Dr. Taleb Barghouthi (Vertex Hair Clinic)

[SM985]

First of all i would like to thank this forum for all the support and great insight that they provide members with. I have been reading and learning a lot as part of my research. It is never an easy decision to go for a HT procedure. Nonetheless, it is not easy to lose hair as well :))

Background

I am 34 years old and I spend a good amount of time in the Middle east for work. I've been researching clinics in Turkey and all over for quite sometime, but my travel arrangements were not working out well all the time. Anyway, I've been assigned for a 2 weeks project in Amman-Jordan in June 2018 and during my time there I was told by local colleagues there to check out this clinic that has been open for just under 3 years. 

Initial Consultation

I called up the clinic and booked in for a consultation. They squeezed me in for the following week because of my travel arrangements (which i found promising). The consultation fee was around 30 Euros which is reasonable for me but still not free like many other clinics I researched. To be honest, I have been to some free consultations in the past and my experience with those were quite rushed and geared towards simply booking you in. Anyway, the appointment was at 4pm. It's located in an upscale part of Amman in a new commercial building. The clinic was spottless, modern and very comforting, more like a modern spa, with a welcoming receptionist. I was seen by Dr. Taleb Barghouthi straight away. We had a nice chat about Ireland (where I'm from originally) as he studied and trained there for many years before going to the US for further training in Hair restoration. He is a member of the ISHRS and decided to venture into his home town eventually and opened up the clinic 3 years ago. He took a detailed history about my hair loss, and upto that point I was only maintaining with minoxidil, which he thinks is good, but recommended adding at least one further treatment for maintenance (either Laser therapy or finasteride or both). We discussed the pros and cons in good depth, but urged me to try and maintain my existing hair as much as possible, which I do understand from my research. He then examined my scalp and hair and showed me the fine hairs that are an indication of my progressive genetic hair loss. I was a NW 4A progressing to NW 5 in his opinion. The camera test was extremely cool and it shows your hair structure in an impressive way. 

We then discussed the surgery itself and offered me both FUT and FUE options. I have been leaning towards FUE as I dont want a visible scar. we discussed the hairline and what makes it look natural. It was a relief to know that he doesn't favour lowering too much or doing anything exaggerated as this can be quite adventurous and permanent. He said i will need around 2500-2800. He charges 2 euros per graft including the accommodation for two nights and the transfers and some aftercare kit. I was happy and instantly relieved by the whole consultation/ Doctor/Clinic.  The whole thing took almost an hour and we agreed on a date in September (They run a 2 months waiting time almost). Pre surgery instructions were sent to me by email that day and was asked to pay a 500 euros deposit within few days to secure the day as they only do one surgery per day. 

Meanwhile

 About a month prior to my surgery, I stopped the minoxidil but continued with the laser, which I ordered from Amazon. I also started massaging the donor area once or twice a day. I was excited and worried. I had my 10 days time off work booked as I was told there wouldnt be a need to take more time off. 

Surgery

 I arrived to Amman the night before. They had someone waiting for me literally at the end of the air bridge. He took me through Immigration, Visa and luggage and I paid nothing at all. A car then took me to the hotel, which was really nice and not too far from the clinic. The clinic rang and i knew I had to be there at 8 am and that it was important to have something light for breakfast and a buttoned up shirt or cardigan. 

I was picked up at 7:45 am  the next day and was at clinic on time. I was asked to change into a gown and place my items in my locker. A nurse checked my Blood pressure which was fine. I'm allergic to Penicillin, which I was also relieved to know that even the nurse knew about (everything is electronic in terms of charts- forgot to mention that). I took my tablets and Dr. Taleb was there to take some photos and to draw the hairline with me. We took our time before agreeing to the final drawing. We then went to another room where he actually shaved my donor area himself and outlined the areas that he will be working on. Everything was well explained and transparent. I really cant stress that enough. I can tell there was nothing else going in the clinic but my procedure. Everyone was there for me. I had my hair washed after the hair cut. and was then taken to the procedure room. The area was cleaned and Dr. Taleb started giving me the local anesthesia. He uses cannulas and long lasting type so there was no discomfort of note. My head felt quite heavy and my heart racing. However he  warned me about this before as it is mainly from the anesthesia and the adrenaline in it. Anyway, the day was quite long. He was there for the entire extraction, with an assistant nurse helping. I took a break during the extraction (took around 3 hours). 2 or 3 nurses were counting the grafts using microscopes in a nearby room. He extracted 2870 grafts of which around 500 were single haired. had another short break after extraction, and then he numbed the front part and made the slits for the hair in the front. It took around one hour during which I had some blood drawn for PRP and was also asked to order lunch. By the time the slits were completed I took a longer lunch break. The food was excellent and he was nice enough to join me briefly to discuss English league football :)) He joked about aborting the surgery since I'm a Liverpool fan and he supports Manchester United!!!

