JoeTillman Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Here it is. After finally getting home and losing a full week of productivity due to a serious flu bug I caught I have finally put together the first in a series of videos showing my hair transplant documentary in Turkey. This video applies to anyone flying to Turkey for any clinic as there is nothing unique to Dr. K in this first video. We all read about patients going to Turkey but we never think about what it is really like to actually go to Turkey. This will help shed some light on the process and experience and if you do wind up going you'll have a bit more comfort recognizing familiar things that you can see in this video. It's long, and is a cumulation of short clips I shot on my way. Stay tuned for more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTYG13ppJvI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member MrMatt Posted June 12, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted June 12, 2015 I enjoyed your video, looking forward to more. I've read about the very low HT prices in Turkey. After all the expenses, airfare, lodging, time off of work, etc. do you really save enough money to justify all the extra effort of making such a long trip ? BTW I noticed all the people you talked with spoke English. Was that luck or is English that fluent there ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member chrisdav Posted June 12, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted June 12, 2015 Oi Joe stop trying to charm that receptionist Great video and keep them coming 2 poor unsatisfactory hair transplants performed in the UK. Based on vast research and meeting patients, I travelled to see Dr Feller in New York to get repaired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Blake Bloxham Posted June 12, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted June 12, 2015 I think the receptionist was trying to charm Joe. She just couldn't resist. Women love a good head of hair ; ) As usual, nicely done! It will be interesting to watch more of these videos. I'm also excited to see Dr K work. Frankly, I've always respected the way he's spoken out against some of the less than ideal HT practices in Turkey. He seems like a very dedicated, no-nonsense kind of guy. And I like that! "Doc" Blake Bloxham - formerly "Future_HT_Doc" Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum All opinions are my own and my advice does not constitute as medical advice. All medical questions and concerns should be addressed by a personal physician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeTillman Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 Thanks, fellas. Sometimes I need to stop myself when it comes to ideas because in cases like this I have to question the effort necessary to pull it off. It's one of those things that are difficult to pull off but once it is all done it becomes very satisfying. That is what I keep telling myself, anyway:) I did not realize the volume of footage I'd be shooting, much less the volume of data that it would amount to for my hard drives. When you shoot in HD, and shoot photos in RAW format on two full frame DSLR Nikons, the hard drive space adds up quick. In total, I shot over 120gb of footage and about 12gb of images. The good thing is that I have learned tons and the next shoot I do for the next doctor I take on will be more efficient. To say I've learned a lot so far would be an understatement. Mr. Matt, Your question is one of the reasons why I shot this documentary. It is because we see people talking about going to Turkey but not talking about the journey for their surgery that we don't think about what is involved. Coming from the UK or other parts of Europe or the Middle East, it is a fairly simple journey save for the additional security and scrutiny that can be had for foreigners traveling to the area. For those coming from areas further away, such as North America, not so much. I found it more difficult getting out than getting in. I think the cost is a no brainer. If you find a doctor that does good work then the price is easy to swallow because the cost allows for an equivalent sized session with a top doc in Turkey and one still has change left over. To be honest, after having had a crash course in Turkish hair restoration and being exposed to the concept of Turkey and hair I have a hard time wrapping my head around the costs associated with hair restoration in North America and western Europe. It's that cheap and is no longer a shock to me. For the cost of a 2000 graft surgery in North America you can fly to Turkey and back and still save about 40%. Lodging is included with most clinics, including Dr. Karadeniz as well are airport transfers to and from the airport. The only thing you really pay for is the food you eat outside of the clinic and your ticket to the region and the 40% savings I mentioned includes all of this. The question is, is money the only thing that matters? I don't know of a lot of people that would take on a journey like this as they would prefer to stay closer to home in case of complications or they just like the security of staying in their own country, which makes sense. However, medical tourism is a 5 billion US dollar industry for Turkey and hair restoration makes up a big part of that so obviously a lot of people are going there. This first video is designed to help people see the trip for what it is and not with a bunch of fluff with church bells, rose petals and warm meditteranean wind being blown up our collective arses. This is real, as real as it can be without having a 16 hour account of the journey. When you travel most anywhere in the world, you'll find that English is the common language. It is the language of business worldwide and most everyone working in major airports and mid to upper level hotels will speak some proficient level of English. The streets are different but overall it is not difficult to get around in any country I've been to because I take some time to learn basic questions and phrases about how to get around. Combined with hand gestures, finger pointing, Google translate and some luck it is not very difficult to get around no matter where you may go. Blake, as you'll see in the upcoming videos, Dr. Karadeniz is indeed a no-nonsense kind of guy. He's a scientist at heart and a real hair geek. He