at the reception ! My first HT was in a 1 doctor 1 patient setup so the differences became quite apparent while I was there even though I knew this going in to be fair. Anyhow Dr Das is a great lady who really made me feel at ease on the day when things started getting going I saw your note about the google review thing, yeah I felt a little awkward about that two, because they asked about it twice! A bit pushy/salesy from that side but think they were all well intentioned !

Wow!! I had my second HT with Dr Das on the 14th October, so on your second day, I would have been the other patient Dr Das was in charge of ( which now explains a lot of things about my experience ). I was scheduled for a 2 days surgery on 14th & 15th but even before when I was on plane out from UK I knew I had to think more long term and wanted a smaller procedure than previously discussed with Eugenix, so we managed a lower graft count all in one day. PS my BP after my arrival on 13th was apparently perfectly normal (slightly even on lower side) but on the morning itself it was high! But it eventually dropped after they gave me some anti anxiety meds to calm me down Any congratulations on your transplant, it looks good!

Hey guys, not sure if this is covered elsewhere or something obvious I have missed. I was curious, how do transplant surgeons know where in your scalp to make incisions for new grafts? How do they know if your existing hair follicle there there might be completely gone and unlikely to grow hair vs follicles that are just dormant as part of normal shedding?

Good to get those data points. I called mine up but they refused to book them for me, but gave me an appointment in 10 days time to discuss why I need them haha Is, I just want a general health check not a good enough reason?

Ah sweet! Was thinking they'd reject me too but maybe will give my GP a try first 👍

Hey everyone, I'm booked in for Eugenix next month, wandering if anyone in the UK (I'm London based) can recommended a suitable place to get most of these blood tests required? I've reached out to a couple of places who are quoting over £400 ! Also if I get the HIV/Hep ones from a GUM clinic would they be acceptable? Appreciate any suggestions

Hey dude, have to say a you have excellent donor and body hair to boot, lucky man! I am booked for my second HT with Dr Priya Das on 21-22nd February so I may bump into you! I shall be arriving just the night before surgery so won't have time to explore India unfortunately but maybe stick around a week or so if I can make it work with work.

Thanks @MachoVato but no spin intended. Perhaps I was having a little wobble, that's it.

Yeah its perplexing. There appears to be some debate about this but no consensus on what the perfect balance is. Hoping the bright side is my donar should be in the best possible condition as can be when I do go for the second session

6200 was a typo from top of my head I remembered it being 6300 or so. Yeah I've seen a few places (Inc Dr arshad in UK) that do shout out the doubles/tripples etc. It's great to be able to have complete transparency where that is possible. And even the best of the best of surgeon's are still human and will not always be perfect in their execution each time. All things considering I did opt for what I considered was the best choice for me with all the information I had available.

Can't say about all of them. Ozen and Dr Bicer do

Got my surgery report back.. Here are my graft breakdown: Singles: 2100 Doubles: 1140 Multiples: 670 Actual estimate is 6390. All extractions supposedly performed with a 0.7mm punch. This surprised me a little. Over the last year alone I must have seen hundreds of surgery write ups and Youtube review videos. I don't think I've seen anyone/case with so many singles. Without stating the obvious, a high norwood needs to be getting as many multiples as possible. I would imagine this is the goal, even if it is unspoken of. I can't help but wonder if the use of 0.7mm punch had something to do with it? I have done extensive research into Dr Bicer before I dived into this and specifically watched videos of her discussing her approach to use of various punch sizes and how she adapts it for each patient and what she is trying to extract. She uses anything between 0.6mm for singles up to 9mm. That I knew months before sugery. I figured that's what she would do in my case. I reached out, and Dr Bicer sent back a message explaining she used the smaller size to protect my donor area from being overharvested. And so I would have less visible scars. When I separately asked Ozen what the transection rate was, she initially seemed confused. Then when I explained, she stated they don't count damaged grafts. They possibly did extract more than 3910 grafts but they only count what they implant. Again something I did not feel entirely comfortable with. I think a patient should have a right to know this information? What are your thoughts?

