Second DHI/FUE transplant - 833 grafts - Non-shaven - Dr Dogan Turan - FUECapilar

[SeanT1]

Hello everyone, 
Back in September 2021 I had my first ever transplant with Dr Balwi at Elithair.
I was very happy with the result and the amount of coverage they achieved with 3400 grafts.
However, they never worked on my temporal corners and the hairline somewhat lacked density.

This year, I travelled to Istanbul to get a second hair transplant with FUECapilar in hopes to;
1. Improve hairline Density.
2. Improve Temporal Corners.
3. Have a surgery without shaving top of head (issues ahead).

Here I will log the monthly results as well as explain my experience with this clinic.

Total Cost of second transplant (excluding flights)
4000 Euro

Traveling to Istanbul - Hotel package - Airport pickup
Like most Turkish clinics, All I had to do was arrive at the airport and a driver would be waiting to collect me to take me to a hotel that is included in the deal.
I had to look for a sign between column 12/13 at the airport which said "Stop 33".  I crossed the pavement and was greeted by a man who called a driver for me.
We arrived at the hotel within 2 hours (from SAW airport).  The hotel was decent, there was no issues with hygiene and everything was in order.  
It was 4*, although it felt 3*, it no longer offered room service or mini-fridge (however, it does offer breakfast/lunch & dinner in the hotel restaurant).  In addition to this, the food was quite basic.  However the staff of the hotel are kind and happy to help.  Overall the hotel was a comfortable experience.  The same day, I also had blood tests taken at a nearby hospital.

 

Day of procedure - Planning - Extra cost - Surgery - Dr Dogan Turan
On the day of the procedure, I was picked up from the hotel and brought to the clinic at 8.30am.  There I was greeted by a translator who brought me into a room with Dr Turan.
Dr Turan does not speak English, so the translator had to ask any (and all) questions.  They asked simple questions such as what my expectations are and also filled in some paperwork.  This took no more than 10 minutes.

We then proceeded into another room, Dr Turan planned a new hairline design with temporal corner improvements and rounding my widows peak into a healthier shape.
I was happy with the design Dr Turan drew, it filled in my temporal corners perfectly while not lowering the lowest part of my hairline yet lowering the rest.

After drawing the hairline, we then discussed the non-shaven process, this is where things got complicated. 
I was told many times before arriving to Istanbul that we can expect 1500-2000 grafts to be taken and used to increase density within my existing hair as well as improving temporal corners through a non-shaven surgery (top of head remaining unshaven).  However, about 30 minutes before the actual surgery (before my donor got shaven) I was then told that Dr Turan can NOT place follicles in between existing hairs with a non-shaven procedure.  This wasn't an issue specifically to my case, he does not do this in general.  So despite being told many times that density will be improved by implanting grafts in-between existing hairs, the total amount of grafts that could be placed was reduced from 1500-2000 grafts to 833 grafts.
On top of this issue, a non-shaven transplant cost an extra 400 Euro.  Why? I am not sure.  I was not getting the graft count that I was promised by placing within existing hairs.
They told me if I wanted my original amount, I must be fully shaven.  I grudgingly declined, yet I had no idea what I was paying extra money for.

 

Being confident with the hairline design, we proceeded with the surgery.
The whole surgery took around 4 hours, a tech extracted the follicles and Dr Turan implanted them with DHI technique.
I felt his work was quite clean, he even placed some grafts in-between hairs in the end, but no where near the amount I was expecting (1500-2000 grafts).

In addition to this, I feel that the full planned area was not covered.  Specifically in the temporal zones, however I might be overthinking.
As you can see in the image above, the goal was to fill the whole temporal zone on the right side of my head (picture 2), however, it seems he only covered about 2/3.

 

The staff at FUECapilar have been very friendly, they even offered to pay my flight home at the risk of bad traffic preventing me from missing my flight.

Overall, I think Dr Turan did clean work, but 4000 Euro for 833 grafts (Including the additional 400 euro cost for not shaving the top yet not implanting in-between hairs), was it worth it?  I'll leave it up to you guys to decide.
Personally, I'm disappointed about being misinformed regarding non-shaven graft amount, as well as the temporal zones not being fully filled like shown in the drawn hairline design.
Although, if the density of the new lowered hairline masks the lack of density from my original transplant in 2021 then I would be happy to have used minimal grafts as opposed to a larger number to resolve this issue.  Time will tell.