After a good 20 minute break, i went back in and two of his technicians started putting the hairs in. They were also friendly but with basic english. I however was watching some Netflix on TV so we werent talking much. this step took around 3 hours with a short break in between. It is a long day but still better than being trapped in  along haul flight. There was no discomfort. I had my bandage changed and then Dr. Taleb (who I understand sees the consultations during the last step only as he was with me the entire day almost) came in, checked everything and went through the printed aftercare instructions with me. It is a nice bag of goodies (gentle shampoo, pillow cover not to soil the pillow, gauze, saline spray, hat etc). I was offered to get the first hair wash the next afternoon, which I had planned. 

I must say that apart from the sensation of heaviness that night, there was no discomfort. I had to sleep on my back for 4 or 5 days which I'm not a fan of. The next morning that sensation was almost gone. I went for a hair wash which I was shown how to do for 10 days. 

The aftermath 

I left Amman 2 days later. The instructions were clear. I had my proper scrubbing hair wash 10 days after surgery and that was a relief. At that stage I was sleeping normally and to be honest my donor and transplanted areas looked really good once I rubbed my head properly. The donor was much faster to heal. I went back to work with nearly a normal look. Nothing gross or scary. a tiny bit of redness, that all. 

It is a rather long wait for results. I think I started noticing growth 3 months after almost. I am now 6 months after and I must say I am happy with the results. I asked him for some pre surgery photos which I will share here. I also went for a 6 months follow up few weeks ago while I was for a short work trip and he had these sent over. I will share some more photos duing the months, which are not on my computer here. I/m very happy with the results so far and expect more growth as Im still just 7 months from surgery. Still, it is a huge change for me even if it stops growing now, :)) well hopefully not. 

I really owe this forum and also this clinic a great review. I was very hesitant at first, but i did feel at ease with them from the moment I went for consultation. Dr. Taleb does only hair transplants and so is his team. You can clearly see that they love what they do and I really think I owe it to them to spread the word about their great work and work ethics. Everything was spotless, transparent with lots of counting and quality control and I do think that in this era, such service is worth sharing. 

[harry_potter1]

Very, very encouraging result so far. 

Dr.Taleb has interesting CV tbf, between US/Ireland and even had training with Dr.Marwan Safi in Poland. He is surely making a case for him as top 5 clinic in Arab speaking countries 

Arab world has many top notch doctors but they struggle with assistant training. But from your result he seem to do a good job in training them. 

Would love to see your final results after completing one year, hope you won't vanish from the forum later 😋 

[SM985]

I cant wait for the year to pass. He even told me that in some case upto 18 months is needed. But judging so far, I hope I'll be happy once a year passes by. I will surely post some more. :))) fingers crossed

[pmehra]

Congrats for your results.

Cans you share some recent pics?

[SM985]

Hi pmehra. Yes I will do so once I am back from a recent trip. Things are going really well imo. 

[Melvin- Admin]

Dr. Taleb has been very active on the forum. Glad to see his results are looking good as well. Please keep us updated on your progress.

[SM985]

Hi guys,

I'm sorry for the overdue update. It's been busy lately and I also managed to squeeze a small vacation in Portugal. SO things are going well. I don't if it's only me but I'm getting used to the growth so it's harder to notice the progress on a monthly basis. I followed up with my doc and he seemed happy with the progress. I'm happy with my result bur the doctor seems optimistic that there will be more growth in the coming few months too. I am now 8 months since HT, so i know theoretically I still have at least 4 more months. In all cases, I think I achieved what I was hoping for. I think I have a noticeable tan as I can now see the difference with my skin from my previous post. Sorry if this is affecting the lighting and contrast, but anyway here you go. What annoys me most still is that the hair character is still a bit hard to comb. I think my hair character in general is like that, but I was reassured that with time things will blend in nicely. It's a good headache to have though so cant complain :))) I also think my crown is holding nicely as I am using propecia and low level light.  

[LonelyGraft]

Looks very natural. Congrats to you and doctor barghouthi