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2868 Grafts | Dr. Erkan Dermirsoy | 7th Jan 2020


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Hey guys, I had my surgery on the 7th January at Armamed by Dr. Demirsoy.

The whole process was very easy and they took care of everything for me. Top quality service, let's hope the results are the same :)

I drove to the nearest airport that had a direct return flight to Istanbul so I wouldn't need to worry about changing planes on the way back and getting public transport home. I drove there on the morning of the 6th and worked in the airport for a few hours up until my flight. I ended up landing in Istanbul around 7pm Turkish time I believe after the most turbulent flight I had ever been on! They were dealing with storms at the time, and the following day the airport was closed because a plane was blown off the runway so I got a little lucky there.

Once I arrived, I met the transfer company and got talking to a couple of other people there for hair transplants but with different clinics. It seems that multiple clinics all use this transfer company. It was cool to meet people there for the same thing. One guy was getting the same return flight as me so I saw him that day too, but we didn't get a chance to speak.

I was taken to the hotel and unfortunately the WiFi was down because of the storm, and I didn't have any data over there so I was worried in case something went wrong with the pickup in the morning. I went to sleep straight away because I had nothing to do without the internet, and all of the TV channels were in Turkish.

DAY 0

I woke up at 7am, had a shower and went down for breakfast. Then I was picked up at 8am by Muzaffer on the dot. He is a very friendly and nice guy who can answer any questions you might have about the procedure.

We arrived at the clinic after a quick 20 minute journey. The clinic is over 40 floors high so you get some nice views! I went through a couple of questionnaires with Muzaffer and signed a disclaimer and then finally Dr. Demirsoy came into the room. He doesn't speak English so all communication went through Muzaffer but it was a very smooth process.

Dr. Demirsoy examined my hair and asked where I would like my hairline. I explained that I always had a high hairline and I don't really want it much lower than I currently have it, just the temples filling in and overall strengthening in the front.

He drew the hairline and they gave me a hand held mirror, then asked what I thought. It was exactly how I wanted it, not too much lower. I did not want to use too many grafts because I think I will need a second surgery later in life, even though I am taking finasteride.

After the consultation we went through to the photography studio and they took some photos, before shaving my head and taking the same photos again.

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After these were taken, I was taken to another room to change into a gown and some slippers. I was also given a Xanax to calm any nerves and make me a little sleepy. I went to another room and removed my shirt, then put on a gown and some slippers.

I was then taken to the surgery room and told to lay on my side. I was a little cold at first which I think they realised because they brought over a blanket straight away which was nice. I had the option of using my phone throughout the procedure but I just tried to sleep through the whole thing. The time flew by very quickly.

They started the anaesthetic, which was almost painless on this side of the head. Then the Dr came over and started the harvesting. As promised, it was completely painless. You could hear the micromotor but it just reminded me of getting a haircut with clippers. I was then flipped onto my right side and the process was repeated.

After the extracting phase, they put an antiseptic cream and then a bandage onto the back of my head. They then numbed the front of my head. This was a little more painful than the back of the head.

Now that my head was busy numbing, I had a 20 minute break and they gave me a choice of food. I chose chicken breast with roasted vegetables. It was very nice!

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After the break, the Dr. started the incisions. This did not take too long. When he was finished, he held up a mirror and I was impressed with where my new hairline was going to be! It has been a very long time since I saw myself with a hairline like that. I had a 5 minute break so I quickly went to the toilet, and then it was time to place the grafts.

This part of the procedure is done laying on your back. Again, I just closed my eyes for the whole thing and tried to sleep. Unfortunately I had some paid during this part. The Dr. said that my skin was hardened in the front and it meant that the anaesthetic could not spread properly, and you can't use too much anaesthetic so he couldn't just keep injecting more. I was given an oral painkiller.

At certain parts of the head I could feel everything that was happening and it wasn't pleasant, but knowing that if I didn't let them do it the grafts would be wasted helped me to get through it :D Dr. Demirsoy said it's not normal to feel anything through this and I was an exception because of the hardened skin so don't let that put you off!

