FUE 2400 Grafts With Dr Hakan Doganay

[falco123]

Hi Guys,

 

 

I'm new to this place. After reading and researching for the last 5-6 years, i realized about 2 years ago the transplant is the way to go eventually. Tried Propercia a long time ago had some side effects, so stopped using it. I used Hairmax Laser Comb for more than 6 months last year. Nothing happened .

 

So after doing a lot of research, i finally made an appointment with Dr. Hakan & had my surgery this week with Dr Hakan Doganay in Turkey so wanted to share the experience. I decided to make a vacation out of the whole thing and came with the family to Antalya for 8-9 days. Hotels are dirt cheap during this season and i found a good hotel with fantastic breakfast and dinner buffet for less than 300 Euros for 7 nights which is like the cheapest vacation i have ever had. Plus it helps you not run into any friend or colleague during the initial recovery period.

 

So we arrived in Antalya on 7th March. At the airport, we found a lady with AHD clinic board. She welcomed us and took us to the hotel. At first i though she might be just for the pick and drop. But she is part of Dr Hakan's team and knows all medical details and the HT process. She knew everything about my case and told me if i need to ask anything i can ask her. It was a very nice touch to find someone who can immediately help you and calm you down a bit. I asked her some basic questions. And then she dropped me and my family at the hotel and told me to be ready 8:30 next morning. So we had our breakfast and went to sleep as we had spent 6 hours from (from 1 AM to 7 AM) on Istanbul Airport in Transit.

 

So next morning she was there on time. We went to hospital and met with doctor. Dr Hakan doesn't speak that much english but 2-3 of his staff member speak very well. As per the initial online consultation, i was suggested 3000 grafts but after consultation with Dr. Hakan, he decided that i still have some native hair so anything around 2300-2500 would be sufficient. He asked me about the hairline and i told him that i'm quite OK with my hairline. I don't expect to get the hairline of an 18 years old. I just need density. I also told him the fact that i had side effects with Propecia so i'm expecting all my native hair to fall in 4-5 or more/less years. So i asked him to do the procedure not by filling the gaps only. Because if that's the case, when i lose my native hair, the transplanted hair would be like patches on different areas and would look worse than being bald . He understood that and told me they will make the transplant as uniformly as they can.

 

So then came the shaving part. I had already asked them if it would be possible not to shave the precipitant area completely and keep hair in recipient area to around 1 cm or less than 1 cm without compromising the quality of transplant procedure. Dr was quite generous to offer me my request. So they didn't shave the recipient area completely kept it around 1 cm.

 

So they took some before pictures and then shaved my head and afterwards take some more pictures. By the way this clinic is not just transplant clinic. It's part of a decent size hospital which was quite re-assuring to me as i was thinking if anything bad happens we have other doctors available to attend to it.

 

Then they took me to the procedure room. Dr was there and i was told to lie face down as they were taking grafts from donor area. They gave me anesthesia so i was out of it for initial 30-40 minutes. I woke up after sometime (can't be sure how much but wasn't long i think). So they were busy taking the grafts. I didn't feel any pain in the scalp. The only pain i had was in my arms as lying on your back with your arms along side your body can be painful after sometime . Anyways after taking the grafts, they told me to lay face up as it's transplant time finally. Dr was there. Again i was in and out of it through the whole process. No pain and arms were not hurting as well. So eventually they told me that procesure is finished. It took around 6-7 hours. One of the nurses put some strip of cloth around my donor area and circling through my forehead. They shifted me to a separate room. With a bed & a TV. The Nurse put some kind of IV medication in my left arm which i assume was some pain killer. So the same lady who picked me on airport, brought me some snacks as i hadn't eaten anything since last night. She gave me 2 pain killer tablets, in case i need it and 4 tablets to reduce swelling which was expected and i was supposed to take them next morning. After that she said goodbye and told me that she'll come next morning. She had been my liaison or translator throughout this whole process.

