1308 Grafts at Dr. Hakan Doganay

[johnny2000]

Hello all

Let me start by telling my story shortly

Age - 29

hairloss started - around 24-25 (start letting it bothered me at age 26 i guess)

been a member of this forum for a couple of years, and been researching about treatmens for 3-4 years

startet finasterid about 3 years ago and it has stopped/halted my hairloss alot.

had thought about a transplant also for 2-3 years and discovered dr. Hakan on this forum.

BOOKING AND ARRANGING THE SURGERY:

i booked the surgery back in december 2013. the surgery was scheduele for 9. april 2014

i send them pictures of my hair and was estimated around 2000 grafts

the clinic asked for a deposit but after i had sent them a copy of the plane tickets

and the hotel reservation, they said that i didn't need to pay the deposit, wich was kind of them

i booked the vaccation at my job, i took 1 month off work, so i had the best chances to heal up so no one would

notice the surgery.

we stayed at the sea life hotel wich was about 15 minuttes drive from the clinic.

very nice hotel, an they also had roomservice, and let me tell you guys that if you plan on staying in the hotel 1 or 2 days

after the surgery, it is very nice with roomservice.

i didnt like to go into the crowded buffet restaurant with the post-op look.

 

ARRIVING IN ANTALYA - FRIDAY 4. APRIL:

i went to antalya/turkey with my girlfirend.

we arrived on friday night 00:30 in antalya airport.

we was told that a staff member of the clinic would pick us up and drive us to the hotel, but nobody was there.

her name was Didem and she was the one i had the most contact to on the whole trip.

very nice girl and she spoke good english.

i tried calling her but she didn't answer (got her number by e-mail when i booked the surgery back in december)

we then took a taxi to the hotel, (around 25 euros) checked in, and went to sleep.

the next day i e-mailed the clinic asking why i wasnt picked up and what the plan for the upcoming surgery was.

they called me in the evening and apoligized about it, telling it was some misunderstandings and that was that.

i told them, we took a taxi, no harm done and that was that.

we relaxed in the hotel, enjoyed the all inclusive and went on some sightseeing saturday-sunday-monday-tuesday.

so we kind of made it a vaccation/surgery.

 

SURGERY DAY - 9 APRIL:

we was picked up at the hotel by Didem at 9:50 in the morning. i didnt eat any breakfast because she was supposed

to be there at 10:30 so i didn't got anything in my stomach.

we came to the clinic wich is located in a hospital.

we sat down in the reception and i had to fill out some form.

then Dr. Ayhan came over and said hello. very friendly guy and he also spoke english.

we walked in the office and had a talk for around 20 minuttes i think.

he looked at my hair up-close. draw a hairline, but my girlfriend thought it was a little uneven so we corrected it.

we talked about how many grafts i should have and to my suprise he saif around 1300!

i was a little disapointed at the time but also a little happy, because it saved me from using to much donor hair, plus it

would offcourse be a bit cheaper. but i was still concerned about wether it would be enough

he also told me that they didnt want to out grafts in the midt scalp where my hair is thin, because he didnt think it

was thin enough. but they did put a few in there in the end, but not to much

All the sudden Dr. Hakan walked in the room, we said hello to him but he does not really speak english, so Didem and Dr. Ayhan

needed to translate what he said. there is something about him, i dont know what it is but he has some carisma about him.

i was taking to the other room, got my donor area cut down (allthough only the lower part wich i need you guys to help me with!!, i'll explaine later)

they did not shave the recipted area, the Doctor didn't think it should be neccesary.

(normally they charge 2,5 euro per. graft if you dont want the reciepted area shaved, but they still only charged me 2 euro

per graft wich was kind of them.)

now it was time for the extraction part.

i was put on the surgery bed face down, and dr. hakan came in to make the numbness injections.

i tell you it was not as bad as i expected. after the first or second injection the pain is much less, because the numbness kicks

in instantly wich means you are a little numbed in the area the need to numb next.

i think i got about 15 - 25 injections in the donor area in total

after that one staff member started extracing the grafts.

it took around 1,5 - 2 hours.

my girlfriend came in to say hello and they showed us one plate of grafts.

after a short break for 5 minuttes, we i turned around and got ready for the implanting.

dr. hakan was the one numbning the area again and also implanting the grafts, but close to the end one of the staff members

helped him finish off.

2 other staff members was making the impplanters ready to the doctor meanwhile.

it took around 2 - 2,5 hours to implant.

i got the bandage on my head and got my clothes back on

after the surgery the doctor said see you tommorow and we got dropped at the hotel by Didem

i went directly to the elevator and up to the room

i tell you guys i had mixed feelings afterwards.

