Hair transplant diary (ongoing)

DonalB1

Monokne wrote: »

https://www.whatclinic.com/hair-loss/turkey/istanbul-province/istanbul/cosmedica-dracar-hairtransplant-esthetics

Decent reviews for that place, to be fair.

I went with Dr Cinik - http://emrahcinik.com - Operation was just under 3 months ago and I've got some nice early growth beginning to come in. Service and price were excellent. I did a massive post on the experience a few pages back - don't want to repeat myself and clog up the thread. It's €2090 - €2,590 depending on certain specifics.

Thanks for that I will check them out. Cosmedica looks good but the posters on here really seemed like people promoting the clinic now that I look back on the posts. They're no longer members also which is suspicious.

Is it possible to not shave your head with Dr Cinik?

Monokne

DonalB1 wrote: »

Is it possible to not shave your head with Dr Cinik?

I'm not sure to be honest. I am of the mindset that everyone is going to work out you got it done eventually so why bother hiding it at the start, ergo I didn't ask. I would assume if you are getting FUE where they take the hair from the back they'd need to but I'm not sure about other methods.

They have a whatsapp contact who arranged everything for me, I can PM you the number if you want to check.

TheQuietBeatle

The 'Life begins at 30' channel on YouTube has an honest review about Cinik on the channel. Generally he seemed happy but poor response times post surgery.

LegacyUser

Monokne wrote: »

I went in August and there were no questions asked. Travel within the country seems to be the bigger hassle now.

Who you going with in Turkey?

Noce one! Ye looks like I should be sound going over. Going to HOI they have soild results and good reviews. Flight Monday! Hope it all goes well

Monokne

My post surgical experience was good. They asked me to send pics after 10 days and a month but I forgot to. They chased me up and got back to me quickly once I had sent them. Perhaps because all went well for me it made it easier whereas maybe this dude had issues (not sure why else you'd be in touch TBH) but that was my experience, for sure.

TheQuietBeatle

Beachnore wrote: »

Noce one! Ye looks like I should be sound going over. Going to HOI they have soild results and good reviews. Flight Monday! Hope it all goes well

Who are you flying with?

jimosterberg

Beachnore wrote: »

Noce one! Ye looks like I should be sound going over. Going to HOI they have soild results and good reviews. Flight Monday! Hope it all goes well

Best of luck mate. They post some amazing results on Instagram. The best I've seen really.

Monokne

A friend of mine went to HOI. His hair looks great and he was very happy with the experience. I was going to go there as well except they quoted me nearly double his price and then knocked 1500 quid off it when I pointed that out and I just felt a bit like I couldn't trust them then.

HBC08

aaronelon3001 wrote: »

Dr Ahmedov Firdavs

He is the 3rd member of the Smile Hair Clinic team and has been trained and mentored by Dr Mehmet Erdogen & Dr Belgin, the founders of Smile Hair Clinic... Ive some digging to do....

I wouldn't be handing over any cash or seriously considering them for lots of reasons,for example they don't have a license to operate in Ireland,if that's not a red flag I dont know what is.
Also Smile are a low to mid range Turkish hair mill with lots of botch jobs (search Hair loss Conquerers on fb for examples)

Monokne

https://www.qunomedical.com/en/smile-hair-clinic-at-moodist-hospital They've tons of positive reviews on there.

Christ on a bike.

'Low to mid range Turkish hair mill'. Hahaha

You sound like a mechanic talking about a dodgy car. Unless you've had 50 hair transplants or happen to personally know a sample size running into the hundreds or thousands who've had transplants there, how could you know this? Because you read a few posts on facebook?

The reality is the bigger places are going to have more bad reviews because they'll get through such a huge volume of work comparable to smaller places. The chances are also much stronger that OP will be happy with his experience and get a good job done than anything else - as it always is with these things. Go back over the past 20 or 30 pages and there's exactly one unhappy review, of some place in Ireland the name of which escapes me. Hair transplanting is not rocket science like. These people do it every day of their lives. Successful big businesses are not built on awful reputations of terrible work.

If OP is comfortable with his experience I don't see any need to project your fear onto him, to be honest.

Dellboy2007

Monokne wrote: »

https://www.qunomedical.com/en/smile-hair-clinic-at-moodist-hospital They've tons of positive reviews on there.

Christ on a bike.

'Low to mid range Turkish hair mill'. Hahaha

You sound like a mechanic talking about a dodgy car. Unless you've had 50 hair transplants or happen to personally know a sample size running into the hundreds or thousands who've had transplants there, how could you know this? Because you read a few posts on facebook?

