HT with Dr. Hakan Doganay - 4316 Graphs

[yoyooo]

What up what up???

 

So, I have decided to pull the plug and go with the HT surgery. I am scheduled for surgery April 11th, 2018 with Dr. Hakan Doganay in Antalya, Turkey.

I've been suffering from baldness since I was 23 yrs old. I'm 43 now and couldn't be more excited to finally get the procedure out of the way to open a new chapter in my life.

I've been wanting a HT for about 15 yrs now. I was never excited about getting it done because of the strip scar (FUT). I'm a Norwood 5 and am looking to get around 4500-5000 graphs done.

I've been speaking to a gentleman by the name of Mustafa for the past 3 months now and I couldn't be happier of his professionism and props response.

 

I will post pictures and keep everyone updated of my travels and experience...

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

April 14, 2018

 

1st Day:

Single: 400

Double:1066

Triple: 690

 

2nd Day:

Single: 290

Double: 575

Triple: 375

Beard: 1000

 

Total Graphs: 4316

 

Finasteride: 6 months prior to surgery 5mg

 

Hey there - So I arrived in Turkey from Miami and I'm 4 days post-op with Dr. Hakan Doganay. I would like everyone reading to know this was the best decision I ever made by choosing this Doctor and this location. I got the added benefit of meeting up with my friend in Turkey as we decided to do this together so it made for an easier decision to go.

 

From discussing the logistics with Mustafa (based in the US) to booking and arriving its been a pretty quick 3 months of anticipation and the payoff is beyond what I expected. As a side note, my buddy also got the procedure done a couple of days after me and arrived a couple of days after me as well. I arrived in Antalya, was picked up by Tolga who was our driver for the remainder of the trip, super nice and friendly guy. Doesn't speak a lot of English, but we managed to communicate just fine. He dropped me off at the Holiday Inn which is about 20 minutes from the airport and advised he would pick me up in the morning. This happens to be an extremely nice Holiday Inn, modern updated rooms, spa, gym etc. and the food which is included is fantastic. In the meantime, as I landed I received a text message from Didem (Didi) who was the consultant through that entire stay. She speaks fluent English and was as sweet as can be and she confirmed the next morning what time to be ready for pick-up from the hotel.

 

The following morning I was picked up at 9:30am and headed over for my procedure, the office is located 5 minutes from the Holiday Inn. I was greeted by Didi and we started the consultation. We discussed everything from the pre-op to post-up. As we were going through the final details the surgeon, Dr. Hakan Doganay, walked into the room to introduce himself. He is super friendly, soft spoken, and immediately put me at ease. Kind of like a big teddy bear. I was extremely nervous having had only 3 hours of sleep the night before. He pretty much understood everything, but didn't speak a lot of English so Didi does all the translating. He drew out the hairline which I loved using a tool that has a laser on it, and we proceeded to discuss my expectations of the surgery. He told me my donor area was normal, not good and not bad. Also, he took a look at my beard area and we agreed to try to take out 800-1000 graphs. So, all in all we agreed on 4000+ graphs and he said if we can extract more from the back of the head then Ahmed (the extraction assistant) would do so. This would be a 2 day procedure which I already was informed of prior to arriving. I was expecting 4500-5000 graphs, but was not going to argue from someone who has decades of experience. He also didn't want to pull out too many graphs because he didn't want me to recede and scar to a point that I can't wear my hair short. So, I agreed and we got started.