surprisingly has little to no ego and asked me multiple times to critique his work for input. One thing that impressed me was that after some conversations we had about punches and techniques he had his punch maker make some new punches based on our discussions and he started testing them immediately. That's one thing I like about him, if he thinks there may be a better way, he tries it. It is works, he switches and adopts. If not, he doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Blake Bloxham Posted June 12, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted June 12, 2015 Joe, Again, thanks for the write up. Another thing I'm curious about: in one of your earlier posts, you talked about seeing a lot of "bad/obvious" hair transplant procedures on waiters in a restaurant. "Dr. K told me that it is very common to get a hair transplant in Turkey. The price is set so low that the everyday man can have one but because it is so cheap it is commoditzed in that not only can everyone get one, everyone can offer one. I spent half the evening looking at the hairlines of ten waiters on our side of the restaurant because half of them, five, had hair transplants that I could easily pick out. When was the last time any of you reading this saw five hair translants in one restaurant, much less where they were on the heads of wait staff? " I know that cost is a big driving factor for many traveling to Turkey, but aside from reviewing Dr K's work, are you going to get the chance to discuss the overall hair transplant culture in Turkey? It sounds like not all clinics are quite up to par with Dr K. He himself has commented about the problems with many of these clinics, and I'm wondering if issues like this and technican FUE in Turkey will be addressed in future videos?I want to make sure our members understand the comment in your last post about cost and don't end up like the waiters! "Doc" Blake Bloxham - formerly "Future_HT_Doc" Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum All opinions are my own and my advice does not constitute as medical advice. All medical questions and concerns should be addressed by a personal physician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Sean Posted June 12, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted June 12, 2015 That is great, Joe. Can't wait to see your updates and other videos. This will help others quite a bit. Being in well over 20 different countries, i realized It is not hard to travel and communicate. Almost every educational institution teaches English or introduces folks to it. Some folks may not fully understand or able to talk, but they will get what you are saying. A lot of folks do, however, speak and understand English. Maybe not as fluently as native English speakers, but thats when combined with hand gestures and electronic translation can come in handy. English is like the global commercial business language and when your passports get thicker and thicker you will realize it more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Sean Posted June 12, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted June 12, 2015 Joe, Again, thanks for the write up. Another thing I'm curious about: in one of your earlier posts, you talked about seeing a lot of "bad/obvious" hair transplant procedures on waiters in a restaurant. "Dr. K told me that it is very common to get a hair transplant in Turkey. The price is set so low that the everyday man can have one but because it is so cheap it is commoditzed in that not only can everyone get one, everyone can offer one. I spent half the evening looking at the hairlines of ten waiters on our side of the restaurant because half of them, five, had hair transplants that I could easily pick out. When was the last time any of you reading this saw five hair translants in one restaurant, much less where they were on the heads of wait staff? " I know that cost is a big driving factor for many traveling to Turkey, but aside from reviewing Dr K's work, are you going to get the chance to discuss the overall hair transplant culture in Turkey? It sounds like not all clinics are quite up to par with Dr K. He himself has commented about the problems with many of these clinics, and I'm wondering if issues like this and technican FUE in Turkey will be addressed in future videos?I want to make sure our members understand the comment in your last post about cost and don't end up like the waiters! Blake, how are you able to edit a message without it stamping that the message had been edited? Is there a turn off or turn on edit feature? Thanks. In a country that has cosmetic surgeries exceeding $5 billion, you are bound to see waiters with hair restoration. Especially, since that job is highly social and highly visible for a person that is loosing hair. There are probably tons of great doctors as business is booming, but there may be some that might be only inexperienced tech driven causing some questionable results. Overall, the scope of medical tourism means they are doing something right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Blake Bloxham Posted June 12, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted June 12, 2015 Sean, It might be because it was edited by a mod -- me -- or because I did it within a certain time. However, I usually get the time stamp when I edit my own posts as well. Not really sure! I get what you're saying, but I think Joe's point in the paragraph I quoted was more about entry into the field being very easy and this driving down prices and leading to less than quality work. As I recall, Dr K has said similar things in the past. "Doc" Blake Bloxham - formerly "Future_HT_Doc" Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum All opinions are my own and my advice does not constitute as medical advice. All medical questions and concerns should be addressed by a personal physician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeTillman Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 Hi Blake, Yes, I've got a Q&A session with Dr. K that touches on this subject. I'm also outlining an article on the subject that will be written at a later time. The point about the waiters, yes, that had to do with the low cost of entry into the procedure. I'll reveal more soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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