My upcoming surgery with Eugenix of India and Dr. Arika Bansal

[H3ri]

1 hour ago, Ronnie said:

Thank you for all the useful info !!

I'll be traveling to Eugenix in December from the U.S. for my upcoming procedure. This will actually be my first time traveling out of the country. 

I'll be staying for 2 weeks in India, just for my own personal comfort so I have accomplished some healing before traveling back home half way around the world. 

Anyway, Could you tell me what were the standards at the hotel like ? Was it clean and modern? everything was efficient? Do they have laundry facilities if I need to do my laundry? 

You covered a lot of great info, I can't think of anything else at the moment.. 

@Ronnie Firstly congratulations and you'll take comfort in making a great decision! I stayed at the Westin Gurgaon, having previously stayed there on previous trips to India I knew the high quality to expect. 

It's 5 star and will be one of the best hospitality and top notch quality experiences you'll encounter.

I got to interact with the executive chef and head chefs, executive housekeeper, general manager, and food and beverage directors - I bestowed my thanks and comments to them and individuals who made the stay enjoyable having stayed for 13 nights in total. 

They have 4 different restaurants each with head chefs from country of restaurant like Italian and Japanese, top spa/sauna/steam, and beautiful outdoors/indoors area. 

They had laundry facility, which I used. They have chaffeur services and concierge who will arrange/accommodate anything. It was Navratri when I was in India and reply wanted to do garba/dandiya, the general manager Rahul took it upon himself to find me a place. 

I would stay at any of the 3/4/5 star hotels in Gurgaon close to Eugenix (10-15 min drive away). There are plenty of them to choose from. Check their amenities and rates. 

[Ronnie]

8 hours ago, H3ri said:

@Ronnie Firstly congratulations and you'll take comfort in making a great decision! I stayed at the Westin Gurgaon, having previously stayed there on previous trips to India I knew the high quality to expect. 

It's 5 star and will be one of the best hospitality and top notch quality experiences you'll encounter.

I got to interact with the executive chef and head chefs, executive housekeeper, general manager, and food and beverage directors - I bestowed my thanks and comments to them and individuals who made the stay enjoyable having stayed for 13 nights in total. 

They have 4 different restaurants each with head chefs from country of restaurant like Italian and Japanese, top spa/sauna/steam, and beautiful outdoors/indoors area. 

They had laundry facility, which I used. They have chaffeur services and concierge who will arrange/accommodate anything. It was Navratri when I was in India and reply wanted to do garba/dandiya, the general manager Rahul took it upon himself to find me a place. 

I would stay at any of the 3/4/5 star hotels in Gurgaon close to Eugenix (10-15 min drive away). There are plenty of them to choose from. Check their amenities and rates. 

They you for the help with all that info, great to know. Puts my mind at further ease, and I'm actually looking forward to the experience. 🙂

Did you pay for your procedure in advance? This is what I am planning to do since my bank will reject international charges on my debit card. 

[H3ri]

10 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

They you for the help with all that info, great to know. Puts my mind at further ease, and I'm actually looking forward to the experience. 🙂

Did you pay for your procedure in advance? This is what I am planning to do since my bank will reject international charges on my debit card. 

No I paid a deposit to Eugenix in advance. Everything else I settled in country using my credit card, which has no FX charges and even allows for ATM withdrawal without incurring daily interest like most credit cards. 

Regardless of paying in country or out of country - the merchant/seller will be using their own terminals, which will be based in India - so you might encounter the problem you stated. 

I'd highly recommend a credit card (has consumer protection baked-in) - the one I have from the US is the Capital One Venture double points (no FX charges). Let me know if you need a referral/recommendation.

[kirkland]

12 hours ago, H3ri said:

@Ronnie Firstly congratulations and you'll take comfort in making a great decision! I stayed at the Westin Gurgaon, having previously stayed there on previous trips to India I knew the high quality to expect. 

It's 5 star and will be one of the best hospitality and top notch quality experiences you'll encounter.

I got to interact with the executive chef and head chefs, executive housekeeper, general manager, and food and beverage directors - I bestowed my thanks and comments to them and individuals who made the stay enjoyable having stayed for 13 nights in total. 

They have 4 different restaurants each with head chefs from country of restaurant like Italian and Japanese, top spa/sauna/steam, and beautiful outdoors/indoors area. 

