Blitzing Belgium - 2 Days & 4 top docs (Bisanga,Feriduni,De Reys,Mwamba)

[JohnnyDrama]

Hi guys......I documented this on another forum but was encouraged to put it on one or two other sites too. Apologies if the formatting doesn't paste over too great initially, I'll try to edit and tidy things up.

March 16th & 18th

Hi guys, just thought I'd get a thread started while I have the time, to basically document my upcoming weekend of consultations. I think the actual organisation and logistics of the weekend itself might interest a lot of people considering doing the same in the future, on top of my experiences with each doc!

I'm only a relative newbie in terms of my posting time here, but over the past few weeks and months I've gotten an awful lot of very useful info from here so just want to try and give a bit back. Given my location, and preference for FUE (surprise surprise), I was glad to see that Belgium is the hotspot in Europe (and arguably, globally).

Brief Background/Description: Based in Ireland, and 30 years old. Diffuse loss pattern from early/mid 20s, and have been mixing around the medication treatments for the past 3 years. The meds have definitely had a halting effect as I am sure I would have less, but I'm becoming increasingly uncomfortable (almost anxious) about things so I think HT is the way to go for me. I'll provide pics further down the road. The girlfriend is tagging along as well! It's a bank holiday weekend in Ireland too so works out perfectly in that I'm not having to take any time off work

Ambition:Regain density in frontal 3rd. Make my hair line less see-through, and thicken things up in the mid scalp. I'll admit that currently Bisanga and Feriduni are the front runners, but I'm glad I'm getting to see the other 2 docs. Who knows where I'll stand after the weekend!

Plan:
Drive to Dublin at 2.30am on Sat Mar 16 (2 hr drive)
Fly Dublin - Brussels at 6.35am (1hr 40 flight)
Arrive at 9.35am
Consultation with Dr. Bisanga at 12.30pm at BHR Clinic
Train at 2pm from Brussels (Zuid/Midi) to Heist-Op-Den-Berg (1hr 20 train)
Consultation with Dr. De Reys at 15.45 at his home address
Train back to Brussels at 18.00 and finally check into 5* Stanhope Hotel (ridiculously
reasonable price)
Sunday = Chill
Monday - Check out at 11am
Train at 11.35 from Brussels (Zuid/Midi) to Hasselt (1hr 15 train)
Consultation with Dr. Feriduni at 13.30 at his clinic
Train back to Brussels at 16.10
Consultation with Dr. Mwamba at his clinic
Taxi at 19.00 to airport (20 mins)
Depart Brussels Airport at 21.20
Arrive in Dublin at 21.50
Arrive home at 00.30
Up for work at 8.00 on Tuesday

Ambitious! As you can see, I wanted to make the most of my time there. Should be an information-packed weekend, and probably tiring! I'll be documenting everything as I go along anyway, and will put as much as possible up here.

 

[JohnnyDrama]

Thought I'd post my pre-consultation thoughts.....just to see how they compare with my reviews of each consultation when I get home.

Right now I'm definitely hoping that I'm told I'm a good FUE candidate. In my mind I see somewhere in the region of 2500-3000 grafts. I don't fancy the FUT route but if I get the vibe from a few of them that it's the best route, I might be persuaded. I have a feeling at least one of them will suggest strip first (possibly Dr. B).

In terms of docs, if I were to break it down into percentage chance of who I think I'd go with, it would probably be the following: Bisanga 40%, Feriduni 40%, De Reys 10%, Mwamba 10%. This is purely off the back of months of research and seeing cases posted online, patient care rep, etc.

Right now, from an FUE point of view, I'd say I'm siding slightly towards Bisanga. Only slightly mind, but that's just a gut feeling at the minute. To be honest, there seems to be little or nothing between Dr. F and Dr. B. So many threads comparing the two, and so little difference!

If I were to go the FUT route, I reckon I'm currently siding slightly towards Dr. F. Again, only slightly, but it's just a gut thing right now.

Really looking forward to meeting the other two docs though. The main reason why they are currently behind in my books is because I have seen far fewer documented cases.

