My FUE HT with Cosmedica, Turkey

[Jimmie]

Without this forum and the support from Papuzon7 I would never have taken the step of having my HT at Cosmedica, so a big thanks.

Please note that even though Cosmedica is run by Dr Acar I had no communication with him, nor did I see him at the hospital. As far as I am concerned he wasn't involved in my hair transplant at all.

Most pictures I have seen are people with dark hair, my hair is light so this journey might be interesting for others with light hair.

I had about 4200 grafts at a cost of 1850 Euros. I heard that the cost is very low because Cosmedica is subsidised by the government to attract international health tourism and ultimately bring in additional money into the country. I don't have definitive proof on that though.

Before:

Startight after FUE:

I will take a photo of the back, but I need to still have a photo taken of it. The very front tip looks a bit wierd on the photo, but its just dried blood.

My next post will be my experience with Cosmedica.

 

[Jimmie]

A couple of months back I started with an email to Cosmedica and found the response slow and not all my questions being answered. They eventually got answered and due to the results of others on this forum and personally speaking to someone that had their HT done at Cosmedica I booked my HT procedure. If I had just based my decision on the communication I had from them I would never have had it done. I was unable to open a dialogue with Dr Acar.

Throughout the experience, communication is a big issue as no one can really speak English. They understand the important words like, "pain". So, asking questions during the procedure doesn't really get answered. They try to understand and answer but hand gestures can only go so far.

But, they are all very friendly, efficient, professional, and courteous. Importantly, they were all good at their job.

Cosmedica is based at Medical Park in Istanbul and their reception is on the 12th floor with the procedure being done on the 1st floor.

As mentioned I had 4200 grafts and it took about 7 hours to complete.

I asked for two toilet breaks and they had no problem with that. One was mainly to just stretch my legs. On the second break, they insisted that I had a sandwich and a juice (which they provided) to keep up my blood sugar levels, even though I wasn't really hungry.

Who did the actual procedure? 90% was done by a team of nurses, each one had their own set of tasks to complete during the 7-hour procedure. A Dr did appear near the beginning and worked on the top of my head where the grafts were going to be inserted. She didn't understand English, I don't know what she did or what her name was - she didn't even understand the question of "what is your name?" A nurse told me she is the doctor.

I also want to point out that when they insert the grafts they don't rush it, they take their time. The last 30 minutes of the procedure I could feel that they were perfecting the hairline and making sure the symmetry was correct and that there weren't any gaps left behind on the graft area.

I was seen the next day at 9 am as I had a flight at 1 pm. They removed the bandages at the back of my head and provided me with advice on care and if I wanted to purchase their vitamins, etc? No pressure at all to buy, but it is cheaper and worth buying. They took some photos and provided me with a 10-year guarantee paper. If the grafts don't take between year 1 and 10, they will do the whole procedure again for free.

I am happy with the results so far and as it stands I would have it done again at the same place.

I took a year's supply of vitamins, Propecia (told to take a quarter tablet per day) and shampoo for 380 Euros. I'll give them a go, I may not use them for a whole year.

Included in the cost is the hotel, all the transport from the airport to the hotel and each time to the hospital and finally back to the airport. I paid an extra 20 Turkish Lira per night for my wife as she came with me, which also included breakfast. If someone comes with you make sure you tell Cosmedica because they will book a double room for you.

I hope this post helps.

 

[Jimmie]

Donor area.

I have spent this morning reading about Propecia and decided I won't be taking it. I will however be taking the vitamins.

 

[Papuzon7]

Hi Jimmie
Looking great!I think you are going to love your new hair! I am totally loving it and they did an amazing job with mine, and i'm at my 5,5 month mark and everyday is getting even better! Glad to hear you had a good trip
Take care of your new hair get ready for a new you

 

[Jimmie]

It has been 9 days since my transplant. Looking at today's photos I am surprised how quick my non-transplanted hair has grown.

The back of my head has been quite sore all week and even now it is sensitive. But tonight I can feel it is definitely on the mend.

I did not take any holiday after the HT so it was interesting to see how people reacted at work. Everyone in my department knew I was having it done but I work in an open office of about 100 people and therefore most on the floor would not have known of my HT.

I would say the majority of people in other departments hasn't even noticed. They are absorbed in their own work and problems or looking at their mobile phones as they pass me by in the communal areas. The people in my department were inquisitive about the procedure and were supportive. All in all, from a psychological perspective it was easy sailing going straight back to work.

I have spent most of my time this week looking at every guy's fringe (well the ones that have hair). I wasn't sure at first about my fringe because most people have a more oval shape. But looking back at some old photos of myself I seem to have the same fringe that Cosmedica has given me. I never really gave it much thought until after the HT surprisingly. I will only truly know if it looks right when it finally grows in a few months time.

 

[Jimmie]

These are the vitamins I have been given to take from Cosmedica. I take one xpecia tablet after breakfast and half a biotin tablet after breakfast. So that means I take 7mg of Biotin each day.