 

We took some pictures which I will post when I receive them from the clinic and they started to shave my head and beard area. They cleaned the area after by shampooing and took another set of pictures. Then I met Ahmed, the extractor, and the entire group of assistants (there were a total of 4-5 people in the room during both extraction and implantation). Ahmed is a very cool guy and always laughing. The nurses couldn't be more professional and very inviting. I can't begin to tell you how that put me in a calm state of mind, finally. Didi and Dr. Hakan spoke to Ahmed and set up the game plan. They took me into the room and started my life changing procedure. Ahmed gave me a series of anesthesia which hurt a bit but lasted 3 minutes tops. He was able to extract 2116 graphs from the left side of my head to the middle. We then took a break for lunch and went back into the room for the implantation with Dr. Doganay. The doctor did all of the implantation personally. I was extremely happy because the experience from a Dr. that's been doing this for decades is priceless! Its an art... if you put the graphs in the wrong direction or implant them wrong you're officially not going to get the results you're expecting. That's another reason why I decided not to go with Dr. Koray Erdogan.

 

After speaking to Dr. Koray Erdogan's assistant Sema, very poor response time btw, I was turned off to them. Plus, she was extremely rude and short tempered on the phone. I later found out Dr. Erdogan has his technicians do the entire surgery from A to Z and just comes in to check up on them periodically. He apparently has several clients in different rooms in one shot all in a days work and thats great for him but I prefer the personalized experience. Don't get me wrong, I've seen a ton of great results on YouTube from Erdogans office, but wasn't going to take any chances for a poor result. More importantly when speaking with Erdogans office, my friend was told he needed 5,500 grafts which we both thought was excessive since he's only mildly receding. Doctor Doganay on the other hand told my friend he could achieve the results he wanted with only 2,200 grafts and he did achieve the results? Go figure. My point is of course you're going to get more density if you implant more hair but its unnecessary.

 

Dr. Hakan started with the incisions and completed the insertions in 3 1/2 hours with a half hour break. 6 hours total for the first day. They patched me up and drove me back to the hotel. That evening I felt a little discomfort but hardly any pain at all. The whole procedure was pain free except for the few minutes of injections. My friend and I both had some swelling and he had some discomfort which was resolved with the pain medication given.

 

2nd day:

Got picked up the same time and headed over to the clinic. Today was a bit of a bigger procedure because I was getting the beard graphs taken out. I was a bit nervous because I wasn't looking forward to getting injections on my chin area. We proceeded as day one with the other half of the back of the head which Ahmed extracted 1200 graphs and 1000 graphs from my beard area. The injections hurt a bit more because my head was a bit sore from the previous day and a bit more sensitive. I'm not going to lie, the beard injections had me cringing, but then again it only lasted 2 minutes. I'm a baby when it comes to needles and the pain factor might be a bit different for other patients. We took a 30 min lunch break and Dr. Hakan came in to finish up which lasted roughly 3 1/2 hours. This part of the surgery was a total of 6 hours. They bandaged me up and sent me home. As I got dropped off my friend arrived and was freaking out of how I looked -he loved it. He was so excited and couldn't wait for his procedure the following day.

 

3rd day:

We got picked up and headed on over to the clinic. My friend got his consoltation and his procedure was on its way. While he was in the room getting worked on I went with Dedim (Didi) and she started taking off the bandages and the first wash.

 

Overall - If you can rank the AHD Clinik 1 out of 10 - I would give it a 12, hands down.

Didi was one of the sweetest and charming women I have ever met. She took such good care of my friend and I from the second we met her to the last minute we said our good-byes. The nurses and Ahmed were super sweet and absolutely professional. Dr. Hakan was in such great spirit throughout the days and to see a Doctor enjoy his job this much is priceless.

 

I just want to say that if anyone is thinking about this procedure like I have been for the past 15 years - DON'T EVEN HESITATE. Granted I haven't seen the results being 4 days after surgery, but the first part of my mission was successful. Think about it, You can have your hair back in 6 hours with little to no scarring, this was undoable only 5 years ago for a proper FUE. It's not like the FUT procedure where whey leave a scar on your head from ear to ear. It was a no brainier for me and my friend!

 

FYI - I wasn't paid to write this or asked in any which way!!! Just speaking from my heart because I know there are so many people out there that are considering this procedure and have their dilemmas. Without all the testimonials I read for the past 8 months I would have never even considered it and now I'm sitting here writing this. I hope this clarifies some questions people have and remember you DON'T have to live with hair loss like I've been since 23.....

