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@PizzaWolf I have no affiliation with Dr. Bruno other than the emails we exchanged when I was selecting the Doctor for my second HT and the emails we are exchanging now regarding my possible 3rd HT. I recommend him because he managed to perform a amazing HT on my friend @PT#31 after he was rejected by Pekiner and because I truly believe he’s very cheap for the highly skilled surgery he’s doing.

@Chris32 in my opinion I believe we should be glad that there are Doctors humble enough to say they don’t believe they will be able to achieve the results the patient is expecting and ethical enough to abort a surgery instead of just taking the patient money and risk achieving a bad result. Pekiner only does 1 patient per day so he lost 3 days of turnover at his clinic by rejecting @PT#31. This is a Doctor that values his patients results more than money but it’s also fact he doesn’t like taking risks. @PT#31 was devasted when his surgery was aborted but he’s now very grateful it happened because it allowed him to go to Dr. BrunoFerreira that is used to doing surgery on patients with miniaturized hair or DUPA at Lorenzo’s clinic (world authority on DUPA patients) so he has a much better chance now to get the results he was expecting.

Yaman is a low cost Turkish Doctor charging 1€/graft with some bad results here at HRN but he does pay HRN so he’s one of their members. I highly advise you not to chose solely from the members list at HRN but from looking at results from actual patients posting real results. Yaman is doing DHI but with pre-made slits which eliminates one of the advantages of the DHI technique that is actually to avoid pre-made slits. With pre-made slits the holes/slits will stay open for hours waiting for the grafts to be implanted and slits begins to close immediately after being opened so pre-made slits must be wider which is worse for post surgery recovery. DHI is a technique where the Doctor uses several implator pens, each one is charged with a graft and then the Doctor punches a hole and implants the graft at the same time thus the slit/hole can be smaller meaning no swelling, quicker healing and higher graft survival rate. This is highly demanding on the Doctor because it’s one graft at a time being punched and implanted in the right angle and location to assure a natural hairline. Now you can understand why Yaman prefers to do all the slits first thus establishing the hairline so the techs just need to punch where the X is marked (less chance of techs screwing up). Yaman is not the only Doctor advertising DHI but doing pre-made slits as there are many others and its probably due to the popularity of this more recent technique. With Yaman you pay 1€/graft for DHI without actually reaping the full benefits of this technique.

Never heard of patients that had FUT getting shock loss around the donor area. I had FUT with Dr. Rahal and have no shock loss around the donor area where the strip was taken (scar is unnoticeable!). FUT will yield more grafts using less donor area and that’s just a fact! In order to maximize donor area the best way is to do FUT then FUE and lastly BHT to the crown.

@HTP1 actually @Dr. Bruno Ferreira reccomended taking Finasteride 3x/week which is the dosage I’m taking. @Melvin-Moderator I also believed a NW7 wouldn’t need Finasteride but I don’t want to risk losing transplanted hairs again so I’m giving Finasteride another chance with a lower weekly dosage of 3mg. @Rolandas what happened to your friend also happened to me as I had a full head of hair after my FUT with Dr. Rahal that gave me 70fu/cm2 density in the front but after 12 years without taking Finasteride I now have 30fu/cm2 density in the front. I will probably need a third surgery to rebuild the front (without beard grafts) and increase overall density which is why I’m in touch with @Dr. Bruno Ferreira

@Chris32 actually @PT#31 was rejected after Dr. Pekiner saw in the microscope that he had miniaturized hairs in the donor area but he does also have them in the front.

Hello everyone, I have reached 8 months post surgery and noticed a very slight improvement over the last month. Kepping my fingers crossed hoping these gaps will fill in over the course of the next few months as I understood that the crown can take up to 18 months to reach 100% growth. Following Dr. Pekiner and Dr. Bruno Ferreira reccomendation I I started taking Finasteride last month and hope to start reaping its benefits by the end of the year. Even though I’m a Norwood 6 (with 7325 implanted grafts to hide this fact) I was informed by Dr. Bruno that my hairloss will progress and that it would be counterproductive having spent over 14k on my hair (2 surgeries/7320 grafts) and then losing it again for not taking Finasteride. Looking forward to your comments.

