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

[1978matt]

Really enjoying this thread too. Top notch!

[Rawhair]

Yes, I also met with dr. Bisanga.

 

Nothing wrong with the consultation.

Sometimes you go with your feeling and my feeling was Go Feriduni.

 

Maybe I should have seen the dr.F a bit more during the surgery. Most of it was handled by his staff of technicians.

As long as I get a good result, who cares!

[bloodshoteyes]

Any updates on the other doctors Johhnnydrama !!!!!!

[JohnnyDrama]

Returned late last night guys so will try and do the other docs tonight.

[HARIRI]

I wonder who will be your final decision :-)

[Mickey85]

Very cool write up on Bisanga, look forward to the rest!

[JohnnyDrama]

Feriduni

 

Consultation lasted approx 70 mins :eek: and estimated FUE of 2,500 - 2,800 (although the treatment plan I received via email afterwards estimated 2,800 - 3,000).

 

Due to be at 1.30pm on the Monday, my day started by getting a phonecall from Christian at 8.45am asking if I wouldn't mind rescheduling it to 3pm due to surgery commitments. Agreed although I knew things would be tight to make it back into Brussels to see Mwamba for 6pm!

 

Having arrived at the clinic at around 2.40pm, everything I had previously read had come to light. It is one very impressive clinic. We were met by Christian who offered us a cup of coffee (which was bloody nice as well) while we waited for Dr. F. About 10-15 mins later he appeared and we went into his office.

 

Another thing I had read quite a bit about Dr. F was how nice a bloke he seemed to be. Again, it was very obvious why so many felt this way as the guy just seemed naturally very friendly, and genuinely interested in you as a person and patient. It was very easy to see why so many people wold put their head in his hands!

 

Things started off with the doc asking me why I was here and what my hopes were, and then we moved onto my medication history, and hair loss in my family. I reckon we spoke about this for close to 10-15 mins, and the doc was taking a lot of notes. He had my pre-filled out questionnaire to hand (something that Bisanga also had which I forgot to mention) which saved a lot of time. He passed a comment that I seemed to be fairly well educated on the different procedures and I assured him that I had a lot of research done on the many aspects of HT. Interestingly, he also said that when I initially walked in, he was unsure as to why I was even in the clinic, as my hair appeared to be normal. I had gotten a similar vibe from the other docs, but all of their opinions quickly changed upon inspection.

 

I feel I should mention that during the above period, his 2 head nurses popped their heads in to say goodbye before they left. He pointed out that they had finished a strip surgery sooner than expected so they had an early day. Again, a small detail, but struck me as a happy clinic with good atmosphere.

 

The doc then began to sit me down beside a mirror, and started to take some pics at different angles. He also stated that I had a Ludwig pattern, most uncommon in men, but estimated it as a Ludwig 1C as opposed to Bisangas thought Ludwig 2 (I appreciate there is probably very little difference between the 2 anyway).

 

He then sat me beside one of his pc monitors while using a microscope to examine my donor. Again, I was able to see these images on-screen in front of me. He said I had a very good donor region, and his measurements were even higher than Bisangas. Not remembering exactly, but the 3 different sections ranged from 85 to 98, as opposed to Bisangas 80-85. He asked at this point had I been to see Dr. Bisanga, as he noticed the closely cut areas of donor, seemingly unique to Dr. B. I told him I had been there 2 days ago and he seemed impressed at the level I was researching things at. Heightened again when I said I also met with De Reys, and I'm due to meet Mwamba shortly.

 

The most interesting detail of this experience was the difference in treatment plan. Dr. F thought that 2,500-3,000 would achieve what I was looking for, compared to Bisangas 2,000. He outlined regions 1,2 and 3 for work.

 

He showed me many patients with similar characteristics to me, and a few I recognised from the forums.

 

The consultation ran on for 70 mins, and even at that it was me who was nearly making the moves to leave as I was aware of how pressed for time I was. I got the impression I could have stayed for longer had I wanted!!! It ended by Dr. F promptly requesting a taxi for me, as he knew I was running late to get back to Brussels! I left at around 4.15 and must say I was again very impressed by the whole set up.

 

Spex was quick to get the treatment plan sent to me, and again, this is where I feel BHR and Feridunis clinics excel in comparison to a few others.

 

I had a decision to make!!

[JohnnyDrama]

Oh, my reports on the other docs will follow soon, hopefully tomorrow.

