Hello,
A little background on me. I am 48 years old hailing from Florida. I decided early in life that if I felt my hair line was receding, I would attack it immediately. In 2009 at age 35, I started to see my hairline what I like to call the corner pockets start to recede (right and left sides). I had an FUT done in Miami with one of the top surgeons in the country. At that time, we were only talking about 1100 grafts to solve that problem. The results were great and lasted and looked wonderful. But as time when on the recession came back and at the age of 47, I decided it was time to take action again. My hairline and now my crown had started to recede and show signs of loss to the point where it was bothering me. Note, everyone’s definition of hair loss is different and what I feel looks bad to me others may see it differently. Again, my plan was to always stay step ahead of the loss. I have also been taking finasteride and Minoxidil religiously since 2008 and have not stopped this regimen. I had never thought of going overseas for a procedure before but joined groups and such to get a feel for it. I had consulted several doctors in the USA, Turkey and Dr Camacho with Bogota Hairlines. The general consensus of the number of graphs needed for what I was trying to achieve was around 2100-2300 graphs from all the consults I did. My criteria, for choosing a doctor was simple, FUE Procedure, Doctor Performing all aspects of my procedure, an IHRS affiliated doctor and one with verifiable results and at a reasonable cost. Like I said I had been through his before so I knew how to choose.
I consulted several doctors in Florida. I consulted my previous surgeon and two others. The one consistent thing here was the Doctor’s drew the hairline, and make incisions and left the rest to their techs. Not to mention you could buy a used car for the price they were charging.
I am not bashing Turkey, as I know there are good results coming from there. There are a lot of bad ones too. I consulted 2 of the highest rated IHRS doctors there. One of them showed no interest in talking to me when we were on WhatsApp Video call, and one would not even get on a call. RED FLAG for me. Not to say they were not good, but if I am putting my faith in you and you don’t want to even take the time to discuss and look at me over video, then forget it. In both cases the Doctor would perform the entire surgery IF you paid for the select package. If not, they drew hairline, then techs made incisions and implantation. The doctor would “oversee”. Yes, it was a 1/3 of the cost of the states, but again, was not feeling it.
Then there is Dr Camacho at Bogota Hairlines. How I found out about Dr C (Hair Jordan) was through a group on Facebook. I was lucky enough to actually get in touch with a few guys from the states, talk with and see the progress they made over a year time. Let me say, the results were amazing and I was sold. PERIOD.
Why I chose Dr Camacho:
First of all, the results I had seen had been nothing less than amazing. Second, Bogota Hairlines limits their surgeries to 1 to 2 a day, no hair mills. The package is simple YOU GET A DREAM TEAM and you’re not paying more to have the privilege of having the doctor engaged IN ALL aspects of the surgery. When I mean by all, I mean consult, drawing, extracting and implanting. And when I say dream team, you have 6-7 people working like a well-oiled machine treating you like royalty. Just go watch videos in IG to see what I am talking about. I had the best Dr in the US do my first surgery back in 2009 and they did not have a team like that.
My Overall Experience
I engaged them through WhatsApp and Isaac was who I was communicating with. I submitted my pics, and within days the pics were reviewed by Dr C, and we had a video call setup shortly thereafter. Dr C actually was on vacation at the time he called me for our consult. He took time away from his family trip to the USA to speak with me. We discussed what I wanted and what he felt was best. One thing you will notice about Dr C is that he will emphasize, age appropriate and irregularities as part of how he builds hair lines. You don’t want people to know you got a hair transplant and the results provided should reflect natural progression of hair growth. In today’s age of digital communication channels, its common to do business over social media and chat, the new norm. I had no hesitation again based on the people I had already spoken to as well as after talking to Doctor Camacho he was the right fit. He set real expectations. I had no problems paying my deposit to secure my date.
The package deal was all inclusive (minus your flight, covid testing). No hidden fees, and perfectly priced (it’s based on your type of hair loss). In the price you get the dream team, all your transfers, 3 nights hotel stay in Bogota (breakfast included), surgery, pre and post op meds, and the follow-up visit to the office for your first wash.
I flew in on Tuesday, had surgery on Wednesday morning, chilled out on Thursday, went back to the office in the morning on Friday for first wash and post op checkup then headed to airport.
When I arrived at the airport, they were waiting for me outside with a sign that was easily identifiable. Took me to the hotel. Genesis who was my personal concierge was awesome. Met up with her that night, she checked in with me to make sure all was well and that she would be there in the morning to get me on my way.