@Chris32 I would narrow it down to HLC or Dr. Bruno Ferreira. If you have miniaturized hairs in the frontal area you will most likely be rejected if you refuse to take Finasteride to stop your hairloss and avoid the progression of miniaturized hairs. I highly advise to start taking Finasteride 3x/week like I’m doing along with spraying your scalp with minoxidil every night. @PT#31 had his surgery aborted with Pekiner and also has miniaturized hairs in the front. He went to Dr. Bruno for a second opinion and Dr. Bruno ask patients with miniaturized hairs to take Finasteride for 6 months before having surgery.

@James C I had FUT with Dr. Rahal in 2008 and after 12 years I lost all the hair in my midscalp and crown (didn’t take Finasteride) along with several of my transplanted hairs. I had a limited donor so instead of doing a second and last FUT I chose BHT+FUE with one of the best doctors for mega sessions using beard grafts. I had 1888 beard grafts implanted to my crown and 2007 scalp grafts to my midscalp and crown so this area was rebuilt with 50/50 beard/scalp grafts. Its impossible to tell that I have beard grafts on my scalp and even the felling when I brush my hands over my hair is not that different (maybe because my beard has the same caliber of my hair). I was hoping to get 6000 grafts to achieve a proper density but I only had 3889 so I’m keeping my fingers crossed hoping not to require a third surgery to fill in gaps and add density. If you are considering beard grafts you should know that not all patients can use them because if they are curly, have a different color than your hair or are very thin then the Doctor won’t be able to use them in your scalp. If I were you I would look into a combination of FUT + FUE at Hattingen clinic to maximize this first surgery and consider beard grafts in the future should you require more density in the crown.

@Chris32 Turkey is the world capital of botched hair transplants so be very careful and avoid ASMED like the plague. In the whole country there’s only 1 sure bet which is HLC like @transplantedphil said and if you don’t have miniaturized hairs you can go to Dr. Pekiner but he will abort your surgery after shaving your head and extracting a few grafts if he finds miniaturized hairs or believes he can’t achieve a good result. I can’t recommend Dr. Keser even though he has great results because he doesn’t use a microscope during surgeries and that’s simply not acceptable in 2020. HLC charges 2.5€/graft but for that price you are better off going to Dr. Bruno Ferreira that has a more skilled technique than HLC and charges the same price at his Porto Clinic (more expensive if you go to Madrid where he does surgeries at Dr. Lorenzo’s clinic one of the best in the world).

@Mike_2020 I had bald midscalp and crown that has been filled with 1888 beard grafts + 2007 scalp grafts (50/50) and I can’t tell you that it’s impossible to notice the difference between scalp and beard grafts.

Hi @TommyLucchese I had a slick bald crown and midscalp with limited donor area due to myFUT in 2008 with Dr. Rahal so I had to compensate with beard grafts. I had 1888 beard grafts implanted to my crown and so far the results are pretty impressive. BHT is getting more popular and the best at BHT are Pekiner, Dr. Sethi at Eugenix and Dr. Akin at HLC.

@Raza the italian forum has dozens of patients posting their results at HLC. However, I would never chose HLC over Dr. Bruno Ferreira unless I needed a beard mega session (HLC is amazing with beard mega sessions).

