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OtherSyde

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Basic Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Country
    United States
  • State
    CA

Hair Loss Overview

  • Describe Your Hair Loss Pattern
    Receding Hairline (Genetic Baldness)
    Thinning or Bald Spot in the Crown/Vertex
  • How long have you been losing your hair?
    In the last 10 years
  • Norwood Level if Known
    Norwood III Vertex
  • What Best Describes Your Goals?
    Maintain Existing Hair
    Maintain and Regrow Hair
    Considering Surgical Hair Restoration

Hair Loss Treatments

  • Have you ever had a hair transplant?
    Yes
  • Hair Transplant Surgeon
    Dr. Steven Gabel
  • Current Non-Surgical Treatment Regime
    Propecia (Finasteride)

Hair Loss Story

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  1. I agree, it's calmed down quite a bit. Unfortunately, all the hairs have now shed due to shock-loss, so now I'm walking around with a shaved head and a big naked scar which is just wonderful lol, but it's worth it in the long run. I'll update more as things actually develop, but as of the next 8-10 weeks I'm probably just languishing in the shock-loss ugly-duckling dead-zone, so not much will happen (as it goes with HTs). The scar was probably 4-7mm in width at varying points (some points were thicker/wider and some were slimmer). I don't know what the actual exact FU density is, but 400 grafts were placed in the scar and it seems to come close (although not quite) to matching the surrounding native hair density, if that helps any.
  2. Yeah I feel really weird going out in public right now with my scar finally completely visible after years of hiding it under hair too. Sucks. As @Gatsby said, doing another scar revision probably wouldn't help - honestly, I'd look into scheduling a small FUE session to fill it in, and following it up with some quality SMP (my plan). While trying to avoid shamelessly plugging Dr. Gabel here, if you do judge that my results are good, you could literally essentially just point at my pictures and ask him to replicate that work as best as possible (accounting for the fact that everyone is slightly genetically different so results can always vary a bit, so it's not always as simple as "duplicating previous work on another patient"). It looks like you've had both FUT and FUE but still have your head shaved which makes me wonder - did the transplanted hair take well, and grow properly? If so, maybe go for the FUE+SMP route; but if not and you plan to keep it shaved like it is now, maybe just wait another month or two and then do some good SMP to mask it..? SMP can mask some crazy scars when done well. The below is not me, I just Googled for "SMP scar masking"
  3. Day 8 pics - everything is looking so much better, seemingly overnight! Basically all scabs have fallen away which is nice since I return to work tomorrow. I didn't use daily coconut oil on them during my last recovery back in 2016, which made the scabs stay dry and hard, causing them to take another 2-3 days to completely fall off, so I do recommend using it on your recipient area if you need to look presentable for work/public/social interactions a bit faster. Midscalp - scabs mostly gone, most redness gone too! Unfortunately the shock-loss has started here a lot earlier than other areas so it looks thin, but oh well. Time will fix that. Left - nearly all redness gone from recipient area, probably helped a lot by the use of the Polysporin ointment. Right side, similar to left now; just realized I can barely see the scar in either pic! Very clean work by Dr. Gabel as always, with great graft placement that integrates very well with natural hair direction and density! Scar looking awesome, redness and scabbing essentially gone (compare to the previous scar pics from Day 1 and 2, night and day!), and shock-loss hasn't yet started - I'm hoping I can grow my hair out a little more before it does. Regardless, with the decreased redness and the hair density almost matching the surrounding areas, I'm increasingly thinking this will look outstanding once it grows out! Probably the area I'm most happy about so far! Crown looking so much better, too! Scabbing and redness mostly gone as well, and not as severe shock-loss as the mid-scalp area. At least I can return to work without looking like a freak-show now, and just bide my time and wait; got a feeling this is gonna be good Overall I can barely believe how much it's improved in only a week since my HT, and especially over just the last 3 days. FUT certainly has its virtues, but the FUE + Polysporin + coconut oil combo really seems to result in extremely fast healing. Looking forward to the final result!
  4. Thanks and that's good to know about re-vascularizing the scar! Also, holy hell, I can't believe you did 14,468 grafts, that's insane! I thought I'd done a lot at this point at around 6,000 but 14K+ is a whole other level! Congrats on the stellar result!
  5. Here are a few Day 5 pics; back home now and not much change this early, just a bit less scabs and redness so far, good healing though and no issues. I'll probably do another round of SMP once everything starts to grow in, just to top everything off.
