2910 Grafts with Dr. Erkan Demirsoy 8th Sept' 2015

[Burlio]

Hi everyone,

 

Long time lurker here and i would like to share my recent experience with you. I'll start with a bit of background, I was about 18/19 when I had that horrible feeling which I guess you all know so well, the dreaded thought of losing my hair. After a relationship break up I decided to do something about it so at 24yo I had my first HT. This is 12 years ago now, I am the big 40 in a few days so let me just enjoy the next few days by saying I am a 39 yo guy...

Anyway, I was so naive back then, very badly advised and chose the wrong clinic, but to be honest even 12 years ago the quality of hair restoration techniques and surgeons isn't what it is today. The procedure was just a few hundred grafts to plump up the hairline. It looked ok at the time, mingled in with my native hair but I had bad sides to Fin and had to come off after a few months so I very quickly realized i would be going back for more work.

My 2nd HT was 2 years later to fill in a strip of hairloss in behind my 1st 1/3 of scalp, a little natural tuft remained front centre and it was becoming isolated. Again not prepared to go on Fin and was becoming very down in myself knowing id be chasing this round my head. I've worn caps and hats whenever I can for the the last 8 or 9 years now.

Needless to say these procedures were FUT and I was left which the horrible scars which comes with it, it was the scars just as much as the dodgy looking hair on top I was more conscious of, I well and truly have my FUT club membership card to show off lol !

It was probably 2 or 3 years ago I stumbled onto this wonderful community and was quickly gathering information on finding a solution, reading just about every thread by every patient on every clinic. I looked at several clinics In India, Belgium, Turkey, Spain and many more.

But after careful consideration I decided to go with Dr. Erkan Demirsoy at Armamed Clinic in Istanbul. Yes finance is a factor, but so were results I could have gone cheaper than him if it was about finance but i really liked what I saw from him and the fact he only sees one patient a day and is very hands on was also a big factor.

 

I booked through Health Travels Dr. D's representative Mr Clemens Weber and after I sent my pics off, I was contacted by Clemens who had talked to the doc, he said he could extract about 3000-3500 from my donor. As you can see from the thread heading I had 2910 grafts in the end I cant say I'm disappointed because I was being a little greedy anyway as I know people say around 2500 is about the max you should do in 1 FUE session but its along way to go and I do need as many as I can get lol.

 

Dr D said that this was because my donor isnt as strong as my photos suggested so we would only go as far as 3000 which I thought was highly ethical as he could have took 3500 and just took more money but he decided this would best so I totally agreed.

On that note I would like to say that my expectations are totally realistic and I realize I will never have a full head of hair, I do remember joking to the doctor and Muzzafer( who is the Doctors right hand man he takes care of everything and is an absolute top bloke) that I dont plan on joining any rock bands and I just wanted to tie together what I have left on top and maybe a sprinkle towards the back with a second pass planned for next year this would be plenty for now. Also I explained id rather have a lighter sprinkle over a bigger area as I didnt want a hardline hair then scalp going on just a nice 'feathered in' look so the further he goes back toward the crown to space the grafts out a little and he agreed this will give a better look in once grown in and before the next pass.

 

So after a long day, I think it went on for about 2 hrs longer about 9 hrs in all as the doc said I had thick skin on my scalp and the grafts were popping out slightly when planting next to them. The two nurses were also amazing their tireless and tedious work didnt go unnoticed they were always asking if I was ok and if i needed some more anesthesia. Dr. D does all the extractions and makes the recipient sites the nurses just plant the grafts.

Muzzafer then took me back to my hotel where I didnt get much sleep but I rested well and felt no pain whatsoever. I returned the next day for hairwash all after care products and instructions painkillers anti-inflamatory pills etc..Muzzafer took some pics and burned them to cd for me too.

Luckily enough for me this is when I met Clemens Weber who had booked all the hotels transfers for me we had previously exchanged close to 50 emails so I was really glad to thank him in person, after the hairwash we had lunch and chatted for a while about the HT industry for quite some time, it was good to talk to him a very knowledgeable man, although he didnt let me pay for lunch which I tried, insisted infact, but Clemens would have none of it, I thanked him very much, he's a real gent.

