Asmed 3500 Grafts FUE, November 2019

[cabelozinho]

I had a hair transplant operation in Asmed in late November 2019

As said by many others, from consultation to the operation they run the process very well and highly professional. I was quite satisfied with their communication and care. Team was polite, friendly I had nothing to complain during the process and I enjoyed my stay in the clinic.

I already had a failed hair transplant 2 years prior to my 2nd operation that’s why I was determined not to play a gamble this time. That’s why Asmed was my first and only choice. 

Since I’ve been already shedding on the crown part Asmed wanted to operate only the frontal because I refused to take finasteride. They told me to wait until the hair loss gets completed at the mid scalp then a 2nd operation can be planned. My first transplant was also operated at frontal part so the idea was to increase hair density at the frontal. It made sense and we agreed to have the operation for 3500 grafts . As the previous operation already cost me 3000 grafts, it was really important for me to use my donor in the best possible way. Operation went well and I didn’t suffer from any issue during the post operation process. Thou I was a bit skeptic about the hair density after 10 days but clinic said all looks well.

I was supposed to go to clinic for a check after 6 months but clinic was closed due to pandemic. I realized there hasn’t been much progress. I sent my photos to the clinic and they made a brief comment saying all goes well and I have to wait minimum 13 months, so I did. I contacted clinic again exactly after 13 months and shared my poor results. They wrote that it’s not possible to evaluate from the photos so I was invited to clinic.

Clinic said the result is successful and it’s the maximum I can get with my current hair volume &  without finasteride that’s why they didn’t offer any touch up however after my post they became willing to communicate and make it up. Given the amount of my remaining grafts I’m no longer in a position to take more risks so I’m not thinking to have another operation at this moment. I’ll save the donor for a possible operation in the future for my crown part. 

donor and time and in the end my hair density didn’t even increase %50.

[Navthedon]

There is no surgeon (that I have seen) who can compare to Asmed for hair transplants. He is simply in a different class, however this is the first case where I have seen a result this poor. If I was you id negotiate with Asmed and say you will meet them half way and pay for 750 grafts and they pay for 750 grafts...seems fair.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Navthedon

[cabelozinho]

Spectacular as above? LOL

[Zinedine]

On 5/1/2021 at 2:30 PM, cabelozinho said:

I had a hair transplant operation in Asmed in late November 2019

As said by many others, from consultation to the operation they run the process very well and highly professional. I was quite satisfied with their communication and care. Team was polite, friendly I had nothing to complain during the process and I enjoyed my stay in the clinic.

I already had a failed hair transplant 2 years prior to my 2nd operation that’s why I was determined not to play a gamble this time. That’s why Asmed was my first and only choice. 

Since I’ve been already shedding on the crown part Asmed wanted to operate only the frontal because I refused to take finasteride. They told me to wait until the hair loss gets completed at the mid scalp then a 2nd operation can be planned. My first transplant was also operated at frontal part so the idea was to increase hair density at the frontal. It made sense and we agreed to have the operation for 3500 grafts . As the previous operation already cost me 3000 grafts, it was really important for me to use my donor in the best possible way. Operation went well and I didn’t suffer from any issue during the post operation process. Thou I was a bit skeptic about the hair density after 10 days but clinic said all looks well.

I was supposed to go to clinic for a check after 6 months but clinic was closed due to pandemic. I realized there hasn’t been much progress. I sent my photos to the clinic and they made a brief comment saying all goes well and I have to wait minimum 13 months, so I did. I contacted clinic again exactly after 13 months and shared my poor results. They wrote that it’s not possible to evaluate from the photos so I was invited to clinic. Although my operation was performed by Dr. Erdogan, Dr. Dilek came to judge my results. I can easily tell from the first moment she entered to room she was so prepared to defend themselves. First she started to use finasteride as an excuse.I told them finasteride doesn't effect the frontal, I could have agreed if I had an operation from the crown part but no. Then she tried to put the blame on my previous operation which didn’t make sense at all. She added that the way they transplanted the grafts in previous surgery was wrong that’s why my density looks poor. This result have nothing to do with my previous operation because most of the hair on my hairline belongs to my earlier operation and this can easily be seen in the photos. Since I wasn’t satisfied with these explanations this time she said my hair volume is poor so there is not much they can do. 