 

I'll post some pictures once I receive them from the clinic and download some from my phone...

Edited April 24, 2018 by yoyooo

[yoyooo]

Here are some pictures before and right after Post-Op....

[yoyooo]

Here's a few pics of 7 Day Post-Op.....

 

Beard area has healed completely! Actually healed on the 5th day.

The donor area looks like its healing pretty well just for some soarness and itching.

The first 3 days was a walk in the park but the last 4 have been a bit painful. I can't

rest my donor area on a pillow without feeling a burning sensation along with aching and throabing.

I've been taking Tylenol and a Vicodin so I can get through the night.

They say the pain should subside within the next few days so we shall see.......

[yoyooo]

At my 10 day mark!!!

 

Just showered and started to wash my head with a bit more force.

I put baby oil on all the transplanted graphs and let it sit for 15 min. This way

it absorbs into the scalp and loosens up the scabs. I then shampooed and washed it off.

I lathered my hands with some shampoo and let it sit on my head for about 7 min to absorb and loosen up the scabs. In the mean time I let my shower run a bit with warn water so I can get a good steam going. By the second time I can feel that a ton of the scabs have loosened up and falling off. I will repeat this process 3 times today and tomorrow. I really don't want to scrape the scabs off and want them to fall out naturally. I find this method effective so I'm going to stick with it.

 

In regards to the sleeping situation its been some what uncomfortable. The donor area feels super sensitive when I rest my head down on a pillow. I've been reading that every person is different when it comes to healing and this is strictly nerve damage. Also , that it will repair itself in the upcoming weeks. This burning and stinging sensation is very discomforting to say the least. Just saying.......

[yoyooo]

10 Day Post-Op Pics....

[SWdan]

Looks good. The shedding phase should be starting soon. Then the waiting.....

[yoyooo]

Post scabs - 11th day....

 

The past 2 days I've showered 3 times a day. Put the baby lotion on and waited a half hour as usual and then shampooed. Once the lotion was off I shampooed 3 more times leaving the soap in for 7-8 minutes at a time. This process took about 50 minutes. What happens is that the shampoo soaks up and loosens all the scabs. I really didn't have to do much but to slightly run my fingers through the scalp and they all fell out on their own. The key to this is to get the scabs nice and moist. You don't want to be picking at it and scrapping it off.

 

Here's a picture right out of the shower....

 

I'll start posting pictures every 15 days from now on.....

[JohnCasper]

Looking good “Yoyoo”. I’m so glad you’re pleased with your results so far. You have a lot to look forward to. I’m also glad you had a good experience in Turkey. Do you mind sharing with us the total cost of your procedure including your expenses to Turkey?

[yoyooo]

John - Thanks so much! Can't wait till the 4th month to actually start seeing solid results.

I was quoted 1.5 euros for the donor area and 2 euros for the beard area. Since my friend came along as well they gave us a deal for 1.5 euros in its entirety.

So, all in all I paid 6,474 Euros which came to $8,900. Think about it, it would cost roughly $7 - $10 a graph in the U.S. which translates to $30,000 - on the low end. It included transportation and lodging (with food). I would consider this a STEAL!!! Especially having the procedure done by Dr. Hakan and not by an intern/technician.....

Edited April 24, 2018 by yoyooo

[yoyooo]

14 day update and everything is going well but the sleeping part. The donor area is still sensative and a bit uncomfortable to sleep on. I feel like its getting better day by day but still wondering how long will I have sleepless nights?!?! I really don't feel any discomfort in the daytime its mostly when I rest my head at night. I've been taking 4oz shots of Turmeric and Ginger for an anti-imflamatory once a day and drinking a ton of water. Ever since I started that 2 days ago I feel a tad better. I'll continue and keep everyone posted....

