BlondeDude

I just got to the 4 month mark myself. 8 more months of examination and concern haha!

So, it has been 4 months since my surgery with Dr. Harris and so far there isn't much news to report. The recipient site is still slightly pink, there are a few hairs popping through here and there, but no coverage or growth yet. I know most growth comes now through month 8 so I'm just praying my investment starts paying dividends.

I've posted a couple pictures.

Cheers,

Blonde Dude

As promised, I have taken a few pictures for my one month update. The majority of the grafts have fallen out, the recipient site is still pink but fading. I am only using Nizoral shampoo as Propecia and Rogaine Foam have caused weird side effects that aren't acceptable to me.

Everything at this point seems on track and hopefully in a month or two I'll see some progress. Instead of using concealer to cover up the red like suggested by Dr. Harris, I've been using L'oreal bronzer towelettes to slightly darken my fair skin and it has worked great.

I'll be posting again at the second month mark.

Happy growing to everyone!

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the support! The scabs have fallen off now at 9 days. The growing follicles look healthy and I'm just waiting for them to fall out and go into hibernation for a few months. I'll be posting again at the one month mark.

Cheers!

I've taken a couple pictures for a one week update and also have more details on my surgery.

I have a dense donor area which contributed to my 9.6% transection rate; Dr. Harris said even though he was using a .9mm punch, some of the surrounding grafts to the ones used were damaged due to density. For the blade in the recipient area, he used a .8mm and 1mm.

The FUE count is as follows (the average being 2.2 hair follicles per graft);

283 1's

247 2's

327 3's

73 4's

4 5's

I'll be posting more pictures at the one month mark, my donor area is already healed up and recipient area, although slightly red, looks good and I feel I'm on track thus far.

It is difficult to leave the FUT or FUE issue behind because they are 2 very different surgeries. H&W doesn't do FUE, Dr. Rahal just began performing FUE and does not yet have any grown out results. SMG is novice at FUE, doesn't have any grown out pictures, ok well maybe one that they post over and over again of the Latin gentleman. I believe this above ranking is relevant to FUT doctors for sure, but for FUE, after 100's of hours of research, Harris and Feller are the top docs, period.

I recently had 934 grafts transplanted by Dr. Harris in Denver, Colorado. The main goal was to strengthen my hairline as it has been uneven my whole life. He and his team did an excellent job and if I had to describe Dr. Harris, it would be a mix between a top notch surgeon and a fatherly figure looking out for your best interest both now and the future. You read about docs and their techs being friendly, but this group really made me feel at home. The environment was both warm and professional. If you are considering an FUE procedure I would highly recommend them.

As a side note I am a perfectionist, I've done 100's of hours of research on this and other forums, I did not choose Dr. Harris at random. If you are considering FUE, I suggest you do more research on Harris and his team. I believe he and Dr. Feller are in an elite class for FUE.

Hair Restoration Social Network - Hair Loss and Transplant Photos

-Blonde Dude

Thank you scar5 for this information.

So there are differing philosophies in regards to who should be using the FUE tool. I guess as long as transection rates are low and the results are good there is no difference?

I believe Dr. Shapiro has a tech do the punching which kinda threw me for a loop because this is very different than how other doctors are doing this method. The reasoning was "fatigue". Thoughts?

So Dr. Feller $10 per, Dr. Harris $8 per, and Dr. Shapiro $6 per. I wonder if this has any correlation with their experience and work in the FUE arena?

My question here is pretty straight forward. Who should be doing the punching out of the grafts and who should be doing the implanting? I've read differing philosophies on this. Getting the grafts out is the hardest part of this procedure, yet when speaking with one of the top FUE recommended doctors on this site, I was told they only do the placement of the grafts, leaving the removal up to their tech. This is done because of fatigue, if they did both it wouldn't be as high quality as if their highly trained tech did the removal. I have also heard that the doctor should be the one doing the removal, especially because it is a highly skilled job where FUE is successful or fails. I just wanted to hear some opinions on this.

Cheers!

Is Shapiro Medical Group truly a world class FUE option, or mostly just for strip?

I had a scar revision done by her and she is great, the scar isn't noticeable now, she blended it in amazingly.

Other than Doctor Feller, who are the very top FUE doctors in the United States?

I actually had Mellany Whitney do scar camouflage on me for a scar on my arm and she is top notch. She is the best out there and I highly recommend her, quite the personality too.

Matt,

Thank you for confirming what I was thinking as well. I believe FUE is most likely my best option, but wanted to get confirmation from people in the know like yourself before I made any decisions. I don't want to do anything to my donor area that would be considered irresponsible later on should I need a second procedure, which I'm sure will most likely happen as I am 27. Also, I have tried Propecia for 6 weeks and could not tolerate the side affects, I am all for topical and alternative treatments though. I have attached another picture per your request for a better overall judgment of my case.

Cheers!

Sean,

Thanks for the comment I appreciate your input.

I agree it comes down to if I have my hair short or not and the number of grafts. I don't see a lot of hairloss in the future, my hair is a mop, just my hairline is uneven. I don't plan on buzzing my head, but all that being said if the surgery is say 1200 grafts, for that small amount and the fact I don't see a ton of progression happening, FUE would be better even though it's results are less consistent? I'm just trying to do the right thing and I've read that strip first then fue is the way to go. I've also read a post by Dr. Feller, albeit from 2006, saying anything more than 400 grafts should be strip.

Hey everyone, I've been reading on this community for about a year now and finally going to pull the tigger on restoring my hairline. I'm thinking based on what I've seen that I'll need around 1200 grafts into my hairline to reduce the recession in my temples and bolster my hairline. I'm considering FUE, but I don't cut my hair that short and know if I want to keep the donor area in best shape for the future I should go strip.

I'd just like to know a few opinions on how many grafts people think I would need as well as if it was more along the lines of 1500 grafts if I should do strip seeing how it is more consistent. In the back I have my stylist do finger length and never use a clipper 3 or 4 so I think it would cover the scar but I'm not sure of this.

Cheers!