What Awaits You on Hair Transplant Operation Day?

What Awaits You on Operation Day? Step-by-Step Hair Transplant Journey (2025 Guide)

You have decided to make a permanent change in your life, completed your research, and booked a date for your hair transplant. As the big day approaches, it is perfectly normal to feel a mix of excitement and anxiety. Human psychology tends to fear the unknown. Questions like “How will the process work?”, “Will I get bored?”, “When will I eat?” may occupy your mind.

As the Görkem Kazan Hair Transplant clinic, we have designed the operation day not just as a medical procedure, but as a “transformation experience” where hospitality and comfort are at the forefront. In this comprehensive guide, we explain every stage you will experience from the moment you step into the clinic until the minute you are discharged, minute by minute, in clear language. Our goal is for you to feel at home when that day comes and to sit in our chair with the confidence of knowing what to expect.

Morning: Welcome and Preparation (08:00 – 09:00)

Starting the day vigorously is very important for the course of the operation. When you arrive at our clinic, our smiling team welcomes you.

• Breakfast Routine: Since the operation will be performed under local anesthesia (even if you receive sedation, within certain rules), you need to be full. We recommend a light, protein-rich breakfast that will keep your blood sugar balanced. We ask you to avoid morning coffee as caffeine can affect blood pressure.
• Clothing Choice: Wearing a button-down shirt or a zip-up cardigan instead of t-shirts with wide collars is a critical detail for your comfort so that nothing touches your head during and after the operation.
• Registration and Consent: Your medical history is reviewed for the last time, operation consent forms are signed, and final checks are made regarding any medications you use regularly.

Stage 1: Consultation and Hairline Design (The Moment Art Begins)

This is the most critical, irreversible stage of the operation. You stand in front of the mirror and design your new look together with your doctor.

• Golden Ratio Drawing: Your doctor draws the front hairline most suitable for your facial features, the structure of your forehead muscles, and your age with the help of a laser pointer and special calipers. At this stage, your wishes are blended with aesthetic rules. The drawing is revised until you say, “Okay, I’m happy with it.”
• Photography: Your medical archive photos are taken under professional light to see the difference before and after the operation.
• Hair Shaving: After the planning is approved, your hair (all of it or just the donor area, depending on the technique to be applied) is shaved to a length of 1 mm.

Stage 2: Local Anesthesia (Ensuring Comfort)

The stage patients dread the most is the anesthesia procedure performed at the beginning of the operation. However, with 2025 technology, this process is no longer a nightmare.

• The Process: The procedure takes about 10-15 minutes. Depending on your preference and pain threshold, needle-free anesthesia (pressure) or sedation is applied.
• Sensation: You only feel a slight burning or pressure in the first few minutes. After this stage, your scalp becomes completely numb. You will not feel any pain or discomfort until the end of the operation.

Stage 3: Graft Extraction (Harvest Period)

In the first half of the operation, you lie face down (on a special orthopedic stretcher). At this stage, FUE motors come into play.

• Collection with Micro-Motor: The surgeon loosens and collects the hair follicles in the donor area (nape) one by one with a motor having microscopic tips. During this time, you only feel the vibration of the device.
• Separation of Grafts: The collected roots are arranged by nurses in petri dishes containing special solutions (e.g., PRP or Hypothermosol). Roots are counted and grouped as single, double, and triple. This count is vital to determine which root will be planted where (Singles on the front line, multiples on the crown).
• Duration: It takes an average of 2-3 hours depending on the number of grafts. You can listen to music or doze off during this time.

Lunch Break (Refueling)

After the graft extraction is finished, a 20-30 minute lunch break is given to the operation. A light lunch specially prepared for you by our clinic is served. This break is an opportunity to regulate your blood sugar and attend to your needs (restroom, etc.).

Stage 4: Channel Opening (Engineering and Architecture)

After the meal, you switch to lying on your back. This is the technical stage that determines the outcome of the operation. If Sapphire FUE is being performed, your doctor opens thousands of micro-channels with a sapphire-tipped pen.

• Angle and Direction: The angle (40-45 degrees) and direction of each opened channel are determined according to the natural growth direction of your hair (the direction you want to comb). At this stage, the surgeon’s mastery speaks.
• DHI Technique Difference: If the DHI method is applied, channel opening and implantation are done simultaneously; this stage merges with the next one.

Stage 5: Implantation (Completing the Puzzle)

It is the process of placing the roots collected in the morning, which have preserved their vitality, into the opened channels. This is the longest part of the operation (2-3 hours).

• Movie Enjoyment: While you lie comfortably on your back or in a semi-seated position, you can watch Netflix on the screen in front of you, use your phone, or chat with our team. Many patients prefer to sleep at this stage.
• Precise Placement: A strategic placement is made so that the thinnest (single) roots come to the very front, and thick (multiple) roots come to the back.

Stage 6: Completion and Dressing

When the last graft is placed, the operation is completed.

• PRP Application: PRP injection is made to the transplant area and donor area to accelerate healing (if included in your package).
• Bandage: The transplanted area is left open (so nothing touches it), only the donor area from where roots were taken is bandaged with antibiotic ointment.
• Standing Up: You are slowly helped to stand up. Fruit juice or a sugary drink is served to prevent sudden blood pressure drops since you have been lying down for a long time.

Discharge and After: What Awaits You?

Before leaving our clinic, a specially prepared “Medical Bag” is delivered to you. Inside this bag:

• Medications you will use after the operation (Antibiotics, Painkillers, Anti-edema),
• Special shampoos and lotions,
• Neck pillow (neck brace) you need to wear while sleeping,
• And a detailed usage booklet are included.

Our experts will demonstrate and explain how you should sleep on the first night, how to use the medications, and what you need to pay attention to. The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) emphasizes that complying with post-operative instructions directly affects the success rate.

Operation day is a comfortable day you set aside for yourself rather than a fearful medical procedure. As the Görkem Kazan Hair Transplant family, we have thought of every detail to make this 6-8 hour process the most enjoyable for you. You can contact us for other questions you may have about our operation process and for an appointment. Remember, when you get up from that chair, you will be a new “you” with no hair problems.