My Hair Loss Story

[AMR1]

My Hair Loss Story

 

I started losing hair at a very young age of 24. Slight thinning of hair on the top and receding hairline at the front. Then rapidly started losing hair over the next 2-3 years with no control. I then started looking into hair transplants which was the new thing in 1996 as traditional medications had major side effects like minoxidil etc. I had the treatments below hair transplants in the early days when it all started and results were not bad for the time as the technology was very new. I still was losing hair as I was still young and to be honest made a plunge to early in my life into transplants as you still continue you lose hair until you are approx. 40 years old.

 

I had two FUT surgeries in Wimpole Street Clinic by Mr May and my last FUT surgery with doctor Humayun in Pakistan for some corrective surgery and to fill up the gaps made by loss of hair over the past 10-year gap in surgeries.

I was not to impressed with the UK results so started looking out of the box and researched online and found Dr Humayun in Pakistan in November 2008. I being confident on Dr Humayun's work after my research and reviews online as by this time the WWW era was here and made it a lot easier to find overseas doctors and the patient review?s so finally I decided to go for it and was hoping for better results than the UK as it had been 10 years and technology had moved on. The surgery cost around ?1100 at the time inclusive accommodation which is not the best.

 

After the surgery the work seemed good and I was happy with the new hairline and corrective surgery and was eager to see the final results 12 months on. The overall experience of having surgery done in Pakistan was a pleasant one and his team was excellent and I would highly recommend their service to anyone thinking of having hair surgery in Pakistan. His team were suburb and handled everything from airport pick up to the hotel to even food!! They really knew what customer service is and I flew in from UK and back on a plane in a gap of 48 hours, I did not have any swelling, infections or any problems with the surgery and 10 days after surgery visited my GP (doctor) in London UK to have the stitches removed and he commented on the clean work and the scar to the donor area, saying this scar is hardly noticeable and has been done very professionally which gave me a great boost of confidence on his work yet again as I have not been able to see the scar myself, and a comment like this coming from another doctor say's everything!!

So now eight years on and more natural hair loss and technology has moved on from FUT to FUE and even more advanced to robotic implants I started all over on my research into new technology and the best and most affordable place to have surgery done.

 

Background on the Two Main Procedures

 

The two main procedures that are emerging as the most successful are Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) and Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT). They are both essentially a form of transplant from existing hair follicles but there are significant differences. The most important factor in both methods is keeping the hair follicle unit healthy and intact.

FUE takes singular or small clusters of follicles from an area of strong healthy hair which is then prepared for transplant in the balding area. This process requires superb skills by the surgeon and can even be conducted by doctor-directed robotics technology.

 

FUT involves the removal of an area of skin with a crop of healthy hair. Also known as a graft, this harvesting-style method is similar to laying grass turfs for an even lawn! The downside to this practice is the risk of scarring.

What people are finding so good about these two ways of hair restoration is that the hair follicles behave as they would have in their previous location. This means that the results are long lasting and they may not experience repeated hair loss in the recovered area until they become very old or their genetic chances are complete and rapid balding at a young age.

 

PRP therapy is used in hair restoration for natural looking results

With a thin needle, your own Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) is injected into the scalp. Then the growth factors in your blood cells do their job and hair growth is naturally stimulated.

PRP Hair Restoration is suitable for both men and women. It is a state of the art, non-surgical, totally natural, alternative medical procedure used for the treatment of hair loss or hair thinning. It is an injectable treatment which uses the patient?s own blood.

 

Our blood plasma (PRP) contains active growth factors which can promote hair growth. Helping to restore one?s confidence, the end result is a fuller, healthier looking head of hair.

The cost of PRP hair treatment can be considerable, as more sessions may be needed to obtain the desired result.

PRP is also being used in conjunction with some hair transplant procedures.

Over the past decade traveling abroad for medical treatment has become very common and it seemed like a good idea again to look overseas then UK as results here are not the best. So extensive research and Istanbul kept popping up again and again. Not just hair transplants but for many different types of surgeries from teeth whitening to Hip Transplants.

 

Turkey has now over 500 Hair Transplant clinics so in this maze how and who to choose was the big questions.

I looked and hundreds of reviews and sites like ?What Clinic? which are sponsored site by doctors so they were more adverts and not review?s.

 

Another site was realself which has true reviews by patients that have actually undergone the surgery so started looking on there.

 

Of course, I looked on ?hairrestorationnetwork.com? but very little about doctors in Turkey and they seem to be more focused on USA & UK doctors which was to expensive as the cost of say 4000 grafts in UK is approx. ?7000-?10,000 whilst compared to Istanbul ?1300 - ?1700 inclusive of 5* Hotel and Transfers. So, it is a no brainer!