I will continue to post updates as the months pass, despite some of the complications, I have good faith in Dr Turan as a transplant surgeon.

I hope everyone is having a great hair restoration journey! 😄

 

Additional reference from PDF;

Edited April 12 by SeanToman

[Ramin]

I’ve been in Dr. Turan clinic to do my hair transplant just 2 days ago. I transplanted almost 3900 grafts, and everything looks normal so far! However, I saw many good result by Dr.Turan and this is why I choose him I don't know why I feel I could have chosen a better clinic

hopefully we will be satisfied at the end. 

[SeanT1]

3 minutes ago, Ramin said:

I’ve been in Dr. Turan clinic to do my hair transplant just 2 days ago. I transplanted almost 3900 grafts, and everything looks normal so far! However, I saw many good result by Dr.Turan and this is why I choose him I don't know why I feel I could have chosen a better clinic

hopefully we will be satisfied at the end. 

What day was your surgery? Mine was on the 9th April.  
Hope your journey is a success sir.

[Ramin]

10 minutes ago, SeanToman said:

What day was your surgery? Mine was on the 9th April.  
Hope your journey is a success sir.

Mine took place on April 8-9, then we both were there on same day!

[Melvin- Admin]

Congratulations on your new procedure Sean. Happy growing 🙏

[Gatsby]

@SeanToman don't be too worried about this. The number of grafts were originally not a huge amount in number. Communication is really important (especially post op) in surgery and that's difficult to avoid with many surgeons around the world. I'm confident that this will be the extra subtle result you are looking for. 💯👌

[Al - Moderator]

Hopefully that will be just enough to make a nice difference. At least you didn't have to shave your head and you won't have to go through the ugly duckling phase... as long as the front doesn't stay red for too long, but it shouldn't since they didn't do a large area.

 

 

[SeanT1]

8 hours ago, Gatsby said:

@SeanToman don't be too worried about this. The number of grafts were originally not a huge amount in number. Communication is really important (especially post op) in surgery and that's difficult to avoid with many surgeons around the world. I'm confident that this will be the extra subtle result you are looking for. 💯👌

Thank you @Gatsby, It's always nice to hear your input.
I agree that regardless of the amount; it can only be an improvement.

Perhaps I just had different expectations (more grafts placed in existing hairline also).

However, I've seen Dr Turans work in the past, he does an amazing job with hairline density.  So hopefully this will be enough to fix my density issue as well as keeping my temporal corners shaped nice at the most unflattering angles.  I do think the hairline design was different than what was implanted.  Especially the temporal corners.

6 hours ago, Al - Moderator said:

Hopefully that will be just enough to make a nice difference. At least you didn't have to shave your head and you won't have to go through the ugly duckling phase... as long as the front doesn't stay red for too long, but it shouldn't since they didn't do a large area.

 

 

833 grafts for such a small area does sound like a lot, certainly.  I hope you're right with this also.
I do question the cost for this procedure, as well as the unnecessary extra fee.  However, his work is very clean.

This should be a huge improvement, even at 4 months, but time will tell.  I'm excited to see where this goes!
And I'm happy to bring "Non-shaven" transplant to this forum for others to review.  Hopefully it can help others make an informed decision.

[SeanT1]

12 hours ago, Melvin- Admin said:

Congratulations on your new procedure Sean. Happy growing 🙏

Thank you Melvin, I've been a fan of your journey also!

[SeanT1]

12 hours ago, Ramin said:

Mine took place on April 8-9, then we both were there on same day!

Looking back, I think I seen you in the hotel restaurant with bandages on Tuesday morning during breakfast (or this might of been dinnertime on Monday). 
I'm happy for your results sir, they looked quite promising!

[SeanT1]

-Removed-

Edited April 13 by SeanT1

[Jupiter_]

Happy growing man. In your case i would have shaved my scalp...non-shaven procedure is always more risky for the surgeons, thats why they implant less grafts in non-shaven procedure compared to shaven one...

