FUE by Dr. Bisanga, BHR Clinic in Brussels | 1528 Grafts | Aug 12, 2021 (Crown and Temples)

[MachoVato]

2 hours ago, Curious25 said:

Why did you not opt to go back to HLC out of interest?

Absolutely nothing wrong with HLC, I love my results! But for this session I was only interested in crown and temples. I hadn't seen many HLC results on these areas, especially temples. And I was really concerned about my donor. Since I'd be at 5,700 grafts total, I needed a doctor who could really protect that. In my research, Bisanga had beautiful examples of crown & temples and his donor management was perfect.

I've always wanted to go to Bisanga but I couldn't afford him first time. He's about twice the price of HLC after VAT. For this smaller 1500 graft procedure, my options opened up. My top 2 doctors are Bisanga and De Freitas. I was able to consult, book, and complete the procedure with Bisanga *before* De Freitas even give me an online evaluation and quote. 😂 I still haven't received a quote. 

I did get a quote from HLC. Their first opening was in October, which was too late for me. Besides, I've been to Turkey a few times already. I've never been to Belgium.

These two transplants have cost me about $20k USD. But if I had all 5700 grafts done at Bisanga, it would have cost me over $32k!

There are so many people that have made poor decisions with their first (and sometimes second) transplant. I'm not one of them. I've made great choices. I my opinion, HLC is the best option at the 2.5 Euro price, especially for hairlines. To get better, the price jumps to 3.5-5 Euro. 

[Curious25]

5 hours ago, MachoVato said:

Absolutely nothing wrong with HLC, I love my results! But for this session I was only interested in crown and temples. I hadn't seen many HLC results on these areas, especially temples. And I was really concerned about my donor. Since I'd be at 5,700 grafts total, I needed a doctor who could really protect that. In my research, Bisanga had beautiful examples of crown & temples and his donor management was perfect.

I've always wanted to go to Bisanga but I couldn't afford him first time. He's about twice the price of HLC after VAT. For this smaller 1500 graft procedure, my options opened up. My top 2 doctors are Bisanga and De Freitas. I was able to consult, book, and complete the procedure with Bisanga *before* De Freitas even give me an online evaluation and quote. 😂 I still haven't received a quote. 

I did get a quote from HLC. Their first opening was in October, which was too late for me. Besides, I've been to Turkey a few times already. I've never been to Belgium.

These two transplants have cost me about $20k USD. But if I had all 5700 grafts done at Bisanga, it would have cost me over $32k!

There are so many people that have made poor decisions with their first (and sometimes second) transplant. I'm not one of them. I've made great choices. I my opinion, HLC is the best option at the 2.5 Euro price, especially for hairlines. To get better, the price jumps to 3.5-5 Euro. 

 

Good for you man. Happy growing  

[duchaine]

I really like the way he designed your temples.
You didn't shave completely your head. 
Is it hard to handle post op care with long hairs?

[MachoVato]

1 hour ago, duchaine said:

I really like the way he designed your temples.
You didn't shave completely your head. 
Is it hard to handle post op care with long hairs?

All the areas he worked on were shaved... crown, donor and temples. He didn't touch my hairline or frontal third. I look like a serial killer but I'm wearing a hat in the gym. Haha! I'll shave it once my hair grows out. 

[MachoVato]

On 8/21/2021 at 4:39 AM, bw77 said:

Great write up! Thanks man, I'm looking to have similar work done and I've considered both offices. I'll be watching closely.

Thanks! At this level, I think you're in good hands. I would have been happy to return to HLC. My experience and results are that good to me. But really, Bisanga is something else. Keep him on your radar. 

[follically challenged]

On 8/14/2021 at 4:37 PM, MachoVato said:

I was told not drink alcohol, but I fly back tomorrow and I had to have some Belgian beer. I love blondes!

*This photo is not endorsed by BHR Clinic or its representatives*

 

I'll be heading out to Belgium in a few weeks...

And I gotta tell ya, i'm now constantly thinking of this beer. Really looking forward to getting out there!

Any recommendations on stuff to do there?

