Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted February 4, 2017 Regular Member Share Posted February 4, 2017 Hi y'all, I finally did it. I went to Istanbul on December 11th, 2016 to take one of the steps that I've been wanting to take for a long time. Just for you information, Dr. Hakan used to be located in Antalya, but he moved with his staff to Istanbul like 8 months ago, which was ideal for me. I got to Istanbul like 3 days before the procedure to enjoy the city. What can I say, what a beautiful city. I wish I had more days to spend there. Anyways, the reason I'm writing this thread is to tell you about my experience with Dr. Hakan, and also to keep posting about my journey and progress. I will do my best to respond and post as frequent as possible. This forum has been a big help for me and I'd love to give back to this amazing forum. I did my research before I went to Dr. Hakan. I talked to two different doctors before I went ahead with Dr. Hakan. I talked to a doctor in Houston, TX and Mexico (thinking it will be cheaper). Both of them told me they will do about 2500 grafts (FUE). The doctor in Houston told me he will do a like a C shape and he cannot do more than that. So, I decided to fly from Houston, TX to see Dr. Hakan, and to have the operation with him. I uploaded the pictures of my hair to Dr. Hakan's website and I got an immediate response. The guy who was contacting me was Mustafa. He was really quick and he responded to all of my questions. Mustafa is located in the U.S. and he is one of the coordinators for Dr. Hakan. He sent my pictures to Dr. Hakan and he told me I need about 4000 grafts (FUE). I thought this number was good for me (better than 2500 grafts). We agreed on the price and they were extremely nice to honor the discount that they had in September 2016. NOTE: Dr. Hakan doesn't speak English, he just knows the basic and the necessary words to use during the operation. Every time I talked to him, Didem, who is his assistant, was there. She spoke good English and was there for me every time I needed something. The procedure was scheduled on December 14th, 2016. I saw Dr. Hakan on the morning on that day and he did the consultation. When he saw my hair, he told me the donor area looks healthy and good. He decided to perform the operation in two different days, back to back (December 14th and 15th). NOTE: All the extraction was performed by two technicians (Ahmet & Aygun), who were in my opinion very good. All the implementation was performed by Dr. Hakan. During the extraction period, Dr. Hakan wasn't at the room at all times, but he kept coming in and checking on me and asking me and his staff questions. In the first day, and after the technicians extracted the grafts, we had a break for lunch. During that time, Dr. Hakan informed me that I might need more than 4000 grafts. He said the grafts don't look very strong and he need to extract some grafts from my beard for thickness. He wanted to extract about 1300 grafts from my beard, which brought the total of the suggested grafts to about 5300 grafts (they ended up doing 5150 grafts in total). Of course, I told him that might be very difficult to do because of the money. Didem said "don't worry about the money." They did everything they could to help me out with this issue and I agreed to extract grafts from my beard. The first day, they extracted and implanted 2500 grafts. The operation was good. However, the part that I really HATED was the anesthesia part. It was very painful and it was the worst part in having a HT. The second day, they extracted and implanted 2650 grafts. They extracted grafts from my beard in this day. Single grafts: 1200 Double grafts: 2050 Triple grafts: 550 Beard grafts: 1350 Overall, my experience with Dr. Hakan and his staff was amazing. Even though not all of them spoke English, I felt I was welcomed and greeted in every good way. Dr. Hakan was very nice and humble. He was concerned about the final results and he didn't do anything to me unless they discussed that with me. The services that they provided to me such as transportation, food, and hotel were in my opinion 5 stars. As a person, I'm not a picky guy; however, I notice and see the things that others do to me. I haven't completed my two months yet, but so far I feel really good about this operation. I'm taking all the medicines and supplements that they suggested to me. I'm gonna take them all religiously. I will post my progress every month and I will keep you updated. I want to thank everyone in this forum who shared his/her experience with us. I will do the same, and please feel free to ask me any question. If I don't know the answer, I will contact Didem to get the answers to y'all. Photos to be followed. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted February 5, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 5, 2017 These pics show my hair and how it looked before the HT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted February 5, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 5, 2017 These pics show the room and the staff for Dr. Hakan. From right to left: 1) Can: He is an accountant for Dr. Hakan. He also helps in picking up and dropping off people from the airport, hotel, etc. He speaks English, not very fluent though. 2) Iliriana: She helps in the operation room (Nurse). She speaks very good English. 3) Ahmet: He is the technician who extracted the grafts. 4) Me 5) Dr. Hakan: He is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. Cool and humble. 6) Aygun: She is also another technician who extracted the grafts. 7) Didem: She is kinda the one who runs the place. She speaks good English and she makes things happen in that clinic. She is also the one who I was contacting through WhatsApp. 8) Tawfiq: He is the one on the front deck. He speaks English, Arabic, and Turkish. 9) Aysel: She helps in the operation room (Nurse). There is another nurse and manager who are not in the staff picture. These are all the people who I met in Dr. Hakan's clinic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted February 5, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 5, 2017 These pics show the new grafts that were implanted in the first day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted February 5, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 5, 2017 These pics show the grafts that were implanted in the second day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted February 5, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 5, 2017 The pics for my beard were taken the first day after the second day of the operation (Dec 16th, 2016). The pics for my head were taken the 10th day after the second day of the operation (Dec 26th, 2016). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted February 5, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 5, 2017 These pics show how my hair looks after completing one month after the operation. The pics were taken on January 15th, 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member HTvirgin83 Posted February 7, 2017 Regular Member Share Posted February 7, 2017 You were there just days before me so I look forward to following your progress with interest! Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted February 13, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 13, 2017 How is your progress going, and how many grafts did you have? I'm going to complete two month in a few days, then I'll post new pics. Good luck to you too : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member DEB1982 Posted February 13, 2017 Senior Member Share Posted February 13, 2017 Looking forward to seeing your two months pics. I hit two months tomorrow. Think I'm just coming out of the ugly duckling stage now thank goodness. First Transplant: 5000 FUE grafts with Dr Koray Erdogan ASMED, December 2016 First Hair Transplant link: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/185564-5000-grafts-fue-13th-14th-december-asmed-dr-erdogan.html Hair loss regime Propecia 1mg daily Saw Palmetto 450mg daily Biotin 1000ug daily MSM 1500mg daily Pumpkin Seed Oil 1000mg daily 1% Nizoral shampoo weekly Lasercomb x 3 weekly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted February 14, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 14, 2017 Exactly, thank goodness. I think having a HT is a good practice to learn how to be very patient. We are still in the beginning, and I can't wait to see the final results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted February 19, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 19, 2017 These pics show how my hair looks after completing two months. The pics were taken on Feb 18th, 2017. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted March 21, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 21, 2017 Pics were taken on March 17th, 2017. I'm liking the progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member HTvirgin83 Posted March 21, 2017 Regular Member Share Posted March 21, 2017 Looks very promising for 3 months. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted March 22, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 22, 2017 Thanks I'm very happy with it and I can't wait for it to get thicker. Crossing fingers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted April 23, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 23, 2017 Pics were taken on April 17th, 2017. Extremely happy with the the progress. I ran out of finasteride two days ago and I went to Walgreens and they told me I need a prescription I'm not sure why I need a prescription for that.I wish I bought couple of boxes from Istanbul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted May 22, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 22, 2017 Pics were taken on May 15th, 2017. Things are looking good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Ernie Posted May 22, 2017 Senior Member Share Posted May 22, 2017 Looks like you're going to be one of Hakan's successful patients. Congrats 3185 FUT with Dr. Rahal on 2/17/16 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/182611-fut-3185-dr-rahal-day-after-pics.html 1204 FUT with Dr. Rahal on 3/27/17 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/186586-round-2-rahal-1204-fut-frontal-third-same-area.html ---> total of 4389 grafts to my frontal third via FUT ---> 1mg finasteride daily since 1999 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted May 22, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 22, 2017 Thanks I think he did a great job, plus I've been good doing the other things that he asked me to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member HTvirgin83 Posted May 24, 2017 Regular Member Share Posted May 24, 2017 Out of interest, were you recommended to take finesteride and minoxidil? Did you take either of these before your hair transplant? Results so far look very promising by the way. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted May 25, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 25, 2017 Yes, the doc told me to take finasteride 1 mg (daily), minoxidil (twice a day), biotin 5 mg (daily). In addition, I've been using the following items (Dr. Hakan didn't tell me to buy them). - A laser comb that I use 2-3 times a week. - PURA D'OR Anti-Hair Loss Shampoo that I've been using for about 4 months. - Tea Tree hair and body moisturizer, which I use after I shower. - Aria Starr Beauty ORGANIC Argan Oil, which I use after I shower. I mixed it with the moisturizer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted May 25, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 25, 2017 Sorry, I didn't answer your other question. No, I've never used anything before the HT. I was simply using hair and shoulders shampoo. If you want, I can take a pic for all the products that I've using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted June 26, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 26, 2017 Sorry for the late response, for some reason I didn't get an email about a new reply. To answer your question, no, I've never taken anything for my hair before the HT. Honestly, I'd recommend taking any thing that would help make my hair grow thicker and faster. I didn't notice any side effects from the things that I've been taking for my hair, so that's a plus. I'm really happy with the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TheGuyWithTheNewHair Posted June 26, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 26, 2017 Completing six months. These pics were taken on 6/16/2017. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member HairsGone Posted June 27, 2017 Senior Member Share Posted June 27, 2017 Looks great! Good result and more to come. You must be pleased with the outcome so far FUT 3394 grafts, Dr Ball, London, July 2015 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/180308-3394-fut-mr-ball-%40-ziering-london.html Combined FUT & FUE 3873 grafts, Dr Karadeniz, Istanbul, June 2016 http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/183923-3-873-grafts-combined-fut-fue-dr-karadeniz.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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