[james84]

Another great write up:)

 

I am looking forward to see how Reys and Mwamba compared, im guessing these 2 are in your bottom 2 so to speak but still great Docs.

 

Tough choice you have to make, however you have chosen some great Docs so the outcome shall only be great:)

[Mickey85]

Feriduni is an absolute gentlemen and is not one for quick consults. Hell my pre-operative briefing(with another doctir) right before my surgery did not equate to 70 minutes! Feriduni had a 32 minute Skype consult with me even before I paid a deposit. I consider him to be in the utmost echelon of the industry in terms of patient care,diligence and communication along with Umar and Lorenzo.

[Mickey85]

I don't want to sway Johnny any way, but from comparing aspect of Feriduni's and Bisanga's write ups, I could have a good guess at who he was more impressed by. But I could be very wrong.

[JohnnyDrama]

I've been swamped since returning from hols but have a nice 4 day weekend ahead so should have everything documented by then.

 

I also intend to put up the logistics of the whole weekend. E.g. what time I went from A - B, how I got there and how much it cost. Myself and the missus really did do quite a bit of travelling that weekend. I felt a little sorry for her but hey, I had her warned!

[JohnnyDrama]

De Reys

 

Consultation lasted approx 50 mins, and Dr. De Reys estimated 1,500 FUE grafts would suffice.

 

This one was a little different, in more ways than one! I was running a little late due to getting a little mixed up jumping from train station to train station, but rang the doc when we got to Heist-op-den-Berg station and he kindly said he'd drive over shortly. 15 mins later we got introduced and were in his car on the way to the consultation.

 

The clinic is an extension to the docs house (a farmhouse - he has many chickens etc running about). He mentioned that they were currently renovating the clinic so we had to do the consultation in his living room. So he got me a cup of coffee and had his laptop setup on the living room table. My girlfriend watched tv behind us, while being entertained by the docs grandson.

 

We briefly discussed my medication regimen and family history.

 

Again, what may be the most interesting aspect of this is the doc estimating that 1,500 would be recommended. Similar to the other docs, he said I had a strong hairline, and that the area behind it (forelock/midscalp) was causing the illusion of a failing hairline because there was absolutely no density behind it, therefore being so see-through. He said I have a 'perfect' donor, with what appeared to be good groupings.

 

He inspected my scalp with those microscope-type glasses that they would typically wear while in surgery (don't know the technical term). No photos were taken during the consultation, and no technical data / stats were gathered. His wife (who is his sole technician) also had a look, and commented that they had seen very few cases of my hair loss. They seemed confident that I could achieve the full look that I wanted with not many grafts. Again, hearing this in person from a doc was reassuring when thinking that I should have plenty in reserve in years to come if needed.

 

Dr. De Reys then began showing me some cases of other guys he had on his laptop. One was of a lad who only lives an hour or so away from me in Ireland, who was with him quite recently. He really does appear to have a lot of cases on record, so it's a pity that so few are available online.

 

Looking back, this consultation was very different from the others. Baring in mind that this was at around 4.30pm on a Saturday evening (along with the renovations), and the doc had a crazy busy house going on around us (a few other relatives passing in and out). They are very friendly people it has to be said.

 

He then brought up the topic of dates re surgery, and we were now looking at his google calendar on his laptop. He seemed quite booked up for the next 2 - 2.5 months. The clinic is generally only open 3-4 days a week, so he usually has a 2-day op and a 1-day op in the one week. There hasn't been any contact from the clinic since the OP. I had been dealing with 'Nick', Dr. De Reys assistant prior to the consultation.

 

This being my #2 consultation of the weekend, and having been so impressed by BHR, I did feel as if I wouldn't be pursuing this route. Although I must say I can see why many still opt for Dr. De Reys and why they would have confidence in him.

[JohnnyDrama]

Mwamba

 

I was in the clinic for approx 70 mins, and Dr. Mwambas estimation was 1,800-2,250 grafts.

 

Arrived at Dr. Mwambas WHTC clinic a little late, around 6.15pm on the Monday, largely due to the rescheduling of Dr. Feridunis consultation. I reckon I made it there in world record time, considering I left Dr. Fs clinic in Hasselt at around 4.15pm, there was a taxi ride, a train of 1hr 15mins, and another taxi ride in between! It gets funnier in that my plane home departed Brussels airport at 9.10pm that night!

