Hi,
Thanks to this forum I have been able to make an informed choice regarding my hair transplantation. If it helps someone else I am glad to provide my review of Dr. Taleb Barghouthis Vertex Hair clinic situated in Amman, Jordan. I am but a few days in to this venture but would like to take the time to describe my experience for anyone that is contemplating visiting his clinic and his team. Results wise, only time will tell of course. If there is an interest I will try to upload some pictures when I get hold of them and as time goes by.
The short story here is that having a hair transplant done at Vertex Hair Clinic was incredibly easier and less stressful than I could ever imagine despite travelling far and having no knowledge of Jordan as a country. The prowess of Dr. Barghouthi was the least of my concerns after having seen his results and demeanor at this board (I have been reading the board since spring but never registered for an account before).
I decided in April to undergo a hair transplant (FUE) after having had a previous FUT about 10 years ago. I searched this forum in trying to identify the most suitable surgeon given my specific situation. I especially noticed two threads from this board with hair loss similar to mine:
https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/59382-3398-fue-grafts-dr-taleb-barghouthi-vertex-hair-clinic/
https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/60319-3141-fue-grafts-dr-taleb-barghouthi-vertex-hair-clinic/
I contacted Vertex Hair Clinic by mail and spoke to their rep and soon got personal contact with Dr. Barghouthi. It was important for me to get advice with high ethical standards and not just a high quoted graft estimate. I feel I could live with a bald spot on my crown and have it just "look my age" but wanted added density in the frontal and mid zones as well as covering up areas that mother nature had bereaved me of since my first surgery (an area just behind the hair line for example).
The answer from Dr. Barghouthi was essentially that we needed to be smart about the planning, particularly since I already had a previous surgery done. He looked at my pictures and gave a modest estimate as to what would be needed for a good result.
In my mind I wanted the result to just look natural more than anything and Dr. Barghouthi explained that the key for my surgery was to add density to the frontal and midscalp and keeping a natural looking crown region. Often, in situations like mine, he told me he feels the crown is best to be done when someone is totally happy with the other more important and visible areas.
One thing that stuck out to me was that he told me that having the option to do future surgery is what matters rather than having to do it because of inappropriate appearance. Usually by following the natural contours of your crown, there should be no visible disparity between the transplanted and non transplanted areas, he further explained. Meaning, if I decide on future surgery after this one it would be in order to improve a natural result and not to be forced to remake the unnatural results from a too offensive approach that after eventual continued hair loss now looks unnatural giving no choice other than another surgery in case you do not find it inside of you to just accept the "obviously transplanted look".
He spotted some irregularities that have been there since my late teens (as a more receeded left than right temple) and proposed a hair line that would almost match my current one but a bit lower perhaps and also take into account the asymmetrical temple recessions. My initial thought had been to just follow the hair line I already had but Dr. Barghouthis suggestion looked much better when he drew it.
I also had concerns about the pandemic situations of course but was even offered to settle the payment in full while at the clinic without paying deposit (an offer I accepted) and was informed that any unforeseen events regarding COVID would be met by great flexibility.
Before my trip the clinic asked me of a copy of my itinerary just to be able to arrange all transportation from landing at the Queen Alia airport and onwards. On the morning of my travel the clinic checked in to see if everything was alright and asked for ways to get in touch with me upon landing if need be. I also got a text message from Dr. Barghouthi after landing welcoming me to Jordan and checking if everything had gone to plan.
The service part was nothing short of exceptional. After disembarking I was met by an airport agent that got me through COVID control discs, customs and even paid for my visa. He followed me all the way to a waiting cab that took me to the 5 star Regis Hotel in Amman, very close to the clinic. The room was a grand deluxe room of superb quality. The clinic paid for four nights accomodation and breakfast was included. At the clinic I was served lunch and had several choices from a very good menu.
Each day I was picked up and left off by taxi at the hotel entrance and the clinic just sent me a message when the driver was at the site. After leaving the clinic (it was a two day approach) I was given a bag with protection pads for my pillow, some OTC pain killers (I was offered Valium for sleep but denied since I did not feel the need for it), some loose fitting surgical caps and some antiseptic gauze if needed. I got both written and oral information in a very succinct and clear manner leaving no questions unanswered on my end. After the second day I got a pill box showing how to take the medication each day for the following five days.
The team helping Dr. Barghouthi was superb. They were very present in the situation and accomodating. Dr. Barghouthi did all the extractions, incisions and planning and also some crucial implantation towards the end.
As it turned out the grafts available for safe extractions exceeded what was needed for a natural look (by about 10%) which meant that the coverage of my midscalp could also progress to the front of my crown. For the future Dr. Barghouthi wisely chose to save about 0,5 inches over and below my strip scar in the event that I would like to go down that road again in the future as well as being able to use scalp grafts by FUE or beard grafts in an upcoming procedure. This could then primarily be used for the remainder of the crown or any need for added density elsewhere.
All in all, this has been a great experience and much more facilitated than I could ever imagine. Now the waiting game begins!