N
Nomdeplum73
Guest
I had responded in another thread about my experience with Prohair Clinic and Dr. Mantse and it was suggested that it might be helpful for me to post my own thread about it. In short, I feel like I got exactly what I expected in terms of both my experience and overall results and was pleasantly surprised by the level of aftercare and attention I have had along the way.
As I write this, I am about 8 months post transplant with Dr. Mantse at Prohair Clinic. I spoke to Sikos clinic in Budapest too, but ultimately chose Prohair because of the two, Dr. Mantse was much more engaged and responsive in addressing my questions and concerns.
I had 3,000 grafts done via FUE. Overall, my experience with Dr. Mantse was positive. I picked Prohair because I was going to be on vacation in Hungary anyway and Dr. Mantse would be performing the entire process himself. I won’t quote price here, but it was in line with what people pay in places like Turkey where technicians do most the work.
The process took two days from 8am to 7pm with a 1/2 hour lunch break prepared by his wife each day, who also serves as his assistant counting and sorting the follicular units. I can't speak to others' experiences with hotels, transfers, and such as this was not part of my arrangement since I was staying with family and getting dropped off at the clinic and picked up by family too. Upon arrival, I was happy to find that the clinic is in one of the most upscale neighborhoods in Budapest and is kept meticulously clean.
During the procedure, I watched more Judge Judy, 2 1/2 Men and Friends than at any point in my life, but honestly, it was nice to zone out given the amount of work taking place on my scalp.
I chose the no shave method, but as is apparent in the pics, the back of the head was still shaved for harvesting. If I had to do it over again, I think I would still have gone into the clinic with longer hair so that he could see the direction my hair naturally grows, but probably would have opted to have him shave it all down as it was hot in Budapest during the summer and all the bleeding and pus matting together the longer hair made for a messier recovery period than if it had all been shaven down to begin with.
Dr. Matse made a point of telling me that I’m part of the team for the next year and to check in regularly with pics and questions, which I have done. He and I have been in weekly communication via WhatsApp over the past 8 months and he has reached out to my via both voice and text with regular follow ups - definitely far more post surgery interaction than I would have expected and it shows he really cares about his work and the outcome.
While in Budapest, he also went above and beyond on getting my finasteride after my appointment (I didn’t bring enough for the trip since I’m heading to Portugal after this and was nearly out of pills) and was very courteous in all of our interactions.
He did recommend going in the salt water on day 5 of recovery in Portugal as he said that soaking my scalp (gently and without touching) would aid with the scabs dissolving.
Although I can definitely say Dr. Mantse is very strict about his follow-up regimen - for example, not washing the scabs off on Day 10, insisting instead on letting them fall naturally unlike most other clinics - and making a point of soaking my head in salt water (ideally in the ocean, since I would be traveling to Portugal post surgery and live on the coast in California), he explains the logic of these suggestions. Obviously, there are others too that mirror those from other clinics, but some of his are unique.
In terms of results, I can't compare with others because no two people heal the same, respond the same, etc. but in my case, I was on Finasteride for a full year before the procedure and have remained on it since (1 mg daily). Having said that, I no longer use Minoxidil or micro needling (these had been part of my regimen before). I have been very satisfied with my progress and still have a ways to go. Even if it stopped here at the 8 month mark, I'd already be happy, but as I was a late-bloomer - my grafts took longer to fall than most and some never did, and as my scabs took longer to heal than most - I expect that I will continue to see gains in months 8-12 if not beyond. This past month in particular has seen a lot of new growth and density.
In any event, given that I paid about the same as what a Turkish hair mill charges, but had an experienced surgeon handle my transplant all the way through and continue to correspond and check in with me 8 months after the procedure, I definitely feel like I got more than my money's worth with Dr. Mantse. The results look natural and IMO will only continue to look better over time. At the time of surgery, I showed him photos of what my prior hairline looked like when I was younger as an indicator of what I was after, and my current hairline post-transplant basically mirrors that. One thing I will also say is I have tons of donor left and no scarring or thinned out patches in my donor area. If I desired to get a second transplant at some point, I am confident that I have ample reserves left.
Note: the first pic is at the 7 month mark (still some ingrown hairs in the hairline, mostly all resolved by month 8) and the second today at month 8.
As I write this, I am about 8 months post transplant with Dr. Mantse at Prohair Clinic. I spoke to Sikos clinic in Budapest too, but ultimately chose Prohair because of the two, Dr. Mantse was much more engaged and responsive in addressing my questions and concerns.
I had 3,000 grafts done via FUE. Overall, my experience with Dr. Mantse was positive. I picked Prohair because I was going to be on vacation in Hungary anyway and Dr. Mantse would be performing the entire process himself. I won’t quote price here, but it was in line with what people pay in places like Turkey where technicians do most the work.
The process took two days from 8am to 7pm with a 1/2 hour lunch break prepared by his wife each day, who also serves as his assistant counting and sorting the follicular units. I can't speak to others' experiences with hotels, transfers, and such as this was not part of my arrangement since I was staying with family and getting dropped off at the clinic and picked up by family too. Upon arrival, I was happy to find that the clinic is in one of the most upscale neighborhoods in Budapest and is kept meticulously clean.
During the procedure, I watched more Judge Judy, 2 1/2 Men and Friends than at any point in my life, but honestly, it was nice to zone out given the amount of work taking place on my scalp.
I chose the no shave method, but as is apparent in the pics, the back of the head was still shaved for harvesting. If I had to do it over again, I think I would still have gone into the clinic with longer hair so that he could see the direction my hair naturally grows, but probably would have opted to have him shave it all down as it was hot in Budapest during the summer and all the bleeding and pus matting together the longer hair made for a messier recovery period than if it had all been shaven down to begin with.
Dr. Matse made a point of telling me that I’m part of the team for the next year and to check in regularly with pics and questions, which I have done. He and I have been in weekly communication via WhatsApp over the past 8 months and he has reached out to my via both voice and text with regular follow ups - definitely far more post surgery interaction than I would have expected and it shows he really cares about his work and the outcome.
While in Budapest, he also went above and beyond on getting my finasteride after my appointment (I didn’t bring enough for the trip since I’m heading to Portugal after this and was nearly out of pills) and was very courteous in all of our interactions.
He did recommend going in the salt water on day 5 of recovery in Portugal as he said that soaking my scalp (gently and without touching) would aid with the scabs dissolving.
Although I can definitely say Dr. Mantse is very strict about his follow-up regimen - for example, not washing the scabs off on Day 10, insisting instead on letting them fall naturally unlike most other clinics - and making a point of soaking my head in salt water (ideally in the ocean, since I would be traveling to Portugal post surgery and live on the coast in California), he explains the logic of these suggestions. Obviously, there are others too that mirror those from other clinics, but some of his are unique.
In terms of results, I can't compare with others because no two people heal the same, respond the same, etc. but in my case, I was on Finasteride for a full year before the procedure and have remained on it since (1 mg daily). Having said that, I no longer use Minoxidil or micro needling (these had been part of my regimen before). I have been very satisfied with my progress and still have a ways to go. Even if it stopped here at the 8 month mark, I'd already be happy, but as I was a late-bloomer - my grafts took longer to fall than most and some never did, and as my scabs took longer to heal than most - I expect that I will continue to see gains in months 8-12 if not beyond. This past month in particular has seen a lot of new growth and density.
In any event, given that I paid about the same as what a Turkish hair mill charges, but had an experienced surgeon handle my transplant all the way through and continue to correspond and check in with me 8 months after the procedure, I definitely feel like I got more than my money's worth with Dr. Mantse. The results look natural and IMO will only continue to look better over time. At the time of surgery, I showed him photos of what my prior hairline looked like when I was younger as an indicator of what I was after, and my current hairline post-transplant basically mirrors that. One thing I will also say is I have tons of donor left and no scarring or thinned out patches in my donor area. If I desired to get a second transplant at some point, I am confident that I have ample reserves left.
Note: the first pic is at the 7 month mark (still some ingrown hairs in the hairline, mostly all resolved by month 8) and the second today at month 8.
