Pre 4500 Session with Dr Feller:




Immed post op 4500 session with Dr Feller:

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SPEX

Consultant for Dr. Feller, Coalition Member and Dr. Lindsey, Coalition Member.

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own. "Research-Research-Research"

My Hair Loss Blog with Pictures

Pre 4500 Session with Dr Feller:




Immed post op 4500 session with Dr Feller:

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SPEX

Consultant for Dr. Feller, Coalition Member and Dr. Lindsey, Coalition Member.

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own. "Research-Research-Research"

My Hair Loss Blog with Pictures

Interesting.
But I am curious, why the gap in the back?

I've seen some docs do this.
Why not fill it in at a lower density so he doesn't have to come back right away for more work?

I don't see how this will grow in and look natural with a "D" shaped bald spot in back.

Maybe there is native hair growing there that was shaved down?

Everything else looks clean.

Thanks.

Refer to the pre op pic as it will help indicate the native hair that already resides there. The gap is only so prominent now as its an area thats been shaved down for the session but not worked on

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SPEX

Consultant for Dr. Feller, Coalition Member and Dr. Lindsey, Coalition Member.

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own. "Research-Research-Research"

My Hair Loss Blog with Pictures

Gotcha.
Thanks.

Hi Guys-
The photos above belong to me. I definitely want to maintain my anonymity, so I appreciate it if everyone understands that I am not planning on posting any frontal or facial photos. I've got no problem with just the photos of the top of my head though...
I've been reading these forums for a couple of years, and I was planning on writing about my transplant experience, because I wanted to give something back to all the people who have helped me out in sharing their own stories.
If you search this forum, or the other transplant forums for that matter, you'll see some great things written about Dr. Feller. My experience was no different. Rather than repeat a lot of the things I've read, I'd like to try to add some stuff that hasn't been said before, or at least, that has not been repeated enough. Here goes...

MY RESEARCH:
Something that I think isn't emphasized enough is that people shouldn't focus too much on graft numbers. It's a lot more about hair characteristics. When it comes to hair transplants, everybody brings their own unique ingredients to the table. If you try to cover a surface area with a rope, it's very different than covering it with a thread. I'd like to see more doctors not just post graft numbers, but include more information about patient's hair characteristics and perhaps info about the size of the area that needed to be filled.
In terms of doctors, I narrowed my list to: Feller, H&W, and Shapiro. In my opinion, they are the top of the top. If you are reading this post and researching for the first time, please be extremely careful. This is not a field of medicine where you want to take chances with unproven surgeons. The differences are not small ones.

THE SURGERY:
I've read lots of different takes on what the surgery feels like. I would consider myself to have an average pain tolerance--no less and no more. If you are wondering about the pain involved, it is honestly nothing. I cannot emphasize this enough to everyone... If you have booked a surgery, and you are having trouble sleeping, I suggest you get some sleep. It's a breeze. The biggest issue for me was that I have back problems, and it was very difficult finding a comfortable position for my back and neck. Dr. Feller and his techs were very helpful in trying to rectify that for me. If you do have back problems like myself, I suggest you make sure you are comfortable and that you communicate with both the doctor and the techs beforehand.

POST-OP:
Unfortunately, I had a tougher first night than most people seem to have. Dr. Feller feels it's probably because I had a pretty aggressive surgery. I have zero regrets, since I really wanted (like most people) as much as possible.
For some reason, the Vicodin that I took didn't really touch the pain for most of the first night. The donor area pain kicked my butt pretty good... In addition to that, the Vicodin got me nauseous (I took it without food), so add the combo together, and it was a rough night. Thankfully, by the next morning, things were significantly better.
The most difficult part of this entire process for me, by far, has been the staples. If anyone is wondering what it feels like to have dozens of staples in your head... I'm sorry to say that it feels exactly what you think it would feel like. It's quite tough to sleep, so I cannot wait to be free of these things.

DR. FELLER:
Lots to say about the guy. He is both confident and perfectionistic, and these are two excellent qualities for a surgeon to possess. I don't think anyone wants surgery from someone who has a "good enough" attitude, or who says "gee...I think I think I can probably pull this off..." Feller takes a whole lot of pride in what he does, and it comes through to the patient in a big way. He's almost as excited to give you your hair back as you are to get it back. He's passionate about what he does.
The guy also genuinely cares about his patients. I've seen him time and again take a stand against other doctors who are not looking out for their patient's best interests. I would think that it would be extremely difficult to openly speak out against a colleague, but Dr. Feller knows how many people can get hurt, both cosmetically and financially, if he keeps quiet. Dr. Feller hasn't forgotten that he himself has been on the patient side of it (having had his own transplant), so it's very personal to him that people are not getting ripped off by bogus treatments, or getting sub-standard care. I know that it's tempting to want to believe doctors who tell you what you may want to hear, but make sure you go to someone looking out for your long term goals and interests. There seem to be doctors out there who are getting great cosmetic results for now, but possibly at the expense of your donor area later on.
If you do a lot of research about the transplant procedure, you'll discover that there are tons of little things Feller does to make sure you have a top result. I really took the time to learn about things like tools and microscopes, and it pays to educate yourself. All of these things really make a huge difference in your surgery. Dr. Feller even overbooks his techs, just to make sure you aren't shortchanged in case of an emergency. In my opinion, not enough is said on the forums about this kind of thing. Yes, his results are amazing...but that doesn't just happen by accident... the deck is stacked in your favor.
In the end guys, it's all about the internet. If we didn't have these forums, it frightens me to think of how likely it would have been that I would have ended up with the wrong doctor. When I started losing my hair, it really had a negative impact upon my life. If the internet had not existed, I easily could have wandered into some hair mill and had somebody prey upon my desperation. I'm real lucky to live in a time period where I'm able to find a top-notch surgeon... the kind of doctor who should be the rule and not the exception.
Obviously, I'm only a week or so post-op... so I cannot yet vouch for my results. I know we all have our own physiology, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up yet. I suppose the nicest thing that I could say is, that if my results are a triple and not a home run, I am sure they would have been a single or a double in another doctor's hands. Obviously, I'm praying hard for the homer.
By the way, speaking of baseball, it isn't easy for me to say such positive words about a Yankee fan (Dr. F is a big one,) so trust me that my testimonial is quite sincere...
I wish the best to everyone here on this forum. For the first time in a long time, I feel like time is working for me and not against me. It's a good feeling.

ceasar,
congrats man..you're post op looks great..you're going to be really happy in a few months!
Spex, any idea on the size of the strip that yielded 4500 grafts. The density is going to be spectacular! A break of the 1's, 2's and multis would be great too.

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- badger
3279 grafts with Dr Gabel - 06/12/08

My Hair Loss Website - Hair Transplant with Dr. Gabel

Thanks for the feedback Badger. I'd love to get the breakdown too on the 1s, 2s, and 3s 9I don't know it). Thanks Spex...

Lookin good!

About the staples. . .

I had a surgery of almost the same size as you and something like 80 staples and they didnt even bother me. . until I had them removed. That was the only painful part of the whole experience. The night after was no picnic, but it was a dull, constant pain. Some/many of the staples stung like hell!

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My Hair Loss Web Site - Hair Transplant with Dr. Wong

Welcome aboard Ceasar - will do my best to get the digits

__________________
Best
SPEX

Consultant for Dr. Feller, Coalition Member and Dr. Lindsey, Coalition Member.

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own. "Research-Research-Research"

My Hair Loss Blog with Pictures