Redemption for Dr Hakan Doganay?

[HTvirgin83]

Redness subsiding but still noticable if close and under particular lighting

[HTvirgin83]

Crown showing less redness than front line.

[HTvirgin83]

Donor area healed well, and covers surgery. Hair growing at slightly funny angle but think that's becoz initially hair growing through scabs. Think this will resolve itself when it's cut down

[alexmczane26575]

Redemption ? I wouldn't go near him with a barge pole. He messed me life up for nearly two years and wouldn't give me a full refund. The only bits of the surgery he did himself on me is still crap.

 

In hope you get a good result friend but for anyone else avoid as he is a charlatan.

[HTvirgin83]

I'm sorry to hear you had such a disappointing experience. I think the case of Dr Doganay is a difficult one. He was for years revered by many and had strong advocacy from his patients. Clearly things have gone downhill, and i sympathise with those who have had poor experiences because I know how important it is to each and every one of us who finally decides to go through with surgery, and holds high hopes of a good result. Dr Doganay claims errors of the past have been resolved and I suppose ive made myself a bit of a guinea pig by risking my result to see if he has in fact reverted to previous operating practice which yielded happy customers. It's too early to judge for me but I will keep everybody updated so they can use my experience to determine whether Dr Doganay is an option for them or not.

[Mountinvan]

Thank you for sharing your Turkish journey. It is well written and informative. One of the reasons to venture to Turkey in these unsettling times is the cost factor. Did that factor in your decision? I am also wondering whether the Dr. gave any concessions to you--other than working on a Sunday--for documenting your journey? The hands-on involvement of the Dr. seems critical, as does the picking of the tech. I imagine it is harder for the Dr. to leverage his time, but the inconsistent results we have been reading about of late (especially from Turkish clinics) seem related, in part, to the "commercialization" of the procedure and almost assembly line process. Hair transplantation seems to me to require artistry and professional competence par excellence; if the combination is lacking, the results suffer.

[HTvirgin83]

I researched into hair transplants a few years ago and shortlisted Dr Doganay as one of my favourites as i saw so many successful results with natural looking hairlines. I then put a HT to back of my mind and really didn't follow these forums for a couple of years. When I found an opportune time to get it done I contacted Dr Doganay reps to arrange and it was only then I started seeing all the bad reviews etc. by then I'd booked in a date that worked for me. I'd only really considered a couple of other Drs and they were unable to accommodate me, so my options were to either get comfortable with Dr Doganay or not get a HT done. I spent a lot of time understanding why results had deteriorated and speaking with the reps and ex-patients before eventually deciding to go ahead as planned. I admit it felt a bit risky but I was really keen to get a HT and this was my chance. I began documenting because I know how important customer feedback is to the ongoing reputation of the clinic and therefore felt it was my best chance of getting best treatment. When I arrived at the clinic, they offered me a discount for continuing to document my progress as they want to repair negativity surrounding clinic. That said, this is an offer every patient is now offered and is contained in their registration paperwork so I'm not receiving any special discount. The discount is only reimbursed at end of 12 months if ive continued to update my progress on forums.

[HTvirgin83]

Maybe u haven't read this thread properly or misunderstood. No I didn't go to this Dr for money or discount. I used him because he produced a lot of good work before, and he was able to carry out my HT at the time I wanted. I am not here to promote the Dr, albeit positive experiences may do that indirectly. I am here to share my experience for the benefit of all, whether that be good or bad, time will tell.

[HTvirgin83]

Progress so far. Feeling positive about outcome. Difficult to tell level of growth to date in crown area but pleased with how temples are coming along.

[HTvirgin83]

Hoping it continues to grow as it has for past month or so

[HTvirgin83]

Annoying I can't work out how to group these photos together!

[HTvirgin83]

Ive attached a couple of photos showing my shock loss and additional loss of hair following 3 months off minoxidil. I am now 2.5 months back into use of minoxidil and my hair density has much improved. The first picture was taken 6 weeks ago.

[HTvirgin83]

Second photo taken today showing improvement.

