ASMED Review - 5135 Grafts - 12/13 December

[Timetodecide]

Hi all,

 

My lurking on these forums has been immensely helpful in me making the decision to undergo a HT with ASMED. I want to "give back" while I am at home with nothing to do as these reviews really helped me to take the plunge myself.

 

A little background:

 

I'm 26 and have been experiencing diffuse MPB hair loss since I was 20/21. I'm naturally a fairly confident person but recently it began falling out very aggressively and was becoming increasingly difficult to hide which hit my confidence more than I anticipated.

 

Rather than allow it to plague me, I decided earlier this year that I wanted to get a HT despite my young age and met with a few doctors here in the UK as well as others. After much deliberation, the sheer number of positive reviews plus the value for money led me to pick ASMED. I was (and still very much am) convinced that this is a world class clinic.

 

I won't go into every detail of the experience as it's very similar to what others have had (picked up at the airport, photo, examination by Dr Koray, agree the hairline, hair shave, photo, two days of surgey etc) but want to summarise my thoughts in a series of bullet points and photos:

 

- My patient co-ordinators were Sema and Suzanna were EXCELLENT. I communicated with Sema prior to the surgery and her answers were always clear, efficient and friendly. Upon arriving, both Sema and Suzanna supported me and were even friendlier in real life. They accompanied me for 95% of the time I was in the clinic (always taking care not to leave me alone) and did everything from interpreting with the local staff, answering questions, made sure I always always comfortable etc etc etc. I cannot emphasise how much of difference this makes when you are thousands of miles away from home and about to undergo surgery. It made the whole process feel easy and smooth - they are great people.

 

- The wider staff who work here from the drivers, receptionist, Dr Umut (anaesthesiologist, cool guy), tea lady right through to Dr Koray all very clearly love their jobs. This is not a superficial point; I firmly believe that a happy workforce translate into a) a better hair transplant for you and b) you feeling relaxed and happy when you're there rather than anxious/nervous etc. Cannot impress this point enough.

 

- The surgery itself: split into two days (approx 8 hour per day) and was a relatively painless affair apart from the local anaesthesia. It's an odd experience as for the extraction phase, I was just watching a film on the iPad, then Dr Koray comes in and spends 30 minutes doing the incisions and then for the extraction phase I fell asleep as I was fairly sleep deprived (process was the same across both days). For me, this wasn't an uncomfortable experience but be warned, it involves lots of time sitting down/sitting up but Suzanna was there most of the time making sure that I was comfortable, giving me breaks from it etc. I'd been warned that the second day was a little more uncomfortable which is true due to the fatigue you feel but didn't seem anymore painless. Overall, not bad at all given it's about 16 hours of surgery!

 

- Your time with Dr Koray is a little more limited than you may anticipate as they are typically working on 4 (maybe 5, wasn't clear) at any one time. Yet he was efficient and honest with me - telling me that with my hairline it's likely I will need another operation in a few years without finasteride and insisting that my hairline design reflect the design of my face (as opposed to my more aggressive preference). He's clearly very confident and well respected so I decided to fully trust his opinions.

 

There are tonnes of things that I haven't mentioned - i.e. the lunch, kit they give you after etc but I feel that they have been covered by other ASMED posts but feel free to ask. I'm posting this review mostly to "give back" to this community, track my progress with you folks and ensure that the good work by the team at ASMED is recognised. Fingers crossed that I get a good result!

 

Hope this is useful to you all - I will post updates monthly.

Edited December 18, 2017 by Timetodecide
INclude Erdogan in the title

[Timetodecide]

Hi, does anyone have thoughts on this? would like to get a third opinion if there work looks good or not please.

[HG1]

Hi Time,

The work you have had done looks like the usual high standard Asmed work. Very clean and great density at the front. Your loss is similar to mine, albeit your crown is slightly weaker than mine but hairline and vertex slightly stronger. Settle back, don't stress too much and wait for the transformation. 6 months from now, you will be a happy camper I expect.

[Bill - Seemiller]

I agree with HG1, Asmed's aka Dr. Erdogan's "standard" work is outstanding, so I trust you will be very happy when it grows in. Please keep us posted with monthly pictures so we can follow along and encourage/support you :-).

 

Best wishes for happy growing,

 

Bill

[rysker6]

Asmed's my number one choice, and you and I have similar hair loss patterns. Really wanna see how this thing turns out. Im just nervous about carrying the money.

[ejojer9]

Good hairline considering your age. You may need another ~1500 grafts down the line for crown but I say hold off and use toppik is you don't reach the density required. I hope you've invested in non surgical treatments as well.

[HG1]

Asmed's my number one choice, and you and I have similar hair loss patterns. Really wanna see how this thing turns out. Im just nervous about carrying the money.

I had the same concerns rysker6. I used a money belt under my shirt. I had no issues at all. You will be met inside the airport by the Asmed driver and taken straight to the hotel or clinic. Just use common sense and you will be fine. However it was the first time in my life, I was relived to part with €11,500 :eek:

[Timetodecide]

Good hairline considering your age. You may need another ~1500 grafts down the line for crown but I say hold off and use toppik is you don't reach the density required. I hope you've invested in non surgical treatments as well.

