Dr. Jean Luc Portelli
Lead hair transplant surgeon·St Mary's Hair Clinic (St Mary's Clinic)
Mosta, Malta
€5,250 for 3,500 grafts ≈ €4,500 rough estimate for 3,000 grafts Patient reported, Mar 2026 · Cost detailsBackground
Dr Jean Luc Portelli is the lead hair transplant surgeon at St Mary's Hair Clinic in Mosta, Malta 12. The clinic lists him as "MD · Hair Transplant Specialist" 1. The main St Mary's Clinic site, a general medical and aesthetic clinic, lists him as its hair transplant doctor 3. The clinic says he trained with Dr Christian Bisanga 2. The clinic itself says it has been in Malta since 2004 4. It does not say when Dr Portelli began doing hair transplants. Its procedure totals differ between pages: "2,000+ procedures performed" on the about page and "1,000+ procedures performed in Malta" on the team page 21.
Procedures and techniques
The clinic combines FUE extraction with DHI implantation 5. It says it uses the Trivellini motorised extraction system for all FUE transplants 4. It also offers beard and eyebrow transplants, PRP, mesotherapy and stem cell hair therapy 4. The clinic says every transplant is "personally performed and overseen" by Dr Portelli and that he does not delegate to technicians 2. Its hair transplant page describes the donor area as a limited resource and plans the hairline around face, age and future loss 5. It says a transplant is not appropriate for every patient 6.
Pricing
No procedure price is published 4. The clinic says the cost depends on the number of grafts, set at consultation 4. The international patients page lists a compulsory aftercare pack at EUR 150 7. It also lists partner accommodation at EUR 45 to EUR 70 per night and an airport transfer at EUR 17.50 each way 7. A 40% deposit secures the date, refundable with at least 30 days' notice 7.
Booking and aftercare
Patients can book an in-clinic consultation in Mosta or an online consultation 68. The online consultation includes a video call with Dr Portelli 8. The clinic says there is a fee for it, paid online, without stating the amount 4. International patients are asked to arrive a day before surgery and stay three to five days after 7. The clinic says a procedure day takes about 7 to 8 hours and some plans need two consecutive days 7. Follow-up after returning home is by photographs and remote contact 7.
Credentials and memberships
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://stmaryshairclinic.com/our-team/
- 2. https://stmaryshairclinic.com/about-st-marys-hair-clinic/
- 3. https://stmarysclinic.com/our-team/
- 4. https://stmaryshairclinic.com/
- 5. https://stmaryshairclinic.com/hair-transplant/
- 6. https://stmaryshairclinic.com/local-patients/
- 7. https://stmaryshairclinic.com/international-patients/
- 8. https://stmaryshairclinic.com/book-an-online-consultation/
- 9. https://medicalcouncil.gov.mt/en/resources/registers/
What patients say on reddit
28 people shared their experience with Dr. Jean Luc Portelli across 50 reddit threads between 2021 and 2026. Every graft count, price and verdict is linked to the original thread.
One of them is a woman who had or booked her transplant with Dr. Jean Luc Portelli. More on women’s transplants and the doctors women chose: hair transplants for women.
- male 4,800 grafts
- best decision I ever made source ↗
- super happy with outcome source ↗
- donor management was great source ↗
- first surgery a bit too conservative source ↗
- one temple grows faster than the other source ↗
M4kn had two surgeries with Jean Luca Portelli at St Mary's Clinic in Malta, 3400 grafts first (including the crown) and 1400 later to lower the corners and square the temples, 4,800 in total. They report paying 2400 EUR for the first and 1200 EUR for the second (in another post, about 2.3k and 1300), with DHI mentioned. M4kn said the first round was "a bit to conservative", hence the second, and described the outcome as "Best Decision I ever made" and "Super happy", with great donor management and one temple growing faster than the other. Some commenters thought the lowered hairline looked straight, which M4kn disputed, saying it looks natural in real life.
