in 1997 I beqan with the Lewinburg formula which resulted in marginal improvement in my rapid rate of hairloss. By 1999, it was clear that Lewinberg was not the answer. I went on proscar which slowed progression and even seemed to grow a little hair. Unfortunately, I did not keep good photo records because I was simply interested in my own progress and knew nothing of an internet community that might be interested in viewing my successes and/or failures along the way.

In addition to Lewinburg I tried many other topicals including retin-a, azelaic acid (skinoren), minoxidil 5% and copper peptides. It was always the case that I could see a little progess at times, but the general trend was downward. The hair on my crown grew thinner and whispier until it did not cover my skin adequately. The frontal area was especially thin and I was headed toward a completely bald front end within two to three years if I could not come up with some better solution. The crown area was not far behind.

Knowing little about transplants and not being on the internet, I saw a surgeon in Chicago in Oct 2001. He did 900 transplants in the front third of my scalp. It looked like crap for a year and his hairline work was terrible. Hairs were not random and they were spaced too far apart.

In June 2003, I tried Lipoxidil 1.5 (a liposome based minoxidil with retin-A) Several doctors told me there was no reason to believe this product would help. I applied it to the crown of my scalp daily. On the frontal area, per instructions from the manufacturer, I used a spironolactone product with zinc in a liposome base. The results were astounding. I grew at least a couple of thousand new hairs front to back within six months. My appearance was markedly improved. However, the perimeter of the tranplants, the hairline area, did not benefit from these drugs. So, I opted for more transplant work with Dr. Sharon Keene in AZ after much investigation of surgeons available. Initially, I planned to have her only repair the hairline, but after discussion, I decided that she could go with 1300 more transplants in the frontal one/third area to achieve consistency of density and a permanent solution.

I am waiting for Dr. keene to send me the before pictures. I belatedly bought a digital camera in AZ after my surgery in order to track my progress.

I am planning to set up a web site that will include old polaroids dating back to 1995 and with Dr. keenes photos. Eventually I hope to show all of you the changes that have developed. Right now I'm in the ugly shock fallout phase which sucks, but I've been there before. Now it's just a matter of waiting time. I continue to use the Lipoxidil products and they seem to be accelerating the regrowth post surgery. Not to mention, these products have completely improved the density and hair shaft diameter of the hairs on my crown. So I will continue to use these products and delay, or even completely avert transplants in the crown area.

I'm new to digital photography and posting photos so I hope this goes well. These photos are just a start and I will work to get some decent before photos posted as soon as possible. For now, I think it might be interesting to see how I looked post surgery for those who have concerns about the aftermath of surgery.

PS: Comparing Dr. Keene to my previous surgeon, the skill, soft touch and steady precision that Dr. Keene showed during the surgery just blew me away. Dr. Keene is truly a talented surgeon, in my opinion.

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:28 AM.]

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:29 AM.]

Attached Images

100_0001.jpg (20.4 KB, 1283 views)

in 1997 I beqan with the Lewinburg formula which resulted in marginal improvement in my rapid rate of hairloss. By 1999, it was clear that Lewinberg was not the answer. I went on proscar which slowed progression and even seemed to grow a little hair. Unfortunately, I did not keep good photo records because I was simply interested in my own progress and knew nothing of an internet community that might be interested in viewing my successes and/or failures along the way.

In addition to Lewinburg I tried many other topicals including retin-a, azelaic acid (skinoren), minoxidil 5% and copper peptides. It was always the case that I could see a little progess at times, but the general trend was downward. The hair on my crown grew thinner and whispier until it did not cover my skin adequately. The frontal area was especially thin and I was headed toward a completely bald front end within two to three years if I could not come up with some better solution. The crown area was not far behind.

Knowing little about transplants and not being on the internet, I saw a surgeon in Chicago in Oct 2001. He did 900 transplants in the front third of my scalp. It looked like crap for a year and his hairline work was terrible. Hairs were not random and they were spaced too far apart.

In June 2003, I tried Lipoxidil 1.5 (a liposome based minoxidil with retin-A) Several doctors told me there was no reason to believe this product would help. I applied it to the crown of my scalp daily. On the frontal area, per instructions from the manufacturer, I used a spironolactone product with zinc in a liposome base. The results were astounding. I grew at least a couple of thousand new hairs front to back within six months. My appearance was markedly improved. However, the perimeter of the tranplants, the hairline area, did not benefit from these drugs. So, I opted for more transplant work with Dr. Sharon Keene in AZ after much investigation of surgeons available. Initially, I planned to have her only repair the hairline, but after discussion, I decided that she could go with 1300 more transplants in the frontal one/third area to achieve consistency of density and a permanent solution.