Hey man.. thanks for the message. I guess we all go through this process of second guessing ourself/ how everything went and if you really made the best choice etc I just had this feeling that I'd maybe spread myself too thin.. and I maybe didn't have the best yield/outcome. O will write again about it. Btw I'm 37 and yes I've been in med for over 5 years. I also just read your story .. wow!! You has a gigantic FUT! You are very lucky you had such a good donor supply. Wish you all the best with your recovery and the results!

First 12 days update Day 2-4 I swelled up all over face and even the back of my head. Not a great sight! Thankfully it eased quickly after. Donor area was looking okay I think? Had abit of running around, due to travel plans up in the air. Was initially meant to be in Istanbul for 5 nights. Since I could only return home via a third country, I was exploring leaving IST sooner. Running around a hot and traffic congested city was not fun. I was stuck in a 50 min taxi ride on route to hospital to get a PCR test (Ozen helped me arrange that in the Asian side of the city, they charged me 250 lira). I was sweating like crazy in the taxi which had no aircon. Even walking on the hunt for a restaurant got me all sweaty. I was worried what effect that would have on my HT. Especially because I wasn't due to my first wash until the 3rd day (4th because HT day is day 0?) Right after the HT Dr Bicer stated Ozen would send me a video instruction when it was time for my first wash. Day 4 came and went by. When it dawned on me on day 5, I reached out to Ozen to get the video instructions. I will reserve any judgement for now. First wash was very strange, almost like trying to clean a doormat with your finger tips! Despite the video, I had no idea how much pressure to apply. Scared I could dislodge grafts, I pretty much just ended up gently patting the shampoo provided and rinsing with super low pressure in shower head. This is what it looked like after the second wash... Day 5 was also the day when I really started to feel donor area pain. It was interesting that it also coincided with some of the medications provided being finished that day? I wondering if one of the medication I was also a painkiller? I slept worst in day 5-8 due to donor area pain. I would sporadically get this weird sensation of needles in my head. Think my nerves were springing back to life? Also it just all felt so tight, which probably made it all the much worse. I would dread to think what an FUT would feel like. I got in touch with Dr Bicer during this, and asked for me to send more photo updates and then advised me to start massaging the scalp. Again I was never really clear on how best to massage my donar. It was still tender and painful to touch. But then I found a YouTube video from @Melvin- Moderator, which really helped me, on how to actually massage. By day 10, it seemed much more manageable and I was able to sleep through most the night without waking up finally. Though the scabs were falling off gradually (some hairs were also coming off with them) they were still stubborn. On 12 day, I was about 90% scab free. I have no ideas why these last two pictures are upside down. Can't seem to change it on here. While all this was happening, there was something else that was playing on my mind. I just did not know how to control that inner voice. I will share that in a follow up post.

Thanks @SLA yep slight delay in posting.. when I was writing the intro I was already on the move. All this covid testing and awaiting results really keeps you on the edge

Haha thanks! It was a baseball cap.. and definitely not comfortable.. just used it that day. Besides I wasn't ready to advertise i had a HT in the streets of Istanbul. Would recommend anyone to get a fisherman style soft hat for first few days.. baseball caps feel abit inappropriate if you've just had your hairline worked on.. also it sticks to your still sore donar area

Thanks @Melvin- Moderatorjust noticed a few typos I was posting this while catching up with some Euro games. Wish there was a magic wand to skip straight to the final results already

I have considering and have been suggested a combined FUT/FUE procedure. Atm my reluctance for FUT is mainly that I prefer to keep my back hair short, even when I had a full head of hair. Secondly, I get the feeling I might have low scalp laxity issue (need to get this professionally confirmed for the future). I would probably be more keen to use beard hair first (I seem to have a fairly strong beard hair luckily ) Just posted the photos of my first Op

Cheers SLA! Looks super impressive indeed!! I will be following Eugenix very closely going forward. A 3 day back to back surgery kinda scares me though !

