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anyone have experiance with Clinic Talizi Georgia


shery

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hello to everyone i am taking interest to go Clinic Talizi in georgia to dr akaki i search it on internet i just want to know if someone have transplataion from that clinic please reply me thanks

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I just had one done, and let me say, I am not impressed with the clinic at all. They are not very professional. I haven't seen the results yet -- maybe I'll love them, but this was my experience.

(1) (good) -- they responded promptly to my emails, and answered most of the questions I asked, although not all. I give them 9/10 here. They also cut me a 10% discount when I asked. I should have asked for 20% or 30% in retrospect. Also, I could book any day I wanted. They don't seem to be particularly busy. This should be a warning sign, however. 

(2) (good) the airport pickup was smooth, and I got 5 nights in a nice hotel near the clinic. (10/10 here)

(3) my consult in the morning with the doctor was awful. First, there is a punctuation mistake on the sign on their door. The doctor took a look at my hair in one second and said he recommended 2,500 grafts, but that he'd throw in 100 for free. Price at $5,400. However, we'd already agreed to do 3000 grafts for $5,400. Thus, I said let's do 2500 grafts at the same rate. The doctor then said, well, actually you need 3000 grafts! Two minutes earlier he'd recommended 2500 grafts. Then he gave me a contract laden with barely-intelligible English. The doctor himself spoke almost no English, and his Russian was barely better. He spoke some English, but apparently couldn't understand any english I spoke, including the word "No". 

(4) Next, the doctor drew my new line on my head. He drew it very crooked -- not symmetric at all. I complained, so he had a nurse come over and tell me how symmetric it looked. It wasn't. We redrew, although the end product still wasn't perfectly symmetric. However, they were in a big rush (with another patient coming in after me), and so they put a lot of pressure on me to just do the operation and not worry about what my hairline would look like. They emphasized repeatedly how quickly they do things. So, if your primary goal is a fast operation, then this might be your place.

(5) the end product still looked asymmetric in the front.

(6) I have blonde hair, but it darkens at the bottom. Thus, I asked for my donor hair to be taken as high up on the back of the head as possible. The doctor told me point blank that this isn't possible. But, he also told me he could easily take another 3000 grafts. given that these aren't all coming out of the same place, I don't understand how there was 0 flexibility in choosing where 2500 grafts come from. This was also lost in translation. 

Georgia is a poor, developing country with low human capital. They may offer cheaper rates, but this is a reflection of lower quality and the rush with which they do their work. They made a lot of other stupid/incorrect comments during my visit. The doctor didn't seem to know what a dermaroller is. The guy who spoke english said he would be around during my procedure, but wasn't. 

Having written all this though, let me respond again in 6 months to see the final product. Maybe it will look great, and all this whining will have been about nothing. 

Edited by Friedman
typo
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1 hour ago, Friedman said:

I just had one done, and let me say, I am not impressed with the clinic at all. They are not very professional. I haven't seen the results yet -- maybe I'll love them, but this was my experience.

(1) (good) -- they responded promptly to my emails, and answered most of the questions I asked, although not all. I give them 9/10 here. They also cut me a 10% discount when I asked. I should have asked for 20% or 30% in retrospect. Also, I could book any day I wanted. They don't seem to be particularly busy. This should be a warning sign, however. 

(2) (good) the airport pickup was smooth, and I got 5 nights in a nice hotel near the clinic. (10/10 here)

(3) my consult in the morning with the doctor was awful. First, there is a punctuation mistake on the sign on their door. The doctor took a look at my hair in one second and said he recommended 2,500 grafts, but that he'd throw in 100 for free. Price at $5,400. However, we'd already agreed to do 3000 grafts for $5,400. Thus, I said let's do 2500 grafts at the same rate. The doctor then said, well, actually you need 3000 grafts! Two minutes earlier he'd recommended 2000 grafts. Then he gave me a contract laden with barely-intelligible English. The doctor himself spoke almost no English, and his Russian was barely better. He spoke some English, but apparently couldn't understand any english I spoke, including the word "No". 

(4) Next, the doctor drew my new line on my head. He drew it very crooked -- not symmetric at all. I complained, so he had a nurse come over and tell me how symmetric it looked. It wasn't. We redrew, although the end product still wasn't perfectly symmetric. However, they were in a big rush (with another patient coming in after me), and so they put a lot of pressure on me to just do the operation and not worry about what my hairline would look like. They emphasized repeatedly how quickly they do things. So, if your primary goal is a fast operation, then this might be your place.

(5) the end product still looked asymmetric in the front.

