Justjulien's Hair Loss Story

Well where to begin,

I have been slowly receding from the front of my Hairline since the age of around 26 (I am now 38 yrs of age) and have also noticed the gradual thinning of the crown area, every time I'd go for a haircut and you'd get the back view of your hair I'd cringe at the bald spot, and thank the hairdresser profusely just so they would take away the mirror.
As we all probably did I tried various lotions creams shampoos and different "styling" to see is I could camouflage the problem, but I was inevitably fighting a loosing battle. I started taking propecia around the age of 27-28 and this definitely helped somewhat in preserving what I had and even encouraging a small amount of regrowth. I think for me this was the 1st important lesson I learned you have to work with what you have and maintain what you can.
So I managed this for another 3-4 years whilst in the back of my mind considering some form of Hair Transplant Surgery.
I'd heard and seen so many horror stories and bad plugs that I was sceptical that a "natural" look could be archived.
Anyway I started to do a ton of research on the Internet prompted largely by the actor James Nesbitt who I thought looked like a new man after his surgeries.

During the course of my research two names kept coming up time and again, those of Spex and Dr Alan Feller.
I initially made contact with Spex as I am UK based and he spent time listening to my story and concerns and gave me some support and advice on the next steps to take. He put me in touch with Dr Alan Feller of Great Neck York, and I scheduled my 1st surgery in April 2011.

Once I had taken the decision I had a few months to get my head around the idea of what I was about to go through and organise myself with everything I needed for the Surgery- Blood work, flights (fly to JFK not Newark as it's much closer) hotel (I recommend Andrews near the surgery you get a good deal if you mention Dr Feller and the staff could not have been nicer)

The day of the surgery arrived and I met Dr Feller at his offices around 7.30 am and we talked through what I wanted from the surgery and how he envisaged the day would go. Turns out it's a whole process, so you may need 1, 2 or 3 surgeries depending on your goals, before you achieve your desired result. I have thinning through the front of my hairline and in the crown area, and almost a Mohawk of hair on top. We discussed the options and Dr Feller and the aim of stage 1 was to rebuild my frontal hairline area with around 2500 grafts in a cap like shape and he suggested returning for a second procedure to address the thinning crown once I had seen the results of the 1st procedure.
The procedure itself was reasonably painless I was in the chair for around 7 hours with a break for lunch and by the end of the day I had the beginnings of a new hairline and rebuilding the thickness in the top of my head.
Dr Feller is extremely professional and talked me through every stage of the process, what to expect immediately after and in the coming months. Also it must be said all of his staff are super friendly as you have team working of your head and grafts throughout the day.

Immediately after the procedure I returned to my hotel and spent 48Hrs relaxing before returning home to the UK. During this time I had to be extremely careful not to damage the grafts but you are given fairly explicit aftercare instructions and medication for the pain which helps.

The down time afterwards for me was around 2 weeks - you can return to work earlier, but I wanted to wait till my own hair grew back before I returned to work so I looked as natural as possible. In the end I told anyone who asked as it generated quite a bit of interest amongst friends family and colleagues.

Its now been 6 months and as the photos show I’ve had a fantastic result, not the hair of a 21year old me, but the hair of the 38yr old me which looks natural and is coming in nicely.

I’ve just been in touch with Spex and have made arrangements to have my Crown area addressed in March 2012.

Roll on March-best thing I ever did!!

Justjulien,

Welcome! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with Dr. Feller. I had a look at your photos and it appears that you've make quite a nice transformation thus far.

Congratulations and best wishes. Please be sure to keep us updated on round two!

__________________
David (TakingThePlunge)
Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant

I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice.

View my Hair Loss Website

Welcome JustJulien,

Here is your transformation so far - glad you are happy



Best
Spex

__________________
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

hi bud

looks ace , great transformation , looking forward to seeing the crown done in march , keep us updated

richie

__________________
2100 crown grafts
Dr Feller
nov 2007

Looks good from what i can see JustJulien congratulations .

Such a shame about the difference in photo lighting though. Do you have some more pictures with different angles and lighting you could post?, or maybe a hairline shot so we can see this great result better.

I am looking forward to following your crown progress, bet your very excited.

On a side note though, please don't leave it six months to post your new procedure as it would have been much cooler if you posted straight away so we could have followed your whole progress instead.

Best Egghead

Thanks I'll keep you updated

Updated pics of session 1 - pre op and post op.

Session 2 pics to follow.








Best
SPEX

__________________
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

2500 grafts have been used very efficiently and he looks great.

Has he got any plans for the crown now?

__________________
2 poor unsatisfactory hair transplants performed in the UK.

Based on vast research and meeting patients, I travelled to see Dr Feller in New York to get repaired.

Here are JustJuliens crown pics of his recent sessions into the crown.

I wil confirm numbers shortly.

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________
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