The reality is the bigger places are going to have more bad reviews because they'll get through such a huge volume of work comparable to smaller places. The chances are also much stronger that OP will be happy with his experience and get a good job done than anything else - as it always is with these things. Go back over the past 20 or 30 pages and there's exactly one unhappy review, of some place in Ireland the name of which escapes me. Hair transplanting is not rocket science like. These people do it every day of their lives. Successful big businesses are not built on awful reputations of terrible work.

If OP is comfortable with his experience I don't see any need to project your fear onto him, to be honest.

I agree with him Monoke. It’s not about spreading fear, it’s about having all the information available to you. They have had some dodgy results and have a few taking legal action. Join that Facebook group and search if you don’t believe us. This is why I say again it’s not about spreading fear, you’re messing with the insecurities of men who care enough to take action on them by having surgery. So while it may not be rocket science, it is a serious medical procedure that impacts people’s mental health.

Dellboy2007

Beachnore wrote: »

Noce one! Ye looks like I should be sound going over. Going to HOI they have soild results and good reviews. Flight Monday! Hope it all goes well

Not sure why your profile is gone already, seems to be greyed out. One thing I would say about HOI is they have strong marketing. I can see why guys buy into their page on Instagram, the results look great on surface. However, and I’m not trying to be a moaning Michael, the majority of their hairlines are completely unnatural. Guys with straight across hairlines that make them look like they are wearing hairpieces. And before anyone says it, yes I know the patient should tell them how they want it but it does seem like a bit of a coincidence that everyone going there wants a straight across hairline and that’s the pics they post. Examples for the non-believers:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF4u1WchFZv/?igshid=q905ysr7w523

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHDhq9LhLVO/?igshid=yy6bbw5to5t5

As one of the comments said, “it’s like when people get veneers and they’re really big, white and opaque”.

0879628553

Anyone notice paul on page 48 had a procedure done with ailsebury clinic on the 1/11 under covid restrictions....

DonalB1

It's very difficult to see past the instagram and marketing to be honest. A lot of reviews seems suspect, both good and bad but there's no doubt a lot of the places are seriously efficient operations. It's just finding the one you trust. For me this forum has been the best source of information, and apart from the odd suspect post, it seems to be all people like myself who are just sharing their honest experiences.

For me, I'd like to have it done without shaving my head and without taking finastride, I have friends that have taken it with no side effects but the fact that you need to come off it when having children says all I want to know about it to be honest. But in saying that, everyones risk assessment is different and I'm probably overly cautious.

Regarding the straight hairline, I definitely see what people are saying although I would like my own to be reasonable straight, not perfect but no point going through all this to not have the hairline I envy on others.

Has anyone had DHI technique, it seems to be the more advanced but everyone I have spoken to has had the FUE?

HBC08

Monokne wrote: »

https://www.qunomedical.com/en/smile-hair-clinic-at-moodist-hospital They've tons of positive reviews on there.

Christ on a bike.

'Low to mid range Turkish hair mill'. Hahaha

You sound like a mechanic talking about a dodgy car. Unless you've had 50 hair transplants or happen to personally know a sample size running into the hundreds or thousands who've had transplants there, how could you know this? Because you read a few posts on facebook?

The reality is the bigger places are going to have more bad reviews because they'll get through such a huge volume of work comparable to smaller places. The chances are also much stronger that OP will be happy with his experience and get a good job done than anything else - as it always is with these things. Go back over the past 20 or 30 pages and there's exactly one unhappy review, of some place in Ireland the name of which escapes me. Hair transplanting is not rocket science like. These people do it every day of their lives. Successful big businesses are not built on awful reputations of terrible work.

If OP is comfortable with his experience I don't see any need to project your fear onto him, to be honest.

This is terrible advise.
I researched it for a couple of years and was actually booked with Smile in 2018.
I didn't go and was very lucky to dodge that bullet.A good few lads that went at that time had mediocre results,some were decent,some were bad and some were complete botch jobs and had to be repaired by other clinics at the patients own cost (never mind that their donor was in bits)some got compensation but most didn't.
The cause in most of these cases was new/inexperienced techs.When you go to Smile you may know the Dr (often times not,there's a lot more than the two named there) but you won't know the techs (often in Smile and other budget clinics the techs are doing the majority of the procedure)
Thats not a few posts ive read on fb or reviews on Trustpilot,these are real people im still in contact with.
Although this is boards this is a serious choice guys have to make and research properly so saying dumb things like "It's not rocket science" isn't helpful.
I havent had 50 hair transplants but i am in various groups with guys through fb,WhatsApp, forums and a few in person who all have had hts.
Please don't spread misinformation and non educated opinions that may influence Irish lads to go into something blind or badly informed.

