45 Years Old, 3500 Graft - FUE - Transest Clinic, Istanbul

First off, I owe a great deal of thanks to the RealSelf community. Without your guidance and inspiration, the review I am about to type would not have been possible. In an effort to ‘pay it forward’ to others, I have documented my personal hair transplant experience with Transest Hair Transplant & Aesthetic clinic in Istanbul, Turkey. Since this will be a lengthy review, I will summarize some items in this post and provide procedure details in other posts.
My Background:
I am a 45 year old male who has been thinning since my 20’s. On the Norwood scale, I would be considered NW 6/7, which is Norwood 6 with thinning donor. Back in 2004, I had a FUT strip procedure for 1,400 grafts. I’m convinced that any remaining hair in the front of my head is from the original transplant procedure. Otherwise, it’s thin throughout with very few hairs to the crown. Over the years, I have used many products to slow down the progression of hair loss. These include: Rogaine foam (2x/day), Nixoral shampoo (3x/week), Pura d’or (Argon oil shampoo)
The Decision:
I stumbled upon RealSelf while researching an entirely different topic. I’ve invested dozens of hours reading posts, Q&A’s, and performing general research on different forums over the last several months. I am sceptical by nature, and never did I think I would be one to travel to Turkey for a medical procedure. However, after reading countless reviews from guys like CaliD3, dereklucan, Mahiry, Gmang85, jusbu83 and countless others, I began to consider Istanbul as a real possibility. These guys were the trailblazers, and it was great to follow their experiences and see pictures of smiling faces with new heads of hair. So, my internal questions of “what if” became “why not?”. Besides, medical tourism is a booming industry and this seemed like a good opportunity to sneak in a cultural vacation.
In considering clinics, I looked at many factors including pricing, location and of course positive and negative reviews. Two clinics that really stood out in my mind were Maral and Transest. I'm sure I would be happy with either one. Because the reviews for each were equally positive, I chose to go with Transest because the location was closer to the airport and cost was a few hundred dollars cheaper. Extra spending money to justify the decision to go..
Websites/Resources:
RealSelf - WhatClinic - Facebook
Google flights - Google maps
Baldtruthtalk - Hairrestorationnetwork
Tripadvisor - Turkeytravelplanner
WhatsApp - Currency converter (iphone app)
My expenses:
$ 875 - Airfare from Philadelphia to Istanbul (connect in Frankfort, Germany)
$1,900 - Hair transplant procedure (1,690 Euro)
$ 50 - One extra night hotel that I booked (Premist hotel)
$ 350 - Spending money (sightseeing, taxis, food, souvenirs)
Other supplies (Amazon.com):
$15 - Travel neck pillow (NeckSnug)
$15 - Money belt (AlphaKeeper)
$6 - European Schuko (plug adaptor)
You should also bring these:
Valid passport
e-Visa (evisa.gov.tr) ($20)
Two button down shirts
Noise cancel headphones (for plane)
See related sections for additional details regarding my procedure.

Since a trip to Turkey involves a lot of planning outside of just the hair transplant procedure, I wanted to provide some useful tips and observations to hopefully help and guide others in their decision making progress.

Other options/My anxiety:
One of the harder decisions to make was regarding which clinic to use. To make an informed decision, I provided pictures and solicited advice from 8 HT clinics. The number of estimated grafts was all over the place. Using FUE, Transest, Maral Klinic and Tayfun Oguzoglu estimated they could find 3,000 grafts. Cosmedica estimated 4,000 grafts, AEK estimated 1,500 grafts, FUE Hairline said 1,000, the U.S. clinic said 700 grafts. One well regarded doctor (Hakan Doganay) said I was not a candidate for FUE at all, and one doctor said I was not a candidate for FUT. This was concerning because I am NW 6 with a prior 1,400 FUT and limited donor. What is a person to do? I want to be considered a candidate, but not at the cost of my donor being completely stripped and thinned. Anxiety!

I also found that different clinics have different business models. Some clinics employ a doctor to serve just one patient per day. The doctor clinics in Turkey normally change between 1-2.5 euro per graft. Some doctor clinics provide 2 or 3 nights hotel with transfers, and some do not. The ‘Tech clinics’ that I contacted all seem to provide maximum number of available grafts (whatever can be safely harvested from your donor), hotel, transfers, medications, and sometimes PRP for one set price. In my case, the price was 1,690 euro which equalled $1,900.

The flight:
Unfortunately, no direct flights are available from Philadelphia, PA to Istanbul, Turkey but luckily there are plenty of connecting flights at good prices. (Thank you google/flights!). My flight from Philly to Frankfort, Germany took 8 hrs - then 1-2 hrs layover - then another 3 hrs flying from Frankfurt to Istanbul. It was a long flight each way (about 12 hrs), but I watched two movies each way and read and took naps. Honestly, since I was travelling alone with no kids, the flight was relaxing and the time passed rather quickly.

Fun fact: For anyone flying international to Frankfort, Germany, I will tell you that this airport is huge. In fact, I nearly missed my connecting flight because the plane from Philly took off late and there was only 1 hour to transfer to the connecting flight in Frankfort. I literally ran at least 1/4 mile through Frankfort Airport, took the required train car, ran another 1/4 mile to the gate, went down a flight of stairs, then took the shuttle bus to the plane on the runway. Had I walked, I’m not sure I would have made the flight. It was quite the experience. I will add, however, that Lufthansa is a top notch airline. The flight crew speaks mostly German but they also know English and other languages. The Lufthansa crew provided terrific service on a long flight.