 

I'll admit to being pretty tired at this point. We were in the waiting room for maybe 10 mins, when a nurse brought out several pages of paperwork to fill out. This was the pre-consultation questionnaire. About 10 mins later again a nurse brought me into a room to take pics. A LOT of pics were taken, from many different angles. What was different here again, was that she took out a spray-bottle of water. I looked at her in fear, as wet hair is my nightmare, but yes, we were to take 'wet' shots. She sprayed my head good, took pics of all the same angles as she did when dry, and she then used a towel to dry me off. Feeling a little abused at this point I sat back down outside.

 

About 5 mins later Dr. Mwamba came out and introduced himself, and we went into his office. We began by going into detail about when I first noticed thinning and when I began medication. As with the other docs, I mentioned my course of 'Accutane' in 2012, and he nodded his head, saying it was 'very bad' in the sense of its side effects.

 

The physical exam began with him getting me to sit beside a pc, and he began inspecting my head with a microscope. Again, I could see the live-imaging on the monitor. In terms of measurements and graft estimation/treatment plan, the consultation was similar enough to Bisangas. I was impressed with the level of detail Dr. Mwamba showed, and he was taking a lot of notes throughout.

 

I'll admit that before arriving here, I was so impressed by BHR and Feriduni, that I was convinced I'd be selecting one of the two (added to the fact I had seen so much of their work online), but I was glad I got another docs input as Mwamba is a little different again in his approaches. I was impressed with his level of professionalism, and again, he's a very very nice bloke. I have yet to receive any correspondence from the clinic post-consultation.

 

Seeing as it was now 7.30pm, and our gate closed in the airport at 8.40pm, I was keen to get a move on. The doc promptly organised a taxi and wished us well.

[JohnnyDrama]

Travel

 

-Drive to Dublin at 3.00am on Sat Mar 16 (2 hr drive)

 

-Fly Dublin - Brussels at 6.35am (1hr 40 flight) - Aer Lingus (flights were roughly €135 return)

 

-Arrive at 9.35am

 

-If you have time on your side, DO NOT get a taxi from the airport to the city. It set us back €52!! Get a train to Central Station or Midi/Zuid for much less.

 

-Consultation with Dr. Bisanga at 12.30pm at BHR Clinic (we had a bite in a little cafe around the corner called Sweet and Savoury, recommended by Stephen the BHR rep. This is where I met the English lad who had 1,300 FUE with Bisanga the day before, so I quizzed him for a bit ).

 

-Taxi to Central Station €7.50

 

-Train at 2.00pm from Brussels (Zuid/Midi) to Heist-Op-Den-Berg (1hr 20 train - €9 return). This was a pain, in that it was never really clear where or how we needed to changed trains. As it turned out, we stayed on the first train until we reached Antwerp, then got a connecting train to H-O-D-B.

 

-Consultation with Dr. De Reys at 16.30 at his home address

 

-Train back to Brussels at 18.30 and finally check into 5* Stanhope Hotel (ridiculously

reasonable price of around €150 for 2 nights, and could not recommend highly enough)

 

-Sunday = Chill

 

-Monday - Check out at 11am

 

-Train at 13.00 from Brussels (Central) to Hasselt (1hr 15 train - €25 return)

 

-Taxi to clinic €8

 

-Consultation with Dr. Feriduni at 15.00 at his clinic

 

-Train back to Brussels at 16.30

 

-Consultation with Dr. Mwamba at his clinic at 18.15

 

-Taxi at 19.30 to airport (15 mins - €37)

 

-Depart Brussels Airport at 21.10

 

-Arrive in Dublin at 21.40

 

-Arrive home at 00.30

 

-Up for work at 8.00 on Tuesday

[JohnnyDrama]

If anybody has any questions relating to any aspect.....don't hesitate to get in touch!

[chrisdav]

Great documentation of your 4 consultations.

 

You are a credit Johnnydrama to the forum with this idea.

[HARIRI]

Great Review JohnnyDrama, You did a great favour for all of potential FUE patients who are planning to have it done in Europe. I'm really eager to know who are you going to choose and why?

 

However If I am in your place and planning to get a 100% pure FUE job, I would definitely go with Bisanga. He is my FUE Idol without any doubt. However I chose Feriduni because I'm going for scar revision (Strip) and some hairline repair. Also I find the quotation of Bisanga is better as I always like the conservative route a bit. FUE is not advisable if its above 2000 grafts in one session as the yield is risky in this technique. Spex said it once in the forum. Good luck and keep us updated.

