Dr. Feriduni FUE 3631 grafts Mar 2023

[Tommie]

Hi guys!

I wanted to share with you my journey that led me to hair transplant at Dr. Feriduni. It was a long journey of coming to terms with balding, doing research on what can I do and overthinking everything.

About me

I’m 31 years old, Norwood 3 (I guess NW4 before starting to take Finasteride), my father and one grandfather are pretty much bald. I’ve been losing hair for pretty much long time, I remember comments from my mom that I’m getting bald at 18. My biggest problem were temples and the headline. I’ve been on Finasteride for 21 months, but not Minoxidil.

Around 27 it started to bother me more, so I started to research what can be done, watched videos of people that went through HT, read about finasteride. It took me some time to accept that I’m inevitably going bald and I want to prevent it. I went to consults with several HT specialists, started watching Mr. Rolandas. Around July 2021 I jumped on fin 1 mg every other day, no noticeable side effects so far. I did have some regrowth around the crown and my balding halted.

Before Finasteride happened:

Doing my own research

I talked with several HT specialists, many of them were very convincing and had robust reputation, however it was Dr. Feriduni that won my heart from the start. I already heard about his stellar reviews, however it was personal conversation with him that me choose him over other excellent specialists in Belgium. He shared his vision of how can we make HT to improve overall aesthetic picture and how can we make it relatively future-proof, so without pushing the hairline too much. I decided to have the surgery with him. Just bear in mind that it’s a long process, I had online screening done in Nov 2021, personal consultation in June 2022 and finally had the surgery in Mar 2023.

Surgery

Finally the surgery day came! I arrived in Hasselt one day before, as I was scheduled to start the procedure at 7.30 AM the next day. I was given a separate room where I would spend breaks and eat lunch. I changed into patients clothes and met dr. Feriduni. Once again we talked about the design and he drew lines on my head. After we discussed the surgery plan, I was off to get IV and to be completely shaved.

The next phase was extractions that were performed by the team of 3 technicians. I lied down on my stomach. Luckily I got some sedatives through the IV that made me sleep, as the position wasn’t the most comfortable. The anesthetics that I received made me only feel some pressure, but no pain. After around 2-2,5h we were done and I could enjoy lunch break.

The subsequent phase were incisions done by dr. Feriduni. I received anesthetics injections that made my scalp completely numb. Dr. Feriduni showed me grafts collected in previous phase, explained lab work to create more single grafts and how is he going to make incisions. In this stage I was sitting and I could watch Netflix. It took around 1 hour.

After dr. Feriduni was done, team of 3 technicians started implanting the grafts, I believe it took 2h or so. It was only slightly uncomfortable to sit still for so much time, the procedure was painless and I could catch up with my Netflix series.

The last phase was receiving post-op instructions and final consultation with dr. Feriduni to sum up the surgery and achieved outcome. I think the results did look very promising and I was happy after the day. It was already after 5PM when the clinic ordered taxi for me.

I went back to the clinic the next day around 9AM. I had a full session with nurse to go over all the aspects of the post-op care and answer all my questions. I received a comprehensive package of products and medicines to be used. Once again I had a consultation with dr. Feriduni where he explained what can I expect in the next days and how my final result could look like. After 10AM I was free to go back home.

Side note – when Belgian railways are striking, never use them, they will sell tickets for non-running trains and you will only learn that they won’t go shortly before the departure time.

Conclusion

I am happy with the surgery. Surely it is more pricy that doing it in Turkey (and unfortunately Belgian VAT is charged on top of the prices), but I know that I can count on dr. Feriduni professionalism. I wanted to minimize the risk that something goes wrong and if something does and I need help, I can easily go to Hasselt by car or train, as it’s close. It feels that the team is very well trained and integrated, they are very friendly and answer any question I might have. I felt that they wanted to make my journey as smooth as possible since I arrived in Hasselt. Obviously it's too early to say if I'm satisfied with the outcome, but at least up to this point I am very satisfied with the process.

Now I'm one week into my recovery and it's not bad at all. I'm just afraid of how I will look like when I finally go to work, as I guess I cannot endlessly have no-camera calls...

[Anon94]

Seems you respond really well to finasteride. The work looks great too!

[Melvin- Admin]

Feriduni is one of the greats. You’re in great hands happy growing 🙏

[Berba11]

The design is absolutely brilliant. 

