« Dear Reader:
i have a problem of anxiety when it comes to choosing something, especially when its something to do with my looks and appearance. from the past 4 months i wanted to do my hair transplant and did research myself, spoke to more then 3 or more transplant hospitals in Turkey, but all were just big claims and glittery shops. so i ended up meeting my Cousin who had his transplant through Mrs Sahar, and Mr Kiyas.
it took their contact number from My cousin and i sent message to Mrs Sahar, instant reply from her and i exchanged my hairs front and back, both side Pictures. then mostly our conversation was through Text messages (whatsapp). she briefed me well about how its going to happen and then the moment came that i decided to do my Hair plant through Medicalaest as i was given enough information to satisfy my requirements. i applied for Turkish Visa Online on Embassy website which cost different price for different Nationalities ($20 for British), i confirmed the flights details with Sahar and all sorted.
Flight and Transfer 08th May 2017:
I boarded the plane 17:35pm from Birmingham, I arrived at 23:35pm Turkish time as flight was delayed 1 hr. I was picked up by the Manager himself Mr. Kiyas, i remember despite the flight delay for 1 hr he was waiting for me with smile on his face. Mr Kiyas dropped me at local Istanbul Hotel and confirmed it with me that morning 8:45am he shall pick me for the hair transplant the following day.
Operation Day 09th May 2017:
As confirmed Mr Kiyas picked me up from the hotel at 8:45 am and I arrived at the clinic for 9:00am. I had a meeting with the Mrs Sahar. but before her arrival the staff took my blood, this was to show if I had HIV/HCV and various for the operation. while Mrs Sahar examined my hair and talked me through the procedure. I also had to sign a disclaimer, pay upfront and read a list of side affects and various details. This was all explained to me before I had got there and was more of a refresher than anything.
then the moment of procedure, I was not aloud anything in the operation theater for hygiene reasons and had to wear a gown.
I was briefed on what to expect during the procedure when I should feel pain and when I should not. The steps to the procedure and how many hair grafts I was going to have transplanted.
I was shocked by exactly how clean the whole place was, the staff and waiting area. The whole place was cleaner than any UK hospital I have been in.
Though the language was a barrier with most of the staff, they still made the effort to try and understand. I would recommend learning a small amount of Turkish before you go, though its not necessary.
Nothing in the operating room was dirty and all looked very clean and smelt of antiseptic and cleaning products.
The Operation:
Removing the hair grafts from the donor area:
They shaved all of my hair with hair clippers so that it was very short.
I was taken to Salon room to sit on a chair and put head on rest.
Then a member of staff marked out where on the back of my head to take the grafts from.
then the front area was marked where the grafts would go.
once all marking and shaving done, i was taken to Operation room, where they asked me to lay on my belly and put my head on a bed with hole on it
I had what must of been 10 or so injections of local anaesthetic all over the back of my head. I wont lie they hurt like *&(%$£*&&..
They then used the needle to check if I could feel anything in all areas where they would be extracting the hair follicle’s from.
They used a motorised follicle extraction tool and tweezers to remove each individual graft. This had taken around 2 and half hours for 4000 hair grafts.
These were then placed in a solution and separated by how many hairs the grafts hold.
I then had a 30 minute break in between, where I had some food and a drink whilst they organised the hairs.
Reinserting the hair grafts to the thinning areas and hair line:
We agreed on how I wanted my new hair line and what they thought would be best for the future. This was then drawn on.
I had the back of my head temporarily bandaged up, and was asked to lay on my back, with my head touching the seat.
I then had around another 10 injections of local anaesthetic this time to the receiving areas, again they hurt like £$%^(**@.
They then used the needle to check if I could feel anything in all areas where they would be reinserting the hair follicles.
They then used a punch to put holes into my scalp and hairline.
With tweezers and such tools, they then inserted the hair follicles. This had taken around 3 hours.
Through out the whole procedure they had to keep cleaning away the blood and spraying my hair with sterilised water.
After cleaning my head and putting antiseptic on the donor area, they then bandaged the donor area up. I believe this was to protect the back of my head from dirt and anything that would cause infection. The bandage also was tight around my forehead this was to stop the swelling from reaching my eyes and face.
I then got dressed and was briefed again on how to look after my hair. I was then given the pills I needed to take and the instructions on when to take the pills with more hair care information. I was told I needed to come back the next day for a check up and to have my bandage taken off. I was then taken back to the hotel.
The following afternoon, I was picked up and taken back to the clinic. I had the the bandage removed, which I am sorry to say, was painful! i even fainted because of pain, but every individual is different, I was then given a head band to stop further swelling from going around my eyes and into my face. I was also told to keep adjusting it to stop it from sticking.
I was then given my free hair shampoo (Harrex HGS Premium), and the necessary medication. This was to reduce the swelling and also some pain killers if I needed them. They offered me more hair shampoo at a reduced price, so that I could continue the use of the advised shampoo for the following year.
In Conclusion:
Other than the injections of anaesthetic and pulling the bandages of the next day, I did not feel any pain through out the hair transplant. You can hear the sound of your skin being punctured and I also heard a scraping sound, which I believe to be the needles touching the skull, when they inject the anaesthetics. Its uncomfortable to start with but you soon get used to it. At moments I did not even realise there was anyone behind me, working on my hair until they spoke. You really do not feel anything once the anaesthetic kicks in.
The whole operation had taken around 6 hours, with an hour before and an hour after for discussions and payment. The whole first day had taken 8 hours and the second day around 2 hours.
Everything went to plan and from my initial results I was extremely happy and in no pain, just numbness.
I hope this insight to my hair transplant, can help others out there, to put your mind at ease, and answer most questions about the hair transplant procedure. »
