The HLC, or There and Back Again (3830 grafts, NW6?, February 21-22, 2022)

[alexdft]

Hi guys! I've been lurking here for a few months, but didn't really bother to sign up until after the surgery, since I didn't know what to write about.

Well, now I've undergone the procedure, so at least here's my story. Short background:
1. I started to get bald at around 19 years old, but didn't really care about it until 24 yo or so (I'm 26 now), when I've got almost completely bald (see my before photos for reference).
2. I've been using topical minoxidil for about 2 years (which surprisingly helped quite a lot, balding almost stopped, as I can judge by my old photos). I started to use fin pills around a month ago without noticeable side effects, so I guess I'll continute it for as long as I find it meaningful. I've also got Xpecia vitamins from HLC, just started taking them as well.
3. My father was balding a lot at an early age as well, so I guess that's where it all comes from.

The surgery was conducted by dr. Elif (extractions) and dr. Bekir (implantations), as well as 3 or 4 nurses. They all were very professional, helpful and nice to talk to. Overall I felt that HLC takes their cases fairly smoothly, guys definitely mastered the whole process after thousands of procedures. I have nothing more to say though, I will judge their work by the result.

That being said, I don't have any huge expectations for several reasons: my head is pretty big, so area to cover is higher than for the most people. Apart from that, I started to deal with the problem way too late, so it's only natural that results won't be perfect.
But I also should say that I expect considerable improvement from such a highly regarded clinic and fairly high amount of grafts taken. I mean, if situation won't really change much, I will be dissapointed.

Oh, by the way, they said I have around 8000-8500 grafts available in my donor area. So if result will be satisfactory, I will most likely come for the second procedure.

Okay, now I think I've told everything important. I will try to update photos every month. I will also be extremely thankful for any opinions regarding post op photos, since I can't judge them by myself due to lack of experience.

Edited February 24, 2022 by alexdft

[hairlossman1]

39 minutes ago, alexdft said:

Hi guys! I've been lurking here for a few months, but didn't really bother to sign up until after the surgery, since I didn't know what to write about.

Well, now I've undergone the procedure, so at least here's my story. Short background:
1. I started to get bald at around 19 years old, but didn't really care about it until 24 yo or so (I'm 26 now), when I've got almost completely bald (see my before photos for reference).
2. I've been using topical minoxidil for about 2 years (which surprisingly helped quite a lot, balding almost stopped, as I can judge by my old photos). I started to use fin pills around a month ago without noticeable side effects, so I guess I'll continute it for as long as I find it meaningful. I've also got Xpecia vitamins from HLC, just started taking them as well.
3. My father was balding a lot at an early age as well, so I guess that's where it all comes from.

The surgery was conducted by dr. Elif (extractions) and dr. Bekir (implantations), as well as 3 or 4 nurses. They all were very professional, helpful and nice to talk to. Overall I felt that HLC takes their cases fairly smoothly, guys definitely mastered the whole process after thousands of procedures. I have nothing more to say though, I will judge their work by the result.

That being said, I don't have any huge expectations for several reasons: my head is pretty big, so area to cover is higher than for the most people. Apart from that, I started to deal with the problem way too late, so it's only natural that results won't be perfect.
But I also should say that I expect considerable improvement from such a highly regarded clinic and fairly high amount of grafts taken. I mean, if situation won't really change much, I will be dissapointed.

Oh, by the way, they said I have around 8000-8500 grafts available in my donor area. So if result will be satisfactory, I will most likely come for the second procedure.

Okay, now I think I've told everything important. I will try to update photos every month. I will also be extremely thankful for any opinions regarding post op photos, since I can't judge them by myself due to lack of experience.

Looks similar to mine, will be following! Looks clean and tidy to me, but I’m sure there are people with much more experience who can comment further.

[hairlossman1]

Did they say what the grafts per cm2 were for your procedure? 

[alexdft]

1 minute ago, hairlossman1 said:

Did they say what the grafts per cm2 were for your procedure? 

Thanks!

I knew I've forgot something. It was split in two halves, 50 g/cm2 for the front half and 40 g/cm2 for the middle.

[MachoVato]

Looks like impeccable work. Very similar to my procedure. 

I'm glad you didn't try to get your whole head treated in one procedure. You're doing it the right way. Best of luck!

[alexdft]

1 hour ago, MachoVato said:

Looks like impeccable work. Very similar to my procedure. 

I'm glad you didn't try to get your whole head treated in one procedure. You're doing it the right way. Best of luck!

Thanks a lot, MachoVato! Very nice to hear that.

I've actually read through your journey while checking patients' stories on this forum. I'm sure you already know that, but your results indeed look absolutely fantastic.

Edited February 24, 2022 by alexdft

[JoeMan]

This looks very refined. I think you'll have a great result. 

[Britanium]

Beautiful artistry 👌 Thanks for posting 🙏

[Hairyypotter]

Hi there I'm going to HLC in April, 2600 grafts quoted. Did the doctors extract your follicles manually or with a motorized machine ?

Also I'm wondering if i should have a pre-transplant kit I should bring from Canada like medication, vitamins or creams that cant be found in turkey. 

[alexdft]

Hey guys, glad to hear that this work looks good!😄

6 hours ago, Hairyypotter said:

Hi there I'm going to HLC in April, 2600 grafts quoted. Did the doctors extract your follicles manually or with a motorized machine ?

