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Dr Koray Erdogan (Asmed) - FUE 2,841 Grafts 30/07/2018


BigBen

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Firstly, I am going to provide advice and share my experience at Asmed clinic for those interested because there are things I wish I knew. After this I may post some photos. I have written this carefully trying to be as objective as possible.

 

ONLINE CONSULTATION
Your journey would start here:
https://www.asmed.com.tr/

You will get a reply with a suggested area drawn on your photo(s) and estimated number of required grafts (transplanted follicles) and price (€2.5 per graft if shaven). Good-quality photos are important especially if you have diffuse hair loss or hair loss on the crown because that's not easily noticeable.

 

TRAVELLING TO ASMED IN ISTANBUL
First of all, make sure what you need to travel there. I just had to pay for a visa that I got online here and that costs $20.55 (bank charged €18.21):
https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/


You can pay up to €3,000 for the FUE by bank transfer and this also confirms your appointment. You will pay the rest the day before the surgery in cash. You can take the money with you in a money belt so you just have to pay attention at the airport security control where you have to take it off. This is not ideal but it's better than looking for ATMs in Istanbul.

My coordinator sent me a lot of information but you can also ask any remaining doubts, it's all new for most of us, after all. I wouldn't be afraid of asking anything.

As advised by HG1, I bought a memory foam travelling pillow. I bought it at the airport for €20. Asmed will give you one that is not as comfortable.

I was told that using euros in Istanbul would be easy but paying in euros there was kind of shady so it's more convenient if you change some money for Turkish liras at the airport. You can also use your credit card in some places, was very useful for having dinner at the hotel, breakfast is included with the room. Basically, you'll need some money for food and transport. We had some issues with the taxi drivers, one of them was driving a long way north and we had to head west and when we told him he got a bit violent so after that we just used the metro and tram which is probably one of the best things I've seen in Istanbul. Just beware, almost nobody speaks English in Istanbul, not even people working at the shopping centres. This is not a problem if you don't leave the hotel, though.

 

ARRIVING IN ISTANBUL
A driver from the clinic will be waiting for you. I saw him immediately but be careful because the other patient was called by a random person. That's why Asmed send you a photo of the drivers and the driver displays your name on a tablet. Don't trust any other person.

 

THE DAY BEFORE
They take you and welcome you at the clinic's entrance nicely and show you the facilities. There is a coordinator that speaks your native tongue but you'll find that everyone is there to help you if needed. The coordinator guides you through a very well-organised  procedure that includes the mentioned tour, making the payment and seeing the doctor. This is my first complaint about Asmed, Dr. Koray Erdogan was extremely quick so I didn't have much time to think or react. I think that he does this when he knows exactly what to do but anyway it doesn't give the best impression. He has a great team but he is the person that made you chose the clinic in the first place and this is a very important decision even though he operates several times a day.


The clinic is impressive, just mind the steps. All the girls and guys there were really nice with me and the others and I appreciate that. They are professional, respectful but also natural and friendly and I really loved that, I wish people were like that everywhere. They give you anything that you might need or want before you even ask, which feels so good. They will take professional photos of your head, then shave it and use a Kinect 2.0 camera robot to take 360º photos of the whole scalp.


It only left me wishing that I could have shared more than a few minutes with Koray Erdogan. The doctor checked my hair and draw two hairlines, one of them was perfect because it was just like mine ignoring the receding hairline on the sides so obviously I chose that. He praised my temples, that might have helped him drawing the hairline, and warned me that I might need work done on the crown in the future but he firmly refused to touch that area yet and after seeing the photos of the area on his monitor I agreed. He estimated that I have around 7,900 available grafts, I was expecting more because I have a big and dense donor, so I wonder why.


After the analysis what the doctor said was confirmed, thickness is 61 microns and hairs per graft number is 1.91. I have some follicles with five hairs because they appear in the photos but they didn't use any of those. Most of my follicles are double, followed by singles and triples in the same quantity. Quardruple and quintpule are present but rare. HT-FUE has very few singles and lots of doubles, triples and quardruples but his follicles are exceptional as far as I know. That means that he has special density above average.


Before my hair transplant, I thought that the most important thing is how many grafts they are going to put on each centimetre of your scalp but that is a common mistake. This doctor calculates the hairs per graft average and measures thickness and then maths tell him how many graft per square centimetre you require for a natural look. Let's say that like me, they are going to use grafts with 1.9 hairs each as average and that your thickness is 61 microns. He aims at 5.4 as coverage value so he will decide that you need 48 grafts per square centimetre.


Formula: 48 grafts per cm2 · 1.9 hairs per graft · 0.061 thickness equals or exceeds 5.4 coverage value.

Coverage value is the fixed value, they multiply the other figures that are personal to get the grafts per cm2 figure. The number of grafts that you need would be 48 multiplied by the square centimetres of your transplanted area. For instance: 48 · 60 cm2 = 2,880 grafts. My area was a bit smaller.

