49 Year Old Norwood 2. Turkey, TR - 3000 grafts Micro Fue- Dr. T
I have searched and searched over the last 2...
I have searched and searched over the last 2 months and read many reviews. Was going to do this 2 years ago but daughter got married so there went that savings :-). I am looking at 2500-2800 grafts based on lots of before/afters and overseas doctors opinions. US hair surgeons say I need 1200-1400 grafts but feel like they do not want to scare people due to costs, I do not think it's because of higher fallout rate overseas due to less skilled surgeons.
I struggle a bit because it semi-vain but researched and settled in on Dr Tayfun Oguzoglu for a variety of reasons:
1. ISHRS member
2. Professional- organized- very good responses.
3. PRP offered
4. Surgeon doing the extraction and design- alot of places are cheaper and more expensive- most of the cheap ones had assistants doing the extraction
5. Offered not to completely shave head- only donor area- a plus for me but not deciding factor
It's quite the trip for me. I traveled to Istanbul many years ago on business and the trip is no easy chore but the alternative low cost was Mexico and ISHRS surgeon there wanted to extract manually and was of course $$$ than Motorized surgeons. I read the pluses and negatives of each method (Manual vs motorized) and came to my conclusion they are about equal given fatigue factor for manual and less precise (potentially) for motorized.
The surgeon in Turkey are usually 1 euro per dollar per graft, Mexico was about $2.50/graft manual and well the US- it's $6-$11 per graft.
So I feel comfortable with my decision. The main part is I can not exercise for 14 days and will likely take 3 weeks off to be safe. I used pics from my 2012-2013 efforts posted here http://www.realself.com/question/atlanta-la-overseas-plastic-surgeon-specializing-fue and have not taken formal pre-op pics but will as the time draws near.
delaneybob's provider
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Other info:
1. They take MC and Visa- most other clinics in Turkey were all cash. I had hoped they took AMEX so i could get airline miles but no luck
2. They use Hyperthermosol solution instead for just saline to help the grafts better chances before implantation
2 weeks out pictures
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Surgery complete
Dr T. office is viewing distance from hotel (Eurasia). It's a 10 min walk but driver picks you up. I was picked up at 9am.
Prep:
Arrive at Medistate hospital 9:10am- driver escorts you to 8th floor and process starts. For me, I was early and Dr. T was not here yet. They shot alot of before pictures- both full head of dry hair and wet. They asked if I wanted to wait for Doctor or shave my head. I shaved my head. They take off your shirt and buzz you and then wash your hair with what looks to be an iodine solution to make it sterile. Then more pictures. This took about 30 minutes form entrance to office to shaved head
Operation:
Extraction:
They gave me a valium explaining the first set of anesthesia had some adrenaline in it. They took blood for PRP- first attempt to find a vein failed (Never happens to me)- but they switched arms and took the blood. They gave me 2 rounds of anesthesia across most of the back of my head (donor area is large). A lot of folks say this is most painful part of procedure- more on that later. The first round felt like a bee sting at times but “painful”- not really. A tad more than a dentist novacaine sting but they move very fast so that helps.
Dr T. showed up and did about 1/3 of the actual extractions, a senior tech did the rest with Dr. T stopping in occasionally. This was different than advertised. They used MicroFue (0.6-0.7) and I did not noticed a difference in technique/speed between the tech and Dr. T . There were 3 Techs in the room at all times- Punching- extracting and placing in Petri dish with Hypothermal solution
Extraction started at 9:45ish and finished at 11:30ish
Design:
Dr. T consulted with me and made the design- since I am NW2- it’s pretty apparent I need frontline and crown so I was ok with doing it this way post shave.
Dr T then did all the cuts on the head for the implants. He was very meticulous and took us well into lunch. I think we broke for lunch close to 12:30
Implantation:
I ate fast – went to bathroom and was called back at about 12:45 or so – nurses were ready. 2 Nurses/techs implanted the hairs with stops in by a senior tech and Dr. T . After a while this was the most discomforting part of procedure- they were taking their time and telling me to keep chin down in various body positions (all on my back). We were done at 3:00pm. They gave me meds and will go back tomorrow. I fly out early Wednesday morning as I have very long flight back to US and wanted some more healing time.
I have started to spay a bit with H2Ocean- one side has a deep implant or contusion where it will bleed so am being careful.
I plan to check my one bag of luggage to avoid lifting on trip back. Istanbul airport was a wrapping machine so I am good with that
Replies (1)
580 single grafts
1575 double grafts
865 multiple grafts
Total 3020 grafts
Welcome to the community, thank you for taking the time to document your journey here on RealSelf. Kudo's to you for doing your homework and finding a doctor that you feel confident will give you the results that you are looking for. If you have anything to add to the following discussion I would appreciate that: Hair Transplant Consultation Questions - 5 Things You Didn't Know to Ask
I wish you all the best and look forward to your updates. :)