An honest review of Dr. Hakan Clinic
Nearly a year ago, I received a hair transplant at this clinic with very high expectations. Unfortunately, I was somewhat let down by the service I received. I purchased the stem cell hair transplant package of up to 3,500 grafts. Firstly, I believe the clinic had moved to a different hospital during my visit, as the Instagram videos were nothing like the place where I had my transplant. The rooms were very small, and staff were constantly bumping into my feet during the procedure. On the day of the operation, everything felt extremely rushed. I had my bloods taken, stem cell treatment, PRP, and the full transplant completed in nearly under four hours. This may have been because it was a Friday and they wanted to finish early, but it also made me question how many grafts were actually used. I felt the medical team lacked professionalism during my transplant. Two of the women assisting the technician would not stop laughing, singing, and talking loudly throughout the operation. This was very uncomfortable, as they were right beside my head the entire time, and it made it difficult to relax. I also required repeated injections of local anaesthetic, as I could feel the implant needle quite a lot during the procedure. There was a massive language barrier with the medical team; although they did speak English, it was still difficult at times to properly express how I was feeling during the operation. Dr. Hakan himself was pleasant enough, but I felt that once I paid the full amount in cash before the operation, the standard of care and attention noticeably dropped. My hairline was around a Norwood 2, with some recession in the temple area. When discussing my new hairline, Dr. Hakan was very dismissive about doing any work on my temples, even though this was something I really wanted done, as it is crucial for framing the face. He then stated, “You don’t want the same hairline as a Black man,” which I found quite ridiculous. He eventually agreed to add some grafts to thicken the temple area, but not to properly improve it. At this point, I felt very frustrated, and if I could go back, I wouldn’t have gone ahead with the procedure. As for my results, I feel they are not great, especially when compared to friends who went to different clinics and had worse hairlines than mine. My transplant appears very thin, which has left me disappointed, particularly as I didn’t require many grafts to begin with. Lastly, the “luxury hotel” I was placed in was terrible. I stayed for four nights, and the bed was extremely uncomfortable — like a rock — which is not ideal when you are required to sleep sitting upright for three days. The staff were also very unpleasant and even attempted to double-charge me when I was leaving, which really put a dampener on my experience (Hilton). In the end, I only received 2,400 grafts, and I feel that what I paid was overpriced considering the level of service and organisation provided. I do hope my transplant continues to improve over time, and I will still send after photos to the clinic. However, please don’t be fooled by this clinic’s Instagram or Trustpilot reviews — I honestly believe you would receive far better care if you were an influencer. If I could go back in time, I would not have selected this clinic, especially if you are from Ireland or the UK. I am a 25-year-old Irish man who worked hard to save $4,500 for this operation, placing a lot of trust in the clinic and travelling alone to a different country with high expectations. It’s difficult to write a review like this, but I wouldn’t want anyone else to receive the standard of care that I did. I hope the clinic sees this review and begins treating every patient to the same standard as those reflected in their Trustpilot reviews. Ultimately, this was a risk I knowingly took by travelling to Turkey.
By Tommy