Dr Michalis Georgiou MANUAL FUE 1214 grafts

[loui]

So I decided on Dr Michalis Georgiou in Nicosia, Cyprus to add some density to my hairline. This was my 2nd hair transplant.

Why Dr Michalis?

I wanted a Dr who is involved in everything and with great experience. Hes doing all the manual extractions(so hes limited in how many grafts he can do per day, its very time consuming with manual fue, but extremely good if you want to take care of your donor area and do minimal damage), hes also doing all the incisions, while his nurses implant the grafts while Dr Michalis is in the room once in a while to supervise the process.

They are using high magnification loupes both Dr Michalis and all his nurses. They are using microscopes to sort the grafts aswell. They are highly professional in everything they do.

They are a very underrated in my opinion, Dr Michalis is trained by one of the greats and has been performing hair transplants since the early 2000’s

His pricing in Cyprus is 1,95 euro per graft and he also do surgery in Barcelona for 3 euro per graft.

Before

The transplant

Feel free to comment and ask me anything!

 

[loui]

A rundown of the process.

I emailed him as I did with other Doctors, Dr Michalis himself is answering all his emails, and hes pretty quick. Its good you get to talk to him and plan what to do in the email process.

They only do 1 patient per day and just like many other places, you get a personal driver.

They pick me up at the airport in a new Mercedes Benz E-Series with a nice friendly driver. He drove me to the hotel, which was about 30 minutes away and close to the clinic.

At 07.25 the day after he picked me up again and we went to the clinic. I got to do some blood tests to check if I had any diseases, they check your blood pressure, your hemoglobin etc.

After all this, maybe 08.00 we started the idea of what we were going to do. I just wanted to add density to the hairline, no lowering of the hairline. So Dr Michalis drew a line just keeping the line where it was.

It is 3 nurses and Dr Michalis himself working. One of the nurses is a more advanced nurse, she is the "lead nurse" and Dr Michalis told me afterwards she could basically carry out the operation herself if she wanted to, shes been working for many years and got alot of experience. The other nurses have been working for a few years aswell. They are all used to using loupes, which Dr Michalis stressed was very very important that everyone uses them when working.

After this step, they started the first part of the local anesthesia, Dr Michalis extract in sections and he only do local anesthesia where they are about to extract. Hes only using a MANUAL PUNCH of 0.7-0.9mm. First you lay down with your head in a uncomfortable position for the middle part. When they are done with the middle extractions, you lay on one of your side(which is much more comfortable, it is really good they take their time and do it like this) and they do the same again, apply local anesthesia at that area where they are going to extract and then do the extractions which is all done by Dr Michalis. Then the same for the other side.

Fair to say is you get a small 3 minute break everytime you are done with every section, so it doesnt feel rushed at all, they want you to feel comfortable. You sit up and relax some before starting again, or maybe go to the toilet if you drank alot of water like me lol.

Simultaneously as the extractions is going on, the nurses is sorting the grafts under microscopes to make sure you separate every single graft so its becoming easy for the implantation step.

When the extractions is done, you get a small break again, couple of minutes before their lead nurse Ioanna will be doing the anesthesia again and then Dr Michalis will create all the incisions. In my case 1214 incisions.

After the incisions you have a 20-30 minute lunch break.

Last, the implantation step. It is mostly done by their lead nurse, Ioanna, together with their next most experienced nurse, Christiana. One of the nurses is just doing smaller work and sorting the grafts under microscopes, she did not do the implantation. She sat beside and watched the process. During the implantation, Dr Michalis entered many times, it feels like a family home the clinic, they only do small graft numbers per day and Dr Michalis is just a step away at every time during implantation.

We were finally done at about 16.30, 1214 grafts had been done in somewhere around 8 hours.

Most noteable thing is how the anesthesia was pretty much pain-free, it felt like a mosquito bite. They used a VERY small needle and did many injections, say 35 injections in a small area, but small injections with a extremely small needle. My experience before with local anesthesia was about 6-8 injections in the whole donor area and then some more if it wears off, but with a bigger needle and it felt like I was going to faint that time, so I was really shocked how good Dr Michalis clinic was carrying out an pretty much pain-free anesthesia.

