5650 Grafts with Minimal Results, over Harvesting and Charged Extra.

Please forward to results and look at photos if you prefer to get straight to the point.
Background I started noticing my hair loss at 21 years old but was in denial until I saw a bald spot one day after swimming. My hair loss progressed rapidly and by 23 I decided to see a dermatologist which recommended I start Finasteride. I ended up NOT taking the medicine after hearing about the side effects (the worst mistake of my life). Moreover, by age 24, my hair loss was so bad that I was about a Norwood 4-5 and would hide my hair loss by wearing hats/beanies 24/7. That's when I started researching hair transplant clinics and went with Dr. Apaydin. I chose him because I wanted to do a FUT (to preserve my donor area for further hair transplants).***I also started finasteride 0.5mg a few weeks before the procedure. Contacting Clinic I contacted the clinic and they requested some photos to access my hair loss. Once I emailed those photos, I received an email from Dr. Apayadin who did my consultation. I requested to do a FUT surgery and he said he can cover only 4000 grafts with just a FUT procedure. Implying that I might need more. He followed that by saying that with a combination of FUT and FUE he can do about 4500-5000 grafts (SEE PHOTO). Nonetheless, I agreed to discuss this prior to surgery. Pickup, Transfer, HotelThe week leading to my flight the coordinator, Mel emailed me the instructions when landing. I had to look for someone holding a specific sign and they will transfer me to the hotel. I got there and found the gentleman who picked me up and took me to my hotel. Everything went smoothly and felt safe the whole time. Was asked to not eat anything that night and to wear a dress shirt so I don't have to take the shirt off of my head. Day of TransplantThe next morning, I was picked up really early by Mel who took me to the clinic (it was only a few minutes walk). She spoke fluent English, was very nice, and made me feel comfortable the entire time she was there. The clinic was in a hospital that had various other departments and we headed upstairs to the office where the procedure was done. Consultation I met Dr. Apayadin very briefly where he had my head shaved, and started to draw the areas in which the hair would be transplanted. He wanted my hair to look natural so he recommended I keep my slightly receded hairline so that way it looks natural. He told me he was going to do 5000 grafts and I agreed. To be honest, from the moment I met him, I felt like he was in a rush, almost as if he had to be somewhere. We never sat down and discussed what the expectations were, or my concerns. This was the first red flag. Regardless, I didn’t want to say anything because he obviously knows what he's doing. Removing FUT Strip of my scalpI got seated, changed into a gown and the procedure began. There were a few nurses/technicians (some of them didn't speak English). The procedure began with cutting the long FUT strip of the scalp. They had to numb the back of my head area by using some sort of machine that injected anesthetic into my head. Was not too painful, just a little loud and uncomfortable. The doctor then used a scalpel and cut the strip of the scalp along with the hairs out. Next, he stapled my skin back together. Was not too bad actually. *Forgot to mention that my blood was drawn for the PRP treatment prior to this.Creating ChannelsThe next part of the procedure was ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL. The doctor had to create the channels in which the hair follicles would be inserted in. In order to do this, they used a very long needle that injected anesthetic to numb by recipient area. As soon as the first shot pierced my scalp, I felt immediate pain. I could feel and hear a “crunch” which made me weak. After the second shot, I started to feel dizzy and told the doctor I was going to pass out. Next thing I know my feet were being held up by nurses to get the blood back to my head. Worst experience of my life. It gives me chills even thinking about it because it was so painful. Furthermore, I know it's not necessarily the doctors fault and depends on the patient but I feel like my pain tolerance is high and there should be a less painful method available. As promised Dr. Apayadin opened the channels starting at the hairline (very important). Basically making holes in which the grafts are placed. LunchFast forward to after the channels were made. I had a pleasant lunch which lasted about 30 min to an hour. Food was good and gave me a chance to relax before the implantation of the grafts were performed. In the meantime, the technicians began separating the grafts with microscopes and placed it into a solution (I think it was liposomal ATP). Implantation (longest part of the procedure)Soon after, the implantation began. Dr. Apayadin worked on my hairline, implanting the hairs. When that was done, he sort of disappeared