Dr. Ilker Apaydin
Founder and senior plastic and reconstructive surgeon·Dr. Ilker Apaydin Hair Clinic
Istanbul, Türkiye
$3,000 for 2,300 grafts Patient reported, Apr 2022 · Cost detailsBackground
Dr Ilker Apaydin is a plastic surgeon who runs his own hair transplant practice in Istanbul, Turkey 1. His bio says he studied medicine at Ankara University from 1985 to 1992 1. It says he then trained in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the same faculty until 1998 1. He worked at Kartal and Taksim Education and Research Hospitals and at Transmed Hair Restoration and Plastic Surgery Clinic before founding his own practice in 2012 12. The site says he has performed FUE since 2004 3. His ISHRS profile says he has focused on hair transplantation since 2006 2. His bio describes more than 25 years of experience in hair restoration, and elsewhere more than 20 years 1.
Procedures and techniques
The clinic says FUE is now its primary technique 1. It also offers FUT, combined FUT and FUE, and transplants for women 4. The site lists sapphire FUE, PRP, and beard and eyebrow transplants 56. His bio says corrective and revision transplants are an important part of his practice 1. The clinic says Dr Apaydin performs all operations himself 7. It says every stage, from extraction to implantation, is done under his direct supervision 7. The site says the doctor and his team extract the grafts and a nurse inserts them into the prepared canals 8. The clinic uses micro punches of 0.6 to 0.9 mm on a micromotor 8. It says up to 4,000 to 4,500 grafts can be placed in a single session 9. For small sessions, the clinic says it can shave thin strips instead of the whole head 8.
Pricing
Booking and aftercare
Patients first send photos for a free online consultation 107. The clinic says its team arranges the hotel, airport transfers and local arrangements 7. It says it partners with four-star boutique hotels near its Istanbul office 4. Patients meet Dr Apaydin in person for a final consultation and examination before surgery 7. The clinic washes the hair the day after surgery 7. A patient coordinator contacts the patient about a month after the procedure 7. No guarantee or waiting time is published 7.
Credentials and memberships
The ISHRS lists him as a Full Member who joined in 2008 2. The clinic's homepage instead says he has been an active ISHRS member since 2003 5. His bio also lists membership of EPCD and TPCD, two Turkish plastic surgery societies 1. The bio and ISHRS profile say he was faculty at an ISHRS regional FUE workshop in Istanbul in 2011 12.
Sources
Facts on this page were compiled from these pages, checked October 2026. Archived copies are kept for every citation. Something wrong or out of date? Suggest a correction.
- 1. https://drilkerapaydin.com/meet-dr-ilker/
- 2. https://ishrs.org/doctor/49926
- 3. https://drilkerapaydin.com/hair-transplant-in-turkey/hair-transplant-with-dr-ilker-apaydin/
- 4. https://drilkerapaydin.com/why-turkey
- 5. https://drilkerapaydin.com/
- 6. https://drilkerapaydin.com/hair-transplant-in-turkey/sapphire-fue/
- 7. https://drilkerapaydin.com/how-does-it-work/
- 8. https://drilkerapaydin.com/hair-transplant-in-turkey/what-are-the-steps-of-fue-hair-transplant/
- 9. https://drilkerapaydin.com/frequently-asked-questions/
- 10. https://drilkerapaydin.com/contact-us/
What patients say on reddit
9 people shared their experience with Dr. Ilker Apaydin across 13 reddit threads between 2020 and 2025. Every graft count, price and verdict is linked to the original thread.
- NW5-6 3,600 grafts
y_mch had 3600 grafts by FUT in Istanbul with Dr Ilker Apaydin, who did the hairline design and opened the microholes, and posted a bit over a year after surgery; no price is stated. He used Rogaine and Propecia for 2 years and microneedled after 6 months. He wrote "Personally I'm not amazed by the result" and asked experienced users how many grafts seem to have survived. A commenter said a Norwood 5-6 would need near 6-7K grafts for reasonable density.