1 DAY POST OP/HAIRWASH - THURSDAY 10. APRIL:

picked up in the morning by Didem. drove to the clinic.

time to get the bandage off. i must say that after the bandage was taken of they sprayed, i think some water or something on

and that hurt a bit for a while. more than the injections i think.

one staff member tapped some cream on the donor and the reciepted area, and we then waited for 20-30 minuttes.

she then washed my hair with baby shampoo and tapped with som paper or something on the donor and reciepted area to get the cream of i think

offcourse they hopefully know what they are doing, but she did tapped harder then i liked on the recipted area.

i just sat there and hope to god that non of the grafts was "tapped out".

Didem then handed over some stuffs. baby shampoo, cream, pills against swelling, 1 pack of proscar, painkiller and biotin pills.

Dr. Hakan then came in and they asked if i had some questions.

i asked the doctor what he think about the surgery and he said good. i was hoping he would be like "oh it went very well and you

should have a super result" i was also concerned about the density because when i looked in the mirror i didnt think the

grafts was so close to eachother as i expected, but he told that the density was about 50-60 wich, from my understandings, is

a good density.

maybe it is the languege barrier that seperate us but he just didnt seemed as pleased as i would have liked

anyway, we paid for the surgery to Didem. she took us to the hotel and we went to the room.

the whole day and the day before i stayed in the room. i ordered roomservice i think 5 times :-)

and that was very nice not having to eat in the crowded restarant with the post-up look.

the sweeling had allready started the night of the surgery on top of my forehead, this day when i had got the bandage off

the swelling moved further down on my forehead and on the sides of my head.

it helped getting some icepack on the sweeling, taking the swellign pills and laying down on the back.

i had some pain, but after taking the painkillers the pain got to a minimum level wich was something everyone can handle

i actually slept quite well.

 

LEAVING ANTALYA - FRIDAY 11. APRIL:

we had a flight at 16:30 so we needed to be in the airport at 14:30. checkout was at 12:00 but we payed like 10 euros

extra and was able to check out at 14:00 wich was perfect.

Didem drove us to the airport, we said goodbye and went inside the airport.

i had a snapback cap on that did not touch the grafts and i also had a hoodie shirt on and the hood covered the donor area

so no one could see anything.

we needed to go through 2 securitys. and both asked me to take of my shirt and cap.

that was something i had been scared about for a long time prior to the surgery, both to be honest it wasnt bad.

the security staff didnt actually looked at me in any other way than normal, i think they have seen the post-op look a few,

if not many times before.

and there was not so many people in the line so it went very very well.

BUT! ofcourse our flight was delayed. Not only 1 or 2 hours but 4 HOURS !!! AND IT WAS DELAYED AGAIN AFTER THAT FOR 1 MORE HOUR!!

of all days offcourse that day it had to be! so we found a quite place in the airport and sat there for a long time.

the airplaine came and we flew home.

landed in Copenhagen at 00:30 and was picked up by my father.

 

i do have some questions for you guys.

 

1) WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE PICTURES?

 

2) AS YOU SEE IN THE PICTURES THEY ONLY EXTRACT FROM THE LOWER PART OF THE DONOR AREA, AND I WONDER WHY THEY DID NOT SHAVED

MORE AND EXTRACT ON A BIGGER PLACE? IN MY MIND IT WOULD MAKE MORE SENSE TO SPREAD OUT THE EXTRACTION SO I DONT HAVE A THIN

AREA IN THE LOWER BACK AND A NORMAL AREA IN THE UPPER BACK?

(THEY EXTRACTED UNDER WHERE U SEE THE LINE IN THE BACK)

 

3) I THINK THE DONOR LOOKS A LITTLE THIN, COULD IT BE SHOCKLOSS ALLREADY AT 12 POST OP? IT LOOKS MORE THIN IN REAL THAN ON THE PICTURES

 

4) WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP TO EASE THE ITCHING IN THE DONOR AREA?

 

5) WHEN DO YOU GUYS START REMOVING THE SCABS? THEY ARE BEGGINING TO LOOSE THEM SELF NOW A BIT.

 

6) IS IT NORMAL IN OTHER CLINICS THAT THEY "TAP" LIGHTLY ON THE RECIEPTED AREA 1 DAY POST UP WITH CREAM ANS SHAMPOO?