but the nurses took care of me and did the rest of the implantation. I think one of them was the head nurse and the other 4 nurses were technicians. They all worked on me for the rest of the procedure (about 8 hours). Everyone was very nice and checked on me throughout the procedure. I could not feel much when they were inserting the grafts, however, when the anesthetic wore off, I had to get injected with the long needle again which as you read before, wasn't pleasant one bit. Granite, it didn't hurt as much as before (since I was semi-numb) however, 2-3 shots from that needle every hour for the next 8 hours was like torture. End of procedureThe procedure ended with me getting a PRP shot to help with healing and to promote growth. The procedure ended really late, at about 10pm. That's about 14 hours of being there. I was super drained and beyond glad to leave.I was greeted by another coordinator (Her name was Laila) because Mel’s shift had ended by then. She was very nice and explained the next few steps. She showed me the sheet that depicted the number of grafts in single, double, and triple hairs that were implanted. It showed a total of 5650 grafts. Dr. Apayadin promised me 4500-5000 grafts so I was shocked to see that I was charged for 650 extra. At one euro per graft that is close to $1000 USD extra. I didn't say anything and just went ahead to pay for it with my credit card. We spoke for a while and afterward and she handed me a bag with shampoo, medication, and a booklet explaining post operative care. I went on my way and had to be back the following day for the first wash. First Wash and First WeekWent back the following day for the first wash. Photos were taken, and my hair was gently washed by one of the technicians. I had to wear a headband for the next few days and that helped with the swelling. My head still swells to a certain degree but it was not too bad considering the number of grafts. Sleep was tough for the week following the transplant due to the fact that I could not lay on my head. Essentially I had to sleep upright. I followed the post-operative care instructions religiously until all the scabs were gone. Now it was just a waiting game.ResultsI took photos prior to the surgery, the day after surgery, and at 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 19 months, and 32 months. Please see all photos. I was also contacted by the clinic after a few months to leave a review but I declined, stating that I would rather wait until I see the full results. Summary Firstly, the communication with the clinic, the assistants, technicians, and the transfer from the airport to the hotel were all amazing. Everything went smoothly and made the process that much more comfortable. Secondly, I would like to say that my hairline (which Dr. Apayadin worked on) was natural looking and very dense. I basically had no hair on my hairline, so this shows his skillful work and experience in creating a hairline. Credit to him for this. He had to create the channels at the correct angle, choose the right type of grafts (single hairs preferably) insert the grafts in the correct orientation. Looking at my hair at 19 months, you can clearly see that the final results are disappointing. At that many grafts, you would think I would significantly more coverage of my recipient area. If I had to guess I would say I got a yield of 40-50% of those 5605 grafts. The overharvesting is the result of the surgery that bothers me the most. I have patchy looking at temple areas that were from the FUE that was performed. If you look at the photos the day after the surgery, you can see that too many grafts were taken out. Currently, I am planning on doing another hair transplant to add more density as a last-ditch effort to save my hair. However, I may not be able to because of the overharvesting Dr. Apayadin and his technicians did to my donor area. I might be forced to shave my head and this is something that I still cant get over. Lastly, I was charged for 650 extra grafts at $1 per euro. For me, this is not about the money, but rather the principle. What kind of doctor agrees to perform 5000 grafts and ends up charging for more? These types of practices by doctors show that money is more important to them above else. I don't know about you, but I would not go to a doctor who would charge you for extra grafts you did not agree to have implanted.Nonetheless, the low success rate of the grafts (5650), overharvesting of my donor areas (mainly my temples), and the extra 650 grafts I was charged for allowing me to not recommend Dr. Apayadin and his clinic. It took me almost 2 years to write this review because I was traumatized by this whole experience. I would also like to add that I did not contact the clinic and did not address my concerns because I felt like it was pointless and did not want anything from them. I just wanted to share my story with others about my experience to prevent this from happening to others.