 

We stayed in touch over the next few days checking in on me. I was in Istanbul for 10 days in all so had a week to recover before I traveled back to the UK.

 

I could go on filling in details but I feel like I'm waffling now over stories you've heard a million times before lol ! but If anyone has any questions feel free to ask and i will do my best to answer them about my experience.

 

All in all, a truely seamless operation, from start to finish from my very 1st email months ago, to Clemens texting me this morning to make sure I'd arrived home ok !! I cant thank Clemens Weber, Muzzafer, Dr Demirsoy and his two nurses enough they were all superb

 

Ive attached my pre op pics which were originally sent to the doctor and some from immediately post op. I've taken quite a few and am 10 days post op today so I will keep you updated....

 

Many Thanks for your time...

Edited September 18, 2015 by Burlio

[feldeghast]

Hey congrats Man - this experience echoes my own with Dr Demirsoy and his excellent assistants. I had 4100 grafts in May and just seeing the growth coming on strong now. Best wishes and good luck.. just get through the first 2-3 months and its all gravy. Keep us posted.

[wibbles180]

Work looks clean , happy growing !

[Burlio]

Thanks Guys,

 

Just thought I'd say also, some of the advice and support on here which makes up this community it really is amazing. I've read so many posts and threads especially from some of the more regulars, I think without some of your help I would never had done this.So Thanks guys.

 

Anyway here's a few more pics over the last few days up until today, day 10.

 

Yeah I agree gotta get through the first few months, it all feels good now but not looking forward to the ugly duckling phase but its a long road and its only part 1 of my long term commitment to "doing something about it"

[Burlio]

After all that Ive just realized ive put this thread under the wrong topic !!!

Ive emailed Bill to see if there's any way he can get it switched to Experiences and reviews...

[KO]

Is your hair caliber relatively fine/thin?

[Burlio]

Hi KO, yes i do have relatively fine hair calibre. I realise this is another thing that's gonna go against me so I'm just trying to give myself the best opportunity which nature will allow. After my next visit to turkey I'll probably explore the idea of beard hair and possibly smp too. I've always wore my hair as short as possible but I need to address my fut scars also so I'm thinking beard + smp will come into play at some point.

[wibbles180]

Any updates on this thread ?

[Unfair]

Please please do not go with Dr erkan demirsoy, I trusted him with my head and depleted my donor and the damaged my front hairline with 3s and some 4s hairs and I got maybe 20% hair growth out of the 3400 grafts or at least that's they told me, I think the doctor assistance the 2 lady's he have get tired by the first couple hours and they start to rush so they go smoke, as every one smoke there, every 10 min or so , I'm so upset I trusted this doctor amd more upset to trust clemens weber and muzaffer, please people go with a doctor who is known and guarantee his work, and from experience, don't do more than 1500 grafts fue at once it takes Lon time to do more than 1500 and by then grafts start to die , just advise just do more research and don't think about money cuz it's not worth it, he'll take your money and make worse than befor.

[Bill - Seemiller]

So far I have liked everything I've seen from this doctor which is why I am in the process of learning more about him and reaching out to see if he would be interested in being considered for potential recommendation by this community. Obviously, we don't just give out recommendations, we have to prescreen him and learn more about his technique, experience, qualifications, background, etc. and of course we need to see several examples of his results.

 

I look forward to following your progress in seeing how your results grow in in the months to come.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Burlio]

Hi all , I am just past the 6th month point and I will update some pics when I return from work this evening. I am really pleased with how things have turned out so far.

[Burlio]

OK Here is the 6th month pics to update this thread. as I said I am quite pleased so far as KO pointed out earlier in the thread I do have fine hair caliber and also I would like to point out is that I did ask Dr D to approach step 1 of my restoration with the strategy of placing a light sprinkle of grafts over as large an area as possible rather than go for the dense packing for complete coverage in a smaller area. Just my personal decision but with my limited donor I thought this was best for me. Also as I think I mentioned in the opening post I am more than willing to explore to possibility of SMP to plump up the density or maybe contact Dr Hakan in the future in Antalya Turkey, he is a body hair expert so I have beard and chest hair to bring into play if needed. But I am only 6 months into step 1 and that is for the future, step 2 is attack the crown with remaining donor and assess from there. Meanwhile here are those pics....

