Dr Resul Yaman 3500 grafts - Sept 2022

[smartie]

Hello everyone, 

 

I found this forum very helpful when I was looking for information about HT. As the result, I decided to share my journey here so others can benefit as well. About myself, I am almost 50 and I’ve been losing hair since late 20s. I didn’t bother me that much as I thought I could shave it when I go bald, and I would be happy with it. But when I shaved my head first-time few years ago, I didn’t like it as all. After that, I started to use Minoxidil to keep what I’ve left but apparently minoxidil alone is not enough as today I am Norwood scale 6. 

 

I used HRN and other forums looking for a doctor based on other user experiences. I tried to stay away from hair mills as I like to know the doctor who is going to operate on me. First, I started with Canadian doctors, unfortunately the good ones are quite busy and overbooked so they don’t have time for consultations. Also, there were quite expensive compared to other countries (I would say except US). 

Then, I started to connect with Turkish Clinics. After many back and forth, I felt Dr. Resul Yaman could be a good option.  I talked to a few of his patience and overall they were happy with the results. Then I contacted their clinic, and got in touch with Ihsan, their coordinator. He was very professional and responsive which was a good change after many clinics take their time before they get back to you (if they get back to you). I had a few doubts about Yaman clinic but Ihsan was kind enough to arrange a video call with Dr. Yaman to answer my questions directly. During the consultation, Dr. Yaman recommended to go with two separate sessions 8 months apart based on what I explained I wanted to achieve. Also, I wanted to reserve my donor area as much as possible for the second operation, so he offered manual extraction FUE, which is very labour intensive but it usually delivers better results compared to motor (according to Doctor). My first impression about Dr. Yaman was he loves what he is doing, he is down to earth kind of guy. After the call, I felt that they were going to take care of me regardless of the result -  he said they usually don’t take more than two patients a day so they can give a better service. 

After that, I was sold and booked my HT in September. Ihsan was kind enough to book the hotel chain I wanted in Istanbul even it was a little far from their office (The traffic in Istanbul is heavy). 

 

So yesterday, I had my HT and here is my experience so far for those thinking to choose Dr. Yaman for their journey: 

• They picked me up from hotel around 8:30am 
• Arrived at the hospital around 9am, welcomed by Ihsan. They started with blood work (blood analysis and PRP) 
• I met Dr. Yaman around 9:30am. They answered all my questions, and they checked my hair density, thickness first.  
• We had a few round of hair line design till we were both happy with the outcome. 
• Then they used a 3D simulation device to map my donor area, which was very cool. It basically creates a 3D image of my skull and then calculates how many grafts I have in that area. The good news is I have enough for two operations. 
• Then they use the same software to calculate based on the density the doctor recommends how many I need for transplant area  
• Then we went to the operation room, Dr. Yaman did local anesthetic – the pain was okay for me, it was almost at the same level when you got a dentist. 
• He opened all the channels by himself using a blade (during this stage, don’t talk to him as he is very focus on the task) – there is no pain at this stage. 
• Once he finished, he gave instruction to the extraction team using only manual blades. 
• Sorgul was the head of tech team – she has been working with Dr. Yaman for the last 10 years  which gave me peace of mind. She did all the extractions by herself manually, and the rest of them just supported her. This process is the worst part of HT, because of your head position for the extraction, and since they did manual, I am guessing it took few hours.  
• After that, I had my lunch and rested a little bit. 
• Then they started implementation in a more relaxed position that you can watch TV – probably it took a few hours more. 
• During the process, Dr. Yaman always stopped multiple times to check the process, sometimes he double checks a few things, he wanted to make sure I was doing okay. For example, he noticed my skin colour changed a little so instructed his team to give me oxygen mask during the 2^nd stage.  
• Around 7:30pm everything was finished, the cleaned and bandaged my donor area. 
• Doctor did the final checks and offered ozone therapy for free when I go back for wash to speed up the recovery. 

To sum up, I felt they took care of me good, and they did their job professionally. I need to wait for a few months now to see the outcome but here some pictures, please let me know what you think. 

 

All the best everyone!  

[Jackdaniels]

Good luck. Good choice to select yaman for your procedure. The plan is good too, be separating it in two procedures with 8 months apart in order to get the maximum of your donor and get the best result possible in recipient area. 
so how did yaman offered manual extraction in your case ? Was it one day procedure for the 3500 grafts with manual punch? Also can you tell us the cost of the procedure ? Thank you in advance. 

Edited September 21, 2022 by Jackdaniels

[smartie]

Thank you! It was indeed manual punch for 3500 grafts & they finished in one day. They usually offer 2000-2500 max for manual but I guess they made an exception. The cost is $1 Per graft.

[SoSoz]

Are there any benefits when using the manual punch?

[LookMaxx]

25 minutes ago, SoSoz said:

Are there any benefits when using the manual punch?

The surgeon can feel the punch better compared to a motor and perhaps lower transaction rate. But it’s really irrelevant as skilled surgeons use either or both at the same time and the results come out great either way.

 

[Dillpickle123]

Looks a bit over harvested no?