Interesting to see where I stand next Monday.

 

[JohnnyDrama]

I haven't gotten around to fully documenting things yet, but to give a brief summary:

I'm a Ludwig 1C / 2. Very good donor density, with measurements ranging from 80 - 98 throughout the zones. Hair characteristics are medium fine. Miniaturisation is under 10%, and thinning is in Zone 3 & 4 and forelock. All clinics agreed I was a good candidate for FUE.

I have approx 5,000 safe FUE (all clinics came close to this estimate), but one of the more interesting things people may find is the variation in graft estimation from the different clinics. It was as follows (in order that I saw the docs):

Bisanga: 2,000
De Reys: 1,500
Feriduni: 2,500 - 2,800
Mwamba: 1,800 - 2,200


My pre-consultation views still hold strong, and all going well I'll be making a concrete decision over the coming days. Will document the travel experience in detail soon, as well as each consultation. To be continued.......

 

[JohnnyDrama]

Bisanga
Consultation lasted approx 50 mins, and he estimated that I should get 2,000 FUE.

Got to the clinic 30 mins early and he was the first person we met inside. Since his 12 oc appointment was late, he could see me straight away so the gf waited in the waiting room. Just before hand we were eating breakfast in a shop around the corner where Stephen had advised us to go. While there, another lad sat down nearby and I was sure he had just had an Op with Bisanga. Curiosity got the better of me and I eventually went over to him. Turns out he had 1,300 FUE into his crown with Dr. B the day before. He filled me in on many aspects of the clinic and his experience which was really good to hear first hand, as opposed to me just reading about peoples experiences previously.

Regarding my consultation.....one thing I was aware of from reading on a few other peoples threads was that Bisanga seemed to make up his own mind before taking the opinion of the patient in. I have to say, I found the complete opposite. He started by asking "What can I do for you / Why are you here?" so I filled him in. I asked him what was his initial impression of my loss from afar, and he said I looked like I had frontal/midscalp diffuse loss and the hairs behind were coming down over the loss region to create coverage. He had a little doodle type pad in which he began to sketch out what we were about to find out.

He began the physical exam by cutting my hair short in 3 very small patches of my donor. He then put a microscope up and we were looking at the different densities through an application on his pc. He commented that my donor was excellent, with a lot of 2s 3s and 4s, with not a huge amount of natural 1s. When I asked if I was a suitable FUE candidate, he said that I certainly was. He said it isn't something he says very often, but he was happy to give a the option of going with FUT or FUE to equal extents. Of course I was delighted to hear this, and promptly told him I would be going with FUE. The report contained:

Norwood classification:N/A
Ludwig class 2.
Hair Characteristics:Medium fine
Donor Density: Measured in 3 areas as 80/85/80 Follicular units per cm2
Laxity:N/A
Miniaturisation: Under 10 percent.
Recommendations:
Very good density average. Thinning in zone 3/4 and forelock.
Safe zone for FUE is 6 cm x 35 cm x average density 81 = approx 16,800 grafts resident in safe zone.
Approx 5,000 grafts available via FUE to not cause thinning issues in the donor.
Recommend approx 2,000 grafts via FUE.

Again I have to mention the speed in which Stephen, the BHR rep, gets back to you. Myself and my girlfriend were only chatting about the consultation a few hours later when I had an email off Stephen with a report. This was at 8.30pm on a Saturday night! Top service.

My overall impression of BHR was very very good. Even though he was the first doc out of 4 I was to meet, my gut was telling me he could very well be the guy, but I was by no means going to be making a decision until all were seen and taken into account. I was just delighted he had told me that I had a good donor, and that he seemed confident that 2,000 FUE would get me a pleasing result. I had been expecting to hear an initial FUT recommendation of 3,000+!


(I'm heading to Amsterdam in a few hours so I need my sleep - I will update the other docs as soon as I can).

 

[JohnnyDrama]

Feriduni

Consultation lasted approx 70 mins and estimated FUE of 2,500 - 2,800 (although the treatment plan I received via email afterwards estimated 2,800 - 3,000).

