GreaseDJ

Thanks guys! I'm pretty pleased.

And thanks Spanker - after the hair started coming in I dropped about 25lbs. Amazing how easy it came off when I was just feeling good about myself in general. Another 15 or so more to go.... not as easy ;-)

I have been bad about posting pics the last few months. :-(

Hard to believe it has been nearly 11 months since the procedure for me. I couldnt be happier.

Just a reminder of where I started last July:

And today:

I just went into my primary care doctor's office and the nurse took them out no charge, no questions asked.

Thanks for updating your results. They look good so far. How is your scar? Do you think ACell helped in minimizing the scar? If you touch the scar area can you feel it? Usually the scar tissue protrudes outward. In my understanding ACell is supposed to eliminate the scar tissue and produce a flat skin. Is that true from your results? In addition, is the scar same as your scalp skin color or is it a bit red?

Actually I cannot find the scar. Feels just like the surrounding area. Very flat. I have a very very thick donor area and I think that plus the trico closure plus the acell makes it impossible to see. Only exception- I have one little area on the right hand size that feels like a bump the size of a pebble. That is my only point of reference for where the scar even is. No redness, but to be honest, with the exception of the day the stitches came out, it was never red.

Four months and all is well... even started experimenting with a little Toppik to beef it up in the interim...

No Toppik:

With a little spritz of Toppik:

Let me know whaccha think

I'm trying to figure how many graphs are needed for the frontal third. I have measured approx 60 cubic cm and I have fine to medium fine straight brown hair. Assuming there is nothing there how many graphs would be needed to fill in the area. I have coverage there from previous surgeries but I want to know how many total graphs are needed on a completly bald frontal 3rd for reference. Thanks

All depends on the density you are looking for: 45 gr per sq cm would be 2,700 grafts. 50 would be 3,000. 60 would be 3,600

So I would say anywhere from 2,700 to 3,750.

I have a strong crown and mid, just recession in the frontal third. I had no noticeable shed at all. (As for saying that your loss isn't happening in your crown and mid- remember it takes up to 50% loss before you notice it is thinning.) I have had no side effects from Fin except lots of new baby hairs growing where none were for years.

Not all docs do bloodwork. And it is illegal to test for HIV in the US unless the patient is explicitly informed and gives consent (except in cases of accidental needle sticks, etc where a health worker may have been exposed). As an aside- unless your HT Dr explicitly told you they were testing for HIV, don't rely on that as having a negative test. (However, ethics work both ways, and a positive person should always inform their health care providers, even though they are not obligated)

In the US, Dr's are required to use universal precautions and treat all patients as though they have a blood born infection. It is ethically (if not legally) not allowed (in the US at least) to refuse treatment solely on the basis of HIV status. Of course, that is assuming that the positive person's immune system is not compromised and there are no other contraindications. There actually was a case a little while back where Dr. Brett Bolton (who has been accused many times of being privy to questionable reviews on this site) refused a patient a HT because he was positive. Not sure how the case turned out- HIV-positive man denied hair transplant - Health - AIDS - msnbc.com

Hi all, I am 99% booked (just arranging the actual date) with one of the recommended surgeons on here, and looking at my photos he said I needed around 2000-2500 FUE to achieve a "mature hairline" with good density. I'm going to see him in person (I live in a different country) in Oct so I hope to get a better measure on my crazy dreams.

 

So looking at my head, what result can I realistically expect for 2-2500 fue? Don't laugh, but I want to keep myself grounded and stop thinking I'll look like David Beckham! Am I being totally unrealistic? I have high expectations I know. If so would someone be kind enough to post an image of a more realistic goal?

 

Thanks all as always. When I get the HT I'll post my progress on here. This place is such a great source for encouragement and knowledge.

 

Me:

I had a very similar hairline to yours and was scheduled for 2k grafts then thought what the heck and went for an extra 500 for a total of 2,500 the day of the surgery. Although mine is not grown in yet, I can say that in my case, I need to keep telling myself that my Dr's recommendation for a mature hairline was a good one. For me it is easy to think, "Gee, I am getting a HT, I should have a juvenile hairline like Beckham or Tom Cruise." It is easy to get greedy.

