Gallery: Behind the Scenes of Turkey's $1B Hair Transplant Industry

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    Emanuele Satolli
    01

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    A surgeon measures a patient's head to map where the hair will be grafted before shaving him completely.
  • Image may contain Clothing Apparel Human Person Sleeve Female Sitting and Hair
    Emanuele Satolli
    02

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    Doctor Yeliz Parlatici (right) and an Arabic-Turkish interpreter examine Ehsan Albalushi's head before the operation. Ehsan, from Barhain, previously underwent a hair transplant surgery in Istanbul a year ago but it was not successful.
  • Image may contain Human Person Clinic Nasser El Sonbaty Hair and Patient
    Emanuele Satolli
    03

    Doctor Yeliz Parlatici and a nurse are shaving a patient before the operation.

    Doctor Yeliz Parlatici and a nurse shave a patient's head before the operation.
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    Emanuele Satolli
    04

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    Two nurses harvest a patient's roots from the thickest hair growth zone. The number of harvested roots is about 4,000.
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    Emanuele Satolli
    05

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    Ali Adnan Qassim from Iraq checks the pictures he took during graft extraction. The lines on his head indicate the number of roots to be transplanted into each section.
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    Emanuele Satolli
    06

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    A doctor injects Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) in the patient's head. PRP is a concentrated blood plasma that can stimulate hair follicle growth.
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    Emanuele Satolli
    07

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    Nurses graft hair follicles onto the patient's bald area. The roots have been extracted from the back of the man's scalp and are being transplanted one by one into the small holes previously created on the front of his head. The entire operation takes between eight and 10 hours.
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    Emanuele Satolli
    08

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    Ehsan Albalushi, from Barhain, after the surgery. Eshan already underwent a hair transplant surgery in Istanbul a year ago but it was not successful.
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    Emanuele Satolli
    09

    A nurse is harvesting grafts from a patient's scalp.

    A nurse harvests grafts from a patient's scalp.
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    Emanuele Satolli
    10

    08-Satolli-TurkishHairFarmers-DSC9772

    A nurse arranges grafts harvested from a patient's head. The total number of harvested grafts is about 4.000.
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    Emanuele Satolli
    11

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    An Arabic-Turkish interpreter records a video of the first shampoo treatment after the operation. The video explains to patients how to care for their head after they arrive home.
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    Emanuele Satolli
    12

    21-Satolli-TurkishHairFarmers-DSC0218

    Doctor Yeliz Parlatici applies a moisturizing lotion on Ehsan Albalushi's head. Two days after the operation the patient gets his first shampoo treatment at the clinic.
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    Emanuele Satolli
    13

    Some patients who have undergone the operation are waiting to see the doctor.

    Patients wait to see the doctor after undergoing the operation.
  • Image may contain Human Person Clothing Footwear Apparel Shoe Market Bazaar Shop and Shorts
    Emanuele Satolli
    14

    05-Satolli-TurkishHairFarmers-DSC0715

    A man who has recently undergone the hair transplant operation walks around the Istanbul city center.
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    Emanuele Satolli
    15

    20-Satolli-TurkishHairFarmers-DSC0327

    Two men with head bandages enjoy a ferry night tour around the Bosphorus in Istanbul.
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