Dr. Bicer | 37yr Old | NW5 | 3670 Graft 1st Session | Aug. 15, 2021 | 2700 Graft 2nd Session | Aug. 29, 2022 |

[ABreathOfFreshHair]

 

Hello Everyone,

Do I Recommend Dr. Bicer & Her Team | Yes - 100%+

I just returned to the United States after completion of my 2nd FUE Hair Transplant procedure with Dr. Bicer and in the interest of giving back to others for all the help I received through the information on this forum, and also in appreciation and gratitude for my excellent results and the great experience I had with Dr. Ozlem Bicer and her team, I have decided to join the network to share my experience and results here.  In brief, Dr. Bicer is an excellent, professional, highly qualified, and ethical physician who really does put Patient's First, and I would definitely highly recommend her to others considering treatment.  Like many of you, I researched, spoke with, and consulted many Doctors, Clinics, and Procedure options before proceeding (~20, down to top 5, & finally selected Dr. Bicer) and I am very glad I did. 

Quick aside.  I did not see many reviews on the forums with Drs. performing transplants with very thin, blonde, and English-Scottish genetic heritage background of mine.  My follicles and grafts were very thin and difficult to work with, yet Dr. Bicer & her team had the microscopic glasses, tools, and experience needed to still perform the procedure with a successful outcome.  I think it is much easier for clinics to work with thick, dark hairs (easier to extract, hold, insert, and more post-op blood flow/nutrients) and therefore its my belief that obtaining positive outcomes may be more likely, and mistakes or inexperience more forgiving.  However despite the challenges with my hair & low head blood flow circulation, I would guess that 95%+ of my grafts still survived and are now thriving (Possibly 98%+). 

Other Quick Advice

I'm going to skip all the little micro-details about travel logistics to Turkey, stages of the procedure, or non-material details about extraction tools used, etc. and share my quick thoughts about these things based on my experience.  If you want to make a 'Turkish Vacation' out of this and explore Istanbul as I did, then do it all on the front end before your procedure.  Don't make the mistake of trying to see the sites and explore the city by spending an extra week in Istanbul after the procedure like I did after the 1st session. Get your procedure done, visit them at the clinic around lunch time the next day for post-op review, and then head directly to IST Airport for a late afternoon or evening flight home.  The first ~5days after the procedure are the most important to rest, recover, be healthy, and follow their instructions perfectly in order to maximize graft survival, health, and procedure outcomes.  I spent 5 days in an Istanbul hotel, but home would have been better.   

As for stages of the procedure, the only part of the procedure that "Hurts" somewhat is the anesthesia of the head phase (~30min).  They first apply topical numbing cream, then use a pressure pump gun about 50times across your entire head which as people say, feels like a rubber band being snapped hard against the scalp (try it!).  Then they proceed with a heavier anesthesia needle to poke around your head and find any areas not completely numb.  When they find an area that is not yet numb, this also stings and hurts a bit, and feels like ... well a needle poking into you head.  I probably had about 20 little pricks and additional anesthesia shots injected which is not fun, but you are already 50% numb in these spots from the prior punch gun anesthesia and its MUCH BETTER than finding out an area is not numb at some point later in the procedure when they are extracting grafts.  They are generous and thorough with the anesthesia which is great, because after that, the rest of the day is pain free and rather relaxing actually.  

Finally, as for all the stuff related to deciding which procedure 'tool' or technique is best between micro-motors, manual punches, sapphire blades, regular blades, etc., in my opinion almost all of this is distraction and meant to confuse the customer for marketing and sales purposes.  If you are on this forum, then you likely are not going to a factory line hair mill clinic anyways.  Any reputable doctor you choose will have a variety of tools and use them as needed, in various sizes, depending on the unique nature and design of your procedure given your hair situation.  Sure, ask them about it to make sure they use the right sized extraction and insertion tools appropriate for the thickness of your hair & grafts, but it is ot as important as making sure the grafts are not over harvested, handled carefully outside of your head, and most importantly that the hairline design and angles and placement of the slits where the grafts will be inserted are done in a thorough and appropriate manner for both density, design, & graft survival.  Dr. Bicer did great with this and I had no concerns.  

