Debating between HLC (Turkey) or BHR (Belgium) for hair transplant, 2000-3000 grafts

[formesenlair]

I am a 26yo m. I have had what appears to be a natural NW2.5ish hairline since I was a child and I am wanting to get it brought to a NW0. It has not receded at all and out of paranoia I have been taking finasteride for 8 years, although it does have a U shape which makes a hairline lowering out of the question. I am wanting a fairly square hairline, which I know is not recommended but given my forehead shape I am willing to take the risk I may regret it in 20 years. Based on estimates I've received from 10+ clinics I'll probably need somewhere between 2000-3000 grafts.

I am deciding between HLC in Turkey and BHR in Belgium...I am curious how these clinics compare. I have heard a lot of good results from both. HLC has given me an estimate of 2000-2500 grafts for 3 euro per graft. I've done a virtual consultation with BHR and will do an in person one soon; they offer two routes

1. At 4 euro per graft: Dr. Bisanga makes the recipient sites. Dr. Bisanga and Dr. Kostis share punching of extraction sites, and then technicians extract the punched grafts and place them into the recipient sites
2. At 6 euro per graft: Dr. Bisanga alone does the recipient and extraction, and then technicians extract the punched grafts

 

I have two questions

1. HLC told me surgeons do the entire operation, does this mean the surgeons themselves do the graft punching and recipient placing as well?
2. Is it worth the extra two euros per graft to have Bisanga do it all at BHR? I have not found many reviews of Dr. Kostis.

 

Any insights would be greatly appreciated

Regards

[Turkhair]

Bisanga 

HLC are just as good but there have been a miss

[A_4_Archan]

@formesenlairBisanga 4 euros package would be fine imo

Hlc is good but the only downside is there are multiple doctors there and you don't know who will operate you and whose work is better...

For hairlines you can also look at dr de freitas ,dr pinto ,dr Ferreira ,dr couto ..all of them are around 4 euros per graft price and doing excellent work

Edited June 27, 2023 by A_4_Archan

[formesenlair]

1 minute ago, A_4_Archan said:

Bisanga 4 euros package would be fine imo

Hlc is good but the only downside is there are multiple doctors there and you don't know who will operate you and whose work is better...

For hairlines you can also look at dr de freitas ,dr pinto ,dr Ferreira ,dr couto ..all of them are around 4 euros per graft price and doing excellent work

I in fact reached out to exactly those 4...although most aren't booking until late 2024, let alone taking consultations until early 2024. For good reason I'm sure, but I will only be in Europe until June 2024 so out of feasibility's sake I have to look elsewhere. BHR implies I can probably get in by January.

 

Have you heard  much of Dr. Kostis?

[Nw7HPE]

I would choose BHR, I would stay away from HLC. Did the surgery with HLC 16 months ago and I am not happy. Maybe they were good at some point but not anymore. The whole experience was like a  factory assembly thing rather than meticulous surgeons doing their best. Remember you only have limited donor. 

[A_4_Archan]

@formesenlair I would agree with @Kashnw7hopeas i have seen few people who had surgery with them and saying the same thing..actually the problem is you don't know who will operate on you and whose results are good...this will always be an issue where there is big team involved..there will be some misses ...

Yeh i have heard about dr kostis and he is with dr bisanga since long and helping him out in the surgery...there can be two opinions regarding his hairline work and all as that thing is subjective and people will have different opinions but he is very ethical guy and he will not put your head under an inexperienced surgeon...he takes full responsibility of the work..so don't worry about that if you go with him.

I can understand your situation but again i would say don't let the convenience be a factor in choosing your surgeon...you can afford to be inconvenient for something which will be right there with you for lifetime...i would say go with the one you feel more comfortable with and specially with the one whose results you prefer the most....

And one more you can look into is @DrMunibAhmad ..he is expensive than all of them but the results speak for themselves...producing the most natural results i have seen so far and the way he present his results is unmatched....he takes pride of his work and he does each and every step(extraction ,incisions and implantation ) himself and follows extremely personalised approach...so you can look at him and consult him...

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by A_4_Archan

[Gramatik]

2 hours ago, formesenlair said:

I am a 26yo m. I have had what appears to be a natural NW2.5ish hairline since I was a child and I am wanting to get it brought to a NW0. It has not receded at all and out of paranoia I have been taking finasteride for 8 years, although it does have a U shape which makes a hairline lowering out of the question. I am wanting a fairly square hairline, which I know is not recommended but given my forehead shape I am willing to take the risk I may regret it in 20 years. Based on estimates I've received from 10+ clinics I'll probably need somewhere between 2000-3000 grafts.