A good looking mature hairline is generally between 7 and 9 cm above the center of in between your (relaxed) eyebrows. Measure that out then take a marker and make a dot, then draw a curved line across. That will give you a good idea of what a mature hairline looks like in the meantime between now and when you see the doc.

Thanks for the input so far guys. Please keep it coming...

 

One thing I didn't realize is that Rogain must be applied twice daily. That is a pretty much a deal breaker because I usually only take one shower per day.

My HT doc, Dr. Cooley, recommended only once a day as being effective. It is so easy to apply and cheap (I use the liquid not the foam) so I actually do apply twice daily. I usually only shower once a day in the morning. It takes 10 seconds to apply and is just part of my routine, just like brushing teeth. I also apply before bed without showering first. No problems at all. I buy 6 month supplies at Sam's Club for $20-$30 and apply just in the frontal third. I started that plus 1/4 proscar daily the day after my initial consult for the HT. By the time my surgery rolled around (two months later) I had very noticeable growth in my hairline and temples. It actually made me think about reconsidering the surgery. No side effects whatsoever.

I think Revita only contains 1% not 2%. Am I wrong?

I am 6 weeks out from my HT with Acell. I have to wait to see if there is any positive recipient area since I am still waiting for growth to start. What I can say is that my scar is completely flat and very hard to find. Also- it seemed like it was very well healed about 36 hours out. My regular family Dr. saw it 72 hours after the surgery and said it looked like the scar had healed for at least 3 weeks. That alone was worth the little extra cost to me.

Oh- that also includes two nights hotel and shuttles to and from the office from the hotel. You really shouldn't bargain shop with something as important and permanent as surgery, but Dr. Cooley proves that you can have a top notch surgery at an affordable rate.

Sure - he uses graduated pricing - they get cheaper the more you do. I did 2500 grafts and it averaged 3.76 per graft plus $500 for acell which has made my scar nearly invisible even just a month out and hopefully will produce greater yield.

I never would allow hair stylists to dry your hair that way. That sounds like traction alopecia that can occur if there is that high level of tension created in the pull. And then holding it that tight for 10 seconds at a time. NO WAY! That is nothing more than speeding up the dry time so it does not take as long, and they can get on with the next paying customer.

 

Don't allow this practice to continue in the future or find someone else that will listen to you. I doubt that your scar was stretched yet we cannot see the area either.

 

Have a friend look at the area or use a hand held mirror while you are standing in front of the mirror over your sink to look for yourself.

 

Hope you are fine.

Actually it is a very common thing for women. Every mid to upscale salon in the world does it and it isn't to speed up to go to the next customer. Take a look

Let me be, um, third, to recommend Dr. Cooley. He is a trailblazer and his cost is VERY competitive with the clinic you recommended. The clinic you recommended is not a coalition member nor recommended by this site. Go with a recommended or coalition doc. (also note- the clinic you mentioned is also using Neograft for FUE which is an automated extraction machine. The jury is still out on that)

Okay thanks for the reply and the welcome. I'm going to research this further as it seems like it can't hurt to pay extra for it... I am trying to research body hair transplants because I thought maybe I could utilise my hairy legs because the donor area on my head is not very thick anyway but I am struggling to find any success stories on it.

 

I think maybe they haven't gone very well because normally body hair is much thinner but my leg hair is definitely as thick- if not thicker than the individual hairs on my head. I saw a little article on how Acell gave better yield for BHT as well which means I am now trying to find out as much as possible about them both.

Best of luck in your journey! IMHO, I wouldn't use body hair until it was an absolute last resort. It seems to work ok when there is no more acceptable donor supply left in the 'safe' area but, in my opinion, only looks natural with really short haircuts and as a "fill in" not as the predominate hair in an area. (I have very thick hairs on my legs too and think it would be very unmanageable on the top of my head)

Good luck!

The weird bumps on the shaved area are because I had the old style, open donor procedures rather than a strip procedure when I had my initial hair transplants long ago.