Due to be at 1.30pm on the Monday, my day started by getting a phonecall from Christian at 8.45am asking if I wouldn't mind rescheduling it to 3pm due to surgery commitments. Agreed although I knew things would be tight to make it back into Brussels to see Mwamba for 6pm!

Having arrived at the clinic at around 2.40pm, everything I had previously read had come to light. It is one very impressive clinic. We were met by Christian who offered us a cup of coffee (which was bloody nice as well) while we waited for Dr. F. About 10-15 mins later he appeared and we went into his office.

Another thing I had read quite a bit about Dr. F was how nice a bloke he seemed to be. Again, it was very obvious why so many felt this way as the guy just seemed naturally very friendly, and genuinely interested in you as a person and patient. It was very easy to see why so many people wold put their head in his hands!

Things started off with the doc asking me why I was here and what my hopes were, and then we moved onto my medication history, and hair loss in my family. I reckon we spoke about this for close to 10-15 mins, and the doc was taking a lot of notes. He had my pre-filled out questionnaire to hand (something that Bisanga also had which I forgot to mention) which saved a lot of time. He passed a comment that I seemed to be fairly well educated on the different procedures and I assured him that I had a lot of research done on the many aspects of HT. Interestingly, he also said that when I initially walked in, he was unsure as to why I was even in the clinic, as my hair appeared to be normal. I had gotten a similar vibe from the other docs, but all of their opinions quickly changed upon inspection.

I feel I should mention that during the above period, his 2 head nurses popped their heads in to say goodbye before they left. He pointed out that they had finished a strip surgery sooner than expected so they had an early day. Again, a small detail, but struck me as a happy clinic with good atmosphere.

The doc then began to sit me down beside a mirror, and started to take some pics at different angles. He also stated that I had a Ludwig pattern, most uncommon in men, but estimated it as a Ludwig 1C as opposed to Bisangas thought Ludwig 2 (I appreciate there is probably very little difference between the 2 anyway).

He then sat me beside one of his pc monitors while using a microscope to examine my donor. Again, I was able to see these images on-screen in front of me. He said I had a very good donor region, and his measurements were even higher than Bisangas. Not remembering exactly, but the 3 different sections ranged from 85 to 98, as opposed to Bisangas 80-85. He asked at this point had I been to see Dr. Bisanga, as he noticed the closely cut areas of donor, seemingly unique to Dr. B. I told him I had been there 2 days ago and he seemed impressed at the level I was researching things at. Heightened again when I said I also met with De Reys, and I'm due to meet Mwamba shortly.

The most interesting detail of this experience was the difference in treatment plan. Dr. F thought that 2,500-3,000 would achieve what I was looking for, compared to Bisangas 2,000. He outlined regions 1,2 and 3 for work.

He showed me many patients with similar characteristics to me, and a few I recognised from the forums.

The consultation ran on for 70 mins, and even at that it was me who was nearly making the moves to leave as I was aware of how pressed for time I was. I got the impression I could have stayed for longer had I wanted!!! It ended by Dr. F promptly requesting a taxi for me, as he knew I was running late to get back to Brussels! I left at around 4.15 and must say I was again very impressed by the whole set up.

Spex was quick to get the treatment plan sent to me, and again, this is where I feel BHR and Feridunis clinics excel in comparison to a few others.

I had a decision to make!!

 

[JohnnyDrama]

De Reys

Consultation lasted approx 50 mins, and Dr. De Reys estimated 1,500 FUE grafts would suffice.

This one was a little different, in more ways than one! I was running a little late due to getting a little mixed up jumping from train station to train station, but rang the doc when we got to Heist-op-den-Berg station and he kindly said he'd drive over shortly. 15 mins later we got introduced and were in his car on the way to the consultation.

The clinic is an extension to the docs house (a farmhouse - he has many chickens etc running about). He mentioned that they were currently renovating the clinic so we had to do the consultation in his living room. So he got me a cup of coffee and had his laptop setup on the living room table. My girlfriend watched tv behind us, while being entertained by the docs grandson.

