I had a hair transplant with Smile Hair Clinic and wanted to share my experience here, since this is exactly the kind of thing I’d have wanted to see before booking.
The logistics side was fine — pickup, transfers, staff were friendly, no complaints there. The problem was the surgery itself and everything that’s happened since.
Too many grafts were placed in a very small area of my scalp, way too close together. Within a couple of days I had a patch of black, dead tissue in the transplanted area. I went back to the UK and saw my GP, who confirmed the tissue had died and put me on antibiotics. When I told my GP the clinic wasn’t really doing anything about it, their reaction made it pretty clear this wasn’t a normal complication being handled properly.
I was then seen urgently by NHS dermatology, who confirmed it as necrosis and referred me on to plastic surgery, since it was beyond what dermatology could manage. I’m now left with a permanent indentation and scarring where the tissue died — that’s not going away even once it’s fully healed.
One more thing worth flagging for anyone with underlying health conditions: I have a mechanical heart valve, and the clinic knew this going in. What I wasn’t properly warned about was how serious an infection risk is post-surgery with a mechanical valve — it’s not living tissue, so if an infection takes hold there it’s extremely hard to clear with antibiotics and can mean open-heart surgery to replace the valve. Nobody at the clinic proactively explained this to me; I only found out how serious it was through my own research after the necrosis had already developed.
Aftercare communication was poor — I raised concerns and got largely ignored for weeks. I left a Google review about it, and only after that (with graphic photos attached) did anyone from the clinic actually engage properly. Since then I’ve asked for a refund so I can get this corrected here in the UK by an independent surgeon once it’s healed. Instead I’ve been offered a discount on a second procedure with them, and a free “revision” to fill the gap where the tissue died. I’m not willing to let the same clinic that caused this operate on me again, especially while the NHS is actively managing it.
Oh man, posts like this really get to me. Guy flies to Turkey to finally do something about his hair, comes home with necrosis and now he’s wondering how much damage he’s stuck with. Losing your hair messes with your confidence enough already. Nobody deserves this on top. Just wanted his hair back, ffs. This is why getting people to a decent surgeon before they book somewhere matters so much. And yeah, it makes me angry.
Dont blame him for not wanting to go back. A free revision still means another surgery on his head. More healing, more worry and somehow trusting the same place again after all this. People talk about a free repair like the money’s the only thing at stake. He doesnt owe them another go at his head. If he spent weeks chasing replies like he says, Smile Clinic needs to explain that. Having to stick photos in a Google review just to get an actual answer? That would kill trust pretty fast.
He says Chris Slix’s YouTube video helped him choose Smile. Really bad way to pick someone to operate on your head. All these influencers, YouTube vloggers, TikTok guys and celebrity ht stories. If thats what’s making you pick a clinic, big red flag. Respected surgeons build their names on their work. Flying famous people in to make a whole promo series out of their surgery tells you nothing about who’s operating on you. Smile isn’t alone in this hair mill marketing playbook. Hair of Istanbul, Now Hair Time, Vera, Cosmedica, Elithair, Estenove. Famous faces pulling people in. YouTubers, soccer players, reality TV guys. Now Hair Time puts an Istanbul tour in its Gold package. Come on. You’re booking surgery, why is sightseeing part of the upsell? Starts feeling more like a medical tourism sales pitch than booking a surgeon.
The actual team doing your surgery, thats what people miss. Say a big hair mill in Turkey has 20 technician teams. Big YouTuber comes in, they can match him with the most experienced, best trained team they’ve got. Good result for him, suddenly it’s an ad for every team there. Even for teams who never touched his head. Regular guy watches it, likes the hair, books the same place thinking he’ll get that same team. Based on what? If they havent confirmed your team, you’re just assuming. Compare that with a smaller practice, a reputable surgeon doing one patient a day with their own regular team. Maybe they’ve been with that surgeon for 5 years, 10 years. They know how he works, he knows their work. That consistency matters a lot more than whose face is in the ads.
And if he’s getting a free ht, hotel, a trip around Istanbul or a Bosphorus tour thrown in, yeah, that’s going to shape how he feels about the place too. He might love the place and mean every word. Still doesnt mean you’ll get what he got. You show up paying out of your own pocket, no big audience coming with you. You want to know you’ll get the same experienced team he got, not just the same hotel and boat trip. HypeAuditor has a whole case study on Smile’s influencer campaigns. This is advertising.
This poor guy even paid extra specifically to have a doctor do it instead of a technician. Before paying for that upgrade, worth getting quotes from reputable surgeons in Turkey. One patient a day, their own regular team. Find out what that would cost for his case. Dont just assume your only choices are a hair mill package or some surgeon way beyond your budget. Buying a more expensive package doesnt magically change how hair mills run. He went to Smile Clinic, but who operated on him? Paying extra for a doctor should buy you more than another line in a package description. Doing part of the surgery and taking responsibility for the whole thing, two different things. If a doctor operates on you, that responsibility doesnt end when you fly home. Something goes wrong, that doctor needs to talk to you. Explain what they think happened and stick around to help sort it out. Shouldn’t have to chase a sales rep just to get through to the person who operated on your head. Doctor involvement as an upgrade is a ridiculous way to sell surgery.
And please stop assuming a doctor on the website means a place cant be a hair mill. Turkey, Thailand, Mexico, the US, same problem. Dr. Bilgin and Dr. Erdogan founded Smile. Those names on the homepage dont tell you how much of their day you’re getting. A doctor can own the business, be all over the videos and still run a setup built around multiple rooms and technician teams. If all you get is three minutes with him drawing a line before you’re handed over, his face on every ad doesnt mean he’s doing your surgery.
Smile Clinic’s own package table spells it out. Gold package includes doctor consultation and planning, but technicians make the incisions. Platinum package puts doctors on that step. Diamond package names the founders or a senior doctor for planning, hairline and incisions. These are the packages on their site now, not proof of which one this guy bought back then. Having to upgrade just to get a doctor making those cuts is a huge red flag. We’re talking about someone cutting into your scalp, not picking a better room.
A surgeon doing their part should be normal. Not a Gold or VIP extra. And if the doctor you’re paying extra for is still going between consultations, rooms and several teams, paying more hasnt bought you that one patient a day setup either. Nothing wrong with experienced techs being part of the team. The surgeon still has to take responsibility. A bigger price tag needs checking too. But saving a few thousand doesnt feel like much of a saving once you’re paying someone else to sort out the damage.
Yes you can find good results from high volume clinics. Thats why people keep booking them. Show me what happens to the guy they wouldnt put on their instagram. That’s a lot more useful than another airport pickup video.
And no, going to a reputable surgeon doesnt mean 100 out of 100 people walk away happy. You could pay 10 euros a graft, wait 2 or 3 years for an appointment and still have a complication. Even necrosis. Price and reputation dont make surgery risk free. Necrosis risk varies between surgical setups too. Just because it can happen in both doesnt mean it happens equally often. So “it can happen anywhere” doesnt let a clinic off the hook. Take a made up example, 1 bad result in 100 versus 5 in 100. Made up numbers, not these clinics’ actual rates. Most people in both groups got a good result, yet one group had five times as many bad outcomes. That’s hardly a small difference. You’re taking that chance when you dont even know your team and the doctor’s barely involved. A good result on some YouTuber doesnt make that gamble any smarter. This is your head. If you cant pin down the team and the doctor responsible before you pay, keep your money and walk.