(6) I have blonde hair, but it darkens at the bottom. Thus, I asked for my donor hair to be taken as high up on the back of the head as possible. The doctor told me point blank that this isn't possible. But, he also told me he could easily take another 3000 grafts. given that these aren't all coming out of the same place, I don't understand how there was 0 flexibility in choosing where 2500 grafts come from. This was also lost in translation. 

Georgia is a poor, developing country with low human capital. They may offer cheaper rates, but this is a reflection of lower quality and the rush with which they do their work. They made a lot of other stupid/incorrect comments during my visit. The doctor didn't seem to know what a dermaroller is. 

Having written all this though, let me respond again in 6 months to see the final product. Maybe it will look great, and all this whining will have been about nothing. 

Hi there ,doesn't sound like a great experience ,can you show any pics ? You don't have to show your face .

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OK, so the final product isn't that asymmetric, but it is noticeably so. And this is after I forced them to redraw my right side (on the left here) higher 4 times. I also didn't like that the front row of hairs wasn't staggered more than it is, but that's a minor quibble. Post-procedure, I noticed the asymmetry immediately, and asked for a few more, and they brushed me off. They had to, I guess, with the next client coming in. Anyway, fingers crossed it will look fine. But when you're paying big money, you want a little more care devoted to issues like your front hair line. 

950675904_image1(22)_postoppic.thumb.jpeg.97b29686ae7c52f41d8dd2190189788e.jpeg

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I chose them because my doctor recommended them, although I didn't do a ton of research. I also had a strong desire to visit Georgia at some point, so just trusted him. I should have done more homework!

So, in May of 2017, here is what my scalp looked like before any treatment (the one with several red dots on my head; bottom pic). 

Second, I'll post a pic of my scalp after one year of Rogaine plus a dermaroller, with also several months of PRP (top pic in fact). I saw some improvement (I think?), but definite improvement when I put Rogaine in my hair, which automatically makes it look thicker, independent of any real effect on growth. (This effect should not be discounted!) The Rogaine foam does not have the same effect though. I don't have a comparable pre-op shaved pic.

Thus, given some small results, but nothing earth shattering, it was natural to go for surgery. I'm also going to go for a full 6-9 months of PRP, and continue the Rogaine and dermaroller just to give the surgery the best chance possible to work. 

I should also mention that I suspect Dr. Akaki, the main surgeon in Georgia, is probably more competent than the guy I saw. He also recommended laser surgery, but my own doctor did not recommend this, and someone else in the clinic told me they didn't have good results with the lasers. Also, I had a positive impression of Dr. Akaki's son, who seemed knowledgeable and took me on a tour and bought me a nice Georgian dinner the day after surgery.

 

 

posttreatment_presurgery.png

pretreatment.png

Edited by Friedman
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Hello, now I'm about 5 days post-ops, and while I'd say the first 3 days went smoothly, my donor area now hurts a bit more than it did 1-2 days ago. I'm a bit worried about an infection. Admittedly, I probably picked at the donor area too much, as much as I've tried not to touch it. Any suggestions from those who have been through the process? Of course I emailed the clinic for advice... 

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Thanks, I'll try it. It could be soothing. However, I thought the scientific consensus on Aloe Vera is that it doesn't really do much?

For me, I always thought cuts heal much faster with Neosporin. Was surprised this wasn't recommended. 

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41 minutes ago, Friedman said:

Thanks, I'll try it. It could be soothing. However, I thought the scientific consensus on Aloe Vera is that it doesn't really do much?

For me, I always thought cuts heal much faster with Neosporin. Was surprised this wasn't recommended. 

here is a recent study on Aloe vera and Donor area

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/29649056/

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7 minutes ago, 2941grafts said:

here is a recent study on Aloe vera and Donor area

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/29649056/

 

Thanks for this. This study makes it sound like aloe vera might be beneficial, but the results are suggestive rather than conclusive. 12 patients isn't that big of a sample size. "Visual analogue scale scores after wound dressing for the aloe vera and placebo groups were 17.18 ± 13.17 and 18.63 ± 11.20, respectively. No statistical significance was found between groups." And this "Three studies of burn wounds demonstrated improved epithelization and one did not. The split-thickness skin graft donor-site study indicated that wound healing time for the control group was significantly different from that of the aloe vera and placebo groups. The healing rate was not statistically different between groups."

 

 

 

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Just as an FYI, here's what I look like 6 days post-OP. I'd say my head/scalp is still quite uncomfortable. Hurt worse yesterday, a bit better today. I can see it's going to be a long, slow process. My scalp is still filled with dried blood. I'm afraid of taking it off as my transplanted hair probably hasn't set yet. 

FYI -- the Talizi clinic said my pain was normal, that there was no infection, and that I should simply take ibuprofen. 

For those who have done surgery, how/when did you remove the blood from your recipient area? (that couldn't come off soon enough for me...)

