Advice on Turkey HT Surgeons needed

[GLHF]

About me

Firstly I'd just like to say hello, my name is Alex, I'm from the UK and this is my first post in what will be an exciting journey towards a hair transplant. My plan is to carry out a thread on this forum (along with others) and a Vlog on YouTube, so that others can benefit from a genuine review which is thoroughly documented, something I believe is extremely valuable when taking such a big step. 

Without boring you all too much, my hair loss began (roughly) at the age of 21 but I didn't become aware of it until the age of 23 (bad family and friends ey). I first went through a bit of an ignorance phase, thinking there was little I could do to slow down / prevent further loss, I didn't really act on my hair loss until the age of about 27 when my crown progressed quite a bit and I started using fibres to cover up the thinning. I eventually started using Minoxidil 5% foam around 4 months ago and have just started finasteride 1mg today.

 

Relevant info

Age: 29

Location: UK

Norwood: 3 Vertex (I think)

Minoxidil: Yes (4 Months)

Finasteride: Yes (Started today...)

 

Current research  - I must stress that this is just my opinion based on my own research, I welcome experienced advice to correct me where I am undoubtedly wrong.

So like many people who are interested in a hair transplant, I started my research with no idea what was actually important when it comes to hair restoration (and admittedly I still know very little, but certainly starting to build an understanding). I initially focused my research on UK clinics, with some time spent looking at Turkish clinics but put off by the mixed results of people I know. However, after spending the last 5 weeks during Covid-19 UK lockdown carrying out as much research as possible (my head hurts a little), I have managed to come to the following conclusion(s) and shortlist of surgeons;

Key points

- My deciding factor for selection will be results driven.

- Do not get sucked into the marketing vortex of 'all inclusive' hair transplants (with some exceptions).

- Know my budget and find the best surgeon/clinic for that budget, this ties into my first point as we don't all have £10,000 to spend etc.

- Research as much as possible, make a shortlist, do more research, narrow the shortlist down, do more research.

- The fewer the # of patients per day the better.

- Extractions and incisions should ideally be carried out by the surgeon.

I have probably missed stuff out here, but that is the framework I have set myself when narrowing my search.

 

Shortlist

So my shortlist is as follows;

               Surgeon                             Grafts           Price         Extractions performed by surgeon    Incisions performed by surgeon        No of patients per day     Quality of work                   

Dr Erkan Demirsoy (Armamed)      3500          4575 EUR                            Yes                                                             Yes                                                          1                                   8.5/10 

Dr Resul Yaman                                 3500           3500 EUR                           No                                                              Yes                                                          2/3                               8.5/10

Dr Emre Karadeniz (AEK)            5000 (Hairs)   3000 EUR                           No                                                              Yes                                                          1 ?                                7/10

Dr Levent Acar (Cosmedica)           3500            £3250                                No                                                               Yes                                                          4 + ?                             6.5/10 

Dr Tayfun Oguzoglu (Get Hair)        3500           £3599                                Yes                                                              Yes                                                           2                                   6.5/10

Dr Attila (Hair Palace)                 6000 (Hairs)    £4095                                Yes                                                             Yes                                                           TBC                               8/10

UK Hair Transplant Clinics               2200            £4400                                Yes                                                             Yes                                                          1                                     8/10

 

Obviously this list will become smaller and smaller as I continue to research and from any feedback given in this thread, I have disregarded many clinics, both cheap ones and anything above £5000.

The list isn't necessarily wasn't mean to be in any particular order but my top 4 choices are currently Dr Erkan Demirsoy, Dr Resul Yaman (who both design great hairlines from what I've seen) followed by  AEK/Cosmedica...Any guidance would be appreciated!

I'm leaning towards Dr Demirsoy because of the 1 patient per day limit, his results seem to be extremely good, he performs the extractions and incisions himself.

Whereas Dr Yaman also seems like a great choice, however he dedicates less time / patient although his results seem great.

AEK/Cosmedica are more appealing due to the lower price tags but for such a modest increase in price I'm feeling that it's worth spending a little extra.

 

 

I have read countless threads on all of the above, but if anyone would be able to drop me a PM with their own experiences with the above that would be really appreciated.

 

Legends

 

                                              

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2020 by GLHF

[Sam818]

You’re definitely going about it the right way doing proper research and seeking out patients that went to those clinics. I did not do a procedure in Turkey, but I’ve seen tons of results and out of your list of budget clinic I would have to say I think demirsoy does the better work and I have t seen complaints about his bedside manner at all. Look into eugenix in India, they are doing good work there in comparison to the majority of Turkish clinics. 