We briefly discussed my medication regimen and family history.

Again, what may be the most interesting aspect of this is the doc estimating that 1,500 would be recommended. Similar to the other docs, he said I had a strong hairline, and that the area behind it (forelock/midscalp) was causing the illusion of a failing hairline because there was absolutely no density behind it, therefore being so see-through. He said I have a 'perfect' donor, with what appeared to be good groupings.

He inspected my scalp with those microscope-type glasses that they would typically wear while in surgery (don't know the technical term). No photos were taken during the consultation, and no technical data / stats were gathered. His wife (who is his sole technician) also had a look, and commented that they had seen very few cases of my hair loss. They seemed confident that I could achieve the full look that I wanted with not many grafts. Again, hearing this in person from a doc was reassuring when thinking that I should have plenty in reserve in years to come if needed.

Dr. De Reys then began showing me some cases of other guys he had on his laptop. One was of a lad who only lives an hour or so away from me in Ireland, who was with him quite recently. He really does appear to have a lot of cases on record, so it's a pity that so few are available online.

Looking back, this consultation was very different from the others. Baring in mind that this was at around 4.30pm on a Saturday evening (along with the renovations), and the doc had a crazy busy house going on around us (a few other relatives passing in and out). They are very friendly people it has to be said.

He then brought up the topic of dates re surgery, and we were now looking at his google calendar on his laptop. He seemed quite booked up for the next 2 - 2.5 months. The clinic is generally only open 3-4 days a week, so he usually has a 2-day op and a 1-day op in the one week. There hasn't been any contact from the clinic since the OP. I had been dealing with 'Nick', Dr. De Reys assistant prior to the consultation.

This being my #2 consultation of the weekend, and having been so impressed by BHR, I did feel as if I wouldn't be pursuing this route. Although I must say I can see why many still opt for Dr. De Reys and why they would have confidence in him.

 

[JohnnyDrama]

Mwamba

I was in the clinic for approx 70 mins, and Dr. Mwambas estimation was 1,800-2,250 grafts.

Arrived at Dr. Mwambas WHTC clinic a little late, around 6.15pm on the Monday, largely due to the rescheduling of Dr. Feridunis consultation. I reckon I made it there in world record time, considering I left Dr. Fs clinic in Hasselt at around 4.15pm, there was a taxi ride, a train of 1hr 15mins, and another taxi ride in between! It gets funnier in that my plane home departed Brussels airport at 9.10pm that night!

I'll admit to being pretty tired at this point. We were in the waiting room for maybe 10 mins, when a nurse brought out several pages of paperwork to fill out. This was the pre-consultation questionnaire. About 10 mins later again a nurse brought me into a room to take pics. A LOT of pics were taken, from many different angles. What was different here again, was that she took out a spray-bottle of water. I looked at her in fear, as wet hair is my nightmare, but yes, we were to take 'wet' shots. She sprayed my head good, took pics of all the same angles as she did when dry, and she then used a towel to dry me off. Feeling a little abused at this point I sat back down outside.

About 5 mins later Dr. Mwamba came out and introduced himself, and we went into his office. We began by going into detail about when I first noticed thinning and when I began medication. As with the other docs, I mentioned my course of 'Accutane' in 2012, and he nodded his head, saying it was 'very bad' in the sense of its side effects.

The physical exam began with him getting me to sit beside a pc, and he began inspecting my head with a microscope. Again, I could see the live-imaging on the monitor. In terms of measurements and graft estimation/treatment plan, the consultation was similar enough to Bisangas. I was impressed with the level of detail Dr. Mwamba showed, and he was taking a lot of notes throughout.

I'll admit that before arriving here, I was so impressed by BHR and Feriduni, that I was convinced I'd be selecting one of the two (added to the fact I had seen so much of their work online), but I was glad I got another docs input as Mwamba is a little different again in his approaches. I was impressed with his level of professionalism, and again, he's a very very nice bloke. I have yet to receive any correspondence from the clinic post-consultation.

