Biography
Dr. Gökay Bilgin – Hair Transplant Surgeon
I am a medical doctor who found hair restoration almost by accident, treated my first patients for free, and went on to co-found one of Türkiye’s best-known hair transplant clinics.
I was born in 1980 in Ereğli, a port town in Zonguldak province on Türkiye’s Black Sea coast. I left home at 18 to study medicine in Istanbul, the city where I have lived and worked ever since.
Today I am a medical doctor and hair transplant surgeon, the co-founder and Managing Director of Smile Hair Clinic, and I have performed more than 5,000 hair transplant procedures. Most of my patients come from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and broadcasters from ABC News to the BBC and TRT World have filmed my work.
On this page I share how I got here, what I believe about my profession, and who I am away from the operating table.
CHAPTER I
Early Life and Medical Education at Cerrahpaşa
Ereğli is about three and a half hours’ drive from Istanbul, and at 18 I made that move for good. I enrolled at Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, today part of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa and one of the oldest and best-known medical schools in the country. I often say that Türkiye’s long medical tradition is one of the reasons the country now treats patients from all over the world.
What medical school did not teach me was hair transplantation. No medical school anywhere offers formal training in it, whether to dermatologists or to plastic surgeons. Every hair transplant surgeon learns the craft in practice, and for me that learning started years after graduation, in a place I did not expect.
CHAPTER II
The Emergency Room and the International Patient
I spent my first years as a doctor as a physician at Medical Park Health Group, including work in the emergency room. Wanting a second skill, I moved toward international patient care. My hospital group needed a doctor who spoke fluent English and could organise treatment for patients travelling from abroad, and asked me to join its headquarters.
It was an unusual path for a young physician, but it gave me something most surgeons only learn later: a clear view of the whole journey of a patient who flies to another country for treatment, from the first message to the follow-up at home.
“I was doing hair transplant for free just to make them happy at start. But afterwards, it became my main job.”
CHAPTER III
How Hair Restoration Became My Life’s Work
The international patients I was looking after kept asking about one procedure: hair transplants. I began with small reconstructive cases, people with scars that needed 100 or 200 grafts to cover, and in those early days I often treated them without charge. What began as a side interest grew case by case into my specialty.
At Medicana Health Group I became a full-time hair transplant surgeon, took on the management of hair transplant and medical processes, and within a short time was appointed deputy chief physician. Alongside surgery I completed certifications in aesthetic and cosmetic applications approved by the Turkish Ministry of Health, as well as in mesotherapy and phytotherapy.
By the time I left Medicana I had a clear idea of the clinic I wanted to build: one led by doctors, focused only on hair, and planned around results that still look natural years later.
CHAPTER IV
Founding Smile Hair Clinic in 2018
In 2018 I co-founded Smile Hair Clinic in Istanbul with my colleague Dr. Mehmet Erdoğan. I have always cared about the training of medical staff, and that interest led the two of us to write the True Philosophy, the clinic’s framework of analysis, accomplishment and advancement. In 2026 the clinic expanded it into the Smile True Philosophy, covering everything from planning to long-term follow-up.
I still operate every week. I work with the same team each day and trained most of them myself, which lets a standard operation finish in about six and a half hours. In my experience, much longer procedures leave grafts outside the body for too long and lower their survival, so an experienced, settled team matters as much as the surgeon.
Most of my work is hair transplantation in Turkey for international patients, using Sapphire FUE and micromotor graft extraction. I also perform beard, eyebrow and moustache transplants, female hair transplants and afro hair transplants.
In 2025 Smile Hair Clinic became the first hair transplant clinic in the world to receive a TEMOS A-Rating for Quality in Outpatient and Ambulatory Care, and it has since renewed the accreditation.
Interview
From My Interviews
Extracts from the interview I gave to Italian photojournalist Alessandro Gandolfi in 2026. Part of it appeared in a reportage published in The Times; the full conversation is below.
On what keeps me going
“Sometimes at night when I see one of my patients had their hair back, I really take screenshots and share to my wife, share to my parents. It makes me proud.”
On why Istanbul became the capital
“We started to get patients from all over the world, and we got experienced in hair transplant. So, we become the capital of the hair transplant.”
On experience
“I work with the same team every day. I raise them.”
On the future of the field
“We can try to preserve grafts much better. It’s the most important thing.”
What I Believe About My Profession
Across two decades in medicine, a few convictions come up again and again when I talk about my work.
It is an art as much as a technique
“Hair transplantation is not just a technical procedure; it is an art. My priority is to achieve the most natural and suitable result for each patient.” A hairline is drawn around the donor area, the proportions of the face and the patient’s age, not around the number of grafts.
