ShiningDome

Paris, You'll be fine. Of course I was nervous before I went in as well, but it was not as difficult as I thought. You are in good hands. The most difficult part as many say is the initial numbing shots. You must stay relaxed during the administration of the shots as tensing the muscles makes them hurt. Then of course, the sitting still part. If you have a music player, an iPad or other wireless device, there is WiFi in the office. I actually had a couple of Facetime sessions with my wife during the surgery :-) As far as MSM - I got mine through drugstore.com. The Vitamin Shoppe has it as well, however when I went in and asked for it, they were pushing some other hair "supplements" that contained MSM and other ingredients as well. I didn't feel comfortable with buying any of them without doing my research. Good luck! Dome

paris, It's almost time! Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

Greetings! Just updated my album with pictures taken 20 days after the surgery. Not much to update. The transplanted hair has jumped ship, and the native hair is regrowing. The scar is doing great, and I hope no stretching will occur. So far I have not noticed any shock loss either. I won't be updating anything for another 3 months, as I believe I have entered the doldrums zone. Happy Holidays to all!

Thank you all for the remarks. It has been a week since the surgery, and so far everything appears to go as expected. The swelling is gone! I have experienced slight occasional pain in the donor area, usually at night, but tylenol usually helps. I have taken advantage of the time off to come to the Caribbean for a week. At doctor's recommendation, I am using ocean water as a natural healing agent. I think it is helping, as the recipient area is looking cleaner and cleaner every day. The layer of "stuff" on it is almost gone, and my dome is beginning to shine again :-).

I had my hair transplant procedure at Dr. Feller’s office yesterday (Nov 16, 2011). What I will write below may be redundant, but I believe I owe my remarks to Dr. Feller, his staff, and the community in these forums. A little about me: Although I live and work overseas, I am a US citizen and maintain an apartment in Manhattan. I know that location should not be a factor when deciding on getting a hair transplant. I considered two surgeons in Canada, one in Georgia, one in Minnesota, and two in New York. I guess I was lucky due to the fact that the surgeon that I selected was located less than 45 minutes from the apartment. I had scheduled the surgery a few months in advance, and planned my leave time from work around the surgery. The chronological breakdown of the surgery day: The anticipation and excitement affected my sleep the night before, and I don’t think I slept until 1 AM. I woke up at around 5:30 in the morning, showered and left for the clinic at around 6:30. Since there was hardly any traffic, I reached the clinic area at 7:00 AM. I really needed a coffee, but aware that I cannot have it prior to the surgery, I had a light breakfast with some orange juice at the Dunkin Donuts nearby. I met Dr. Feller at the parking lot and went upstairs with him to the office. He asked me if I have any additional questions. Since we had a lengthy pre-op consultation the day before, and I had been a silent observer of this forum for quite a while, all of my questions had already been answered. Then he proceeded to draw the hairline, taking into account my desired results. Once we agreed on the hairline, I moved into the operating room, where the donor area was prepared. A few minutes after 8:00 AM, the work begun. Now I am trying to determine the most difficult part of the surgery and I am torn between the initial numbing shots or the standing still part. It was much easier that I had anticipated. We paused at around 1:00 PM for lunch - I ate the sandwich really quick, since I wanted them to continue with placing the grafts as soon as possible. The graft placing was finished at around 2:30 PM. Over 3200 grafts placed in 6.5 hours – I think that is phenomenal. Then my head was cleaned up, final post-op instructions were given to me, and I was on my way. I actually felt confident to drive back to the city, but after thinking it over, I had someone pick me up. Post-surgery recovery: I started to feel pain in the donor area and pressure in the transplanted area about 2 hours after I left the office. After I used one of the prescribed painkillers, the pain was not as evident, although still there. Took an antibiotic and a painkiller before I went to bed as well and I slept like a rock. Once I woke up the next day, I noticed that the one of the grafts bled a little. I got a little worried, thinking that I may have scratched the scalp during sleep. However, after my wife examined the area, she noted that all the grafts in the area were present and there was no evidence of scratching. Then I removed the band that was placed to cover the donor area, and surprisingly, there were only a few spots of blood there as well. I washed my hair as instructed. As you can see from the pictures below (sorry for the poor quality), the donor area is faintly visible due to the flash, unless you’re looking for it. Since I woke up this morning, until now, when typing this (about 24 hours after the surgery), I have had absolutely no pain - another pleasant surprise. However, the donor area is beginning to itch a little bit and some swelling is present in my upper forehead area. As I attempted to describe the swelling stages to my wife, I came up with the following swelling categories: 1 - Ferengi / Megamind Stage (Upper Forehead) 2 - Avatar Stage (Eyes and Nose) 3 - Godfather Stage (Chin) Today, I am in the “Ferengi / Megamind” stage, and I am noticing the swelling moving down towards my eyes and nose. If it keeps it up, I should be in the “Avatar” stage tomorrow. About the graft count: The number of grafts recommended by different clinics ranged from 2000 to 4000. Wanting to achieve the best results, and since Dr. Feller described my donor area as “dandy” I was willing to do whatever it takes to get a desirable result in one sitting, and going up to 4000 grafts. Although I knew that I had quite a piece of real estate to be covered, Dr. Feller recommended that 4000 grafts would not be needed and said that he would aim at around 3200/3300 grafts. Dr. Feller and his staff worked like a well-oiled machine. All the staff members were very courteous and helpful. Although this is my first HT, and I would like for it to be the last, if I have to do it again, I would not hesitate a bit. :eek: Finally, due to the numbness in the head, I feel like I have a hat on at all times. Ordered Thai food earlier, and I realized that I didn’t have my hat on after I scared the heck out of the delivery boy at the door. I will do my best to update everyone on my progress. Again, a big thank you goes to all the contributors of this forum! Let the "wait" begin!

