Regular Member doctoroctopus Posted February 10, 2019 Regular Member Share Posted February 10, 2019 (edited) After researching transplants for three years, I decided to choose a clinic where the doctor performs every step of the procedure, including extractions, incisions and implantation. I didn’t want to take any risks with my grafts. I was left with three choices: 1. HLC, 2. Keser & 3. Dr. Kaan. I read every single case report out of these three clinics, including on English, German and Italian forums. In the end, I decided on Dr Kaan because of his excellent results and relatively affordable prices. I am very happy I did! ABOUT ME Age: Turning 28 this month NW3 with very gradual hereditary frontal recession (I have two brothers in their mid-40s who are still NW2 and NW3.5) Medication: None currently. I tried various strengths of finasteride over the course of a year but had to stop due to side effects. Trust me, I tried. This is a decision I have made and I accept the risks. Total grafts transplanted: 2,200 THE SURGERY If I had to use one word to describe Dr. Kaan it would be this: ethical. My feeling was that he really cares about preserving his patients’ grafts. After sending my pictures initially, Dr. Kaan estimated I would need around 2700-3000 grafts. During my in-person consultation on the first day, we discussed hairlines and transplants in general for almost an hour, talking back and forth about the best possible plan. In the end, we decided on a more conservative approach, which I am happy we did. Dr. Kaan took the estimated number of grafts down to 2,500. This number would come down once again after the first day of surgery to around 2,200 after it was determined I had very thick donor hair and therefore would need fewer grafts for a good result. There is no incentive for him to do this other than to save your donor hair, as fewer grafts means less money for him. My surgery was split over two days, with around 1,100 grafts extracted and implanted on the first day and rest done on the second day. As extractions are done manually, this is the most time-consuming part of the process. I feel it is worth it however, as manual extraction generally processes fewer transections and dead follicles. Dr. Kaan performed every step of the procedure, including extractions, incisions and implantation. In fact the only times his assistants touched my head was when they shaved and washed it! also really appreciated the fact I could talk to Dr. Kaan during the surgery and ask him how everything was going. The clinic itself is very comfortable. I was served delicious breakfasts and lunches. I stayed at an AirBnB next to the clinic. Everything was perfect. PRE PLANNING POST-OP 8 DAYS POST-OP Edited February 10, 2019 by doctoroctopus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Mr S Posted February 10, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted February 10, 2019 Looking good ! your native hair looks thick should be a great result. I recently had a 1700 grafts with keser just the waiting game now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member thatoldchestnut Posted February 10, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted February 10, 2019 (edited) I have been following Pekiner on the Italian forums, quite a few good cases on there and I'm sure this one will be no exception. You can really see the influence of Keser on his hairline design, great stuff! Edited February 10, 2019 by thatoldchestnut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonelyGraft Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 (edited) Looks great. Do u know what size punch was used? Kaan used to be with hlc right? Also, your donor looks very clean at 8 days. When did your crusts start coming off and when did they clear? Edited February 11, 2019 by jj51702 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member doctoroctopus Posted February 11, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 11, 2019 (edited) 12 hours ago, jj51702 said: Looks great. Do u know what size punch was used? Kaan used to be with hlc right? Also, your donor looks very clean at 8 days. When did your crusts start coming off and when did they clear? Thanks! I think he used an 0.8mm manual punch. Yes, he used to work at HLC and with Keser before that. In 2017, he decided to start his own clinic in Ankara. On the donor, the scabs started coming off around the 6th day. I left all the scabs on the recipient intact until the morning of the 8th day, at which time I gently massaged them using Sebamed shampoo until they all came off. Edited February 11, 2019 by doctoroctopus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member doctoroctopus Posted February 11, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 11, 2019 14 hours ago, Mr S said: Looking good ! your native hair looks thick should be a great result. I recently had a 1700 grafts with keser just the waiting game now! 2 Thank you. Yes, Dr. Kaan said I had an unusual number of triples as opposed to singles and doubles. This, I was told, is a good sign for a dense result. I am secretly hoping I don't experience the classic 1-month shed (very unlikely but who knows). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member VicTNYC Posted February 11, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted February 11, 2019 (edited) Looks good. I haven’t read or seen much about Dr Kaan so will be following your progress, happy growing! By the way, how does the Dr implant the grafts?...forceps or an implanter pen? And , how long is the wait from completion of extraction that the Dr starts implanting? Thanks. Edited February 11, 2019 by VicTNYC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member doctoroctopus Posted February 11, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 11, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, VicTNYC said: Looks good. I haven’t read or seen much about Dr Kaan so will be following your progress, happy growing! By the way, how does the Dr implant the grafts?...forceps or an implanter pen? And , how long is the wait from completion of extraction that the Dr starts implanting? Thanks. 