By the way I hear Smile have upped their game in 2020 but theres still no way in hell id go there or advise anyone else too.

HBC08

DonalB1 wrote: »

It's very difficult to see past the instagram and marketing to be honest. A lot of reviews seems suspect, both good and bad but there's no doubt a lot of the places are seriously efficient operations. It's just finding the one you trust. For me this forum has been the best source of information, and apart from the odd suspect post, it seems to be all people like myself who are just sharing their honest experiences.

For me, I'd like to have it done without shaving my head and without taking finastride, I have friends that have taken it with no side effects but the fact that you need to come off it when having children says all I want to know about it to be honest. But in saying that, everyones risk assessment is different and I'm probably overly cautious.

Regarding the straight hairline, I definitely see what people are saying although I would like my own to be reasonable straight, not perfect but no point going through all this to not have the hairline I envy on others.

Has anyone had DHI technique, it seems to be the more advanced but everyone I have spoken to has had the FUE?

Roughly whats your budget?
I believe HOI are charging around €5000 These days,if you can stretch that a bit you can move away from Turkey and the clinics and towards high end surgeons.

DonalB1

HBC08 wrote: »

Roughly whats your budget?
I believe HOI are charging around €5000 These days,if you can stretch that a bit you can move away from Turkey and the clinics and towards high end surgeons.

My budget was around 5k. What are the high end surgeons for roughly the same job of temples etc? Are there any located in Ireland?

Dellboy2007

DonalB1 wrote: »

My budget was around 5k. What are the high end surgeons for roughly the same job of temples etc? Are there any located in Ireland?

3,000 graphs for €5,000 is equal to €1.67 a graph, and that’s before you pay for a flight, etc if you go abroad. You mentioned you don’t want to shave your head also; some places will charge extra for this just to be aware. You are correct in going for DHI if not shaving your head. I believe Dr. Nel does DHI and he’s in Ireland. Going to be straight with you, if you want a real high end surgeon whether in Ireland or abroad I think it will be at least €2.5 a graph using DHI method so might want to reconsider budget. The €2.5 is even being conservative.

HBC08

DonalB1 wrote: »

My budget was around 5k. What are the high end surgeons for roughly the same job of temples etc? Are there any located in Ireland?

If its just your temples you might get away with 2000 grafts.Dr Ferreiro in Portugal is an up and coming surgeon and he currently charges €2.5 per graft,he trained under Dr Cuto who is arguably the best in Europea.Dr Bisanga is also arguably the best in Europe,he charges approx €5 per graft in his base in Brussells but also has a clinic in Athens where he shares the operation with another surgeon and that costs €2.5 per graft.
If you had to stay in Ireland id go for a consultation with Dr Nel, he does the whole operation himself also.
HOI have decent results but id have a lot of reservations about them,especially if youre going to recede further and need future planning and proper donor management.
A few on here have been to Dr Nel and HOI and would be able to give good advice id say.

DonalB1

HBC08 wrote: »

If its just your temples you might get away with 2000 grafts.Dr Ferreiro in Portugal is an up and coming surgeon and he currently charges €2.5 per graft,he trained under Dr Cuto who is arguably the best in Europea.Dr Bisanga is also arguably the best in Europe,he charges approx €5 per graft in his base in Brussells but also has a clinic in Athens where he shares the operation with another surgeon and that costs €2.5 per graft.
If you had to stay in Ireland id go for a consultation with Dr Nel, he does the whole operation himself also.
HOI have decent results but id have a lot of reservations about them,especially if youre going to recede further and need future planning and proper donor management.
A few on here have been to Dr Nel and HOI and would be able to give good advice id say.

Thanks for the above guys. I have been considering Cosmedica and Dr Cinik but the more suggestions the better.

Do you mind me asking HBC, have you had one done? If so who did you go to? Would receding further not bad an issue with every hair transplant/surgeon?

HBC08

DonalB1 wrote: »

Thanks for the above guys. I have been considering Cosmedica and Dr Cinik but the more suggestions the better.

Do you mind me asking HBC, have you had one done? If so who did you go to? Would receding further not bad an issue with every hair transplant/surgeon?

I'll pm you

Monokne

HBC08 wrote: »

Although this is boards this is a serious choice guys have to make and research properly so saying dumb things like "It's not rocket science" isn't helpful.

It is a simple procedure mate, it's not rocket science.

But carry on pretending to be the most knowledgeable voice in the room, with your vast network of hair transplantees, keeping folk away from the dreaded low to mid range Turkish hairmills of the world. Not all heroes wear capes, eh?

