3880 Grafts -- Dr. Olzem Bicer -- 01/11/2021

[Rudiz31]

Hello!

After almost 2 years of researching, I decided to finally go through with a HT. I will try to share my experience and progress with you all.

34 yo, been suffering from hair loss since I was 28. The major drop was between 29-32, for some reason it had stabilized in the past 2 years. 

I didn't take any medication in that period, especially because of the fear of side-effects but I guess I've could avoid getting into NW5-6 by 34 by taking some meds.

Because my hair loss was pretty advanced  and I have a very thin hair, I didn't want to do the HT in a hair mill. On the other hand, all clinics told me that I'd need 2 sessions for a full coverage with a high density so I needed to take budget into consideration for a longer term plan. I found Dr. Bicer's clinic through this forum - and all the good reviews she gets in this forum made me feel confident to go through with it. It was especially important to me that I go to a clinic where I'm the only patient, and not a 'hair mill'.

Dr. Bicer made a 1st evaluation through pictures of 3,800 grafts, focusing on the frontal + mid scalp for the 1st session, leaving the crown for the 2nd session.

I contacted Ozen (Dr. Bicer's coordinator) via WhatsApp, who was very kind & answered all my questions. The communication was very smooth and straightforward. The level of support and transparency that I got from Dr. Bicer herself prior to the HT was absolutely AMAZING - Ozen arranged not one but 3 different video calls with Dr. Bicer via WhatsApp, where she answered every single question I had (and I had a lot!). The great experience plus a few 1x1 conversations with other patients of Dr. Bicer made me realize that I'm dealing with such a professional, well-experienced doctor. Taking all this into consideration was the final confirmation for me.

I got very lucky while booking the appointment - I first spoke with Ozen and she mentioned they're fully booked until Apr-22.  After I explained to Dr. Bicer my current situation and limitations, she came back suggesting Nov 1st as she had to reschedule one of her other patients. So I managed to book 2-3 weeks in advance.

Oct 31st

Arrived at the hotel around 12:00 PM. Since it was Sunday Ozen told me that we will meet the day after for all the paperwork and the operation itself, so I travelled a bit in the city. I booked 4 nights at the Radisson Blu Asia hotel which was a bit far from the clinic (5-mins by car) but you can also stay at the Sheraton Grand hotel which is right next to the clinic.  

Nov 1st (operation day)

Woke up, had a very good breakfast and shower and headed to the clinic. 

Told the guard at the building that I'm there for Dr. Bicer and he let me in and told me the room and floor.

I met with Dr. Bicer's Assistant, Ozen. She was very welcoming & kind, explained to me the steps for the procedure and brought me forms to fill out, as well as the offering with the price quote. She even had the forms in my native language! You have to sign at the bottom of each page and fill some other details occasionally. Then I also had to copy a few paragraphs with my own handwriting (apparently part of the bureaucracy mandated by the Turkish government).

A few minutes later I met with Dr. Bicer. She explained to me the overall procedure and examined my hair closely in order to decide the extent of the surgery. On site, she told me that the 3,800 grafts is still the current estimation, given my donor area situation, age, potential future hair loss, possible 2nd session, etc. 

I had my pictures taken and then went back to Dr. Bicer to draw the hairline. Dr. Bicer chose a very conservative hairline for me which was exactly the same that I used to have (was very satisfied with this, again, given my current hair loss pattern). She noticed a difference of 0.5cm between my right temple & left temple and said that it's a sign of a future hair loss in my temples that needs to be taken into account. I was worried about my crown situation, hoping to kill 2 birds with 1 stone, but we didn't want to compromise density over coverage so the doctor mentioned that during the operation she'll see if she can take some grafts to the crown without damaging the density and of course the donor area. 

Once she finished drawing the hairline and temples, I went to get shaved, and also got a blood test to check covid-19, sugar levels and other metrics.

After the blood tests & the shaving we went back to Dr. Bicer's office and she explained the operation phases, who is responsible for each phase, how long it will take roughly, etc. During all time she encouraged me to ask any questions I may have in order to feel confident.

Operation

The operation room as on the second floor of the clinic. I had to take off my shoes at the entrance. I then changed my shirt for an operating vest and layed on the table.

There were three technicians helping Dr. Bicer with the procedure. They were very nice & gentle. I had high blood-pressure levels (probably due to the excitement), so they had to give me a pill to lower my BP. Once it's over (10-15 mins) they connected me to an anti-allergic infusion via a needle. 