 

Around 7 PM they brought me dinner which was not heavy but quite appropriate. I had dinner and then talked to my wife for a while. Then watched some TV but there wasn't any single english language entertainment channel. Only thing was CNN and BBC. So i tried to pass time by watching Russian Invasion or Ukraine and Malaysian Flight crash which actually ended up making me more depressed . I kept waiting for the pain to start but fortunately it didn't. So i took 1 tablet anyway just in case. After that i fell asleep. kept waking up during the night as i was sleeping on an inclined bed on my back and trying to keep my chin up. It's not a normal position for me but somehow i was able to get a good 6-7 hours sleep

 

Next morning breakfast came at 7 AM. I was already awake. After the breakfast the same lady came at 9 AM. Took me to floor where Dr's operating room is. A nurse open the bandage from the donor Area and that's the first time i felt pain. After that she put a lotion on my donor and recipient area. It's supposed to make both areas soft and ready for wash. Then they washed my head with an organic shampoo. It's supposed to be herbel with no other chemicals. They gave me a bottle of both (lotion and shampoo) and told me to wash my head 2-3 times daily for the first 4-5 days. Also the washing was in a way not to expose grafts directly to water. Rather than to pour the water on crown area and let it flow on the grafts area. and with hand push the grafts down slowly for washing. Not move them left and right. While i was doing all that, i saw the next patient and talked to him. It was some guy from US. After the wash, I was all ready and waiting out side for the payment and everything. The lady brought the Dr in the waiting area and told me that if i have nay questions about this procedure or anything else, the Dr will be happy to answer. I had asked most of the questions already. So there wasn't much. I just asked the Dr that in case i need a future procedure, 3-4 years later, how much grafts he think they can extract, assuming my donor area is good and no hairs were extracted from sides, only from back. He said that i have quite a good donor area and hopefully they can easily extract around 2000-2500 grafts. They also gave me a paper which showed how many single, double or triple hair grafts we had. I had

 

725 Single Grafts

1475 Double Grafts

200 Triple Grafts

 

So after that i made the payment. They gave me some medicine. A pack of Biotin capsules. A medicine for 3 days to reduce swelling. Another medicine for quick healing of donor/recepiant area (6-7 days). Proscar in case i wanted to use it which i won't most probably. A gel to be put on donor area after 5 days to reduced scarring if any. Shampoo and Lotion as mentioned above. And later on one of their collegues dropped me off at hotel.

 

It was quite good and painless experience. The tougher part lies ahead. The fact that i had the transplant with around 1 cm hair in recipient are makes me really happy. I have 3 weeks holiday and i know my hair growth. I think by the end of 3rd week i will have reasonable hair to cover up everything. They told me the redness would probably finish in 15-20 days as though i'm fair skinned but no blonde. So that fits in very well with my 3 weeks window.

 

I'm on day 6 post op and redness is already reduced significantly. And i didn't get much swelling after the procedure. For the first 48 hours i was extra careful and didn't leave my hotel room. After that i started going out. The hat that i received was too tight as i have a big head . So i went to the Mall here in Antalya and found a very decent looking one very cheap as well.

 

I have posted here 4 pictures. 2 of Top and back of the head before and 2 on day 1 post op. I'll post the week 1 pics tomorrow & then will be posting weekly updates here for the first 3-4 weeks and then maybe monthly. God knows how much growth i would get. But my expectation is My expectation for worst case is around 15-20% coverage of my adult hood days. I know i will lose all my native hair as i can't use Propecia. But I assume 4000-4500 grafts (2400 from this surgery and remaining from next surgery in 4-5 years if i need) will at least give me 20-25% coverage, which is more than enough for me. Thin hair is OK with me but complete baldness is something I'm not ready for

[Raj Jayukdht]

Thanks for the write up. Keep us posted.

[FUE2014]

The work looks nice and clean.

 

I am with Dr Doganay in June, so I would be interested to see your 14 day pics, as this is when I go back to work after the op, and I'm wondering what to expect.

 

One thing that does concern me slightly is this: Dr Doganay seems to be the only surgeon that I read about on HRN that knocks his patients out with general anaesthesia. IMO there is absolutely no need to be doing this, and the patient should be awake throughout the entire procedure to maintain the communication channels and ask questions etc; there is also the matter of quality assurance which you cant undertake when you are knocked out.

 

I would be interested to get others' views on this.

[Quiff01]

really surprised to hear patients being knocked out, I know a lot myself included that weren't even given the option

[FUE2014]

Really? That does not seem to be good practise in my opinion, surely the patient should be given the option beforehand?

[falco123]

The work looks nice and clean.

 

I am with Dr Doganay in June, so I would be interested to see your 14 day pics, as this is when I go back to work after the op, and I'm wondering what to expect.

.

 

 

Here are the day 7 Post Op Pics. Redness has been reduced significantly with scabs all over the place. The scabs have not started falling out yet. Is it normal? Should is try to removed them myself after day 11-12. I read somewhere on HRN that scabs should not be there for more than 14 days. So any help in this would be really appreciated

 

Donor Area is also healing. But still some redness in some Areas & i still have some itching there. Not so bad or severe. I have been travelling around the hills and mountains of Antalya so get sweaty sometimes and that's when itch is relatively high ...

[Xkos48]

The work looks nice and clean.

 

I am with Dr Doganay in June, so I would be interested to see your 14 day pics, as this is when I go back to work after the op, and I'm wondering what to expect.

 

One thing that does concern me slightly is this: Dr Doganay seems to be the only surgeon that I read about on HRN that knocks his patients out with general anaesthesia. IMO there is absolutely no need to be doing this, and the patient should be awake throughout the entire procedure to maintain the communication channels and ask questions etc; there is also the matter of quality assurance which you cant undertake when you are knocked out.

 

I would be interested to get others' views on this.

 

i went to doganay last september,he didn't Knock me out,he offered me a valium before,which i gladly took.

[FUE2014]

i went to doganay last september,he didn't Knock me out,he offered me a valium before,which i gladly took.

 

Thanks for clarifying Xkos, I had a look at your pictures and the work looks very refined. How has the growth been since your two month picture? Do you have any further photos?

 

Happy growing.

[Xkos48]

i will post at the 20th of the month,it will be my 6 months post-op.i was in shockloss till the 5 month mark,buti'm starting to see fine hairs growing,and a frame around my face.I don't think I'll have hair like george lucas,but i should have a decent result.

[zyzz]

do you have photos level to your forehead to show the hairline design?

thanks

[falco123]

Actually the doctor never really modified my hairline. I told them if it looks balanced (on both left and right side) then i don't need a more aggressive hairline. My options are limited as i can't use Fin. So i'm trying to save as much of my donor hair for future use.

 

But I'll try to get a picture as you asked and upload it.

[TakingThePlunge]

falco123,

 

Congratulations! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.

[falco123]

Day 17 Post Op .. Almost all the scabs gobe by Week-2. Recipient Area is healing. Donor Area looked ridiculous as they shave the lower side of the head and kept the upper side the same. I went to the salon the other day and asked them to even it out without touching the donor or recipient area which they did and i must say it was good work.

 

Question 1: Still have some redness in donor side. Have only 2-3 days left to go back to office. Actually the redness was improving by Day 10-11 but got worse 3-4 days ago with some sort of red pimples as well. Any thing that can help with that? I went looking for Aloe Vera but all i found are some moisturizing Gels/Lotions (Non Alocoholic)? Am is supposed to use liquid Aloe vera. I have added the Day 10 Picture of Donor Area and comparing it to Day 17 and as you can see Redness has gone worse ... I have a feeling that it might be after i used this ScarEx Gel the clinic gave me to use on donor Area to reduce scarring. Used it 1-2 times. Caused me some itching so stopped using it.

 

Question 2: I was using Regenpure Dr and NT on alternate days for the last one year. Is it OK to go back to it now? Or find some other organic shampoo

 

Any help would be really appreciated

Edited March 26, 2014 by falco123

[johnny2000]

Day 17 Post Op .. Almost all the scabs gobe by Week-2. Recipient Area is healing. Donor Area looked ridiculous as they shave the lower side of the head and kept the upper side the same. I went to the salon the other day and asked them to even it out without touching the donor or recipient area which they did and i must say it was good work.

 

Question 1: Still have some redness in donor side. Have only 2-3 days left to go back to office. Actually the redness was improving by Day 10-11 but got worse 3-4 days ago with some sort of red pimples as well. Any thing that can help with that? I went looking for Aloe Vera but all i found are some moisturizing Gels/Lotions (Non Alocoholic)? Am is supposed to use liquid Aloe vera. I have added the Day 10 Picture of Donor Area and comparing it to Day 17 and as you can see Redness has gone worse ... I have a feeling that it might be after i used this ScarEx Gel the clinic gave me to use on donor Area to reduce scarring. Used it 1-2 times. Caused me some itching so stopped using it.

 

Question 2: I was using Regenpure Dr and NT on alternate days for the last one year. Is it OK to go back to it now? Or find some other organic shampoo

 

Any help would be really appreciated

 

He buddy. Any Update ?

[falco123]

He buddy. Any Update ?

 

Post Op Day 53

 

Things are progressing as expected. All the transplanted hair have fallen but that’s normal. I'm in the ugly duckling phase now . Donor Area has healed completely. No itching or any other issue in Donor Area Now. I’m also using Minoxidil as directed by Dr. 2 times a day

 

Dr also asked me to use Derma Roller but i haven't started yet. I still have some red spots on the scalp. I'm waiting for them to heal properly. Will start Derma Roller next week

 

I think I have some shock loss in my receiving area as I have noticed the original native hair falling along with the transplanted hair. It's quite easy to differentiate between the 2 due to hair size, thickness. This is also expected specially with someone like me who has diffused/scattered thinning in a big area. So I'm not that worried.

 

The Panic has not started yet. I guess after 5 weeks when 4th month starts, then i'll be seeing some growth. Even then i won't push the panic buttion till month 5-6 .. I hope I'm one of those lucky ones who get good results ...

 

Here are 2 pictures of my recipient area which i took myself so they are not so great. usually my wife takes the picture but i'm away from home so had to do myself

[falco123]

Post Op Week-11.

 

The Native hair have started to grow back after the shock loss. I'm assuming that transplanted hair are still not started to grow as they are supposed to grow after 3 months. I had a haircut last week. Donor Area looks great with no itching or anything. Fingers crossed for the 4th month to start cause that's when the exciting things start to happen. Been using minoxidil as directed by Dr and No Propecia due to the side effects ...

[falco123]

5 Month 1 Week Update

 

So it's been a tough last one month . Th growth is not what i expected and i'm a little disappointed .. And mainly If you are a recent Dr Hakan patient, last couple of months have not been easy for you on this forum . With the speculations that the clinic posts patient pictures and that maybe not all transplants are done by Dr himself and technicians do it ... So there were days when i really regretted going to him . But i met a few friend after 6-7 weeks and they said that my hair look much better . they don't know that i had transplant so i'm not sure if they mean better compared to after shaving the head for HT or before .... Anyways i comb the hair in a different way so it's not easy to compare anyway . But personally comparing my hair to the first couple of months after the HT, i think it looks better. But still to be honest I expected a little more growth . Maybe my expectations were high . and maybe it's just 5 months only and things are supposed to really get a kick start from here . Anyways here are the pictures. Do let me know if you guys see any change .. And here is to hoping for more growth

 

PS as i mentioned before, I'm not taking propecia due to the side effects .. So naturally my native hairloss is on going ... And my expectations were according to this situation that while the transplanted hair keeps growing, the native might keep falling ... And a 2nd HT is always part of the plan down the road ... I'm using Rogain twice a day and Biotin daily though ...

[AtSomePointLets]

Hi falco, any update on your progress?

[falco123]

Hi,

 

I have added 2 pictures here. It's will be 8 months tomorrow. Growth has been good since the start of 7th month. The density of hair is not that much because I'm not taking Propecia so I'm still losing the native hair. But the transplanted hair are very thick. So in the wet hair, you can still see the scalp and empty area but in the dry hair, the cosmetic look is quite good and there doesn't seem to be that many blank areas.

 

I will try to add more pictures later with dry and wet hair and multiple angles. Till then you can see these 2 pictures

[1966kph]

Hello falco

Yeah the obvious growth is start I to kick in now.

Best of luck with continued growth.

Have a good day

[FUE2014]

that is some decent growth you have had there, certainly a nice cosmetic difference. would you go back to dr doganay?

[FUE2014]

that is some decent growth you have had there, certainly a nice cosmetic difference. would you go back to dr doganay?

[Lloyd]

It looks very good. Especially, I like the shape of hairline looks very natural.

[falco123]

that is some decent growth you have had there, certainly a nice cosmetic difference. would you go back to dr doganay?

 

I would like to but recently there has been a lot of things being said about Dr Hakan's Clinic ... I mean certain posts by people who post as patients but apparently work for Dr Hakan. Also the rumors that Dr Hakan doesn't do all the transplants himself and some of it is done by his staff.

 

I gotta tell you the last 5-6 month i was quite worried. I mean I had spent my 2-3 years savings on this procedure and that's not the main issue. The grafts from donor area are like gold dust. If they are wasted, then we don't have unlimited supply. So all these rumors were giving me nightmares. Plus my growth started a little late as well (after 6 month) .. So i was quite worried..

 

But good thing is I have had decent growth. Not as much as i would have liked to. There is some area in the front of the scalp, 2-3 inch above the hairline, where the density seems less. I wanted to have more density in the front and less in the back near the crown. But still Im ok with the results

 

I had seen many posts before saying that if you are a diffused thinner and don't plan to take Propecia, don't go for HT as you would lost the native hair later and only transplanted hair will be left and will give you a strange look. That's why I wanted to have a lower graft surgery (2000-2500). Remaining grafts i wanted to keep for next surgery which I'm thinking I'll do in 2-3 years ... But I had explained all of this to Dr Hakan and wanted him to do the surgery in a way that even if i lose all the native hair, the transplanted hair alone don't give a weird look. I had much more hair loss on right side of my scalp and Dr wanted to put more hair there. But I told him that if he puts more hair on the right side, And down the road If I lose all native hair then I will have more transplanted hair on right and very less on the left. So instead of a 70% hair on right and 30% on left, i wanted a 60%-40% or 55%-45% grafts distribution on right-left side. I think he did well there.

 

So after a long huge rant, let me reply that whether i will go to Dr Hakan Again or not .... Answer is I am keeping an eye on all his results and will keep checking. And if I see a good number of them complaining then I would consider myself as lucky case and probably won't go to him again cause you can't always be lucky. But If I see decent satisfactory results here in the next 1-2 years, then probably I would go back to him.

 

Hope it helps. by the way I though you also had a HT planned with him. How was your experience ??

[1966kph]

As he distributed the grafts over a large area you have obviously had very good graft survivability.

The results are clear to see and as for the late growth we are all different but what matters is that we get the growth eventually.

It would interesting to know just how many docs do what during their procedures and what the technicians do.

But more than anything it is the result that counts.

Does it actually matter that much to you who did what or are you more interested in getting the result to make you happy?

Anyway I think you should be happy it is a very good improvement.

Congratulations.

Have a good day