3500 Scheduled with Dr. Cinik 12/12

[lukeyb1687]

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!

 

After so many years, I am finally taking the gumption and undergoing an FUE procedure with Dr. Cinik.

 

I have been umming and arring for too long and after seeing some amazing results I decided to pull the trigger! I originally wanted to go with Dr. Koray Erdoğan but due to finances I am going with Dr. Cinik. His work has been well represented on several other forums and I've seen a few pop up here.

 

I've been loosing my hairline since I was 18 and after 12 years of postponing it, the universe lined up for me to be able to make it happen. As an English actor living in Los Angeles, I live in a town where looks sometimes overshadow talent, so I have decided that I am going to take the best of both worlds and make myself as marketable as possible (with versatile hair). As much as wigs and styling have helped in the past, I am a point where my hair is constantly on my mind...did the wind blow? How does it look when I get out the pool/ocean? Is the camera picking up the receding hairline?.

..pretty much the all the thoughts going through everyone's mind on this forum!

 

I am scheduled for approx. 3500 grafts, to the frontal third of my head, on Tuesday Dec 12th in Istanbul and I am excited and nervous! Looking at the future I am excited to see what it brings me with a new full head of hair, even if it's just confidence in the wind haha!

 

I'll keep you all updated over the course of the weeks so that people can use me as a resource if they want.

 

Attached are the pics that I sent the doctor, so you can see where my progression started at. I am fortunate that I have very thick donor hair, so I am excited to see how the grafts to hair ratio!

[lukeyb1687]

I was scheduled to have my operation on 12/12, however my layover flight got cancelled (due to the crazy ice storm) from Heathrow to Istanbul. Rescheduled for 12/14! Staff were very accommodating and understanding of the last minute reschedule. Will keep you all posted!!

[lukeyb1687]

After the westher delays with Heathrow and BA cancelling my flight I was finally able to.get my procedure done.

 

I had 3500 grafts in total, will ask the doc for the hair breakdown.but he mentioned ALOT of 3s!

 

I had my blood work done the night before surgery and consultstion with Dr. Cinik. We decided on a hairline that would suit my face. He was genuinely a pleasant and funny guy, and made me feel welcomed.

 

I just got back to my hotel. My surgery was at 7:00a this morning and was collected at 6:30 and taken to the.hospital. When I got there Sara (Dr. Ciniks assistant) was there and greeted me extremely warmingly. We headed up stairs, I had additional blood drawn for PRP and then they had a delicious cheese.sandwhich for me. After that I paid and they took me off to shave my head.

 

Once in operating room Dr. Cinik came in and re.assessed the hairline. We both agreed and then.onto the table.I.lay, the facility was nice too. I then had 2 assistants put apporx.30-50 anesthetic needles in me (I may be.exaggerating) but that hurt like a mofo! I almos lt said forget the transplant, but ny mind cleared up after needles and pain subsided.

 

During the extraction of the grafts I fell asleep and began snoring. After they were.done.Dr Cinik woke me with a warn smile and asked to flip over so he may start incisions. He placed a protector on my donor area that became easier to wear after time progressed.

 

After another set of anesthetics the donor area was opened and so.began the official start!

A few hours passed and I became.frustrated.and.fidgety. Took a rest room break.and.then back to business! Anaesthetic started to.wear off.towards the things of the op, but I just posted through. I didn't realize how much of a mental game this procedure is!

 

I.got bandaged up, handed and explained my.medication and shampoos.

 

Tomorrow I will be back at 6:30 am.IST time before my flight.to LAX to have the.bandages.removed.and.a.gentle clean (possibly). I'm now back at The Grand.Chevair and exhauseted...combo of lac xof sleep and surgery.

 

I'll have to Attach photos when I'm home as they are too large a file ...will try get the photos of donor area when bandages are removed!

 

Looking at the placement I wish I brought it down 1cm but we'll see how it.comes out!

[lukeyb1687]

Found a resizer app! Hopefully this works!

[lukeyb1687]

Additional photo didn't load

[Steeeve]

The work looks great!

[lukeyb1687]

Thanks Steeeve!

 

I'm happy and anxious to see how it all turns out! Also doctor used 0.7mm motor punch. Photo with band on but will get a better photo when I'm state side and can remove it safely with help. It's there to.reduce swelling but boy is it tight!

 

Leaving Istanbul to Los Angeles with a brief layover in London.

 

Hoping travel doesnt suck too much!