@Sbiza it takes 6 months of daily usage to notice any effect from Finasteride and Minoxidil. If you are planning doing a HT you should start taking them asap. I had FUT and there’s really no need to be affraid of the scar because it’s unnoticeable unless you cut your hair with a Number 2 or 1 razor. We all have a limited supply of donor area and FUT allows us to optimize our donor area because it removes a strip and the Doctor uses all grafts in that strip. Considering you are pretty much a NW7 in need of +7000 grafts everyone will advise you to have FUT because you might find that if you chose FUE you won’t have enough donor area to achieve a decent result. Even if you take Finasteride there’s a chance you hairloss will progress which means you might need more donor area available for another surgery in 10 years. Dr. Muresanu at Hattingen Clinic is the obvious choice for your HT if you make the right decision and go with FUT. If you are dead set on FUE then Dr. Sethi at Eugenix is the best option for FUE mega sessions and you will surely also need beard grafts to increase density and avoid totally depleting your donor area.

@Sbiza you should definitely start taking Finasteride to strengthen your donor area and stop your hairloss. You should also apply minoxidil spray every night. Dr. Sethi at Eugenix is the best for FUE mega sessions.

You need at least 7000 grafts to get a decent result. I highly advise to have a FUT mega session with Dr. Muresanu at Hattingen Clinic (3.45€/graft). They have done 8000 grafts in one surgery. If you are dead set on FUE you should book Dr. Sethi at Eugenix (2.9€/graft for the premium package with Dr. Sethi involved in the whole surgery).

@Motorleza you should follow @Gatsby advice and stay away from Turkey. Cinik is a hairmill where tech teams do surgeries on up to 12 patients per day so your results depend on getting a good team to do your surgery. You should start on Finasteride 1mg but take it just 3-4 times per week instead of every day (this is what I’m doing). This will stop your hairloss and strengthen your hair. I also suggest you to spray minoxidil 5% every night to strengthen your hair and promote growth. Should you wish to proceed with another surgery I advise you going somewhere where the doctor is involved in the whole surgery like the most expensive package at Eugenix where the Dr. Sethi does the whole surgery 2.9€/graft or @Dr. Bruno Ferreira in Porto doing a highly skilled technique for 2.5€/graft. If you are on a tight budget go to Dr. Demirsoy at 1.25€/graft but he has technicians do the implanting.

@PT#31 congratulations once again my friend! Your journey demonstrates the reason why we should always chose a ethical surgeon. Dr. Pekiner was humble enough to admit his skills would most likely not provide you with the results you were expecting. This very humble and ethical attitude would never happen in any tech run clinics and I doubt most doctors would accept to lose the money from a 3 day surgery booked months in advance. I honestly believe Pekiner is a Doctor that’s is more concerned with the results he will achieve for his patients than making money. The way Pekiner behaved allowed you to ask for a second opinion with @Dr. Bruno Ferreira who is more used to difficult cases and even patients with DUPA. In the end you managed to have a HT with a Doctor that assured you will achieve the results you were initially expecting so you ended up with the best possible outcome for your HT. Its because of what happened to @PT#31 and @duchainethat I started recommending Dr. Bruno on a regular basis and always warn fellow members that Pekiner does achieve great results and is amazing with beard grafts but he takes zero risks and aborts surgeries if he’s uncertain he can get a good result. In the pictures it’s clear that Pekiner punches are erratically performed and have a wider punch than those made by Dr. Bruno Ferreira (maybe Pekiner was testing out several areas to see if all grafts were miniaturized). Looking at the donor pictures I have to say that Dr. BF does some of the most clean and optimized donor area I have ever seen! It’s truly remarkable that Dr. BF does surgeries without any pain up to the point that you can even fall asleep during surgery. I guess zero swelling after surgery is now the norm with highly skilled doctor only surgeries because I also had zero swelling with Pekiner. Hang in there during this ugly duckling phase as it will be over quickly and very soon you will be posting pictures of your amazing new hairline. Wish you a great head hair my friend and will be following this thread very very closely! Hope more of @Dr. Bruno Ferreira patients start posting their results because I believe he’s a future Konior in the making.

@yalla8 what we are trying to tell you is that pictures and videos posted by the clinic or it’s doctors should never to be the only thing you consider while making a decision on which doctor will do your surgery. If the doctor has no real patients posting their results for the 12 month growth cycle then my advice is for you to chose another doctor. Worst you can do is to pay for a surgery that will deplete your donor area and give you a bad result because afterwards you will end up needing a repair surgery without enough grafts due a depleted donor area from the first surgery.

