Terrible Results, Dr. Erkan Demirsoy, Armamed Clinic, Istanbul, Turkey

Hello Everyone, I’ve been back and forth about posting my one year results, because, when something bad happens in life, it’s usually better to just move on. However, after the disgusting treatment received by the clinic, and encouragement from the surgeon who recently repaired the botched job, I now feel a duty to warn others about this doctor so that hopefully no one else has to go through the hell I have. Here’s my experience: March 8th, 2021, I was picked up from my hotel by Demirsoys translator and assistant, Muzzafer, who initially seemed nice enough and told stories of how long he worked with Demirsoy and how much Demirsoy cared about his patients, etc. I get to the clinic, Demirsoy does not speak English so Muzzafer translated the consultation. There was concern that due to my thin hair, I might not have enough multi- grafts for surgery which really scared me. In that moment I got a bad feeling and thought about leaving (listen to your gut) but they convinced me to let them “try” as the only way to find out was to start extracting grafts. An hour or so into surgery, Muzzafer showed me a picture of a bowl full of multi grafts and assured me all was well. The next few hours I listened to my ear buds as the clinic had Turkish TV playing. After the extraction phase was lunch followed by the implantation that was conducted by three nurses, all at the same time. Believe one did right side, another center, another left side. One thing I noticed immediately about the nurses and again made me feel nervous/afraid, was how much they goofed off during the procedure. They were joking, talking super loud non-stop and would all burst into laughing fits. I couldn’t believe their behavior at times so just turned my ear buds up full volume. After surgery I was dropped off at the hotel, came back the next morning for the first wash then flew back to the US. Fast forward one year later, approximately half of the 2940 transplanted grafts did not survive. I looked like a botched hair transplant victim. I have not had ANY new hair growth since month 7-8 yet the clinic told me to wait 18 months and if nothing changed by that time, I could PAY to come back for another 2000 grafts at a discounted rate. I couldn’t believe it. I receive a complete failed hair transplant at the hands of Demirsoy and his nurses and you want me to pay you to come back!? I don’t think so! I consulted with an American doctor who stated he thought the failure was due to the implantation phase that was done by multiple people and how the grafts were treated. I also consulted with other surgeons who had similar comments and the European surgeon who recently did the repair work said that in addition to the low survival rate, whoever did the implanting on the right side implanted the grafts all with wrong angles. Therefore, the right side looks much worse than the left. He also said they put the hairline on the forehead muscle which is another huge fail. To this day Demirsoy will not admit this is a failed hair transplant or accept any responsibility. When I asked for my money back at the 1-year mark, his assistant Muzzafer completely ignored my WhatsApp messages. They also ignored videos sent clearly showing the unbelievable low graft survival rate and how terrible my hair looked. They just did not respond and moved on. I ask of anyone reading this, please do your thorough research, really dig deep (there are other botched Demirsoy patients on the interweb). Go with someone who stands behind their patients and their work. Make sure the clinic records what type of grafts were extracted (singles, doubles, triples, etc.) - Armamed does not do this – you’ll have no clue. Make sure the clinic has competent and professional staff. You should also have bloodwork done (again Armamed does not do this), and make sure the clinic has a good follow up reputation. Muzzafer asked for photos a few times in the beginning and when serious concerns came up, they just offered flimsy excuses (maybe it’s your scalp nutrients, maybe your hair profile, we have patients who started off like this but were fine at 18 months). By the way, the final result went from 12 to 15 months to 12 to 18 months, even when I told them I had no new growth past month 7/8 and it was completely obvious something was very wrong. The European surgeon who did my repair work said that’s the MO of the Turkish clinics; when things go wrong, they always blame the patient and make excuses. He said he could dedicate his clinic to doing repair work only because he sees this all the time with these budget Turkish clinics. It's now time to move on so I will not be monitoring this post or replying. Going through so much mental and emotional pain has been horrible and draining, not to mention the wasted money, time and travel. This post is me doing my duty by WARNING others. I wish you all the best of luck and may you choose your hair surgeon wisely. Final note for those who might suggest this is because of my scalp: I had my scalp checked twice by two different dermatologists and had blood work done. My scalp was deemed healthy and nothing out of the ordinary with the bloodwork. My scalp was also checked with a high-powered scope by the European surgeon who did my repair work; everything was fine.