Seeing as it was now 7.30pm, and our gate closed in the airport at 8.40pm, I was keen to get a move on. The doc promptly organised a taxi and wished us well.

 

[JohnnyDrama]

Travel

-Drive to Dublin at 3.00am on Sat Mar 16 (2 hr drive)

-Fly Dublin - Brussels at 6.35am (1hr 40 flight) - Aer Lingus (flights were roughly ‚¬135 return)

-Arrive at 9.35am

-If you have time on your side, DO NOT get a taxi from the airport to the city. It set us back ‚¬52!! Get a train to Central Station or Midi/Zuid for much less.

-Consultation with Dr. Bisanga at 12.30pm at BHR Clinic (we had a bite in a little cafe around the corner called Sweet and Savoury, recommended by Stephen the BHR rep. This is where I met the English lad who had 1,300 FUE with Bisanga the day before, so I quizzed him for a bit ).

-Taxi to Central Station ‚¬7.50

-Train at 2.00pm from Brussels (Zuid/Midi) to Heist-Op-Den-Berg (1hr 20 train - ‚¬9 return). This was a pain, in that it was never really clear where or how we needed to changed trains. As it turned out, we stayed on the first train until we reached Antwerp, then got a connecting train to H-O-D-B.

-Consultation with Dr. De Reys at 16.30 at his home address

-Train back to Brussels at 18.30 and finally check into 5* Stanhope Hotel (ridiculously
reasonable price of around ‚¬150 for 2 nights, and could not recommend highly enough)

-Sunday = Chill

-Monday - Check out at 11am

-Train at 13.00 from Brussels (Central) to Hasselt (1hr 15 train - ‚¬25 return)

-Taxi to clinic ‚¬8

-Consultation with Dr. Feriduni at 15.00 at his clinic

-Train back to Brussels at 16.30

-Consultation with Dr. Mwamba at his clinic at 18.15

-Taxi at 19.30 to airport (15 mins - ‚¬37)

-Depart Brussels Airport at 21.10

-Arrive in Dublin at 21.40

-Arrive home at 00.30

-Up for work at 8.00 on Tuesday

 

[JohnnyDrama]

Conclusion

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, my pre-consultation research had Bisanga and Feriduni as my likely choices. Even though I was glad I saw the other two docs, I was still most impressed with BHR and Dr F. So the journey home as well as the past week or so had me weighing up what direction I should go in.

My final decision: Bisanga.


Reasons:

- Again as I previously mentioned, from my pre-consultation research I had Bisanga slightly edging things from an FUE point of view. I had Feriduni slightly edging it from an FUT point of view. Upon finding out the news that I was a good candidate for FUE, I was essentially given the choice of either procedure from both docs.

- The slightly more conservative treatment plan from BHR (2,000 grafts) appealed to me for several reasons over the 3,000 from Dr F. I just got a degree of confidence from Dr B that he could achieve a denser look with smaller grafts. I recall at one point mentioning the term 'dense-packing', and he said that we wouldn't even need to dense pack due to my high numbers of 2s 3s and 4s.

- Seeing as I was told I have roughly 5,000 'safe' FUE grafts to take from my donor (without obvious signs of thinning post-op), going with BHR for my 1st procedure would result in me essentially having 3,000 left in the bank for future needs which could realistically be split in 2 procedures of 1,500, whereas I would have 2,000 left with Dr F which realistically would be one procedure.

- When I was beginning to come to this conclusion, again I turned to posted online results. I began mass-googling sessions of 'Bisanga FUE' and 'Feriduni FUE'. Having read so many positive outcomes from each, I was still impressed with the BHR findings.

- I then began contacting one or two other Irish guys who had been to BHR. They were incredibly forthcoming with positive references, and offered to meet in person if I wished. I haven't had the opportunity to do so, but it in itself was a sign of how happy they were with the work.