[JohnnyDrama]

Conclusion

 

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, my pre-consultation research had Bisanga and Feriduni as my likely choices. Even though I was glad I saw the other two docs, I was still most impressed with BHR and Dr F. So the journey home as well as the past week or so had me weighing up what direction I should go in.

 

My final decision: Bisanga.

 

 

Reasons:

 

- Again as I previously mentioned, from my pre-consultation research I had Bisanga slightly edging things from an FUE point of view. I had Feriduni slightly edging it from an FUT point of view. Upon finding out the news that I was a good candidate for FUE, I was essentially given the choice of either procedure from both docs.

 

- The slightly more conservative treatment plan from BHR (2,000 grafts) appealed to me for several reasons over the 3,000 from Dr F. I just got a degree of confidence from Dr B that he could achieve a denser look with smaller grafts. I recall at one point mentioning the term 'dense-packing', and he said that we wouldn't even need to dense pack due to my high numbers of 2s 3s and 4s.

 

- Seeing as I was told I have roughly 5,000 'safe' FUE grafts to take from my donor (without obvious signs of thinning post-op), going with BHR for my 1st procedure would result in me essentially having 3,000 left in the bank for future needs which could realistically be split in 2 procedures of 1,500, whereas I would have 2,000 left with Dr F which realistically would be one procedure.

 

- When I was beginning to come to this conclusion, again I turned to posted online results. I began mass-googling sessions of 'Bisanga FUE' and 'Feriduni FUE'. Having read so many positive outcomes from each, I was still impressed with the BHR findings.

 

- I then began contacting one or two other Irish guys who had been to BHR. They were incredibly forthcoming with positive references, and offered to meet in person if I wished. I haven't had the opportunity to do so, but it in itself was a sign of how happy they were with the work.

 

- Scheduling - I know it's relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of selecting a clinic, but it was always looking like an Aug/Sept procedure for me. Both clinics are ridiculously popular (and for obvious reasons), in that they have a 5-7 month waiting list at the best of times. Initially September looked good from a work perspective, until big appointments were made for the second half, so August became the preferred choice. I also liked the idea of having 4 full months of recovery before the xmas season hit. From the specific dates given to me, 2 days in August with BHR were jumping out at me. I must comment though that Dr Fs clinic were very fair in provisionally putting my name down for 2 days in Sept and held them for quite a few days. This was organised with Spex who is a great addition to the clinic.

 

- Post OP patient care: From my research, I have come to the conclusion that these 2 clinics have exceptional post-care services in operation, so I couldn't rank one over the other. From my communications with Stephen and Spex, I regard them as in a league of their own in terms of how quickly they respond to you, as well as the level of detail involved.

 

- Cost: I have put this towards the end because even though it is a relevant aspect to consider for obvious reasons, from the bigger picture of choosing a clinic for you I believe it is one of the last aspects to look into. From the difference in graft estimation, BHR would have obviously worked out considerably cheaper.

 

 

 

As a result of all my initial research and travels, I have just placed a deposit with BHR and my two day procedure is on Aug 22-23.

[Mickey85]

Very cool. I thought it would be down to Feriduni and Bisanga. There is quite a discrepancy between the graft quantity quotations between the two surgeons and I commend you for not thinking of density alone and thinking of potential future loss and conserving your donor. Bisanga is a FUE powerhouse and is in my top 5 FUE surgeons in the whole world as is Feriduni.

[1978matt]

Conclusion

 

 

 

 

As a result of all my initial research and travels, I have just placed a deposit with BHR and my two day procedure is on Aug 22-23.

 

Nice one. I'm thinking of booking my own HT in the US on the 21st.

[hairshopeing]

Great write up!! Will help a lot of people looking into Belgium!! Good luck with it all!!

[HARIRI]

Great wise decision JohnnyDrama, I would have done the exact if I was in your shoes. Bisanga is superior than Feriduni when it comes to FUE. Bisanga's online FUE results speaks louder. If one day I needed solid FUE job after Feriduni's hairline repair and scar revision then Bisanga will be my no.1 choice.

[james84]

JohnnyDrama thank you for a great write up.

 

Blitzing Belgium was something i have always wanted to do and this has been a great help to me and will be to many others:D

 

Great choice of Doc, Bisanga and Feriduni are 2 great Docs so either one would be no problem.

 

Kind regards.

[socates123]

@ Johnny - Thank you for the write up. I appreciate that on how you wrote these technical details down. Really helpful.