IVE HEARD SOME CLINICS SAY YOU SHOULD ONLY TAKE A GLAS WITH WATER AN POOR IT OVER THE HEAD THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS

 

well guys im now 12 days post op.

i hope you guys will take the time to read this and give me your opinnions.

and i hope that my spelling wasnt that bad, considering im from Denmark :-)

 

 

Pictures comes here

[johnny2000]

The donor pictures are at 11 days post up.

You guys see what i mean by the extraction in only that small area?

 

The reciepted area are at the night of the surgery

[johnny2000]

Pre-op pictures taken the day before the surgery

[Lloyd]

Nice write up thanks.

[Dr. Hakan DOGANAY]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[voipman]

Great write up and i think its an excellent job. I would blend your donor hair in by shaving 1# to 2# higher into non donor area and wait for it to grow as it looks like shock loss to some degree.

[falco123]

Wait for one more week and then you can go to your barber and he will even out the Donor Area hair. I had surgery with Dr Hakan as well and my donor looked quite weird .... but got my donor area evened out 2.5 weeks after surgery ..

 

For me itching stayed in donor area till week-4 and now it's all gone ... Some people suggest Aloe Vera but didn't help me much

 

My receipient area hair was shaved but not completely .. they kept it to around 1 cm for transplant. It helps with getting your normal look back sooner. And Apparently Dr has enough visibility with such short hair.

 

Regarding shaving from a smaller portion. Don't know the reason but 1300 grafts won't make it that much thin. You are looking way too much at it i think. Just give it some time. You have not posted a pre-pic of the donor so it's difficult to compare how much thinner it looks

 

Scabs didn't come off automatically for me by day 12. So after washing you hair, wet your hand with water and gently move it from scalp to forehead. After the lotion and wash scabs are usually very soft and they will come out by your hand movement. But keep it gentle.

 

I was surprised at the tapping part too. I thought it might affect the new grafts but i didn't lose any grafts by this tapping thing and i'm sure you didn't as well. So it seems it's OK to do so ..

[johnny2000]

2 weeks Photos.

would love to hear your Guys oppinions.

 

i cut my hair at the back and sides, but i didnt cut the place where the grafts were extraced, only the part above to even it more out

 

i do think it looks thin in the donor, and also now that the scabs is gone i do think the density is not looking like i hoped.

but let me know what you Guys think

[Mickey85]

Given you are only 2 weeks out, it is possible that the donor might have experienced some shockloss. I would wait 6 months until making a proper assessment. 1,308 grafts is not a big hit on the donor so the difference from pre-operative should not be a big discrepancy, especially with a surgeon like Hakan.

[voipman]

Hi Johnny

 

I would agree with above post as i recall my small fue left the donor area looking poor. i actually used toppik to fill it in. Its now ok but i was like you worried about a thin patch.

 

It all takes time unfortunately and hair is a real bitch. It looks very good for only two weeks

[Nyc2014]

Johnny - Reading your write up, it's almost identical to my story, even the part not getting picked up at the airport. Would not be an issue if they just told me they can't make it and provide directions prior to the trip starting. But, nevertheless, comes down to surgery. I was quoted 2000 based on online consult and at surgey I was told 1,000 grafts. Huge difference as most surgeons recommend 2000-2500 for me. Defineltly not dense packing, like your case. I know the doctor had another surgery same day so it brings into question why were the grafts lowered by that much, not enough time? Generally pretty disappointed, wish I read your post as it seems the Doctor is better for larger fue sessions probably.

 

How's your progress? Your age and hairline are similar to mine so our results should track (he didn't shave my recipient area also)

[johnny2000]

Johnny - Reading your write up, it's almost identical to my story, even the part not getting picked up at the airport. Would not be an issue if they just told me they can't make it and provide directions prior to the trip starting. But, nevertheless, comes down to surgery. I was quoted 2000 based on online consult and at surgey I was told 1,000 grafts. Huge difference as most surgeons recommend 2000-2500 for me. Defineltly not dense packing, like your case. I know the doctor had another surgery same day so it brings into question why were the grafts lowered by that much, not enough time? Generally pretty disappointed, wish I read your post as it seems the Doctor is better for larger fue sessions probably.

 

How's your progress? Your age and hairline are similar to mine so our results should track (he didn't shave my recipient area also)

 

Hey NYC.

Im doing fine, like i wrote in my write up. I have the concerns about the density because i just dont see it to be very dense, but offcourse i hope i am wrong.

And Also the donor area was my concern.

 

I Will post some 1 Month pictures in 2 days

 

Did they shave and harvest your donor like mine? Where they only took from the lower part of the donor and not from a bigger area?

 

Can you post some pics? How long post op are you?

