agdc

Thanks so much!!

Thanks for the comments in my online album. I think it's safe to say I am photo obsessed although yesterday was the first day I didn't take any pictures. I'm thinking once a week would be sufficient.

I wish you all the best with your journey! I'm interested in hearing about it when you decide to move ahead. From what I can tell, it doesn't look like you need any surgery, but of course we need to do what makes us happy.

Hi again Tony,

I sent you an email with the links to both of my online albums.

You really couldn't go wrong with either doctor in my opinion. Both are fantastic although I have to admit, I got more of a warm fuzzy feeling with Dr. Simmons. I think I just had a better rapport with him, but both are extremely good at what they do. Their methods are both very different as well, so hopefully you take that into consideration too.

I can cover the recipient area pretty well with a "strategic" hairstyle, certainly moreso than my first procedure, however I have had a fair amount of shock loss so it is quite thin. Interestingly, I have shock loss in both the recipient AND donor area, which you will most likely notice in my online albums. For simplicity and the sake of saving time, I am wearing a hat everyday to work since it takes too long to style my hair. On weekends, I don't wear a hat to give my head a break from being covered.

The donor site is healing pretty well. My donor scar from my first surgery ranged from 1 to 3 mm in width so Dr. Simmons did a scar revision for my second procedure. In other words, he excised my first scar when taking the new donor strip with the idea that I wouldn't have a second donor scar, and that my scar would hopefully be narrower this time around. I guess time will tell. Hopefully the deep layer sutures that he used to close up the site will have helped. As far as doing fue in the scar, I have heard of people having success with that, but of course there is always the risk that when you transplant into the scar tissue, the blood supply isn't sufficient to get a really good growth yield. That is definitely worth asking about at any consultations you go to.

I know that many doctors recommend that you keep your hair a bit longer prior to a strip surgery, so you will likely want to do the same, especially since you are concerned about the smiley face problem. Alternatively, maybe you could just put some of those crafty googly eyes to complete the smile into a whole face.

It's great that you have family in Ottawa and can take advantage of the convenience of seeing Dr. Rahal while you are there. I live in Ottawa so it was awesome to have a world renowned surgeon in my own local area. It made the followup very easy.

There I go again writing a novel! I hope that my online album is helpful to you. As always, let me know if you have any other questions.

Sincerely,

Kim     

Hi again Goldilocks. Thanks for the detailed story on your transplant surgery. Dr Simmons is my second pick for doing mine, when I get around to it. He is only second because of location, I have family in Ottawa so I'll be choosing Dr. Rahal, again when I get around to it. My son wants to see a pro hockey game so I am thinking about flying to Ottawa in the fall for that, will book a consult with Dr. Rahal then. Both Doctors have a terrific reputation for quality work and a caring staff. My email is gcollier@nl.rogers.com...... looking forward to seeing your progress. Did you have any problem camouflaging the recipient site this time, and how is the donor site? That is my one fear is the scar the ht produces. I am trying to convince myself that I can always get fue in the scar if it turns out to be a problem. I like my hair on the sides and back to be short these days, and the prospect of having a smiley face on the back of my head is a concern for me. On the other hand the prospect of having a thick hairline again is enough to override that concern. Looking forward to seeing your pics and Dr. Simmons work. Take care.

Tony

Hi there agdc,

Thanks for your comment on my profile and your interest in my situation. I'll do my best to respond to your post.

I have to say that I look at many women's foreheads and see that they come in all shapes and sizes as well as always comparing mine to theirs, much like men probably look at other men's hair. It really is amazing how similar men and women are in terms of their views of themselves.

In answer to your questions, my second transplant was done by Dr. Cam Simmons in Toronto, Ontario. I chose a different doctor for the second procedure as I liked the idea of not having to shave any of my hair except for the donor area, and I also liked the technique Dr. Simmons uses (stick-and-place as well as using "chubby" grafts to preserve hairs that are in the telogen phase.)

After my first experience, I really didn't want to go through it again, not because the doctor wasn't great, or that my experience at the clinic was bad. It was moreso because of the recovery and having had both the recipient and donor areas shaved. It made it tremendously difficult to camouflage the surgery so I wore a hat for a while until I could style my hair decently. I also had a significant amount of pain and discomfort during recovery and difficulty sleeping for the first two weeks while the sutures were still in. It also took months for the numbness to go away. Looking back, I realize now that I was too stubborn to take the pain medication I was given. In retrospect, I should have like I did with my second procedure. It made a tremendous difference I have to say! I obviously "forgot" about the discomfort of the first surgery so I went ahead and had another in April of this year (approx 2 and a half years following the first).

I decided to have a second procedure because I wanted to change the shape of my forehead to make it more feminine and also add density to the existing transplant. I have very fine hair so it's more difficult to get good coverage with just one surgery. Having said that, Dr. Simmons designed me a hairline that has peaks and valleys, and a small widow's peak so that it is more irregular which is characteristic of a women's hairlines. My first one was quite straight.

Gosh, I seem to have written a novel! Anyway, I would be happy to share my online album with you privately if you send me your email address. Bill keeps trying to get me to post my albums publicly, but I am just not that comfortable doing that...at least not yet.

Hello goldilocks. It is always interesting to hear of a woman getting a ht because I never really think about it until I read a personal story like yours. Come to think of it I have noticed some women have a hairline high up on the forehead, I just never thought it bothered them the way male pattern baldness bothers men, but obviously it does. You didn't mention the second doctors name, and why you thought to never go through it again after the first ht. Just wondering if it was because it was not a good experience, and why you felt the need for a second. I hope this latest ht meets your expections, would love to see some pics of your progress as you go. Take care.

Hi Adrian. Your result looks great and this is the result I would like for myself. My son wants to see a pro hockey game so I thought I'd bring him to Ottawa this fall, I have family there, to see one and and take the opportunity to come see Dr. Rahal for a consult. Tks for posting.

Sorry, just read your story and saw that you are 32. Looks good, looking forward to seeing the photos to come. Tks.

Hey superhawk. Your hair looked pretty good even in pre-opt, lots of density, looking like only a norwood 3A, .....maybe. Looks like you needed to fill in the temple area a little, I don't know how old you are so wouldn't guess what your progression might be down the road. Interesting to see what your donor area will look like in a month or so, as well as your hairline of course. Congrats.

Wow Nicky, result looks fantastic, and only 7 months yet.

I see you posted a message to me in your status update. It's nice to have you as a friend too :-).

If there's anything I can help you with to make your visit more helpful and enjoyable, let me know :-)

All the Best,

Bill (Falceros)