FUE with Dr Erkan Demirsoy - 2500 grafts - 11th February 2014

[SlowMoe]

Very nice write up man.

I wonder if wearing a wig in the airport would be an option?

[ThinJim]

DAY 8 - SCABS OFF

 

All,

 

Its day 8 and the scabs have all come off. I am happy with the density that I can see now the hairs are all revealed . I am slightly concerned about the areas which have not healed, these areas were apparent immediately post op. I have been in contact with Dr Demirsoy and he assures me it is nothing to worry about and they will heal in time.

 

My family and girlfriend cant believe how well things have healed in just over a week. I am applying aloe vera gel now and have also just bought some distilled witch hazel as I have heard it helps to get rid of the redness. I am also taking MSM and Biotin supplements to try and get back to a pre-op state as soon as possible.

 

Also the intense pain I have been experiencing in the donor area is much better. I am no longer having to take pain killers to get through it. It is still there but it is definitely 80% better. This was at its worst from day 5 to day 7.

 

Overall I am really pleased with how things are going. I am really not looking forward to the shedding to come and will be donning a cap for the foreseeable future.

[ThinJim]

Also just to note that the area of inflammation/psoriasis that I had has cleared up really well. As I said I am not sure what caused this, it was a real shock to see how bad it was when I was shaved down for surgery. I have been applying aloe vera gel to the area and maybe the anti-biotics I was on for 5 days helped. Not sure what cured it but I am happy its gone!

[ThinJim]

Day 11 - Close up of Hair Line

 

Things are progressing as expected, redness is going down each day although the wounds that have not healed do not look like they are going to be gone any time soon.

 

My main wish for having a transplant was to have a conservative but dense hairline. I really would rather not have to go through this all again so I am hoping the density is going to be sufficient. I do have finer hair than most, but it is blonde which should work in my favour. Time will tell!

Edited February 22, 2014 by ThinJim

[imnothere]

Jim - i was going to write a report on my visit to Dr Demirsoy on Thursday, but i may aswell just copy and paste what you have written

Anyone thinking of going to this clinic needs to read this, as i think its 100% accurate description.

Everything from the weird feeling of the punch to the reassuringly expensive camera. (And i know what you mean about the lying still being the worst part of the day. But try doing that with a cold, i had to keep getting up to blow my nose. Nightmare)

 

I wasn't brave enough to go commando at the airport, and i wasnt happy about putting a hat near my head, so i wore a headband with a bandana. Thankfully the security didnt ask me to remove it.

 

Did Muzzafer show you the results of that blonde German guy? He had hair like yours and got a great result.

 

One thing that does concern me, is the shortage of 'great examples' on their records. Maybe people just dont stay in touch 8 months down the line, but they only had about 6 cases to show me. Most of them id seen online anyway.

You'd think with the hundreds of patients a year they have, there would be more.. Bit late now, but it does bug me a bit.

 

Dont let that put anyone off though, its all very professional.

 

I think the 2 nurses deserve a mention. They were great, and its nice to know they are a permanent fixture.

Muzzafer was great to, always answering emails quickly and even offering to bring parecetomols to the hotel, when he heard i had a cold.

 

One question though, why do you think wearing a headband at home would have helped? Its my understanding that you need to let the fluid drain down your head and escape.

At the moment my swelling (2days post op) is down to my ears and im managing to massage to behind them, so much so my ears are sticking out. I look at bit like Sloth from the Goonies.

 

So do you think this caused all you pain and bruising?

[ThinJim]

imnothere,

 

Congratulations on your procedure, I would be very interested to see some pics.

 

Yes I saw the result that you mentioned. Like you though I had seen pretty much all of the results that Muzaffer was showing me. In the end we just skipped that part as I mentioned I was on the forums and had followed Dr Demirsoy's work for some time.

 

Just to note for anybody that is interested in seeing more results there is a German forum where there is a dedicated section for Dr Demirsoy (alopezie forum), Just stick google translate on.