 

How did you feel about the staff?

[Nyc2014]

Hey NYC.

Im doing fine, like i wrote in my write up. I have the concerns about the density because i just dont see it to be very dense, but offcourse i hope i am wrong.

And Also the donor area was my concern.

 

I Will post some 1 Month pictures in 2 days

 

Did they shave and harvest your donor like mine? Where they only took from the lower part of the donor and not from a bigger area?

 

Can you post some pics? How long post op are you?

 

How did you feel about the staff?

 

Hey Johnny - yes same exact setup as yours, lower part which is also the thinnest compared to rest of donor area(at least for me). I can share pics and specifics in about a week. Iam in Italty for vacation right now then heading to NYC on Sunday. But I have been taking detailed pics throughout it all.

[johnny2000]

Hey Johnny - yes same exact setup as yours, lower part which is also the thinnest compared to rest of donor area(at least for me). I can share pics and specifics in about a week. Iam in Italty for vacation right now then heading to NYC on Sunday. But I have been taking detailed pics throughout it all.

 

How long are you post op?

 

What did you feel about the staff?

Did you Also feel like you were "Rushed trough"?

 

Some days i allready thinking about who is gonna do my next on. To thincken the Whole thing up. But the i need to remind my self that it is Way to early to make a conclusion.

But i bet you know what i mean.

[Nyc2014]

I would wait a year also and then think about it. Hard to tell results so early. The doctor does have some solid results from other patients.

[voipman]

Hi Guys

 

I thought it was fast surgery, but that to me would better for the graft survival as in extract n replace using prp in my case with minimal graft exposure. They informed me they have a new chair to extract n insert grafts at the same time.

 

I would wait for results as Dr Hakan has excellent results with small fue to my mind means low graft failure.

 

Naturally i can only talk about my experience which maybe different to which you had.

[Lloyd]

Hi Guys

Firstly congratulation on your surgeries I am one of the former patients of Dr Hakan.

I see you are anxious about your procedures. However, you are really early stage of the surgery. Such as I got some growth even a year after my surgery. Hence, please be patient to judge your full result.

Also, you have some concern about very dense packing. However, most of surgeons do not recommend very dense packing since according to them very dense packing may degrade the regrowth rate. Therefore, wasting grafts with very dense packing should not be an option.

Since more grafts what you need means more the money, if they implant enough grafts, this shows that they did not exhaust your grafts greedily. All I am saying as a humble suggestion is please be patient and do not go for very dense packing, I mean more than what you need here, for the sake of future reserve and money

[johnny2000]

1 month post op Pictures.

[Nyc2014]

Johnny- I noticed your mid-scalp is thinning as well. Was there a reason why the doc only touched the hair-line and not the rest? Same thing with me, the only hair-line was re-enforced but not the other areas even though other doctors have suggested to get it done also.

[johnny2000]

i think i have experienced some shockloss in my temples where the most grafts were placed.

i just hope that it will grow back along with the new hairs.

 

so Guys what do you think?

most of the hairs did fall out along with the scabs when i removed them at around day 13-15

 

right now im shaving the ones that didnt fall. just so i dont look so wierd.

 

there is still some redness in the temples an i think i look a Little suspecius, specielly when there stille is some tiny hairs here and there in the red area.

 

i dont think the public eye knows anything, maybe some people notice there is something strange, but i think only a former HT patient would be able to tell what i have had done.

 

i also hope my donor will get better, because there is a clear difference from my lower to my upper donor area.

agian i dont know why the Clinic only harvest from that Little area, as it dosn't make sense to me not spreading the harvest out more so you dont have a thin area and a thick area.

but what can i do.

 

do you Guys think i will experience more shockloss of my native hair? or should that be over now?

[johnny2000]

Johnny- I noticed your mid-scalp is thinning as well. Was there a reason why the doc only touched the hair-line and not the rest? Same thing with me, the only hair-line was re-enforced but not the other areas even though other doctors have suggested to get it done also.

 

hey bud.

 

yes you are right my mid scalp is thinning as well.

i ask the doc at the Clinic. dr. Ayhan. he said that, because there is still hair there they would not transplant in that area.

he then said that they could put a few graft in that area, to be honest i dont know how many graft was plantet there, and i dont think the doc knows aswell.

my guess would be - MAX. 50-100.

 

to tell the truth. i do fell like the surgery was rushed.

and i do Wonder if i will need another one after 1 year.

 

if i do choose to get another one done i deff. have learned alot from this experience.

 

even though its hard to not to think about the end result, i try my best not to.

but some days are just hard to get through :-(

but it is what it is.

