JoeMan

Doesn't get any better than this! 

I believe only 1 or 2 tests are approved by TSA so be sure to get one. I know that they are rather expensive and I believe that you have to video conference the company while taking the test so they can witness and certify the results. I never used them because in Portugal it's really fast and cheap to just get a test at a pharmacy. I'd assume Istanbul is the same. A good resource for this question is also TripAdvisor forums then search Istanbul and covid test. I bet you find more information there. 

US citizen doesn't need to be vaccinated to return. Only requirement is antigen test 1 day before. 

Do you have pictures showing your current hair? It's been over 4 months now so can you please share these pictures? 

Maybe look at Dr. Bisanga instead. Seems like he'd be less risky to me. I don't doubt that Dr. Arshad figured out a problem and corrected it but do you want to be the test subject? All Dr's can have a bad case from time to time but to have a rash of them is more concerning. 

Be patient and do your research. In the meantime, contact these clinics. Eventually they will open up consultations again. You are very young so waiting a bit for the best possible outcome would be best. I believe Dr. De Freitas is still taking on new patients. All of them are booked basically a year out anyway. 

Look at HLC or Dr. Biçer. A few others to consider but really Turkey is full of hair mills that you should avoid. Do some research and get consultations from several Dr's before moving forward. 

This looks very good 👍 Great write up. I'll be following along but it looks like you chose wisely. 

Maybe @DrTBarghouthi can help here?

This could be the reason but honestly I'm not sure. Have you reached out to your Dr about this? If it's from finasteride I believe the hair should regrow almost immediately. I'm pretty sure that whatever is going on should be temporary. I'm not a Dr by any means though so if you haven't already, I'd contact your Dr. 

Look at Dr. Pinto in Portugal. He's probably the best for the price at 2.6€ per graft. Then Dr. Ferreira in Portugal as well at 3€. Dr. De Freitas is about the same price I believe. This is a good place to start at least. 

First thing I'd do is make a list of surgeons in your price range. We can help make a list if you provide a rough budget. Then get as many consultations from these clinics. Look up reviews, talk to previous patients and this will all help you decide on the proper clinic. Don't be in a rush. Most good clinics have almost a year waiting list. Where are you from? 

It sounds like you've made up your mind. How old are you? Personally I'd pay more and go to a better Dr but I know this isn't always possible. If you can afford it, Dr. Biçer or Dr. Pinto are better lower cost options but definitely more than the Dr you chose. I can't really see your donor area but you look like a good candidate for a HT. 

Did you just start taking finasteride? I believe it can cause some shedding in the early months. Honestly I'm not sure what else will cause this. Possibly stress? Did you reach out to your Dr? 

@Melvin- Moderator has more experience I'm sure. Have you seen this before? 

Where did you go for your HT? Can you share post operative pictures? 

It's the 1st thing that pops up under Hair Transplant Forum search but without forum, I didn't see it. 

I believe that's the search I used when I found it originally. 

Not sure how you got him for 3.5€ but it's a bargain for him. I heard he just increased to 5€. I'd jump on that price if I was you. 

Can a Turkey Dr do it cheaper? Of course!

Will you have the same quality result? Highly unlikely. 

Dr. Bisinga probably hits home run results 98 out of 100 surgeries. A Turkey hair mill is likely opposite 2 out of 100. 

2 hours ago, Jtoorrees said:

Your progress is looking great Joe! I think you made the right choice for you. Then again I don’t think you could’ve gone wrong with either Dr. 

Thanks! I'm really happy so far. I saw my mom today and it's been a few weeks. She noticed a difference already. Being at month 2 I feel like it's just starting to go now. Maybe by month 3 or 4 I can style my hair again 🙏. 

I'm not here to say Dr. Ferreira is the best. I feel like he was the right choice for me though. I was comfortable with him performing my surgery knowing he's extremely meticulous. The fact that he performs the entire surgery and you are the only client is what pushed him ahead for me. I wouldn't hesitate at this stage to return to him again, but I'm also sure that had I made a different decision and went with Dr. De Freitas, I'd likely be just as happy. 

This is why I say that once you decide on any of these top surgeons, don't look back. I had tons of anxiety looking back and forth between Dr. De Freitas and Dr. Ferreira for months after I had already booked Dr. Ferreira. Lookin back, it was silly. Do all of your research and go with your gut, then trust your decision because you know that you've done the research and selected one of the best. 

8 minutes ago, TheGreatPretender said:

The thing that seems consensual among most people around is that even though both Ferreira and Pinto are great at their craft they still fall short in comparison with De Freitas though but I am not sure if this is just because of personal preference or if his technical skills are better for most patients.

I think Dr. De Freitas advertises more as well. He posts more results. I'm pretty sure on Spanish forums that you can find a bunch from Dr. Pinto. I definitely think that Dr. De Freitas has more name recognition at the moment. He's also a forum recommended Dr. I believe Dr. Ferreira is going to be more recognized in another 6-12 months. Plenty of people currently posting results. 

If I lived in Portugal then Dr. Pinto would be on my list as well. I see you mentioned him earlier but I like his work as well. 

1 minute ago, TheGreatPretender said:

I got contacted by lorenzo asking some better quality pictures back which were sent too a week back but no answer came from his assistant. 

Oh well, at least it reduces down my options currently. I like De Freitas work a lot but I think Ferreira would be a bit more of my comfort zone because the surgery would be done in my own country, although he is a tad more expensive now.

What area of Portugal are you from? I have such wonderful memories of my stays there. 

Why the rush for next week? Take your time and do some research. HLC and Dr. Biçer are better options. I know they cost more but it's for a reason. If a Dr has an opening next week I'd be very skeptical. Good Dr's are booked 6 months to over a year. 

7 minutes ago, TheGreatPretender said:

The option where you pay for a face to face consultation in Porto for 75€ only starts in September

I ended up doing an online fast track consultation but then I also met with him in person because I wanted to see the facility and put a face to the person I was trusting my procedure with. I made a vacation out of it so it was worth it for me but I think they will open Fast Track well before September. 

Just now, TheGreatPretender said:

That option is down too sadly, I am not sure how long it will take as Alexandra (his assistant) told me that it "might take a few months". The option where you pay for a face to face consultation in Porto for 75€ only starts in September. Hopefully the online ones wont take that long but only time will tell.

I got the impression that he has plenty of work and wanted to focus more on surgery than consultations to clear his back log. These are my words of course. The good news is that if you stay diligent and eventually get a consultation then the 1 year wait might be less since he's likely only booking repeat customers at the moment. 

I just posted my 2 month results yesterday and so far I'm pretty happy with everything. Feel free to look my post over and I'd be happy to answer any questions about him that you may have. 

Good luck!

6 minutes ago, drawdownfx said:

Alright thanks Joe. In regards to consultation I believe you can also pay 50 euros where he gets back to you within 48 hours, it's good to have the option.

Actually I believe he took that option down for the time being if I'm not mistaken. He told me during my surgery that he's been wanting to open it back up but figured what's the point since I'm a year booked. This was in late November and to my knowledge it hasn't opened up yet.