Dr. Koray Erdogan ("Asmed Clinic") - 4002 Grafts - 28th/29th January

[Denny]

Hi guys, here is a little bit of my journey with Dr. Erdogan on 28th-29th January: Two weeks before my HT I had a surgery on my shoulder and for this reason a friend of mine, who is a German surgeon-doctor (ears, nose and throat), flew with me to Istanbul to help me.

 

We arrived in Istanbul at 11:30 and the driver was already there waiting for us. He was very friendly but he couldn't speak English. He put me on the phone with Seda, Dr. Erdogan's assistant, who told me what we were about to do. He drove us for approximately 90 min. to the clinic in a very comfortable van for my consultation with Dr. Erdogan.

 

The new clinic is quite impressive. We were welcomed by one of the receptionists who spoke fluent English and instructed us to step on a machine in order to seal our shoes for hygienic reasons before coming in. She informed us we had to wait about 60 min. since Dr. Erdogan was still in surgery.

 

Meanwhile my preop pictures were taken. The foto room is one level below on the same level as the cafeteria and the “ hair salon” where we shave our heads before surgery and do the washing the day after.

 

Being back to the waiting area they offered us some tea and coffee. We have waited for a few minutes until Dr. Erdogan arrived. He warm welcomed us and I asked him to show me the whole clinic which he happily agreed to do. During our "tour", he showed me the two very comfortable suites, where patients can stay during the procedures (where me and my friend stayed over the 2 nights we were in Istanbul for my procedure), the meeting room where Dr. Erdogan discusses everyday the cases with his team, the entertainment room and finally the surgery floor with 4 surgery rooms, 2 floors below the reception.

 

I was very impressed with the whole clinic, but I must say the surgery rooms impressed me the most. Not only me but also my friend, who runs his own clinic in Germany. The whole area is state of the art concerning air conditioning with HEPA filters, equipment to check the humidity in each surgery room, sterilisation equipment and hygiene procedures. In order to preserve the grafts better Dr. Erdogan developed a cooling table, which realy impressed my friend. He was also very impressed with the quality of the equipments and the monitoring equipment. Each surgery room has a camera, which allows Dr. Erdogan to follow each surgery from his office and/or from every of the theaters.

 

After the tour I went to his office to calculate the area to be covered, donor area, number or grafts and to discuss and design my hairline, which took about 1:30 hour. I didn't have anything in mind and I was very happy with the hairline suggested by Dr. Erdogan. He explained to me every detail and reason for the suggested hairline.

 

After a good night sleep I was ready for my surgery beginning at 8 o'clock.

 

First day (January 28th):

 

7:30 - Breakfast at the clinic.

 

8:00 - I shaved my head.

 

8:15 - Dr. Erdogan and his team designed my hairline, then electrocardiogram and blood sugar check.

 

9:45 - We started the procedure with local anesthesia (Delek applied 9cc in total), which was a bit uncomfortable in the beginning. Right after that Delek starts the extractions (2002 grafts). I was really surprised how fast and confident she is.

 

During the extractions I had Mustafa helping Delek holding my head during the whole procedure. Another two technicians were responsible for preparing and counting the grafts.

 

12:30 - Lunch break. I ate a delicious Turkish meal.

 

13:00 - Incisions: Delek applied 11cc in total in the recipient area, which was also uncomfortable in the beginning. After that Dr. Erdogan prepared the recipient area doing all the incisions by himself.

 

14:05 - Implantation: I had no pain, but in my experience it was the most uncomfortable part of the day.

 

17:30 - Finally we were done, after Dr. Erdogan made a final check. I got then a bandage on my donor area. I received a cool pack for my eyes, a neck pillow to prevent damages on my recipient area and pain medication. I was feeling very well, had dinner in the clinic and took one pain pill before going to sleep. I slept the whole night.

 

On the first day I had the chance to meet some of the patients who were going through their procedures. They were two Italian guys who were on their second day. I also met a Swiss guy who was there for a control consultation. This guy was having his third procedure with Dr. Erdogan.

 

Second day (January 29th) - For me the second day was even easier than the first day. Maybe because I knew what to expect. Dr. Erdogan told me it varies from patient to patient.

 

7:30 - Breakfast at the clinic.

 

8:00 - Hair saloon to shave my hair again and washing my head.

 

9:00 - Same procedure as on the first day. Anesthesia (12cc in total) and extractions done by Delek (2000 grafts).

 

11:15 - Anesthesia (10cc in total) on my recipient area (applied by Mustafa) and Dr. Erdogan came to make all the incisions by himself.

 

12:45 - Lunch break to eat another delicious Turkish meal!

 

13:15 - PRP and Implantation made by Delek and Mustafa.

 

17:30 - End of the day. Dr. Erdogan made a final check. I got then a bandage on my donor area. I received pain medication and antibiotics. I was feeling very well, had dinner again in the clinic and took one pain pill before going to sleep. I slept the whole night.

 

On the second day I had the chance to meet other patients who were going through their procedures. One Swedish guy in one Albanian guy. I also met a Turkish patient who is also a member of this forum, Spar. He's a very friendly guy and he was having his procedure on the next two days.

 

Third and final day (January 30th):

 

8:30 - First washing. Dr. Erdogan was very happy with the surgery.

 

9:00 - Breakfast at the clinic.