- Scheduling - I know it's relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of selecting a clinic, but it was always looking like an Aug/Sept procedure for me. Both clinics are ridiculously popular (and for obvious reasons), in that they have a 5-7 month waiting list at the best of times. Initially September looked good from a work perspective, until big appointments were made for the second half, so August became the preferred choice. I also liked the idea of having 4 full months of recovery before the xmas season hit. From the specific dates given to me, 2 days in August with BHR were jumping out at me. I must comment though that Dr Fs clinic were very fair in provisionally putting my name down for 2 days in Sept and held them for quite a few days. This was organised with Spex who is a great addition to the clinic.

- Post OP patient care: From my research, I have come to the conclusion that these 2 clinics have exceptional post-care services in operation, so I couldn't rank one over the other. From my communications with Stephen and Spex, I regard them as in a league of their own in terms of how quickly they respond to you, as well as the level of detail involved.

- Cost: I have put this towards the end because even though it is a relevant aspect to consider for obvious reasons, from the bigger picture of choosing a clinic for you I believe it is one of the last aspects to look into. From the difference in graft estimation, BHR would have obviously worked out considerably cheaper.



As a result of all my initial research and travels, I have just placed a deposit with BHR and my two day procedure is on Aug 22-23.

 

[JohnnyDrama]

Feel free to ask any questions guys!

 

[Bigmac]

Thanks for keeping us informed, you've done a lot of research which i trust the forum helped you with.

I'll look forward to reading about your Ht in August.

All the best,

Bm.

 

[hairtech]

This is by far a great thread for ghost readers... Extremely detailed in the consultation process. The outcome is a good decision. I however would say that the decision between Bisanga and Mwamba would be most difficult mainly because they both went to medical school together and learned hair transplants together with the same physician.

Johhniedrama may i repost this in other forums for others to read? The process of going to different consults is so very important.

 

[Coopman]

Johnnydrama

Great write up and some positive feedback for all 4 Clinics you visited. To do all that in a few days, that is one hell of a mission! Hope all goes well for your HT.

 

[topccat29]

I agree, Johnny you really need to be thanked for taking the time to post all of this information. Not because you chose a specific clinic because patient and prospective patient posted information is the most important of all in my opinion, thank you.

HT you seemed to have worked with plenty of clinics giving you a tremendous amount of experience and insight. All things being equal as far a salary, location and such would you choose to work for one doctor over another and why? Of course I do not expect you to answer that question but the point I guess is that high skill is of course very important to the patient but so are many other traits most might not think about.

 

[hairtech]

Well in my opinion the longer the FUE clinic has been around and has been consistent with posting results and takes care of their patient's if there is any issues then that is a good clinic. I have worked with some really good FUE providers. This is why I said earlier it would be hard for me to choose one over the other in my experiences with Shapiro, Mwamba, or Bisanga. These three are at the top of my personal list.

Good question Topcat.

 

[skiny]

JohnnyDrama,

Good write up, I ´m sure the clinics you went to are watching and wondering. Hope your choice works well for you

 

[JohnnyDrama]

Thanks guys. I thought doing a thread in this manor and with this detail would be a little different from the norm alright. I guess the nerd in me has come out with this one!

hairtech wrote:

This is by far a great thread for ghost readers... Extremely detailed in the consultation process. The outcome is a good decision. I however would say that the decision between Bisanga and Mwamba would be most difficult mainly because they both went to medical school together and learned hair transplants together with the same physician.

Johhniedrama may i repost this in other forums for others to read? The process of going to different consults is so very important.

Ya, no problem HT, as long as you PM me as to where you are posting them

Regarding Mwamba and Bisanga, yes I was aware of their history. Their clinics are a stones throw away from each other aw well.

In terms of my decision, I guess two factors shine through to me for BHR. One was the vast amount of posted results, both from the clinic and as well from happy patients. The second would be the fact that I'm very impressed with the contact from them. As a former patient of theirs wrote, you almost feel as if you are their 'only' patient.

I was very impressed with Dr Mwamba too however. The cases that I saw were top drawer, and my consultation with him was VERY thorough. On top of that he's an incredibly nice guy. The kind of guy that before he even opens his mouth, you know he's one of the good ones.