Against the odds with all the travel restrictions, I was intent on this mission to end what feels likes years of indecision. Warning, if this is too long please feel free to skip to pictures if you just wanna see the results. Even if this helps one person get another glimpse of surgery with Dr Bicer this may be worth it. I wrote much of this along the way, which I have a habit of doing ( I used to travel blog ) Just putting it together now. After a stressful uncertain journey, I arrived in Istanbul the afternoon before and went straight for pre surgery consultation after landing that evening. (I didn't opt for the clinics "VIP" support package, where they take care of accommodation for 2 nights and transfers for you. I was staying 5 nights. So just booked the Sheraton myself and got a taxi there.) Consultation day before When I arrived for the consultation, I was welcomed at the door by Dr Bicer herself. After a quick greeting, we sat down and I was given a whole bunch of forms to sign. There were over 15 pages to sign and it took a while to read through them. Meanwhile they were just finishing up with the patient that day, a Brazilian guy here for his second HT. I met him afterwards and we had a nice chat and he seemed happy. The first thing he said to me was "you look good you don't need a HT!" All subjective I guess? He talked about his prior experience having a HT in Germany and that he found this much more pleasant. He was kind enough to let me inspect his crown close up, and I was impressed with that I saw. I was slightly miffed however by the content of the pile of paperwork on my lap. Suggesting certain information was explained/relayed to me, when in fact they were not. Things like the prep leading up to surgery and what to do/not to do etc. Maybe this wasn't sent because there was doubt I would make it? I kept Ozen informed about the UK travel restrictions. I just don't know. Ozen was always available and answered any questions promptly, just perhaps not proactive with certain things. I got the distinct feeling she was juggling a lot of different patients. For any other place, I think this may have been a problem, especially for someone like me with a nervous disposition but I kept reminding myself the reasons I was keen on this clinic and it was all down to the wonderful feedback/results and experiences you guys have all shared on this space. I informed Dr Bicer I just took some painkillers a few days ago after my first covid vaccine, other than that I had a couple of drinks 4 nights before (they advise not to drink the 15 days prior surgery!) Sigh. Then Dr explained this won't be too much of a problem. Blood thinners are the main concern I believe, but that I already knew because I was sent some pre-op instructions by another clinic back in April. After the Brazilian guy left, we finally sat down and discussed the plan. Dr Bicer had a quick physical assessment of my donor area (note there was no tech or tools like a Trichoscan that some clinics use) she noted my donor area was OK and we could proceed with the 3800 session. We then discussed how we use that and the density we could aim for. Knowing perhaps she may be used to doing high density hairlines, I suggested I would be happy with a moderate coverage of 45-50 FUcm2 in hairline. In the interest of speed I drew up a planned diagram in the plane to illustrate the split of grafts. She stated we may not have enough to do 1000 grafts in my crown but she would try for around 700. This seemed agreeable as I was happy to have light coverage in crown for the first session. We left it there and I was told to come in around 8.30am-9 in the morning. I walked back to the hotel comfortable enough to put my trust in Dr Bicer's hands. I had such a positive feeling. Surgery day In the morning of the surgery I woke up early and made my way there for 9am . This time I was met by Ozen. There was a shoe bag outside to wrap my feet in while I entered. We discussed the final bits of paperwork including handwriting a statement saying I was making an informed decisions etc etc Ozen then went through the aftercare package and the instructions for the medications/shampoo/washing etc (again this would have been much more helpful to be sent in writing) There were quite a hive of activity in the clinic at that point with several members of staff in motion and phones ringing etc. We then sorted out the payments and I taken to the photo room to have my before pre-op photos taken. Then Dr Bicer came in to do a few measurements and start drawing the hairline. She checked in with me to make sure I was happy. We had a couple of attempts but I was ok with what I was shown. Essentially a very conservative hair line going from where my front tuff already was and building back a little of the sides. There was no real focus on the temples as I suppose I would just not have enough grafts to play with for this session. She spent more than half hour drawing on my head and I can already tell, this isn't just a robotic operation, she loves what she does and wants to make sure the hairline suits my face. Then it was time to shave off my head and while a blood sample was taken.. at the point I was getting rather tense and requested some sedatives. After my head was shaved, the head markings were re-drawn again but I no longer kept track of where that was anymore. Time to go up to the surgery room, it was already past 10.30am! My arm was bleeding a fair bit as I was told to keep pressing into it. Surgery Room The surgery room