 

There are many institutions that vet doctors and some of the leading ones in this field are ISHRS (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery for Hair Loss and Baldness) (link removed by moderator) & ABHRS (https://abhrs.org) and one should read up on these sites to gain more knowledge and see if the doctor you are going with is recognised and approved by these international organisations. Doctors recognised by these organisations in Turkey will be about 10-20% on the more expensive side but I suggest you go with them and not let cost be a factor on such an important surgery as results will speak for them self.

 

I contacted around 20 clinics in Istanbul and now with the use of WhatsApp made life much easier sending images and getting instant response?s.

 

My search after hours of chatting on WhatsApp boiled down to a few names.

 

1. Dr Emrah Cinik

2. Dr Gokhan Gur

3. Dr Hasan Findik

4. MCAN Clinic

5. Clinic Centre

6. Vera Clinic

 

So, after I avoided the bottom three as they are clinic agencies just selling you a transplants and I wanted to be talking to a Doctors practice directly and not a third party. Which then narrowed my search down to the top two names.

Dr Emrah Cinik reviews kept popping up everywhere and many were within last few weeks so that tempted me to contact a patient directly and after talking about his experience bingo I decided he was the man for the job.

I spoke to the clinic directly and booked with Ozlem (+90 542 234 0034) Dr Cinik assistance who took care of everything once I had sent her a copy of my confirmed Airline ticket on Turkish Airlines (my choice) and first time I used the airline but must say excellent service and new planes.

 

The package cost was 1990 Euro?s for maximum grafts and that would also include the new PRP treatment and donor hair from chest and beard area including 5 Star hotel two nights and all transfers from airport, hotel, clinic etc.

Booked for 10th October 2017 and decided for extra two days in Istanbul to do sightseeing before the operation.

Landed on 7th October 2017 by Turkish Airlines and met by Saleem the driver at the airport and driven to the Grand Cevahir Hotel, Sisli, Istanbul by an exec Mercedes Vito Van, had till Monday afternoon free to explore the city as I wish as my appointment was at 2.30pm to meet Dr Cinik.

 

I was picked up on the day by Saleem again and taken to the clinic and met Dr Cinik and from there it was all like clockwork.

 

Meeting / Consultation lasted about 10-15 mins where he spoke about what I wanted and what he can do realistically. Asked all medical questions and then started planning hairlines and taking before images. Blood samples taken for test and PRP treatment.

 

Paperwork then got done and consent form signed and payment made for surgery. (up to this point no deposit or payment had been requested)

 

Once that was done walked towards the hair prep area to clip of all existing hair and wash. After that to the operating room and change of clothes and footwear and prepared for surgery.

The next 10 minutes are the worst for me as I hate needles which is the part where local aesthetic is injected in to the head and after that you really have no pain what so ever.

 

Operation lasted approx. 8 hours in total and was painless throughout.

 

After operation recovery was about 30-45 minutes then driven back to hotel. Next morning again picked up for a check-up and removal of bandage?s and then the following day your first hair wash and ready to fly back home.

Your first few nights of sleeping are not painful but uncomfortable as you need to sleep on your back but apart from that no issues.

 

Today is my day 6 and so far, NO bleeding, oozing, swelling or infections so very happy as swelling og the head is very common in hair transplants.

 

A very professional and well organised set up by Dr Emrah Cinik and I can highly recommend their service to anyone if Istanbul is the place you want your transplant.

Follow my blog for up to date progress on this surgery.

Edited October 22, 2017 by David - Moderator

[Djlazerblue]

Would be better starting a new thread mate

Edited October 22, 2017 by David - Moderator

[TakingThePlunge]

Would be better starting a new thread mate

 

I've gone ahead and moved this post to its own thread. I have also deleted a duplicate that was posted to another thread.

 

Additionally, I removed the link to the IAHRS which is affiliated with the Bald Truth Network as they do not allow linking back to our community,

 

Regarding the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), it is my understanding that it is merely a professional organization and that any physician who pays the dues may become a member. I don't believe they use any sort of vetting process.

 

As for the Hair Restoration Network being focused on US and UK doctors is not accurate. We prescreen and recommend physicians worldwide. The unfortunate truth is that many practicing physicians around the world do not meet our high standards. That said, our recommendation list is not comprehensive. Of course you'll find excellent surgeons across the globe that are not currently recommended by our community. However, we do our best to find those hair restoraiton physicians performing state-of-the art follicular unit hair transplantation and invite them to participate in our recommendation process. We also encourage members to nominate surgeons they feel are worthy of recommendation. Ultimately, the physician must agree to participate in the vetting process which includes addressing questions or concerns from our community members and some doctors do not like to open their work to public scrutiny.

 

No recommendation process is perfect. It's important to exploit as many resources as possible when performing due diligence. We believe we offer multiple tools and resources to assist prospective hair transplant patients in avoiding pitfalls and finding the best surgeon to meet their needs.