Strangely all the examinations before the operation were highly promising but after the operation it was no longer their concern somehow.

The most funny part was they suggested me to comb my hair back. After paying 8000 euros I ended up with this advice and result. I told them that I’m not happy with the result and it needs to be compensated. My disappointment peaked after I was asked to pay for the revision surgery for 1500 grafts. I wrote them that’s not acceptable since they didn’t deliver what they were supposed to but in return they got away with it with a generic reply saying all is ok with my operation and this is the maximum I can get. Given their reputation as a top clinic of Turkey with this price their attitude is far from being professional and ethic. I spent all that money, donor and time and in the end my hair density didn’t even increase %50.

Hello @cabelozinho,

First of al I hope your are feeling good. 

Second, thanks for showing this experience. From looking at the before and after photos I´m so confused 🤔 how could you know they put 3500 grafts there? If they did, it doesnt look right... the result, I´m sorry to say but as you are saying it´s really really poor.

On this photo it looks that they relly put a lot of grafts there ...

 

But the final OUTCOME it´s not showing those grats... poor survival. They did somthing wrong Im afraid 😟

 

And the problem is that this results at ASMED are happening every day now. There have been many complaints about the recent work from this clinic. They were supposed to be very good in the past decade but seems they changed something and results are not there anymore.

And your meeting at the clinic with that Doctor is really sad. He should have been more understanding and not just almost "accusing" you of this poor result... finasteride, bad quality hair, your previous surgery... they knew about all that before they took your case right? And they said your result would be a success? What happened then? They should take responsibility ... it´s so sad they just look for excuses, that says very little about them... poor result, worst behavior about it. Bad bad bad!

My friend, I hope you find a good clinic to fix this. Have you look into a Doctor for your repair? Your donor, how is it looking? You have already used 6500 so next one might be the last.

Thanks again for showing this so that we can avoid clinics like this one.

Best of luck

 

 

[mxm56]

Why do you think that Finasteride does not work for the frontal part, just for the crown? I swear is the first time i read this. As far as i know, Finasteride does work with all hair so maybe Finasteride would help for real in your case. In fact, i started Finasteride a few months ago especially for the front, and it seems to be working well to me, even if we are only on the early stages.

Edited May 7, 2021 by mxm56

[ciaus]

28 minutes ago, mxm56 said:

Why do you think that Finasteride does not work for the frontal part, just for the crown? I swear is the first time i read this. As far as i know, Finasteride does work with all hair so maybe Finasteride would help for real in your case. In fact, i started Finasteride a few months ago especially for the front, and it seems to be working well to me, even if we are only on the early stages.

You're right that it works with all hair, but not all hair has the same sensitivity to DHT. The front is usually the first to go because its the most sensitive. And alot of guys wait until a good part of their front is past the point of no return before they start trying to address their hair loss. 

[cabelozinho]

My point is I already lost my hair on the frontal and I already had a transplant for that area. So the hair I have in that area is transplanted. However my crown part is thinning still so having a transplant would harm the existing hair and without finasteride result could be less successful. What I mean finasteride cannot be the main reason for such result. 

[cabelozinho]

On 5/6/2021 at 4:23 PM, Zinedine said:

Hello @cabelozinho,

First of al I hope your are feeling good. 

Second, thanks for showing this experience. From looking at the before and after photos I´m so confused 🤔 how could you know they put 3500 grafts there? If they did, it doesnt look right... the result, I´m sorry to say but as you are saying it´s really really poor.

On this photo it looks that they relly put a lot of grafts there ...