[GLHF]

2 minutes ago, Sam818 said:

You’re definitely going about it the right way doing proper research and seeking out patients that went to those clinics. I did not do a procedure in Turkey, but I’ve seen tons of results and out of your list of budget clinic I would have to say I think demirsoy does the better work and I have t seen complaints about his bedside manner at all. Look into eugenix in India, they are doing good work there in comparison to the majority of Turkish clinics. 

Thanks for the reply Sam, I tend to agree that Demirsoy does the better work, however I do also like Yaman although he's some negative press about donor area work which is essentially the bit the technicians do...which does put me off slightly. They both seem to create really well designed hairlines with strong density which is great.

I'll look into that, thanks dude.

[Melvin- Admin]

Dr. Yaman has done some good work, there was a recent case posted on here by @gbhscot he's not really happy, but I think that's more of him not having realistic expectations, then the results themselves. That said, looks like you are looking at surgeons based on your budget, which is very low. I would suggest to save up some money and make a decision when you're not so tight on money. Choose the best surgeon, based off results, not based on whether they're the cheapest. In the UK, definitely take a look at Dr. Reddy.

[Sijac09]

Doing all the right things there mate and even getting on minoxidil/Finasteride. Demirsoy is my recommendation as I have recently had a hair transplant with him. I’m just under 4 months post op, but pleased so far and anyone will tell you their service is superb from start to post transplant 👍🏽

[HARIRI]

I strongly advice you to check out Dr. Cinik. His work is outstanding. He was working at Cosmedica with Dr. Levent Acar.

Actually I am surprised that you did not add or considered to add Dr. Koray Erdogan as an option in your list as well. He is the best out there.

However if I am going to choose a surgeon from your list then I guess I would go with Dr. Karadeniz, he contributes a lot in the surgery and sometimes he would take part of the extractions as well. I wish you all the best.

Edited May 1, 2020 by HARIRI

[HTHope]

Personally...the only clinic I’d consider In Turkey would be hlc. Only doctors do the work, stick and place technique, modern tools and facilities, manual fue, emphasis on donor management, they hold training workshops themselves, smp and bht performed there as well. They have their own condo for patients to stay at nearby. But their costs are likely more than anyone on your list at 2.7 euros per graft.

[paddyirishman]

Hello Alex

Well done on doing your research, and you will learn so much the more you do.

Your still at the early stage of your hair loss, and your only 29. You need to try and establish what your pattern will eventually end up at. Your  father and mother and grandparents on both their sides need to be looked at , this will give you a guide. You have to plan for the long term, you will almost certainly want or need more than 1 HT, maybe 2 or 3.

You have just started finasteride today, see how it goes for you, be aware that some day you might have to stop using it and your hair loss will speed up. The longer you can hold off on pulling the trigger on doing a HT the better position you will be in as the less chasing you will have to do on your hair loss. You need to realise you might end up to be a norwood 6 or 7 someday.  I think you have lots of hair still, your face is still probably framed to a decent degree, you have lost on the crown alright and your using fibres .

I would say take your time , doing a HT needs plenty of research, you must get it right first time with a top Doctor. You only have a set amount of doner. The last thing you need is to get a HT and it goes wrong ,then you need to use more of your doner to repair the first HT. This has happened to so many patients , you dont want to be one of them.

All the best, and take your time, you have plenty of hair on your side.

Paddy

 

[GLHF]

All - thanks for the info, it is all really useful and I'll take it all into consideration for sure.

I hadn't looked into Dr Cinik but I'll take a look at some of his results on here.

 

I hadn't really explained in my first post that my budget is £5000, I have other life commitments that make it difficult for me to justify spending any more on hair restoration. This excludes many surgeons I know but I'm not willing to go any higher.

[ITA]

On 5/1/2020 at 6:00 PM, GLHF said:

but if anyone would be able to drop me a PM with their own experiences with the above that would be really appreciated.

Don't trust those who write to you in private, they could be hidden consultants of the clinics,see the various reports of patients on this forum 

[JJ1187]

I contacted most of the same doctors as you prior to my hair transplant. The decision came down to Dr Yaman and Dr Demirsoy and I choose Dr Yaman, since  Dr Demirsoy did not think I was a good candidate for surgery. He felt that my donor would look overharvested and he mentioned I would proceed to Norwood 6 so he turned me down. I had about 4300 grafts with Dr Yaman and the overall experience was great although I can't be sure yet how the result will turn out yet.

