My Trip To Turkey And The Hair Transplant Procedure, All The Stages

Flight and Transfer:

• I boarded the plane 12:15pm I arrived at 6:00pm Turkish time. I was picked up by a driver of the hair transplant clinic as promised. I received a phone call from the clinic to welcome me to Turkey and to confirm the times of the hair transplant the following day. I was then dropped of at the hotel.

Operation Day:

• As confirmed the clinic’s driver 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 clinic co-ordinator/translator. He 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.
• I then had my blood taken, this was to show if I had HIV and various for the operation.
• I had to put all my belongings in a safe place, 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.

The Clinic:

• 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.
• They had a big TV in the waiting room, offered Turkish tea and where very friendly. 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:

1. They shaved all of my hair with hair clippers so that it was very short.
2. I was asked to lay face down on what looked like a dentist chair with a face whole for comfort.
3. They marked out where on the back of my head to take the grafts from.
4. They put antiseptic all over the back of my head which I believe was iodine.
5. I had what must of been 30 or so injections of local anaesthetic all over the back of my head. I wont lie they hurt like ****.
6. 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.
7. They used a motorised follicle extraction tool and tweezers to remove each individual graft. This had taken around 2 and a halve hours for 3000 hair grafts.
8. 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:

1. 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.
2. I had the back of my head temporarily bandaged up, and was asked to lay on my back, with my head touching the seat.
3. I then had around another 30 injections of local anaesthetic this time to the receiving areas, again they hurt like ****.
4. They then used the needle to check if I could feel anything in all areas where they would be reinserting the hair follicles.
5. They then used a punch to put holes into my scalp and hairline.
6. 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 morning, 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 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 offered platelet-rich plasma injections (PRP). This is something I had not considered until the day, where I decided it would be a better idea to have them and have a greater chance for success, than not to have them and save a few hundred pounds.

• Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections:

1. They took several vials of blood. This was turned into PRP in the onsite lab in 15 minutes.
2. My head still being numb from the day before, they injected the PRP in around 15-20 places into my scalp in the thinning areas.
3. My head then wiped clean, it was done in minutes. Though it did sting a little bit.

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.

Khalon