They had laundry facility, which I used. They have chaffeur services and concierge who will arrange/accommodate anything. It was Navratri when I was in India and reply wanted to do garba/dandiya, the general manager Rahul took it upon himself to find me a place. 

I would stay at any of the 3/4/5 star hotels in Gurgaon close to Eugenix (10-15 min drive away). There are plenty of them to choose from. Check their amenities and rates. 

Eugenix has a corporate account with the DoubleTree Hilton Gurugram Baani Square. That's where I stayed. It was fine for the amenities I needed - clean room, adequate buffet breakfast choices, room service, good menu choices for in-hotel restaurant. Plus it is about a 4 minute ride from the clinic. Eugenix will put you up there as a default for their complimentary 2-night accommodations. If you decide to stay longer, you can ask them for the Eugenix corporate rate. My 3 night additional stay with some room service, a couple of international calls and return drive to airport was less than $300 Canadian, which is good value for the quality of the stay. 

[kirkland]

5 day post-op pic. Everything is healing nicely. Both the donor and recipient areas can be touched gently with little discomfort (the punctures in the donor area, which I did not take a pic of, are still a little tender which is to be expected).

 

[kirkland]

Melvin's recent posting on the myth of a quick turnaround healing time of one week, for those figuring out how much time to book off work, is spot on. The hairline/midscalp was done 6 days ago, the midscalp/vertex was done 5 days ago. The scabs are not ready to come off. If I had taken a week off from work in the hopes that upon my return, no one will have noticed, this is what I would look like strolling into the office tomorrow morning. Pancake makeup is not suggested. Seriously.  

Edited October 17, 2021 by kirkland
grammarly

[Ronny4050]

13 hours ago, kirkland said:

Eugenix has a corporate account with the DoubleTree Hilton Gurugram Baani Square. That's where I stayed. It was fine for the amenities I needed - clean room, adequate buffet breakfast choices, room service, good menu choices for in-hotel restaurant. Plus it is about a 4 minute ride from the clinic. Eugenix will put you up there as a default for their complimentary 2-night accommodations. If you decide to stay longer, you can ask them for the Eugenix corporate rate. My 3 night additional stay with some room service, a couple of international calls and return drive to airport was less than $300 Canadian, which is good value for the quality of the stay. 

Thanks for all the info @kirkland . 

I'm actually flying to New Delhi from Canada as well for a procedure on Nov 12th. 

1) Wondering how your e-medical visa process went? I've been told Eugenix can assist with a medical visa letter for the consulate but am not sure if that will be enough when applying or if I'll need a letter from a Canadian doc too, as I haven't spoken to a fam doc in years and am not sure how to approach them about writing a letter as well or the wording required. Am definitely concerned about this and hoping it won't become a hassle..

 

2) When trying to a book my stay via Hotels.com I noticed many locations have a note about covid restrictions such a restricted international travelers booking for those even with a medical visa .. was this an issue you ran into as well? 

"Entry restrictions do not apply to: -Indian citizens; -Indian Visa holders (except eVisa, tourist visa, and medical visa holders);"

Appreciate the insight!

[Andy78]

15 hours ago, kirkland said:

Melvin's recent posting on the myth of a quick turnaround healing time of one week, for those figuring out how much time to book off work, is spot on. The hairline/midscalp was done 6 days ago, the midscalp/vertex was done 5 days ago. The scabs are not ready to come off. If I had taken a week off from work in the hopes that upon my return, no one will have noticed, this is what I would look like strolling into the office tomorrow morning. Pancake makeup is not suggested. Seriously.  

How about someone who works from home & not office but would want to be off work for the discomfort post surgery & pain. With long 12 hr work it could be tiring.

[kirkland]

3 hours ago, Ronny4050 said:

Thanks for all the info @kirkland . 

I'm actually flying to New Delhi from Canada as well for a procedure on Nov 12th. 

1) Wondering how your e-medical visa process went? I've been told Eugenix can assist with a medical visa letter for the consulate but am not sure if that will be enough when applying or if I'll need a letter from a Canadian doc too, as I haven't spoken to a fam doc in years and am not sure how to approach them about writing a letter as well or the wording required. Am definitely concerned about this and hoping it won't become a hassle..

Eugenix will provide you a letter with the requisite details of the treatment needed for the medical visa application. It is a form letter. Have you downloaded it from the Indian consulate's website?

