Need advice! Hakan Doganay HT scheduled in or wait till 2015 / another surgeon?w

[ED4141]

Hi all,

 

i'm booked in with Dr Hakan Doganay next month for 3,000 grafts, FUE - but i'm starting to feel anxious about it.

 

My decision to use him was three fold, he's recommended on this Forum, the costs attached are very affordable and i've seen some impressive results from him.

 

However, i'm starting to feel anxious and questioning my decision. To date, the communication from his team has been mediocre. He's moving to a temporary clinic in Istanbul in December, so not sure how set up he'll be, and lately i've seen mixed reviews from patients on this Forum, which include not so great HT results, lack of transparency on a number of levels, including his involvement through out the procedure.

 

So my question is, should I wait another year or so (just started using propecia and Lorenzo recommended me I wait till next year once my hair is stabilised) save several thousand Euro's more and use Dr Jose Lorenzo? or just bite the bullet and go with Doganay, who should come in with a decent result.

 

I'd like to get it over with really and have been saving for a couple years, so to do it next month as planned (I also managed to get 4 weeks off work) would be ideal, but would wait if it's the more sensible thing to do… it's confusing.

 

Any thoughts would be much appreciated…

 

Thanks

[FUE2014]

Definitely wait and go to Dr Lorenzo, Bisanga or Feriduni than risk another mixed result as you have observed from other users. Also this move to a temporary clinic is not exactly reassuring. The only reason for having it done next month is to get it over and done with but that is not good enough reason for a life changing operation, and deep down you know that I suspect. There is no harm in waiting a few more months if you are unsure and saving up for a FUE master like Lorenzo. You will thank yourself for it in the long run.

[BaldingBogger]

If money is no object then it has to be Lorenzo all day long

[ED4141]

thanks guys… that's v helpful. Seriously thinking about not going ahead (already booked flights etc!)

Money wise - yeah I can spend another 5k Euro if I was to save for another year.

Bisanga would probably come in around 11k Euro - not sure on Lorenzo's pricing structure, any idea on what do you think it would cost based on 3k grafts?

[KO]

6k + 4k +2.5k = 12.5k Euros

[FUE2014]

I think Lorenzo would be 14k Euro for 3k grafts: 6000k for first 1000 grafts and then 4000k thereafter per 1000 grafts. I was in the same boat as you a few months ago. Had booked flights to Turkey from Oz to have an op with Dr Doganay and then got cold feet for same reasons as you more-or-less, and had to cancel flights and lose a bit of money ($200 or so admin fee) in the process. I decided to book with Dr Feriduni instead, who I am seeing next month, and am glad I have booked with a doc who has an excellent reputation. You don't want to be going into this with any nagging doubts regarding the doc.

[KO]

No, check the number I wrote.

[ED4141]

Thanks guys… FUE2014 - good point, appreciate. Need to seriously think about this weekend and make a decision, but that's been very helpful.

[BUSA]

Lorenzo's hair lines are too conservative. I wud go to Doganay long before I went to him. not only is he cheaper but his results are more impressive. especially the hair line. Lorenzo is excellent no doubt but Doganay results are just better imo.

 

u may see more unhappy patients with Doganay compared to Lorenzo but Lorenzo posts results like every month or two.

 

Doganay posts results like once a week! if Doganay only posted his absolutely best patient results vs. just about everyone that comes to the clinic he too would have results that appeared perfect.

 

Doganay is far more transparent then Lorenzo when posting patient results.

[Pma]

12500 euros is exactly right, that's the amount I'm paying in 3 weeks for 3000 grafts.

 

Busa am I not right in saying reviews are also posted by patients so we would see bad results on here if there was any from lorenzo.

For me I feel conservative hair lines are very sensible especially if you want to use your donor to get good coverage. Also for someone like me who 37 I want a conservative hairline as I'm not 18 no more and want to use my donor for coverage not a low hairline. I suppose it comes down to personal preference.

Another reason for choosing lorenzo is he limits his sessions to around 1500 grafts a day and does all the work himself which is the most important thing for me.

[spitfire uk]

To be honest both Dr Lorenzo and Dr Hakan seem to be both great Dr's , if you have the money and the option of shaving down then Lorenzo maybe slightly the better choice , I didn't have that option but I'm sure and hope Dr Hakan has done a great job on me

I will add having been to Dr Hakan and Dr Feller and studied the hair game for years there will not be a Dr with a 100% hit rate on happy customers , not even Lorenzo as much as i respect him. .

[decow]

i would rather suggest you wait ..lorenzo does all the work himself and he is known for his excellent work..turkey is good as well..but they run the HTs like a hair mill..multiple surgeries at the same time in parallel...the results from Lorezo and Bisanga speaks for themselves..if you can afford them, i would look no further..

[waittosee]

Hi ED4141

 

Just out of curiosity, why didn't you consider Koray Erdoğan? As far as I know Doganay charges €2 vs. Erdogan €2,5. Erdogan seems to have consistent solid results published in this forum plus Erdogan uses manual punch vs. motorised

[Cryingoutloud]

I can't believe what I'm hearing.