I would be cautious proceeding with Dr Acar or Dr Karadeniz. During my consultation with Dr Acar it became apparent that the doctor does not check out the pictures and instead leaves it for his assistants to give you a quote. I was quoted 6000 grafts at first, which immediately changed once I told them I had a prior procedure done. Also looking at my donor there is no way 6000 grafts could have been taken out in one go. With Dr Karadeniz I had a similar problem, I am a norwood 5 and I was quoted 5000 hairs, the same as you. I mentioned needing a bigger procedure of at least 4000-5000 grafts which is about 8000-10000 hairs on average and was told that even with 5000 grafts I would most likely only get 5000 hairs which did not make sense

[Fantaz]

If you want the best Acell+PRP for treatment with healing/growth, go with Esteworld. They're the only ones in Turkey with "real" acell because they have an actual licence to obtain it, all the other clinics in turkey might be not genuine Acell. I have new hair growing near the front of my scalp, it's incredible, and I'm not doing anything else besides fin and laser cap atm. Check my thread in the results forum, just bumped it.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Fantaz

[Portugal25]

@GLHF if you want to have a low cost hair transplant with a good doctor then your only choice is Demirsoy (1.25€/graft). There is no other doctor doing 1 patient per day with decent real patients results at this price point. 

However, I advise you to listen to @HTHope and go to HLC (2.7€/graft) who are doing stick&place the same technique used by the FUE icon and most expensive doctor Raymond Konior or Dr. Bruno Ferreira who is the medical assistant to Dr. Lorenzo (one of the best in the world) but has his own clinic in Porto where he charges half price (2.5€/graft). He does DHI with Lion Implantor pens same as Dr. Juan Couto.

If HLC and Dr. Ferreira are out of your budget then consider taking @paddyirishman advice and book Dr. Arika at Eugenix (1.8€/graft).

The other clinics you mentioned are hairmills that do low cost tech run surgeries on 8 patients per day and your results will depend on the tech team you get when you check-in at the hairmill. 

Yaman is doing DHI with his modified implantor pen but I read a patient thread stating that Yaman opens the channels/holes before implantation which makes zero sense because the implantor pen is used in order for Doctors to be able to open the channel/hole and implant the graft at the same time (means less handling/trauma to the graft and scalp thus quicker recovery time). So why Yaman pre-opens the channels? Maybe to avoid young techs screwing up...

Pre-made slits/channels/holes are a no go for me because the hole starts to close immediately after its open therefore the punch needs to have a wider diameter for pre-made slits, also pre-made slits stay open for hours accumulating fat and blood before having the grafts inserted. Basically this is a outdated technique that is mostly used by doctors that are not involved in the whole surgery and have to rely on techs.

Search for real patient results from Yaman and you will find he has quite a few bad results and several unnatural ones.

This is not like buying a car that you can change after a few years this is a permanent surgery that will deplete your limited and very precious grafts so I advise you to save just a bit more money and go to a Doctor that has consistent great results and is involved in the whole surgery.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Portugal25

[Melvin- Admin]

On 5/2/2020 at 2:59 PM, Egy said:

Don't trust those who write to you in private, they could be hidden consultants of the clinics,see the various reports of patients on this forum 

^This be weary of anyone sending private messages promoting any particular clinic, as there may be ulterior monetary motives. Instead, look up actual reviews from patients, and then if you want to send private messages to those who are confirmed to be patients and those have actual reviews, that way you know you're getting unbiased information. 

[83mjs]

I saw on Facebook today that Asmed/Dr Koray is offering a surgery for €1.5 per graft (usual price is €2.5)

This means he might now be in budget for you although I imagine that price won’t be around for long

Also he is a very divisive figure on here so I present this information without prejudice!

[Portugal25]

@83mjs there’s another thread were several ASMED patients with bad results explained how they were threatened by lawyers and how the clinic behaved unethically.

One ASMED patient stated that this hairmill is doing surgery on 8 patients per day so the results depend on the tech team.

ASMED was a insanely overpriced hairmill at 2.5€/graft and now with the new price of 1.5€/graft it’s just a overpriced hairmill.

[83mjs]

Well I personally wouldn’t go there for that reason I think but they’ve been around a long time
 

I know Eugenix have been mentioned but if my budget was less than £5000 I would be looking at Dr Bhatti tbh.

[Portugal25]

If I was on a budget I would go for Dr. Arika at Eugenix because at 1.8€/graft it will be impossible to find a cheaper doctor with great results and a skilled technique.