Dellboy2007

Monokne wrote: »

It is a simple procedure mate, it's not rocket science.

But carry on pretending to be the most knowledgeable voice in the room, with your vast network of hair transplantees, keeping folk away from the dreaded low to mid range Turkish hairmills of the world. Not all heroes wear capes, eh?

Just curious, based on your medical qualifications and expert knowledge in the field of hair restoration, what defines a simple procedure?

Have you considered opening a medical practice and doing the “simple procedures” yourself? Looking forward to seeing your work.

HBC08

Monokne wrote: »

It is a simple procedure mate, it's not rocket science.

But carry on pretending to be the most knowledgeable voice in the room, with your vast network of hair transplantees, keeping folk away from the dreaded low to mid range Turkish hairmills of the world. Not all heroes wear capes, eh?

https://www.qunomedical.com/en/smile-hair-clinic-at-moodist-hospital They've tons of positive reviews on there.

I've just had a look back and saw the above..
Smile clinic have "tons of positive reviews" on Qunomedical.com
That's the same Qunomedical who are Smiles largest rep in Europe,the UK and Ireland? Lol

I'll let that level of brain power speak for itself.

CentreSquare

Hows is everyone.

Went back to this thread a lot when researching for my own transplant and getting myself comfortable and now I’ve had it done I said I’d post my experience in case it might help anyone else. Sorry in advance for the essay.

I got my procedure with HOI and had a really good experience overall. Before going I met with Dr Nel and found him excellent, really informative and thorough. Started taking Finastride at the recommended dosage from then.

Decided to go for HOI off the back of a couple of recommendations, from people I knew and who’s results I was able to inspect in person. I wouldn’t be a big Instagram-user but did follow them while I was over there and they churn out the posts which I think actually de-values how good they are.

The logistics of the whole thing was fine, flight was €225 (booked pre-Covid), hotel and transfers throughout are organised by HOI and are top notch. I didn't venture further out of the hotel but theres a beach/promenade beside the hotel and shops nearby.

So the important part the procedure. Was picked up the morning after arriving, went to the clinic first where they shaved my head and agreed the transplant area (they draw their recommended lines and you have the chance then to discuss/agree/disagree). I still had my natural front hairline, my thinning out really started about an inch behind so cant weigh in on the dodgy looking ones. Then taken to their hospital for the procedure.

It’s broken up into 3 parts. First involves numbing the donor area and extracting the follicles. It was fine other than the injections, which are horrendous - you probably get 25-30 but only feel 7-8 as the areas starts to numb before the next injection, the ones you feel hurt, no point pretending otherwise. Overall this took about 2 1/2 hours - listened to couple podcasts and had a short nap.

Had lunch then, which is basically blank canvas whatever you want - you tell them before part 1.
Part 2 then is opening of the channels on the transplant area - Dr. Adem Kose was the doctor who did this and it took about 50mins. Fewer numbing injections and not as painful as before but you know you’re getting them.

After a brief toilet break, Part 3 starts which is the implantation of the follicles. This was carried out by 3 technicians and took just shy of 3 hours. Completely numb throughout. Afterwards your rep/translator (who's by your side throughout) goes through meds etc. and was dropped back to the hotel. Got room service that night and went to bed. Was an awkward nights sleep, not from pain more from fear of moving a way I shouldnt and damaging anything.

The next morning 2 reps from HOI came to the hotel room, removed bandages and applied ointment and left me to it. That was a long day even with books, podcasts, tablet etc. Following morning collected me and went over to the clinic where they took another good look at how its healing, go through an aftercare demo and dropped me to the airport and home I came.

After 10 days then after 1 month I sent update pics and they came with their comments and have to send further pics at 3 months, about 4 weeks from now. I got 4,150 grafts and paid €4,300 - well aware I’ve another 6-9 months before I can make a full judgement but if you asked me would I recommend it I’d say without hesitation.

That felt like I wrote a book but if theres anything I missed or if anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

Dellboy2007

CentreSquare wrote: »

Hows is everyone.

Went back to this thread a lot when researching for my own transplant and getting myself comfortable and now I’ve had it done I said I’d post my experience in case it might help anyone else. Sorry in advance for the essay.

I got my procedure with HOI and had a really good experience overall. Before going I met with Dr Nel and found him excellent, really informative and thorough. Started taking Finastride at the recommended dosage from then.

Decided to go for HOI off the back of a couple of recommendations, from people I knew and who’s results I was able to inspect in person. I wouldn’t be a big Instagram-user but did follow them while I was over there and they churn out the posts which I think actually de-values how good they are.