As part of the medical visa application process, I was also asked for a note from a Canadian physician providing clearance to travel to India for a hair transplant surgery. I asked my new family doctor to just simply state in the letter that I consulted with him about my visit to a hair transplant clinic in India (Eugenix) during the particular dates of when the surgery is booked. Your doctor does not have to endorse your decision - just ask them to state that they have been consulted about the decision. Make sure the doctor includes the date of the surgeries, that the surgery is with Eugenix in New Delhi, India and have the doc sign and date the form.

Best to start to get on that asap in the event you have trouble finding a doctor who can provide that note. Just tell the doctor that the Consulate requires a note from a local physician in Canada.

2) When trying to a book my stay via Hotels.com I noticed many locations have a note about covid restrictions such a restricted international travelers booking for those even with a medical visa .. was this an issue you ran into as well? 

"Entry restrictions do not apply to: -Indian citizens; -Indian Visa holders (except eVisa, tourist visa, and medical visa holders);"

Did not have any problems with COVID restrictions in the hotel. Eugenix provides you with 2 complimentary nights at the DoubleTree Hilton Gurugram Baani Square, which is located a few minutes car ride from the clinic. It makes the most sense to just extend your stay at that hotel if you are going to be in Delhi for more than 2 nights. You can either extend the stay when you arrive at the hotel or now but check about availability. The front desk did mention that most rooms were booked during my stay so the hotel can be quite busy.
Appreciate the insight!

 

[kirkland]

58 minutes ago, Andy78 said:

How about someone who works from home & not office but would want to be off work for the discomfort post surgery & pain. With long 12 hr work it could be tiring.

5 days out from the last surgery (I had 2 days of surgery - Monday and Tuesday - so I consider counting down from the end of the second day), the discomfort is minimal. Only really still feel tenderness along the donor area. Recipient area has no discomfort. If you can book off as long as possible from work post-surgery, do so. If you can't, the level of discomfort is bearable for working, even long hours, after about 5 days. Bear in mind, I had 3500 grafts over two days. If you are a bigger surgery over 3 days, for example, that timeline may need to be extend. Plus everyone's healing capacity will be different. But, yeah, if you can book off two weeks from work for both surgery and post-op healing time, I would recommend.

[MazAB]

9 hours ago, Ronny4050 said:

Thanks for all the info @kirkland . 

I'm actually flying to New Delhi from Canada as well for a procedure on Nov 12th. 

1) Wondering how your e-medical visa process went? I've been told Eugenix can assist with a medical visa letter for the consulate but am not sure if that will be enough when applying or if I'll need a letter from a Canadian doc too, as I haven't spoken to a fam doc in years and am not sure how to approach them about writing a letter as well or the wording required. Am definitely concerned about this and hoping it won't become a hassle..

 

2) When trying to a book my stay via Hotels.com I noticed many locations have a note about covid restrictions such a restricted international travelers booking for those even with a medical visa .. was this an issue you ran into as well? 

"Entry restrictions do not apply to: -Indian citizens; -Indian Visa holders (except eVisa, tourist visa, and medical visa holders);"

Appreciate the insight!

@Ronny4050 I won't speak of #1 since I'm from US, but for #2 Eugenix will book 2 night hotel stay, and from there you can have Eugenix extend the dates to coincide with your travel dates. I'd also highly recommend extending your stay if for no other reason, you will enjoy every minute with the Eugenix team, the country, the people and most importantly paying yourself back with piece of mind knowing that you're not traveling during the most vulnerable period post surgery. 

Edited October 18, 2021 by MazAB
*

[MazAB]

On 10/16/2021 at 11:57 PM, Ronnie said:

Thank you for all the useful info !!

I'll be traveling to Eugenix in December from the U.S. for my upcoming procedure. This will actually be my first time traveling out of the country. 

I'll be staying for 2 weeks in India, just for my own personal comfort so I have accomplished some healing before traveling back home half way around the world. 

Anyway, Could you tell me what were the standards at the hotel like ? Was it clean and modern? everything was efficient? Do they have laundry facilities if I need to do my laundry? 

You covered a lot of great info, I can't think of anything else at the moment.. 

It's a Westin hotel, and is up to standard with any Westin you would find in the states. Very nice and clean. Just be sure to purchase an India to US power converter.  Purchased mine from Amazon, worked like a charm.