Edited April 12 by Jupiter_

[SeanT1]

11 minutes ago, Jupiter_ said:

Happy growing man. In your case i would have shaved my scalp...non-shaven procedure is always more risky for the surgeons, thats why they implant less grafts in non-shaven procedure compared to shaven one...

I understand man, but from the initial conversations and interaction with FUECapilar I was very clear that I wanted non-shaven, and they agreed 1500-2000 grafts will be possible with such a procedure and wrote it into the PDF agreement.  So to be told that less than half is possible 30 minutes before surgery is a bit of a blow.  

[Hairwolf]

13 hours ago, SeanT1 said:

I understand man, but from the initial conversations and interaction with FUECapilar I was very clear that I wanted non-shaven, and they agreed 1500-2000 grafts will be possible with such a procedure and wrote it into the PDF agreement.  So to be told that less than half is possible 30 minutes before surgery is a bit of a blow.  

It is certainly far from ideal to be told that 30 min before the surgery. I understand sticking to your guns  here; however I understand others would bite the bullet here and go shaven. You are still a young lad, so keeping some grafts in the tank for further down the line is wise also.

Edited April 13 by Hairwolf

[SeanT1]

5 hours ago, Hairwolf said:

It is certainly far from ideal to be told that 30 min before the surgery. I understand sticking to your guns  here; however I understand others would bite the bullet here and go shaven. You are still a young lad, so keeping some grafts in the tank for further down the line is wise also.

Thank you sir, yes; it was a lot of pressure in the moment to decide between shaven or not.  I chose non-shaven ultimately to stick with the original plan since I have some events coming up in a few months and I need to look my best for. 

You're absolutely right about graft preservation, especially at the age of 28. 
This is one benefit from the reduction of grafts.

For reference, here is another screenshot showing the agreed amount of 1500-2000 grafts for a non-shaven procedure;

Edited April 13 by SeanT1

[Jackdaniels]

26 minutes ago, SeanT1 said:

Thank you sir, yes; it was a lot of pressure in the moment to decide between shaven or not.  I chose non-shaven ultimately to stick with the original plan since I have some events coming up in a few months and I need to look my best for. 

You're absolutely right about graft preservation, especially at the age of 28. 
This is one benefit from the reduction of grafts.

For reference, here is another screenshot showing the agreed amount of 1500-2000 grafts for a non-shaven procedure;

Sometimes it is difficult to predict the amount of grafts from the photos.  Might look worse from photos and in person to look more full. So less grafts might be needed during consultation. The non shaven procedure takes important role too.  

I will tag @FUECAPILAR to give us an explanation. 

Edited April 13 by Jackdaniels

[Ehayat]

On 4/11/2024 at 6:43 PM, Ramin said:

Mine took place on April 8-9, then we both were there on same day!

Hey man how was your experience? 

[Ehayat]

On 4/11/2024 at 5:45 PM, SeanT1 said:

Hello everyone, 
Back in September 2021 I had my first ever transplant with Dr Balwi at Elithair.
I was very happy with the result and the amount of coverage they achieved with 3400 grafts.
However, they never worked on my temporal corners and the hairline somewhat lacked density.

This year, I travelled to Istanbul to get a second hair transplant with FUECapilar in hopes to;
1. Improve hairline Density.
2. Improve Temporal Corners.
3. Have a surgery without shaving top of head (issues ahead).

Here I will log the monthly results as well as explain my experience with this clinic.

Total Cost of second transplant (excluding flights)
4000 Euro

Traveling to Istanbul - Hotel package - Airport pickup
Like most Turkish clinics, All I had to do was arrive at the airport and a driver would be waiting to collect me to take me to a hotel that is included in the deal.
I had to look for a sign between column 12/13 at the airport which said "Stop 33".  I crossed the pavement and was greeted by a man who called a driver for me.
We arrived at the hotel within 2 hours (from SAW airport).  The hotel was decent, there was no issues with hygiene and everything was in order.  
It was 4*, although it felt 3*, it no longer offered room service or mini-fridge (however, it does offer breakfast/lunch & dinner in the hotel restaurant).  In addition to this, the food was quite basic.  However the staff of the hotel are kind and happy to help.  Overall the hotel was a comfortable experience.  The same day, I also had blood tests taken at a nearby hospital.