 

FYI - My friend that got 2200 graphs implanted with me is completely healed and has no discomfort at all. I'm thinking I had a larger (2 day) procedure done and that might be the case.

[yoyooo]

Day 18 update:

 

Sleeping much better these past few days. The donor area is still sensitive but healing day by day. I feel much better. Now the beard area and the donor area are super itchy at night. 2 out of the past 4 nights I've been waking up and applying over the counter mild cortisone to make the itching stop. The recipient area looks and feels great. Still not exercising or going to beach with exposure to the sun. I have 12 more days and I'm in the clear so.....

 

I'll keep everyone posted on my progress....

[JohnCasper]

Sorry to hear your having a hard time sleeping. Everyone reacts differently regarding the healing process. I had over 5,000 grafts done in a multi-day procedure in 2012. I slept better by stacking a couple pillows so the angle was different and less pressure on the back of my head. You’ve probably already tried that. It will definitely get better each day.

 

Glad you got a good deal in Turkey. I’m sure you will be pleased with the results in a few months. You can certainly pay $7-10 per graft here in the states but where I had my surgery the cost was $4-5 per graft depending on the number of grafts. Also Dr. Vories does all the extractions and insertions himself.

 

Best of luck to you as you heal. Keep us posted with updates.

[yoyooo]

20 Day Update:

 

I feel much better! The itching is almost gone and the sensitivity to the donor area is improving day to day. In the past two days I started to realize my hair is falling out.The shedding has started - welcome shock loss!!! While shampooing I'm noticing a ton of hair falling out.From all the forums and the Dr.'s assistant this seems normal. I guess this in the next step in the recovery phase. Looking forward to being bald again - haha NOT.

[yoyooo]

23 Day Update:

 

I'm seeing a lot of hairs falling out by the dozens in the shower. Its only normal at this stage of the game which is making room for the new ones to start growing. I really can't wait to see the progress in the upcoming months.....

 

Sleeping is getting better everyday besides the itching in the donor area. Once a night I wake up irritated and itchy. Its also a bit sensitive and still sore. I feel like its healing but its taking its time. At this rate I'm probably looking at 6 weeks for it to completely heal. Half way there I suppose. The beard area I'm noticing a lot of ingrown hairs and a irritated. I've been keeping it a bit long, pulling all the ingrown hairs out, then shaving. I've been doing this for the past 10 days and its getting much better.

[yoyooo]

1 Month Update:

 

Everything is back to normal. The itching has completely stopped in the donor and beard area. I can officially start working out, going back to the beach, etc etc.... I know you might read that you can resume normal activities 10-14 days after the procedure, but my Dr. requested that if I can to wait the 30 days then to do so. So, I did! I didn't want to take any chances damaging any graphs along the way. I got a haircut today for the first time and you can't even tell I had anything done. I got a buzz cut 1-1/2mm all the way around. The donor area filled in very nicely and isn't red at all. The recipient area is a bit red as you'll be able to see in the pictures, but I don't really care. I'm well aware I'm in the ugly duckling stage and can't wait for month 3 to start seeing results.

 

I'm posting before and after pictures of the haircut.....

 

I'll post another set of pictures on day 45.....

[yoyooo]

45 Day Update:

 

The shedding has stopped and I'm completely bald again. Another phase of the procedure behind me. I stopped taking finasteride. I have been on it for 8 months now with no side effects. I'm just not a big fan on taking pills everyday. I started on day 31 with my laser cap (IGROW) and shampooing with different products. I've been using Argan Oil Shampoo and conditioner and Hair Surge Shampoo. I've read thats its the leading shampoos on the market so I decided to give it a whirl. Hair Surge consists of Caffeine, Ketoconazole, and Saw Palmetto. These ingredients are well known to help with the strengthening of hair follicles along with making sure they stay in place. Argan Oil Shampoo is an all natural shampoo that enhances shine and strengthens the follicles. I believe that this combination will help me keep and strengthen what I have today and the future....