 

But the final OUTCOME it´s not showing those grats... poor survival. They did somthing wrong Im afraid 😟

 

And the problem is that this results at ASMED are happening every day now. There have been many complaints about the recent work from this clinic. They were supposed to be very good in the past decade but seems they changed something and results are not there anymore.

And your meeting at the clinic with that Doctor is really sad. He should have been more understanding and not just almost "accusing" you of this poor result... finasteride, bad quality hair, your previous surgery... they knew about all that before they took your case right? And they said your result would be a success? What happened then? They should take responsibility ... it´s so sad they just look for excuses, that says very little about them... poor result, worst behavior about it. Bad bad bad!

My friend, I hope you find a good clinic to fix this. Have you look into a Doctor for your repair? Your donor, how is it looking? You have already used 6500 so next one might be the last.

Thanks again for showing this so that we can avoid clinics like this one.

Best of luck

 

 

Thanks, I honestly started to become delusional and try to believe the result is actually ok. When I saw this post below I wanted to create a topic because user's experience seemed similar to mine; https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/56597-my-ht-at-asmed-and-dr-koray-erdogan-january-2017/?tab=comments#comment-538567

 

Regarding another hair transplant I actually don't want to rush and also a bit tired about this whole hair transplant process. If I do it's not gonna be in Turkey definitely.

They already knew about my case that's why they offered to work on frontal to increase the density. The area they worked was already small and had hair so it shouldn't be hard to perform well for such clinic. I also went to clinic every day during the first 10 days for the wash because I didn't want to take any risk. The remaining amount in my donor is around 2500 so I want to save it for my crown part.

I actually don't know what people do when they end up with such results and getting ignored by the clinics like that.

Thanks again

[ITA]

44 minutes ago, cabelozinho said:

I actually don't know what people do when they end up with such results and getting ignored by the clinics like that.

 

Most people who have a poor result like yours and are ignored by the clinic, do exactly what you are doing, post their result and their complaints, so that everyone can see and decide whether or not to go to that.  clinic to do their transplant, and especially not to return to the same clinic.
 Also on this forum, you could choose another clinic / surgeon, in case you decide to have another transplant.

[JayLDD]

I don't mean to piss on anyones bonfire, but to pretend this result is a disaster is a bit delusional.

Marginally different lighting, but it was very clearly a seethrough, unnatural mess prior to the ASMED procedure. Post-op it looks natural, frames the face properly albeit a bit of thinning. You're also not on finasteride and I assume after the first surgery that not all of that hair is the result of the transplant, you almost certainly lost most hair over that time period. 

For reference, I think you should take a look at what 3500 grafts over that area can actually achieve. There are plenty of Hasson cases (albeit an extreme example) where he is using that number of grafts in an area a third of the size. Would I expect slightly more density? Yes to a small degree, but its pretty clear that there is a large improvement.

"Thanks, I honestly started to become delusional and try to believe the result is actually ok. When I saw this post below I wanted to create a topic because user's experience seemed similar to mine; https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/56597-my-ht-at-asmed-and-dr-koray-erdogan-january-2017/?tab=comments#comment-538567"

The fact you question whether or not its ok and have to look at someone else's relentless complaints to decide whether your own is ok is in my opinion telling. Its an *ok* result overall.  Someone else's bad result with the same clinic doesn't make yours bad too. 

On the basis of the hairline prior to the surgery to after alone, I would say you've had a fairly significant success. Anyone looking at the former could see something was unnatural, in the second you look like a guy with thinning hair but a hairline that frames the face well. 

The photos where you spread the hair to show as much thinning as possible are pointless. There are photos of Melvin the moderator doing the same where it looks very thin, but his result when styled properly looks fantastic. In the 14 month photo the hair looks good to me. A little thin and the yield not perfect, but good. 