 

SURGERY DAY
Koray Erdogan is the person who should do the incisions during the surgery and I asked about this because a patient told me the day before that a girl did the incisions and also a forum member asked me about this. The technicians are the ones that extract and implant but the incisions are the most important part and should be done by Koray Erdogan. Otherwise, I wouldn't even bother choosing him, why would I? He is the master here and one of the best FUE doctors in the world and he should, at the very least, do all the incisions.

One of the technicians showed me a few grafts because I accepted to see them. I missed more conversation with my coordinator -my second complaint-, something I read about on the website, during the surgery because I was not able to check my phone or watch films. They gave me a tablet for watching films but I wasn't feeling good enough for that to the point that they called the anaesthetist again, who made me feel better by talking to me and administering additional drug. I felt pain until then but I think he does the right thing by only giving you as much as you need. To be honest, time went by pretty fast because I was sedated and I was in balance between painlessness and consciousness.


I was surprised to hear the doctor confidently joking with the girls while doing his job, it is fine for me as long as he stays focused! They were talking in Turkish so I couldn't follow. He looks extremely self-confident and is friendly. Once the job is done, they give you food, drinks and take you to the hotel as always.

 

THE FOLLOWING DAY
They pick you up and take you to the clinic where you get your first washing. This is important and you have to pay attention because you will be doing this on your own for the next days. I was a bit worried about washing my scalp and I have had two dreams about grafts falling. In one of them the grafts were like cyborg metallic implants. In the other one the grafts had a tack on the edge. I am a creative person so I'm not surprised about this nonsense at all. The reality is that grafts are natural and carefully extracted as I've been shown and I haven't noticed any of them falling off when I wash my scalp or lying around when I wake up. Washing is actually refreshing and has become my favourite moment of the day and the lotion and shampoo that they give you are soft and comforting.


After removing the bandage and washing your scalp for the first time they give you a USB pen drive with photos and a video that explains how to wash your head and everything that you may need for taking care of your scalp including shampoo and lotions, a hat, a inflatable neck pillow, an ice pack and more.

 

SWELLING
The day after the HT I flew back home and I recommend that you do the same because the day after that my head was deformed because of the swelling.

My head looked normal four days after the HT except the area around the eyes that took one more day but I went outside wearing sunglasses and I felt great. I recommend you to drink a lot of water as I felt that it helped me. I only looked like a monster for two days.


I used the ice pack that the clinic gave me but I got a cold because I used it too much. I recovered a few days later so nothing serious, really. I just wished I didn't use the ice pack as much, so note that.

 

PAIN
I felt an almost unbearable pain two days after the HT in the donor area, especially when lying in bed, that didn't let me sleep well. This is the healing process, I've been told. I used different painkillers but none of them seemed to work. You just have to deal with it. Melvin told me that he had pain for two weeks. One week later the pain started to decrease, fortunately, and also I started feeling a pleasant tickling in the transplanted area, I don't know for sure but it feels like a positive sign.

 

DONOR AREA
Except for the big pain, the donor area looked really good since the beginning and they told me so at the clinic.

 

TRANSPLANTED AREA
It was reddish until three days later. Most of the scabs fell off before the eight day. I expected my scalp to be much worse because of my sensitive skin. I didn't have any cracks as some people do but when the biggest scab was gently removed some hairs were removed with it. That doesn't mean that you have lost the grafts but just the hairs that were glued to the scab. No bleeding or anything suspicious so everything seems to be fine up there.

 

TIPS AFTER HT
You should contact them for any questions you might have or if you have fever or infection. I didn't have any of these problems or any other, just the pain I described above. Send them photos so they can see if everything is fine, all scabs should be gone before the twelfth day.

 

EVALUATION AFTER HT (IN PROGRESS)
My biggest complaint is connected to the second one and it is that after the HT I have noticed that communication with my coordinator is slower and more obstructed than before the HT as I am still waiting for a simple few answers regarding my FUE operation. I feel a bit bad saying this because they were all nice to me and surpassed my expectations, but I want to be totally honest and objective and will update how it goes from now on.


If I am totally honest like I am being, I have to say that my coordinator looked unmotivated at moments somehow, specifically when I arrived the second day for the surgery, she was sitting relaxed in the dining room looking at her phone while I was waiting nearby. I felt alone because my new friends were already taken to the operating rooms. Also, during the long surgery session she only talked to me once when I complained about the pain. I felt that the other people cared more for me and I want to thank them a million times. My coordinator is obviously intelligent and skilful so that's why I was expecting more from her and I was disappointed. She could do much better, it's just two days that I am there after all and she didn't have any more patients to attend at the clinic, just me.