July 31 2018a.jpeg

July 31 2018b.jpeg

Edited by Friedman
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On 7/25/2018 at 10:02 AM, Friedman said:

I just had one done, and let me say, I am not impressed with the clinic at all. They are not very professional. I haven't seen the results yet -- maybe I'll love them, but this was my experience.

(1) (good) -- they responded promptly to my emails, and answered most of the questions I asked, although not all. I give them 9/10 here. They also cut me a 10% discount when I asked. I should have asked for 20% or 30% in retrospect. Also, I could book any day I wanted. They don't seem to be particularly busy. This should be a warning sign, however. 

(2) (good) the airport pickup was smooth, and I got 5 nights in a nice hotel near the clinic. (10/10 here)

(3) my consult in the morning with the doctor was awful. First, there is a punctuation mistake on the sign on their door. The doctor took a look at my hair in one second and said he recommended 2,500 grafts, but that he'd throw in 100 for free. Price at $5,400. However, we'd already agreed to do 3000 grafts for $5,400. Thus, I said let's do 2500 grafts at the same rate. The doctor then said, well, actually you need 3000 grafts! Two minutes earlier he'd recommended 2500 grafts. Then he gave me a contract laden with barely-intelligible English. The doctor himself spoke almost no English, and his Russian was barely better. He spoke some English, but apparently couldn't understand any english I spoke, including the word "No". 

(4) Next, the doctor drew my new line on my head. He drew it very crooked -- not symmetric at all. I complained, so he had a nurse come over and tell me how symmetric it looked. It wasn't. We redrew, although the end product still wasn't perfectly symmetric. However, they were in a big rush (with another patient coming in after me), and so they put a lot of pressure on me to just do the operation and not worry about what my hairline would look like. They emphasized repeatedly how quickly they do things. So, if your primary goal is a fast operation, then this might be your place.

(5) the end product still looked asymmetric in the front.

(6) I have blonde hair, but it darkens at the bottom. Thus, I asked for my donor hair to be taken as high up on the back of the head as possible. The doctor told me point blank that this isn't possible. But, he also told me he could easily take another 3000 grafts. given that these aren't all coming out of the same place, I don't understand how there was 0 flexibility in choosing where 2500 grafts come from. This was also lost in translation. 

Georgia is a poor, developing country with low human capital. They may offer cheaper rates, but this is a reflection of lower quality and the rush with which they do their work. They made a lot of other stupid/incorrect comments during my visit. The doctor didn't seem to know what a dermaroller is. The guy who spoke english said he would be around during my procedure, but wasn't. 

Having written all this though, let me respond again in 6 months to see the final product. Maybe it will look great, and all this whining will have been about nothing. 

I sincerely wish you the best of luck, but your description of this clinic is really nothing but a wall of red flags. I wouldn't go within a hundred miles of this clinic. Did you not know anything about your doctor before you met him for the first time? Did he not have a body of work posted online that gave examples of his work? He sounds barely competent from your pre surgery consultation and I have to say maybe turning and walking out the way you came in would have been the better choice. 

Judging from your pictures I don't think you will end up with the density you're looking for. I certainly would advise going to this clinic for any more procedures. You only have so many grafts available. Thanks for posting and I'm hoping you're happy with the end result. Please keep us updated. 

 

Also, make sure when you get a second procedure from a qualified and experienced surgeon that you address the hairline first, that is always most important. Moving forward, research in choosing a qualified surgeon  is critical to future success. Take time while you're waiting for your hair to grow to start your research, it can take months and involves a lot of back and forth with doctors via email/phone/Skype. This forum is a great asset in helping you choose. 

Edited by wylie
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OK, here is the 12thd day post-op. For me, around day 7 was when the pain in my donor area really started to subside. The donor area is still visible, but less noticeable than before. I still have scabs on the top of my head -- i've been picking at them too much. When I do, the hair falls out, so I'm naturally worried this will make the results go away, even though I'm now beyond the 10 day mark. Thus my strategy is still to try not to touch at all. Nevertheless, I'm well on my way to having my surgery not be noticeable. 

@Wylie. Agreed. My big mistake was just going with my doctor's recommendation, and just going with the clinic he recommended rather than with the exact surgeon. On the other hand, I think, if my new hair actually grows, my new hairline will be roughly fine. Also, the incompetent doctor didn't even touch my head during the actual procedure, as far as I know. Apparently all the technicians there have been working there 10 years. At least, that's what they told me. If this doesn't work, or looks bad, I'll probably go bald rather than for round 2. 736403865_day12postop.thumb.jpeg.e183aea734562cc384b9f8a53e34905c.jpeg

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Hi, I have learned that generally hair settle in few days but I would wait and give the grafts 2 weeks to anchor in the scalp then apply coconut oil and gently rub them with finger tips. Yes scabs are annoying but the most annoying thing is watching transplanted hair falling of with it. Key is to be patient and gentle.