 

 

Edited May 7, 2021 by JayLDD

[Zinedine]

On 5/7/2021 at 9:04 PM, cabelozinho said:

Thanks, I honestly started to become delusional and try to believe the result is actually ok. When I saw this post below I wanted to create a topic because user's experience seemed similar to mine; https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/56597-my-ht-at-asmed-and-dr-koray-erdogan-january-2017/?tab=comments#comment-538567

 

Regarding another hair transplant I actually don't want to rush and also a bit tired about this whole hair transplant process. If I do it's not gonna be in Turkey definitely.

They already knew about my case that's why they offered to work on frontal to increase the density. The area they worked was already small and had hair so it shouldn't be hard to perform well for such clinic. I also went to clinic every day during the first 10 days for the wash because I didn't want to take any risk. The remaining amount in my donor is around 2500 so I want to save it for my crown part.

I actually don't know what people do when they end up with such results and getting ignored by the clinics like that.

Thanks again

Thanks for your answer and info. 

With those 2500 grafts you have left you can achieve a good result for sure. And yes, do not rush into anything. Take your time and find the best fit to do your next HT.

Lots of support and thanks a lot for sharing your story.

[cabelozinho]

On 5/7/2021 at 10:47 PM, JayLDD said:

I don't mean to piss on anyones bonfire, but to pretend this result is a disaster is a bit delusional.

Marginally different lighting, but it was very clearly a seethrough, unnatural mess prior to the ASMED procedure. Post-op it looks natural, frames the face properly albeit a bit of thinning. You're also not on finasteride and I assume after the first surgery that not all of that hair is the result of the transplant, you almost certainly lost most hair over that time period. 

For reference, I think you should take a look at what 3500 grafts over that area can actually achieve. There are plenty of Hasson cases (albeit an extreme example) where he is using that number of grafts in an area a third of the size. Would I expect slightly more density? Yes to a small degree, but its pretty clear that there is a large improvement.

"Thanks, I honestly started to become delusional and try to believe the result is actually ok. When I saw this post below I wanted to create a topic because user's experience seemed similar to mine; https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/56597-my-ht-at-asmed-and-dr-koray-erdogan-january-2017/?tab=comments#comment-538567"

The fact you question whether or not its ok and have to look at someone else's relentless complaints to decide whether your own is ok is in my opinion telling. Its an *ok* result overall.  Someone else's bad result with the same clinic doesn't make yours bad too. 

On the basis of the hairline prior to the surgery to after alone, I would say you've had a fairly significant success. Anyone looking at the former could see something was unnatural, in the second you look like a guy with thinning hair but a hairline that frames the face well. 

The photos where you spread the hair to show as much thinning as possible are pointless. There are photos of Melvin the moderator doing the same where it looks very thin, but his result when styled properly looks fantastic. In the 14 month photo the hair looks good to me. A little thin and the yield not perfect, but good. 

 

 

The photos where I spread the hair to show as much thinning as possible are pointless??? That's something clinic would say actually. Of course 14 months photo looks better because it was taken in the clinic and you can clearly see that it's with flash. That's why hair and my scalp looks darker. If you honestly think there is a spreading in 13 & 17 months results..well, I don't have much to add. I guess what you mean by proper hair styling refers combing hair from one side to another, yes it makes sense but I've been doing that already before I paid all that money and lost 3500 grafts for this operation. Thanks for the advice anyway

[JayLDD]

On 8/7/2021 at 7:52 AM, cabelozinho said:

The photos where I spread the hair to show as much thinning as possible are pointless??? That's something clinic would say actually. Of course 14 months photo looks better because it was taken in the clinic and you can clearly see that it's with flash. That's why hair and my scalp looks darker. If you honestly think there is a spreading in 13 & 17 months results..well, I don't have much to add. I guess what you mean by proper hair styling refers combing hair from one side to another, yes it makes sense but I've been doing that already before I paid all that money and lost 3500 grafts for this operation. Thanks for the advice anyway

"yes it makes sense but I've been doing that already before I paid all that money and lost 3500 grafts for this operation. "

In your before photo from the ASMED procedure its bordering on "hair plug" levels of unnaturalness, in the post it looks natural and like you have full head of hair, albeit thinning. 