Also I'm wondering if i should have a pre-transplant kit I should bring from Canada like medication, vitamins or creams that cant be found in turkey. 

Hi! Manually.

They'll tell you everything that you should bring which is honestly not much (one the most important thing is probably neck pillow). All needed medication and creams are provided by HLC. Honestly, I thought there were so much of them that I personally would not think about taking more. Partly because you never know how medications interact with each other, so it fees like a better idea to leave this all to doctors.

Edit: Come to think of it, I actually came in with vitamin d, omega-3 and fin which I use on a constant basis nowadays, so I didn't want to break the process. But that's about it.

Edited February 25, 2022 by alexdft

[Zinedine]

 

Hello alexdft,

Your case looks challenging for sure but I am sure you will have a great result. And the good news is that you have another 8000-9000? Or that was your total?

The design looks awesome and your donor post-operation looks really clean. Keep those update coming, please! And thanks for sharing!

[MachoVato]

On 2/24/2022 at 9:31 PM, Hairyypotter said:

Hi there I'm going to HLC in April, 2600 grafts quoted. Did the doctors extract your follicles manually or with a motorized machine ?

Also I'm wondering if i should have a pre-transplant kit I should bring from Canada like medication, vitamins or creams that cant be found in turkey. 

Yeah, HLC extracts with manual punches performed by the doctors. I'm not partial to manual extractions, personally. Many top doctors perform motorized extractions. And of course, HLC does stick & place for implantation. I always refer people to this video to explain that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tvSooScRl4

 

And I believe (not certain) that the post-care kit is part of the €150 option, which includes airport pickup, room and food. Might want to check with them about that. 

On Edit: the price of the aftercare kit is 150 not 250.

Edited March 3, 2022 by MachoVato

[TrustTheProcess]

On 2/25/2022 at 2:36 PM, MachoVato said:

And I believe (not certain) that the post-care kit is part of the €250 option, which includes airport pickup, room and food. Might want to check with them about that. 

per the email I received for my May 2022 surgery:

“charge 150 Euro extra for our Surgery- package. In this package is your driver, accommodation, food, medication, and post-op aftercare set included. The flight and dinners are not included”

[alexdft]

On 2/25/2022 at 4:17 PM, Zinedine said:

 

Hello alexdft,

Your case looks challenging for sure but I am sure you will have a great result. And the good news is that you have another 8000-9000? Or that was your total?

The design looks awesome and your donor post-operation looks really clean. Keep those update coming, please! And thanks for sharing!

Hey, thank you very very much and sorry for the late reply!

Nope, unfortunately it's around 8000-8500 total. So I guess I have 4k something left. Still enough to have a decent crown coverage as I was told, so I'm okay with it. I will definitely keep updating, thanks!

And yeah, I didn't know about it but post op kit is indeed included in surgery package. It was very convenient though, so I would strongly recommend everyone to use it. Apart from somewhat average food (in my opinion), everything else was great: cool driver, nice room, a ton of medications, etc.

Edited February 28, 2022 by alexdft

[Zinedine]

On 2/28/2022 at 8:12 PM, alexdft said:

Hey, thank you very very much and sorry for the late reply!

Nope, unfortunately it's around 8000-8500 total. So I guess I have 4k something left. Still enough to have a decent crown coverage as I was told, so I'm okay with it. I will definitely keep updating, thanks!

And yeah, I didn't know about it but post op kit is indeed included in surgery package. It was very convenient though, so I would strongly recommend everyone to use it. Apart from somewhat average food (in my opinion), everything else was great: cool driver, nice room, a ton of medications, etc.

Thanks for your reply. I think with another 4000 grafts you will cover everything for sure.
Cant wait to see your updates.
Thanks for sharing.

[Hairyypotter]

On 2/25/2022 at 1:36 PM, MachoVato said:

Yeah, HLC extracts with manual punches performed by the doctors. I'm not partial to manual extractions, personally. Many top doctors perform motorized extractions. And of course, HLC does stick & place for implantation. I always refer people to this video to explain that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tvSooScRl4

 

And I believe (not certain) that the post-care kit is part of the €150 option, which includes airport pickup, room and food. Might want to check with them about that. 

On Edit: the price of the aftercare kit is 150 not 250.

Thank you for your reply much appreciated :))

[Hairyypotter]

On 2/25/2022 at 1:56 AM, alexdft said:

Hey guys, glad to hear that this work looks good!😄

Hi! Manually.

They'll tell you everything that you should bring which is honestly not much (one the most important thing is probably neck pillow). All needed medication and creams are provided by HLC. Honestly, I thought there were so much of them that I personally would not think about taking more. Partly because you never know how medications interact with each other, so it fees like a better idea to leave this all to doctors.

Edit: Come to think of it, I actually came in with vitamin d, omega-3 and fin which I use on a constant basis nowadays, so I didn't want to break the process. But that's about it.

Appreciate the reply man thank you.

[TrustTheProcess]

Updates?

[Britanium]

2 minutes ago, TrustTheProcess said:

Updates?

+1 👍🏽

[Vann]

can we get an update?

[Britanium]

@HairyypotterHope all is well ! 👍🏽we are wondering how your hair is progressing ! 

[omega5]

updates?

[omega5]

updates?

[omega5]

updates:)))

[HHH]

Haha one day we will get one hopefully!