 

People are talking as if there's only a cigarette paper between Lorenzo and Doganay in terms of results. It's laughable.

 

First, Lorenzo does the work. You pay for a Lorenzo procedure and you GET a Lorenzo procedure. With Doganay, you pay for a Doganay procedure and you get a tech procedure . . . along with the two or three other patients receiving HTs at the same time as you.

 

Second, I don't think I've ever SEEN a bad Lorenzo result. Many Lorenzo patients post their own results and they're all top notch. Lorenzo's own results presentation speaks for itself. His clear, transparent video comb-throughs of his hairlines are second to none. Bullshit-free

 

Doganay's results are good but they're also undeniably inconsistent. It's a crap shoot. There are too many variables like will you get the A tech team or the B tech team. Some patients say they're knocked out and wake up to find techs extracting grafts and making incisions while the doctor's presumably having a long lunch.

 

Look, don't get me wrong; the points raised above are most likely the reason why a Doganay procedure is so cheap. He turns 'em around fast and in bulk so if you're on a budget, he's much, much better than a hair mill. If, however, you can make the stretch financially, there is simply no comparison . . . Lorenzo simply obliterates all but one or two other surgeons.

[spitfire uk]

I won't deny Lorenzo is top of the tree but having just been with Dr Hakan i think you are being over harsh with your post , Tech A and Tech B team ? , not to my knowledge ...he has a team of 4 tech and 1 head tech.

Turns them out fast and in bulk ? ....not during my four days there . As far as I'm aware there was two on one day and the other days were medium size cases which took most of the day. To say fast and in bulk is a bit unfair mate.

Has the knocked out / tech placing grafts rumour ever been 100% proved ? , stand corrected if so but having spent time with the Dr and the staff i find that hard to believe.I paid for a Hakan procedure and got a Hakan procedure.....

Won't argue on Lorenzo , top class but i think your description of Dr Hakan and his methods is a bit off the mark.

Edited November 15, 2014 by spitfire uk

[KO]

Spitfire, I'm curious about the Hakan experience as well. It's great that you are happy with your surgery and I hope it works out for you.

 

Given that Hakan uses the Choi pen, I assume that it has to be the doctor inserting the grafts. If the doctor is inserting, how can there be more than one patients in the same day? Or did the graft insertion not take very long?

[spitfire uk]

Spitfire, I'm curious about the Hakan experience as well. It's great that you are happy with your surgery and I hope it works out for you.

 

Given that Hakan uses the Choi pen, I assume that it has to be the doctor inserting the grafts. If the doctor is inserting, how can there be more than one patients in the same day? Or did the graft insertion not take very long?

Hi mate , yes for sure on me it was only the Dr implanting using the choi pen.

I believe there can be more than one patient in one day due to the motorized extraction method with his head tech does , i had manual of which the Dr did 50% and his head tech the rest. Graft placement took just as long as extraction as it was only him and he was carefully picking the areas to work in as he went along.

While i won't get carried away until I've had a great result I'm pleased enough so far with Dr Hakan , the lack of redness due to the choi pen is incredible to b honest (pics soon).

I just wish Dr Hakan (if his English was good enough) or one of his reps would come out and lay these various claims and rumours to rest once and for all.

By the way i keep reading about Techs involved , IMO it's nothing new and in 2008 with the mighty and respected Dr Feller i had his head tech heavily involved in my op.

[KO]

That sounds good. I agree with you on the tech involvement part. While total surgeon involvement is ideal IMO, if they are using experienced techs and the doctor continues to be significantly involved, it is probably fine. For example Erdogan's tech Delek has been with him for a decade I believe. Where it really rankles members and myself is inexperienced techs who may move from clinic to clinic etc...you get the picture.

[spitfire uk]

Totally but then you wouldn't expect good Dr's to employ techs like that , IMO it's getting to the point soon where we will be choosing Dr's for their rep and the quality of their techs.

[Dr. Hakan DOGANAY]

Thanks for bringing up these questions and creating a chance for us to answer them.

 

1) Number of Patients

We do 1 or at most 2 operations in each day. Since we use Choi Implanter pen Technique, doing several operations in same day, especially parallel operations, is not possible, and we do not recommend it.

 

2) Questions about our Technicians

We train our technicians carefully before they involve in any operation. We do the operations with well trained and experienced technicians. Therefore, having different technician teams is not a case. As our previous patient Mr. spitfireuk mentioned we have ONLY one team.

 

3) Questions about extractions

We can use both manual and motorized extraction techniques. In the motorized technique, we use the motorized tool with slow spin speed. We, therefore, don't see difference between motorized and manual techniques.

 

We gave an interview to Mr. Gates from UK in the video below, and you can find more detailed answers in it.

 

4) Questions About Putting our Patients into sleep

Few of our patients (who do not want to feel the pain of injection even if it is bearable) ask general anesthesia instead of local anesthesia . In this case we can apply general anesthesia under the control of anesthetists. However, this is a very rare case and normally we use local anesthesia. Overall, general anesthesia is just an option and we talk to our patients before applying it.

 

 

Thanks again.