 

Day of procedure - Planning - Extra cost - Surgery - Dr Dogan Turan
On the day of the procedure, I was picked up from the hotel and brought to the clinic at 8.30am.  There I was greeted by a translator who brought me into a room with Dr Turan.
Dr Turan does not speak English, so the translator had to ask any (and all) questions.  They asked simple questions such as what my expectations are and also filled in some paperwork.  This took no more than 10 minutes.

We then proceeded into another room, Dr Turan planned a new hairline design with temporal corner improvements and rounding my widows peak into a healthier shape.
I was happy with the design Dr Turan drew, it filled in my temporal corners perfectly while not lowering the lowest part of my hairline yet lowering the rest.

After drawing the hairline, we then discussed the non-shaven process, this is where things got complicated. 
I was told many times before arriving to Istanbul that we can expect 1500-2000 grafts to be taken and used to increase density within my existing hair as well as improving temporal corners through a non-shaven surgery (top of head remaining unshaven).  However, about 30 minutes before the actual surgery (before my donor got shaven) I was then told that Dr Turan can NOT place follicles in between existing hairs with a non-shaven procedure.  This wasn't an issue specifically to my case, he does not do this in general.  So despite being told many times that density will be improved by implanting grafts in-between existing hairs, the total amount of grafts that could be placed was reduced from 1500-2000 grafts to 833 grafts.
On top of this issue, a non-shaven transplant cost an extra 400 Euro.  Why? I am not sure.  I was not getting the graft count that I was promised by placing within existing hairs.
They told me if I wanted my original amount, I must be fully shaven.  I grudgingly declined, yet I had no idea what I was paying extra money for.

 

Being confident with the hairline design, we proceeded with the surgery.
The whole surgery took around 4 hours, a tech extracted the follicles and Dr Turan implanted them with DHI technique.
I felt his work was quite clean, he even placed some grafts in-between hairs in the end, but no where near the amount I was expecting (1500-2000 grafts).

In addition to this, I feel that the full planned area was not covered.  Specifically in the temporal zones, however I might be overthinking.
As you can see in the image above, the goal was to fill the whole temporal zone on the right side of my head (picture 2), however, it seems he only covered about 2/3.

 

The staff at FUECapilar have been very friendly, they even offered to pay my flight home at the risk of bad traffic preventing me from missing my flight.

Overall, I think Dr Turan did clean work, but 4000 Euro for 833 grafts (Including the additional 400 euro cost for not shaving the top yet not implanting in-between hairs), was it worth it?  I'll leave it up to you guys to decide.
Personally, I'm disappointed about being misinformed regarding non-shaven graft amount, as well as the temporal zones not being fully filled like shown in the drawn hairline design.
Although, if the density of the new lowered hairline masks the lack of density from my original transplant in 2021 then I would be happy to have used minimal grafts as opposed to a larger number to resolve this issue.  Time will tell.

I will continue to post updates as the months pass, despite some of the complications, I have good faith in Dr Turan as a transplant surgeon.

I hope everyone is having a great hair restoration journey! 😄

 

Additional reference from PDF;

Dude why wouldnt you just shave your head if you couldnt get the results you wanted? I mean dont take this the wrong way but in my opinion the state of your hair looks much funnier than if you just had it shaved. Im not really sure I understand your reasoning here...all the same I wish you good results!

[SeanT1]

1 hour ago, Ehayat said:

Hey man how was your experience? 

Experience is in the original post

1 hour ago, Ehayat said:

Dude why wouldnt you just shave your head if you couldnt get the results you wanted? I mean dont take this the wrong way but in my opinion the state of your hair looks much funnier than if you just had it shaved. Im not really sure I understand your reasoning here...all the same I wish you good results!

It's all explained above sir.

I understand what you mean by it looking funnier, but this is only temporary (for about 1 month until the back can be cut & shaped and regular existing hair can be styled again).  Many people get non-shaven second transplants to improve upon the original transplant.