  6. And the Day 2 post... 2 Days Post-Op - looking half-asleep at 7am in the photo studio with my head shaved in a reverse mohawk lol. At least I don't have to deal with the ugly duckling phase on my frontal hairline this time, so that'll make it much better once I can grow it out a little. 2 Days Post-Op - Midscalp 2 Days Post-Op - Midscalp + Crown from top. 2 Days Post-Op - Let/Right Side views. Excellent donor healing so far at only +48 hours, hopefully it continues at this pace! I remember Dr. Gabel telling me during the procedure that he was using a 0.9mm punch (some doctors use 1.0mm punches) so the extraction holes aren't particularly large and should heal well. It's worth noting here that Dr. Gabel personally did all of the extractions, as well as making every recipient hole, and his technicians only placed grafts in the holes. He's also very astute in controlling directional placement of hairs so as to flow naturally into the native hair direction. 2 Days Post-Op - Three quarters view. 2 Days Post-Op - Three quarters view, facing down 2 Days Post-Op - Rear/FUT scar view 2 Days Post-Op - Side/FUT scar view 2 Days Post-Op - Side/FUT scar view, zoomed. Again, you can see that the recipient density in the scar is not far off from the native surrounding areas. 2 Days Post-Op - Top/Crown View 2 Days Post-Op - Rear/left view, normal/white lighting, directly post-wash (before we went in the studio room for the pics above; looking at these pics, I now notice that the orange-reddish lighting of the studio really seems to make the donor holes look a lot more red than they do in normal daylight.) 2 Days Post-Op - Rear/left view, zoomed - excellent density! 2 Days Post-Op - Rear view 2 Days Post-Op - Rear/right view
  7. Sure, here goes the first batch: Thinning out badly in 2008 at about 25 years old. Got on finasteride which was damned expensive back then because Propecia still had it patented, but it halted the loss at least. First HT with Dr. Gabel in 2010 at 27yo. 1,773 FUT grafts. Mostly just aimed to restore and bolster the obviously thinning midscalp. Second HT with Dr. Gabel in 2013 - about 1,554 FUT grafts. Aim was to thicken up the frontal hairline region, as the original 1,700ish grafts from the first HT being spread thin all over the midscalp didn't leave a very dense hairline, obviously. Third HT with Dr. Gabel - with hair loss essentially stabilized, got froggy and decided to advance my hairline and temple points with 1,303 FUT grafts. Late 2023 - front looks natural and great. However, my crown - which was always thing - although stabilize by finasteride, had just never been addressed, leaving it somewhat thin -looking when dry... And VERY thin-looking when wet or in bright light. Not bald per se - there's hair there, it's just thin enough to easily see a lot of scalp. Additionally, after three FUT procedures, my scar had grown large and noticeable. Dr. Gabel is well-known for subtle FUT scars, but each time you do a subsequent additional FUT procedure, it's impossible to remove 100% of the previous scar tissue and also get a sufficient amount of grafts, meaning the amount of scar tissue compounds each time. I did do a scar reduction in 2019 (no grafts extracted) which removed about 60-70% of the scar tissue and helped a lot, but it was still visible with a 4-guard buzz under bright light. As per above, the scar became subtle although still visible in brighter light, so I really wanted to put it to bed once and for all. So with my crown and scar in mind, I contacted Dr. Gabel's office to see what he thought. He initially proposed 1,200 grafts FUE as the donor regions on my rear-side scalp area are still fairly dense and untouched (the previous FUT scar didn't reach all the way around to my ears). At first I was told he was booked until mid February (about 4-5 months out), but someone cancelled last minute about 2 weeks out and jumped on the opportunity, quickly arranging some time off work and setting up a flight and hotel. Arriving at Dr. Gabel's building early on a foggy, crisp October Oregon morning In the lobby - the décor and accommodations have come a long way over three different offices I've visited since the halcyon days of the early 2010's! Definitely moving up! One last pic in the pre-op room before I shave it all off Ultimate final graft count - definitely a few more than the originally-planned 1,200, but Dr. Gabel judged that my donor was plentiful enough to handle it without any risk of overharvesting, and the extra 200ish grafts taken later during the implantation phase went to a good place as I will show below... 1 Day Post-Op - Midscalp. The next morning. Mild density in this region, but it wasn't bald to begin with so I was really just looking for a moderate density boost with a bunch of multi-hair grafts. This area was lower priority compared to my crown and scar, but it's still nice to improve it a bit. 1 Day Post-Op - Left Side view. Looks a little gory as these always do, but it's already healing quickly and after the three Ibuprofen given to be directly post-op, I didn't take any more pain meds whatsoever. Zero pain unless someone is pushing on my scalp, then it just feels sort of bruised. 1 Day Post-Op - Left Side view closeup. The extra 200ish grafts were harvested after the initial harvesting phase when D. Gabel decided that the original 200 grafts destined for the scar would not produce a dense enough result - so he doubled the count to 400. I love this decision, because as you can see, the FUT scar graft density almost matches the native surrounding areas! Once it grows out and the angry redness of the scar (after being stabbed 400+ times) subsides, I think it will look fantastic and fully camouflaged! 1 Day Post-Op - Rear view 1 Day Post-Op - Rear view Closeup 1 Day Post-Op - Right Side view. FYI my donor areas are all shiny because of the Polysporin medical ointment. 