Hello Everyone,

I am very new to this forum, tho I have been interested in, and investigating HT surgery for a few months. I was hoping and planning to have the procedure done during my upcoming trip to Thailand in July, but to be honest, I am starting to get cold feet. Perhaps if I share with you my feelings, some of you will have some thoughts to share that will help.

I have had hair loss since my early to mid twenties, and had pretty much accepted it and dealt with it. Most remedies for baldness did not really appeal to me as I felt it was just the card I was dealt, and just got on with my life. Being married for thirty-four years now, and with a wife who was never bothered by my lack of hair, I just never felt it was an issue.

However, when I started reading about the newer techniques of hair restoration surgery, I became very intrigued and wondered if this was something I should look into more closely. Suddenly the idea of full head of hair again became an exciting idea. Cost was an issue, as I did not see the justification of spending a rediculous amounts of money for the procedure. However, when I checked out the clinic of Dr.Pong in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I could not argue with the fact that the price was low enough that I could easily afford it and justify the cost.

There was some concern about the skill of Dr.Pong, as he is not one of the "recommended" doctors on this website's list. However, all I have been able to read up on him has been positive, and I have yet to read of any negative experiences associated with either him or his clinic.

Now I had already been planning to take a holiday to Thailand, and in fact, to the Chiang Mai area this year for three weeks, and began to think that maybe I should take that opportunity to get the procedure done while I am there. It seemed the perfect fit, as I will be in Chiang Mai for almost two weeks, and Dr.Pong is willing to schedule the surgery at the beginning of that time, so that I would have ample opportunity to drop in if there were any complications and for post op shampooing etc.

However, after reading some more of the posts on this site, particularly the FAQ thread, I am wondering if that is such a wise idea. I was planning this as holiday first, and the HT was a late addition to my planning. Here are some of my concerns that are starting to give me cold feet.

First, the advice in the FAQ talks about days of swelling, and 10 days with little or no physical exertion, to the point of not even bending over, but rather "bending at the knees." This does not sound like much of a holiday, but rather sounds like I'd be a semi-invalid for at least a week after the operation. This did not match much of what I had read before, that it was an out-patient surgery, and had a very fast recovery time. I am thinking now, that maybe if I want this done, I should come back for just a week at such a time that I can just have the surgery, lay around the hotel for a week, and then fly back to Canada. The cost of a flight on top of the surgery cost with Dr.Pong is still less the half the price of getting the procedure done here in Vancouver, so maybe that is something I should consider. I guess what I am asking is, is the HT going to completely trash the majority of my vacation?

Another concern is that some are talking about the need to take additional time off work. I drive a city bus for a living, and so its not stenuous physical activity, and on top of that, I always wear a baseball type company hat while driving, but will there really be a need for additional downtime if I have the surgery a full 2.5 weeks before I'd need to be back to work?

A further concern is simply appearance. I did not have great concerns over post op appearance, but again after reading some of the posts, there were comments about shocking people and looking horrible, etc. How severe is this? I do not want to be touring northern Thailand for two weeks looking like a freak! lol

I would really appreciate some comments, either good or bad, on these issues. I know some will suggest a different doctor, but I have to be honest, if I could afford to go to Dr.Path in Bangkok I would, but his cost is more then double, and for two sessions would be just two expensive. Getting the surgery done here at home in Vancouver with H&W would double Dr.Path's cost, and be more then four times the cost of seeing Dr.Pong. So please, in this thread at least, refrain from my making my choice of doctor the main issue. It is the other concerns that are on my mind at this time.

Thanks!

__________________
My hair transplant website:
http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com...asp?WebID=2182

I would not do it if I planned on being too active on the vacation. You could have very heavy swelling,black eyes, etc for a bit.

Personally, for the first 10 days post-op, following physicain instructions would be the most important part of my life. Not doing so could cost you yield and donor hair.

I prolly would not get an HT at all if a vacation even came close to trumping the HT.

I think that 2.5 weeks is plenty to go back to work, especially if you can wear a hat.