 

10:00 - I met the new members of the team, specially those who will be responsible for the English speaker patients. Dr. Erdogan has an impressive structure. The members of his team are divided by language expertise. They are usually native speakers to make the whole process easier.

 

13:00 - I had lunch with Dr. Erdogan. We talked a lot about this forum. He told me some of his plans for the future and I must say I was really impressed! I will let you know on the right time!

 

15:00 - The same driver (the clinic has two) drove us to the airport. We've reached the airport about 16:45. Our flight was at 19:45 so we had time for shopping and having a coffee at the airport.

 

For the records: During the whole two days procedure I had a translator with me. On the first day was a French translator (very cute girl!) and on the second day an Italian translator (very friendly guy). They are there mostly to entertain you during the procedure, change the dvds we watch during the procedure and for sure, help you with the language, if necessary, since Dr. Erdogan and Delek speak very good English (Dr. Erdogan speaks fluently and better than Delek) and to check if you are okay or if you have any pain. Once they notice you are in discomfort, they ask the team to stop and apply more anesthesia.

 

I knew Dr. Erdogan already but seeing him working on these two days impressed me a lot. He has a lot to do but he still finds time to be friendly and attentive with all his patients. He is extremely perfectionist which is important in this kind of work.

 

I must say I had an incredible experience at the clinic. Since the beginning I felt like home. It was too long 2 days but easy to handle.

 

Summary of my two days procedure:

 

Total procedure time: Approximately 15h and 15min.

 

Total number of grafts: 4002 grafts.

 

Single: 368

 

Double: 1.213

 

Triple: 1.541

 

Multiple: 880

 

Average hair per grafts: 2.76

 

Total anesthesia in the donor area: 21cc.

 

Total anesthesia in the recipient area: 21cc.

 

Once again I would like to thank this forum to clarify many of my questions and for helping me to find Dr. Erdogan!

 

So guys feel free to ask me any questions. It will be great to have you onboard! I will keep you updated!

[Blake Bloxham]

Denny,

 

Looks fantastic! Congratulations. Look forward to updates.

[TakingThePlunge]

Work looks fantastic Denny! I'm looking forward to following your progress.

[hairshopeing]

Superb Denny!!!!! It's going to be a master piece!!

[Denny]

Thank you very much for your nice comments guys! I will certainly keep you updated! This is the least I can do after getting so much help from this forum! :-)

[LFC24]

Looking forward to how it turns out!

 

When you're in the procedure room, what kind of DVD's do they let you watch? Thinking of bringing a DVD of my own but since I watch comedy and action films, it may be very distracting

[Denny]

Lol! You are totally right! You have to watch out what you're going to see. They have hundreds of titles in the clinic. I chose Avatar and Ice Age for the first day and The Terminal and the Prince of Persia for the second day. The most dangerous one was Ice Age. Even though I've seen it already it always make me laugh!

[Denny]

One week later....

[Denny]

I can't post more than one picture using iPad?

[HARIRI]

Great donor healing. Keep it up Amigo :cool:

[RedCloud]

Wow looks awesome! Looking forward to following this!

[Yaz89]

Looking great Denny! Excellent write up and a very similar experience to mine. Your photographs are awesome and the work looks really clean. High-five to Dr Koray and Delek. Seeing you smile in the photographs really made me happy; you deserve it. Hope your shoulder is healing and happy growing.

[Denny]

Hi Red and Yaz! Thank you a lot for the nice words! Everything is fine here. Two weeks went really fast. Donor area is healed and looks great! Recipient area is a little bit pink but no signs of crusting since yesterday (actually only one in the front).

Unfortunately I started shedding last night :-(

I am posting two pictures so you can see and make your comments. My shoulder is doing well (thanks for asking Yaz) but I am still not allowed tommove it that's why I couldn't take any picture from my donor area. I need help for that! I will keep you posted guys!

[Denny]

Another picture!

[Yaz89]

Great to hear your doing well. Shedding is a challenge but they will return! I found the first 2.5 months were the most difficult...keep it up Denny

[Denny]

Thank you buddy! I will keep you posted!

[Arrie]

Denny,

 

Hope you have a killer result!! Excited to see your outcome...

[Denny]

So far I am very happy. 3 weeks, no shock loss, already shedding, no readness, numbness is almost completely gone and amazingly, nobody noticed I had a HT! Everybody thinks it is funny to see me with such a short hair cut and that is all. So to those who do not wanna say anything about the procedure I recommend to cut your hair shorter some months prior the procedure. But not too short! The doctor Erdogan asked me to keep my hair in a moderate length for his evaluation. I will post pictures soon!

[lucldh]

Denny, I must say that you are gonna rock in 5-6 months. I envy your donor area!!! All the best and happy healing and growing!!

[Denny]

Thank you buddy! I will keep you posted! ;-)

[Denny]

Three weeks later, I am definitely in the ugly duck phase! :-(

[Denny]

I am taking my pictures always in the same place at the same time of that day for lightening reasons.

[Denny]

Sooty guys, I did not post my 4 week pictures. But now you can see 5 weeks later...

[Denny]

Officially ugly duck phase! I need to be patient!

[Nowsthetime9]

Denny, how did you pay for the procedure? I recently contacted Dr. Erdogans office regarding having my next procedure done with him and he said I would need approximately 4000 FUE as you had. Just wondering if they offer financing or other ways to make payments rather then the full amount at the time of surgery.