# Hair Transplants > Hair Transplant: Start Your Own Topic >  Dr Hakan Doganay - my experience documented

## HTvirgin83

Dr Hakan Doganay - My experience
I've been following the forums in this site for many years having suffered with hair loss for 7-8 years. It was the shared experiences of members that helped me take the first steps towards treating my hair loss by using combinations of medicines available which have worked wonders in allowing me to severely slow down the onset of baldness.
Notwithstanding this, I've curiously explored the idea of a hair transplant for a long time now and for a few years closely followed the work of Dr Hakan Doganay, who at the time was getting some rave reviews from patients and demonstrating some very impressive work. I have been in touch on and off with his representives for a couple of years and always found them to be helpful and informative.
Recently I decided to take the plunge and book myself in. I've a month spell over xmas off work and thought this would be an ideal time to get some work done. When I spoke to Dr Donagay he said he was completely booked up throughout December, however he kindly agreed to work a Sunday to fit me in as I am unlikely to have this chance again for some while. I was naturally grateful and so booked myself in.
Ive subsequently spent a fair bit of time searching the hair loss site forums and note Dr Hakan Doganay has received some bad rep since I first spent time researching him. It is clear there a few unhappy patients, with customer care and end results being questioned. This is somewhat concerning, and to this extent I contacted Dr Hakans representatives seeking answers. I have been assured that changes have been implemented to their customer experience including a relocation to Istanbul with improved premises and hotel facilities, and in respect of poor results, Dr Hakan now conducts the entire implantation work on his own to ensure patients receive the best results. They stand behind their motorised extraction technique and believe it yields best results for them.
I will be providing a full and detailed blog of my experience if only to help guide others in their decision making process, but also maybe to help Dr Hakan regain his reputation for being one of the best FUE transplant surgeons in the world. Time will tell whether that happens or not. 
Further update to follow shortly.

----------


## HTvirgin83

So my procedure is less than a week away. Obviously feeling a little bit nervous about it. I am trying to get information on the technician likely to be doing my extraction work. Hoping the clinic will be transparent about everyone involved. This I feel is imperative when considering surgery like this

----------


## HTvirgin83



----------


## HTvirgin83

I got back from Istanbul last night so here's a brief write up of my experience at Dr Doganay's AHD clinic. Feel free to ask any further questions.

Day 1
 Arrived at Isbanbul Ataturk airport around 8.30pm and was picked up by an AHD driver who whisked me to my hotel (arranged by AHD) the Park Inn Hotel (part of Radisson Blu group) which was less than 15 mins drive from the airport. Hotel was very modern and as you would expect for a high quality hotel. I was pleased that my recovery period following surgery would be spent in a comfortable room with all the amenities I could ask for at my disposal, including good quality food via room service.
 The AHD driver couldn't speak English but phoned Didem as soon as I had arrived so we could make introductions and I could ask any questions. That evening I literally ordered some food in and headed to bed knowing I was in for a long couple of days.

Day 2
 The following morning I attempted to get a decent breakfast down me as advised by the clinic but at this point the nerves were getting the better of me, so my efforts didn't come to much. That said, there was a good spread offered by the hotel which I made the most of in subsequent days when I was feeling more relaxed about being there.

 At around 9am I was picked up by a different AHD driver, a guy I think called Jonathan who spoke English. He drove me to the hospital where the AHD clinic is based on the 7th Floor. As my surgery was over the weekend the roads were quiet and so it took no longer than 10 minutes. On arrival I was met by Didem and introduced to Dr Doganay and we spent some time discussing my family history for male pattern baldness, the regimen I've been following, the strength of my donor area and my expectations for the surgery. We also discussed any concerns I had and gave me an opportunity to ask the Dr any other questions that hadn't been covered off in the email correspondence prior to my arrival.

 We then agreed a hairline based on what I wanted to achieve from the surgery. For me, this was to fill my crown area and improve my hairline which had receded during my 20's. I had no real desire to bring forward my hairline, as I didn't want to dramatically change the way I look, and this was taken on board when the hairline was agreed.

 I was then introduced to Ahmet who would be doing the hair extraction work (I requested in advance for my extraction work to be done by Ahmet after speaking to a former patient who had also used Ahmet). Ahmet shaved my head (leaving it slightly longer on top as requested) and then proceeded to extract 1285 hairs with assistance of 3 other technicians who were separating the hairs and putting them into solution ready for implantation.