I am deciding between HLC in Turkey and BHR in Belgium...I am curious how these clinics compare. I have heard a lot of good results from both. HLC has given me an estimate of 2000-2500 grafts for 3 euro per graft. I've done a virtual consultation with BHR and will do an in person one soon; they offer two routes

1. At 4 euro per graft: Dr. Bisanga makes the recipient sites. Dr. Bisanga and Dr. Kostis share punching of extraction sites, and then technicians extract the punched grafts and place them into the recipient sites
2. At 6 euro per graft: Dr. Bisanga alone does the recipient and extraction, and then technicians extract the punched grafts

 

I have two questions

1. HLC told me surgeons do the entire operation, does this mean the surgeons themselves do the graft punching and recipient placing as well?
2. Is it worth the extra two euros per graft to have Bisanga do it all at BHR? I have not found many reviews of Dr. Kostis.

 

Any insights would be greatly appreciated

Regards

both HLC and Bisanga are great options. If you go with Dr Bisanga, i think the 4 euro/graft option is good, and you dont have to select the more expensive one.

Why dont you look at other options too? There's plenty of good options like Dr Pekiner, Keser, Freitas, Dr Hans Heinicke, Pinto, Fereira, Feriduni, Lupanzula, Mwamba, Eugenix, Pittella, FueGenix, Dr Nader (mexico), Dr Laorwong etc..

Edited June 27, 2023 by Gramatik

[formesenlair]

4 hours ago, Gramatik said:

both HLC and Bisanga are great options. If you go with Dr Bisanga, i think the 4 euro/graft option is good, and you dont have to select the more expensive one.

Why dont you look at other options too? There's plenty of good options like Dr Pekiner, Keser, Freitas, Dr Hans Heinicke, Pinto, Fereira, Feriduni, Lupanzula, Mwamba, Eugenix, Pittella, FueGenix, Dr Nader (mexico), Dr Laorwong etc..

ive contacted many of these

 

do you know Dr Pekiners contact info

[Gramatik]

1 hour ago, formesenlair said:

 

 

do you know Dr Pekiners contact info

Dr Pekiner's clinic is called neohead clinic

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by Melvin- Moderator
Removed link

[Melvin- Admin]

My suggestion is to search all of the reviews from HLC and BHR on this forum. I’m sure you can easily pull up 10 recent cases. Once you’ve examined their body of work, then I would recommend consulting with these clinics via video call. This again will help you determine who you feel comfortable with. 

[Turkhair]

9 hours ago, Kashnw7hope said:

I would choose BHR, I would stay away from HLC. Did the surgery with HLC 16 months ago and I am not happy. Maybe they were good at some point but not anymore. The whole experience was like a  factory assembly thing rather than meticulous surgeons doing their best. Remember you only have limited donor. 

Would be nice if you could post an update. 

[Teddy1927]

6 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

My suggestion is to search all of the reviews from HLC and BHR on this forum. I’m sure you can easily pull up 10 recent cases. Once you’ve examined their body of work, then I would recommend consulting with these clinics via video call. This again will help you determine who you feel comfortable with. 

Hi melvin what is the best way to search a dr on this site to see all there results please ?

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, Teddy1927 said:

Hi melvin what is the best way to search a dr on this site to see all there results please ?

Our advanced search page

 

[RTC]

I would never go to a clinic where I don't know who the doctor is. HLC is better than a hair mill, but I want to know what will happen during my surgery in advance.

BHR all the way.

[Ajamilo]

I am agreeing with @RTC I would not trust HLC since you don’t know who is going to do what before the surgery and what their results is on that particular step.

BHR is a better option but Perkiner is better than both of them and cheaper too 

[Nova10]

On 6/27/2023 at 5:30 PM, Gramatik said:

both HLC and Bisanga are great options. If you go with Dr Bisanga, i think the 4 euro/graft option is good, and you dont have to select the more expensive one.

Why dont you look at other options too? There's plenty of good options like Dr Pekiner, Keser, Freitas, Dr Hans Heinicke, Pinto, Fereira, Feriduni, Lupanzula, Mwamba, Eugenix, Pittella, FueGenix, Dr Nader (mexico), Dr Laorwong etc..

Hi Gramatik, I'm looking into Lupanzula.  Can you share some details about why you recommend him?  There aren't many patient-posted reviews on this forum, so could you share some more information about what specific results you have seen, and where? TIA

[Drew-83]

I agree with what the others have told you about hlc, then evaluate the result of my surgery that you find in my signature. Add to all this inefficient postop support, I've been waiting for their reply at least 10 days.