 

I've posted a pic of day 45

[Esq]

Thank you very much for a detailed diary, yoyooo! I've underwent the procedure with dr. Doganay on May 28-29th myself and I'm watching your progress very carefully I'm really looking forward for your happy victorious updates!

[yoyooo]

I hope your experience was a good as mine Esq. Yeah hoping on some growth soon.

How many graphs did you get?

[yoyooo]

2 Month Update:

 

So today is marks day 60 and everything is healed. The donor area and the beard area are back to normal. I had some pimples in the donor and beard area so I went to the dermatologist and he prescribed me a cortisone cream. Within 3 days it all went away. The ugly duckling phase is in full effect. I lost almost every single hair that was implanter. I just got my second haircut and went real short so the hairlines will blend in with the remaining hairs. The redness is almost gone. I went in the sun a few times but applied spf 30-50 not to burn. Now I'm just waiting for the little sprouts to start growing in. With every testimonial that I've read and seen on youtube month 3-4 is when you start seeing some results. It can't come fast enough. It's kind of surreal to actually see how bald I looked before the operation once again. Anyways, Here's a picture of day 60....

 

I'll post another in 15 days

[Esq]

I hope your experience was a good as mine Esq. Yeah hoping on some growth soon.

How many graphs did you get?

 

Thank you, I guess my experience was as good as it can only be with this procedure ) Didi was really nice to me, and thanks to her I was much less nervous than I thought I'd be.

 

When I've sent my photos to them initially, they estimated around 2800 graphs, but on the consultation before the operation doctor said that 2500 will be quite enough and this is what I paid for. Eventually they did a little more, around 2600, and took no extra for that!

 

So far, I'm very happy with my choice of doctor, and I made it taking your review into account )

[yoyooo]

Thank you, I guess my experience was as good as it can only be with this procedure ) Didi was really nice to me, and thanks to her I was much less nervous than I thought I'd be.

 

When I've sent my photos to them initially, they estimated around 2800 graphs, but on the consultation before the operation doctor said that 2500 will be quite enough and this is what I paid for. Eventually they did a little more, around 2600, and took no extra for that!

 

So far, I'm very happy with my choice of doctor, and I made it taking your review into account )

 

So one of the main reasons I wanted to start a blog and write about my experience was to try to help at least ONE person with his/her decision. If it wasn't for all the forums out there I would have never been able to feel comfortable and make an educated decision. So on that note I'm extremely happy you went with Dr. Hakan. Didi and the entire staff also calmed me on both days of my procedure.

I'm starting to see baby hairs pop out everywhere and hoping the growth spurt started. I'll try to post every 15 days. Stay tuned...

[yoyooo]

Today marks the 3 month update!  Huge change from the past month. I can actually see a hairline forming and looks to be coming in a tad thicker. I can also feel thousands of little hairs sprouting. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for the upcoming months. As I've read this month starts to show true results. I'm still shampooing everyday with the products I described last month. I have taken myself off of all the medications I have been on (finasteride and biotin) just because... 

I've posted a picture up and I'll keep everyone updated next month of the progress. 

Have a great summer everyone.....

[rodhethan]

Hi...How much for the Hair Transplant?

[alex84]

On 7/11/2018 at 12:44 AM, yoyooo said:

Today marks the 3 month update!  Huge change from the past month. I can actually see a hairline forming and looks to be coming in a tad thicker. I can also feel thousands of little hairs sprouting. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for the upcoming months. As I've read this month starts to show true results. I'm still shampooing everyday with the products I described last month. I have taken myself off of all the medications I have been on (finasteride and biotin) just because... 

I've posted a picture up and I'll keep everyone updated next month of the progress. 

Have a great summer everyone.....

Only good things coming in the next few months... 

[alex84]

Did you notice any shock loss of your native hair?