itself is fairly small but adequate, I was introduced to the two technicians and the third assistant, who will mostly be helping the other two. After changing into the gown in a separate changing room/bathroom for the patient. I laid down on the surgery chair noting it to be rather comfortable. Dr Bicer showed me the micromotor and then the local anaesthetic began. The anaesthetic involved individual pricks (like the ones you do for finger prick blood tests) the two assistants helped with that as there was about at least 25 of that, I lost count. The back of my head became numb quite rapidly, and they checked it was so. Finally Dr Bicer started the extractions. After a while the 2 technicians took over with the rest of the extractions. I was periodically checked on to make sure I was ok and with pain etc including having my blood pressure check etc. I even managed to fall asleep for a abit and woke up when Dr bicer was ready for incisions. I then really felt the new local anaesthetic in the recipient area and I must have dozed off again. The one thing I wasn't quite clear on was why I had a needle plugged into my wrist, which was quite uncomfortable at times. But I don't remember this being explain to me, initially. Later when I asked I got the answer. The incisions were all finished about about 3.15 pm and then I was had a short break to eat lunch which was ordered and prepared for me in next room. Then suddenly there was celebrations in the kitchen.. it was one of the other assistants birthday and we had a lovely slice of a very velvety cake. This one seems to be a signature treat for all Bicer HTs? Then back to the surgery room and the implanting began. During the first half of implanting I felt quite relaxed and dosed off a couple more times. Dr Bicer periodically came back to the room asking me if I was OK. Throughout the whole implantation, they sprayed my whole head with lots of what I guess was a saline spray? Later, there were times I could really feel them pushing the grafts in. This one went on for abit.. and then I suddenly starting to feel some pain at the front of the head.. I asked to have more anaesthetic without really being aware of how far along they really were.. as it turned out they were almost finished. Suddenly everyone was up and moving about... I was done! It was now fully dark out ..it had just turned 9pm. Almost 11 hours in the operating room! The assistants held me as I got up slowly. And there was Dr Bicer with a smile that radiated right back at me. The first thing she said was how pleased she was. As we slowly walked back to her office she says she reckons I won't even need a second session now. Those words were like music to my ears! I was over the moon. She asked me how I felt about the whole process and that she would like me to write a review online when I can etc. Dr Bicer advised I could sleep on my side with the travel pillow provided. At this point everyone seemed to have disappeared from the clinic, and soon we walked out the clinic together. Surgery Evening As I got back to the Sheraton next door, I had the biggest smile inside and out. The relief that I'd finally done this and it's gone well. I called my brother and a friend to tell them all about the day. Then had a quick dinner in the room and settled in for the night. And only then realised they did not take any post op photos?! So I am attaching my own I then noticed some bleeding and promptly messaged Ozen who asked me to call Dr Bicer. She informed that was nothing to worry about. It took a while for me to calm down after that, as I was worried the blood was gonna drip all over the lovely bed but I eventually managed to get a few hours of sleep. Day After Surgery The next morning I woke up feeling totally fine other than a bit of soreness. I contacted Ozen to check what time I should go back to the clinic to have the bandage removed. Later that afternoon I went back to an almost empty clinic, both Ozen and Dr Bicer were off on holiday and one of the assistants took out my bandage and gave me a head band and a hat to wear. More on this and the aftercare later. Only time will tell how this turn out for me and whether or not this was the best choice, as there were many paths I could have gone with. I am very thankful for Dr Bicer and Ozen, for the care with which they carried out the op, I always felt like I was in good hands, and it was obvious this wasn't just about the money for them. In any case, I am just happy to have done this finally. My mum always says, now is always the best time, because that's all we have guaranteed On a side note, I was a little worried about posting this because I do not want to encourage anyone to travel against their governments advice. My regular travel insurance would not cover this so I had to get special insurance for high risk travel that normally Journalists would get when they report from war zones! To add to that, my return flight back to UK got cancelled, as no airline is currently allowed to fly passengers directly from Turkey to UK. So I've had quite abit of run-around and still, even when I eventually do fly home, I won't be able to go to my home but rather a government quarantine hotel for 10 days until they deem me to be in the clear from covid. Unless you thrive in those kind of stressful situations or the thought of being locked up in a hotel room for 10 days and paying an extra 2000 pounds for the privilege, this is really not the a good time to travel. I will follow up with my day 2-10 progress very soon

