6000 graft Mega Session w/ Dr. Acar and techs

I had started losing my hair at about 18 or 19 years old. From then, it started to progressively get thinner and thinner. 25 now and I have quite some hair loss. I had been researching a lot of places especially in Istanbul, Turkey to find a good place for a hair transplant because the United States is extremely overpriced. I finally found Cosmedica on their RealSelf, Instagram, and YouTube after seeing their consistent results for a very reasonable price.
I contacted Cosmedica with photos on October 31, 2018 with pictures of the front, middle, and crown area. I was originally told I needed between 4000 and 4500 grafts. After finally having enough time out of medical school to finally get the hair transplant a few days ago, I had another consultation in person right before the operation. Dr. Acar said because the loss was a little more diffuse than the pictures that were originally sent in October, I would have to have about 6000 grafts transplanted over the course of 2 days. He also noted that in order for me to have a natural look on my donor area, he would not extract all of the hair from the sides and back. He would have to extract hair from the chest and beard, too.
Dr. Acar and all of his staff are extremely professional. His technicians that helped participate with the transplant were proficient and very skilled with the operation. The operation was split between the technicians and Dr Acar. The technicians applied the anesthesia and removed the grafts and inserted them in the recipient area while Dr. Acar made slit incisions in the recipient area where the grafts will be inserted. And from what I am seeing right now, I genuinely can not wait for the results to start showing!
What I can say about Cosmedica is that they made me feel like I never left home. Everyone made me feel like I was welcome at their clinic. They were all friendly. I was able to speak some Turkish with the technicians and they played Turkish music that we all could enjoy while they were doing the operation. They were very thorough with the directions for post operative care. I would absolutely recommend Cosmedica and Dr Acar to anybody who wants to not only get their hair back, but their confidence back, too!

1 month update so far. Obviously not much growth to report just yet, but I had definitely noticed shedding after coming out of the shower. I’ve been using Cosmedica’s hydrating shampoo every day for one month on my transplanted area and donor area. And starting one month post op, I’ve been using their anti hair loss shampoo every other day as directed. I have also been taking a quarter tablet of finasteride daily, as well as Biotin and a multivitamin complex after breakfast. Included are pictures of the front, top, and the recipient area from the sides and back. One of the side views appears as if it has been overharvested, but I can’t tell if it has been overharvested until the hair around grows.

2 months later. I feel like there’s some growth going on, but not a huge amount. I have still been using finasteride, biotin, and minoxidil. But now, I have started using minoxidil on the donor after 2 months, per the doctor’s request. Pictures included are the front, the top, and the sides and back to show what the donor area looks like after 2 months.