 After a brief break, we were ready for implantation. Dr Doganay spent the first session working on the frontal hairline, and implanted around 800 hairs in this section before implanting the remaining c.500 into the crown. Once I was cleaned up I had a de-brief session with Didem who talked me through some of the medicine to take that evening to avoid swelling and infection. I was then driven back to the hotel where I chilled for evening watching films (there were a few English film channels on the TV) and pigged out on the pizza Didem had kindly arranged for me to take home, and more room service later in the evening.

 It is worth noting that on my first day, there was one other patient who was getting a similar amount of implants as me. We were the only 2 patients the clinic was attending to that day.

Day 3
 Pretty similar day in terms of surgery. Ahmet and the team extracted 1,300 hairs from my donor area before Dr Doganay implanted them almost immediately after they had been extracted. The surgery was completed in a slightly shorter time as most of the work was done on my crown which Dr Doganay was able to work quicker on. On day 2 I had around 800 grafts placed into the crown and 500 into the front hairline. Of my total 2585 grafts implanted across 2 days I had around 50% grafts placed into my crown and 50% into my front hairline.

 As Dr Doganay had agreed specially to come in on Sunday to accommodate my booking, I was the only patient they were operating on that day.

Day 4
 After breakfast I was taken to the clinic to go through the post-op care stages, shown how to wash the donor and recipient area and provided with creams, shampoos, medicines etc to see me through the next few weeks. I was also given a nice goofy hat to wear, which made travelling home much easier. I was dropped off at the airport and made it back home to UK later that afternoon.

Conclusion
 All in all it was a very positive experience. Dr Doganays team are all very caring and professional in how they approach their roles. Dr Doganay carried out all of the implantation work and they honoured my request to have certain technicians working on the extraction work. Throughout the few days I was there, they went to all lengths to make me feel comfortable and address any concerns I had. I really felt at ease with them all during my time there which is a testament to how they treat their patients.

 Now I await the results as we all know that whilst the experience and care you receive is important, the yield and end result is what we really want. I was advised by the clinic that I have strong donor area and the follicles extracted were in good condition, therefore to my mind, as long as the implantation work was completed to a high standard, then I should hopefully come away with the result I was looking for.

 I will keep you updated on my progress over time. In the meantime I attach pre-op and post op photos.

----------


## HTvirgin83

Day 16 update

Donor area has healed well, albeit some redness remains and is noticeably up close. Hopefully will subside soon. 

Recipient area hair has grown through now scabs have gone. Density in one side is definitely greater than the other but will wait until final results are achieved before judging. 

Redness in recipient area is noticable up close, and fact hair is different length to native hair does look a little odd. That said, ive been out without a hat over New Years period and haven't received any comments about it. 

Pleased with how things are progressing and hoping for a good result. Will update in few weeks.

----------


## JeanlucBergman

Why didn't you shave your head fully? The graft survival rate and results are usually higher that way.

----------


## HTvirgin83

The Dr advised that hair could be kept up to 1/2 inch long in recipient area without affecting the results, so I opted for that so my hair could return to a semi-normal length before returning to work. Plus, half of the grafts were being placed into my receding hairline where there was no hair anyway, and reasonable proportion into part of my crown that was developing a bald spot. So in end, there wasn't that much being implanted into areas where I had hair already anyway.

----------


## wannamyhairback

good documentation mate! hope it will grow in the way you desire. how much did you pay for the procudere in total?

----------


## HTvirgin83

I paid 5k euros, which is pretty reasonable for one of leading hair surgeons. It was 2 euro per graft. I'm pretty pleased with how quickly ive healed and the whole experience out there was great, so now just anxiously awaiting the results!

----------


## wannamyhairback

Dont worry you have a good hair texture and you hairloss type is easier to manage thanks to HT, you will have a good result as the Surgeon is one of the bests in Turkey.I checked also Turkish forums, he has a good reputy. i was quoted by him as well, but my hairloss type is the pain in **s, i am diffuser so its hard to get desired density as there is always chance to damage preexisting hair follicules, havent heard very succesful stories for us,so at the moment i am giving a shot to medical treatment.