Edited March 25, 2016 by Burlio

[wibbles180]

Hi burlio , things are coming along nicely ! Out of interest would you say most of your previous fut grafts survived ? Or did you continue to loose them ?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Unfair,

 

While all patients are welcome to share their genuine experiences good or bad whether the physician is recommended or not, in order to keep this forum balanced and fair, patients are sometimes required to privately identify themselves and/or post photos to backup their claims. To see our fair forum policies, visit "Maintaining a Fair and Safe Environment on our Forum for both Patients and Physicians".

 

I was contacted by Dr. Demirsoy's clinic stating that they think they know who you are but would like you to post photos showing your before and afters to back up your claims. In my opinion, this is a fair request since their reputation is on the line. There are plenty of ways to post photos so that you are not identifiable. Thus, I request that you post photos for everyone to see so that people reading this community can draw their own conclusions. Additionally, Dr. Demirsoy and their clinic can then adequately reply to your concerns.

 

In the event that you choose not to cooperate, we reserve the right to archive your posts out of public view if we feel you are purposely being unfair to the clinic.

 

Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

 

Bill

 

P.S. I will be sending you the same message privately to confirm that you received this message.

[Melvin- Admin]

Bill, I contacted clemens befor and told him I wasn't happy with the surgery, I sent him pictures and I really don't care if they know who I am or not, I'm the victim here not the clinic, and let me ask you, would you trust the same doctor if you feel he didn't do a good job the first surgery? I wouldn't. I'm sorry, all I wanted here to tell my story and to let people know that no doctor is perfect, and in my case dr erkan demirsoy wasn't, I'm going to post pictures even though I feel like I'm being bullied to show my pictures to everyone.

 

Unfair I think the appropriate thing to do is create your own thread, I think it's a bit unfair no pun intended to high jack someone else's thread. I don't think you're being bullied but I think there is a time and place to voice your complaints and I don't think using someone else's thread is the appropriate platform.

 

I think creating your own thread detailing your experience with pictures in the surgeon reviews section would be the best place. I look forward to reading your thread and I'm sorry about your situation.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Bill, I contacted clemens befor and told him I wasn't happy with the surgery, I sent him pictures and I really don't care if they know who I am or not, I'm the victim here not the clinic, and let me ask you, would you trust the same doctor if you feel he didn't do a good job the first surgery? I wouldn't. I'm sorry, all I wanted here to tell my story and to let people know that no doctor is perfect, and in my case dr erkan demirsoy wasn't, I'm going to post pictures even though I feel like I'm being bullied to show my pictures to everyone.

 

Unfair,

 

While I can appreciate that you are upset and concerned, it's our policy that you cooperate with the clinic at the very least, which will allow them to share their side of the story. Thus, I've asked you to cooperate by providing them (or me privately) with your full name and date of surgery and by providing photos.

 

If you choose not to do this, I will assume you are not interested in keeping this forum balanced and fair and as a result, it's not fair that we host your comments since you are stifling them from hosting theirs.

 

I will give you another day or two to tell me what you are going to do. If you choose not to follow our policies, I will be removing your posts.

 

Best Regards,

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

Unfair,

 

Since you have not responded and refuse to provide Dr. Demirsoy with the information he needs to be able to respond adequately to your concerns, I have removed your comments. Thus unless you agree to provide this information in the interest of fairness, we cannot continue to let you post about him.

 

While this may seem "unfair" to you, not allowing Dr. Demirsoy to respond is like tying his hands behind his back and punching him in the face. We don't allow this kind of practice here. Thus, if and when you decide you are willing to be fair and have an open discussion about your procedure / results that allows Dr. Demirsoy and the clinic to adequately respond, please contact me privately. Otherwise we cannot allow you to continue posting about him.

 

Best Regards,

 

Bill