Dr. Erkam Caymaz is a hair transplant surgeon based in Istanbul, Turkey, with over fourteen years of clinical experience in FUE and Sapphire FUE techniques. He graduated from medical school in 2010, completed subspecialty training in cardiovascular surgery, where he developed the sub-millimetre precision that defines his hair transplant work today, and transitioned to hair restoration in 2012. He holds international certifications from the World FUE Institute, FUE Europe, and the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine. He accepts a maximum of one to two operations per day.
From Cardiovascular Surgery to Hair Restoration
I graduated from medical school in 2010 and spent the first years of my career in cardiovascular surgery. My training was built on microvascular anastomoses, suturing blood vessels under a microscope, where a 0.1-millimetre error can cost a life. I learned to love the precision. I learned to find stillness inside that pressure.
But something kept unsettling me. In emergency surgery, the patient rarely remembers your face. You save their life and you become a ghost in their recovery story.
In 2012, a thirty-one-year-old man was recovering in my ICU after a successful valve replacement. His vitals were stable, but his heart rate would not settle. The nurses said he would not look in the mirror. He had lost most of his hair years earlier, and the hospital gown had stripped away what remained of how he recognised himself. One morning, I pulled up a chair and asked what was wrong. He said: "Doctor, you fixed my heart. But when I go home, my daughter will still ask why Daddy looks sick."
That night I reviewed his chart again. Tachycardia with no cardiac cause. It was shame, pure, physical shame responding to what he saw in the mirror. I referred him to a dermatologist for a temporary hair system, and within a week his heart rate normalised. A cardiologist colleague laughed at me. "You are a heart surgeon. You are worried about hair?" I told him: "His heart was beating a hundred and twenty times per minute because of a mirror. I fixed the valve. Someone still needs to fix the mirror."
That year, I began my transition into hair restoration. I brought everything with me, the microvascular discipline, the surgical patience, and the understanding that what you do to someone's reflection is as real as what you do to their tissue.
Medical Education & International Certifications
Medical Degree & Surgical Foundation
Dr. Caymaz completed his medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine in 2010, with subspecialty training in
cardiovascular surgery. His foundational surgical precision derives from microvascular anastomosis technique, suturing blood vessels of 0.3 to 0.8 mm diameter under operating microscope magnification. This background carries directly into the channel-opening phase of hair transplant surgery, where blade angle and depth tolerance are measured in fractions of a millimetre.
International Memberships & Certifications
World FUE Institute (WFI). Certified Surgeon since 2020. The WFI sets methodology standards and technical benchmarks for the follicular unit extraction procedure globally. View certificate.
FUE Europe. Certified Surgeon since 2020. FUE Europe is one of the leading professional associations for FUE specialists across Europe. Member profile.
American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine (AAAM). Certified since 2022, covering the intersection of aesthetic medicine principles and surgical discipline.
ISHRS (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery). Congress attendee with continuing medical education credits across multiple annual sessions, including accredited CME webinars in February and September 2022, verifiable via the ISHRS Members Area.
Surgical Protocols
1. Dual-Hand Harmony Protocol™
The channel-opening phase determines the angle, direction, and density of every graft, for life. Most surgeons work exclusively with their dominant hand, which creates a subtle inconsistency when opening channels on the opposite side of the scalp. Dr. Caymaz performs channel opening ambidextrously, adapting to the natural curvature of the patient's skull from either side without compensating for hand preference. The result is a directional consistency across the entire recipient area that single-handed technique cannot replicate.
Exclusively available in VIP Packages.
2. The Architect Touch™
In many clinics, channel opening is delegated to technical staff under the surgeon's name. Dr. Caymaz does not delegate this step. He personally opens every incision in the recipient area, every angle, every depth, every spacing decision. Graft placement is then handled by his specialist team, but the architectural blueprint is entirely his. This ensures the density plan and directional design are executed exactly as intended, with no translation gap between the surgeon's vision and the result.
Reserved for VIP Elite Patients only.
3. Solo Focus 1–2™
Dr. Caymaz accepts a maximum of one to two operations per day, without exception. This is not a marketing position. It is a clinical decision. Hair transplantation at the highest level is cognitively and physically demanding. Distributing surgical attention across parallel procedures affects the result in ways that are felt but difficult to measure. Limiting daily volume protects the quality of every operation he performs.
Limited availability: 1–2 private booking slots per day.
Sapphire Blade. Why It Matters
Dr. Caymaz uses sapphire-tipped blades for all channel openings. Sapphire is significantly harder and smoother than standard steel at the microscopic level, meaning incisions heal with less tissue disruption and channels hold their precise angles more reliably during graft placement. Combined with Dr. Caymaz's ambidextrous technique, Sapphire FUE enables denser packing, finer hairlines, and faster tissue recovery than conventional FUE.
Clinical Experience
Dr. Caymaz has been performing hair transplant operations since 2012. Over that period, he has completed thousands of procedures, including complex Afro-American hairline reconstruction, second-session high-density cases (3,100+ grafts unshaved, 4,800+ grafts second session), and advanced Sapphire FUE. His cardiovascular surgery background contributes directly to his technical reliability in high-graft-count operations where sustained precision over several hours is required.
Free Online Consultation
Frequently Asked Questions
Dr. Erkam Caymaz is a hair transplant surgeon based in Istanbul, Turkey, specialising in Sapphire FUE. He graduated from medical school in 2010, trained in cardiovascular surgery, and transitioned to hair restoration in 2012. He holds WFI, FUE Europe, and AAAM certifications and accepts a maximum of 1–2 operations per day.
Dr. Caymaz is a certified surgeon with the World FUE Institute (2020), FUE Europe (2020), and the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine (2022). He also holds verifiable ISHRS CME credits from 2022 congress sessions.
Dr. Caymaz performs channel openings ambidextrously (Dual-Hand Harmony Protocol™), personally opens every incision himself (Architect Touch™), and limits his schedule to 1–2 operations per day (Solo Focus Protocol™). All procedures use Sapphire blade incisions.
Dr. Erkam Caymaz has been performing hair transplant operations since 2012, giving him over twelve years of clinical experience in FUE and Sapphire FUE techniques.
VIP operations performed by Dr. Caymaz directly are priced between $2–$4 USD per graft depending on the case and package selected. Contact the clinic for a personalised quote after a free online hair analysis.
A maximum of 1–2 operations per day. This is a clinical decision to ensure full surgical focus and consistent quality on every patient, not a scheduling limitation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Professional Hair Transplant Insights by Dr. Erkam Caymaz