Dr. Arika does DHT which is a similar technique to DHI in a way that it reduces handling of the graft and grafts are implanted immediately after being extracted. 
However, I don’t think she is involved in the whole surgery like Dr. Bruno and HLC Doctors.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Portugal25

[Melvin- Admin]

11 minutes ago, Portugal25 said:

@83mjs there’s another thread were several ASMED patients with bad results explained how they were threatened by lawyers and how the clinic behaved unethically.

One ASMED patient stated that this hairmill is doing surgery on 8 patients per day so the results depend on the tech team.

ASMED was a insanely overpriced hairmill at 2.5€/graft and now with the new price of 1.5€/graft it’s just a overpriced hairmill.

I don't think that's fair to say, as recently there are a lot of happy patients. Also, those who said there were 8 patients being operated on weren't being honest, and they were caught creating duplicate accounts. We had ASMED come here personally and clarify that information was false. Now, as for lawyers getting involved, until we have definite proof, we can't state that as facts. We also don't know if that person involved lawyers first. I can recall over a year ago, a patient on here sent a physician a letter from their lawyer requesting a full refund, then they came here and said that the doctor was suing them.

 I personally contacted the physician and was given proof that it was in fact the patient trying to intimidate the surgeon with a lawyer first, and afterward the doctor had to defend themselves with legal representation, and the patient acted like they were being bullied when it was the other way around. There are always two sides to a story, it's important to be cognizant of that.

[Portugal25]

2 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I don't think that's fair to say, as recently there are a lot of happy patients. Also, those who said there were 8 patients being operated on weren't being honest, and they were caught creating duplicate accounts. We had ASMED come here personally and clarify that information was false. Now, as for lawyers getting involved, until we have definite proof, we can't state that as facts. We also don't know if that person involved lawyers first. I can recall over a year ago, a patient on here sent a physician a letter from their lawyer requesting a full refund, then they came here and said that the doctor was suing them.

 I personally contacted the physician and was given proof that it was in fact the patient trying to intimidate the surgeon with a lawyer first, and afterward the doctor had to defend themselves with legal representation, and the patient acted like they were being bullied when it was the other way around. There are always two sides to a story, it's important to be cognizant of that.

@munich is the member that stated that ASMED is now a clinic that does tech run surgeries on 8 patients per day so I kindly ask @Melvin-Moderator to please confirm that  @munich is lying and creating duplicate accounts.

@dust78 stated ASMED told him to speak with their lawyers if wanted to go any further. Above @Melvin-Moderator stated there is no proof of this happening so I kindly ask you to please confirm if @dust78 is also lying.

@miko stated that he has been stonewalled by ASMED for over a year despite @Melvin-Moderator coming to to ASMED defense saying he has approached them and all will be sorted, is @miko also lying?

@Melvin-Moderator I told you in the other thread I was shocked when I read your comments defending this hairmill despite several members showing evidence of unethical behavior. If I’m wrong in believing these fellow members then please correct me.

If these members are not lying should we just assume that HRN now values paying Doctors or clinics regardless of their unethical behavior over real patients/members?

I say this because it would explain why instead of awarding a temporary ban to ASMED there was thread created by @Melvin-Moderator on May 1st promoting ASMED online consultations.

I do hope HRN is still like when I signed up 12 years ago when this was a community for people suffering from hairloss and we all came here to read about HT experiences, look at real patients before&afters pictures and ask for honest and unbiased advice!

Edited May 8, 2020 by Portugal25

[dust78]

32 minutes ago, Portugal25 said:

@munich is the member that stated that ASMED is now a clinic that does tech run surgeries on 8 patients so I kindly ask @Melvin-Moderator to please confirm that  @munich is lying and creating duplicate accounts.

@dust78 stated ASMED told him to speak with their lawyers if wanted to go any further. Above @Melvin-Moderator stated there is no proof of this happening so I kindly ask you to please confirm if @dust78 is also lying.

@miko stated that he has been stonewalled by ASMED for over a year despite @Melvin-Moderator coming to to ASMED defense saying he has approached them and all will be sorted, is @miko also lying?

@Melvin-Moderator I told you in the other thread I was shocked when I read your comments defending this hairmill despite several members showing evidence of unethical behavior. 

I would really like to understand why instead of temporary ban to ASMED there’s a thread created by @Melvin-Moderator on May 1st informing that ASMED is having online consultations?

