I recently went to Dr Cinik’s clinic for a hair transplant. I am completely aware it is considered a hair mill and so will take my results with a pinch of salt, as I understand they will likely not be comparable to that of someone else who has visited the clinic.
Day 1
I arrived at SAW at around 7am and headed outside to try and find my transport. It is quite chaotic out there, especially after a red eye flight where you have not managed to sleep. It took around 5-10 minutes for the car to arrive and I was then driven straight to the clinic. Once I arrived they provided me with a sandwich, some juice and a cake. After around a 20 minute wait I was taken to have my blood test and ECG. Once this had been completed I was told that I would be returning at 4pm for my consultation so I was dropped to the hotel where I caught up on sleep for a few hours. The hotel facilities were very nice and a lot more upscale than I expected, I also brought my girlfriend with me and it was easy to add her on to the room for only €10 per night. I was picked up and taken back to the clinic at 4pm. Firstly they examined my hair follicles in the donor area with some kind of high resolution/microscopic camera. I then had a brief consultation with Dr Cinik (3-5 mins) where he looked at pictures of my previous hairline and drew a new one on. Following this I had some ‘before’ pictures taken by their photographer and left to go back to my hotel. My girlfriend and I decided to head out to get some dinner from the surrounding area as there were quite a few restaurants dotted around, however just as I was leaving I received a call from the clinic stating that I had left earlier without paying for my surgery. When booking I was told that payment should be made on the day of however I was advised that as they planned to start so early the next day (7am) I should have paid the day before. Unfortunately no one made this clear to me and so a driver was sent to take me back to the clinic in order to make the payment. When I arrived at the clinic the staff seemed confused as to why I was paying the day before the surgery however I advised that as I had already come all the way back I would like to just make the payment at that point. They were more than accommodating and sorted this out and then dropped me back at my hotel.
Day 2
I was being picked up at 6:45 so needed to wake up quite early in order to try and fit some breakfast in. Much to my detriment I didn’t have much of an appetite at that time.
I was picked up promptly and arrived at the clinic where I had my hair cut. The techs then began giving me the pain free anaesthesia (a freebie as part of my package) and massaged this in to my head for a while. It definitely wasn’t painful, more slightly irritating (like being pinged with a rubber band). Whilst waiting for this to kick in they attempted to place a cannula in my vein for an IV. The first tech had a lot of trouble finding a vein in either of my arms and had to call in a colleague to assist. The second tech was also having no luck with finding a vein and so they had to insert it in to my hand, which they advised me would be a lot more painful. This whole ordeal made me very nervous as I felt like nobody knew what they were doing (probably somewhat exacerbated by me foolishly reading bad reviews of Cinik the night before my surgery). I think the techs could see I was pretty clammy and nervous so at this point they gave me a ‘relax’ tablet. I have no idea what this was however it looked a little like a Valium. After this it was time to begin injecting the actual anaesthetic in to my scalp. The pain of this was unbearable and I was writhing around in the chair. I honestly thought I was going to end up with some form of PTSD due to the pain of this. Luckily the tablet started to kick in a little which helped to calm my nerves, just not the pain. The tech administering the injections was very attentive and sympathetic and she stopped halfway through to give me a break and massage my head. They also gave me a cake and some water as I probably looked like I was going to pass out from the pain (if only I had managed a bigger breakfast haha). My scalp was definitely becoming more numb so the second half of the injections was a lot more tolerable.
After this the extraction process began which was completely pain free (only slightly eerie when you can hear the follicle being plucked out with the tweezers). My memory of events become a little hazy after this point as I was hooked up to the drip containing god knows what painkillers (but I’m certainly not complaining). I had paid extra for Dr Cinik to open the channels himself so he came in at this stage and performed that part. I had also paid a little extra for my beard to be thickened so the channels on my face were opened too.
After this it was time for lunch, which I actually rather enjoyed. I was served some juice, salad, bread, rice and beef kofta. It was a little hard to chew due to my face being so numb from the anaesthetic in my beard area but that was only a minimal issue. Now came time to place the grafts, during which I was hooked back up to the drip so slept for the majority of this. I could definitely sense a mixture of more and less experienced techs (4 in total) performing the procedure. From my impression it felt as though the more experienced tech was working on my beard and hairline which made me feel a little more confident, although I suppose the proof will be in the end result! The techs (especially the more experienced seeming lady) seemed really pleased with their work once the procedure had finished so that also helped me feel a little more comfortable. I really can’t fault how attentive they all were and whilst there was a language barrier they tried their hardest to engage in conversation and make sure I was as comfortable and relaxed as possible.
Once the surgery was completed I met with one of the sales reps who provided me with my medications, hair was serums etc and provided instructions on how to sleep that night. I was dropped back to my hotel at around 4pm and slept for the remainder of the day. It was a struggle to get to sleep that night, due to the upright position. The sleeping pills they provided did not have much of an effect either. There was a lot of plasma leakage from the donor area during the night which was also quite unpleasant to try and sleep in.
Day 3
I was picked up at 9am for a hair wash. The washing of the transplanted area was fine but wow the donor area was so tender. I thought I may pass out from the pain. Luckily it was over within a few minutes. I also had laser light therapy which was a freebie as part of my packaged and lasted about 15 mins. Returned to the hotel after around 45 mins and relaxed for the day.
Day 4
I spent the morning in the hotel and was picked up early afternoon for a final hair wash. I was taken promptly to the airport and flew home in the evening.
All in all it was a pretty well streamlined process. Now we just need to wait for the results! Here are a few before pictures:
I was initially quoted as requiring ~2,500 grafts however in the end they (allegedly) placed ~3,500 in my head. They also implanted a further 600 in my beard. These are the post surgery photos and some of the donor area for anyone who is curious:
