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I have been taking finasteride for 2.5 years. It hasn’t improved my hair but at the same time I haven’t lost anymore, so it can be deemed a success of sorts. On the hand my hair loss has been incredibly gradual since the age of 21 when I had an initial change to a mature hairline and over the years a slight thinning at the front and ever so slightly on the crown. I will include pictures of what I looked like.
I’m now 37 and finding myself single and doing well for myself In terms of financial stability I thought I would indulge in a Hair transplant to really give me a thicker frontal hairline. Mainly as I was getting tired of trying to style my hair to look good.
being from the U.K. where hair transplant are a bank breaker I knew that going abroad would be the most sensible option, and it seemed inevitable that Turkey would be the place i would go.
This is where I had to be quite careful and do my research. You see Turkey is chock full of hair clinics and the steady stream of strange looking men with shaved red and sore heads sightseeing around Istanbul is striking visual evidence of this.
I advise anyone when going abroad for this kind if surgery to find a reputable list if doctors approved by an authoritative body. In the case of hair transplant please use https://www.iahrs.org
So it didn’t take me long to find the Asmed clinic run by Koray Erdogan. He is a world renowned expert in the field of FUE hair transplant, and although he’s prices are higher I saw this more as a good sign. There are some really cheap clinics in Istanbul and I’m sure there might be some gems in there that can give you a good result but I didn’t want to take any risks, with something that is going to be so visually obvious if it goes wrong.
So I booked in for December after an online consultation with an estimate figure of 2500 grafts to get the result I wanted.
flights were booked, and I was in constant contact with my consultant at Asmed who did a great job of keeping me informed.
the flight date finally came round and I was feeling nervous but excited at the same time. I couldn’t actually believe I was going to go through with it. Something that seemed so unreal yet the idea of having a good hairline that I no longer had to think about was so appealing.
the flight was 4 hours from London Gatwick to Istanbul via Turkish Airlines. It all went fine and I met my Taxi driver at arrivals who drove me the hotel next to the clinic where I was staying for 2 nights prior to the surgery. The first night I relaxed in my hotel room and tried to catch up on some sleep. The next day was the final consultation in the clinic. I have to mention that going into the clinic felt like being in some strange sci-fi film set in the future. 2 women played the piano and cello, whilst beautiful women wondered around showing people to various rooms.
The next step was to have my blood taken to check for the obvious diseases. My heart rate was taken and was understanding high. This meant taking a Xanax was in order for the operation. I wasn’t complaining. Pictures were taken before seeing doctor Erdogan who drew my new hairline which looked amazing and was lower than I thought he would draw it. He said I had a great amount of donor hair in the region of 9500. This is probably on account of having quite a large head.
Next I had to sit under a high tech machine that sent a camera whizzing over every angle of my now shaved head. This was to find the best place to take grafts from and for them to identify which grafts had 1,2,3 or 4 hairs growing from it.
After this there was a final check on the hairline before it was drawn in with a permanent marker. That signalled the end of day 1 and it was back to the hotel for the evening. It was a strange experience but it was also a good one. Everyone in the clinic had been friendly and made things very easy to understand.
The next day it was time for surgery. I checked into the clinic early as I was to stay there for 3 nights. This as well as your flight costs are included in your final payment figure for the procedure.
The operation started at about 7:30am, and for about 2 and half hours a sat uprights whilst they extracted the grafts. It was painless , and the Xanax and whatever else was coming through the drip into my arm sent me into a peaceful like zen state. You can watch or listen to something on an iPad they give you to pass the time. I listened to a deep house mix by Maya Jane Coles which for some reason seemed to take my fancy and helped me relax lol.
After the extraction you have a short break for some food and some water.
Then back into the surgery room where this time you are lying down on your back slightly upright. Blankets are put over you as the room is cold. I was comfortable and again back into a sedated mindstate. Dr Erdogan comes in and does all the incisions for where the grafts are to be placed by he’s fellow surgeons. This bit I don’t remember much and I was dipping in and out of sleep. When this is complete the grafts are placed back into the incisions made by the doctor. Another 3 or 4 hours pass and it’s finally all done.
Your head is bandaged at the back where the donor area is and you are given a 5 minute laser cap session which helps the grafts settle into their new homes.
After that you go back to your room. You are given painkillers to help you through your first 2 nights of sleep. You are given a neck pillow which you have to use to make sure you don’t touch your grafts on the pillow as you sleep. As you can imagine the first night is not fun at all but manageable.
The next day the swelling begins! It’s start at the top of your head and works it’s way down your face before finally going after about 3 days. It’s nothing to worry about but it does make you laugh at how it distorts your face somewhat.
I am currently on day 4 post op. I moved hotels to the old part of Istanbul in order to see the sights as it’s quite an amazing city.
After care is relatively straightforward. Using a cream on the new grafts you let it sit for 20 mins before washing your whole scalp twice with shampoo they provide.