Dr. Demirsoy does the extractions and the incisions, and then the nurses place the grafts. After the grafts had all been placed, they washed my head and then took a few more photos

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The Dr. looked over everything once more, then I went and sat with Muzaffer who went over all of the aftercare instructions. I was also given a slice of cake because it was one of the nurses birthday :)

I was taken back to the hotel. I think I arrived back at about 6pm although I'm not 100% sure. I had a few snacks from the minibar and then just lay in bed with the neck pillow and dozed off a few times. The WiFi was back on at this point so I was watching movies or doing a few bits of work between sleeps. I managed to sleep about 6 hours in total before the next morning

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DAY 1

I was picked up at 8am again by Muzaffer after breakfast, who took me to the clinic to get my hair washed. The Dr. looked over everything again once I arrived and said it all looked good and then a nurse took me to the studio room. She removed the bandage and cleaned my head, then took more photos

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I was then taken back to the hotel by Muzaffer where I just chilled in bed for the day watching netflix and doing work. I also ordered some room service and ate some more from the minibar. This is how I slept that night - not too uncomfortable, even though I normally sleep on my front!

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DAY 2

This is the day I flew back home. I was supposed to be picked up at 7:10am but there was a small delay with the transfer so I was picked up at 7:30. I arrived at the airport, checked my bag in and went to get some food. I just went to the burger king, stuck with what I know :) I boarded my flight at around 10:30am I think. There were honestly about 15 of us on the flight who had had hair transplants, so if you're worried about stares then don't be!

After the flight, I drove back home no problems. I noticed some yellow appearing on my head which did not look good at all.

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I contacted Muzaffer and he told me to get some antiseptic and apply it 4-5 times per day. My good old mam came to rescue and brought a bottle to me because I didn't fancy facing the world looking like this yet :D 

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DAY 4

The scabs are starting to take good shape at this point and the yellow has almost cleared up from the use of the antiseptic. The itching on the previous night on the donor area was absolutely insane. Worst nights sleep of my life

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DAY 5

The scabs are starting to crust and crack a little on the front but the Dr. assured me that this is normal and nothing to worry about. I started moisturising the donor area scabs and working a lot of them off. This has helped massively with the itching.

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DAY 8-10

It is finally time to remove the scabs! Over day 8 and 9 I was moisturising my hair in the shower and working off the easy scabs with a very soft toothbrush. They came off very easily and left most of the hair behind. I can't tell you how good it felt to remove the scabs. I also got the clear to sleep however I like now as well.

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DAY 14

2 weeks since the procedure and things are coming along nicely. I still have a lot of redness but I was told that redness can take a long time to disappear on pale skin.

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And here is a bonus low quality snapchat front facing camera picture where it looks completely normal :D

 

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Lol exactly the same story/doctor/grafts as me. Nearly word for word identical 

I am already 3 months however, and might comfort you to know it's going great  

Wish I could try that chicken breast again though! 

 

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6 minutes ago, Medina said:

Lol exactly the same story/doctor/grafts as me. Nearly word for word identical 

I am already 3 months however, and might comfort you to know it's going great  

Wish I could try that chicken breast again though! 

 

Glad to hear it is going well! I will keep this thread up to date every month :) Haha I wasn't expecting the food to be so good

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Good little post that mate👍🏽. I was really surprised by the lunch there too! I had some meatball stuff and was spot on. By the way, I’ve got a WhatsApp group going with 4 others that have all just literally had it done with Demirsoy over the past 2 weeks and 1 booked in 2 weeks. If you wana join, drop me your number and I’ll add you to the group

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  • 2 weeks later...
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2 hours ago, CosmoKramer said:

Hey man, good thread, work looks clean, progress looks as it should. Good luck and looking forward to your progress updates.

By the way, just curious but how old are you?...as you look fairly young for your level of hair loss..

Thanks for your comment. I am only 25 but I am taking finasteride

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  • 3 weeks later...
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7 hours ago, Marco Van Basten said:

Great post mate. I am considering this Doctor for later in the year.

Quick question if I may. How long have you been on finasteride for and has there been any issues?

I've been taking it for about 6 months now I think, no issues. I also took it for 18 months a while back with no issues but stopped because I shaved my head and thought it looked ok

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Your hair loss looks similar to mine. I am also thinking about going to Turkey for a procedure. What is the yellow stuff though on the post op photo? Just normal healing?? Great pictures. Please keep posting them 👍

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4 minutes ago, Cardin1977 said:

Your hair loss looks similar to mine. I am also thinking about going to Turkey for a procedure. What is the yellow stuff though on the post op photo? Just normal healing?? Great pictures. Please keep posting them 👍

Hey mate, no the yellow stuff was not normal. I had to use antiseptic to control it. However I have a naturally oily scalp and I think the sebum that is produced is yellow so it could have been that too.

I'll post the month 2 photos in a week's time but they are not exciting yet 😁

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I had Demirsoy 5 years ago, great work and great guy.

 

 

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