In the real world, you aren't styling your hair by spreading it apart to make it look as bad as possible. To deduce what exactly should be done going forward and how many grafts a touchup might require it requires showing what it looks like when styled as normal, that is what actually matters as its what people will see. I understand the point about lighting differences, but again you haven't actually posted photos yourself from normal angles, normal household or outdoor lighting and from normal distances.  

What I'm trying to emphasise is that if things are as bad as you say and you've made clear you understand the importance of things like lighting in presentation, then you should be able to make a decent effort to actually show clearly that you have a bad result. Nothing you've shown here indicates something out of the norm I'd see on this very forum for that graft number for someone that isn't on finasteride and is thinning throughout their whole scalp. You had 3500 grafts to go from having an extremely unnatural presentation to a greatly improved presentation (at least on all the pics here) and 1000-1500 grafts would likely fill out the frontal third to the point it wouldn't be clear you're balding in that area.

You can disagree or be disappointed that your yield was 90+% like everyone hopes for, but this is a normal, natural looking result for that level of balding and area. If you compare it to the average Freitas or Hasson case on this forum then sure it looks below par, compare it to the average general case on this forum and you'll see that your comments are overly negative. 

Again, you even mention in your initial post you initially thought it might have been a decent result and then changed your mind when comparing to someone else with a negative experience. If you take away anything from what I've said, try to make the hair look as I emphasised "normal" from normal photos, and post those (and view yourself this way) without the weird hair spreading that only function for self-fulfilling proof that your assumptions about it being a bad result were true. I'd take it up with the clinic that you don't think your yield is perfect and that you feel it would be right for them to offer a free touchup (assuming you'd be willing to do this) but that would require shaving the scalp down to judge what exactly the yield was like. I don't think the yield is as bad as you think. 

[Melvin- Admin]

In my opinion, spreading your hair apart is not a fair way to present results. Nobody walks around with their hair like that. Hair transplants are not and will never be perfect, but I think this result is decent. Not spectacular, but by no means a failure. 
 

You can be unhappy as a patient, that’s your right, but I believe these pictures show an adequate result in my opinion.

[Mark Wolfer]

Quote

Asmed wanted to operate only the frontal because I refused to take finasteride.

Well after 17 months of not taking finasteride you lost more hair. If you trust the surgeon enough to let him do a procedure on your head, but not enough to take a well tolerated drug on his advice, then you will be disappointed in how your hair looks over time.

Edited August 10, 2021 by Mark Wolfer

[CaliforniaLiving]

Disagree that this is an acceptable result. For 3500 grafts in the front third you should expect a better result than shown, especially in the part of the hair.

 

edit: The fact that he is not on finasteride is irrelevant as well. There have been many cases with patients that have worse hair loss and no medication that have gotten decent coverage in the frontal third with 2500-3000 grafts. 

Edited August 11, 2021 by CaliforniaLiving
missing extra info

[cabelozinho]

On 8/9/2021 at 4:33 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

In my opinion, spreading your hair apart is not a fair way to present results. Nobody walks around with their hair like that. Hair transplants are not and will never be perfect, but I think this result is decent. Not spectacular, but by no means a failure. 
 

You can be unhappy as a patient, that’s your right, but I believe these pictures show an adequate result in my opinion.

I wouldn't say there is spreading in the pics however I've attached some different shots taken under different lights and angles so you can make a better judgement. I'm aware that hair transplants cannot be perfect but the result is far from being fair. It's even worse when it is considered that I already had a hair transplant on the same area.

[Gatsby]

You must remember that all hair transplants are to give the illusion of more hair. Truly successful hair transplants are the ones that look like nothing has been done!

[ConnorCrosby]

I believe it would be fair to define a good result as having correctly placed grafts in the recipient area combined with a high survival.

And with that in mind I would not call this a good result unfortunately. Plenty of other doctors/clinics would have given a better end result than this with that amount of grafts. I would also have been dissapointed, I feel you man!