[Tommie]

Thanks guys! Funny how I barely noticed finasteride regrowth until dr. Feriduni pointed out during the consultation that I look way better than in the photos that I send him online.
 

Maybe another point worth mentioning - design of dr. Feriduni includes temporales (on the sides), which is pretty unique as no one else proposed them. He believes that it will reshape my face a bit and give me more desired aesthetical look.

[OliverAtom]

Looking fantastic. Dr Feriduni is one of the best, one of my favs. Your result is gonna be brilliant.

[Tommie]

Hi guys!

I wanted to share an update on my hair transplant journey. I am almost three weeks after the procedure. It seems that everything is going according to the plan and I’m healing pretty well. It wasn’t without difficulties though. I was trying to follow dr. Feriduni post-op instructions religiously, so use hair spray treatment in the first days and then post-surgery serum and oil that were provided to me. Since day 3 I was allowed to wash my hair with provided mousse shampoo. The clinic provided me with a booklet and an app to make it easier to follow all the steps and remember about the restrictions.

Travel back home

I was supposed to smoothly go back home by train, however due to railways strike, I had plenty of interruptions on the way. I needed to change trains and eventually get into a bus, after a long time standing outside, in the rain and wind. Thankfully the clinic equipped me with a bandana that I was able to wear and hold desperately, so that the wind doesn’t take it. I was really scared that something would happen to my grafts due to those unfortunate circumstances. However, there was no bleeding, no pain and I didn’t see any grafts falling out, so I guess I’m safe.

Pain (Hyperesthesia)

I didn’t feel too much pain after the procedure and I didn’t take any painkillers. I believe that it was night after day 3 that my donor area started to burn and sting badly. I needed to take painkillers to get some sleep and it was only getting worse, so I was afraid it might be some sort of infection. Thankfully, closer to day 10 it started to fade and it disappeared abruptly. Right now I have no pain and little itchiness in my recipient area.

Scabs

My scabs started to fall of late, I believe I lost first scabs around day 10. I was already washing them daily and gently massaging in the morning, putting the serum in the evening. The last scabs fall of on day 16. I made sure not to use any force to remove them or nails, just let them fall out naturally.

Redness

My scalp is slightly red, but to be honest I was afraid it would be worse. I can see it under strong light, otherwise it’s barely noticeable.

Current status

When I go outside or meet friends or wear a baseball cap now, I don’t feel confident yet, though I have no problems with turning camera on during online meetings. I guess I look like an average guy with buzzed hair, except for some redness.

Now I guess I have to brace for what is coming – the shedding phase. I am scared of that and I have some little hope that I will be able to avoid to some extent, or at least don’t go through it severely. I’d hate to see my hair go.

[mr_peanutbutter]

looking good so far

 

what was the price (including vat) per graft?

[Warre]

Hey Tommie. Already looks great! Do you still take finasteride after the operation?

[Tommie]

Thanks guys

@mr_peanutbutter The default price per graft with VAT is around 4,5 euro, but with bigger surgeries it could be priced individually, e.g. part of the grafts priced on the level of 3,02 euro (with VAT). I think that final price for me was around 3,47 euro per graft. The VAT part is tough, some Belgian HT specialists go around it.

@Warre Yes, I started taking fin 1,5 year before the surgery and I want to continue after the operation for as long as it's effective and not giving me bad side effects.

[HairEnthusiast101]

7 minutes ago, UnfortunatePatient said:

@Tommie They quoted me 5 euro + euro for regular graft and 10 euro + vat for repair. Is it possible to avoid VAT with Feriduni? I think it can be done when you have doctors recommendation to do the procedure.  I would have to pay arou d 10k euro with VAT just for the first surgery of punchouts.

Probably not. 

[HairEnthusiast101]

6 hours ago, UnfortunatePatient said:

So i think when you are from EU Bisanga does this. But Feriduni not? Is this a matter of interpretation of what is legal or what?

I have no clue to be honest. I’ve just heard it is hard to get around 

[Tommie]

So I also tried to find a way to go around the VAT with dr. Feriduni, however his office manager explicitly stated that this is not possible under normal circumstances, i.e. genetic hair loss (alopecia androgenetica). She gave me an example of what is exempt from VAT, for instance a patient who lost eyebrows due to a burning incident.

With dr. Bisanga it was possible to avoid VAT, indeed doctor's referral letter might help there. Not sure why the difference.

[ManCyprus]

Good luck!

The work seems very clean and professional.

