TrustTheProcess Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 (edited) I am exactly 5 weeks post-op from my 2.5 day procedure at HLC. I thought this might be a good time to share my brief thoughts about the process while I play the waiting game. Intro: My research on youtube, FB groups and HRN led to me the shortlist of Bicer, Pekiner, Keser and HLC. Yes, these are all in Turkey. That was not my criteria. The criteria was first and foremost results, then second was price per graft, next was wait times for actual procedure. I did not want to go above 3 Euros per graft. I reached out to HLC sometime in September or early October. They looked at my photos and asked what my expectations were, and that if my expectations were to have a dense result, it would not be possible. If I wanted a less dense result, where I would have to be extra creative with my hair styling, then it would be possible to have a procedure. They then advised me to revisit this getting on medication to see if donor/recipient area progressed in the right direction. I was initially told I needed 8-9K grafts and that my donor area was not sufficient for full coverage. Meds: I started with 1.25mg (5mg generic fin cut into quarters) every other day and topical minoxidil. After two months a great results, I switched to 1mg EOD brand name propecia, as I did not like cutting pills. I also switched from topical to oral minoxidil, 2.5mg taken daily (ED). One of the reasons I switched to oral was so that I could resume minoxidil soon after my HT procedure. I did not want to wait 2-4 weeks to resume topical. I have been on these meds 6 months prior to surgery Travel: booked my trip to stay 10 days post op, as I wanted to heal and make sure grafts were somewhat secure before going in a pressurized cabin with travel back to Texas (13 hour minimum flight). I arrived Sunday evening, met the driver after getting my luggage and proceed to HLC without issue. Procedure: I run through this section pretty fast. Pre-op photos taken. Doctor Özgur comes in with his team of doctors (Elif, Bekir, Cengiz, Umut) and start examining my scalp and beard. Combing through it, making their markings and proposing a hairline. Measuring the required area at 50cm2 needed to cover front and midscalp for this HT, leaving a 2nd HT for crown next year. I was pleasantly surprised to hear I actually have very good donor area, around 8K in my scalp and another 2K from my beard (under jawline). This shows how much progress I had with meds, also that photos sent for consult have to be assessed conservatively. We decided on 50cm2 with coverage of about 103 sq cm. I wanted to address temples but they suggested I focus on that next time. I did not feel rushed at all, they took a solid 30-40 minutes at minimum. Procedure was over 2.5 days, 5 sessions total, 2 sessions per day. Extractions were performed by Dr. Cengiz, implantations performed by Dr. Bekir. The procedure for the most part was painless, aside of the initial anesthesia needles (ouch) and towards the end of a session where I felt the anesthesia starting to wear off. I buckled down and took the slight discomfort as I did not want excessive anesthesia, as too much would harm my graft survival. Recovery: Followed the post-op instructions, spraying recipient and applying Bepanthol cream to donor area. The worst part in sleeping, and the day 4-7 random needles in the back of my head (nerves coming back online? haha). **PHOTO TIME** Pre-op: Mid-day after day 3, all done Donor: Graft count: Day 11, scabs removed: Day 18, top view: Day 19, front view: 5 weeks exact, from today: Conclusion: I am far from any conclusions. This thread will log my journey which I have just started. I will try my best to answer any questions. I would like to thank HRN for providing this platform and making it easy to access cases, perform research and reach out to users. A special thanks to @MachoVato Edited June 22 by TrustTheProcess 1 NW6 | FUE HLC Ankara | 5165 Grafts | May 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MachoVato Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 This is looking so good! You're stepping into the dreaded shed phase. Be patient and remember to "trust the process"!! 🤣 I'm glad I was able to answer your questions... I bet you're excited! Did you tell HLC to give me credit for the referral? Apparently I get paid to sell HLC services. /sarcasm 🤣 1 FUE by HLC Ankara | 4261 Grafts | Nov 7, 2020 (Hairline) FUE by Dr. Bisanga, BHR Clinic in Brussels | 1528 Grafts | Aug 12, 2021 (Crown and Temples) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramatik Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 Good luck mate. It looks clean job. HLC work is always top class with high density per cm^2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrustTheProcess Posted June 23 Author Share Posted June 23 2,597 of the 5,165 grafts were multi-hair grafts(3 or more hairs) NW6 | FUE HLC Ankara | 5165 Grafts | May 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricD Posted Sunday at 07:12 PM Share Posted Sunday at 07:12 PM Our HLC transplants look very similar in terms of number of grafts and hairs per follicle. I’ll be following your story as you are about a month or less ahead of me, it seems. Good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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