Refusing to go bald, Quebecers travel to Turkey to find a well-endowed head.
“Why not!” says Simon Chartrand, a 38-year-old real estate agent in Sutton Quebec. The Sorel-Tracy man didn’t like the fact that he was losing his hair at such a young age.
“I was very limited when it came to haircuts. I also shaved and had no reason to be bald,” he says.
Almost two years ago, he paid around $4,800 to fly to Turkey and receive a hair transplant. It’s much cheaper than in Quebec, he argues.
Turkey has become a global destination for this type of medical tourism in recent years. Both here and in Europe, men go there to regain their old hair.
Annie Vincent was co-founder of Nomades Médical, initially for bariatric surgery in Turkey. Then, when she started getting requests for hair transplants, she said she teamed up with a doctor who does “a few a month” for Quebecers.
The explosion in demand also leads to an explosion in supply. Caution is therefore advised on these medical trips abroad, which are sometimes the scene of horror stories. Experts remind you to contact a doctor and a hospital, for example, and not a clinic.
3200 transplants
After 3,200 transplants on his head, Simon Chartrand went from a cockscomb to a full head. “I am more than happy. If you’ve never seen me, you can’t guess,” he says.
Simon Chartrand, a 38-year-old real estate agent, traveled to Turkey for a hair transplant in October 2021. Cosmetic surgery file for men JONATHAN TREMBLAY/LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL/AGENCE QMI Jonathan Tremblay / JdeM
Her partner Patrick Charbonneau is considering high-definition liposuction. “I want to have abs,” he says, adding that despite training several times a week, he never reached his desired limit.
“None other than a man”
For Sean Bastien, who also traveled to Turkey for a hair transplant last year, it’s a question of self-esteem. It was his partner who encouraged him to keep going as he was tired of hearing him complain about his hair falling out. “I don’t feel any less of a man because I had a hair transplant,” says the 49-year-old.
The fire consultant also received more than 3,000 transplants, an operation that took around 12 hours in total.
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Photo provided by Sean Bastien
He adds that you have to wait six to eight months for the graft to become less visible.
Before and after hair transplant. Photos by Sean Bastien
He says the operation takes a long time but is not painful. The head is given a local anesthetic.