1 Day Post-Op - Right Side view closeup; Awesome density. Also keep in mind that as per the graft count sheet, essentially all of these are multi-hair grafts. Dr. Gabel now has a fairly high-end hyperbaric chamber to help with more rapid healing. I wasn't previously savvy in regards to this type of therapy (aside from hearing that Michael Jackson had one to help fight aging or something - or maybe promote more rapid healing from his numerous cosmetic surgeries), but according to the Mayo Clinic, "In a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber, the air pressure is increased 2 to 3 times higher than normal air pressure. Under these conditions, your lungs can gather much more oxygen than would be possible breathing pure oxygen at normal air pressure. This extra oxygen helps fight bacteria. It also triggers the release of substances called growth factors and stem cells, which promote healing." From: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy/about/pac-20394380 Unfortunately I was only able to do it once before I had to fly out the next morning, but it was a neat experience - the increasing pressure made my ears pop like ascending in a jet, and I felt very mentally alert afterwards - 1.5 hours of pure oxygen running through your brain will do that, I guess. I wish I could have done more sessions. They give you a walkie-talkie in case you need anything or want to get out early for whatever reason. Also it kinda felt like being in a deep-space hibernation pod from Aliens or something. Anyway, this wrapped up Post-Op Day 1.
  8. Hello guys, it's been while since I've posted here! Older vets might remember some of my ancient posts from 2010, 2013, and 2016. After 3 FUTs I also did a scar revision in 2019. After years of focusing on my frontal hairline and midscalp, this time around it was time to address a long-neglected area: My crown, which had always been thin, especially in bright light or when wet. Also, now that I live in Hawaii again, it kept easily getting sunburned, which was annoying. Additionally, I wanted to fill in my FUT scar. This would be my first FUE too, so now I finally get to be one of the cool kids! I chose Dr. Gabel once again for this; I probably don't need to regale anyone on these boards with the qualifications or handiwork of Dr. Gabel as there are numerous results and accounts to show these things, but suffice it to say that in summary he's always been viewed as one of the innovators and consistent professionals around these parts, which is why I keep returning to him - and also probably why he's vice president of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgeons, and set to take the position of president in a few months as I understand it. Beyond that, I'll just say I've always been personally thrilled with his work and enthusiasm for the trade, and his staff is also top-notch. I've covered the Day 0(pre-op) + Day 1, and Day 2 so far: Day 0/Pre-Op and Day 1 1 Post-Op Day 1 Post-Op Stoked so far, and I'll update as things progress!
  9. Thanks! And yeah, that's generally how he does Intra-Ocular Malar (IOM)implants, as per his video here: Dr Barry Eppley on Instagram: “How I create high cheek bones- the custom IOM implant (Infra-Orbital Malar)
  10. I did message him after seeing his final hairline revision thread, before I got my jawline done, to ask him who did the work. If I remember right from our messages, he had his chin/jawline implant done by Dr. Yaremchuk, but his cheek/ocular rim implants done by Dr. Eppley. But yeah, small world!
  11. Yeah, I definitely am. If for no other reason, then I'm really glad I did it just to fix the asymmetry of my chin and jaw - but I really like the vertical balance that the more squared chin and wider lower jaw width lend to my facial thirds. Whereas before my face was all narrow-looking with a seemingly overly large forehead because of the undersized lower third, everything just looks more balanced now. Most recent pics, after an implant position adjustment (done free of any surgery charge; about 15% of people need an adjustment afterwards due to malpositioning). I also had buccal fat pad removal/perioral lipo done while I was there, since I was already there and it was not expensive. DM me if you've got more questions!
  12. Yeah sleeping on your back is no fun for side-sleepers (like me) or stomach sleepers, I don't think I did it for a full 6 weeks though - I'm pretty sure I did it for 3-4 weeks until the sutures were out and my ears were fairly sturdy in place, and I couldn't take it anymore, so I bought some stretchy gauze bandaging for a few bucks at Wal Mart or whatever and I would wrap it around my head a few times, securely covering my ears so they wouldn't move around or damage any of the healing incisions. For the the gym I was back to working out (lightly) in about 3 weeks as well, since there are no muscles you're gonna pull in your ears (unlike with an FUT incision on the back of your head, where doing shrugs or dead-lifts or whatever, will engage your rear neck-muscles and stretch open your scar - gotta wait longer for that). I'm sure they recommend waiting a bit longer to work out, but I got no ill effects from working out about 3 weeks post-op.
  13. I had it done in 2014 with Dr. Schlessinger in Hawaii, was about $5,400 which is a bit steep for the surgery but that's because Hawaii is just expensive overall. Pretty happy with it still. I made a thread in this very subforum about it.
  14. Yeah, I basically meant better tools, more advanced and standardized methods, more widespread knowledge of the practice, etc; just the industry maturing in general. The title of this thread states he got "1869 Grafts" and FUEblone1985 (OP) says in the first post he paid ~$16K, which works out to about $8.56/graft, unless I'm looking at this wrong?
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