2nd FUE-1,800 Graft - Dr. Ahmed Altan-AestePool Clinic-Istanbul

Here we go again my Realself friends! This is my second time going to Turkey for an FUE transplant. I wanted a better hairline and a bit more density on top so I went for it again. 21 months ago I went to Transest Clinic for my first FUE and I got about 4,000 grafts. This time I used Aestepool Clinic with Dr. Ahmed Altan and got just over 1,800 grafts.
So why didn't I just go back to Transest Clinic?....Because Dr. Ibraheem and Dr. Ozturk both left Transest months ago. Dr. Altan started at Transest over a year ago and didn't like the way they did things so he left and started his own Clinic. I really wish he had worked on me the first time around but he wasn't there yet when I got my first FUE. At his new clinic (Aestepool Clinic) Dr. Altan uses a smaller micro motor .7mm punch vs the larger punch that Transest used. This reduces the chances of scars and can achieve a more aesthetic result according to him. Long story short Transest is not what it used to be and I can no longer recommend them. Just my opinion.
In the last several years hair transplant clinics have exploded in Istanbul and there are now about 1,000 of them in the city. Most are illegal clinics with no doctor present and uncertified technicians performing FUE in business offices. No emergency care to help you should something go wrong, much higher chances of over-harvesting and wasted grafts, far less esthetic results and much higher rates of infection with these horrible clinics. Please keep this in mind when you are quoted 300-500 Euros less at some unknown clinic. Stick to the popular doctors/clinics and your chances of a good outcome go way up.
About Dr. Ahmed Altan: A young Turkish doctor trained in Germany. Speaks Turkish, German, English and Spanish. His bedside manner is excellent and he genuinely cares for his patients. He's honest about what he can do for you and tells you what you can expect as a result. He doesn't use an assistant and replies to Whatsapp messages himself in a timely manner. This seems exhausting to me but somehow he manages to do it.
Aestepool Clinic is inside a proper hospital in the Zeytinburnu section of Istanbul not far from the ocean. You can see the water off in the distance from the doctor's office. Dr. Altan's technicians are registered nurses and not just certified technicians. He put this team together less than a year ago but each of the technicians he chose had roughly 6-7 years of transplanting experience.
Dr. Altan does bloodwork before you start to test for HIV, Hepatitis etc. and uses the same blood to administer PRP on the top of the head after opening the channels.
As I write this I'm only 6 days post-op so I can't tell you my hair looks phenomenal. I can say that the doctor's professionalism, the confidence of his team and early results I see so far are very promising. One of the techs at Transest was a bit aggressive with harvesting just behind my left ear. 21 months later I still have a small sliver of about 1 inch high and as thick as dental floss bald spot. It's not noticeable to most people but I see it if my hair is cut real short. Dr. Altan didn't take any hair from that area but sadly he didn't want to fill it in either because he said it was more important to use every single graft to thicken the front and top of my head since I only had 1500-2000 available donor grafts.
The techs give the anesthetic which I stressed about a lot before hand because the pain I felt from my first FUE anesthesia was horrendous. This time it was only about half as painful. It still hurt but nothing like the pain I felt at Transest Clinic. These techs at Aestepool were definitely pro's and administered the anesthetic with care and precision.
The doctor took care and time to draw the hairline and measure it down to my eyebrows. I wasn't thrilled with the right side of my hairline as it was a bit crooked after my first FUE. Not terrible but it was something Dr. Altan wanted to correct and so far it looks excellent. Having a doctor that speaks English made the whole experience much easier. I had to use the translator last time and it's just not the same. Dr. Altan controls the whole procedure and runs a tight ship. He is in the room often checking on the work of the technicians and giving instruction. The techs don't speak much English and they will talk and laugh with each other in Turkish as they work but this was nothing new to me as I experienced the same thing at Transest.
The "Mercure Istanbul Topkapi" hotel is really nice. The breakfast buffet is tasty and included in the price. They knock on your door every afternoon and give you bottles of water. They didn't charge me for those. The room service prices are very reasonable compared to the U.S. and the most expensive menu item was the New York Steak for about $12 U.S. (at the time I went).
The whole process was easy and comfortable and In the end I received just under 1,850 grafts. Half of them were used to straighten and thicken up the hairline and the other half were spread across the top of the head to thicken it up. I didn't have any crown recession so I didn't need any grafts placed in the crown. I'll update as time goes by.
as far as medications for my hair - I have been taking finasteride (generic for Propecia) every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the last 20 months.
I hope this helped some of you and thanks for reading my long write up :)

I guess I should share a pic of my hair before my first FUE so you'll have an idea of my starting point. The first FUE was 21 months ago. I was initially going to wait 15-16 months before a 2nd FUE but I had to wait 21 months because my work got busy. You can see that my scalp was pretty bare.

........................................................................................................................................................................................................