 

With the headband situation, all I know is that within 6 hours of taking it off I ended up not being able to recognise myself in the mirror. You are instructed to wear a headband for three days to keep the swelling to your head, just making sure that you remove it for 30 minutes or so a couple of times a day. I was under the impression that swelling moving to your face was avoidable with correct use of the headband. I didn't follow the instructions as directed so its my own fault. The swelling took three days to go in the end.

 

As for the pain in my donor area I am not 100% sure what caused it. From research on the forums though I think it was nerve damage which seems to be fairly common. If you search on Google for 'pain in donor area 5 days post fue op' you will find many people who describe the same pain I was experiencing. Whether this caused the bruising in my neck I am not sure. Some people say the pain remained for many weeks after, some even months! As I sit here almost 2 weeks post op mine has all but gone.

[ThinJim]

Day 17,

 

Still waiting for the shedding to kick in. The wounds that I was worried about are also now healing. Recipient area still red however its fading each day, hopefully within another month or so it will be gone

[Hmmmmmm]

Thank you ThinJim for your posts...

[ClemensWeber]

Hi Jim,

 

Looks good! I don?t hope so but I think the shedding will start soon

I am sure the wounds will disappear next days; you should wait until they are totally gone before using Rogaine again.

 

Greetings from Istanbul

[ThinJim]

I put a little montage together to demonstrate the healing phase over the first couple of weeks. I am still awaiting the shedding phase and will next update the thread when its complete.

 

Cheers

[joeshmo209]

Any updates? How do you like your results so far?

[ThinJim]

I have had some requests for updates so these photos were taken on the 19th and 20th May. I had my procedure on the 11th February so I am now at the 14 week mark. There is some styling paste in my hair but no concealers. The first photo was taken at the one month stage. The shedding carried on until around week 6 so that photo was not the lowest point for me. You will notice there are still some transplanted hairs hanging in there and these pretty much all fell out over the next few weeks.

 

Overall I am very pleased with how things are going. As you will see some redness is still present but with my light skin I was expecting this to be the case. It is gradually becoming less noticeable but I am not sure whether that's because new hair is camouflaging it or it is actually becoming lighter, probably a combination of both. Considering three months ago I had my head completely shaved though I think I have had quite a quick recovery. I have been taking all sorts of supplements to make it grow back as fast as possible including MSM, Biotin, B vitamin complex and Hair, skin and nails tablets. I am also still on Dutasteride and minoxidil which I have been on for around 8 years or so.

 

I started noticing growth around 2-3 weeks ago and I am now seeing things improve almost daily. Nothing major yet but I feel very optimistic now that I am going to get the result I wanted. I think I made the right choice asking for a conservative hairline and I think it suits my age well, I am in my 30s. It is something I would strongly advise anyone considering doing this to really think about beforehand. In my opinion guys that opt for a straight, low and youthful hairline are making a mistake. Going for something more conservative means less grafts are required and you are going to have something natural looking when later on in life. If you are 60 years old and have a straight hairline its just not going to look right.

 

Just another few points to add about my experience over the first 3 months. Let me start by saying that it has not been easy and the 3 months have really dragged by. Up until around 3 weeks ago I was having to wear a cap whenever I left the house. I have been dodging friends and social situations as much as possible, missing birthdays etc, because I was not able to make myself presentable. When you are getting invited to places each week it is hard to keep coming up with excuses. I ended up telling some of my closest friends because it was so obvious what I had done.

 

I also currently work from home and I realise now that had I had a normal office job then I wonder if I could have gone through with it. Going to work everyday and facing colleagues looking like I was would have been incredibly hard. Lets face it, if we wasn't self concious about our hair then we wouldn't be having these procedures. With FUE you are always told you can go back to work after a few weeks and you can. But what you are not told is just how obvious it is going to be that you have had something done for the next few months. In my opinion if you do not work from home you're best bet is just to be honest about it.

 

However do not let these points put you off doing something about your hair loss. Things are only just starting to happen for me and I am already feeling so much happier in life. My hair loss was not just effecting the way I looked, it was effecting almost every aspect of my life in ways most people could not imagine and I had suffered long enough.

