HT in Turkey - Advice Please

[DavidH]

Hi Guys,

I’m 47 years old and I’ve been losing my hair gradually for about 15 years, and have finally decided to go with a HT after thinking about it for a long time.

Ive rested on Turkey because the expertise there is probably the best in the world (of course there are exceptions) at a cost that is affordable to the average person (James Nesbit and Rooney HT doctors are too rich for my blood). I’m in the UK so the flight is only a few hours too.

After reading a number of posts on here, and the recommended Drs often posted, my shortlist is Dr Gur, Dr Demisroy, and Dr Bicer. I need between 3500 - 4000 grafts and have had an offer from all after sending in my photos. Bicer is cited time and time again on here and probably for good reason, but seems on the expensive side in comparison to Dr Demisroy and Dr Gur. My question, is Dr Bicer worth the extra 2000 Euros in comparison to Dr Demisroy who also undertakes extremely good work with a natural hairline I’m looking for?

 

 

[DavidH]

Hi, I meant to add that Dr Bicer is fully booked until March 2023 and Dr Demisroy has availability later this year.

[ITA]

I think all three are good options, Dr. Bicęr is now just more popular thanks to this forum too, but Demirsoy and Gur are also great choices.

[Gatsby]

I think as a Norwood 6/7 patient you really want to be investing in your results and not just in saving the most. I would recommend Dr Bicer as a highly ethical doctor but you really need to cast a broader net and look at surgeons who specialize in high Norwood cases. Eugenix is one that comes to mind. What are your goals can I ask? Are you looking for total coverage? Are you willing to utilize your beard as a donor source? Looking at your pics you will need more than 3,500 - 4000 grafts. You will need closer to double that if full coverage is your goal. Wishing you all the best!

[DavidH]

Thank you Gatsby, great advice.

Ultimately my goal is total coverage (albeit the front part and hairline is most important to me) and the feedback reports from all three doctors have said that this would take 2 procedures at least 12 months apart., which is fine. First procedure 3500 - 4000 grafts, and second procedure 2500 - 3000.

Given the yield period of 12 months I’m more inclined to have the first procedure done this year. No doubt that Dr Bicer is fantastic (as is Asmed clinic) and if she had availability this year id be booking in ASAP. But I understand that there are also a handful of other very good Dr’s in Turkey, as above. Will definitely check out Eugenix as well.

[Britanium]

As much as I like Dr Bicer, I would agree with @Gatsbythat Eugenix could be another option. Although you mentioned the better choices In Turkey it’s definitely not the epicentre of the best work in hair transplants. It’s the sheer amount of clinics that give the impression it’s the place to go, that along with the affordability and very strong marketing. No doubt you will see here on the forum the same handful of Drs/Clinics being mentioned, Dr Bicer, Turan&Gur, Dr Pekiner, Dr Keser, HLC, Dr Yaman and Dr Demirsoy. Look around for the results from each and you will find the good, bad and ugly. With you’re level of loss it’s more than likely you will need a good 2 stage plan. Spend as much time as possible going through the forum results for the higher Norwoods such as yourself, see what’s possible/realistic. 

[Gatsby]

@DavidH are you able to post better photos to allow us to get a better idea of your hair situation. You can block out your eyes/face. If you can get a clear pic of you front on, both sides left and right, back and above we will be able to get a better idea of your donor, etc. All the best!

[THE TRUTH]

8 hours ago, DavidH said:

Hi Guys,

I’m 47 years old and I’ve been losing my hair gradually for about 15 years, and have finally decided to go with a HT after thinking about it for a long time.

Ive rested on Turkey because the expertise there is probably the best in the world (of course there are exceptions) at a cost that is affordable to the average person (James Nesbit and Rooney HT doctors are too rich for my blood). I’m in the UK so the flight is only a few hours too.

After reading a number of posts on here, and the recommended Drs often posted, my shortlist is Dr Gur, Dr Demisroy, and Dr Bicer. I need between 3500 - 4000 grafts and have had an offer from all after sending in my photos. Bicer is cited time and time again on here and probably for good reason, but seems on the expensive side in comparison to Dr Demisroy and Dr Gur. My question, is Dr Bicer worth the extra 2000 Euros in comparison to Dr Demisroy who also undertakes extremely good work with a natural hairline I’m looking for?

 

 

David please for God Sake forget about getting FUE in Turkey....

Bicer is a decent option when your budget is limited. She seems to be a nice person and people often report she has good ethics. Her work is solid although not elite. 

But since you are a Norwood 6 with very advanced baldness I don't think you would benefit from getting an FUE in turkey....