[KSA91]

On 6/27/2023 at 8:09 AM, Kashnw7hope said:

I would choose BHR, I would stay away from HLC. Did the surgery with HLC 16 months ago and I am not happy. Maybe they were good at some point but not anymore. The whole experience was like a  factory assembly thing rather than meticulous surgeons doing their best. Remember you only have limited donor. 

I've seen your post. You were a NW7! Incredibly difficult with any clinic. They should've managed your expectations better perhaps but I don't think it's HLC's fault. There are so many variables that determine whether a hair transplant will be a success or not. You should've chosen clinics that had previous patients who were as close to your case as possible. I've never seen any patient on this forum or social media who went to HLC with a NW7. Your best bet was Eugenix or Zarev. My brother went to HLC in February(6 months in with amazing results) and he told me there were 3 other patients with him and each one of them was assigned a doctor and each doctor had a group of nurses/techs helping them and also the doctors did 80% of the work. In Dr. Bisanga's recent podcast with Melvin, he said he hardly does anything nowadays during surgery! You're just disappointed that your expectations for Norwood 7 weren't met! And you're trying to blame the clinic!

You can only blame yourself for going to Turkey to begin with anyway. 

[Nw7HPE]

3 hours ago, KSA91 said:

I've seen your post. You were a NW7! Incredibly difficult with any clinic. They should've managed your expectations better perhaps but I don't think it's HLC's fault. There are so many variables that determine whether a hair transplant will be a success or not. You should've chosen clinics that had previous patients who were as close to your case as possible. I've never seen any patient on this forum or social media who went to HLC with a NW7. Your best bet was Eugenix or Zarev. My brother went to HLC in February(6 months in with amazing results) and he told me there were 3 other patients with him and each one of them was assigned a doctor and each doctor had a group of nurses/techs helping them and also the doctors did 80% of the work. In Dr. Bisanga's recent podcast with Melvin, he said he hardly does anything nowadays during surgery! You're just disappointed that your expectations for Norwood 7 weren't met! And you're trying to blame the clinic!

You can only blame yourself for going to Turkey to begin with anyway. 

You seem very aggressive when it comes to defending HLC , only explanation I could think of is that you are affiliated with them . HLC used to advertise their NW7,NW6 cases all the time some years ago (when maybe they were actually good) . Now they just train some average Doctor and put him/her in the operation room . There is no more Ozgur or Akin doing surgeries at HLC , It is a factory assembly line process maybe 10% better than your average Istanbul Hair mill . I was perfectly aware of my situation , expectations beforehand and your assumption is simply false . I have shown immediate post op photos and my scalp to two reputable surgeons and they confirmed that the densities HLC claimed they implanted were absolutely dishonest . HLC claimed they implanted 45-40 grafts but the in reality the actual density was 32-34 . There are many recent disappointments and botch jobs from HLC on this forum , If you would have opened your eyes a bit more you would not have attacked me like that . 

[Gatsby]

Why are you limiting yourself to only two surgeons?

[Turkhair]

7 hours ago, KSA91 said:

 

You can only blame yourself for going to Turkey to begin with anyway. 

There is nothing wrong with going to Turkey. I am an ex-NW6 patient cured in Turkey. 

I can honestly tell you that my result wouldn’t have been any different if I had gone anywhere else or to any other doctor. 

 

[KSA91]

3 hours ago, Kashnw7hope said:

You seem very aggressive when it comes to defending HLC , only explanation I could think of is that you are affiliated with them . HLC used to advertise their NW7,NW6 cases all the time some years ago (when maybe they were actually good) . Now they just train some average Doctor and put him/her in the operation room . There is no more Ozgur or Akin doing surgeries at HLC , It is a factory assembly line process maybe 10% better than your average Istanbul Hair mill . I was perfectly aware of my situation , expectations beforehand and your assumption is simply false . I have shown immediate post op photos and my scalp to two reputable surgeons and they confirmed that the densities HLC claimed they implanted were absolutely dishonest . HLC claimed they implanted 45-40 grafts but the in reality the actual density was 32-34 . There are many recent disappointments and botch jobs from HLC on this forum , If you would have opened your eyes a bit more you would not have attacked me like that . 

My criticism of you is going to Turkey in the first place. People know what the market there is like. It's like a guy who is speeding at 200 miles an hour and then complains after as to why he got into a car crash. Every clinic in the world has botched jobs. There are two cases on this forum of Dr. Cuoto messing up! It's surgery at the end of the day and things can go wrong. It's how ethical they are that's important! There are so many variables that determine whether a hair transplant will be a success or not.

[jjalay]

Bisanga is world class so i would definately choose BHR.