Sometimes the right answer is “not yet”
Social media brings in very young patients who want surgery for a few millimetres of recession. I consider operating on them too early unethical, and advise medical treatment such as hair mesotherapy first when hair loss has only just started. We also do not operate on patients over 65, because results become less predictable.
Patients should check before they trust
My advice to anyone researching a clinic, as I put it on TRT World: “Please do your research, check the testimonials and the reviews of the clinics,” and talk to real people who were operated on there rather than relying on social media posts.
Care continues after the operation
I record explanations of shock loss, aftercare and recovery myself so patients know what to expect at home. The steps are collected in the patient guide.
Outside the Operating Room
I am married and a father of one. The patients who message me months after their operation are part of my family life too: when a result comes in that makes me proud, my wife and parents are usually the first to see it.
My team will tell you I like to keep the mood light in the operating room. Patients often mention the same things in their reviews: the conversation, the calm and the follow-up messages after they fly home.
When I am asked what I value most, my answer is one idea that runs through both my professional and personal life: a culture of learning.
“I value learning culture both in my professional life and personal life.”
Milestones
-
1980
Born in Ereğli, Zonguldak. -
Age 18
Moves to Istanbul to study at Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine. -
Early career
Physician at Medical Park Health Group; emergency medicine and international patient care. -
Before 2018
Hair transplant surgeon and deputy chief physician at Medicana Health Group. -
2018
Co-founds Smile Hair Clinic with Dr. Mehmet Erdoğan. The same year, a BBC documentary follows a British patient to the clinic for consultation and surgery. -
2022
Smile Hair Clinic receives two awards at the 13th Quality of Magazine Klass Awards, including Hair Clinic of the Year. -
2024
Appears in an ABC News Nightline documentary, consulting an American patient in Istanbul. -
2025
Smile Hair Clinic becomes the first hair transplant clinic in the world with a TEMOS A-Rating. -
2026
Interviewed by TRT World and for a reportage published in The Times; the clinic launches the Smile True Philosophy. More than 5,000 hair transplants completed.
On Screen: Television, Documentaries and Talks
My most recent television interview was with the international news channel TRT World, where I talked about Türkiye’s place in medical tourism and the patients I turn away.
TRT World, 2026 · 6:48
More appearances
ABC News Nightline · 2024 · 7:49
An American patient’s trip to Istanbul, including his consultation with me
BBC documentary · 1:00
Paul from Middlesbrough, who met Dr. Erdoğan and me for his hairline design
TV8, Turkish television · 2019 · 15:37
An early television appearance on hair restoration
Podcast · 2025 · 43:15
The two founders on why they chose this field, and what patients should expect
Live seminar, United Kingdom · 4:41
Meeting prospective patients in person in the UK
Explainer · 2026 · 8:06
How I decide where a new hairline should sit
In the Press
Coverage of my work and the clinic I co-founded, newest first.
2026
2025
The Gazette, 1 Oct: Top 5 best hair transplant clinics in Turkey
The Gazette, 30 Sep: Top 8 best hair transplant doctors in the world
The Denver Gazette, 26 Sep: Hair transplant Turkey with Smile Hair Clinic
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11 Jul: Top 5 hair transplant doctors in the world
USA Today, 13 Mar: 5 premium hair transplant clinics in Turkey
SF Weekly: Top 10 hair transplant doctors in the world 2025
2024
2023
2018–2021
Frequently Asked Questions About Dr. Gökay Bilgin
Who is Dr. Gökay Bilgin?
I am a Turkish medical doctor and hair transplant surgeon, born in 1980 in Ereğli. I graduated from Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, co-founded Smile Hair Clinic in Istanbul in 2018 and have performed more than 5,000 hair transplant procedures.
How did Dr. Bilgin start performing hair transplants?
While I was organising care for international patients at my hospital group, I was asked again and again about hair transplants. I began with small reconstructive cases to cover scars, often free of charge, and moved into hair transplantation full time at Medicana Health Group.
Who founded Smile Hair Clinic?
I founded Smile Hair Clinic in 2018 together with Dr. Mehmet Erdoğan, and I am also the clinic’s Managing Director.
Which media outlets has Dr. Bilgin appeared in?
I have been filmed or interviewed by ABC News Nightline, the BBC, TRT World and Turkish channel TV8, and gave an interview for a reportage in The Times. The clinic has also been covered by NPR, USA Today, Gulf News and others.
Does Dr. Bilgin speak English?
Yes. I speak fluent English, and most of my patients come from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
A Conversation Before Any Decision
Every patient I operate on starts the same way: with photos, questions and an honest answer about whether surgery is the right step. If you would like my view on your own hair, send your photos and read the patient guide to see what the process involves.