----------


## JeanlucBergman

> Dont worry you have a good hair texture and you hairloss type is easier to manage thanks to HT, you will have a good result as the Surgeon is one of the bests in Turkey.I checked also Turkish forums, he has a good reputy. i was quoted by him as well, but my hairloss type is the pain in **s, i am diffuser so its hard to get desired density as there is always chance to damage preexisting hair follicules, havent heard very succesful stories for us,so at the moment i am giving a shot to medical treatment.


 What do you mean damage to preexisting follicules with transplant?

----------


## HTvirgin83

Hopefully the meds will strengthen up your native hair, so a HT is an option in the future. My hair certainly got thicker and stronger after a period on finesteride and minoxidil. 
As for Dr doganay, he has had some poor results but appears to have addressed the problem. Also don't think some people are good candidates for HT, and that not always clear at the time and so poor results are blamed on surgeon skills. I have been told I'm a good candidate for HT so no reason to think I will be disappointed with results. Time will tell.

----------


## wannamyhairback

Getting hairtransplant done for diffuser is pretty challenging, as no matter how professional the surgeon is i think the damage is inevitable to hair follicules that you  have. higher chance for shockloss to preexisting hair follicules and not all of them(but most of them) grow back as they get traumatized during the operation. A lot of surgeons refuse diffusers and advice only medicines

----------


## wannamyhairback

Thank you man, i hope so i will continue treatment as there is nothing to lose. I am planning to document my progression if things go smoothly. Yes you are indeed good candidate so there is no reason not to get great result for you. One thing that caught my attention , he is notdoing manual extraction? what was his opinion manual vs motorized  anyway? i personally think manual method has more advantage than motorized

----------


## HTvirgin83

He has always used motorised and claims results are strong. Because extraction can be done quicker, grafts are out of the body for less time. That said, there is plenty of debate about the pros and cons of manual vs motorised. I was concerned about scarring from motorised but the extraction was clean and I'm healing quickly so not worried anymore. 
Presumably, once your hair has settled, a HT is still an option? I accept at the moment it is probably best to try retain your existing hair, and not risk losing that, but at some point it must reach a point where you can then consider a HT? Or am I wrong in saying that?

----------


## wannamyhairback

For diffusers like me, HT might be considered as an option actually it depends what you expect from HT , My donor area is not that much bad, for diffusers donorarea is always issue, mine is good i think i can get good coverage but the thing is we need to be on medicine for life time to maintain the result as we dont have unlimited source of hair  that is what ive been told by surgeons, I bet your donor area is like 10000 graft and you have hair diameter more than 80-90 micron, so in this condition of course the good result should be expected. https://www.baldtruthtalk.com/thread...-HT?highlight= you can see my situation from this link.

----------


## JeanlucBergman

> For diffusers like me, HT might be considered as an option actually it depends what you expect from HT , My donor area is not that much bad, for diffusers donorarea is always issue, mine is good i think i can get good coverage but the thing is we need to be on medicine for life time to maintain the result as we dont have unlimited source of hair  that is what ive been told by surgeons, I bet your donor area is like 10000 graft and you have hair diameter more than 80-90 micron, so in this condition of course the good result should be expected. https://www.baldtruthtalk.com/thread...-HT?highlight= you can see my situation from this link.


 If you have 10000 grafts that is enough to cover your whole head on a norwood 5. The idea of worrying about how many grafts you have is usually overstated. unpatterned baldness and thinning in the donor zone is rare, and so are late norwood 6s and 7s.

----------


## wannamyhairback

> If you have 10000 grafts that is enough to cover your whole head on a norwood 5. The idea of worrying about how many grafts you have is usually overstated. unpatterned baldness and thinning in the donor zone is rare, and so are late norwood 6s and 7s.


 I believe am not unpatterned, i am saying mine is not ideal but some things can be done, so its like i have one shot, considering noone but Koray Erdogan , as that guy got some flawless results with diffusers

----------


## JeanlucBergman

> I believe am not unpatterned, i am saying mine is not ideal but some things can be done, so its like i have one shot, considering noone but Koray Erdogan , as that guy got some flawless results with diffusers


 Do you know the waiting list on Erdogan? I am set on going to him but the amount talking about him is making me worry it might be never ending.

----------


## wannamyhairback

> Do you know the waiting list on Erdogan? I am set on going to him but the amount talking about him is making me worry it might be never ending.


 yeah you need to book beefore several months ago. thats the quality man

----------


## JeanlucBergman

If I booked for December do you think I would get a slot easily on the dates I want? Is the wait more than 6 months?