When I filled in the survey they offered me I rated everything and everyone really high because that's how I feel in general and because I wasn't ready to complain about anything, but my definitive evaluation is this and I will update it depending on how contact with them goes from now on, which is crucial and more important that before the HT, in my opinion. The results will inevitably be rated by anyone if I post them and I am of course hoping for the best possible results and for emotional support during this long process that I still don't believe I am going through.

 

Thanks to all the forum members that have replied my questions and given me advice.

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  • 11 months later...
  • Senior Member

Lately, I have been seeing many recent cases from Koray Erdogan's clinic that have low density and unsatisfactory hairline but I have remained positive until the end. Now after one year, the density in my hairline is much lower than what I expected and than what they had guaranteed, at least 90% growth of 48 grafts transplanted per square centimetre, which is at the very least 44 grafts per square centimetre. I only had the front done, what you can see in the photos, because I have a lot of hair elsewhere. Also, my hair calibre is the same everywhere, 61 microns, which is slightly above average (55). I will contact the doctor about my results.

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kw877_10_01 comparison.jpg

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Do you have any different angles or lighting? I’m trying to see where exactly it lacks density. Sorry that you’re not satisfied 😕


I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

View my thread

Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • Senior Member

A hair transplant was done just on the front with a lot of grafts as you can see in the photo of the day after. They used 48 grafts per square centimetre and now there are portions where the number of grafts is really low as you can see in this other photo that I just took. The ink lines measure one centimetre wide for reference.67679148_PSX_20190807_1935183392.thumb.jpg.521beda9cdf534c64189b5d7ae6a6944.jpg

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Ben send me a PM Dr. Erdogan has assured me that he’s been in constant contact with his patients that aren’t happy. Truthfully, it doesn’t look bad from the pictures. But maybe were not seeing it clear. Look forward to chatting with you.


I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

View my thread

Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube.

 

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15 hours ago, Gasthoerer said:

Very nice write up! Sorry, that you are not happy. 

Please put some more effort in before, intra and after pics so that we have chance to support you. 

Thank you.

I attach more photos. All the photos that I have posted this far are with dry hair under natural light. Density is low along the hairline with some gaps.

 

 

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Edited by BigBen
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4 hours ago, jj51702 said:

What has the clinic commented in regards to your 12 month progress?

It'll hardly make a difference on here, as long as this site keep getting Erdogan's sponsorship money the results wont matter.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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@Gasthoerer As I explained, the recipient area is the front but I had diffuse hair loss so even for me it's impossible to know exactly what is the original and the transplanted hair. Not that it matters much because the result in my case should be between 44 and 48 grafts per square centimetre including natural and transplanted hair and obviously I'm not even near.

@jj51702 To the first email they replied right away but once I attached the photos it's over a week now with no response. I just sent the email again.

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6 hours ago, BigBen said:

@Gasthoerer As I explained, the recipient area is the front but I had diffuse hair loss so even for me it's impossible to know exactly what is the original and the transplanted hair. Not that it matters much because the result in my case should be between 44 and 48 grafts per square centimetre including natural and transplanted hair and obviously I'm not even near.

@jj51702 To the first email they replied right away but once I attached the photos it's over a week now with no response. I just sent the email again.

Please keep us updated on their response 

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On 8/8/2019 at 7:14 PM, Gasthoerer said:

 

Is it possible to see some pre-op (with marked recipient) and directly intra op pics? I struggle to understand what is transplanted and what natural hair.

 

I totally agree with this comment, you need to provide photos before surgery with pen markings to the recipient, so that members can see exactly where the 2841 grafts have been planted. Having said that, if you zoom in on your post-op photos there are clear gaps between the hair follicles, especially on your left side. So are we looking at bad planting, or graft survival. Either way, yet again another poor hairline from this clinic imo.

But we do need the photos to make a proper judgment.

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On 8/8/2018 at 8:41 PM, BigBen said:

Koray Erdogan is the person who should do the incisions during the surgery and I asked about this because a patient told me the day before that a girl did the incisions

So are you saying Dr Erdogan did or didn’t do your incisions? But you are saying  a patient told you a technician had done his, is this not alarming guys? Surely this isn’t acceptable, if it proves to be the case.

 

.

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@Anthonyd You can see the transplanted grafts in the day-after-surgery photo, the recipient area is just the front. I do it but I don't feel comfortable sharing my photos. Melvin and others have seen the whole head in other photos. I had hair before the hair transplant everywhere else including the crown and I have a good donor area and hair calibre, thicker than I thought. I only needed hair transplant on the front, even the temples seemed fine to the doctor so the temples didn't get any grafts. The hairline is where the attention was focused on. I like the new hairline but the density is too low and also there are some gaps. It should be between 44 and 48 grafts per square centimetre.

Yes, I met a patient that told me that a girl did his incisions, that's why I made sure that Koray Erdogan did the incisions on my head because I didn't want a technician to do them. And yes, Koray Erdogan did my incisions.

@jj51702 OK, I'll let you know what they say when they reply.

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