 Ok, on to the good stuff.

Procedure #1 | Nov. 15, 2021 | 3670 Grafts | Frontal Hairline & Top of Head

Procedure #1 Pre-Op Hairline Photos - Photos of me in Blue & White Checkered Patter Shirt

 

 

Procedure #1 Immediate Post-Op Photos - Close Up Photos of Extraction Sites & Graft Placement

Looks like nasty closeups but it was all good and no problems with healing or over harvesting in this area.  That being said.  ~3700 grafts was a bit more than I expected and I would not recommend doing more than this in a single session.  The procedure lasted from maybe 11am to 8pm with a lunch break, and by the end everyone including myself was pretty exhausted.  If you need two procedures anyways as I knew I did, I'd recommend requesting the doctor roughly split the graft counts 50/50 between sessions.  

 

Procedure #1 Results - I did not take consistently regular photos of the hair in the year following the first session, but I will try to date any good photos I find as best I can.

5 Days Later

10 Days Later

6 Weeks Post Op

4 Months Post Op - I shaved my head again 2 months post procedure, so this is only 2 months of hair growth post haircut & 4 months post operation.  A few of the transplanted grafts are beginning to fill in, but the vast majority are still asleep and dormant.  

7-Month Mark - Here We Go.  Grafts really filling in and showing up now.  Granted my hair still appears thin and scalp is visible but as mentioned before, I have extremely fine and thin hairs which made it difficult to do the transplant with as well as a bit more difficult for coverage and density.  Also my hair, my scalp, and the lighting are all light colors.  Apologies for the shirtless selfie photo as it was very hot and I just got back from a run. 

10 Months Post-Op - Haircut trimmed up a bit more now.  Cheers to good wine & new hair!!!

I hope this was helpful to those considering Dr. Bicer or to those with a hairline, hair type, and genetics like mine.  Again this is only Procedure #1 and an update with Procedure #2 details and photos from August 29th 2022 will be posted shortly once I receive some of pre-operation pictures that were taken from Dr. Bicer's assistant Ozen. 

Cheers Everyone & Best of Luck on Your Hair Clinic Research.  And congratulations to England & France winning their world cup matches today.  France is going to make a strong run for the cup I think if Mbappe keeps playing and shooting like he did today.  Best goals of the tournament so far!

[ray35]

Great results and great write up!  Nicely done. Appreciate the extra info on travel as Turkey is on my short list.

[Gatsby]

@ABreathOfFreshHair what an excellent write up! Your results look incredible and your hair color to skin color are a great match. You've chosen and excellent surgeon in Dr Bicer. You could stop here but I look forward to following your journey after your second surgery. Thanks for sharing!

[helpthisguypls]

any finasteride? amazing result

[Ryan Daniel]

It looks very natural, and that is all you want to have.  Dr Bicer is probably one of the few people that can be trusted in Turkey these days. Cheers and enjoy

[ABreathOfFreshHair]

I began 1mg/day Finasteride in July 2021 and have been consistent. and will be indefinitely.  I have had no noticeable negative side effects with finasteride.  It's difficult to determine how much progress was finasteride vs. hair-transplant but my logic was to do both and the finasteride would hopefully support the hair transplant results and also thicken my few original pre-transplant remaining hairs a bit as well.  Finasteride is a really easy and inexpensive pill to take these days so not really a big deal.  I wish I knew about it in my mid-20's as I would have started a lot sooner.

[follically challenged]

Looks incredible dude! 

any donor pics 10 month post op...?

[ABreathOfFreshHair]

Procedure #2 | November 29th 2022 | 2820 Grafts | Crown Area & A Few Single Hair Grafts to Densify Hairline

Alright, its taken me awhile to do a post-op write-up on my 2nd hair transplant procedure but here it is.  As mentioned before, I was already extremely happy with my results and experience with Dr. Bicer from my first hair transplant in 2021 and had no issues returning for round 2, as I always knew and planned for two procedures.  This procedure went even better than the first one since my blood pressures & circulation were better (due to better diet, exercise, & health in 2022), and the procedure would be about 1/3'rd fewer grafts than the first time.  