The extraction from the donor area seems very good with very small punches. Was this done in a motorized way or manual?

[Tommie]

 

Thanks! 😀

All the extractions were done manually by the technicians.

[Tommie]

Hey guys! I'm 4 months after the HT. The ugly duckling phase is behind me! And now it's supposed to only get better.

Ugly duckling phase wasn't easy for me, I wasn't one of the lucky ones that avoided it. Of course I knew that it would come, which doesn't mean that I hated it any less. I was wearing caps whenever possible, also inside. I was creative with finding excuses why I do that. 

In the ugly phase I tried to keep the hair short, as the difference between transplanted and donor area was substantial.

6 weeks post HT

9 weeks post HT

3 months post HT



4 months post HT

I feel so much better with having decent coverage. I'm no longer religious about wearing a cap, I just make sure to protect my scalp from UV exposure. I let it grow a bit longer this time, as the transplanted area doesn't look as bad compared to the donor area.

To be honest I'm already happy that it's back to normal and looks pretty much like before the HT. Now I hope it will improve further and I will see that the whole journey was worth it.

[Berba11]

On 7/15/2023 at 5:29 PM, Tommie said:

Hey guys! I'm 4 months after the HT. The ugly duckling phase is behind me! And now it's supposed to only get better.

Ugly duckling phase wasn't easy for me, I wasn't one of the lucky ones that avoided it. Of course I knew that it would come, which doesn't mean that I hated it any less. I was wearing caps whenever possible, also inside. I was creative with finding excuses why I do that. 

In the ugly phase I tried to keep the hair short, as the difference between transplanted and donor area was substantial.

6 weeks post HT

9 weeks post HT

3 months post HT



4 months post HT

I feel so much better with having decent coverage. I'm no longer religious about wearing a cap, I just make sure to protect my scalp from UV exposure. I let it grow a bit longer this time, as the transplanted area doesn't look as bad compared to the donor area.

To be honest I'm already happy that it's back to normal and looks pretty much like before the HT. Now I hope it will improve further and I will see that the whole journey was worth it.

Any updates @Tommie?

[Tommie]

Hi guys, @Berba11,

I'm now 9 months after the HT. I think I am around reaching the full expected coverage, hair could just get thicker and less unruly. I can still see the difference between transplanted hair and the native ones.

I'm not using any styling products yet, it's pretty neat that in the morning I just need to comb them a little. No need to carefully arrange them and put gel to make sure no bald spots are visible, as I was always doing before the HT. I think the result looks natural and it is so much better than before the procedure.

In 3 months I will have consultation in person with dr. Feriduni to evaluate the final results. I don't expect any major gains anymore though.

[Berba11]

59 minutes ago, Tommie said:

Hi guys, @Berba11,

I'm now 9 months after the HT. I think I am around reaching the full expected coverage, hair could just get thicker and less unruly. I can still see the difference between transplanted hair and the native ones.

I'm not using any styling products yet, it's pretty neat that in the morning I just need to comb them a little. No need to carefully arrange them and put gel to make sure no bald spots are visible, as I was always doing before the HT. I think the result looks natural and it is so much better than before the procedure.

In 3 months I will have consultation in person with dr. Feriduni to evaluate the final results. I don't expect any major gains anymore though.

Wow- incredible results so far! Looks brilliant. The transplanted hair will take on the appearance of the native hair more and more over time. I recommend regular conditioning and occasional hair masks. I found these help a lot to soften things, especially after the 18-24 month mark. 

[BaldReaper]

can you post some pics outdoors?

[Tommie]

8 hours ago, Berba11 said:

Wow- incredible results so far! Looks brilliant. The transplanted hair will take on the appearance of the native hair more and more over time. I recommend regular conditioning and occasional hair masks. I found these help a lot to soften things, especially after the 18-24 month mark. 

Thanks for the tip! I also think it will just take a bit more time to get them to be the same.

[Berba11]

4 hours ago, Tommie said:

Thanks for the tip! I also think it will just take a bit more time to get them to be the same.

Yes definitely - for me it was closer to two years. 

[Tommie]

On 12/10/2023 at 11:35 PM, BaldV said:

can you post some pics outdoors?

Hey @BaldV, I got also some pics in the natural light.

 

 

 

[SpaceX]

On 3/16/2023 at 8:26 PM, Tommie said:

Hi guys!

