Do I keep my booking with a ISHRS & ABHRS Doctor, or change to go with a Doctor who is on neither but has more reviews?

[AussieNorwood7]

Hi All,
Can I please get some suggestions or opinions on my situation?

( Too long didn't read = Do I cancel my booking with a ISHRS & ABHRS Doctor, to go with a Doctor who is on neither but has more reviews? )

I was interested in booking with Dr Ekrem Civas due to his many years experience in the HT industry, and his inclusion in ABHRS and ISHRS.
Every where I look, people say "do your research, look for doctors who are part of ABHRS and ISHRS".
So I did and booked with Civas.
He isn't as widely reviewed as others mentioned in other groups and forums, and I especially can't find any within the past 12 months. 
Perhaps its because he only takes 1 patient per day. He also doesn't do anything above 3000-32000 grafts to ensure good graft survival which was a big tick for me.
(I'd rather do 2-3 surgeries over a few years to ensure all graft survival, than try and squash it all into one, and risk loosing my precious grafts!)

FueCapilar seems to be widely praised in the other groups such as the Facebook group H.L conquerors, and the constant stream of positive feedback makes question my above booking.

Dr Turan of FueCapilar initially rejected me citing poor donor (fair enough), but after some un-expected new growth in the past 2 months, I re-contacted them to see if I could be re-considered.
His team have ignored my Whatsapp and email.

Dr Gur from FueCapilar I contacted direct, and he has accepted me with my newer photos showing the new growth.

Do we think FueCapilar / Dr Gur are as great as they seem?
Why do people praise them on the one hand, but then on the other hand tell you to only go for Doctors who are part of ABHRS / ISHRS?

I am a high Norwood and I will need at least 2 procedures to get full coverage, if my donor allows.
I cannot afford to go somewhere like Eugenix so I am looking at affordable Turkey clinics.
I may never get full coverage and I am okay with that - I just don't want to waste my hard-earned money on sub-par work by choosing a not-so-good Doctor.

I just don't know if I cancel my booking with a ISHRS & ABHRS Doctor, to go with a Doctor who is on neither but has more reviews?

[Melvin- Admin]

Never choose a clinic because they're the cheapest. ISHRS is an organization that doesn't screen for quality, they only require academic credentials, i.e., medical degree. The ABHRS does screen for surgical competence, as the members have to take an exam to ensure they are proficient and understand how to perform surgery, but again, they're not specifically screening for results. 

Looking at "affordable" clinics is a sure way to get completely botched. If you cannot afford a decent surgeon or clinic like Eugenix, who's lowest package is only $1 per graft, my suggestion is to not get surgery. If you are insecure about balding, can you imagine how much worse it would be if you are bald on top and have an absolutely mangeld donor area. 

That said, I have heard and seen good things about Dr. Turan, but I don't know anything about Dr. Gur. If you are a high norwood, you need a clinic that specializes in high norwood cases, the top two clinics in my opinion are Hasson and Wong and Eugenix. Again, don't ever let cost be the deciding factor. Shaving your head is free. 

[AussieNorwood7]

Hey Melvin, thanks for your advice.  
Whilst I'm not basing my entire choice on affordability, it does come into it. 
Eugenix gave me pricing but if I were to go with them I'd want to utilise their Surgeons and the moment you do that the price hikes.
I'm not shopping around for the lowest price surgeon, but I am going to be travelling from Australia because our price of surgery appears to be AUD $20,000 and up for surgery alone, and meds, hotels etc you sort out yourself.
Whereas some of the better Doctors in Turkey can offer package deals for AUD $10,000 and under and it is the difference between me affording it now, or me affording it in 5+ years. 

My real concern here is, to me Dr Ekrem Civas, being part of the ABHRS, is therefore a safer option in terms of what results I am going to get. However, he does not have many recent reviews, or many reviews in general. There are some around but not heaps.
Then in comparison FueCapilar and their 2 Doctors, are not part of ABHRS, but there are tonnes of in-depth reviews and many very recent including from 2022.
I can't decide how I should pick between the 2?

I see in some forums, people say you want a Doctor only performing the surgery.
Then I see other people saying, if you have a technician who has more years experience than the surgeon they are assisting, then they are going to be the experienced hands you want doing work on your head. 

[Melvin- Admin]

13 hours ago, AussieNorwood7 said:

Hey Melvin, thanks for your advice.  
Whilst I'm not basing my entire choice on affordability, it does come into it. 
Eugenix gave me pricing but if I were to go with them I'd want to utilise their Surgeons and the moment you do that the price hikes.
I'm not shopping around for the lowest price surgeon, but I am going to be travelling from Australia because our price of surgery appears to be AUD $20,000 and up for surgery alone, and meds, hotels etc you sort out yourself.
Whereas some of the better Doctors in Turkey can offer package deals for AUD $10,000 and under and it is the difference between me affording it now, or me affording it in 5+ years. 

My real concern here is, to me Dr Ekrem Civas, being part of the ABHRS, is therefore a safer option in terms of what results I am going to get. However, he does not have many recent reviews, or many reviews in general. There are some around but not heaps.
Then in comparison FueCapilar and their 2 Doctors, are not part of ABHRS, but there are tonnes of in-depth reviews and many very recent including from 2022.
I can't decide how I should pick between the 2?

I see in some forums, people say you want a Doctor only performing the surgery.
Then I see other people saying, if you have a technician who has more years experience than the surgeon they are assisting, then they are going to be the experienced hands you want doing work on your head. 

Eugenix the package that has Dr. Arika performing crucial steps is about $2 per graft. I mean that’s about as low as you wanna go for quality. Dr. Bicer is another option, but again $2 per graft. I don’t recommend going to any surgeon that’s charging pennies per graft. You get what you pay for, 20k should be more than enough. Many clinics, including bicer and Eugenix offer a complementary stay in a hotel. 

There’s also the fact that you need a lot of hair, and your donor may be poor. You really want to go to a clinic that specializes in that, and I always say, there’s never a best clinic, just a best clinic for your situation. The reviews you should be looking at are Norwood 6 patients with poor hair quality. Looking at reviews of Norwood 3s with some hairline work is irrelevant to you and your situation.

[1978matt]

Not familiar with those doctors, but if budget is tight then consider Dr Demirsoy.

Edited January 21, 2022 by 1978matt