1 thread they wrote in
- male 2,637 grafts surgery 2019
- extremely happy with result source ↗
- procedure was very smooth source ↗
- barber wouldn't guess work was done source ↗
- hair a bit thinner at transplant site source ↗
Curious_Paradox had 2637 grafts with Dr Ilker Apaydin in Istanbul in 2019, booked via GetHair's UK office, for £2500 including 2 hotel nights, PRP the next day and airport transfers, with flights separate. At 18 months he was "very happy", and at 19 months "extremely happy", posting a daylight photo to show a realistic result. He noted the hair is a bit thinner at the transplant site, as expected after one procedure, and said he may return one day to improve density. He believes the doctor made the recipient sites and the front hairline but is not sure, as he was on relaxants.
3 threads they wrote in
- male 3,600 grafts
- poor growth, transplanted hairs didn't shed or grow source ↗
- right hairline fuller than left source ↗
- doctor defensive, took questions out of context source ↗
- about 50% survival of transplanted follicles source ↗
- later result turned out not bad source ↗
hooty588 had a 3600-graft FUE with Dr Ilker Apaydin in Istanbul and also has SMP. At 5 months he reported no new growth, a fuller right hairline than left, and a defensive doctor, writing "Dr Apaydin, I do not recommend". In another thread he said about 50% of the transplanted follicles survived and advised cancelling and going elsewhere. In later replies he says the result improved a little with topical finasteride and minoxidil and "turned out not bad" by late 2024.
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Responsible-Cup690 says they had a very successful first hair transplant with Ilker Apaydin in Istanbul and were 'very happy with my first result'. For a second transplant they went to a different clinic, which they call a mistake. No graft count, price or date is given for the Apaydin procedure.
1 thread they wrote in
- Jun 2024 Day 13 Update - Dr. Sibel Ulusan ↗
- male 2,300 grafts surgery 2024
Dymo34 had a DHI transplant of about 2,300 grafts to the front with Ilker Apaydin in 2024. He wrote in December 2024 that he is not happy with his results, calling the density not dense at all and the front so bare. He plans to go back for another round, but with a different surgeon.
1 thread they wrote in
- Dec 2024 Clinic advice ↗
- male
He had a hair transplant at Dr. Ilker Apaydin's clinic, along with two other people, and says he is very happy he chose him: a great hairline, no issues and a very nice donor area. He gives no graft count, price, date or time since surgery, and offered to share testimonies and before/after pictures privately.
1 thread they wrote in
- male 2,000 grafts surgery 2020
Clapham2020 had a 2000-graft FUE at Dr Ilker Apaydin's clinic in Turkey in early November 2020. In a post days later asking about saline spray he gave no overall verdict, but wrote that he trusts his surgeon isn't missing a trick. He described the clinic's aftercare instructions, a gentle wash the day after and no spraying or peptide products for two weeks. No result or price is reported.
1 thread they wrote in
- Nov 2020 Spraying After FUE Procedure? ↗
- 2.5 2,300 grafts
- really happy with how it looks source ↗
- doctor talks directly on WhatsApp, no middleman source ↗
- doctor checked on progress source ↗
sayhi2yourmumforme, a Norwood 2.5, had 2300 grafts (4700 hairs) with Dr Ilker Apaydin, who they say did the channel insert and half of the extraction while an experienced nurse implanted. They had a good experience and are really happy with how it looks, and praise that he talks to patients directly on WhatsApp with no middleman. The appointment took 2 months because the clinic does only one or two patients a day. No price or surgery date is given.
1 thread they wrote in
- Jan 2021 Hair of Instanbul or HLC ? ↗
- surgery 2021
TheWololoWombat booked with Dr. Ilker Apaydin in Turkey in 2021 and asked beforehand if it was the right choice. At 12 days post-op they reported "So far, pretty good" and "He was good!". They said they paid before surgery, there was no full plan until the day of surgery, and he did more grafts than discussed. They could not tolerate finasteride. No graft count or price is given.
1 thread they wrote in
- Jul 2021 Booked with Dr Ilker Apaydin for a Hair Transplant. Extremely Nervous. Have I made the right choice? ↗ removed on reddit