The logistics of the whole thing was fine, flight was €225 (booked pre-Covid), hotel and transfers throughout are organised by HOI and are top notch. I didn't venture further out of the hotel but theres a beach/promenade beside the hotel and shops nearby.

So the important part the procedure. Was picked up the morning after arriving, went to the clinic first where they shaved my head and agreed the transplant area (they draw their recommended lines and you have the chance then to discuss/agree/disagree). I still had my natural front hairline, my thinning out really started about an inch behind so cant weigh in on the dodgy looking ones. Then taken to their hospital for the procedure.

It’s broken up into 3 parts. First involves numbing the donor area and extracting the follicles. It was fine other than the injections, which are horrendous - you probably get 25-30 but only feel 7-8 as the areas starts to numb before the next injection, the ones you feel hurt, no point pretending otherwise. Overall this took about 2 1/2 hours - listened to couple podcasts and had a short nap.

Had lunch then, which is basically blank canvas whatever you want - you tell them before part 1.
Part 2 then is opening of the channels on the transplant area - Dr. Adem Kose was the doctor who did this and it took about 50mins. Fewer numbing injections and not as painful as before but you know you’re getting them.

After a brief toilet break, Part 3 starts which is the implantation of the follicles. This was carried out by 3 technicians and took just shy of 3 hours. Completely numb throughout. Afterwards your rep/translator (who's by your side throughout) goes through meds etc. and was dropped back to the hotel. Got room service that night and went to bed. Was an awkward nights sleep, not from pain more from fear of moving a way I shouldnt and damaging anything.

The next morning 2 reps from HOI came to the hotel room, removed bandages and applied ointment and left me to it. That was a long day even with books, podcasts, tablet etc. Following morning collected me and went over to the clinic where they took another good look at how its healing, go through an aftercare demo and dropped me to the airport and home I came.

After 10 days then after 1 month I sent update pics and they came with their comments and have to send further pics at 3 months, about 4 weeks from now. I got 4,150 grafts and paid €4,300 - well aware I’ve another 6-9 months before I can make a full judgement but if you asked me would I recommend it I’d say without hesitation.

That felt like I wrote a book but if theres anything I missed or if anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

Pics?

20/20

0879628553 wrote: »

Anyone notice paul on page 48 had a procedure done with ailsebury clinic on the 1/11 under covid restrictions....

Your point been ?

iebamm2580

DonalB1 wrote: »

It's very difficult to see past the instagram and marketing to be honest. A lot of reviews seems suspect, both good and bad but there's no doubt a lot of the places are seriously efficient operations. It's just finding the one you trust. For me this forum has been the best source of information, and apart from the odd suspect post, it seems to be all people like myself who are just sharing their honest experiences.

For me, I'd like to have it done without shaving my head and without taking finastride, I have friends that have taken it with no side effects but the fact that you need to come off it when having children says all I want to know about it to be honest. But in saying that, everyones risk assessment is different and I'm probably overly cautious.

Regarding the straight hairline, I definitely see what people are saying although I would like my own to be reasonable straight, not perfect but no point going through all this to not have the hairline I envy on others.

Has anyone had DHI technique, it seems to be the more advanced but everyone I have spoken to has had the FUE?

you dont need to come off finasteride to have children, guys do but no reason to.

LegacyUser

0879628553 wrote: »

Anyone notice paul on page 48 had a procedure done with ailsebury clinic on the 1/11 under covid restrictions....

Hi mate,
All stages of my HT with this clinic were during lock down.
My consultation was 4 weeks before the actual HT, during that time they request that you attend your GP for blood tests, these need to be sent over before the op.
My HT was 9n November 1st, a Sunday morning. I double checked that it could proceed due to L5 restrictions, the explained there is no reason not to.
It’s a private clinic, I live in Dublin , so no international travel, and everyone
( including me) wore masks and gloves throughout.
I had done my research into turkey, and probably would have gone to Dr Clink if there were no travel restrictions.
For me, Dublin was a great option, yes it was more expensive than Turkey, but it’s all relative. I left my house the morning of the HT, I was at the clinic 20 mins later, I was home and watching TV at 4pm that afternoon.
It’s been 2 weeks since my HT, and like all the guys who have taken the plunge on here, the feeling of relief is amazing. It’s early days, but I’m delighted with it.
I was back in work 4 days after the op, I told a couple of people, but it’s impossible to tell unless your looking for it, the fact that they didn’t have to shave the recipient area is a game changer, your existing hair (if any) covers the redness ( plus I’m fair/ginger) my skin goes red easy if it’s sore.
I’ll take some pics today and share, happy to take any questions.

0879628553

Hate to be the pedantic police.Your point being?How did they have that procedure if ailesbury are closed?