Blitzing Belgium - 2 Days & 4 top docs (Bisanga,Feriduni,De Reys,Mwamba)

[JohnnyDrama]

March 16th & 18th

 

Hi guys, just thought I'd get a thread started while I have the time, to basically document my upcoming weekend of consultations. I think the actual organisation and logistics of the weekend itself might interest a lot of people considering doing the same in the future, on top of my experiences with each doc!

 

I'm only a relative newbie in terms of my posting time here, but over the past few weeks and months I've gotten an awful lot of very useful info from here so just want to try and give a bit back. Given my location, and preference for FUE (surprise surprise), I was glad to see that Belgium is the hotspot in Europe (and arguably, globally).

 

Brief Background/Description: Based in Ireland, and 30 years old. Diffuse loss pattern from early/mid 20s, and have been mixing around the medication treatments for the past 3 years. The meds have definitely had a halting effect as I am sure I would have less, but I'm becoming increasingly uncomfortable (almost anxious) about things so I think HT is the way to go for me. I'll provide pics further down the road. The girlfriend is tagging along as well! It's a bank holiday weekend in Ireland too so works out perfectly in that I'm not having to take any time off work

 

Ambition:Regain density in frontal 3rd. Make my hair line less see-through, and thicken things up in the mid scalp. I'll admit that currently Bisanga and Feriduni are the front runners, but I'm glad I'm getting to see the other 2 docs. Who knows where I'll stand after the weekend!

 

Plan:

 

• Drive to Dublin at 2.30am on Sat Mar 16 (2 hr drive)
  
• Fly Dublin - Brussels at 6.35am (1hr 40 flight)
  
• Arrive at 9.35am
  
• Consultation with Dr. Bisanga at 12.30pm at BHR Clinic
  
• Train at 2pm from Brussels (Zuid/Midi) to Heist-Op-Den-Berg (1hr 20 train)
  
• Consultation with Dr. De Reys at 15.45 at his home address
  
• Train back to Brussels at 18.00 and finally check into 5* Stanhope Hotel (ridiculously
• reasonable price)
  
• Sunday = Chill
  
• Monday - Check out at 11am
  
• Train at 11.35 from Brussels (Zuid/Midi) to Hasselt (1hr 15 train)
  
• Consultation with Dr. Feriduni at 13.30 at his clinic
  
• Train back to Brussels at 16.10
  
• Consultation with Dr. Mwamba at his clinic
  
• Taxi at 19.00 to airport (20 mins)
  
• Depart Brussels Airport at 21.20
  
• Arrive in Dublin at 21.50
  
• Arrive home at 00.30
  
• Up for work at 8.00 on Tuesday :eek:
  

 

 

Ambitious! As you can see, I wanted to make the most of my time there. Should be an information-packed weekend, and probably tiring! I'll be documenting everything as I go along anyway, and will put as much as possible up here.

Edited March 9, 2013 by JohnnyDrama

[HARIRI]

Tell us who do you think is the best based on their way of treatment and results shown to you, This is a very interesting post for European hair loss sufferers. I agree that at the end it will be between Feriduni or Bisanga. Thank you for this JohnnyDrama.

[agenteye]

Wow JohnnyDrama, that's quite an action packed itinerary you've got there. Sounds like a long (and fun weekend). It is definitely very cool that you are doing this and sharing your impressions with the community. I have seen some great work come out of all of these Docs, so I am excited to see a side-by-side comparison of all of them. I think a lot of times when people compare things.....there is too much time between to remember details and specifics. By cramming all of this into a short amount of time, you're going to remember things vividly....and therefore will be able to make a more accurate assessment. I really love Bisanga and Feriduni's work....but am excited to see what you think of the other two in person!

 

I look forward to seeing your next update. Thanks so much for sharing.

 

Best,

 

Mike

[Mickey85]

Good luck buddy.

[JohnnyDrama]

Cheers lads. Looking forward to it.

[fitnessjunkie]

Good luck mate!

[nmss]

Best of luck Johnny! I'll be sure to check your thoughts after such adventure! cheers.

[JohnnyDrama]

Thought I'd post my pre-consultation thoughts.....just to see how they compare with my reviews of each consultation when I get home.

 

Right now I'm definitely hoping that I'm told I'm a good FUE candidate. In my mind I see somewhere in the region of 2500-3000 grafts. I don't fancy the FUT route but if I get the vibe from a few of them that it's the best route, I might be persuaded. I have a feeling at least one of them will suggest strip first (possibly Dr. B).

 

In terms of docs, if I were to break it down into percentage chance of who I think I'd go with, it would probably be the following: Bisanga 40%, Feriduni 40%, De Reys 10%, Mwamba 10%. This is purely off the back of months of research and seeing cases posted online, patient care rep, etc.