[cabelozinho]

In the end I’ll have to go for another transplant (probably and hopefully the last one) Dr. Freitas asked me to take finasteride for 6 months and reach out again and my consultation with Dr. Couto is scheduled for next September.

Since I already had 2 operations before I dunno if I’m going to be accepted. I already lost around 6500 grafts (1st operation 3k, 2nd operation 3.5k) Asmed confirmed my remaining grafts as 2000 (although I don't believe a word they say) I may also consider scalp micropigmentation to fix my hairline.

I’m really disappointed (and frustrated) with this result. I’d say the progress after my 1st operation is maximum %25. All I can suggest to other people that to do their research thoroughly. I made a huge mistake by checking local forums more than global ones. I don’t recommend Asmed, they are nothing but an overpriced gamble.  

[botchedguy95]

I'm so sorry this was done to you mate.. know that many of us are in the same boat from that hair mill ASMED.. Koray should be ashamed of himself, you should leave a bad review on Google as well even though the clinic employs people to report bad reviews to have them removed.. disgusting

[Sitries1]

I have to be honest, I don't think that's a good use of 3500 grafts but if you have aggressive hairloss then you are fighting a losing battle not starting Finasteride 

[cabelozinho]

On 12/9/2022 at 8:05 PM, Sitries1 said:

I have to be honest, I don't think that's a good use of 3500 grafts but if you have aggressive hairloss then you are fighting a losing battle not starting Finasteride 

I don't see finasteride as an excuse anymore because most of the existing hair on the scalp is from my 1st operation. I really thought they made a messy job back then but this is a disaster compared to that. They at least managed to create a hairline, all Asmed was supposed to do was to increase density. Now I have near zero hair on the left and right sides of the frontal scalp. I can understand having better results with finasteride but end up with this otherwise? It's criminal to achieve this result after extracting 3500 grafts (it's equal to more than 5000 hairs according to report they shared) and charging €8000. In the beginning I was dissapointed because of the money I lost, but now I'm super upset because of the wasted donor as I'm getting rejected by the clinics due to extreme donor loss. 

[botchedguy95]

17 hours ago, cabelozinho said:

I don't see finasteride as an excuse anymore because most of the existing hair on the scalp is from my 1st operation. I really thought they made a messy job back then but this is a disaster compared to that. They at least managed to create a hairline, all Asmed was supposed to do was to increase density. Now I have near zero hair on the left and right sides of the frontal scalp. I can understand having better results with finasteride but end up with this otherwise? It's criminal to achieve this result after extracting 3500 grafts (it's equal to more than 5000 hairs according to report they shared) and charging €8000. In the beginning I was dissapointed because of the money I lost, but now I'm super upset because of the wasted donor as I'm getting rejected by the clinics due to extreme donor loss. 

This is the worst of it.. ASMED scars people for life, you are correct that it should be criminal and the way Koray Erdogan turns into a demon if you ask for a refund, If I were you i would ask for a refund anyway but be warned the man will show his true nature if you turn the conversation to money. 

[asterix0]

On 12/23/2022 at 11:19 AM, cabelozinho said:

I don't see finasteride as an excuse anymore because most of the existing hair on the scalp is from my 1st operation. I really thought they made a messy job back then but this is a disaster compared to that. They at least managed to create a hairline, all Asmed was supposed to do was to increase density. Now I have near zero hair on the left and right sides of the frontal scalp. I can understand having better results with finasteride but end up with this otherwise? It's criminal to achieve this result after extracting 3500 grafts (it's equal to more than 5000 hairs according to report they shared) and charging €8000. In the beginning I was dissapointed because of the money I lost, but now I'm super upset because of the wasted donor as I'm getting rejected by the clinics due to extreme donor loss. 

I am sorry you fell victim to this predatory clinic. Indeed these are typical lighting tricks many clinics play. If you dim the lights in the room, or have indirect lighting combined with flash from the camera, your result can look dramatically better than it does in real life.