FUE will deplete your donor area very quickly making it look moth-eaten and give you poor coverage on top...

You need to be particularly careful when choosing your surgeon. 

Like Gatsby said, I think the only 2 options you should consider for FUE is 

A) Dr. Zarev in Sofia 

B) Eugenix in India 

Zarev is even better in my opinion when it comes to Norwood 6-7. Check out his results. Arguably the best surgeon in the world for advanced cases of baldness. 

Other than that, I don't think any other FUE hair transplant surgeon could give you a satisfactory result. Certainly not  Demirsoy, Yaman etc....

If I were you I'd forget about Turkey. 

I have never seen an impressive and significant Norwood 6-7 transformation result from Demirsoy, Bicer, HLC, Yaman etc.....

The other option would be to get FUT. 

Hattingen or Hasson & Wong is your best bet. I personnaly think FUT would be more beneficial in your particular case since it would allow to harvest more grafts with a better yield and thus result in better coverage on top. 

2 well executed strip surgeries could get you significant coverage.

But again it comes down to whether you are able to accept that big linear scar at the back of your head....

I'd go with 

Zarev or Eugenix for FUE 

Hattingen or Hasson & Wong for FUT 

 

[Nw7HPE]

2 hours ago, What is your agenda here said:

David please for God Sake forget about getting FUE in Turkey....

Bicer is a decent option when your budget is limited. She seems to be a nice person and people often report she has good ethics. Her work is solid although not elite. 

But since you are a Norwood 6 with very advanced baldness I don't think you would benefit from getting an FUE in turkey....

FUE will deplete your donor area very quickly making it look moth-eaten and give you poor coverage on top...

You need to be particularly careful when choosing your surgeon. 

Like Gatsby said, I think the only 2 options you should consider for FUE is 

A) Dr. Zarev in Sofia 

B) Eugenix in India 

Zarev is even better in my opinion when it comes to Norwood 6-7. Check out his results. Arguably the best surgeon in the world for advanced cases of baldness. 

Other than that, I don't think any other FUE hair transplant surgeon could give you a satisfactory result. Certainly not  Demirsoy, Yaman etc....

If I were you I'd forget about Turkey. 

I have never seen an impressive and significant Norwood 6-7 transformation result from Demirsoy, Bicer, HLC, Yaman etc.....

The other option would be to get FUT. 

Hattingen or Hasson & Wong is your best bet. I personnaly think FUT would be more beneficial in your particular case since it would allow to harvest more grafts with a better yield and thus result in better coverage on top. 

2 well executed strip surgeries could get you significant coverage.

But again it comes down to whether you are able to accept that big linear scar at the back of your head....

I'd go with 

Zarev or Eugenix for FUE 

Hattingen or Hasson & Wong for FUT 

 

 

I agree, Turkey in some cases could turn out decent . But you don't wanna play Russian Roulette with your hair , especially when your donor is limited . 

 

 

[MachoVato]

I agree that the only elite option for high norwoods is Zarev. But Zarev charges €4/graft.

If you're very limited by budget, consider Dr. Gur. He's €1.25/graft, 17 years experience and he performs the extractions and channel openings himself. 

The trick is that you have to be prepared for multiple procedures, minimum 2. And a very conservative hairline. 

[Euphoria]

I would go with Bicer without worry. Have yet to see a bad result from her. If the hairloss wasn’t as significant then even HLC is a good option who produce good results, most times exceptional and the few bad cases here aren’t really that bad, just exceptional expectations not met. 
 

I have heard great things about Demirsoy, Pekiner and Keser. Can’t recommend them simply because I just don’t know enough about them. And they don’t get posted here a lot for some reason, think one of them is even banned? Someone posted a review fee days ago then was deleted (it was a good review). But I haven’t seen a botched job from either of them.

If money isn’t a concern, go for Bisinga, Zarev, Freitas, konoir, h&w…they’re so expensive though that you will go bankrupt lol. Eugenix is also not cheap even though theyre in India and the cheaper packages you don’t get operated on by the popular doctors which makes me uneasy so I can’t recommend them unless you go for the most expensive. 

 

[THE TRUTH]

8 hours ago, MachoVato said:

I agree that the only elite option for high norwoods is Zarev. But Zarev charges €4/graft.

If you're very limited by budget, consider Dr. Gur. He's €1.25/graft, 17 years experience and he performs the extractions and channel openings himself. 

The trick is that you have to be prepared for multiple procedures, minimum 2. And a very conservative hairline. 

I agree Tony.

 Gur & Turan are decent too. 

Ultimately it really depends on your real goal. 