Transest Clinic and Staff:
Established in 2007, I found that Transest Hair Transplant & Aesthetic is one of the oldest HT clinics in Istanbul. The clinic is located within a few miles of Araturk Airport which makes it convenient for HT patients who simply want to fly in, have the procedure, and fly home without any sightseeing. If sightseeing is desired, then a 25 minute taxi ride will get you to the historic district of Sultanahmet.

There are actually two sides to Transest clinic. Dr Ayse Ozturk handles the plastic surgery (Aesthetic) side, while Dr Ahmed Altan, newer to the practice, handles the Hair Transplant side. I also learned that Dr Ayse Ozturk’s husband - Dr Erdogen Ozturk - had previously worked HT’s at Transest but he now works out of another hospital. Also, Aytac Karadut, the former International Coordinator, is no longer with the company.

The doctor informed me that Transest has performed more than 7,300 HT procedures since 2007. My procedure was performed by a team which included the doctor and surgical nurses/techs. The techs performed all of the prep work and extractions (which I describe in a later post), Dr Altan opened all of the new channels, and the techs implanted the grafts. I asked, and was told, that the doctor and techs have the following experience:

Doctor: Ahmed Altan - 4 yrs HT
Surgical nurse: Sumeyye - 7 yrs HT
Surgical nurse: Kezban - 4 yrs HT
General Director: Erkan Vural - 8 yrs HT

?The Price:
The price I paid was 1,690 euro, which converted to $1,900 U.S. dollars on my procedure date of March 18, 2016. This price was all-inclusive and covered the HT procedure for maximum available grafts, PRP injection, transfers to/from airport, transfers to/from hospital and clinic, lunch on operation date, 2 nights hotel w/hot breakfast each morning, medicines and post-surgery shampoo. There were absolutely no surprise or extra costs, and at no time did the doctor or any representative of the clinic attempt to upgrade or sell anything additional. The cost of $1,900 cash is the only money that changed hands with the clinic.

By comparison, a typical FUE rate in the U.S. would cost at least $7/graft. A procedure of 3,500 grafts - if a U.S. clinic would attempt to perform in my case - would mean that 3,500 grafts x $7 per graft = $24,500. Obviously, paying less than $2,000 U.S. dollars feels like the bargain of the century if the procedure actually works!

Money:
Local currency is the Turkish Lira. Most places will accept Lira and Euro, and I found a few shops that also took U.S. dollars. With the recent turmoil in Europe, tourism is down and shopkeepers are desperate for business. When asked if they accept U.S. dollars, more than one vendor remaked that “money is money”. I converted $350 U.S. dollars to Turkish Lira at Philadelphia airport, just to have it handy. I kept the $2,000 cash, $350 TL, passport and boarding passes safely stored in my money belt at all times. As a general rule, $1.00 = 3 TL = .90 euro. Looked at another way, 1 euro = 3.2 TL = $1.10. I used a Currency App to keep everything straight.

The Hotel:
Since I planned to stay an extra day for sightseeing, I arranged my trip as follows: My total trip consisted of four nights, with my first night spent on the flight from U.S. to Europe.

Premist Hotel - My first night in Istanbul was spent at a little boutique hotel called Premist Hotel. This little B&B style hotel is located in the heart of the historic district of Sultanahmet. This is a perfect location, literally a few minutes walk to Topkapi Palace, Sultan’s Tombs, Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, Blue Mosque, and then Grand Bazarre. Price was about $50 per night which included a delicious breakfast. The hotel receptionist, Derya, was pleasant and helpful, and I spent time having tea in the cozy lobby. I simply can’t recommend this hotel enough.

Helpful tip: If you stay at Premist Hotel, be sure to check out the shops and restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. From the hotel, instead of walking straight up the cobblestone hill to the main attractions, just prior to the Art Store, make a left through the neighborhood and you will stumble upon outdoor cafes, fish markets, and vendor shops with fairly priced souvenirs. Walking down the cobblestone road (instead of up) will take you to the Bosphorus Straight where you can see the continent of Asia. (I took a selfie!)

MidMar Deluxe Hotel - My last two nights in Istanbul were spent at MidMar Deluxe Hotel, which were included in the HT package. MidMar is located in a working class part of town, very close to the airport. Honestly, it’s a bit of a sketchy area but the hotel was clean and service was good. The breakfast, although robust, was not as good as Premist Hotel.
?Helpful tip: If you stay at MidMar Deluxe, be sure to take a 5 minute taxi ride (12 Lira, ~$4.00) to StarCity Outlet Center. This is an American style mall which contains a very large grocery store (food, beer, cookies), clothing stores, jewelry and appliances under one roof. A chocolate fountain with various fruits is on the 1st floor, and a pub style food court with tv’s can be found on the 3rd floor. I had a grilled cheese sandwich with bottle of water for 10 TL (about $3.00). My sandwich was better and cheaper than any food I had back at the hotel.

My next posting will get into the actual HT procedure.