 

Thank you. Can I ask what you mean by 'considering your age?''. I'm unsing propecia now which will hopefully prevent the need for anything further. Think I'll just be happy to be rid of the bald spot but let's see!

 

I've added a 7 day photo here for anyone interested. Seems pretty well healed with the donor area nearly undetectable to anyone who's not looking for it. That's been a real pleasant surprise. Still lots of crusts around my transplanted hairs though, can't wait for them to go!

[Shuriken]

Asmed's my number one choice, and you and I have similar hair loss patterns. Really wanna see how this thing turns out. Im just nervous about carrying the money.

 

I was nervous too. I always looked out for my bag and imagine the relief when I handed them over to pay.

[Timetodecide]

Here's a 3 week update as i'll be travelling for the next 2 weeks. All crusts disappeared at the 2 week mark and I have entered shedding. Mentally prepared to hate what's coming!

[hairlossPA]

Here's a 3 week update as i'll be travelling for the next 2 weeks. All crusts disappeared at the 2 week mark and I have entered shedding. Mentally prepared to hate what's coming!

 

good luck. I'll be following your case.

[ozdownunder]

i had my 5000 grafts surgery with Dr. Erdogan on 18/1 and 19/1. Similar to your design. For me the surgery pain was not an issue. The waiting game of 12 months is bit too much after spending all that money and hassle of travelling from Australia to Europe

[lucabery]

hi Timetodecide,

 

I was in ASMED with you in those days, I wrote you a PM.

I'm one of the two italian guys.

[SpursFan]

Does ASMED also do the PRP treatment as part of your HT that some other clinics offer?

 

They seem to be more expensive as well, why is this?

[Timetodecide]

Hi all, nearly one year later - here is an update of the result. My hair looks much, much better now but as you can see, there are some gaps at the front. I also think the hairline is a little too far back. What do you think?

[Fozzie]

Think it's a good result based on where you were pre HT and made a big cosmetic difference overall. From the pictures, frontal area does show up scalp and maybe lacking some density but some of the pictures do appear be taken under harsh lighting by the looks of it. 

Regarding the hairline....when you had the HT done was the clinic aware you would be taking finasteride? I maybe wrong but from your write up it appears the decision to take fin was made after the HT and the clinic were under the impression you wouldn't be taking it? If that's the case, I can see why a conservative approach with the hairline was taken because as you are in your 20s, it wouldn't be a great move to go with an aggressive hair line at your age without being on medication imo.

[Payam]

8 hours ago, Fozzie said:

Think it's a good result based on where you were pre HT and made a big cosmetic difference overall. From the pictures, frontal area does show up scalp and maybe lacking some density but some of the pictures do appear be taken under harsh lighting by the looks of it. 

Regarding the hairline....when you had the HT done was the clinic aware you would be taking finasteride? I maybe wrong but from your write up it appears the decision to take fin was made after the HT and the clinic were under the impression you wouldn't be taking it? If that's the case, I can see why a conservative approach with the hairline was taken because as you are in your 20s, it wouldn't be a great move to go with an aggressive hair line at your age without being on medication imo.

You can see the sparseness in his last picture though which is not under direct light, I would have expected more for 3000 grafts considering how dense his frontal third was implanted at.

Op what diameter is your hair?

[DEB1982]

11 minutes ago, Payam said:

You can see the sparseness in his last picture though which is not under direct light, I would have expected more for 3000 grafts considering how dense his frontal third was implanted at.

Op what diameter is your hair?

I disagree. I think from his starting point and the area that has been covered he has had a huge cosmetic improvement. 3000 grafts across a large area which isn't solely focused on just the hairline isn't going to provide a dense hairline. 

[Payam]

1 hour ago, DEB1982 said:

I disagree. I think from his starting point and the area that has been covered he has had a huge cosmetic improvement. 3000 grafts across a large area which isn't solely focused on just the hairline isn't going to provide a dense hairline. 

I agree about the cosmetic Improvement, however my point was that 3000 grafts over 90cm^2 is 33fu/cm^2 if uniformly Implanted, in this case it was spaced out and his hairline is more densely implanted so probably closer to 40fu/cm^2 if not higher in the hairline, which by all means should give a denser looking result unless I am missing something here, perhaps op has very thin hair

[BjornBorg]

Thank you for coming back and updating.

Are YOU happy with your result? Do you feel like a new man going out?

[Seesaw]

I had a similar hair loss pattern to you and I got 3100 grafts planted in my frontal third. I ended up with the same look as yours with some gaps in the hairline, which look more exposed under severe light. I guess that that's what can be expected with 3000 over the frontal third. However, there's obviously a big improvement in your look and it looks like you've got plenty of grafts left in your donor zone for density and lowering the hairline if you choose to. 

[Gasthoerer]

Thanks for the update. You had really a huge area to cover and you look much better than before. 

Some more infos would be great (hair diameter, number of singles and multis etc.). To give an opinion about the hairline design prctures from the front and side are required to assess your proportions. I am also not sure if you have the sweetspot in length between sides and top. 

[VicTNYC]

The coverage looks good, although, if I’m being honest, the density looks lackluster, but given the needed coverage area it’s understandable and a big improvement from your pre-Ht photos, and you might even see better improvement from months 13-18.

Thanks for posting!

[Viru.K]

please update your recent pics?