I will be updating this thread consistently over the coming months so stay tuned. Any other questions about the procedure I’m more than happy to answer.
included are before pics of my hair and post op pics
I’m now 37 and finding myself single and doing well for myself In terms of financial stability I thought I would indulge in a Hair transplant to really give me a thicker frontal hairline. Mainly as I was getting tired of trying to style my hair to look good.
being from the U.K. where hair transplant are a bank breaker I knew that going abroad would be the most sensible option, and it seemed inevitable that Turkey would be the place i would go.
This is where I had to be quite careful and do my research. You see Turkey is chock full of hair clinics and the steady stream of strange looking men with shaved red and sore heads sightseeing around Istanbul is striking visual evidence of this.
I advise anyone when going abroad for this kind if surgery to find a reputable list if doctors approved by an authoritative body. In the case of hair transplant please use https://www.iahrs.org
So it didn’t take me long to find the Asmed clinic run by Koray Erdogan. He is a world renowned expert in the field of FUE hair transplant, and although he’s prices are higher I saw this more as a good sign. There are some really cheap clinics in Istanbul and I’m sure there might be some gems in there that can give you a good result but I didn’t want to take any risks, with something that is going to be so visually obvious if it goes wrong.
So I booked in for December after an online consultation with an estimate figure of 2500 grafts to get the result I wanted.
flights were booked, and I was in constant contact with my consultant at Asmed who did a great job of keeping me informed.
the flight date finally came round and I was feeling nervous but excited at the same time. I couldn’t actually believe I was going to go through with it. Something that seemed so unreal yet the idea of having a good hairline that I no longer had to think about was so appealing.
the flight was 4 hours from London Gatwick to Istanbul via Turkish Airlines. It all went fine and I met my Taxi driver at arrivals who drove me the hotel next to the clinic where I was staying for 2 nights prior to the surgery. The first night I relaxed in my hotel room and tried to catch up on some sleep. The next day was the final consultation in the clinic. I have to mention that going into the clinic felt like being in some strange sci-fi film set in the future. 2 women played the piano and cello, whilst beautiful women wondered around showing people to various rooms.
The next step was to have my blood taken to check for the obvious diseases. My heart rate was taken and was understanding high. This meant taking a Xanax was in order for the operation. I wasn’t complaining. Pictures were taken before seeing doctor Erdogan who drew my new hairline which looked amazing and was lower than I thought he would draw it. He said I had a great amount of donor hair in the region of 9500. This is probably on account of having quite a large head.
Next I had to sit under a high tech machine that sent a camera whizzing over every angle of my now shaved head. This was to find the best place to take grafts from and for them to identify which grafts had 1,2,3 or 4 hairs growing from it.
After this there was a final check on the hairline before it was drawn in with a permanent marker. That signalled the end of day 1 and it was back to the hotel for the evening. It was a strange experience but it was also a good one. Everyone in the clinic had been friendly and made things very easy to understand.
The next day it was time for surgery. I checked into the clinic early as I was to stay there for 3 nights. This as well as your flight costs are included in your final payment figure for the procedure.
The operation started at about 7:30am, and for about 2 and half hours a sat uprights whilst they extracted the grafts. It was painless , and the Xanax and whatever else was coming through the drip into my arm sent me into a peaceful like zen state. You can watch or listen to something on an iPad they give you to pass the time. I listened to a deep house mix by Maya Jane Coles which for some reason seemed to take my fancy and helped me relax lol.
After the extraction you have a short break for some food and some water.
Then back into the surgery room where this time you are lying down on your back slightly upright. Blankets are put over you as the room is cold. I was comfortable and again back into a sedated mindstate. Dr Erdogan comes in and does all the incisions for where the grafts are to be placed by he’s fellow surgeons. This bit I don’t remember much and I was dipping in and out of sleep. When this is complete the grafts are placed back into the incisions made by the doctor. Another 3 or 4 hours pass and it’s finally all done.
Your head is bandaged at the back where the donor area is and you are given a 5 minute laser cap session which helps the grafts settle into their new homes.
After that you go back to your room. You are given painkillers to help you through your first 2 nights of sleep. You are given a neck pillow which you have to use to make sure you don’t touch your grafts on the pillow as you sleep. As you can imagine the first night is not fun at all but manageable.
The next day the swelling begins! It’s start at the top of your head and works it’s way down your face before finally going after about 3 days. It’s nothing to worry about but it does make you laugh at how it distorts your face somewhat.
I am currently on day 4 post op. I moved hotels to the old part of Istanbul in order to see the sights as it’s quite an amazing city.
After care is relatively straightforward. Using a cream on the new grafts you let it sit for 20 mins before washing your whole scalp twice with shampoo they provide.
I will be updating this thread consistently over the coming months so stay tuned. Any other questions about the procedure I’m more than happy to answer.
included are before pics of my hair and post op pics
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