Congratulations, Bill!

I am so happy things went well. I knew Dr. Cooley would take good care of you. I cannot imagine what a difference Dr. Cooley's procedure was vesus the open donor procedures. Heal well, my friend!

You still have scabs 10 weeks post op? That sounds like more of a problem than a simple blowout.

i got a haircut recently, about 10 weeks about my operation

 

they did a hair wash where they scrub your scalp pretty vigorously, i asked her to do it more gently but after a minute she forgot and resumed the scrubbing, it was about 5 minutes

 

i got a haircut, then they blowdried with one of those brushes, that pulls really tight on your hair. like my hair was permed so he did this to straighten it. and it pulls very hard on your hair, at some points it was hurting and i think i felt my some discomfort in the donor area, some small sharp pain. i think the blowdry was about 15 minutes. they just take sections of your hair and pull very tight on it for like 10 seconds at a time.

 

do you think this could have stretched my scalp scar? i felt the scar area and felt that some scabs had come loose

 

im worried that i stretched my scar.

Dr. Cooley is also using Acell as part of his standard procedure in the donor area and he bathes the grafts in acell during the holding time. I am amazed at how my donor healed and I attribute that to the Acell. I think we have a long way to go before I would trust plucked multiplication with Acell

Hi GreaseDJ,

 

I am new to this site and still getting to grips with it so sorry if I ask some dumb questions. I was just wondering how much this cost? I am still researching Acell and it looks good but Im guessing there is a high added cost right?

Welcome to the community getitback88! No worrys about dumb questions- you are in the right place and by participating on this forum and asking questions you are making yourself an informed consumer and will be much more likely to have a great result.

As for Acell- '

Acell is currently FDA approved for wound healing and is now just being experimented with in the Hair Transplant world. Dr. Cooley is researching and chooses to use Acell on the donor site as well and adding Acell to the holding solution for the grafts. Right now he only charges for the cost of the product, no extra charge from him for using it. The cost of using Acell was $500 for me which, with Dr. Cooley's reasonable prices per graft, worked out fine and was very competitive with other top notch docs.

I posted one at 3 weeks post op right after a haircut in my site- link below.

please don't use revita, revita.cor i tried this for 6-7 months with nothing good to come from it, i felt like i handed out a bunch of money for nothing...

I guess this just shows that it is all personal preference- I personally love Revita. It feels great and has the same ingredient (plus a lot more) as Nizoral without the dryness that Nizoral can cause.

great thanks for the advice, why is it so cheap though

5 mg Finasteride is not covered by patent any more- that is why it is so cheap. It was developed as a drug for enlarged prostate, and originally sold under the brand name Proscar at the the appropriate dosage for prostate issues which is 5 mg. The patent ran out in 2006 which means that other companies can now sell 5 mg Finasteride at competitive prices.

The maker of Proscar was issued a separate patent for 1 mg pills of Finasteride which sells under the brand name of Propecia. The patent for 1 mg Finasteride (Propecia) runs out in November of 2013, then it will be allowed to be generic too. Until then, no one but Merck (the original manufacturer) can sell 1 mg Finasteride in the US. That makes 1 mg a monopoly and much more expensive.

In this case, you DONT get what you pay for- the Finasteride in the walmart pills and the brand name expensive ones is the same exact chemical. When you cut your pills you are basically just creating your own approximately 1 mg dose. Won't it be nice in a year and a half when we can stop cutting pills and just get 1 mg pills at generic prices?

Here is some more info on how drugs go from brand to generic:

"A generic drug must contain the same active ingredients as the original formulation. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), generic drugs are identical or within an acceptable bioequivalent range to the brand name counterpart with respect to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. By extension, therefore, generics are considered (by the FDA) identical in dose, strength, route of administration, safety, efficacy, and intended use.[3] The FDA's use of the word identical is very much a legal interpretation, and is not literal. In most cases, generic products are available once the patent protections afforded to the original developer have expired. When generic products become available, the market competition often leads to substantially lower prices for both the original brand name product and the generic forms."

~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_drug