1600 Grafts to Hairline - Dense Packing - Manual FUE with Dr. Kaan Pekiner

I had my first transplant in 2016 with one of the big Belgian clinics. 2400 grafts - manual FUE.
The results were just OK, but I still had a few issues to address.
- The density of my right temple was quite weak and the design was very different from the left side (the implantations were done by 3 different technicians).
- The new hairline was asymmetrical. The right side was noticably higher.
- My first transplant was a no-shave procedure, so there were no grafts put behind the hairline, as a result this area was quite thin.
For my 2nd transplant, after having done a lot of research on PubMed, forums, RealSelf etc, I was looking for a clinic where:
- All extractions and implantations are performed by the doctor
- No mega sessions. (My last procedure took 11.5 hours in one day, performed by 3 technicians & 1 doctor. Exhausting!)
- I've read a few studies which say that grafts are more likely to fail when they spend more time outside of the body.) So I wanted a clinic where the work was done in small batches of 300-500 grafts.
- The doctor must only work on one patient per day.
- The doctor must use the 'stick & place' implantation technique. From what I've seen, this creates less scabbing than the common implantation method. Also, it allows for more density.
I found only 3 clinics in Europe who work like this, and I noticed that one of the top doctors from these clinics (Dr Kaan) has recently opened his own independent clinic.
I'd seen a lot of fantastic dense-packing results from this doctor before on a German hair forum, so I emailed his clinic in mid-September and booked surgery for early October.
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As soon as I landed at the airport around midnight, Dr Kaan phoned and told me where to go to meet the driver.
I stayed near the clinic at the 'Golden Boutique Hotel', in Cankaya. Cankaya is a clean, cosmopolitan part of Ankara with some nice parks & cafes.
Dr Kaan's driver Ugur picked me up at 8.15am and took me to the clinic.
Right away we started the hairline planning.
Dr Kaan and I discussed this for over 40 minutes, drawing on different hairline options, erasing them, looking from every angle, taking photos, tweaking the design. He takes a very detailed, careful approach to the design stage.
We decided on slightly reducing the asymmetry, and creating a masculine point in the middle of the hairline.
Then the operation started with 400 extractions - a 10 minute break - then 400 implantations - then a great lunch - then 400 extractions - another minute break - then 400 implantations. All done manually with a small FUE punch.
The 5 minutes of initial local anesthesia injections are not fun, but once they are done you don't feel anything. I think I fell asleep 3 times.
I headed off back to the hotel with my bandana on, looking a big strange but I felt good. No pain or swelling.
The next day, I walked (5 minutes from the hotel) to the clinic and the op continued with 500 grafts, lunch, then 300 grafts. It was all over by 3pm.
I flew home to the UK the next morning.
All in, it's been a good experience so far. It was nice to have the full attention of the clinic staff, rather than being one of several patients in a day at one of the big clinics.

Really easy recovery so far, I had no major swelling and thanks to the 'stck and place' insertion method, my scabbing isn't as bad as it was for my first transplant.
On days 4 and 5, the donor area was a bit nippy - but 250mg of paracetemol was enough to alleviate this.