[HG1]

Hi Luke,

Congratulations on taking the plunge. Easy bit done, now the hard bit (having the patience prior to seeing results)

You will have know doubt read countless posters on here say -

 

Dont look in the mirror for the next 3 or 4 months

Don't compare yourself to others

Don't worry, the magic will happen

And so on. I may have said and thought it myself, it's total rubbish. You will do all of the above :eek::eek::eek:

 

Are you on meds? (May have missed this in your introduction). I would suggest you consider this. I have been using Proscar for the last 7 weeks (after using a generic brand prior). The difference in the vertex is marked. Best of luck in your recovery, be great to see your continued journey.

[lukeyb1687]

Hey HG1,

 

I took finasteride for a about 6 months and while it helped it caused me to suffer from severe cystic acne. Ill be sticking to saw palmetto daily and biotin ince every 3 days.

 

Haha I'm looking every 20 minutes to see how it looks! But will probably stop in the.coming weeks as it will drive me crazy! You look like you're healing wel! Keep.us all posted on your recovery!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Lukey,

 

I agree that the work looks great. Now all you have to do is wait it out. It's a long wait, unfortunately, but at the end of the road, it ends up being worth it.

 

Please post your monthly progress so we can follow along with your procedure and results.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[lukeyb1687]

Hi Bill!

 

I sure will be posting updates regularly

Wish I could skip ahead to the next 6-12 months to some lush locks and not think about the wind messing up my hair haha!

 

I thought I got lucky with missing the swelling of my head...until wife and I cut the band off...we both laughed so hard!! I think that photo explains itself! ??

 

The other photos are from today (3-4) days post. With the time zone difference it's closer to 4 days. Still swollen but looking much better. I took pictures of the donor area with and without the flash...my wife pointed out the white string too haha! Just started biotin 1000mg and a B-complex as Biotin usually causes me to breakout with terrible acne, after doing some research its due to an off ratio of B-5.

 

I've been wearing the loose fitting cap given after surgery religiously when outside and no-one has been the wiser that I've had a transplant. I've certainly felt the pressure pains and also the tightness across the entire head. The first day or so it was rather painful to raise my eyebrows! But that's now subsided. I am likely going to drive myself crazy as I keep checking my head every time I walk past a mirror. Not looking forward to the shed and ugly duckling phase!!

[lukeyb1687]

Well it's been a week after surgery! 7 days!!

 

Wow, the time has flown by! As of today Scabs are slowly coming off on their own. Dr. Cinik recommend to wait for 10 days to gently massage them away, but as some are falling I'll take that as a bonus!

 

I did loose a graft a few days ago (triple hair ) when I took my hat off i disturbed it and blood came out of the hole. However since then I have been extra careful as to not disturb them!

 

I do feel slight pain during the day but mainly when I go to sleep at the top of my donor area. The tightness of the forehead went away relatively quickly, I couldn't lift my eyebrows without it being painful. There is a dull pain consistently where the nerves are flaring up on the donor area, but from my understanding that will subside in a few weeks.

 

Uploaded are picture pre-op and post-op as well as 6 days (car journey) and today!!

 

Very excited to see the scabs come off soon! I still have some form of swelling and bruising across the temples and frontal third but it's going down each day. Also it's incredible how much facial hair changes the shape of your face! Having not being able to go to the gym and consume my normal amount of calories has caused me to drop a good amount of weight! But I am looking forward to getting back into the gym and getting a fuller face again! I actually like the look of the immediate post op shaved head!

[lukeyb1687]

Well it's been a week after surgery! 7 days!!

 

Wow, the time has flown by! As of today Scabs are slowly coming off on their own. Dr. Cinik recommend to wait for 10 days to gently massage them away, but as some are falling I'll take that as a bonus!

 

I did loose a graft a few days ago (triple hair ) when I took my hat off i disturbed it and blood came out of the hole. However since then I have been extra careful as to not disturb them!

 

I do feel slight pain during the day but mainly when I go to sleep at the top of my donor area. The tightness of the forehead went away relatively quickly, I couldn't lift my eyebrows without it being painful. There is a dull pain consistently where the nerves are flaring up on the donor area, but from my understanding that will subside in a few weeks.

 

Uploaded are picture pre-op and post-op as well as 6 days (car journey) and today!!

 

Very excited to see the scabs come off soon! I still have some form of swelling and bruising across the temples and frontal third but it's going down each day. Also it's incredible how much facial hair changes the shape of your face! Having not being able to go to the gym and consume my normal amount of calories has caused me to drop a good amount of weight! But I am looking forward to getting back into the gym and getting a fuller face again! I actually like the look of the immediate post op shaved head!