The food and the people of Cyprus was very welcoming, I really recommend using Wolt, its like Uber Eats but for Cyprus, I bought some tasty souvlaki and some Starbucks etc to treat myself after the transplant when you feel abit fucked up and when the sun is still up you dont want to go out with your newly transplanted head in the sun, Cyprus is hot.

 

[Bigmac]

Hey Louii, great write up detailing your experience with Dr Michalis. You’ve provided a great insight on how they perform surgery which I’m sure others will find very useful.
Being collected from the airport is a nice bonus, takes some of the stress out of it. Dr Michalis has indeed been performing hair transplants a long time. I personally know a few people who used him and are very happy with their results. I’m sure your result will be just as good.
Everything sounds like the surgery went really well for you, especially the anaesthesia part which I know quite a few find very uncomfortable. They sound very patient orientated, making sure you’re comfortable and relaxed.
Having everything discussed/planned by the doctor prior to surgery is what I like to hear. You go there knowing roughly what to expect and then finalise everything in your pre-surgery consult.
The surgery itself looks pristine. Nice clean donor extraction pattern and from what I can see of the placement, it looks good. Not shaving the recipient will help conceal the surgery. It takes a lot of time and skill to do this but Dr Michalis and his team have a lot of experience. All using loupes and microscopes for sorting is another big plus. It really does make a difference. As you found out with your first surgery.
All in all your research seems to have paid off. Now just the waiting game for that growth to begin.
I`m looking forward to following your journey.
All the best.
Bm

 

[Kevboy]

The work looks brilliant. I think your extraction pattern is spread out perfectly. The number of grafts per cm2 will give you a very dense look and blend in very well with your existing hair.

 

[sl]

Sincerely all the best for this surgery outcome.

 

[loui]

Hey Louii, great write up detailing your experience with Dr Michalis. You’ve provided a great insight on how they perform surgery which I’m sure others will find very useful.
Being collected from the airport is a nice bonus, takes some of the stress out of it. Dr Michalis has indeed been performing hair transplants a long time. I personally know a few people who used him and are very happy with their results. I’m sure your result will be just as good.
Everything sounds like the surgery went really well for you, especially the anaesthesia part which I know quite a few find very uncomfortable. They sound very patient orientated, making sure you’re comfortable and relaxed.
Having everything discussed/planned by the doctor prior to surgery is what I like to hear. You go there knowing roughly what to expect and then finalise everything in your pre-surgery consult.
The surgery itself looks pristine. Nice clean donor extraction pattern and from what I can see of the placement, it looks good. Not shaving the recipient will help conceal the surgery. It takes a lot of time and skill to do this but Dr Michalis and his team have a lot of experience. All using loupes and microscopes for sorting is another big plus. It really does make a difference. As you found out with your first surgery.
All in all your research seems to have paid off. Now just the waiting game for that growth to begin.
I`m looking forward to following your journey.
All the best.
Bm

Thanks @Bigmac Hopefully it will be a success!

The work looks brilliant. I think your extraction pattern is spread out perfectly. The number of grafts per cm2 will give you a very dense look and blend in very well with your existing hair.

Indeed, it looks clean, hopefully it will grow as good as it looks

He really took his time with the donor management, he said hes going very slow with me because I had a previous transplant. I think just the extraction part took somewhere around half the total time, about 4 hours.

Sincerely all the best for this surgery outcome.

Thank you @sl for your support!

 

[loui]

Day 3

 

[Im new here]

Hi Louii

I have followed from your first transplant, and although the results are not what you wanted with regards to hairline density you did seem to get good growth.

The work now looks good and if all these grow or 90% at least you will have a very dense hairline.

I like the idea of the full doctor involvement. I think this really helps. Some clinic have really good tech that have been there for a long time but I always worry if they are off for whatever reason on the day of yours and you end up with someone less experienced it would completely change your result even in the most respected clinics going.

once the hair starts growing it will give the impression of a thicker hairline right away as will fill the roots out and look very full

 

[djkillab]

Looks good.out of interest, did u get your temple peaks done during your first transplant?

 

[loui]

Some nerdy stuff, my previously transplanted hairline was about 50 cm2 to cover.

After my first surgery it was estimated to be about 30-35 grafts per cm2 in density.

Dr Michalis aimed to make the first centimeter 70 grafts per cm2 with single grafts. Then about 50 behind. It is his idea and style to do a very dense first line and then less behind, because he said that the hairline from the front is the first thing you see, so he believe it to be very important.