India Plug Adapter, TESSAN 5 in 1 Nepal Travel Adapter Plug with 3 US Power Outlets and 2 USB Charging Ports, US to India Bangladesh Maldives Nepal Pakistan Plug Adapter - Safe Grounded Type D Plug https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZZZXMT9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apan_glt_fabc_W9K9YNYWC87ZHVE7ST89?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[Ronnie]

59 minutes ago, MazAB said:

It's a Westin hotel, and is up to standard with any Westin you would find in the states. Very nice and clean. Just be sure to purchase an India to US power converter.  Purchased mine from Amazon, worked like a charm.

India Plug Adapter, TESSAN 5 in 1 Nepal Travel Adapter Plug with 3 US Power Outlets and 2 USB Charging Ports, US to India Bangladesh Maldives Nepal Pakistan Plug Adapter - Safe Grounded Type D Plug https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZZZXMT9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apan_glt_fabc_W9K9YNYWC87ZHVE7ST89?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you, I've added one to my shopping cart on Amazon amongst some other necessities.. 👍

How did you use your cell phone in India ? Did you rely on wifi for any phone calls/texting and internet use ? 

Edited October 18, 2021 by Ronnie

[kirkland]

I am going to roughly guess about 2000 in frontal third.

I chose the exclusive package - Rs 201/graft with Dr. Bansal doing design, slits and crucial extractions.

During the in-person consultation, Dr. Bansal did inspect my donor area with magnification. 

[kirkland]

9 days out from surgery. Most of the scalp is clean now. Donor area is healing nicely. Itchy af. Density has really exceeded my expectations. It could be one and done for me. 

[kirkland]

Went from this:

[kirkland]

To this:

[kirkland]

From this:

[kirkland]

To this:

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by kirkland

[kirkland]

I'm also using LLLT twice a day, 20 minutes per session. The plan is to keep on this schedule for a full year. 

Plus back on dut (0.5 mg @ 3 times per week, 2.5 mg oral minox daily and have just started daily RU for crown.

[SLA]

36 minutes ago, kirkland said:

Plus back on dut (0.5 mg @ 3 times per week, 2.5 mg oral minox daily and have just started daily RU for crown.

Real excited for you @kirkland. What is 'RU for the crown'? Is that RU58841?

I thought LLLT was supposed to be only 3-4 times per week rather than 2x per day.

Best wishes!

 

[kirkland]

Yes - RU58841. 

The research lit on LLLT suggests a plateau on benefits with increased usage. When it works on tissue healing, only so much exposure has an effect before no further impact is observed. There are many studies on LLLT with different methodologies (power of LLLT, type of LLLT, length of exposure time, etc) so there is no standardization to follow per se. 

Doubt that my schedule of 2 times per day is twice as effective but I'll take whatever gains I can get. Let's put it this way - I'm confident that I'm not retarding tissue healing or neovascularization with this schedule.

[Melvin- Admin]

It’s looking great already healed up well. You’re healing faster than usual. I’d say a few more days and you’ll look absolutely normal. No signs.

[MazAB]

Looking good Kirkland! Very happy to see that everything is doing well on the healing front. You are doing all the right things, including the Infrared light therapy. My only concern is that the duration may be too much for newly implanted grafts. If you have any data that pertains to longer LLLT sessions early on after a transplant, I'd love to see it. I fell short in finding much of any myself. With at said, I'm also using LLLT in the same fashion. Bought an LED Infrared bulb, attached it to a light stand, and prop it over my head. Works like a charm, however, to air on the side of caution, I waited a full month before starting any LLLT, and am taking a conservative approach doing it daily in 5 minute sessions. I was so frustrated not finding any data, that I called into "The Bald Truth". JT mentioned to me that in the first month the grafts are so fragile, and advised to steer clear of LLLT in the first month. However, he did also say that after the first 30 days, very limited exposure would probably be fine. With how good Eugenix is at what they do, my philosophy is that it'll all grow no matter what, so let me only do the things that have clear and defined data backing them, and the hair will come!😉

Edited October 22, 2021 by MazAB

[Gabreille Nelson Mukhia]

11 hours ago, kirkland said:

9 days out from surgery. Most of the scalp is clean now. Donor area is healing nicely. Itchy af. Density has really exceeded my expectations. It could be one and done for me. 

The shedding of the transplanted hair can occur at any time now. Please do not worry when that happens. It's a normal process. The density will pick up after they start to regrow. The itching and discomfort will soon disappear. Please do let us know if tou require anything. We wish you a beautiful result in the coming months.