I live in the city, but overseas with work. I actually fly in from Europe the day before the surgery. I will be in the states for about two weeks, then back to work. Exchanging notes is a good idea. I will definitely share my feedback here. After all that I have read about Dr. Feller, I am sure that it will be a very positive one!

paris_caine, I am scheduled for November 16 / 3500 grafts with Dr. Feller. This forum has been an incredible resource. Literally, all the questions that I had I found answers to in the forum. Spex guides are also very helpful! Good luck to you!

I think the posters need to be more specific when discussing shaving of the hair. Shaving usually means removal of hair, by using a razor down to the level of the skin. From what I have noticed in the forums, many people refer to "buzzing" as "shaving", and this seems to cause some confusion. Buzzing is a haircut in which the hair is sheared very closely to the scalp. When buzzed, the person performing the transplant (the Dr.) can view the angle of the hair, and avoid transection of hair follicles. When the hair is shaved, this is impossible.

I may be wrong, but is this "furryguy" from the forum? Great results. Looking forward to my surgery with Dr. Feller this November!

joeyz400, How's the donor area doing?

A masterpiece, indeed!

Hariri, Are you in any way affiliated with Rahal? Have you received a HT from them? I can't help but notice your continuous recommendations for this clinic. I am just curious as I am in the process of selecting a surgeon myself.

ukpatient, With only 2 months and 16 days post-op, this growth is most likely the native, pre-existing hair returning. I am sure that with 4505 grafts, your result will be phenomenal once the transplanted hairs start to wake up.

Tom's Album --->> Hair Restoration Social Network - Hair Loss and Transplant Photos

It definitely looks like you have way more coverage when compared to your pre-op pictures. At only 4 months, this is great!

Bonker, Best wishes for your recovery. I pretty much narrowed the list of surgeons that I am considering for my surgery, and H&W is on the top at the moment. Constant positive reviews are helping them maintain that spot on my list.

Orangehair, Are the pre-op photos available anywhere on the site? Thanks!

Bill, Great results. I do have a couple of questions (if you have a minute) about your experience. I tried to send you a direct message, but can't find a way to do so. Hopefully I'll figure it out.

Greetings all, Based on the results posted by Transmed on this site, I was very close to scheduling an appointment with Dr. Kulahci's office for a HT. However, the results posted by patients themselves are not as encouraging. Albion, since my hair is very similar to yours, I will wait and see how your growth progresses before I decide if it will be Dr. Kulahci, Dr. Feller, or Dr. Dorin.