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1 hour ago, 2941grafts said:

Hi, I have learned that generally hair settle in few days but I would wait and give the grafts 2 weeks to anchor in the scalp then apply coconut oil and gently rub them with finger tips. Yes scabs are annoying but the most annoying thing is watching transplanted hair falling of with it. Key is to be patient and gentle.

 

Yeah, thanks. I think I'll live with the scabs for a few more days. Whenever I try to remove them, often the hairs come with them. At 12 days, it feels too early'ish to lose my transplanted hair. I actually don't have a work function for 14 more days, by which time I'd imagine the shedding will already be advanced. I can go to town on the scabs just before that. 

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12 hours ago, PeloDinero said:

Man, why do people go to these cut rate clonics. You only get a few shots at this. Do your research people!

Good question. I wish I'd have discovered this forum before I had surgery... I'd have had more grafts for sure. 

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So far I don’t see any reason to regret it. Although your experience was not particularly pleasant but the work looks great actually. This clinic is not a shady plastic surgery boutique or new to HT business. Infact it is well know in Georgia/Armenia/Azerbaijan region for practicing HT for many years. Also there should be a good reason behind your home doctor recommendation. The wait game has started and I think you will be satisfied at the end.

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14 hours ago, 2941grafts said:

So far I don’t see any reason to regret it. Although your experience was not particularly pleasant but the work looks great actually. This clinic is not a shady plastic surgery boutique or new to HT business. Infact it is well know in Georgia/Armenia/Azerbaijan region for practicing HT for many years. Also there should be a good reason behind your home doctor recommendation. The wait game has started and I think you will be satisfied at the end.

So you think looking at his pictures that he is going to be happy with the density he'll get from the number of grafts he received? You might, but I sure don't. 

 

Friedman I'd suggest you spend some time looking at FUE results on this forum, and look at the immediately post-op pictures. Notice what those patients looked like in relation to the pictures you posted. Another pass is going to be necessary, but getting it done on the cheap the next time will mean you'll have limited options and very limited scalp donor, and using non scalp sources is very expensive and not nearly as reliable. You' always spend more on repairs, and your results are usually never as good as doing it right the first time. Some people have good success at the cheaper clinics in Turkey, and even India, and your risks are far lower than what you took in Georgia. 

 

Save your money, do your research, and get it right the next time, and you'll be a happy camper. 

 

 

Edited by wylie
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^Hey Wylie, so, you think it's obviously a smart idea to distrust what my doctor, who is a smart guy and who I trust, recommends, and instead go for what some guy wrote on the internet? A downside of this site is that there are many paid forum advocates. The good thing is that they are up-front about this. So that means taking the advice of someone paid to steer me to a certain clinic, vs. my doctor? Granted, I was annoyed at several things, but mainly the particular doctor I dealt with was incompetent, but the transplant was performed by the better doctor's staff. 

You might be right I won't get a full head of hair, and won't get the density in the front, especially in places where I had no/little hair before. However, I also thought that, at least with Rogaine in my hair, in my own view at least I didn't look *that* terrible before. I'm not starting at a point of no hair. I've always had thin hair, and actually don't want to rob too much from the donor area. If I were to do it again today, I would probably go for 3,500/4,000 instead of 2,700, but I'll count this as a success if I see substantial noticeable improvement. I'm not that keen on the idea of robbing another 1,500 hairs from my donor area, but of course I'll need to see what both areas look like in six months...  

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1 hour ago, wylie said:

So you think looking at his pictures that he is going to be happy with the density he'll get from the number of grafts he received? You might, but I sure don't. 

In general It depends on how many the graft transplanted were double, tripl or quadruple.

From the pictures here natural density is achievable.

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^I will hope. 

The doctor told me there were a lot of double and triple grafts. Who knows, though, they might tell everyone that... and does that mean I had 80 triples, or 800? 

Anyway -- another comment. I am two weeks out now, and the top of my head (recipient area) still doesn't have full feeling restored.

 

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OK bros (and broettes), here are my pics a bit more than one month out. My hair is slowly regrowing, and the transplanted hair is slowly falling out.

I've also had my 2nd PRP injection (did one with the surgery), and have started back up on the Rogaine for the past couple of weeks. Scars in the back are not so visible... 

 

1854149659_aug29pic2.thumb.jpeg.e225e19b59163529bcbdce07ecfe978f.jpeg530009561_aug29pic1.thumb.jpeg.7e2f384e0e35366789bc0bd6fc2e00da.jpeg

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