[Melvin- Admin]

Great detailed experience. Dr. Bisanga is truly one of the best in the business. Btw whats your trap routine bro haha

[duchaine]

21 hours ago, MachoVato said:

All the areas he worked on were shaved... crown, donor and temples. He didn't touch my hairline or frontal third. I look like a serial killer but I'm wearing a hat in the gym. Haha! I'll shave it once my hair grows out. 

I see but when you wash and dry your head, do you have any trouble with the long hair on the front?

another question: did Bisogna give you any advice for weight training?

Edited August 24, 2021 by duchaine

[MachoVato]

2 hours ago, duchaine said:

I see but when you wash and dry your head, do you have any trouble with the long hair on the front?

another question: did Bisogna give you any advice for weight training?

No issues at all. The first week I clean with a bottle of ISO Betadine spray, no soap. Second week I use a special jojoba shampoo and I just use that on my whole head. Drying is easy, I pat dry and use a blow dryer. Ill keep it long for now, I actually look good in zoom calls. Once my native hair grows out, I'll cut the top to match.

His instructions were to wait 14 days for exercise. I was in the gym on day 8. haha! But no cardio, low sweat. And I kept my head elevated. 

I am healing very fast. Nearly all scabs were gone by day 8. Donor area looks great. This is much better than with HLC... of course that was 4200 grafts, this time only 1500.

[MachoVato]

7 hours ago, follically challenged said:

I'll be heading out to Belgium in a few weeks...

And I gotta tell ya, i'm now constantly thinking of this beer. Really looking forward to getting out there!

Any recommendations on stuff to do there?

Haha! It was good beer, for sure!

I didn't get a chance to explore the city. I only had 3 nights. I was in full recovery so I just relaxed in the hotel. I owe Brussels a proper visit. I'll wait until Oktoberfest or something like that. There might be some beer festivals (most likely cancelled this year). Look them up!

[A Fue Good Men]

Bisangas work is very impressive!

 

Did he give you an opinion on hlc’s extraction pattern? Did he mention if there would be a visual difference in your donor at shorter lengths since he harvested from one side? Was the imbalance of your donor a result of hlc’s harvesting? Oh yeah, did he advise how many grafts you have left?

[deeznuts]

Dr. Bisanga going the extra mile really impressed me. That scar is something that you aren't paying for since you're paying on a per graft basis. Not every doctor would have taken the time to remove that scar and I know for sure that those hair mills in Turkey wouldn't give it a second thought. And the time he spends picking out the perfect hairs also makes me think that looking at doctors on a cost per graft basis sometimes isn't fair. 

Definitely the little things are the most impressive just because you can tell he takes pride in his work and pays attention to detail and that makes a big difference with hair transplants imo.

 

[MachoVato]

4 hours ago, 5BetaReductase said:

Bisangas work is very impressive!

 

Did he give you an opinion on hlc’s extraction pattern? Did he mention if there would be a visual difference in your donor at shorter lengths since he harvested from one side? Was the imbalance of your donor a result of hlc’s harvesting? Oh yeah, did he advise how many grafts you have left?

He was complimentary on their work. Under microscope, he said my left side was mostly singles and doubles. HLC took the "juicy" multis. Haha

My sides have a bit of retrograde so I don't think it was ever my strong donor area. It doesn't make sense but when I grow out the sides it looks thinner. So I started to wear my sides shorter, a low fade, which hides it. You can see my last haircut here... (If you look hard enough, you can see that hair in the middle of that scar)

https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/58303-fue-by-hlc-ankara-4261-grafts-nov-7-2020/?do=findComment&comment=597067

 

I don't think he needed to use my sides at all. He said I had good donor, but didn't give me a count. 

[yesplease]

Looking good. At your age, you should be all set into your 60s at the least! Good for you.

You mentioned previously that you had switched from oral fin to topical min/fin because you were having some side effects? How long were you on oral fin? Did the sides resolve when you switched to topical? Any additional or new issues with sides while on the topical? And, does it seem as though you lost any ground switching from oral to topical? Finally, where did you obtain the topical solution and what % concentration of min/fin is in it?

Thanks, and keep us updated on that crown! Good luck

[MachoVato]

1 hour ago, yesplease said:

Looking good. At your age, you should be all set into your 60s at the least! Good for you.

You mentioned previously that you had switched from oral fin to topical min/fin because you were having some side effects? How long were you on oral fin? Did the sides resolve when you switched to topical? Any additional or new issues with sides while on the topical? And, does it seem as though you lost any ground switching from oral to topical? Finally, where did you obtain the topical solution and what % concentration of min/fin is in it?

Thanks, and keep us updated on that crown! Good luck

I was using this product.

https://www.minoxidilmax.com/maxogen-x-topical-finasteride-8-minoxidil-retinoic-acid

 

I've since stopped. Once my hair grew out, it became difficult to apply. It's a dropper and the liquid just gets all over the hair itself. Today, I'm back on oral finasteride. And when I was in Brussels, Dr. Bisanga arranged for me to get oral minoxidil. He prefers it to topical and that you need a special enzyme for topical minoxidil to work. Again, foam minoxidil is harder to apply with my new hair.

So now I'm taking 5mg minoxidil & 0.5mg finasteride 3x/week. No real sides that I can tell, especially at these dosages. 

[Melvin- Admin]

19 hours ago, MachoVato said:

I was using this product.

https://www.minoxidilmax.com/maxogen-x-topical-finasteride-8-minoxidil-retinoic-acid

 

I've since stopped. Once my hair grew out, it became difficult to apply. It's a dropper and the liquid just gets all over the hair itself. Today, I'm back on oral finasteride. And when I was in Brussels, Dr. Bisanga arranged for me to get oral minoxidil. He prefers it to topical and that you need a special enzyme for topical minoxidil to work. Again, foam minoxidil is harder to apply with my new hair.

So now I'm taking 5mg minoxidil & 0.5mg finasteride 3x/week. No real sides that I can tell, especially at these dosages. 

You should start a separate thread on your topical fin and oral min, Dr. Bisanga is adamant it’s better than the reverse. 

[MachoVato]

Got some photos from the clinic. 

 

[MachoVato]

A couple quick pics at the MONTH 2 mark. Not much to show as it's all fallen out and nothing is growing yet. I can feel little stubbies but that's about it. I can't wait until month 4 or 5!

For now I'll use fibers on the crown when I'm not wearing a hat. 😛

 

 

[Gokuhairline]

niice

[NW8]

Looks great I think your temples will be very aesthetic. 

[Gatsby]

@MachoVato I am incredibly happy for you! Just when you thought 'Elvis has left the building' you come rocking up with an even better awesome looking head of hair! That hairline is incredibly soft and natural and completely undetectable. I've also gone from Finasteride 1mg a day (until I developed sexual side effects) and then went off the drug. I have since gone back onto Finasteride taking 0.5mg every second day and so far no problems. Anyway wishing you all the best and I look forward to your future updates! Thanks for sharing!

[MachoVato]

1 hour ago, Gatsby said:

@MachoVato I am incredibly happy for you! Just when you thought 'Elvis has left the building' you come rocking up with an even better awesome looking head of hair! That hairline is incredibly soft and natural and completely undetectable. I've also gone from Finasteride 1mg a day (until I developed sexual side effects) and then went off the drug. I have since gone back onto Finasteride taking 0.5mg every second day and so far no problems. Anyway wishing you all the best and I look forward to your future updates! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the kind words, sir! I haven't cut the top/front of my hair in about 3 months. I'm going to grow it out, which I've never done. I don't know if it's better than before, but I love it just because it's new to me. It is a little "poofy" so I might need to weigh it down somehow... or thin it out, yikes!! Haha!

So far no sides on 0.5mg 3X/week of finasteride. I'll leave it that way for now. So much as I don't have sides, I have no problem taking it forever. I'm really hoping the oral minoxidil will start bearing fruit soon. Especially in areas that I never applied it topically, like the donor areas (sides and back). 

[MachoVato]

Quick update on the temples. It's been 3.5 months, so still very early. But I am already seeing really nice changes.

I'll update on my crown at month 5.

 

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, MachoVato said:

Quick update on the temples. It's been 3.5 months, so still very early. But I am already seeing really nice changes.

I'll update on my crown at month 5.

 

The temples already massively better 

[Britanium]

Kicking in already !  Very nice early growth 👍🏽