 

Right now, from an FUE point of view, I'd say I'm siding slightly towards Bisanga. Only slightly mind, but that's just a gut feeling at the minute. To be honest, there seems to be little or nothing between Dr. F and Dr. B. So many threads comparing the two, and so little difference!

 

If I were to go the FUT route, I reckon I'm currently siding slightly towards Dr. F. Again, only slightly, but it's just a gut thing right now.

 

Really looking forward to meeting the other two docs though. The main reason why they are currently behind in my books is because I have seen far fewer documented cases.

 

Interesting to see where I stand next Monday.

[james84]

Good luck,

 

I am really looking forward to your feedback when you get back, as this is something i wanted to do to regards of blitzing Belgium;)

 

You cant really go wrong with any of these Docs in my opinion.

 

Feriduni= love the hairlines and is a great Doc.

 

Bisanga= great at FUE but like you say i feel he will suggest FUT if you need 2500-3000 but still a great Doc.

 

Reys and Mwamba have positive reports and i think you may be surprised by them when you meet them:) Never heard of any negatives regarding these 2.

 

Good luck and cant wait to read your report once you get back. Also enjoy the Belgium beer=best in the world;)

[Throwaway28925]

I'm eager to read your feedback, especially on De Reys.

[bloodshoteyes]

I'm eager to learn of your experience with the various doctors and thier different approaches to your situation.

[HARIRI]

JohnnyDrama, We are waiting on FIRE. For the love of God, please write us your review

[JohnnyDrama]

JohnnyDrama, We are waiting on FIRE. For the love of God, please write us your review

 

I just arrived home an hour ago mate, at 1am!

 

What a weekend. Information overload!! Delighted I did it though, and would recommend it to anyone else who can put that kind of groundwork in. I'll put all the juicy details up tomorrow (I have to get up for work in less than 6 hours), but here is a brief summary:

 

 

• I'm a rare case, in that I'm not on the Norwood scale......I'm on the Ludwig scale!!!!

• All 4 docs said my donor density is very good.

• Wide variety of recommended amount of grafts, ranging from 1,500 to 2,800!

 

 

I have a big decision to make over the next few days!

[HARIRI]

God Bless you Man... Looking forward to the JUICY DETAILS

[james84]

Im guessing Dr Reys recommended 1500 grafts and Bisanga 2800!

 

Looking forward to the report:)

[HARIRI]

JohnnyDrama, The juicy details please?

[JohnnyDrama]

Im guessing Dr Reys recommended 1500 grafts and Bisanga 2800!

 

Looking forward to the report:)

 

Partially correct.

 

JohnnyDrama, The juicy details please?

 

Writing it up now mate!

[JohnnyDrama]

Ok, blame the delay on Hariri for keeping on Skype for 1 hour earlier!

 

I haven't gotten around to fully documenting things yet, but to give a brief summary:

 

I'm a Ludwig 1C / 2. Very good donor density, with measurements ranging from 80 - 98 throughout the zones. Hair characteristics are medium fine. Miniaturisation is under 10%, and thinning is in Zone 3 & 4 and forelock. All clinics agreed I was a good candidate for FUE.

 

I have approx 5,000 safe FUE (all clinics came close to this estimate), but one of the more interesting things people may find is the variation in graft estimation from the different clinics. It was as follows (in order that I saw the docs):

 

Bisanga: 2,000

De Reys: 1,500

Feriduni: 2,500 - 2,800

Mwamba: 1,800 - 2,200

 

 

My pre-consultation views still hold strong, and all going well I'll be making a concrete decision over the coming days. Will document the travel experience in detail soon, as well as each consultation. To be continued.......

[HARIRI]

In my opinion I think the best two will be Bisanga & Feriduni. I guess you will go with one of them for sure with leaning toward Bisanga more for his ultimate pure FUE experience. However I was wondering why did Dr. Feriduni quoted you much higher grafts than the others and why did Dr. Bisanga stayed at 2000 grafts only. What was the philosophy behind the 2000 only? Pretty interesting. Thanks Johnny for sharing and belated happy Saint Patrick Day. You missed the celebration in Ireland for the sake of the hair transplant consultaions. Thats what I call Hair Love.

[hairz]

Ok, blame the delay on Hariri for keeping on Skype for 1 hour earlier!

 

I haven't gotten around to fully documenting things yet, but to give a brief summary:

 

I'm a Ludwig 1C / 2. Very good donor density, with measurements ranging from 80 - 98 throughout the zones. Hair characteristics are medium fine. Miniaturisation is under 10%, and thinning is in Zone 3 & 4 and forelock. All clinics agreed I was a good candidate for FUE.

