Hair transplant in Turkey worth it?

[Melvin- Admin]

21 hours ago, rgm82 said:

I guess the main point to be made is whatever TV you buy be it full retail or a wholesale or on clearance or whatever is you do the research and gather the information before making the purchase, right?...I can always go to Arocha, I have the quote I live in Texas, I know him to be one of the best, it's always an option I just have to save a little more to make it happen.

Or if I can possibly find someone just as good in Turkey who is charging much less and can possibly get me in during the window in which I will already be in Europe anyway this is potentially a good choice as well, no? I'm not in a huge rush, I'm just going to be in that part of the world in a few months anyway so I figure it's at least worth looking into...the refrain I feel I keep hearing is Bicer, Pekiner and HLC are the best over there, would I be sacrificing much in quality if I go with one of them or are they also very good choices in comparison to Arocha or other surgeons stateside? If so then maybe I reach out to all three and get quotes, then do the cost benefit analysis - if their cost is much less than Arocha's quote even accounting for travel/lodging expenses and the dollar-euro conversion rate then perhaps it's a good option for me, if it turns out that it's not much or any savings however then perhaps I wait and save a little more and go with Arocha later.

That's all this post is about, it's just fact finding: A) figure out who in Turkey is good/on the level with the better american doctors and B) get a sense of how much they charge and based on that is it worth it for me? Mine would be a relatively small job, my sense is that the more grafts you get probably the more value there is in buying a plane ticket, booking a hotel and spending a week or whatever in Turkey getting this done. But the only way to know for sure is to figure out who the top doctors are, get the quotes, research the plane tix/hotel accommodations and crunch the numbers

 

Cheaper than $5000 I’m sure you can find a cheap hair mill that’ll botch you for cheaper. But most quality clinics in Turkey are gonna be close to that price. You’re better off going to Arocha in my opinion.

[Gatsby]

You would sooner find an honest man in parliament than luck a better result in turkey than you would with Dr Arocha. As Melvin has said this is what you and everyone else see everyday for the rest of your life. It's a no brainier with the utmost of respect. I would pay one hundred times the cost of what I paid for my bad decision in a heart beat today (and I'm quite serious if it was possible to go back in time and do it)! Don't be that person. Think of it like a rifle. Once you pull that trigger you can never retrieve the bullet.

[rgm82]

I'm just a little bit confused now because I feel I'm getting contradictory information, the general consensus seems to be that HLC, Pekiner and Bicer and very solid, recommended choices but also not to go near Turkish doctors with a 10 foot pole...so what is the vedict? Can I expect a good result from these doctor-run clinics or no? 

For what it's worth I've already reached out to all three just to get information - Pekiner hasn't responded, Bicer responded once but hasn't followed up, only HLC has actually provided real info - 2000 grafts, 2.7 Euro/graft, 50 grafts/cm2, FUE only (this being a rough estimate based on photos I provided) ...they also offer an optional additional "surgery package fee" for room and board during your stay, not sure if that counts as one of the highly questionable "all-inclusive packages" that some of the disdained hairmills are providing since it is an extra charge, but it's an option

This is more grafts than expected, double the 1000 or so that were prescribed 5 years ago so perhaps I've lost a little more hair since then or perhaps the team at HLC couldn't get a clear picture of what I need from the photos I provided, or maybe a little of both.

I also reached out to Arocha again just for the hell of it to see what he had to say but he hasn't gotten back to me either, so...that's what I have to go on for now

Edited July 4, 2021 by rgm82

[Melvin- Admin]

There are a few good clinics in Turkey, but the cost will be relatively similar to 5,000 with travel expenses added. If you were quoted that price with Arocha it’s a no-brainer. Especially since travel is still restricted, you’ll need to be approved for a visa to travel. 

[BLE123]

2 hours ago, rgm82 said:

I'm just a little bit confused now because I feel I'm getting contradictory information, the general consensus seems to be that HLC, Pekiner and Bicer and very solid, recommended choices but also not to go near Turkish doctors with a 10 foot pole...so what is the vedict? Can I expect a good result from these doctor-run clinics or no? 

For what it's worth I've already reached out to all three just to get information - Pekiner hasn't responded, Bicer responded once but hasn't followed up, only HLC has actually provided real info - 2000 grafts, 2.7 Euro/graft, 50 grafts/cm2, FUE only (this being a rough estimate based on photos I provided) ...they also offer an optional additional "surgery package fee" for room and board during your stay, not sure if that counts as one of the highly questionable "all-inclusive packages" that some of the disdained hairmills are providing since it is an extra charge, but it's an option

This is more grafts than expected, double the 1000 or so that were prescribed 5 years ago so perhaps I've lost a little more hair since then or perhaps the team at HLC couldn't get a clear picture of what I need from the photos I provided, or maybe a little of both.

I also reached out to Arocha again just for the hell of it to see what he had to say but he hasn't gotten back to me either, so...that's what I have to go on for now

Turkey has more viable surgeons per sq/mile than any other country, it's just that the same can be said for the not so good ones. Thanks to forums like this though we know which ones are doing good work and which to avoid, unfortunately though the good clinics get tarred with the same brush purely because they're in the same country. Pekiner and HLC are the most expensive at around €2.5 per graft or so but Bicer also has a lot of good results lately and is only €1.5, another budget option is Demirsoy who I think gets overlooked despite consistently producing solid results and I think he charges around €1.25(I could be wrong). Asmed are a bit hit and miss but seem to have upped their game again more recently. It's possible to get a good result at a "hair mill" but that's for you to decide whether it's worth the risk.

[MachoVato]

5 hours ago, rgm82 said:

"surgery package fee"

That's a fee for driver service to/from airport, staying in their apartment across the street from clinic (small 4 room unit, shared with other patients), and dinner delivered to the apartment by a local restaurant. 

There's nothing wrong with the better Turkish clinics (I went to HLC). The hundred others I'd stay away from. I think the issue is that you can get Arocha for about the same cost as you could get from HLC/Pekiner including airfare. You could save money with Bicer at 1.5 Euro for motorized FUE, but maybe only $1-2k.

Some feedback on the HLC quote... it'll change once you're in the chair and go through the hairline drawing process. They are big on "dense packing" at 50 grafts/cm2. Usually it's just the front 1cm across the hairline, but it sounds like they are quoting 50 for the whole area. And they are likely to add density behind that front tuft. Again, you would have a lot of input into the design and density, which determines the graft count.

 

Personally, I live in Houston so Arocha is local to me. But I still went to Turkey. 4200 grafts would have cost me over $21k in Houston. But I spent about $15k in Turkey, flew business class, and stayed an extra week for some sight seeing. I'm a little adventurous... I'm planning my second transplant, roughly 1000-1500 grafts, and I'm flying to Belgium for that for a lot more $/graft.

[rgm82]

Yeah I'll just have to wait and hopefully hear back from Arocha, see if his quote for my case has changed since 2016...now that I'm thinking on it more i believe he said his procedure would normally be more like $8k for my case but for whatever reason he was able to offer it to me at that time for only $5k (this was first week of january, maybe holiday special? i have no idea...) unfortunately I didn't have $5k to blow at the time but I do now, so if he can still do it for that price great otherwise I guess i'll look more into HLC.

I too am the adventurous type, I don't mind flying halfway around the world to get this done as long as i can be confident the doctors involved are competent - I too would probably be inclined to hang around a bit longer and see Istanbul

I'm well pretty versed in the travel restrictions as I've been planning an 8 week stint in Europe for the past couple months...they change all the time and with the delta variant floating around everything is up in the air but as of now it's pretty easy to get into Turkey, it's getting out that's the issue.