[Jackdaniels]

16 hours ago, smartie said:

Thank you! It was indeed manual punch for 3500 grafts & they finished in one day. They usually offer 2000-2500 max for manual but I guess they made an exception. The cost is $1 Per graft.

Manual punch is a bit better than motorised punch in terms of donor management. Do u have photos from the sides ? 

[smartie]

Here are the pictures after the 2nd wash, looking forward to hear your feedback.

[smartie]

I just removed scabs today, It feels good when I look at the mirror after a long time, hopefully I won’t be disappointed later

[Vann]

For some reason I think that looks a lot more than 3500 grafts but perhaps your scalp isnt very large? I really like that you have a good amount of grafts in the front. 

Do you mind sharing some back ground info of medication. I know you said you used minox. but did you ever use fin/dut at any point in time and have they helped?

Also, do you mind sharing some graft counts? Either density per square cm or the surface area? for example 20 centimers hairline by 50 FU would be 1,000 grafts. I am curious about this break down. Especially, if you have a lot of multi hairs (2-3+) you could have a banger result. 

I am kind of surprised he went up to your lateral parietal humps. I am guessing you have some pretty strong donor density. But given your age I think you could definitely go more aggressive with the design and pattern since you probably have your hairloss stabilized. I am looking forward to your result. Thanks for sharing.

Edited September 30, 2022 by Vann

[smartie]

Thanks for the feedback Vann. I used finasteride about 10 years ago but I stopped it when we were trying to have a baby and I didn’t start again till last month to get ready for HT. My donor area is apparently is quite healthy according to Dr. Yaman, my average I believe was 2.1 hairs/graft, and total donor capacity around 8000 grafts. I like Doctor’s idea to keep the front dense so it doesn’t look so obvious  I had a HT. I think the doctor started with 50 in front and went down as getting more into middle.

[SGT]

I'm about a year in after my transplant with him and I'm very happy.  Looking good so far for you.  You basically just have to be patient as the first few months are the hardest. 

[SoSoz]

This looks like 4000-6000 grafts, not 3500

[Lima]

Was is DHI HT?

[smartie]

Yaman has developed his own pens, but honestly I don’t remember what they used for implant as I was quite tired during that stage, I didn’t check it.

[DanceDad]

When you booked with Yaman did you find that the pre op service wasn’t great?

I mean no joining instructions, no hotel info and lack of a proper confirmation until being chased?

[bitcoin]

I'm going to see Yaman later this month. Excited to follow the progress here. 

[smartie]

Good luck & keep us posted!

[Malledive]

wrong thread XD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 10, 2022 by Malledive

[smartie]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share my 6 month results. Honestly at the beginning I was quite skeptical about HT considering my baldness level - Norwood 6 but now I am glad that I did it, it is probably the best decision I made lately.  To all those with high Norwood levels worried about HT, I’ve gotta tell you that I used to hate to check my hair in mirror but now it gives me a smile and I’ve got my confidence back. So my advice to you all considering HT is that if your donor area is healthy and strong go for it. I was really worried that it won’t look natural, and it may grow spotty but so far so good. If I don’t tell I had a HT the average person wouldn’t notice. That’s something that Dr. Yaman was very proud when I talked to him first, and now seeing my own results I’ve gotta give him credit - well done.

It looks like almost all grafts survived (hard to say maybe 90%+) and now they are growing. The front started to grow after 2 months but back is taking longer - I would say after 4 months. The donor area recovered very fast within 2 weeks, and I didn’t have any shock loss, maybe manual punch helped with healing.

Now, I’m planning for my 2nd HT to cover crown, wish me luck and let me know what you think about my results. 

[subjecthair69]

Looks amazing man! Im 4 days post op from Yaman. This gives me hope,. thank you

[Jackdaniels]

4 hours ago, smartie said:

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share my 6 month results. Honestly at the beginning I was quite skeptical about HT considering my baldness level - Norwood 6 but now I am glad that I did it, it is probably the best decision I made lately.  To all those with high Norwood levels worried about HT, I’ve gotta tell you that I used to hate to check my hair in mirror but now it gives me a smile and I’ve got my confidence back. So my advice to you all considering HT is that if your donor area is healthy and strong go for it. I was really worried that it won’t look natural, and it may grow spotty but so far so good. If I don’t tell I had a HT the average person wouldn’t notice. That’s something that Dr. Yaman was very proud when I talked to him first, and now seeing my own results I’ve gotta give him credit - well done.

It looks like almost all grafts survived (hard to say maybe 90%+) and now they are growing. The front started to grow after 2 months but back is taking longer - I would say after 4 months. The donor area recovered very fast within 2 weeks, and I didn’t have any shock loss, maybe manual punch helped with healing.

Now, I’m planning for my 2nd HT to cover crown, wish me luck and let me know what you think about my results. 

This is awesome result 😃…you got very good coverage and very high graft survival, around 95% I would say…

dr yaman did an amazing work you mate. with your second hair transplant for the rest part you will get a massive transformation…enjoy your result 👍

[Gatsby]

Great results @smartie. Very nice! 👌

[Dannyboy88]

Fantastic result!! Looks great 👏 

[jwolfe890]

Great results. Glad to see this worked out.