 

[Papuzon7]

Yes, these are the same I bought. I feel they really helped with my regrowth, so keep on taking them and you will see great results

 

[Dazzster26]

Hi Jimmie

Wishing you all the very best and will be watching out for your updates , yeh it takes a bit of time for things to settle down mate , the last HT I had it took well over 2 weeks for things to settle for me very sore indeed
Take care I care

Dazz

 

[Papuzon7]

So how's things going Jimmie ?

 

[yidd0]

Nice write up...I thought the medication was included in the price?

Did you have any trouble at the airport with wearing a hat?

 

[steven1888]

Hi all,

Also had my transplant at Cosmedica. Had a great experience, would highly recommend them. Here is my week post-op pic.

 

[yidd0]

Looks good. You have gone for a very low hairline. How many grafts did you get.? How old are you

 

[steven1888]

I'm 33, that was the hairline the doctor drew so I just went with it, am quite happy with it! I had 3000 grafts.

 

[yidd0]

Looks good work..does the medication come included in the price?
Also did you have any trouble with wearing a hat at the airport.

 

[steven1888]

no you have to pay extra for the medication, you can buy either 6 months or 12 months supply. Worked out at approx. £130 for 6 months supply. You can also buy it back here but you are cheaper to just buy it from them.

They do give you a hat but I didn't wear it, to be honest I don't think you really want to disturb your head at all for the first week or so if possible to give the grafts as good a chance as possible to take root.

 

[yidd0]

Are the pain killers shampoo etc included. I get that finasteride you have to pay for.

So you didn't wear a hat? Not on the plane or anything?

This clinic does interest me. A lot of reviews seem to say the lack of english at the clinic is a problem.

I believe there are 3 doctors there now.

 

[steven1888]

the first 5 days medication that you need (painkillers, blood thinners, anti-inflammatorys etc) are included and are given to you when you go back to the hospital the day after the transplant for the check up. The shampoo you have to pay for.

No didn't wear a hat at all, you get a few strange looks but you soon get used to it!

I would definitely recommend the clinic, not everybody who works there speaks English fluently but the doctor I met did and one of the girl assistants spoke English almost as good as I do so she did a lot of translating when it needed to be done!

Everyone at the clinic knows exactly what they are doing, I couldn't believe how simple and straight forward the whole process was. I was in the hospital for 7 hours and I was back in my hotel for 4pm having been picked up at 8.45am.

 

[yidd0]

Fair play to you mate, it takes some balls to not where a hat.

That's the bit that worries me, is being asked to take it off at security, but I suppose it's only for a few minutes.

I've got to say there seems to be a lot of positive reviews about this clinic.

Hope you grow well mate.

 

[Dazzster26]

Hi Steven


Do you think you could start your own thread as this is Jimmie thread and its always good for us to see the new members evolution and updates on his own page thank you


Dazz

 

[Jimmie]

It has now been 4 weeks since my HT.

The back of my head is still quite sensitive, I thought by now it would be ok but it gets really itchy and sore to touch. It's not infected so I am not too worried about it. The front part of the transplanted area is still a bit numb.

You will notice by the pictures that my hair has now started to shed which I think started about 5 days ago.

I guess at this point we all go through a bit of doubt and worry. So mine are:

• I wonder if enough hairs have been transplanted - will it look thick enough?
• Is my hairline correct? I have no idea as I don't have any photos of myself when I was young so it sounds strange but I really don't know what my natural hairline used to be.

I think that there is no doubt that within a couple of years I will probably need a second transplant. This can thicken further hair loss and potentially fix my hairline if it doesn't look right when my hair grows.

Answering your questions:
Yes, I wore my hat in public places for the first week as I didn't want to increase my chances of infection. I wore it at the airport, the security guys recognised the hat and asked if I had a hair transplant. After saying yes he waved me through. I went into a shop and the owner asked how my hair transplant went. So, they must see HT guys passing through the airport on a daily basis.

If you roll up the sides of the hat up it actually looks quite fashionable

So as mentioned the antibiotics, etc are part of the price. Vitamins, shampoo is extra. My suggestion would be to buy 12 months supply of vitamins and 6 months supply of shampoo as the six bottles of shampoo will actually last you a year. There is no way you will get through a bottle of shampoo a month!

I wasted my money by buying 12 months supply of Propecia - I didn't know what it was until I read up on it. I still need to take it to the local pharmacy to get it destroyed. So you need to decide whether you want it or not - its a personal choice.

Low hairline - Was that a question for me? If so, then no it's not too low. I am just a bit concerned that it's a bit pointy

Lastly, for people that are wondering if this can be done on a two week holiday away from work, my personal opinion is yes it can be done. At day 10 I was told from the clinic to start lightly messaging my scalp to remove the scabs. I saw a dramatic change between day 11 to day 14. The guys at work also noticed the difference. If you are pretty self-conscious about the transplant you will look ok after two weeks.