I am waiting for Dr. keene to send me the before pictures. I belatedly bought a digital camera in AZ after my surgery in order to track my progress.

I am planning to set up a web site that will include old polaroids dating back to 1995 and with Dr. keenes photos. Eventually I hope to show all of you the changes that have developed. Right now I'm in the ugly shock fallout phase which sucks, but I've been there before. Now it's just a matter of waiting time. I continue to use the Lipoxidil products and they seem to be accelerating the regrowth post surgery. Not to mention, these products have completely improved the density and hair shaft diameter of the hairs on my crown. So I will continue to use these products and delay, or even completely avert transplants in the crown area.

I'm new to digital photography and posting photos so I hope this goes well. These photos are just a start and I will work to get some decent before photos posted as soon as possible. For now, I think it might be interesting to see how I looked post surgery for those who have concerns about the aftermath of surgery.

PS: Comparing Dr. Keene to my previous surgeon, the skill, soft touch and steady precision that Dr. Keene showed during the surgery just blew me away. Dr. Keene is truly a talented surgeon, in my opinion.

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:28 AM.]

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:29 AM.]

i can't seem to figure out how to add photos without adding new posts. Pat, please change this if I've made a mess of things.

Here is a photo of the excision area the day after surgery. Not pretty, but I'm sure it will continue to improve. Dr. keene used a double closure.

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:30 AM.]

Attached Images

100_0003.jpg (26.4 KB, 1237 views)

Not pretty, but I was pleased to see so many grafts. The "droplets" in my hair are saline solution that I applied religiously in order to soften drying excess blood. It was a very effective way to keep my scalp from getting horribly scabby.

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:31 AM.]

Attached Images

100_0005.jpg (21.6 KB, 1218 views)

The redness is evident, but all in all I was surprised at the generally good condidtion of my scalp after all those tiny incisions

Attached Images

100_0010.jpg (23.3 KB, 1217 views)

Here you may be able to detect a little puffiness in the forehead. This lasted only a day. Per Dr. Keene's advice, I always kept my head elevated above my heart to prevent fluid accumulating at the sitT of trauma. I also iced my forehead and donor area every two hours. Not fun, but I preferred that inconvenience to having a big fat head. I also wrapped my forehead in an ace bandage everynight to prevent migration of fluid into the forehead area. this seemed especially effective in preventing swelling. I also slept upright for five nights to take advantage of gravity. All of these measures seemed to keep swelling to a very slight degree.

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:33 AM.]

Attached Images

100_0011.jpg (17.4 KB, 1164 views)

Most of the scabs fell away. I believe the frequent cleaning with saline solution, along with the use of tiny incisions led to the rapid disappearance of scabs. Slight redness remained, but I was thrilled to be able to walk around without a hat so shortly after surgery.

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:35 AM.]

Attached Images

100_0019.jpg (18.2 KB, 1133 views)

This was the only notable swelling I had. It occured on maybe day 3 or 4 when I woke up in the moring. It seemed like the tightly wound ace bandage around my forehead pushed the fluid down toward one of my eyes. I guess the fluid must migrate somewhere. Once I removed the bandage, the swelling in my eye resolved within a few hours and did not recur. Added benefit: A free coffee at starbucks because a sympathetic clerk asked what happened to me and I just said "oh, an unfortunate incdient. I'll be okay.'

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:36 AM.]

Attached Images

100_0047.jpg (16.2 KB, 1125 views)

I'm even impressed myself. Not a bad hairline eh? How's that for a natural look?

i grew the chin stubble so that people would say "something looks different, did you grow a beard?" Believe it or not it worked. No one commented on my hair, but several people said, "the beard looks good. It makes you look much younger."

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 02, 2003 at 12:14 PM.]

Attached Images

100_00931.jpg (87.8 KB, 1150 views)

Not a great shot, but it shows you just how far I've come in 9 years. And, keep in mind, between 1994 and 1997 things got much worse.

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:39 AM.]

Attached Images

age410002.JPG (48.4 KB, 1114 views)