5 threads they wrote in
- Sept 2024 Last one from me. ✌️ ↗
- Jul 2024 Last post from me. 2 surgeries 3400 + 1400. Finito ↗
- Jun 2024 Best Decision I ever made ↗
- Apr 2024 Before and After - How things are going so far. ↗
- May 2023 5.5 Months - St Marys Malta - Dr Jean Luca Portelli 3400 grafts. ↗ removed on reddit
- 3,500 grafts surgery 2024
- father very happy with the results source ↗
- doctor very professional and thorough source ↗
- post-op guide on medications and cleaning provided source ↗
The user reports on behalf of their father, who had 3500 grafts with Dr Jean Luc Portelli at St Marys Clinic in Malta in 2024, implanted using DHI over about 7 hours for 3700 euros in total. The father's donor area was described as many single grafts and not very good quality, so topical finasteride and minoxidil were started before surgery. The user says the father is very happy with the results at 5 months and at one year, and calls the doctor very professional and thorough; this is second-hand.
3 threads they wrote in
- Jul 2025 One year post op ↗
- Nov 2024 Anyone had surgery at St Mary’s clinic? - Jean Luc Portelli? ↗
- Sept 2024 Progress update (5 months) ↗
- 26 yo 3,200 grafts surgery 2025
- really happy with guidance and work source ↗
- thorough, realistic consultation, no pressure source ↗
- conservative age-appropriate hairline, glad they trusted source ↗
- very communicative about travel and preparation source ↗
- surgery went well, fantastic team source ↗
The user, 26, had an FUE with Dr Jean Luc Portelli at St Mary's Clinic in Malta in January 2025, with 3,200 grafts in total. Three weeks after surgery he wrote the experience had been positive and the doctor and team were communicative and fantastic. At 11 months he said he was really happy with the guidance and work, describing a thorough, realistic consultation and a conservative hairline he was slightly unsure about at the time but now glad he trusted. No price was given.
2 threads they wrote in
- male 4,500 grafts surgery 2024
- super happy with progress at 10 months source ↗
- "so much better with hair" source ↗
- donor thinning not an issue, can fade source ↗
- tells others to ask for Dr Portelli source ↗
Intelligent-Prior-14 had 4,500 grafts (about 1,500 to the crown) with Dr Portelli at St Mary's clinic in Mosta, Malta, in 2024, at 1.50 euros per graft. At 10 months he said he was "Super happy with the progress so far" and that the medicine also worked well, and he tells others to "Ask for Dr Portelli!". Some commenters thought the hairstyle in his photos made the hairline look poor, so he re-uploaded them styled differently.
4 threads they wrote in
- Jun 2025 10 months post-op (RE-UPLOAD) ↗
- Jun 2025 10months post-op (RE-UPLOAD) ↗
- Jun 2025 4,500 grafts 10 months post-op Dr Portelli ↗
- Jun 2025 Hair transplant ↗
- male NW3 2,700 grafts surgery 2024
- very happy with the result source ↗
- doctor explained each step, checked comfort source ↗
- one patient per day, doctor did most work source ↗
- met my expectations source ↗
- only discomfort was the local anaesthetic source ↗
th33one had 2,700 grafts with Dr. Jean-Luc Portelli at St. Mary's Clinic in Malta on 15 November 2024 (2,400 front, 200 crown, 50 per temple) and paid 3,000 euros, with an optional care pack at about 70-80 euros and flight and hotel extra. At 4 months he said Dr. Portelli met his expectations and that he was very happy with the progress; he said the doctor worked with one assistant and did most of the work himself. At about 300 days he said "I am very happy with the result!"
3 threads they wrote in
- male 5,000 grafts surgery 2025
- always felt in safe, experienced hands source ↗
- thorough, realistic consultation, conservative hairline source ↗
- everything well organised and clearly explained source ↗
- natural hairline, donor area not noticeable source ↗
TheMig22 had an FUE with Dr Jean Luc Portelli in April 2025, over two days, with approximately 5,000 grafts focused on the frontal third and mid-scalp. He says the consultation was thorough and realistic and a conservative, age-appropriate hairline was recommended. Growth was noticeable around months 3-4 and at about 10 months he calls the result largely mature, with a natural hairline and an unnoticeable donor area. He took oral minoxidil and finasteride and reports no side effects, and says he is very happy with both the experience and the outcome so far. No price is given.