[HTvirgin83]

Update pics attached. Progress over last month hasn't been as strong as previous month but I seem to be around where I should be at this stage. Ive attempted to roughly count how many grafts have come through in the temple area and it looks to be around 25% of what was implanted. I know the next few months will define the overall success so hoping growth picks up and density improves. As it stands I have a new hairline which is great but it's very thin so needs more volume which hopefully will come over the coming months.

[HTvirgin83]

I wish I could work out how to get more than 1 pic attached per post!

[hsrp10]

I think as others have mentioned, it seems you are writing this to get your money back in the form of some discount from a clinic that people have reported having issues with on a forum that is dedicated to protecting fellow HT patients, so I don't really know what you expect us to say.

 

It doesn't seem very unbiased in that regard.

[HTvirgin83]

If you read the thread its all clearly explained. I'm not going to say it again to justify myself.

[HTvirgin83]

6 month pics attached. Taken indoors under natural light. Generally happy with crown which has filled in nicely and I can still feel plenty of small hairs coming through. Temple - one side has grown well and hair is thick already. Illusion is good but under bright light you can tell it's not very dense, that said I'm quite happy with that side. The other side is thin and no where near as good. Hoping that will improve over coming months.

[HTvirgin83]

Really quite pleased with my result. Still few months to go so not expecting any new growth but for some of the hairs to strengthen. Being greedy would like a little more density and if looked at closely then can see difference vs native quite easily but when styled it gives a good illusion of decent density. All in all, very pleased.

[HTREGRETS]

Your results look great! When you say there is a difference between the native hairs and transplanted hairs, what do you mean?

[HTvirgin83]

Just that because I have reasonably good density where my native hair is, the transplanted areas doesn't have the same density, and that is noticeable when you look closer. That said I knew that would be the case. A HT can't replicate native hair density, especially not the amount I had. But the positioning means it looks denser than it is which I'm pleased about.

[HTREGRETS]

You should still have some additional growth. Do the grafts seem darker/coarser than the native hair? Or is it just a density issue?

 

Also, how many grafts did you receive in the temples? It seems like you and I have similar hair characteristics, blonde/medium-fine hair. I am much more receded though. It's hard to find blonde hair transplant results/testimonials online.

 

One more questions, what does the donor look like? Can you shave short without any noticeable scarring?

[HTvirgin83]

No the grafts blend in very well with native hair, both in terms of coarseness and colour, but the density isn't the same so it takes a little arranging and styling to get a natural look. That said I didn't have a huge session. At front I had 1,300 grafts which also included thickening up the front where my native hair already was (this is done to keep a certain look in the event I loss hair naturally there).

 

I have my donor area shaved to number 2 and you really can't tell anything unless you know I've had surgery and examine it closely. Then you'll see a white dots scattered across, but you really would have to be close and know what your looking for to tell.

[HTvirgin83]

So I'm 10 months in now. Optically still happy with the result. Wouldn't say there has been any noticeable growth since month 8 but I'd come along a fair way by that point anyway. Overall my hair has thinned out because I've not been able to apply minoxidil effectively when my hair has been longer. To get the thickness back I will need to cut my hair shorter again and start again. In terms of the transplanted areas, one side is definitely stronger than the other and one side still has a lot of wavy hairs growing from it. I'm hoping these will straighten out in time as hair becomes stronger. That said once it's styled it's not overly noticeable. Will update again at 12 months.

[HTvirgin83]

So I’ve reached my 1 year anniversary of my hair transplant with Dr Doganay. Overall I am exceptionally happy with the results.

I think the result is very natural looking and whilst not overly dense, this was to be expected given I only had 1.3k in front hairline and 1.3k to cover thinness at back. I found minoxidil strengthened overall result but suspect as hair has grown longer and it’s become harder to apply directly to scalp I’ve lost some of the thickness minoxidil gave. That said I’m still extremely happy with how my hair looks now. It’s been a life changing experience. My confidence has really improved. It’s been the best money I’ve ever spent. I may at some point go back for more surgery at some point and if I do I would have no hesitation to use Dr Doganay again. My results speak volumes for his abilities. If anyone would like to contact me to discuss my experience feel free.

Update pics attached.