Thanks man, one doctor did think I can harvest around 6000 safely but I may not need it, if they use them correctly. UK doctors are definitely on the more conservative side compared to others. With the finasteride, yes I think it halted any further loss in front/mid section, but the crown still did have some (maybe almost miniaturised) hair at 31.. that was pretty much gone by 34. I don't know if switching finasteride brand in-between had anything to do with it. I had thought about switching to Dustesride

Hey guys, been lurking around these forums for months now and just wanted to introduce myself before I start posting!Background37 yo healthy male based in UK with Norwood 5/6 level hair loss pattern. Been losing hair since 21, really became noticeable by others around 25. I've always had super thick dense hair, that people complimented me on, and in my teenage years, rather difficult to style due to the thickness.Hair loss was enough of an issue to affect my mental health and my confidence in certain situations. Overtime that only got stronger. Started finasteride at 31 through a private prescription years after my useless doctor tried to make me feel vain for seeking out this treatment at age 25, when according to him I had "plenty of hair"!?. MPB runs through most of my family, though mine seemed to have started/progressed a lot earlier compared to older relatives.While the finasteride stabilized the loss somewhat, it never really helped grow back any hair. Thinking I probably could have halted half my loss had I started finasteride at 25, is rather upsetting. I had tried Regaine (5% minoxidil ) in earlier years with little success. Also used 12% from Belgravia alongside the fin, which I have been on for around 3 years, with a little better success of thickening existing hair. While my hairline/temples has probably receded between 2-4 inches since my youth, what really bothered me the most was my crown. I always felt conscious of it every time I got a glimpse of it on the mirror and could not shake off for days on end. I tried laser light treatments too, but that just seemed way too clunky. In the last 3 months, I also started derma-rolling with a 0.5mm roller, just to keep my existing hairs in good shape in prep for the HT more than anything.I had been thinking about hair transplants for years, but wanted to explore all non-surgical avenues first, which I think I well and truly have now. Really started serious research over the last 18 months, and it's been a process of real highs and lows, at times feeling disheartened and ultimately just exhausting. I discovered various HT forums in the last 6/7 months, which really helped with my research based on following concrete case studies which helped rule out doctors who just were not up to it. So I am ever so grateful for communities like thisMy initial focus was just in the UK, but ultimately, I had to broaden the search to consider Turkey, Belgium, as far as India. In total I have had 20+ consultations with various doctors. The range of proposals were as varied as the countries the doctors were from! I was offered between 1800-2000 grafts, just for the hairline/top half to 5000+ grafts over two day sessions to cover the front and crown. The assessment of my donor area ranged from "limited" to "very good". All 4 UK doctors I visited in person however were consistent in their assessment that my donor was good for 2 procedures up to 4000-4500 grafts. One of those doctors stated by donor density was 85 FU/cm2. I was starting to build a consensus of what was possible/achievable for me and what aligned with my preferences.Given the current state of the world, I really just wanted to find a good doctor in London, but the options of suitable doctors for my specific case were thin on the ground. There are several good doctors in London but unfortunately, I just could not find any with a convincing history of working on NW5/6 patients.I should state, I also tried to reach out to Dr Balls in the UK, Dr Couts and Dr Freitas in Spain but they were all oversubscribed and I was looking at a timeline of late 2022, just not an option for me. Eventually I shortlisted 3 doctors.Dr Arshad from the Hair Dr in Leeds, Dr Ozlem Bicer in Turkey and Dr Arika Bansal of Eugenix in India. Dr Bicer was an unlikely