The Procedure/Team/Recovery
2240 Graphs (600 – 1 hair grafts, 1440 – 2 hair grafts, 200 – 3 hair grafts) - May 25, 2021
Genesis was there waiting for me in the morning with the ride waiting. The day started with the Doc and I discussing the plan in his office. He did a thorough review of my current hairline, loss patterns and made his suggestions. He is very methodical in his approach and presents realistic options for what he feels will look the best. He is an artist, trust his judgement. He understands future hair loss potentials, and how to create the best outcomes so you look your best if it happens down the line.
You will be led into a room so they can take before pictures.
The entire Bogota Hairlines facility was immaculate, spotless and clean. You could tell and see attention to first class cleanliness and controls were employed.
I was the only surgery that day.
After we agreed on the approach, it was to the chair you went for the shaving of your head, drawing of the donor area, and then your first set of injections to get you ready for the extraction. I would say the only time I ever felt any pain if you want to call it that, was during injections. No way around that. Needles are needles and they can cause pain. They use a hand massager near the injection site to help trick the brain into not noticing the needle pain. But once they numbed you up, you could hit me with a bat and I would not feel it. I have a high pain tolerance so it did not bother me.
You are laid down in the extraction chair and Dr Paola and Dr Camacho began the extraction procedure while two assistants extract and sort the grafts. They separate them into 1’s, 2’s 3’s.
After all the grafts are taken Dr Camacho will make a few pre-incisions in certain areas and draws out the hairline. After discussion and review you are on your way to the CHAIR. Fire up the Netflix and away you go. You will receive more injections in the area they are implanting the grafts. As I mentioned previously aside from my hair line and crown, I wanted the FUT scar that I had to be filled with grafts. The Doc worked his magic on that as well. Read more for those results.
Dr. Camacho and Dr. Paola then placed the grafts, while the assistants worked their magic placing grafts into pens for the Doctors. It was the most consistent, easy going and smooth procedure with such precision. They way this team works together is nothing short of amazing. All I can say is just watch videos of how this team works together. The skill of each one of the team members is amazing. They have this down to a perfect science.
After a few hours in they had lunch for me. I took a break, had lunch and finished the procedure. In all I believe it took about 5 ½ to 6 hours of time. I actually did fall asleep a few times lol.
After you’re done, you will immediately take the post-surgery pictures. Once completed they will apply antibiotic cream to your head, gauze up the donor area and apply saran wrap to your head that you must keep on for two days. This helps protect your graphs and donor area. You’re given a cool hoodie covering it all so you can walk around with ease. You are also given a neck pillow as well to ensure you sleep with your head elevated as much as possible. They were there to take me back to the hotel. If I had any issues I was told to call anytime.
Recovery
They give you pain meds and a few other meds that you need to take post op to reduce swelling and help with pain. I never used the pain meds. The only discomfort I felt was when I laid down if any pressure was applied to the donor area. Thursday, I walked around Bogota all day and even had a chance to meet up with a friend who lived in Bogota for dinner that evening. Everyone is different, but my pain was really non-existent. You will feel discomfort at times but I had tooth aches that hurt more than this. On Friday, I went back to the office and had the wrap removed and got my first wash. Felt good! Did a final check in with the doc all looked good and I was on my way.
You will be given saline spray to keep your grafts moist and all the post op instructions.
Once I got home I followed the outlined instructions they give you. By like 7 days all my scabs had fallen off. The only discomfort I had from time to time was when laying down a few instances of donor area itching but that was it.
Final Thoughts
Did I make the right choice? 10000% yes. If I had to go again, would I choose Bogota Hairlines and Dr Camacho, 10000% yes.
There are wonderful Doctors all over the world and at the end of the day you have to choose who you feel is best. Dr Camacho and his team are one of the best in the world in my opinion and I had already been to the best in the business once before. He is a caring Doctor that will take the time to get online and answer any questions you have and make you feel right with your choice.
I am 8 months post op as of Jan 25, 2022. I think the results speak for themselves. Oh yeah and about the scar revision. Ever since I had the first surgery, I could never go lower than a 3 ½ guard on the back on the back of my head… Yes, I can now go down to a 1 ½ in the back. My hair stylist who has been cutting my hair for like 6 years knew about my scar and had to make sure to always use her techniques to ensure to not expose it. She can now take it straight up!! It’s like the scar never existed.
Ive posted both pre and post opp pics as well as my 8th month pics as of Jan 25.
Pre Op pics for reference
Day of surgery May 25, 2021
Scar:
Post op:
Scar Progression:
Jan 25, 2022 - 8 months:
