BaldCoot Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Hello everyone, I am a Norwood 7 and had an FUE procedure in 2013 (about 7 months ago now) with Dr Maral in Istanbul, Turkey. I had 3,850 follicles implanted and I thought I would share my results with you here. I hope my results will be informative for those people who are considering Dr Maral and his team for a HT procedure. As you can see below, I am a bit older than most people on this forum, and also a Norwood 7 with advanced hair loss, so I am not the typical HT case. First, a bit about me. I am a professional bean counter (also known as a CPA or chartered accountant) and I am based in Germany. I have been losing my hair since I was about 20 years old, that’s 27 years now. Over the years I have tried various hair treatments including medications such as Minoxidil, and even a ‘magic comb’, but without any success whatsoever. About 10 years ago I gave up and abandoned all hope of changing my appearance. However, a year ago I happened to come across something on the internet about how HTs have changed and that there were new surgical procedures that were much more successful than the old plug treatments. I investigated and found out about a particular HT clinic in Belgium offering FUE and FUT procedures, so last summer I contacted them for an online consultation. I didn’t get a response until after a month. They wanted EURO 10,000 for 2,500 follicles using FUE. I was not particularly impressed by the cost or at the speed of their response, so I decided to research further and came across this HT forum via Google. In particular, I came across UK43’s thread on this forum about his experience with Dr Maral. His thread was a real eye-opener for me and I became hooked. The question for me was not if, but when and where would I go to get a HT. I ended up contacting Dr Maral, along with some other HT surgeons in Turkey, but was rejected by a couple of them who curtly told me they could not help me. For me the main objective was to create a natural hairline and to cover as much of my completely bald head as was realistically possible with a surgeon that I would be comfortable using. Dr Maral was without question offering the best value-for-money deal (in my opinion), so I decided to go with him. I have not regretted my decision. I found Dr Maral and his staff to be very friendly and helpful and very competent. Now after c.7 months, I am overall very pleased with my results considering how much my appearance has changed and how much I paid. For me it has been fantastic value for money! I do however, have some issues just like everybody else who has a HT. My HT is not perfect – the hairline in my opinion is too high and could have been a slightly different/better design - but Dr Maral was dealing with a very advanced case of hairloss and he did what was realistically possible, and I am very grateful to him and his team for what they have done. Before anyone asks, I am not taking any meds and have absolutely no intention of taking any meds for cosmetic reasons. They never worked before and I do not intend to start using them again now. Regarding a second HT, yes I will and am considering a second HT with Dr Maral. I have limited donor hairs remaining so I am looking at a second procedure that will utilise some beard hair as well. I have not spoken to Dr Maral yet about this so I might end up using another surgeon for my next procedure, if he rules out beard hair. I would particularly like changes made to the temple areas, a change in the hairline and the sides. I do not expect to get my crown area completely covered, but I am really not bothered by that. For me what is most important is for the front and sides to look as natural and full as possible using the limited hairs I have available. My hair will always look thin, but considering where I have come from and my age, that will be the least of my concerns. Ok, I will first post a couple of pre HT pics then will post some pics showing results after my first 6 months. I know my pics will not satisfy many people on this forum. From comments I have recently read on this forum I expect some people will rubbish my HT, but that does not matter. What does matter is what I think - and I think Dr Maral and his team have done a great job in completely transforming both my appearance and how I feel about myself in a very positive way. If anyone is interested I am happy to upload a range of pictures covering each month, showing progression over the past 6 months. These pictures have been taken with a flash, so they will appear a little starker than how my hair appears in reality. Unfortunately, it is a problem when using flash photography. Anyway, I hope you get a pretty good idea of how my results have turned out so far. Pre op: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaldCoot Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 Here are the pictures of the results after just over 6 months: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member roimirka Posted March 16, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted March 16, 2014 how good after so much bad posts about dr maral you showed and is convincing coinsidence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaldCoot Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 how good after so much bad posts about dr maral you showed and is convincing coinsidence Thank you so much for your warm, welcoming comment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member roimirka Posted March 16, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted March 16, 2014 we are excited for your 14 month update Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kimi Posted March 16, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted March 16, 2014 Hi there BaldCoot, Thank you very much for opening this thread and sharing your experience. I think that in comparison to your starting position on the number of grafts your result looks satisfying. I was also thinking of using a second HT to cover better my crown area if the final result is not going to be good but since I don't want to damage my donor area and have lots of body hair I hope to read more on your thread on your findings regards surgents who do BHT. Here is my case btw for you information https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/171785-fue-dr-maral-istanbul-turkey-9.html Cheers. P.S. Ignore Roimirka, he seems to forget his manners most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member roimirka Posted March 16, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted March 16, 2014 I say too ignore me because my bad attitude of exposing a not profesional of a dr maral tricking customers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kimi Posted March 16, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted March 16, 2014 Did you do a HT yourself roimirka? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcd0000 Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Congrats BaldCoot! Did they tell you the graft count? Looking really nice -- and very much in line with both my experience & expectations. Good luck and happy growth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaldCoot Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 Hi there BaldCoot, Thank you very much for opening this thread and sharing your experience. I think that in comparison to your starting position on the number of grafts your result looks satisfying. I was also thinking of using a second HT to cover better my crown area if the final result is not going to be good but since I don't want to damage my donor area and have lots of body hair I hope to read more on your thread on your findings regards surgents who do BHT. Here is my case btw for you information https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/171785-fue-dr-maral-istanbul-turkey-9.html Cheers. P.S. Ignore Roimirka, he seems to forget his manners most of the time. Hello Kimi, Thanks for your reply and the link to your thread. Looks like your HT result is overall very good. You were lucky in having much more to start with than me. Anyway, I hope you will have better result over the next few months regarding the growth on your crown area. You are only at 7 months. Regarding other HT surgeons, I have done some research, but will do some more before I make further plans on this. However, I will mention Dr Bhatti in India. I have seen some very good results from him on this forum using beard hair, as well as HTs in the crown area. He is also a future possibility if Dr Maral cannot help me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaldCoot Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 Congrats BaldCoot! Did they tell you the graft count? Looking really nice -- and very much in line with both my experience & expectations. Good luck and happy growth! Hello abcd0000, Thank you for your comment. After my HT I had a certificate from Dr Maral which stated 3,900 follicles were transplanted. I have no reason to question this number. It appears realistic considering the donor area they had available to them and the result I have received so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Britanium Posted March 16, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted March 16, 2014 very nice improvement ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member another Posted March 16, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted March 16, 2014 This is a good job and looks great at 6 months post op. You must be very happy to compare your pictures and see the difference. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/174447-4000-fue-grafts-dr-maral.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member UK43 Posted March 16, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted March 16, 2014 Great to hear from you and I am glad that my experience helped you in deciding to have a FUE HT, no matter which surgeon you ended up choosing. Like the other comments made I think your hairline pictures from the front look 100% better than your pre-op pictures. The hairline gives you a nice shape to your face and it make you look younger, I also imagine that you now enjoy being able to style your new grafted hair. Please keep posting over the next few months so we can all see your progress. Kind regards UK43 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member JohnCasper Posted March 16, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted March 16, 2014 You're off to a great start "Baldcoot"! I'll bet you're loving that new hair line! Enjoy that new hair growth! Wait until people tell you that you look 10 years younger! Probably already heard that! I am an online representative for Carolina Hair Surgery & Dr. Mike Vories (Recommended on the Hair Transplant Network). View John's before/after photos and videos: http://www.MyFUEhairtransplant.com You can email me at johncasper99@gmail.com I am not a medical professional and my opinions should not be taken as medical advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member fredifredo Posted March 20, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted March 20, 2014 I say too ignore me because my bad attitude of exposing a not profesional of a dr maral tricking customers MODERATORS Is it possible top stop that Roimirka / llvlludassar (obviously the same person) posting his shit on EVERY Maral's patient ? This Roimirka account was created at the same time llvlludassar stopped posting his shit on his thread and was blocked, and all of the 20 first messages by Roimeirka were posted to discredit Maral's clinic and Maral's patients. It's enough... This is a forum to help each other; not for one poor guy to settle up with a surgeon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member fredifredo Posted March 20, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted March 20, 2014 Hello Baldcoot Very nice thread there. Thanks for posting... and for your positive attitude. I can easily understand why you feel much better now, the look in the mirror must be very different now ! What a change concerning the front look ! Of course, starting 1st FUE when you reached Norwood 7, means you will need another FUE, if you want the crown area to get the same way than the frontside. You still have a few months to make your decision, I'm sure that new hair will come till then, maybe this could be enough change to feel good and satisfied. I look forward to see your final result, whatever you chose ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaldCoot Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Hello BaldcootVery nice thread there. Thanks for posting... and for your positive attitude. I can easily understand why you feel much better now, the look in the mirror must be very different now ! What a change concerning the front look ! Of course, starting 1st FUE when you reached Norwood 7, means you will need another FUE, if you want the crown area to get the same way than the frontside. You still have a few months to make your decision, I'm sure that new hair will come till then, maybe this could be enough change to feel good and satisfied. I look forward to see your final result, whatever you chose ! Hello fredifredo, Thanks for your post. I am planning on another FUE procedure, especially for the sides of my head. It is clear that more work is needed there to blend in my HT with my remaining hairs at the sides. If a surgeon can fill in some of the back too that would also be great, but that is not such a big goal for me. Realism is very important for people like me with a high Norwood level. I hope I could obtain another 2000-3000 follicles on my head if a surgeon also uses some beard hair too. I am in fact happy to go for additional FUE procedures, particularly mini FUE procedures, but there are not many clinics who offer them. A mini FUE would mean that I could keep my existing new hair without having it all removed again, but only taking hair from a small area at the back of the head or even just the beard. I have come across one major clinic in London that offers mini FUE procedures, but it would mean several visits. It is a shame that virtually all other clinics to not offer mini FUEs, as I am sure this would be a great business opportunity for any HT clinic. Baldcoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member fredifredo Posted March 21, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted March 21, 2014 Hi I'm not sure I understood what you mean by 'mini FUE' . Is that the English name to say that you won't need to shave your head before the surgery, so you can keep long hair around ? If that's it, I've riden many threads on the main French forum, patients were able to get this procedure in different european countries, like Belgium or Swizerland. I know Dr Devroye and Dr Lupanzula can do this, and they are probably other ones. You have to meet the doctors and check this with them. Fredi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaldCoot Posted March 24, 2014 Author Share Posted March 24, 2014 Hi I'm not sure I understood what you mean by 'mini FUE' . Is that the English name to say that you won't need to shave your head before the surgery, so you can keep long hair around ? If that's it, I've riden many threads on the main French forum, patients were able to get this procedure in different european countries, like Belgium or Swizerland. I know Dr Devroye and Dr Lupanzula can do this, and they are probably other ones. You have to meet the doctors and check this with them. Fredi Hello Fredifredo, A mini FUE is indeed where a surgeon shaves only a very small patch at the back of the head and removed hundreds, NOT thousands of donor follicles. This means that the donor area can be covered over with existing hairs and the small number of donor hairs are transplanted where needed. The donor area can be similar in size to the section of skin that is removed for a FUT procedure. In many cases the procedure is undetectable, but of course it depends where the donor hairs are being placed. Also the remaining hairs at the back of the head need to be a couple of cm long to cover over the donor area. It is an alternative procedure for those who do not want their whole head shaved or a major part of the head shaved at the back, and are happy for small incremental changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member roimirka Posted March 24, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted March 24, 2014 MODERATORS Is it possible top stop that Roimirka / llvlludassar (obviously the same person) posting his shit on EVERY Maral's patient ? This Roimirka account was created at the same time llvlludassar stopped posting his shit on his thread and was blocked, and all of the 20 first messages by Roimeirka were posted to discredit Maral's clinic and Maral's patients. It's enough... This is a forum to help each other; not for one poor guy to settle up with a surgeon. fredifredo why the aggression and this using like words like SHIT? how old are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member fredifredo Posted March 24, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted March 24, 2014 fredifredo why the aggression and this using like words like SHIT? how old are you? Come on man, WHO is agressing and insulting everybody's here ? I don't need to quote everything, we all have riden your shit. You have a mean word for EVERY Maral's patient, and for all Maral's team. You're only POLLUTION. Go away ! Get a life ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member fredifredo Posted March 24, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted March 24, 2014 Baldcoot I thank you for this clear explanation about mini FUE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member JimmyNeutron Posted March 24, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted March 24, 2014 Wasn't roimirka the poster who was caught using different IP addresses to mask/hide who he is? Or am I confusing him with another person? If he is, then why is he allowed to continue to post? Masking your IP on forums is only done by one type of person and that is a troll with multiple accounts. I am a member in 7 different forums dating back to 2005 join date, from hair loss, to sports, to video game forums, and those who hide their IP address usually do it to troll with a certain account while preserving their original account. If he is not the poster, my bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member fredifredo Posted March 24, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted March 24, 2014 +1 JimmyNeutron He is ! We're waiting for Bill to settle up this situation, and close his account... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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