I was also very thankful and fortunate that due to a last minute cancellation, with about 10 days notice I was still able to fly to Istanbul and get the procedure done much earlier than the expected Mid-May 2023 procedure date I was originally scheduled for. Ozen was very helpful in putting me on a waitlist and notifying me of any last minute cancellations as I really preferred to get the procedure done in the Winter time since you need to limit your scalps exposure to direct sunlight for 1-3 months post procedure.  

There is really not much to report so I'm just going to get to the photos.  Also, my donor area may look pretty harvested but I assure you that it was not over-harvested and is growing back in fully and looks completely fine.  I will try to remember to post photos and updates of this 2nd procedure again 1yr out to share the full results of the 2nd procedure.  Anyways, on to the good stuff.

Pictures Immediately Post Op

Next Photos Are Around 10 Days Post Op (Notice The Details of Graft Angles & Swirl Design to Match The Natural Original Hair Angles) 

**My scabs took about 14 days to fully flake off (not 10 days as is average) but I was extra careful not to scrub, wash, or apply extra pressure on them too early.  

Thats all for now.  Again, I'll try to provide updates after 1yr of full growth when we can all see and review the final outcome. Cheers!

[A_4_Archan]

Excellent journey ....work looks very good...so hws your donor nw after extracting so many grafts (2 surgeries combined)

[ABreathOfFreshHair]

2nd Procedure Pre-Op Photos

**Apologies as I should have posted these at the beginning of the last post on my 2nd procedure but I found them after I posted.  Here are photos taken in the office of how I looked immediately before my 2nd procedure. You can see that there was no over harvesting of my donor area on the first procedure. 

 

 

 

[honey21790]

looking great do you take finasteride

[cheesy1986]

This is looking amazing and gives me hope. Very similar hair loss pattern to you and just had my first procedure last week to address hairline and mid scalp. Keep us updated as it progresses and all the best 

[ABreathOfFreshHair]

Dr. Bicer | 37yr Old | NW5 | 2700 Graft 2nd Session | May 26, 2023 | 6-Month Update Photos

I just wanted to share my 6-Month update photos following my 2700 Graft 2nd Session in November 2022.  I would say 90% of Grafts went to my Crown area, and 10% when to my front hairline.  I imagine the hairs will thicken up even more over the next 6-Months but I would estimate roughly 70% of density and growth from the grafts during this 2nd session have filled in by. now.  Everything looks good and I'm happy with the results. 

Important Note: I did just get a short 'Summer Haircut' (1.5 Trimmers on the Side, Finger pinched length scissors on top) done two days before these photos were taken and my hair is and remains extremely thin and blond, so seeing significant scalp skin through the hairline is expected from a top down angle, but is still significantly better than my density before my first procedure.  Reference my initial pre-op photos for comparison.  You can see in the top down photos, that the density is much thicker in my frontal hairline than on the top of my head, which gives a better illusion of more density when I'm looking and speaking to people directly head on, as well as in most photos.  

Final Takeaways & Thoughts: If I had enough grafts available, and could get one more 3rd procedure in the future of 3-4k grafts spread across both the top of my head and the crown for extra density, then I probably would, but sadly that is not yet available.  Hopefully in 20yrs when I'm 60, the technology will exist to grow unlimited grafts in a lab 'Graft Farm' and I will consider another final procedure in later life, but for now I'm still quite happy & content with Dr. Bicer and feel the did an excellent job with the grafts available to them and my NW5 degree of hair loss.  

 

 

 

[mr_peanutbutter]

@ABreathOfFreshHair you could go to eugenix in india or pittella in brazil and use beardgrafts to add density

 

the result looks good already though, the hair/skin contrast is in your favour

[Digs49]

Agree with the group here in saying outstanding write up and documenting of your journey. Pittella & Eugenix are great choices for bht to add density. Best of luck and great results thus far! 

[duckling]

great results so far. it should improve more in next 6 months. I think after that you can take a call incase you want BHT done to increase density more. The two clinics mentioned above are great for it. But there is time for you to decide. 

[Melvin- Admin]

This is actually really good so far, I’m very impressed with the growth for the number of grafts.

[TommyVercetti]

Looking really good, happy growing