contender for me, due to patchy communication and it generally being difficult to really build a rapport with the clinic, many things lost in translation. At first look she seemed mostly to do very dense packing front hairlines, great results but fewer crown work. But there was something about Dr Bicer's profile and some of her patients that really captured me, I was drawn to couple of patients I found relatable and who were in similar stages of hair loss to me, who underwent transplant and reported a good experience.Unfortunately, India was soon not an option at all. Then also in early January I believe, Turkey banned UK travellers from entering. For a few weeks, I thought the choice was pretty much made for me. Dr Arshad seemed to be a great, so I was happy to explore further into that. Problem is, when I eventually managed to talk to him on video (I already had a date booked in April just prior to it) it was very very short. A couple of things he said concerned me, in particular that he may not be able to give me any coverage in crown if I wanted good results in the hairline/top first. This off course, after I had already had extensive discussions with Sommiya, the practice manager about my concerns and wishes and how I wanted even a little coverage in my crown so that I wasn't totally bald in one area. The second thing that stood out to me, was when asked about the various extraction/incision punch sizes, he stated, for me he would probably use 1.2mm incisions (cant remember if he actually meant extractions here) since I look to have thick hair. That worried me a little, as I though that must mean more bleeding and longer recovering time (one of the things that's held me back from HT for so long is because I am of a nervous disposition, I do not like seeing blood or needles much!). I had looked into this topic enough to get a sense that skilled and experienced surgeons should be able to use 0.8-0.9mm punch sizes to extract multiple hairs, and not use bigger ones, just because its easier.I had to take a step back and could not proceed with the April date. I tried to arrange a further call, even suggesting to get a train up to Leeds for a face to face consultation, but unfortunately that was not possible due to the clinic no longer offering face to face meetings as the best way to minimize the covid risks to the clinic.In the meantime, I followed through with a final consultation with another Harley Street clinic I had already arranged months prior, which ended up being rather disappointing. I kept communications with Ozen, Dr Bicer's coordinator, and toyed with different scenarios in which I could achieve the results I would be happy with there. Dr Bicer stated I would need 7000+ grafts over 2 sessions a year apart to get both crown and hairline/top done. First session would be for 3800 grafts, and the second session only confirmed after that, if my donor was good enough. Initially they had a couple of dates in May and then no availability until September. But the May dates came and went by.At this point I was all too aware how much time and energy I'd already dedicated to this process, and I felt like I had already waited too long to do this, I just wanted to make a decision and get it done this summer/autumn. And with covid still lingering on, it seems now is as good as ever for some downtime to recover and being able to work from home during the worst bits!By a twist of fate, in the last days of May, I heard Turkey was allowing Brits in again and got in touch in Ozen and they also coincidentally had a cancellation in June!When I spoke to Dr Bicer, suddenly all the prior communication problems seemed a mute point, she seemed very warm and I did not feel rushed in the call. She assessed my donor again in video (not in the best lighting) and again reiterated my donor might not be strong enough to support both procedures. So I put forth my bottom line, given I had 3800-4000 to play with, I confirmed I would like us to sit down in person and decide how we put those to use before the surgery. As I hung up, I had a date booked in June!! Slight problem, Turkey was on UK's RED list of countries, an effective travel ban.I will post very soon to let you all know what happens next! But here are some pics of my scalp and donor area for now