[realtytr]

one more paid advertising from Dr.Emrah Cinik

if you are a real patient what did he offer you? i mean like if you open thread to here and if you write good reviews %20 %30 discount or something else like that?

[johnp557799]

one more paid advertising from Dr.Emrah Cinik

if you are a real patient what did he offer you? i mean like if you open thread to here and if you write good reviews %20 %30 discount or something else like that?

 

Why do you assume Dr Cinik paid him to write his review? Do you have any evidence? It seems you are a new member here (you signed up 25 mins ago!!!!), and in you first post you accused someone for being dishonest. Should we assume that you are being paid by other clinics to write this type of posts?

 

Why admins allow this type of posting?

[Steeeve]

Omg, please don’t respond to realtytr. This person has one forum post. That says it all. Lukeyb, this person is a troll. Anyone worth a damn here knows that you’ve been posting on this forum for at least half of a year now. Everyone please just ignore it and keep posting your awesome results.

[realtytr]

Hah now i am sure that it is a paid adversting from Dr.Emrah Cinik instantly attacking to me with multi accounts by Dr.Cinik’s internet trolls why are you so angry? it is my opinion you must respect if you open this thread you must respect everybody’s opinion .This forum is not Dr.Cinik’s forum ..

[johnp557799]

There's a huge difference between "opinion" and "accusation".

[realtytr]

yes i am sorry i forgot that your doctor cinik call himself best doctor of the Turkey also award winner doctor it is my fault forgive me

[lukeyb1687]

I can say with all my integrity that I have not been paid nor compensated with any form of discount for my procedure. I chose Dr. Cinik due to the price and results I had seen on other forums. I've been a member of this site for several years and after having my transplant decided to share my experience to help others, which is what the forum is about. Good or bad results I'll be posting my experience.

 

With that said... I'm at day 16/17. Scabs went away approx day 10. There is redness still and my donor area is rather numb in some areas as well as red too. I contacted the Dr and he said that its normal and can last a few weeks. I'm hoping that my right side on the donor side suffered some shock loss as it looks slightly over harvested at times, but could also be due to the redness. To help with the redness and numbness I do apply therapeutic grade essential oils (frankincense, peppermint, ylang ylang, and geranium) mixed with a carrier oil, fractioned coconut. It certainly helps soothe the tingles. My scalp also became very dry so I applied the coconut oil to help moisturize the skin and that helps, only used this once but the dryness went away overnight!

 

I'm still on my routine of 1000mg biotin every other day, a b complex everyday, saw palmetto everyday, zinc everyday, vitamin d everyday.

 

 

In the shower hairs have started to fall out since day 12/13 approx 50-100 daily....it's happening the shedding phase gas begun! The left side certainly took a hit on the hairline and is falling out quicker but I feel comfortable going out in public with out covering up (unless I'm in the sun/day I'll wear a hat) but everyone I've seen says I look great and love the shaved head look. When I tell them about having a hair transplant they're amazed that I had one as I didn't look like I was balding and can't tell I've had one now. They just think I burnt my scalp a little in the sun.

 

 

(Pictures uploaded are from the past week. Black t-shirt is this morning)

Edited January 2, 2018 by lukeyb1687
Auto correct palmetto to planet

[lukeyb1687]

Thank you @HLS2015

 

No but I can ask and see if he know's. During the consultation he said that I have very thick donor hair appt of 3s and 4s not very many singles...which is great I guess! Looking at my hairline there are.very few singles there mainly 2s (from what I can see). Now just waiting for the redness to go down. The numbness has certainly dwindled down compared to just a few days ago. I was worried for a bit! ��

[hairlossPA]

Hey Lukey. I'll definitely be following your case. I am considering Dr. Cinik so please keep us updated!

[r5000]

Hello, Im from LA. I have an appointment at the consulate in a couple of weeks and then after that im scheduled to fly out to Istanbul to meet up with some doctors out there before I actually jump the gun and get my transplant with the first doctor I see online. I want to talk, observe, and get the feel of the doctor before I choose one. Cinik is one of the doctors I will be visiting. My question is this, do you think I will be granted a visa to travel to Turkey? I heard that there is issues going on so I was wanting to ask someone that has recently traveled out there, Thank You.

[johnp557799]

You can purchase a visa (E-Visa) online ($20) or at the airport.

[r5000]

E-Visa is not an option for American Citizens, they blocked that option and directed me to a website that requires me to set up an appointment at my local consulate. Also getting a visa at the airport is not available for Americans right now either.