I wanted to share with you my journey that led me to hair transplant at Dr. Feriduni. It was a long journey of coming to terms with balding, doing research on what can I do and overthinking everything.

About me

I’m 31 years old, Norwood 3 (I guess NW4 before starting to take Finasteride), my father and one grandfather are pretty much bald. I’ve been losing hair for pretty much long time, I remember comments from my mom that I’m getting bald at 18. My biggest problem were temples and the headline. I’ve been on Finasteride for 21 months, but not Minoxidil.

Around 27 it started to bother me more, so I started to research what can be done, watched videos of people that went through HT, read about finasteride. It took me some time to accept that I’m inevitably going bald and I want to prevent it. I went to consults with several HT specialists, started watching Mr. Rolandas. Around July 2021 I jumped on fin 1 mg every other day, no noticeable side effects so far. I did have some regrowth around the crown and my balding halted.

Before Finasteride happened:

Doing my own research

I talked with several HT specialists, many of them were very convincing and had robust reputation, however it was Dr. Feriduni that won my heart from the start. I already heard about his stellar reviews, however it was personal conversation with him that me choose him over other excellent specialists in Belgium. He shared his vision of how can we make HT to improve overall aesthetic picture and how can we make it relatively future-proof, so without pushing the hairline too much. I decided to have the surgery with him. Just bear in mind that it’s a long process, I had online screening done in Nov 2021, personal consultation in June 2022 and finally had the surgery in Mar 2023.

Surgery

Finally the surgery day came! I arrived in Hasselt one day before, as I was scheduled to start the procedure at 7.30 AM the next day. I was given a separate room where I would spend breaks and eat lunch. I changed into patients clothes and met dr. Feriduni. Once again we talked about the design and he drew lines on my head. After we discussed the surgery plan, I was off to get IV and to be completely shaved.

The next phase was extractions that were performed by the team of 3 technicians. I lied down on my stomach. Luckily I got some sedatives through the IV that made me sleep, as the position wasn’t the most comfortable. The anesthetics that I received made me only feel some pressure, but no pain. After around 2-2,5h we were done and I could enjoy lunch break.

The subsequent phase were incisions done by dr. Feriduni. I received anesthetics injections that made my scalp completely numb. Dr. Feriduni showed me grafts collected in previous phase, explained lab work to create more single grafts and how is he going to make incisions. In this stage I was sitting and I could watch Netflix. It took around 1 hour.

After dr. Feriduni was done, team of 3 technicians started implanting the grafts, I believe it took 2h or so. It was only slightly uncomfortable to sit still for so much time, the procedure was painless and I could catch up with my Netflix series.

The last phase was receiving post-op instructions and final consultation with dr. Feriduni to sum up the surgery and achieved outcome. I think the results did look very promising and I was happy after the day. It was already after 5PM when the clinic ordered taxi for me.

I went back to the clinic the next day around 9AM. I had a full session with nurse to go over all the aspects of the post-op care and answer all my questions. I received a comprehensive package of products and medicines to be used. Once again I had a consultation with dr. Feriduni where he explained what can I expect in the next days and how my final result could look like. After 10AM I was free to go back home.

Side note – when Belgian railways are striking, never use them, they will sell tickets for non-running trains and you will only learn that they won’t go shortly before the departure time.

Conclusion

I am happy with the surgery. Surely it is more pricy that doing it in Turkey (and unfortunately Belgian VAT is charged on top of the prices), but I know that I can count on dr. Feriduni professionalism. I wanted to minimize the risk that something goes wrong and if something does and I need help, I can easily go to Hasselt by car or train, as it’s close. It feels that the team is very well trained and integrated, they are very friendly and answer any question I might have. I felt that they wanted to make my journey as smooth as possible since I arrived in Hasselt. Obviously it's too early to say if I'm satisfied with the outcome, but at least up to this point I am very satisfied with the process.

Now I'm one week into my recovery and it's not bad at all. I'm just afraid of how I will look like when I finally go to work, as I guess I cannot endlessly have no-camera calls...

Hi Tommy, nice results! I was wondering if the second picture from the start of your topic is just the result of using finasteride? 

[duchaine]

On 12/10/2023 at 10:42 PM, Berba11 said:

Wow- incredible results so far! Looks brilliant. The transplanted hair will take on the appearance of the native hair more and more over time. I recommend regular conditioning and occasional hair masks. I found these help a lot to soften things, especially after the 18-24 month mark. 

OLPALEX 3 could be great in these cases.