My hope is that this post is informative and helpful to some as I relied on this forum extensively when planning my first HT and weighing the options.
The history: 34M with long standing androgenic alopecia, 14 years of minox once daily and occasionally twice daily. Started with finasteride 1 mg 15 years ago and did fine for a few months. I switched to the 5 mg and quartered it and developed sexual side effects which were debilitating. Have tried topical finasteride in the past but not regularly. Have a lasercomb but have not used it in a long time. Dermarolled x 1 year once weekly with a 2.5 mm needle which initially worked well but recently have been losing hair despite that. PRP x 2 in the past with minimal improvement. Had 6 US hair transplant consultations over the last 15 years, most in the last 1 year. I live in the Northeast US and many of the places nearby will charge a set fee and not guarantee a set graft amount.
Budget: I was a bit flexible on the budget. I wanted to spend around 15k or less. I was willing to travel abroad and wanted quality. For me, the quality was much more important than the price.
Research: I discussed my case with Konior, H+W, several Massachusetts, RI, and NYC clinics, Bicer, HLC. I sent requests to Bisanga, De Freitas but did not get great communication. I really wanted a high amount of doctor involvement. I preferred stick and place largely from reviewing Dr Koniors techniques and his results.
The process with HLC: I reached out to HLC in June 2021 and was quoted 3400-3800 grafts.This was a similar number from some of the other international places. I knew that based on the number of grafts needed I could not afford Konior and I could not wait the duration of his typical wait list. HLC offered me multiple dates and if I was willing to go on their dates it would cost be 2.5 euros/graft. My surgery was scheduled for a Wednesday and Thursday and was told to come in on Monday, plan for labs and testing on Tuesday, and then leave friday by noon after the bandages were removed. They will send you all the preop and post op instructions before you come. There really isnt much communication before the procedure unless you initiate contact.
The procedure: I arrived in Ankara and the driver, Mr Ataner was promptly waiting for me. He does not speak much English, like most of the country, but was very friendly and professional. I was brought to the facility which has a hotel connected to it. I was very surprised by this because the website and some of the reviews reference a shared apartment across the street. They have created a floor with brand new inidividual suites connected to the clinic which was very nice. I really liked the comforts of the place and the fact that I had my own space. Its brand new and well maintained.There is a smart TV so you can watch netflix and good internet access. Breakfast and lunch are included in their lounge that they have in the same building as the suites but dinner is not. They do deliver food to the room and can arrange for you to eat whatever you wanted. On day 2, the day prior to the actual surgery, i had my labs drawn but really had nothing to do that day. I met a lot of people that were coming to have their procedure done which was really nice. It was nice to finally meet people who were struggling with the same thing that you were. On day 3, the day of the procedure, I had breakfast and then was escorted to the clinic which is beautiful. It is completely modern with beautiful aesthetics. As noted in the previous reviews they had a meeting with the doctors and me and asked me what my expectations were and what I was hoping to achieve. I was okay with a more conservative natural hairline if that meant more diffuse density. I was determined to be a Norwood 5A with approximately 5000 grafts available on my head and maybe another 2200 in the beard. The key to beard grafts apart from density is the ability for it to blend with your scalp hairs. My beard while thicker than the scalp hair is the same texture and therefore was deemed to be suitable for grafting. I really appreciated the thought that went into this planning. They draw your hairline based on what you want, then shave your head, then reconfirm the line, and then trace the plan onto a paper where they can accurately determine what the density will be and the number of grafts that they will extract. In many clinics this is arbitrary. Here it is calculated, scientific, and planned out. I was told that if I was to do a 50graft/cm2 density in the front that it would require a significant amount of grafts and I opted for 40 per cm 2 in both the hairline and in the middle. The total amount was going to 4720 grafts with about 1000 coming from the beard, leaving me ~2500 for crown in the future. This posed a problem for me since they dont really extract more than 2000 grafts a day and I would need to stay for a third OR day. My flight was scheduled for that day but I opted for the total amount of grafts and changed my flight that evening. After agreeing with the plan they got my IV in and brought me to the OR room. I work in healthcare and I was very impressed by the sterility and the tools that they were using. They give both topical anesthetic and a small amount of conscious sedation with a narcotic and benzodiazepine. I was a little nervous initially about the latter but given how long these procedures are they iV sedation was a godsend. Overall, I had two doctors: one that extracted and one that implanted. 1000 grafts were extracted, 10 minute break, those 1000 were implanted. We then had a lunch break and then the second round of the same happened. My OR time was 9 am to 7 pm on Day 1 and 930-6 pm on day 2. It was only a half day on day three. For me the beard extraction was the most painful process but overall was very tolerable. After the procedure they give you all the medications, creams, sprays etc that you need and outline the timing of each. My overall graft count was 4720 (they actually seemed to count because the tech told the doctor that he needed to extract 30 more) with 50 percent doubles, 35% multis, 15 percent singles not including beard grafts which they say are singles.
Overall Impressions: A hair transplant is an expensive investment, no matter where you go and I wanted to be confident I was making the right decision. The total cost for me is not just the cost of the procedure but the opportunity cost since I have to take two weeks off of work as well. HLC for me was the right choice. They are extremely knowledgeable about the process. They have it completely figured out and its hassle free. I liked that it was completely doctor run. I am happy with my immediate post op results and time will tell what it will look like. I will likely go back for the crown at some point. The main cons would have to be limited communication prior to the procedure and overall limited communication with the doctors. They dont talk much and for a 10 hour surgery it makes me a bit nervous but it could also be related to focus/language barrier etc.
I would give yourself a day or two before you fly back, especially because you may need an extra operative day.
@MachoVatothanks for your feedback earlier in the process. It was a part of my decision making.