 

I have approx 5,000 safe FUE (all clinics came close to this estimate), but one of the more interesting things people may find is the variation in graft estimation from the different clinics. It was as follows (in order that I saw the docs):

 

Bisanga: 2,000

De Reys: 1,500

Feriduni: 2,500 - 2,800

Mwamba: 1,800 - 2,200

 

 

My pre-consultation views still hold strong, and all going well I'll be making a concrete decision over the coming days. Will document the travel experience in detail soon, as well as each consultation. To be continued.......

 

 

I liked Bisanga FUE work mostly out of the above list.

[Rawhair]

I just posted my experience with Dr Feriduni and I stand by my decision that it was the right choice.

In fact I did my research back in 2012 and have met all the doctors mentioned here.

 

 

De Reys is the only one I scratched from my list after visiting him. He could not show impressive outgrown results, his practice does not look professional (like a farmhouse) compared to the others, he has a couple of bad/mediocre results on the Dutch forum. But my main concern is that he does not use any experienced technicians and basically does everything himself. From what I read and learned a good team of skillful technicians is part of the success story of all the top clinics.

[HARIRI]

I just posted my experience with Dr Feriduni and I stand by my decision that it was the right choice.

In fact I did my research back in 2012 and have met all the doctors mentioned here.

 

 

De Reys is the only one I scratched from my list after visiting him. He could not show impressive outgrown results, his practice does not look professional (like a farmhouse) compared to the others, he has a couple of bad/mediocre results on the Dutch forum. But my main concern is that he does not use any experienced technicians and basically does everything himself. From what I read and learned a good team of skillful technicians is part of the success story of all the top clinics.

 

Did you consult Dr. Bisanga before choosing Dr. Feriduni? What was your findings?

[JohnnyDrama]

Bisanga

Consultation lasted approx 50 mins, and he estimated that I should get 2,000 FUE.

 

Got to the clinic 30 mins early and he was the first person we met inside. Since his 12 oc appointment was late, he could see me straight away so the gf waited in the waiting room. Just before hand we were eating breakfast in a shop around the corner where Stephen had advised us to go. While there, another lad sat down nearby and I was sure he had just had an Op with Bisanga. Curiosity got the better of me and I eventually went over to him. Turns out he had 1,300 FUE into his crown with Dr. B the day before. He filled me in on many aspects of the clinic and his experience which was really good to hear first hand, as opposed to me just reading about peoples experiences previously.

 

Regarding my consultation.....one thing I was aware of from reading on a few other peoples threads was that Bisanga seemed to make up his own mind before taking the opinion of the patient in. I have to say, I found the complete opposite. He started by asking "What can I do for you / Why are you here?" so I filled him in. I asked him what was his initial impression of my loss from afar, and he said I looked like I had frontal/midscalp diffuse loss and the hairs behind were coming down over the loss region to create coverage. He had a little doodle type pad in which he began to sketch out what we were about to find out.

 

He began the physical exam by cutting my hair short in 3 very small patches of my donor. He then put a microscope up and we were looking at the different densities through an application on his pc. He commented that my donor was excellent, with a lot of 2s 3s and 4s, with not a huge amount of natural 1s. When I asked if I was a suitable FUE candidate, he said that I certainly was. He said it isn't something he says very often, but he was happy to give a the option of going with FUT or FUE to equal extents. Of course I was delighted to hear this, and promptly told him I would be going with FUE. The report contained:

 

Norwood classification:N/A

Ludwig class 2.

Hair Characteristics:Medium fine

Donor Density: Measured in 3 areas as 80/85/80 Follicular units per cm2

Laxity:N/A

Miniaturisation: Under 10 percent.

Recommendations:

Very good density average. Thinning in zone 3/4 and forelock.

Safe zone for FUE is 6 cm x 35 cm x average density 81 = approx 16,800 grafts resident in safe zone.

Approx 5,000 grafts available via FUE to not cause thinning issues in the donor.

Recommend approx 2,000 grafts via FUE.

 

Again I have to mention the speed in which Stephen, the BHR rep, gets back to you. Myself and my girlfriend were only chatting about the consultation a few hours later when I had an email off Stephen with a report. This was at 8.30pm on a Saturday night! Top service.

 

My overall impression of BHR was very very good. Even though he was the first doc out of 4 I was to meet, my gut was telling me he could very well be the guy, but I was by no means going to be making a decision until all were seen and taken into account. I was just delighted he had told me that I had a good donor, and that he seemed confident that 2,000 FUE would get me a pleasing result. I had been expecting to hear an initial FUT recommendation of 3,000+! :eek:

 

 

(I'm heading to Amsterdam in a few hours so I need my sleep - I will update the other docs as soon as I can).

[HARIRI]

Perfect Review JohnnyDrama, Looking forward for Feriduni's review and your final decision

[Throwaway28925]

Excellent post Johnny.