After hair transplant operation

4.90 / 5 Rating

282 Reviews

I would like to start by saying that this is going to be a very long, detailed and above all else very honest review about by my own personal experience at Gethair and my final result. Unlike most people I am not writing this review shortly after my procedure and on the basis of the service but instead I have waited a full 12 months afterwards so that I could cover everything. Before choosing Gethair I spent a full 6 months doing my research and going for consultations with various clinics. I also sent my photos off to various clinics in Turkey and got back different quotes for between £1100 and £1600. At £3000 Gethair were by far the most expensive but then the opportunity arose for me to have a face to face consultation with Dr Tayfun Oguzoglu at their office in London. I had been told beforehand by Gethair that based on my photos they would be able to extract 3600 grafts, however after Dr Oguzoglu had examined my hair and had seen how thick and dense my donor region was that they could extract 3800 grafts. He drew on a new hairline which I thought was a bit high but he explained that was so as to create good density. I said I would go away and think about it which I did before deciding that as they were twice the price of all the other clinics then surely they must be twice as good! So I booked. When I arrived in Istanbul the driver was waiting for me and did his best to make conversation despite the language barrier and the hotel itself was very nice. The following morning I was picked up and taken to the hospital where the hairline was drawn on and my head shaved before being taken into the operating room. It was now 10am. Dr Oguzoglu then came in and did all of the incisions and when he had finished the technicians took over and began to do the extractions and as soon as that was over they began the implantation process. Before I knew it I was told that it was all finished and when I looked at the time it was 2pm. This is when the first alarm bells starting going off in my head. I had read many reviews on hair transplants and the one thing that everyone says is what a long, boring day it is and yet my procedure, supposedly involving 3800 grafts, took just 4 hours. The next thing that caused me concern was that when it was over and before I had even got myself up off the operating table, the technicians who had been working on me had grabbed their coats and bags and left for the day. When I later emailed Stuart Cuming at the London office about this he said that once they had finished what they are doing there is no need for them to hang around which is fair enough but does seem a little unprofessional. I was also not given a mirror so that I could see how it looked and instead had to wait until I was in the elevator going down where there was a mirrored wall. I was also concerned that Dr Oguzoglu didn't check on me afterwards to see how it looked even though he was still there as I saw him sat at his desk when I walked past his office on the way out. The next day I went back for my first hair wash and just as the girl doing the hair wash was about to begin her mobile phone rang so she washed my head with one hand whilst talking on the phone with her other!! I then flew back home and tried to put all of these concerns out of my head and tell myself that everything would be ok in the end. As the next few months went by the communication with Stuart Cuming was very good with him asking me for photo updates on a regular basis. By the 6 month stage I was starting to get very concerned as the transplanted region was looking very thin and wispy which was especially concerning considering that my hair has always been very thick. By the 8 month stage it was obvious to me that things weren't going to improve and even Stuart Cuming himself admitted in an email that: "I would have expected to see a little more growth by the 8th month." However as is standard practice by all hair transplant clinics he said there is nothing that can be done until I have reached the 12 month stage and see what the final result is like. Well the 12 month stage has now been reached and the result is thin, wispy, patchy hair with lots of gaps in between. I recently had my head examined and during the examination I was asked if I had any photos from my procedure and luckily I had taken plenty in the days afterwards and when we zoomed in on the photos the first thing that was pointed out to me was the amount of incisions that had been made that didn't even contain any grafts. Now whether this is because no grafts were ever placed in the incisions in the first place (which would explain the 4 hour operating time) or whether they came out during the first wash when as explained before the girl doing the wash was busy talking on her phone at the same time, is something I will never know. I have also been in touch with many other clinics in the UK, USA, and Turkey and the one thing they all have in common is that they all say it is physically impossible to have a 3800 graft hair transplant in just 4 hours. Once I had got my calculator out and did some sums I had to agree with them. Considering it took almost an hour to do the incisions, that left approximately 90 minutes to extract 3800 grafts and a further 90 minutes to implant 3800 grafts!!! Simply not possible. When I questioned Stuart Cuming about this he said the technicians wouldn't lie about the number of grafts. Well someone is certainly lying and the proof is in the pudding as they say. Even Gethairs own patient agreement form states that: "a procedure involving 2000-3000 grafts will take around 6 hours." I was recently asked to send in my 12 month photos which I did, but was then asked to send in some more from different angles which I didn't do as by this point I had already made up my mind that I wouldn't return to Gethair for a second hair transplant even if it were offered free and the reason for this is because you only realistically get two attempts at FUE surgery before your donor region is all used up so I wouldn't want to go back to the same clinic that gave me such a poor result the first time around. Stuart Cuming did compare my current photos to what I looked like before and say that I did now have a lot more hair which im not disputing. Even though the "before" photo he used had me with a shaved head and the "after" photo was after me not having had a haircut for 3 months, I do agree that I have more hair now than before but it looks terrible and has zero density. I have gone from a man you looked "bald" to a man who looks like he is "balding." In other words I would be better off just shaving my head again. In one of his last emails to me Stuart Cuming states that: "every client is treated in the same way and given the same service." Well I certainly hope that's not the case as otherwise it doesn't look good for everyone else who is planning on going to Gethair. What would have been far better would to have admitted that on this occasion they fell short of the standards and final result that they would normally expect and to have offered me a refund or at least a part refund but that never happened. I have two friends that have been to other clinics in Turkey (one paid £1100 for 3650 grafts and the other paid £1400 for 3900 grafts) and both have ended up with incredible results, which just shows that paying more money doesn't mean a better result. I just want to end this review by saying that despite my experience I don't believe Gethair to be a bad company. I think they are a professionally run clinic who can produce good results and having Stuart Cuming based in the UK obviously makes things easier for communication. Its just a shame that in my case they have refused to admit that they came up short.

bryan

Very good service doc and staff was really nice I did not have any problem and I stayed in best hotel thx 😀

Jag

After many months of research and deliberation, I came across the Get Hair website. Get Hair were very different to the other companies I was in contact with and many hounded me on daily basis for my custom but Get Hair were patient from day one. I liaised with Stuart who was my main point of contact, I found him to be friendly, knowledgeable, and informative and no pressure tactics used, I would also like to add that whilst Stuart was on leave, Zac and Kaan were on hand to assist during his absence. I chose to go ahead with Get Hair due to the above factors and with the reassurance that a doctor was involved heavily in the procedure – you may find cheaper companies but be aware that doctors may not be carrying out the procedures. On topic of payment, the process was simple and secure. Upon arriving in Turkey, the transfer was ready and waiting which made the journey to the hotel simple. The hotel is of a decent standard and has helpful/friendly employees who made our stay enjoyable. The coordinators for the procedure were Zeynep and Leila who were extremely organised and covered all questions or concerns. The hospital is 2 minutes away from the hotel and they were available to assist with collections/ drop offs. Once at the hospital, there was a team of friendly technicians who assisted Dr. Ilker Apaydin during the procedure. Although this is a long day, they try to put you at ease. The injections were manageable and the procedure was uncomfortable at times but not painful. There are many things to consider for after care but again this was communicated well by the coordinators. Overall, I am very happy with the service provided and I am currently in the recovery process having recently returning to the UK. I am eagerly waiting to see the long term results and the proof will be in the pudding!

Anonymous