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I just finished surgery with Erdogan a few days ago (finished on 21st) so not much to show at the moment, but I'll post here to update at regular intervals. I'll give some info about the procedure and what to expect, as well as try to give some advice.
I was NW3 with diffuse thinning and prior to surgery had been using Propecia for 3 yrs, Kirkland 5% liquid minoxidil 5 yrs, Nizoral 2% for 1 yr.
Graft stats:
Total grafts: 5024
hair/graft ratio: 2.13
Total donor capacity: 8400
Cost:
12,500 euro's which included 5 nights accomodation at clinic, taxi to/from airport, take-home treatment kits and full catering.
Before:
After:
Experience:
Day 1:
As soon as I arrived at the airport, one of the clinics 3 drivers was waiting for me. When I arrived at the clinic I had to stick my shoes in this machine which wraps them in plastic film. So first impressions were they are serious with hygiene. I had my heart rate checked and had a blood test, and then had an initial consultation with Erdogan. Then I had my head shaved and saw Erdogan again who did what I thought was a very thorough hairline design with his business partner giving her opinion, and drew a load of blue lines on my head (see pics above).
Day 2: Hairline
They expect you to be at the clinic early (~7:30am). I stayed at the clinic so I just had to go in the lift... but if you are staying at the hotel, one of their drivers will bring you to the clinic (2-3 minute drive away). The day starts with breakfast in the clinics canteen with the other patients, while everyone waits for their call to surgery with a typical 8am start and 5-6pm finish. First were the extractions which were carried out by technicians. This was the worse part. It's the most painful and you have to sit in the same upright position for 5 hours. Then it was lunch, followed by incisions, which is more comfortable than extraction since you can lie down... and its generally less painful. Erdogan himself does the incisions, which only takes about half an hour (for ~2.5k). Then it's the implantation phase which takes about 3-4 hours, again carried out by a team of technicians and you can lie down again. After that, you are taken to the salon room and sit under this weird pleasantly warm laser thing for a while which is supposed to help heal the wounds quicker. At this point you are usually in the salon with all other people who were in surgery that day, and then Erdogan comes and checks everyone over.
Day 3: Scalp and vertex
Same as day 2 but different area
Day 4:
First wash, final check by Erdogan and photo's.
The team of technicians who I had consisted of 4 people; 2 who were working directly on my scalp, and 2 working with the grafts. Then there's another member of staff who is there with you most of the time (who speaks your language) incase you need anything, e.g. ipad for movies, drinks, snacks. The anaesthetist also makes round visits to each surgery room ( I think there's 4 in total) to check on your pain levels and if you need any medication (oral or intravenous) in addition to the local anaesthetic. Sometimes Erdogan's business partner came to visit too to check on the surgery, and even did some of the extractions and implantations on day 2. They do a very good job on making you comfortable during surgery. Again, they are very serious with hygiene, with all surgery rooms being 2 floors underground, behind a sterile zone.
The surgery was more painful and taxing on the body than I thought it would be. I had numerous strong painkillers and lots of local anasthetic. I had a painful burning sensation which was particularly bad on the 2nd day during extraction. There was no point during the surgery where pain was severe, but when moderate pain carries on for 2 hours straight, it gets to you. But note that the other people at the clinic I met seemed to think it was painless, with one even sleeping through part of it, so maybe I'm just a little resistant to local anasthetic.
The following ~2 days after surgery I felt ill (weak, exhausted, in pain), and had some pretty bad facial swelling but on the 3rd day I was mostly back to normal apart from pain in the donor area which I have to take ibuprofen for every night else it hurts too much to rest my head on my pillow. Anasthetic cream helps a little during the day, but it's quite painful still.
I was NW3 with diffuse thinning and prior to surgery had been using Propecia for 3 yrs, Kirkland 5% liquid minoxidil 5 yrs, Nizoral 2% for 1 yr.
Graft stats:
Total grafts: 5024
hair/graft ratio: 2.13
Total donor capacity: 8400
Cost:
12,500 euro's which included 5 nights accomodation at clinic, taxi to/from airport, take-home treatment kits and full catering.
Before:
After:
Experience:
Day 1:
As soon as I arrived at the airport, one of the clinics 3 drivers was waiting for me. When I arrived at the clinic I had to stick my shoes in this machine which wraps them in plastic film. So first impressions were they are serious with hygiene. I had my heart rate checked and had a blood test, and then had an initial consultation with Erdogan. Then I had my head shaved and saw Erdogan again who did what I thought was a very thorough hairline design with his business partner giving her opinion, and drew a load of blue lines on my head (see pics above).
Day 2: Hairline
They expect you to be at the clinic early (~7:30am). I stayed at the clinic so I just had to go in the lift... but if you are staying at the hotel, one of their drivers will bring you to the clinic (2-3 minute drive away). The day starts with breakfast in the clinics canteen with the other patients, while everyone waits for their call to surgery with a typical 8am start and 5-6pm finish. First were the extractions which were carried out by technicians. This was the worse part. It's the most painful and you have to sit in the same upright position for 5 hours. Then it was lunch, followed by incisions, which is more comfortable than extraction since you can lie down... and its generally less painful. Erdogan himself does the incisions, which only takes about half an hour (for ~2.5k). Then it's the implantation phase which takes about 3-4 hours, again carried out by a team of technicians and you can lie down again. After that, you are taken to the salon room and sit under this weird pleasantly warm laser thing for a while which is supposed to help heal the wounds quicker. At this point you are usually in the salon with all other people who were in surgery that day, and then Erdogan comes and checks everyone over.
Day 3: Scalp and vertex
Same as day 2 but different area
Day 4:
First wash, final check by Erdogan and photo's.
The team of technicians who I had consisted of 4 people; 2 who were working directly on my scalp, and 2 working with the grafts. Then there's another member of staff who is there with you most of the time (who speaks your language) incase you need anything, e.g. ipad for movies, drinks, snacks. The anaesthetist also makes round visits to each surgery room ( I think there's 4 in total) to check on your pain levels and if you need any medication (oral or intravenous) in addition to the local anaesthetic. Sometimes Erdogan's business partner came to visit too to check on the surgery, and even did some of the extractions and implantations on day 2. They do a very good job on making you comfortable during surgery. Again, they are very serious with hygiene, with all surgery rooms being 2 floors underground, behind a sterile zone.
The surgery was more painful and taxing on the body than I thought it would be. I had numerous strong painkillers and lots of local anasthetic. I had a painful burning sensation which was particularly bad on the 2nd day during extraction. There was no point during the surgery where pain was severe, but when moderate pain carries on for 2 hours straight, it gets to you. But note that the other people at the clinic I met seemed to think it was painless, with one even sleeping through part of it, so maybe I'm just a little resistant to local anasthetic.
The following ~2 days after surgery I felt ill (weak, exhausted, in pain), and had some pretty bad facial swelling but on the 3rd day I was mostly back to normal apart from pain in the donor area which I have to take ibuprofen for every night else it hurts too much to rest my head on my pillow. Anasthetic cream helps a little during the day, but it's quite painful still.
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