Dr. Resul Yaman: 5020 Grafts, April 2024

[Folli_Journey]

Hey everyone!

It's about time I contribute to this community. You've been so helpful, and it's my turn to give back.

Things have been moving pretty quickly for me. I'm South Asian (Pakistani) living in Canada. Having had dreadlocks in my twenties, it likely accelerated my genetically predisposed hair loss. Over the past 5-7 years, I've experienced significant hair loss, reaching between Norwood Va to VI on the scale (requiring between 5000-6000 grafts, as confirmed during a physical consultation at a clinic in Canada where I was quoted 16000 CAD for FUT to achieve that coverage in one session).

After some contemplation last year, I finally decided to take the plunge in December 2023. I planned a trip back to Pakistan from Canada, with a stopover in Turkey for the procedure. Following some Google reviews and WhatsApp conversations with various clinics, I booked an appointment at a clinic highly recommended on Google and consistently appearing in top 10 lists of doctors/clinics in Istanbul. Instead of diving into the vast sea of information on Google, I decided to trust my choice and hope for the best, with a sprinkle of faith, of course.

Just a week before my flight, a friend recommended this community, and as part of my final due diligence, I joined. To my surprise, I discovered that the clinic I booked with was considered a "mill" here, and it didn't have many positive reviews.

From March 13th to the 16th, I reached out to Dr. Gur, Dr. Demirsoy, and Dr. Yaman, each confirming I needed 4000+ grafts. I ultimately chose Dr. Yaman mainly for cost reasons, as I had little else to go by at that.

On March 21st, I took off! Istanbul was my first stop for 5 days. It was my first time there, so I used the opportunity to explore the city. Additionally, I had a physical consultation scheduled with Dr. Yaman on March 22nd. Meeting him was great, it was reassuring; he took his time and provided me with a detailed consultation covering calculations, hair thickness, and the standard procedure everyone's familiar with. Right from the start, I felt really comfortable with Dr. Yaman and confident I was in good hands.

From March 26th to April 16th, I visited Pakistan to spend Eid with my family. I believe the clinic was closed for a few days during that period anyways.

On April 16th, I returned to Istanbul for the procedure. I was picked up at the airport at 2 pm, and the journey officially began.

April 17th was the day of the procedure. It started at 8:30 am with blood being drawn for the PRP. The injections made me a bit woozy, so it wasn't the best start. Then came the shave, and before I knew it:

• I was given anesthesia at the back of my head, which, by the way, some people on this forum had really frightened me about. However, it was very much bearable so don't let that scare you!
• Extractions, sometimes with 2 technicians at a time
• Lunch around 12 pm
• Around 1:30 pm, Dr. Yaman drew the hairline, and then he made the incisions
• From 3pm-ish to around 7 pm, the transplant was mostly carried out by 3 technicians.

I mentioned this because I noticed some people have the order of operations as

hairline -> incisions -> extraction -> transplant. Whereas, mine was a bit different although not unusual (extraction -> hairline -> incisions -> transplant)

Here's some more info:

• Age: 36
• Norwood 5a-6 (Required 5300+)
• Total Grafts Extracted: 5020 (single session)
• 1120 units single, 2350 units double, 1550 units multiple

I was told I have a very good donor area and my hair is on the very thick spectrum since I'm South Asian. I’m actually not quite sure what my total donor area is though.

I stayed in Istanbul for 3 days after the procedure, as the number one rule in the post-operative care instructions was to rest for the first 3 days. I didn't feel like dealing with airports and a 10-hour flight to Canada during that time. So, I stayed in my hotel (Gorrion), ordered room service (good portion size), read, and watched the snooker championship (all I could find on hotel TV) - it was lovely.

I also visited the clinic daily for my first 3 hair washes and to say hi to Dr. Yaman.

On April 21st, I came back home!

Overall, it's been an amazing experience so far. Everything has been smooth and as expected - in line with what has been described within this community's forums. We still have to wait for results, but up to this point, I have nothing but positive things to say about my experience entrusting my hair to Dr. Yaman. He was involved in all stages of my procedure, was very present throughout the day, exuded confidence, and above all, made me feel calm and cared for. A fantastic doctor, and one I will gladly recommend to anyone considering the procedure.

[Napoli]

Happy growing. You selected a great surgeon and i believe you will be satisfied with your final result.

I think It’s really good that you did an analytical consultation before the procedure with dr yaman doing calculations, measuring thickness, your donor and recipient areas in order to organise the best plan for you.  

It’s also good that dr yaman was supervising all stages of your hair transplant. 

I wish you the best and keep us updated 👍

Edited April 28 by Napoli

[rs525]

It looks good so far. Personally I am no longer considering Dr. Yaman because I heard he only does the consultations and incisions, everything else he leaves to his techs. Even if he does supervise them, I want to have the peace of mind that a Dr. is involved in all stages not just supervising so if I did have to go to Turkey for a transplant I'm going with FUECapilar.

[Folli_Journey]

28 minutes ago, rs525 said:

It looks good so far. Personally I am no longer considering Dr. Yaman because I heard he only does the consultations and incisions, everything else he leaves to his techs. Even if he does supervise them, I want to have the peace of mind that a Dr. is involved in all stages not just supervising so if I did have to go to Turkey for a transplant I'm going with FUECapilar.

Fair enough, whatever you're comfortable with - as long as you feel good about your decisions, I'm sure the results will go your way! 

I'll just add that noting 2 technicians at a time were doing the extraction and 3 technicians took 3-4 hours working together to do the transplant, (and both these processes don't appear to be the most technical jobs in the world), I just don't think it's possible nor efficient, nor the best use of a specialists time to do that whole process themselves. It's just too labor intensive, and you don't want your grafts sitting in a fridge for the whole day!

But who knows, I'm in my super early stage so will need to wait for results before I can opine on the effectiveness of any one method over another. 

[Al - Moderator]

Welcome to the forums. Thanks for posting about your experience. Please keep us updated on the progress over the next months. I like that you stayed for several days and went to the clinic each day for a wash and check. I think that's a smart thing to do.

 

[Miller1980]

Happy growing..I like the design of your hairline and the distribution of grafts that dr Yaman did your case. Do you take any hair loss therapy? also you could you tell us the cost of your hair transplant?

[Folli_Journey]

22 hours ago, Al - Moderator said:

Welcome to the forums. Thanks for posting about your experience. Please keep us updated on the progress over the next months. I like that you stayed for several days and went to the clinic each day for a wash and check. I think that's a smart thing to do.

 

Thanks, I will post my 10 day before and after scab pictures soon. And Yes staying several days after was the best decision, and I purposely posted it here because I found most people both on this community and the ones I met during my procedure were mostly leaving the second day after the procedure. I guess that would make sense if you have a few hours flight back to europe or asia, but the 10+ hour journey plus airports and carrying luggage around just sounds unnecessarily exhausting right after such a long procedure. 

[Folli_Journey]

23 hours ago, Miller1980 said:

Happy growing..I like the design of your hairline and the distribution of grafts that dr Yaman did your case. Do you take any hair loss therapy? also you could you tell us the cost of your hair transplant?

Thanks! I might ask him for more specifics regarding how many grafts were transplanted in each region. I'm not on any hair loss therapy/medication atm but I was very recently recommended 1 mg of Finasteride/day so I will get on that soon. The cost was 3400 USD, including 2 extra night stay at the hotel.

[Rese]

Happy growing friend - keep us posted!

Banging moustache btw