The issue I had with FUECapilar was that they agreed 1500-2000 is possible non-shaven and they're willing to add density within existing hairs, only to be told the opposite 30 minutes before the surgery. I needed non-shaven so my hair can look good for an event coming up in my life, non-shaven will allow a good hairstyle sooner than compared to shaven.

Edited April 13 by SeanT1

[Ramin]

2 hours ago, Ehayat said:

Hey man how was your experience? 

Hey there, after reading you thread and out chat before surgery, I did mention my concerns about the crown and mid scalp many time and I ended up with almost 3950 graphs, which i was told around 2700 of them implanted in crown and mid scalp, hope fully it will be enough, but unfortunately im not satisfied with my hair line .  Anyway I did open a thread with my picture you can check it out. Again hope we all be happy at the end 🤞

[Ehayat]

25 minutes ago, Ramin said:

Hey there, after reading you thread and out chat before surgery, I did mention my concerns about the crown and mid scalp many time and I ended up with almost 3950 graphs, which i was told around 2700 of them implanted in crown and mid scalp, hope fully it will be enough, but unfortunately im not satisfied with my hair line .  Anyway I did open a thread with my picture you can check it out. Again hope we all be happy at the end 🤞

You didn't need 2700 in the crown 2000 max and the rest in mid scalp. I can't understand why they put so little on my crown. I contacted the clinic to ask them to review this. Best of luck to you!

[Hairwolf]

21 hours ago, SeanT1 said:

Thank you sir, yes; it was a lot of pressure in the moment to decide between shaven or not.  I chose non-shaven ultimately to stick with the original plan since I have some events coming up in a few months and I need to look my best for. 

You're absolutely right about graft preservation, especially at the age of 28. 
This is one benefit from the reduction of grafts.

For reference, here is another screenshot showing the agreed amount of 1500-2000 grafts for a non-shaven procedure;

The only thing here is that I don’t see confirmation of non-shave here, so perhaps something was lost in translation. Btw how was the DHI process? Any discernible difference from pre-made incisions?

[Ramin]

13 hours ago, Ehayat said:

You didn't need 2700 in the crown 2000 max and the rest in mid scalp. I can't understand why they put so little on my crown. I contacted the clinic to ask them to review this. Best of luck to you!

sorry, my bad.
I was told 2500 for crown and mid scalp and 1500for hairline, in total 4000, but as we don’t have the official report, I’m not sure about the graphs distribution. Anyway, I’m in same situation like you now, but don’t be worried and overthink about it, hope everything will be fine. 

[SeanT1]

55 minutes ago, Hairwolf said:

The only thing here is that I don’t see confirmation of non-shave here, so perhaps something was lost in translation. Btw how was the DHI process? Any discernible difference from pre-made incisions?

Hi, the discussion of non-shaven was more prominent in whatsapp exchange.

Such proposal PDF documents were then adjusted to meet these needs.

It was stressed numerous times that 1500-2000 grafts can be expected with non-shaven, and that density will be improved by adding more hairs inbetween existing.

 

As for the DHI process, it felt a lot more gentle on the scalp.
I was able to sleep much easier during the surgery due to this.

I have some concerns regarding the angle of the grafts, however, I think my mind is being tricked by the scabs.
We'll see once the scabs are removed.  Dr Turan is a well known surgeon, I can't imagine he's even capable of making such angular mistakes.

 

[Hairwolf]

47 minutes ago, SeanT1 said:

Hi, the discussion of non-shaven was more prominent in whatsapp exchange.

Such proposal PDF documents were then adjusted to meet these needs.

It was stressed numerous times that 1500-2000 grafts can be expected with non-shaven, and that density will be improved by adding more hairs inbetween existing.

 

As for the DHI process, it felt a lot more gentle on the scalp.
I was able to sleep much easier during the surgery due to this.

I have some concerns regarding the angle of the grafts, however, I think my mind is being tricked by the scabs.
We'll see once the scabs are removed.  Dr Turan is a well known surgeon, I can't imagine he's even capable of making such angular mistakes.

 

Ah they are in the wrong then by backtracking like that at the last minute. I know what you mean by angulation anxiety. I remember from your previous thread re your first procedure in Turkey about grafts hairline sticking up. Was that any cause for concern this time around?