2 He uses forceps for implantation. Regarding the wait time between extraction and implantation, each day is usually divided into 2 "sessions". Each session is split up into two parts: the extraction (during which 400-750 grafts are extracted), followed by implantation after a 10-15 minute break. So a typical day looks like this: Arrive at clinic Extraction Round 1 10-15 minute break Implantation Round 1 Lunch Break(1 Hour) Extraction Round 2 10-15 minute break Implantation Round 2 Home Edited February 11, 2019 by doctoroctopus 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member VicTNYC Posted February 11, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted February 11, 2019 1 hour ago, doctoroctopus said: He uses forceps for implantation. Regarding the wait time between extraction and implantation, each day is usually divided into 2 "sessions". Each session is split up into two parts: the extraction (during which 400-750 grafts are extracted), followed by implantation after a 10-15 minute break. So a typical day looks like this: Arrive at clinic Extraction Round 1 10-15 minute break Implantation Round 1 Lunch Break(1 Hour) Extraction Round 2 10-15 minute break Implantation Round 2 Home Thanks for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member VicTNYC Posted February 11, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted February 11, 2019 Another question for ya... With the surgeon doing all the work with just a short break was the Dr fatigued?...Did you have any concern about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member doctoroctopus Posted February 11, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 11, 2019 4 hours ago, VicTNYC said: Another question for ya... With the surgeon doing all the work with just a short break was the Dr fatigued?...Did you have any concern about that? I had some concerns before but it really wasn't a problem. The way they split the surgery up over multiple sessions/days seems to give the doctor enough rest. Keep in mind my surgery wasn't a very big one, so I'm not sure how things work for major cases(3K+ grafts). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member VicTNYC Posted February 12, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted February 12, 2019 7 hours ago, doctoroctopus said: I had some concerns before but it really wasn't a problem. The way they split the surgery up over multiple sessions/days seems to give the doctor enough rest. Keep in mind my surgery wasn't a very big one, so I'm not sure how things work for major cases(3K+ grafts). Thanks for the honest answer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member rickyrixon Posted March 8, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted March 8, 2019 Hi DoctorOctopus do you have any update for us? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member paddyirishman Posted March 13, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted March 13, 2019 Best of luck and hope all is going well for you. Very interesting write up. You really done your homework. ...........Paddy......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member doctoroctopus Posted March 14, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 14, 2019 (edited) 6 Week Update: Hi everyone, so it's been around 6 weeks since the surgery. I have shed most of the transplanted hair. I think this is what they call the "ugly ducking" phase. It's strange, even though my hair is super thin in front, I'm getting a lot of attention from the ladies, who almost unanimously think I look better now with my "new haircut" than I did before. As far as I can tell, nobody knows I've had anything done (except the people I've told of course). I wasn't expecting this at all. The best part is, it only gets better from here! I have attached a pic from a week and a half ago and a front-facing one from last night. All in all, extremely happy with my decision to get this done and I can't wait for what's to come! Edited March 14, 2019 by doctoroctopus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member CosmoKramer Posted March 14, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted March 14, 2019 Looks right on track, happy growing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member rickyrixon Posted March 15, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted March 15, 2019 Looking great mate! About 18 months ago I believe these were Dr Pekiner's prices: Hair transplantation with full shave: 2,25 € / graft Hair transplant without shave: 2,75 € / graft Also gives a discount of € 0.25 per graft if you allow him to publish your photos Are they still the same at this now? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member doctoroctopus Posted March 16, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 16, 2019 17 hours ago, rickyrixon said: Looking great mate! About 18 months ago I believe these were Dr Pekiner's prices: Hair transplantation with full shave: 2,25 € / graft Hair transplant without shave: 2,75 € / graft Also gives a discount of € 0.25 per graft if you allow him to publish your photos Are they still the same at this now? Cheers Yes those were the prices for me, but Dr. Kaan told me he would be raising prices very soon. You would have to ask the clinic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member doctoroctopus Posted April 30, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 30, 2019 3 MONTH UPDATE Hey guys, it's been a few days shy of 3 months so here's an update. I think I'm through the worst of the ugly duckling phase. The hair is beginning to get thicker and stronger. I have started using Toppik fibres when I go out at night, which make a huge difference. Below are the pics. The ones where I am wearing a shirt are using no concealer. The ones without a shirt are using Toppik. They are in full daylight, so the hair obviously looks better in dimmer lighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member CosmoKramer Posted April 30, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted April 30, 2019 A bit tricky to see from the distance in your latest photos but looks like some real nice growth progress for 3months and with the hair fibers it looks even better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member doctoroctopus Posted May 5, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 5, 2019 (edited) On 4/30/2019 at 10:21 PM, CosmoKramer said: A bit tricky to see from the distance in your latest photos but looks like some real nice growth progress for 3months and with the hair fibers it looks even better! Thanks man. Here are some close-ups with somewhat less harsh lighting (no concealer). Edited May 5, 2019 by doctoroctopus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Uncle drew Posted May 12, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted May 12, 2019 Any news my friend? I’m doing it with him in 3 months and I’m following u!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member doctoroctopus Posted May 13, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 13, 2019 (edited) 11 hours ago, Uncle drew said: Any news my friend? I’m doing it with him in 3 months and I’m following u!! Hey Drew, Everything is going well. My recipient continues to get thicker. I will post more pictures at the 4, 5 and 6 month marks. Edited May 13, 2019 by doctoroctopus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Uncle drew Posted May 13, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted May 13, 2019 Great octopus keep us update !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member doctoroctopus Posted June 7, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 7, 2019 (edited) 4.5 Month Update: Hey guys, I'm very happy with my result so far. It has really thickened up over the past month or so. Just got a new haircut which fully exposes the hairline. I haven't felt the need to use concealer at all. Apologies for the quality of the pics below. I don't have a phone at the moment so I'm using the webcam on my Macbook. I will take some HD pics as soon as I get a new phone! Edited June 7, 2019 by doctoroctopus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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