I would never book a permanent surgery with a unknown doctor and asking the clinic to talk with the former patient may just result in you talking with a clinic rep. Your donor area is limited so every graft is precious and in order for them to be used wisely you need to select a doctor with real patients posting great results.

@yalla8 the general opinion of HRN members is to completely disregard and ignore any YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or any other results posted on social media. Same for any reviews posted on yelp or anywhere other reviews website. When choosing a Doctor you have to come to forums like HRN and see results from real patients, those are the ones that start a results thread from the day of their surgery until the end of the 12 month growth cycle (many clinic reps come here and create a new thread with just a before and after picture and then falsely claim to be a patient). If you are on a budget I advise Dr.Demirsoy at 1.25€/graft (pre-made slits and techs do implanting) but if you can spend a bit more to have a Doctor only surgery with a more advanced technique then go to Dr. Bruno Ferreira at 2.5€/graft.

@Adam1 I had 1887 beard grafts implanted by Dr. Pekiner who I consider the best for BHT mega sessions and you can check my 7 months results that I think are pretty good considering I was totally bald in the crown and midscalp. If you are looking for doctor only surgery with a highly skilled technique (manual FUE using stick&place for implanting) at a affordable price of 2.25€/graft then Pekiner is a great choice. Dr. Sethi and Dr. Arika at Eugenix are also great with BHT but if you want a similar surgery to Pekiner (Doctor in charge of the whole surgery) then you have to chose the most expensive package that costs 2.9€/graft.

Hello everyone, I’m at 7 months now and it seems like there’s been no improvement since last month so I got a bit worried and made the difficult decision to resume Finasteride after 12 years without taking this drug due to some side effects. Dr. Pekiner and Dr. Bruno Ferreira both urged me to take Finasteride so I’m taking their advice (should have done it 6 months before the surgery). Hope by adding Finasteride it will help me avoid having blank spots in my crown and midscalp within the next few months. Let me know what you think.

@Huw in 2008 when I was chosing a doctors I had it narrowed down to Dr. Rahal or Dr. Feller and at that time the elite was these two plus Shapiro and H&W. Today I see that Dr. Feller and Dr. Bloxham are still the best choice in NY but prices changed dramaticly as I paid around 2US/graft in 2008 for my FUT with Rahal and I see that Dr. Bloxham charges 10US/graft for FUE. If you are set in the US and can afford this then Bloxham is the way to go but if you can catch a direct 6h flight to Porto then I advise you to look up Dr. Bruno Ferreira because he`s getting truly amazing results at 2.5€/graft and he works also in Madrid at Dr. Lorenzo clinic (one of the best FUE Docs in the world) but at this clinic you pay a bit more. Wish you all the best with your journey to a full head of hair.

@BaldBrit I highly advise you to stay clear from ASMED as they are a Turkish hairmill with techs operating on 8 patients per day and the Doctor has zero to little involment. There are several botched ASMED patients on HRN complaining about being threatened with lawyers or simply ignored. In Turkey the only safe bet is HLC at 2.5€graft and you will find that the UK is overpriced for the level of quality. Dr. Reddy is great but you can get better or similar Doctors for a much lower price if you get on a plane. You will need +8000 grafts to rebuild your hairline with a decent density and fill in your midscalp and crown (the diagnosis you got for 1 session of 4000 grafts is ridiculous!). I advise you to forget about FUE and have FUT because it`s the best way to get the most grafts in a single session. Take a look at the King of FUT Mega Sessions in Europe - Dr. Muresanu at Hattingen Clinic. They did 8100 grafts in 1 session: He charges 3,45€/graft for FUT (but maybe you can negotiate). Check the list I made with the prices for some of the Doctors I contacted during my research.