----------


## wannamyhairback

> If I booked for December do you think I would get a slot easily on the dates I want? Is the wait more than 6 months?


 i do not know man you better email them .I have no idea

----------


## DAVE52

> If you have 10000 grafts that is enough to cover your whole head on a norwood 5. The idea of worrying about how many grafts you have is usually overstated. unpatterned baldness and thinning in the donor zone is rare, and so are late norwood 6s and 7s.


 25,000 hairs and he admits it is still kinda thin

https://www.baldtruthtalk.com/thread...ars-HT-Class-4

----------


## JeanlucBergman

> 25,000 hairs and he admits it is still kinda thin
> 
> https://www.baldtruthtalk.com/thread...ars-HT-Class-4


 Except it looks amazing for his age and he still has 2000 grafts left in his donor zone. He's also had multiple botched surgeries and fix surgeries which would have wasted a few thousand grafts. Since he got those surgeries, FUE has improved drastically.

----------


## HTvirgin83

Pics attached of my surgery after 6 weeks

----------


## HTvirgin83

Progress so far. Feeling positive about outcome. Difficult to tell level of growth to date in crown area but pleased with how temples are coming along.

----------


## HTvirgin83

Ive attached a couple of photos showing my shock loss and additional loss of hair following 3 months off minoxidil. I am now 2.5 months back into use of minoxidil and my hair density has much improved. The first picture was taken 6 weeks ago.

----------


## HTvirgin83

Update pics attached. Progress over last month hasn't been as strong as previous month but I seem to be around where I should be at this stage. Ive attempted to roughly count how many grafts have come through in the temple area and it looks to be around 25% of what was implanted. I know the next few months will define the overall success so hoping growth picks up and density improves. As it stands I have a new hairline which is great but it's very thin so needs more volume which hopefully will come over the coming months.

----------


## wannamyhairback

> Update pics attached. Progress over last month hasn't been as strong as previous month but I seem to be around where I should be at this stage. Ive attempted to roughly count how many grafts have come through in the temple area and it looks to be around 25% of what was implanted. I know the next few months will define the overall success so hoping growth picks up and density improves. As it stands I have a new hairline which is great but it's very thin so needs more volume which hopefully will come over the coming months.


  Be patient man, hope you will reach your desired hairline

----------


## HTvirgin83

6 month pics attached. Taken indoors under natural but dull light. Generally happy with crown which has filled in nicely and I can still feel plenty of small hairs coming through. Temple - one side has grown well and hair is thick already. Illusion is good but under bright light you can tell it's not very dense, that said I'm quite happy with that side. The other side is thin and no where near as good. Hoping that will improve over coming months.

----------


## HTvirgin83

So I'm 10 months in now. Optically still happy with the result. Wouldn't say there has been any noticeable growth since month 8 but I'd come along a fair way by that point anyway. Overall my hair has thinned out because I've not been able to apply minoxidil effectively when my hair has been longer. To get the thickness back I will need to cut my hair shorter again and start again. In terms of the transplanted areas, one side is definitely stronger than the other and one side still has a lot of wavy hairs growing from it. I'm hoping these will straighten out in time as hair becomes stronger. That said once it's styled it's not overly noticeable. Will update again at 12 months.

----------


## HTvirgin83

So Ive reached my 1 year anniversary of my hair transplant with Dr Doganay. Overall I am exceptionally happy with the results. 
I think the result is very natural looking and whilst not overly dense, this was to be expected given I only had 1.3k in front hairline and 1.3k to cover thinness at back. I found minoxidil strengthened overall result but suspect as hair has grown longer and its become harder to apply directly to scalp Ive lost some of the thickness minoxidil gave. That said Im still extremely happy with how my hair looks now. Its been a life changing experience. My confidence has really improved. Its been the best money Ive ever spent. I may at some point go back for more surgery at some point and if I do I would have no hesitation to use Dr Doganay again. My results speak volumes for his abilities. If anyone would like to contact me to discuss my experience feel free. 
Update pics attached.

----------


## Notbaldyett

Excellent results. Glad for you

----------


## Omar

Hi there, thanks for the post - could you please send a pic of your donor area in the last few years after the procedure, likely if with trimmed or shirt hair. - Thanks once again & God bless you!

----------


## Ronaldo18

Hi mate hair looks amazing just wondered if we can have a chat like to ask you few questions do you have email??

----------