[tsav84]

Hi Thin Jim. I just found your post and was wondering how things turned out for you? I have very recently undergone a procedure with Dr Demirsoy. I am currently 7 weeks and have experienced some shock loss. I know that it's very early days and will have to wait it out a few months before I see some growth. Am at the stage though where I can't go out in public without a hat which I read you experienced in your procedure. Did you have any shock loss? Would love an update. Appreciate your time in responding:)

[ThinJim]

Hi tsav84,

 

The operation has worked out well for me. The main objective was to be able to live a normal life again and to stop worrying about the hair. It was preventing me doing so much in life and I had suffered for so long that I felt I had to try and sort it out. I can say that this goal has been achieved. It will be 18 months in a few days so I will try and get some photos done so I can show everyone.

 

I haven't got around to posting updates simply because I no longer come on this forum. I used to be on here all the time, spending hours and hours reading peoples posts but now there is no need. Hair loss is now not a problem and I have been enjoying life. Catching up on 10 years lost.

 

The result is not perfect in that I do not feel all of the grafts grew in, but most of them did. Either that or maybe I received a small amount of shock-loss which never came back. This is what is to be expected though with any hair transplant; you will never achieve 100% yield despite what some will say. What you also have to realise is that the transplanted hair still falls out and the follicle goes into the dormant stage for several months. So some months are better than other as more of the transplanted hair may be in its resting phase than during other months.

 

As for Dr Demirsoy I would thoroughly recommend him to anyone who is considering it. The whole trip from start to finish went seamlessly and the Dr, Clemens, Muzaffer and their team were all great. Dr Demirsoy in my view is a very competent, experienced and knowledgeable surgeon.

 

When I think that i only paid 1 euro a graft (I think this has now increased slightly) and the doctor made all of the extractions and recipient site incisions himself I feel I got an incredible deal. When I see what in my view are poor results from other doctors who charge 5 and sometimes 10 times more per graft it only re-enforces this.

 

I always hear people on here bashing clinics which have lower prices, just assuming because they are cheaper that they are therefore worse. In a lot of cases maybe this is true, but I did a hell of a lot of research before my procedure and for me this paid off. Travelling abroad should not deter people.

 

I will try and get some photos up in the next few days.

 

Cheers

[glenlaw]

Hi all,

 

I have been a long time lurker on this forum and have been researching a possible hair transplant for 7 or 8 years or so. After much deliberation and various consultations I have booked with Dr Erkan Demirsoy in Istanbul and will be flying out from the UK for surgery on the 11th February.

 

I have been highly impressed with the refined work from Dr Demirsoy on both this forum and another German forum where he is a prominent figure. I have also yet to hear of any negative experiences. With the price being 1 euro per graft I believe Dr Demirsoy offers the best value to performance ratio in the hair transplant market today.

 

When making my decision it was not just about cost (granted that was a factor) I wanted a quality FUE surgeon who had a proven track record. I do know that the Dr is not currently recommended on this forum however I understand also that he would not be able to offer the rates he does should he be. Other doctors I had considered included Doctors Doganay, Feriduni, Rahal and Erdogan.

 

All communication has been made via Dr Demirsoy's agent Clemens Weber. He has so far been very professional and prompt when answering my questions.

 

A bit of background. I began losing my hair when I was in my early 20s (I am now in my 30s). I managed to stabilise my hair loss early on with dutasteride however I always wanted to replace the hair that was lost and never recovered. I would say I am a currently a norwood 2-3 and suffer with frontal thinning. My goal is to have a strong but conservative hair line placed with 2500 grafts. I am some what of a rarity as I have naturally blonde hair which you do not see much of on the forums.

 

I intend to keep the thread updated regularly with my experience and pics. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask.

Hi! So I'm a natural blonde, too and am considering Dr. Demirsoy. How are your results now Are you satisfied? Like to know. Thanking you in advance...Glen