First I had needle-free anesthesia (feels like a stapler without the actual pins, lol. can't really explain), it's a very acceptable pain (maybe 3 out of 10), just a bit long and annoying (maybe something like 10-15 mins, where you feel the pulse every 5-10 seconds). From that moment, I didn't feel ANYTHING, my head was completely numb. I guess they just injected the needled-anesthesia by that time. After that Dr. Bicer made the incisions and extracted the grafts with automated FUE, together with her technicians. I don't really remember how it felt (maybe because I didn't feel anything), but I think this whole part took like 3 hours. I didn't really have a sense of time during the surgery, and during this part I apparently even fell asleep. After that they bandaged the area. At around 14:00 we had a break and I was treated to Turkish Doner. Take the Kebap - you won't be disappointed! 🙂

During lunch break, Ozen then gave me a cap hat, a neck pillow and a small bag with medications and lotions and usage instructions. Please be sure that you are given enough pills  - I didn't check and ended up not having enough medicines for the entire 5 days of the treatment!

Then we resumed. I was again given anesthesia and skin dilation (this time to the recipient area). Dr. Bicer then did the incisions. Again maybe something like 2-3 hours.

Last part was putting the grafts in the incisions. This part was annoying - not only because it was the longest part (I think around 4 hours), but also because my lower back started to seriously hurt due to the prolonged-laying. The technicians tried to relieve my pain by bringing more pillows and it helped a bit. They did most of this part while Dr. Bicer came in occasionally to supervise. I had to take 2 quick toilet breaks during that time. Throughout the operation (in every phase), every few minutes both Dr. Bicer & her technicians kept asking me how I was feeling to make sure that I'm fine, and literally didn't continue until they confirmed I'm okay.

Finally when we were done I was given some sweet juice to make me feel a bit less exhausted. Put on my shirt & shoes again and the doctor took a few photos of my recipient area. We ended at 19:30. Given the fact that I think we started around 11:30, the overall procedure took like 8 hours. Then I headed to the hotel, had dinner, took an antibiotic and went to sleep (on my side).

Nov 2nd (1st day post-op)

Arrived the clinic at 10:00 AM and met with Dr. Bicer who examined my donor & recipient area. Then Ozen took a few more photos. After that I had a conversation with Dr. Bicer where she basically summarized the operation (for example - she mentioned the high blood-pressure levels at the beginning) and provided me with the metrics:

3,880 Grafts were extracted in total by the following allocation

1,100 Singles

2,300 Doubles

480 Multiples

- 3,480 Grafts were implemented in the frontal + mid scalp area, while 400 Grafts were implemented in the crown.

 

To summarize, regardless of the fact that I got such a high level of service, both from the staff but also from the doctor, I felt that I'm being treated by one of the best HT surgeons in the world, from explaining about the procedure in very details, through setting up the desired density aligning with the expectations - everything was managed in a SUPER professional way. The following weeks were very normal (in terms of the edema on the first week, scabs, regeneration of the donor area etc.) and I was always communicating with the doctor herself, on a weekly/bi-weekly basis.

It's been 18 weeks now since the HT and things are starting to move, very exciting!! I'm sharing some before-after photos, and I'll share an 18-weeks update in the 1st reply. please feel free to comment and provide feedback. Would like to thank again to Dr. Bicer, Ozen and the rest of their amazing team for owning this experience. 

Looking forward to sharing more updates and results throughout this wonderful journey! 

@Dr. Ozlem Bicer Clinic

[Melvin- Admin]

The work looks clean, great detailed write-up I have been very impressed by Dr. Bicer. Happy growing 🙌 

[Gatsby]

You chose an excellent surgeon. Looking forward to following your growth!

[JoeMan]

Do you have pictures showing your current hair? It's been over 4 months now so can you please share these pictures? 

[Rudiz31]

Hey All! 

As promised, sharing some updated photos taken just today - almost 19 weeks after 🙂

I feel pretty well so far, no serious itching and there's no longer redness in the front, also nothing in the donor area - overall I'm very pleased with my current situation. 

Looking forward to continuing growth!

[JoeMan]

Looks like it's starting to take off. Definitely thicker than before. Thanks for sharing and please keep us updated in the coming months.

[Eran]

Looks good Rudi! 😃🙏🏻

[Gatsby]

Looks excellent. Plenty of growing ahead of you and thanks for sharing!

[mark2137]

On 3/17/2022 at 9:08 PM, Rudiz31 said:

there's no longer redness in the front

How long did it take?

[Rudiz31]

1 hour ago, mark2137 said:

How long did it take?

Great question 🙂

I think something like after 2 months.

[Rudiz31]

Hey all! 

Think it's time for an update - 6.5 months / 31 weeks.

Feeling very well overall, still washing with a baby shampoo and THAT'S IT 🙂. No other special treatments etc.

 

[Britanium]

Nice improvements since the last pics !  Thanks for the update 🙏

Edited May 15, 2022 by J-C

[Eran]

Nice! Now the fun begins…(7-10 months)