My native density is around 65 grafts per centimeter with thin hair, only 45 microns in diameter.

If we assume we should have matched the native density of 65 grafts per cm2 with it being 35 cm2 pre-op, it would have been 50 cm2 x 30 grafts per cm2 = 1500 grafts. Instead we focus on a high density first centimeter and somewhere around 50 grafts per cm2 behind to save some grafts but hopefully make it look full. Dr Michalis always does this so its nothing new.

It is good to have a review here on the English speaking forum, he have a dozen of reviews on the Spanish forum.

 

[loui]

Looks good.out of interest, did u get your temple peaks done during your first transplant?

Yes I did.

 

[Bigmac]

Some nerdy stuff, my previously transplanted hairline was about 50 cm2 to cover.

After my first surgery it was estimated to be about 30-35 grafts per cm2 in density.

Dr Michalis aimed to make the first centimeter 70 grafts per cm2 with single grafts. Then about 50 behind. It is his idea and style to do a very dense first line and then less behind, because he said that the hairline from the front is the first thing you see, so he believe it to be very important.

My native density is around 65 grafts per centimeter with thin hair, only 45 microns in diameter.

If we assume we should have matched the native density of 65 grafts per cm2 with it being 35 cm2 pre-op, it would have been 50 cm2 x 30 grafts per cm2 = 1500 grafts. Instead we focus on a high density first centimeter and somewhere around 50 grafts per cm2 behind to save some grafts but hopefully make it look full. Dr Michalis always does this so its nothing new.

It is good to have a review here on the English speaking forum, he have a dozen of reviews on the Spanish forum.

I’m thinking the density will look near perfect once grown in. Each patient is different due to their loss and hair characteristics. I believe Dr Michalis has got the strategy right for you. Having a review in English is great, hopefully there will be more to follow.

 

[Bigmac]

Day 3View attachment 33482View attachment 33483View attachment 33484

Everything looks good. Is this the day after surgery? It says 3 days post op but looks sooner.

 

[Kevboy]

Indeed, it looks clean, hopefully it will grow as good as it looks

He really took his time with the donor management, he said hes going very slow with me because I had a previous transplant. I think just the extraction part took somewhere around half the total time, about 4 hours.

I think you found a hidden gem with this one. The extractions have been spread out with a meticulous attention to detail

 

[loui]

Everything looks good. Is this the day after surgery? It says 3 days post op but looks sooner.

Yes its day 3, the healing is going pretty fast with the manual punch.

 

[loui]

I’m thinking the density will look near perfect once grown in. Each patient is different due to their loss and hair characteristics. I believe Dr Michalis has got the strategy right for you. Having a review in English is great, hopefully there will be more to follow.

I hope so, need some patience. I will keep posting updates so you can follow my progress

 

[loui]

I think you found a hidden gem with this one. The extractions have been spread out with a meticulous attention to detail

Well yes he might be abit of a "hidden gem" but if you research him alot like I did, his practises how he work, and he was trained in 2003 under Dr Cole, one of the greats. He was the former Medical Director of HDC in Cyprus, which is a clinic more people on the forums know I am sure. He have gone a little bit under the radar on the English forums since he left HDC and opened his own clinic. Still he is putting up reviews regulary on the Spanish forum since they work alot out of Barcelona.

There is not alot of Drs out there who is doing incisions+extraction with manual punch using microscopes and loupes on their whole team. When he does surgery in Barcelona, they fly like a football team, Dr Michalis and his techs all travel together, so he does not just hire techs when he work there, which is why the price is abit more, but still competitive.

 

[loui]

Day 5

 

[Bigmac]

The healing is going well for 5 days post-op. Still some small scabs in the recipient area that will come off in the next day or so when you start massaging them. Donor looks in good condition and healing fast. The extraction holes all look closed.
Are you feeling any itching?

 

[loui]

The healing is going well for 5 days post-op. Still some small scabs in the recipient area that will come off in the next day or so when you start massaging them. Donor looks in good condition and healing fast. The extraction holes all look closed.
Are you feeling any itching?

Yes its a little bit itchy, the donor area. Its fine, I am used to it since my last transplant.

Will post some photos in a bit, Day 5.