TrustTheProcess

Seriously, OP can afford HLC twice but has a potato for a phone and doesn’t know how to email himself photos and use MS Paint.

Did you honestly label a clinic that performs extractions and implantations by only medical doctors, with 4 max surgeries per day (4 doctors), a hair mill?

I didn’t know a place like Hasson & Wong implanted grafts is a row-like pattern.

My 2 month update from July 18th. Shedding has completely stopped, as has the existence of time; I need a fast forward button

Looks solid so far! Happy growing

2,597 of the 5,165 grafts were multi-hair grafts(3 or more hairs)

I'd consider this a success!

I am exactly 5 weeks post-op from my 2.5 day procedure at HLC. I thought this might be a good time to share my brief thoughts about the process while I play the waiting game. Intro: My research on youtube, FB groups and HRN led to me the shortlist of Bicer, Pekiner, Keser and HLC. Yes, these are all in Turkey. That was not my criteria. The criteria was first and foremost results, then second was price per graft, next was wait times for actual procedure. I did not want to go above 3 Euros per graft. I reached out to HLC sometime in September or early October. They looked at my photos and asked what my expectations were, and that if my expectations were to have a dense result, it would not be possible. If I wanted a less dense result, where I would have to be extra creative with my hair styling, then it would be possible to have a procedure. They then advised me to revisit this getting on medication to see if donor/recipient area progressed in the right direction. I was initially told I needed 8-9K grafts and that my donor area was not sufficient for full coverage. Meds: I started with 1.25mg (5mg generic fin cut into quarters) every other day and topical minoxidil. After two months a great results, I switched to 1mg EOD brand name propecia, as I did not like cutting pills. I also switched from topical to oral minoxidil, 2.5mg taken daily (ED). One of the reasons I switched to oral was so that I could resume minoxidil soon after my HT procedure. I did not want to wait 2-4 weeks to resume topical. I have been on these meds 6 months prior to surgery Travel: booked my trip to stay 10 days post op, as I wanted to heal and make sure grafts were somewhat secure before going in a pressurized cabin with travel back to Texas (13 hour minimum flight). I arrived Sunday evening, met the driver after getting my luggage and proceed to HLC without issue. Procedure: I run through this section pretty fast. Pre-op photos taken. Doctor Özgur comes in with his team of doctors (Elif, Bekir, Cengiz, Umut) and start examining my scalp and beard. Combing through it, making their markings and proposing a hairline. Measuring the required area at 50cm2 needed to cover front and midscalp for this HT, leaving a 2nd HT for crown next year. I was pleasantly surprised to hear I actually have very good donor area, around 8K in my scalp and another 2K from my beard (under jawline). This shows how much progress I had with meds, also that photos sent for consult have to be assessed conservatively. We decided on 50cm2 with coverage of about 103 sq cm. I wanted to address temples but they suggested I focus on that next time. I did not feel rushed at all, they took a solid 30-40 minutes at minimum. Procedure was over 2.5 days, 5 sessions total, 2 sessions per day. Extractions were performed by Dr. Cengiz, implantations performed by Dr. Bekir. The procedure for the most part was painless, aside of the initial anesthesia needles (ouch) and towards the end of a session where I felt the anesthesia starting to wear off. I buckled down and took the slight discomfort as I did not want excessive anesthesia, as too much would harm my graft survival. Recovery: Followed the post-op instructions, spraying recipient and applying Bepanthol cream to donor area. The worst part in sleeping, and the day 4-7 random needles in the back of my head (nerves coming back online? haha). **PHOTO TIME** Pre-op: Mid-day after day 3, all done Donor: Graft count: Day 11, scabs removed: Day 18, top view: Day 19, front view: 5 weeks exact, from today: Conclusion: I am far from any conclusions. This thread will log my journey which I have just started. I will try my best to answer any questions. I would like to thank HRN for providing this platform and making it easy to access cases, perform research and reach out to users. A special thanks to @MachoVato

update?

So how long is the wait? How far out is he booked?

Updates?

@Melvin- Moderator am I observing a master class in trolling? Spectacular!

Public Service Announcement! You can get Propecia brand name (not generic Finasteride) for 93% discount at Walmart with Plus membership. So I've been wanting to switch over to brand name as well as 1mg to avoid inconsistent dosages from cutting. Rx was sent over to Walgreens and sure enough my insurance would not cover it. Using Good Rx app or website, the best discount brought the price from $416 to $321 for 90 pills. Then I came across a post online that said if you have Walmart Plus membership, you get exclusive pricing. You're actually able to check costs right from this link without any membership: As you can see from attached image, the price is $23.50. So I immediately signed up for 1 month of Plus service and tested it out. Worked out just as planned. I don't think I've seen a cheaper option in the USA. This 90 supply lasts me 6 months as I only take 1mg every other day. That works out to roughly $3.92 per month I hope this helps others out.

per the email I received for my May 2022 surgery: “charge 150 Euro extra for our Surgery- package. In this package is your driver, accommodation, food, medication, and post-op aftercare set included. The flight and dinners are not included”

Wow. I had no idea that would take 400+. Hairline graft implantations look excellent as expected from BHR.

Definitely too early to judge. By any chance, do you recall which doctors performed on you, also if multiple, do you know which sides each worked on?

When clinics instruct their patients to stop use of minoxidil or rogaine 2 weeks prior to surgery, are they referring to topical only?