__________________
"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." -Eleanore Roosevelt

What I have done in the past has been to go on vacation and see my HT doctor on a return leg of the flight.

As an aside, the old adage of 'you get what you pay for' could well apply to your choice of HT doctors.

It is not that the vacation trumps it, so much as I do not want one to lessen he other, and it works both ways. If I become too active on the vacation, I may hurt the overall effectiveness of the HT, while on the other hand, the HT may very well lessen the enjoyment of the vacation.

I was excited about combining both, but now I am wondering if they are a good mix.

__________________
My hair transplant website:
http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com...asp?WebID=2182

This may be an option for me. My vacation is three weeks, and I was planning to have the procedure on the Monday of week 2. I could probably change that date to the middle of Week 3 and still have the 4 days in Chiang Mai for followup.

__________________
My hair transplant website:
http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com...asp?WebID=2182

In my experience, I felt pretty crappola after my HT surgeries for a couple days after (valium had to wear off, making me feel pretty out of it - that could just be my reaction to valium though). I had some pretty wicked swelling in my eyes after the first one for a couple days too and no way would have wanted to appear in public looking like a klingon. It takes about 8 - 10 days for the grafts to be totally secure in your head so I'd take at least that long before you do anything resembling strenuous or start wearing a hat. I went back to work 10 days after my second HT and was totally fine. However, I had hair to cover up most of the work.

You could combine vacation with HT if you plan on having a very relaxing, laid back vacation. But if you plan to be active, then I wouldn't plan them together.

You lucky dog. You live in Vancouver, which is beautiful and home to H&W. I'd save my clamolas over the next couple years and get my HT done right there. Seemingly cheap HTs can be much more expensive in the long run - both monetarily and emotionally. Good luck to you, Vanman.

__________________
My Hairloss/Transplant Website:
http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com...asp?WebID=1772

I would do the HT at the beginning of the 3rd week, giving you 2 weeks enjoyable vacation, 1 week for the HT to heal, and back to work wearing a hat with no problems. Remember that you'll have forehead swelling sometime during days 2 through 5 after the HT and even with a hat this can sometimes be noticeable depending on how bad your swelling is, so allow some time for that just to be safe if you don't want anyone to know you did anything.

Awesome responses, thankyou so much.

My wife just suggested another option, so I'll see what you all think. I have one week of holidays the first week in May as well, and she said, "Why don't you fly to Chiang Mai then, get the HT, stay there for about four days afterward, and then come home?" My dad, who dosn't travel much anymore as he is in his mid-80's, has a suitcase full of airmiles, so the flight would be virtually free, it would just be spending 30+ hours in a plane that sounds most dreadful. I have just sent off an email to Dr.Pong to see if those days might be available, and if they are, its a definite possibility. It means returning to work about a week after the surgery, however. Again, I drive city bus at night in Vancouver, wearing a hat, so not sure that should be much of a problem.

What do you think? I will be going back to Thailand and Chiang Mai in July for the vacation, but this way I could do the HT first, and it would have two months to heal before the trekking and white water rafting.

__________________
My hair transplant website:
http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com...asp?WebID=2182

I was in a similar situation and combined my Thailand HT with a fantasticc holiday straight after, you can check out my profile. I was maybe lucky or a good healer, but I literally came back to the hotel from the procedure, slept like a baby, had a headband on the next 3 days, and carried on touring the day after surgery. I realise not everyone has been so lucky, with nausea, swelling etc. But everyone is different.

Definitely go with the idea of doing the vacation separately if you can get that much time off work. Although many people go back to work 1 week later, as you probably can with a hat, it would be hard to enjoy a vacation.
Ok, on the "minor" issue of the doctor, I'm not familiar your chosen doc and for all I know he is qualified and can produce a good result. However, based on research I did for my ht, if I were going for a strip procedure of the size you are considering I would only go to H&W. My first reaction when I started my research was that thebprice was over the top even for a small procedure. But, after looking at hundreds if not thousand of results money really become the less critical issue.

__________________
View my patient website:
http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com...asp?WebID=1874