As someone who is a Norwood 6, if your goal is to get as close as possible to achieving the illusion of normal head of hair then I'd totally forget about Turkey  and go with the best of the best immediately. 

 

However, if your goal is just to get some baseline coverage on the hairline with a limited budget and realistic expectations and thus make you look less bald then yes Bicer /Gur & Turan/ Demirsoy/ Bhatti are probably all decent  "budget options". 

But from experience, I know the first option is generally what most people are after.

But again, it's up to you to decide based on your ultimate goal, budget and expectations. 

 

[THE TRUTH]

5 hours ago, Euphoria said:

I would go with Bicer without worry. Have yet to see a bad result from her. If the hairloss wasn’t as significant then even HLC is a good option who produce good results, most times exceptional and the few bad cases here aren’t really that bad, just exceptional expectations not met. 
 

I have heard great things about Demirsoy, Pekiner and Keser. Can’t recommend them simply because I just don’t know enough about them. And they don’t get posted here a lot for some reason, think one of them is even banned? Someone posted a review fee days ago then was deleted (it was a good review). But I haven’t seen a botched job from either of them.

If money isn’t a concern, go for Bisinga, Zarev, Freitas, konoir, h&w…they’re so expensive though that you will go bankrupt lol. Eugenix is also not cheap even though theyre in India and the cheaper packages you don’t get operated on by the popular doctors which makes me uneasy so I can’t recommend them unless you go for the most expensive. 

 

I agree 100% on all the doctors you mentionned. And you are right about Eugenix too. Sethi & Bansal are truly amazing on higher Norwood but some of their technicians really s***..... There were 2 cases of botched job on the temples on the forum by Eugenix's techs so I'd stick to the best package which is also as expensive as Couto or Zarev ! 

 

Pekiner's work is solid. But he and his consultant have a controversial reputation on this forum. There were 2  bad results from him on the same patient on this forum and his representative was behaving in a very strange manner post op in the thread. Also Pekiner allegedly was offering discounts to people in exchange of publishing their results on this forum...Last but not least there was another very poor job from him on the german hairloss forum when he used to work under hlc. Check out Erfahrungbericht 2×  mit HLC nicht zufrieden on alopeziede. Pekiner clearly performed a botched job... But okay that was back in the day when he was still a novice....

HLC has had a significant amount of subpar results on this forum. Not terrible but mediocre. I'm not gonna repeat myself, we all know them and already discussed them many times. Check out Died on the battlefield,  EvansLawrence, bloodhound, Andrei HLC, duchaine, etc etc...

Not a bad clinic by any means but u can definitely find much better and consistent in Spain/Portugal for the same price. 

Keser is very expensive. He does only small Norwoods and does not use magnifying microscopes. He is methodical and highly involved though. He does have some good results but also some really mediocre ones... He is good for the most part but hey at 3.5€ per graft you can find MUCH better than him in my honest opinion.

[DavidH]

Thank you to all for some really great advice, I completely agree that there are some elite world leading HT surgeons outside Turkey, but financially they are out of my reach. I simply don’t have the financial resources of a celebrity / movie star. Therefore, given my advanced Norwood stage I’m setting realistic expectations for myself. As a 47 year old it would be naive to think I can achieve the hair of my 21 year old self, nor would I want this as it needs to look natural for my age.

I will definitely check out Eugenix and the others mentioned, but Bicer is the front runner for me at the moment, maybe Demisroy. I’ve seen Bicer’s work on this forum with guys with as little hair as myself and I’m impressed.

Dr Gur was a serious contender, but my recent proposed offer received suggested that I’d need 4000 grafts for full coverage. 3000 grafts could be done for the first procedure, and the remaining 1000 grafts for the crown for the second procedure. This doesn’t sound right to me, as previous offers received suggest between 3500 - 4000 grafts for first procedure, and second procedure as much as my donor area can facilitate without over harvesting. I need to enquire further about this.

Bicer stated that I would have to leave my donor areas between 2 - 3 cm long, and couldn’t be shaved following the procedure, which I need to enquire about further (I’ve had a number 3 around the back and side since being 21 years old).

Gatsby, will put some more photos up when I get back home in a couple of days.

My expectations are; a natural hairline (for my age) i.e. single grafts. No over harvesting as that would look weird, good volume and density that I can reasonably achieve from my donor areas.

As recommended with some really useful comments, I will enquire with surgeons outside Turkey as well, and hope they are within my budget.

Thank you guys, and I’ll keep you updated!

[Britanium]

Maybe consider HDC (Cyprus) as Dr Christina is also around the same price point as Dr Bicer, apart from being forum recommended we also have the rep here @Doron Harati