1 thread they wrote in
- male 3,500 grafts surgery 2024
- Exceeded my expectations source ↗
- Realistic plan, not a sales pitch source ↗
- Daily check-ins for the first weeks source ↗
- Improvement described as night and day source ↗
Ok_Variation2258 had a repair plus 3,500-graft procedure with Dr Portelli at St Mary's Clinic, Malta, in mid-November 2024, over two days, paying 5250 EUR (about 1.5 EUR per graft, noting pricing has likely changed). His first transplant in London in July 2023 (1,200 grafts) had left a weak result with poor hairline design, angulation and density. At 14 months he says Dr Portelli exceeded his expectations and calls the improvement night and day; he got daily check-ins for the first couple of weeks and monthly reports afterwards.
1 thread they wrote in
- 55 yo NW5 4,300 grafts surgery 2023
- explains everything throughout the process source ↗
- walked me through every step source ↗
- followed up continuously after the procedure source ↗
- good coverage, small crown top-up needed source ↗
AdTimely1545, a 55-year-old at Norwood 5 progressing to 6, had a 4,300-graft DHI transplant with Dr. Portelli at St Marys in Malta, and said he charges 1-1.5 euro per graft. At one year (August 2024) they wrote "Super pleased with the results after this long journey!", saying coverage is good and only a small crown top-up would give full coverage. In other threads they said he walked them through every step and followed them up continuously, and that they had "only good things to say".
4 threads they wrote in
- male 2,150 grafts surgery 2025
- Journey outstanding, from availability to flexibility source ↗
- Surgeon did about 95% of the work alone source ↗
- Careful donor choice after earlier over-harvesting source ↗
Davzdrav had a second surgery with Dr Portelli in 2025, which he sees as a repair job after being butchered in Turkey by a hair mill. He was first evaluated at 4000+ grafts in November 2024, started finasteride and minoxidil, and had 2150 grafts for 2800 euro, with Dr Portelli extracting from not-yet-harvested areas or denser patches because the donor had been heavily harvested. Posting on day zero, he calls the journey outstanding and says Dr Portelli does 95% of the work alone. No results are shown yet.
2 threads they wrote in
- male 3,800 grafts surgery 2024
- Density looking good after early worry source ↗
- Clinic advised natural, slightly mature hairline source ↗
vernon_vinci had a hairline and temple transplant with Dr Jean Luc Portelli at St Mary's Clinic in Malta on 2 September 2024, reported as 3,700 grafts in one post and 3,800 in a later one, and says he paid 2,700 EUR. He chose between Portelli and Dr Dogan Turan. At 11 days he was originally worried about density but thought it was 'looking good actually'. At 5 months he posted an update without an overall verdict, saying only the hairline was done and no second procedure was needed.
2 threads they wrote in
- 3,860 grafts surgery 2025
- considers Dr Portelli very skilled source ↗
- recovery going well source ↗
- recipient area still sensitive and pinkish source ↗
- donor area less dense but healed well source ↗
KeanusLoveStory had a transplant with Dr. Portelli at St. Mary Clinic in Malta in 2025, spread over two days. Their posts give 3,860 grafts in one thread and 3,850 in another's title, for the crown, top and front line, taken from the back and sides. At day 15 they said the recipient area was still a bit sensitive and pinkish and the donor area was less dense but had healed well, and they said "Dr Portelli is a very skilled doctor" and that recovery was going well. Price and technique were not stated, and no later update is in our rows.
3 threads they wrote in
- male 2,400 grafts surgery 2024
- feeling very good about my progress source ↗
ztip002 posted at 7 months after a 2,400-graft transplant with Dr Jean Luc Portelli, stating a price of 1.50 per graft without naming the currency or what it includes. He said he was feeling very good about his progress, with more time still to go. No technique or surgery details were given.
2 threads they wrote in
- Jun 2025 2400 grafts dr. Jean Luc Portelli. ↗
- Jun 2025 2400 grafts dr jean luc portelli ↗
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