thinkingaboutit

James, Man I am sorry that you are hurt because you did not get the news that you wanted and had your hopes broken. Some people are not good candidates and it is a good thing to know before you made a mistake.It would be far worse to get grafts before finding that out. We all have things that we have to face. You know this, now do what you can to make yourself strong and proud in other ways. Work hard to develop the other things about. Develop a strong body and a strong mind. Have faith in yourself and make challenges for yourself that you strive to be successful at. Keep at it and eventually you will develop the self confidence that you thought hair on your head would give you. You will find that its not what's on your head that makes you appealing,but what's inside it.

You have gone from 21 days to 10 or 12? That seems a bit short. What does Dr. Cooley say? Will he be taking them out? I have absolute faith in him so I would trust whatever he says. He did a procedure for me and I think that my scar 2+ years out is virtually undetectable. One thing I did that I think helped, though I have no irrefutable evidence to support its benefits, was a swim in the ocean on the 14th,15th and 16th days. I think the salt water helped.

Looks great. Good Luck. I too had a procedure w/Dr. Cooley and am very glad that I chose him. I am going back for a second procedure this summer. I am curious why were you shaved? I know that Dr. Cooley doesn't insist on shaving recipient area. I'm sure that you will be happy with the results.

I had a procedure of 1300 grafts w/Dr.Cooley about 2 years ago. I was and am very satisfied with him, his staff and the procedure. If I have a second procedure performed I will go back to him. I am considering a second procedure and after a consult a year ago I was given a count of 800 grafts to serve my needs, though I think that perhaps I could use a bit more than that now. My concern is that although the the recipient area is thinning, it still has pretty good coverage. I am concerned that by placing more grafts into the area I will risk causing unnecessary damage and actually end up in short order with thinner coverage than I have now. I had no shock loss with the first procedure but the recipient area was much thinner then. Can someone help advise me,...am I just experiencing hair greed now and I should just be satisfied with where I am or is it reasonable to expect that I will enjoy the same benefit and improvement that I experienced after the first procedure from a surgeon that I respect?

I think it looks great. The gaps in the hairline make it look more natural. That is nothing to fret. I think it looks better that way.

I think that a lot of surgeons don't truly appreciate, understand or take the extra time to plan a design that best suits the type of hair loss pattern that is unique to each individual. There are way too many bowl-shaped patterns on hair transplant recipients with too much density placed in the hairline. I believe that approach is inappropriate for many hair loss sufferers. Sometimes the hair loss has progressed to a point that expectations need to be revised and graft placement should be approached with an attitude of minimal hairline density and the more dense placement planned for the mid scalp region. Surgeons should take more care to ascertain the likely pattern of future loss and plan a procedure that better suits each individual candidate.

Thanks for the replies. I am on Propecia for about 2 years now but I have not tried Minoxidil yet. I waited on the minox because I have heard of some aspects of it that I was not comfortable with but am now ready to give it a try. I wondered though if beginning to take it within a few months of surgery actually it increased the rate of shockloss. I wondered that because of reports from some posters on this board who complained of shockloss and relayed that they had recently begun taking Minoxidil around the time of the surgery. Just my curiosity at work but I wondered if there was a correlation.

Hi, it has been a while since I have posted but I follow regularly, almost daily. I am considering a second procedure in early June ( with Dr. Cooley again). I anticipate 800-1000 grafts to increase density in the frontal half. A couple questions please: Do I stand a greater chance of shockloss 2nd time around especially since recipient area currently has pretty good coverage? ( I did not experience any shockloss first time.) Would I experience better results if I allowed the recipient area to be shaved, or could the doctor achieve same success without shaving? I just now ordered Minoxidil (5%) from an online source ( hopefully it is reputable). I have not yet used minoxidil. Is it wise to begin the use of minoxidil now with a procedure date 2-5 months away? Thank you

Hi, it has been a while since I have posted but I follow regularly, almost daily. I am considering a second procedure in early June ( with Dr. Cooley again). I anticipate 800-1000 grafts to increase density in the frontal half. A couple questions please: Do I stand a greater chance of shockloss 2nd time around especially since recipient area currently has pretty good coverage? ( I did not experience any shockloss first time.) Would I experience better results if I allowed the recipient area to be shaved, or could the doctor achieve same success without shaving? I just now ordered Minoxidil (5%) from an online source ( hopefully it is reputable). I have not yet used minoxidil. Is it wise to begin the use of minoxidil now with a procedure date 2-5 months away? Thank you

hairthere Before my first HT, I was advised on several different consults with different doctors that I would need between 1500 and 2000 grafts. I am probably overly cautious by nature and opted for the low end. I did not want to risk shock loss by too invasive a procedure.I think that was a good choice. I am still concerned about shock, and if I wasn't so neurotic could certainly forego another procedure.But as nobuzz4me says, 800 correctly placed grafts can make a big difference.And, given how well my first procedure went and how much I trust Dr. Cooley, Now is a good time for me to augment my first procedure.

Tuesday I had a consult w/Dr. Cooley in N. Carolina. Dr. Cooley performed my first procedure 18 months ago of 1600 grafts and I could not be more pleased with the results. My donor scar is virtually non-existant. I have decided to have a second procedure of 800 grafts to bolster ( density wise ) a 20 sq cm area in the front to mid scalp.I have not yet scheduled a surgery date but I expect that it will occur before the end of the year. I will keep this board informed of the progress.

How dense persq cm can a doctor safely transplant into an area of existing without risking shock loss. I had a 1600 graft procedure a year and a half ago and am considering a second procedure to add some thickness.

How dense persq cm can a doctor safely transplant into an area of existing without risking shock loss. I had a 1600 graft procedure a year and a half ago and am considering a second procedure to add some thickness.

Is shock loss more like with a second procedure? Are there any additional problems that arise from a second procedure that might not be so likely in the first?

Is shock loss more like with a second procedure? Are there any additional problems that arise from a second procedure that might not be so likely in the first?