Is HRN now only about who pays the most or is HRN still like when I signed up 12 years ago when this was a community for people suffering from hairloss and we all came here to read about HT experiences and ask for honest and unbiased advic

Edited May 8, 2020 by dust78

[dust78]

1 hour ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I don't think that's fair to say, as recently there are a lot of happy patients. Also, those who said there were 8 patients being operated on weren't being honest, and they were caught creating duplicate accounts. We had ASMED come here personally and clarify that information was false. Now, as for lawyers getting involved, until we have definite proof, we can't state that as facts. We also don't know if that person involved lawyers first. I can recall over a year ago, a patient on here sent a physician a letter from their lawyer requesting a full refund, then they came here and said that the doctor was suing them.

 I personally contacted the physician and was given proof that it was in fact the patient trying to intimidate the surgeon with a lawyer first, and afterward the doctor had to defend themselves with legal representation, and the patient acted like they were being bullied when it was the other way around. There are always two sides to a story, it's important to be cognizant of that.

I can confirm that when i did the surgery there were other 7/8 patients  the same day .I have never involved a lawyer ( it doesnt mean i will not do it in the future). They were the first who involved a lawyer when i told them that they ruin my donor and they made a medical malpractice. I can prove it because i have the mails, they cant and will never deny it because they know that they would lie if they say is not true. I would never start a battle in this forum or  others,  if they made things well and in an ethical way. They  totally went wrong with me in every aspects. That s all i have to say!

Edited May 8, 2020 by dust78

[HTHope]

9 minutes ago, dust78 said:

I can confirm that when i did the surgery there were other 7/8 patients  the same day .I have never involved a lawyer ( it doesnt mean i will not do it in the future). They were the first who involved a lawyer when i told them that they ruin my donor and they made a medical malpractice. I can prove it because i have the mails, they cant and will never deny it because they know that they would lie if they say is not true. I would never start a battle in this forum or  others,  if they made things well and in an ethical way. They  totally went wrong with me in every aspects. That s all i have to say!

can you post the letter/email that you received? This would def help put some of this to bed. Of course you can blur out your name or any other info that would reveal our identity

[Melvin- Admin]

3 hours ago, Portugal25 said:

@munich is the member that stated that ASMED is now a clinic that does tech run surgeries on 8 patients per day so I kindly ask @Melvin-Moderator to please confirm that  @munich is lying and creating duplicate accounts.

@dust78 stated ASMED told him to speak with their lawyers if wanted to go any further. Above @Melvin-Moderator stated there is no proof of this happening so I kindly ask you to please confirm if @dust78 is also lying.

@miko stated that he has been stonewalled by ASMED for over a year despite @Melvin-Moderator coming to to ASMED defense saying he has approached them and all will be sorted, is @miko also lying?

@Melvin-Moderator I told you in the other thread I was shocked when I read your comments defending this hairmill despite several members showing evidence of unethical behavior. If I’m wrong in believing these fellow members then please correct me.

If these members are not lying should we just assume that HRN now values paying Doctors or clinics regardless of their unethical behavior over real patients/members?

I say this because it would explain why instead of awarding a temporary ban to ASMED there was thread created by @Melvin-Moderator on May 1st promoting ASMED online consultations.

I do hope HRN is still like when I signed up 12 years ago when this was a community for people suffering from hairloss and we all came here to read about HT experiences, look at real patients before&afters pictures and ask for honest and unbiased advice!

Now munich was not the individual, the person I’m talking about is @ATM110. You seem to completely dismiss the happy patients like @Craig2412, so it’s clear you only take in to account unhappy patients, and those who have good results are “lucky” that’s ludicrous. 
 

@DEB1982 lucky, so is @nb98 @MrBolo @LordBaldwin @CosmoKramer @Gofi 

I’ve never seen anyone mention these happy patients, not even once, and when they come on threads, you say “luck” that’s just not true. 

[Gatsby]

GLHF,

You are doing all the right things. I strongly suggest that you learn from the mistakes of others like myself (have a look at my thread which I have just uploaded) as opposed to mistakes you can make yourself as learning from my mistakes will cost you nothing!! I would also encourage you to look at Joe Tillman, both on YouTube and at his website 'The Hair Transplant Mentor.'

Stick with minoxidil for at least 6 months (preferably much longer) and since you have commenced with finasteride I would also wait for a good 12 months before evaluating any improvement. You may find that your crown and hair all over your scalp responds really well to minoxidil and that finasteride may not only stabilize your hair loss, but also strengthen what you have to compliment the minoxidil.