[johnny2000]

If it makes you feel better, your surgery looks better than mine. My hairline is not even symmetrical. The doctor worked on my left side and his tech on my right side. The right side is an absolute joke. The shape of the hairline and even several spots missed. Part of the reason why I choose this doctor over the rest is because the claim he does all the work.

 

Furthermore, what annoys me is that the doctor has multiple accounts and pretends to be independent patients like Lloyd. Just look up all the previous comments on these pro-Doganay posters and you will see 90% of their post are advertising the doctors. Other clinics do the same so I can't blame them for just playing the game.

 

Life is a series of choices and not all choices are the most optimal. In this case, we both made an error in judgement. Looking back, I can't believe I went to a random country like Turkey to get a procedure like this done. All the post hyping up Turkey as the FUE capital online somehow convinced me. I can't remember the expect post, but I read on this forum a guy questioning the online forum fame of these Turkey doctors over the course of 1 year and said he rather go to a doctor that is proven. I wish I paid more attention. Sometimes, we look for post/topics that re-affirm our decisions and lose the ability to be independent.

 

Yes, we will both be needing new transplants in the immediate future and I am sure we both learned our lessons, you get what you pay for. I am sticking to the States/North America for my next procedure and will only go to proven doctors such as Rahal, Feller, Konior etc. You should just go to Lorenzo and get it done properly. We both ended up wasting more money and time by trying to get a "good deal"

 

Yes life is all about alot of choices we make. Some times its good ones, and alot of times it is bad ones.

I just dont get that the clinic would make false advertiseing just so they Can make alot of HT for a year or 2 and when they get caught, its game over.

allthough dr. Hakan is a bit new on This forum, he still claims to have been in the business for Many years.

So he should be able to produce good results.

 

Are you sure about Lloyd is a fake profile? I had some mail corispondence with him some time ago up until my surgery.

Allthough he didnt Sounded like it was a fake profile it could offcourse very Well be.

[johnny2000]

If it makes you feel better, your surgery looks better than mine. My hairline is not even symmetrical. The doctor worked on my left side and his tech on my right side. The right side is an absolute joke. The shape of the hairline and even several spots missed. Part of the reason why I choose this doctor over the rest is because the claim he does all the work.

 

Furthermore, what annoys me is that the doctor has multiple accounts and pretends to be independent patients like Lloyd. Just look up all the previous comments on these pro-Doganay posters and you will see 90% of their post are advertising the doctors. Other clinics do the same so I can't blame them for just playing the game.

 

Life is a series of choices and not all choices are the most optimal. In this case, we both made an error in judgement. Looking back, I can't believe I went to a random country like Turkey to get a procedure like this done. All the post hyping up Turkey as the FUE capital online somehow convinced me. I can't remember the expect post, but I read on this forum a guy questioning the online forum fame of these Turkey doctors over the course of 1 year and said he rather go to a doctor that is proven. I wish I paid more attention. Sometimes, we look for post/topics that re-affirm our decisions and lose the ability to be independent.

 

Yes, we will both be needing new transplants in the immediate future and I am sure we both learned our lessons, you get what you pay for. I am sticking to the States/North America for my next procedure and will only go to proven doctors such as Rahal, Feller, Konior etc. You should just go to Lorenzo and get it done properly. We both ended up wasting more money and time by trying to get a "good deal"

 

Can i see some pictures buddy?

If you dont like posting Them here maybe you Can e-mail Them to me?

[johnny2000]

Yes, when I responded to the doctor on why we didn't dense pack my hairline as discussed, his response was identical to Lloyd's. I can bet if you ask admin to provide his IP address it will not state he lives in DE, USA. Listen, I could care-less about all this nonsense of fake accounts if the results will be good, but its frustrating that when I go all the way to Turkey to get my hairline fixed, they half-ass the job because they are doing too many surgeries a day. I literally received 300 grafts in my hairline. What they did is fill in the holes where I had no hair, and of course the native hair I do have their will eventually fall-off due to it being susceptible to MPB.

 

They half-assed the hair transplant, I just hope everything else was not rushed such as proper hygiene (clean needle's).

 

I will email you pictures later of my botched surgery and feel better that no matter how bad you think your HT is, there are worse (mine ! )

 

Check out the result they just posted!

What do you say?

[Lloyd]

Hi Guys,

I am a former patient of Dr Hakan Doganay. I live in US since I am a former patient; I believe I have enough experience about the process. I can give you my US number via private message and you can call me and meet me if you want I can share my experience in person.