Icecreamman

Whatever he did, he does look a whole lot better. That said, I hope he never wins another title again.

It also thins the blood so you must refrain from smoking prior to ht, otherwise it could get messy...

It might be tough, but if you post some pics the community can help you a little more with your question

Great stuff man!

Hi,

 

My hair journey started about 10 years ago when I discovered that my hair was slowly receding away. I am now in my early 30s and in the last five years, the receding has quickened and then suddenly slowed.

 

Norwood classification:

 

I am now a norwood 3A. No problems in the crown at all, which is a relief.

 

Hair type:

 

I have curly, wavy, dense hair. Dark brown/blonde. A good match for a hair transplant I would imagine.

 

Where I had my surgery performed:

 

After much research and what would be most cost effective, I went with an slightly unusual choice. I decided on a doctor who has a strong history in FUE in Belgium. Belgium doctors have what I believe is the most cost effective and strongest results in FUE that I have seen outside the USA.

 

The name of the doctor:

 

Dr Rudi De Reys.

 

Patient aftercare:

 

However, it has been a particularly difficult after-period for me.

I have emailed the dr and recieved less than 50% reply rate in the past 2-3 weeks. I am generally not too happy with the performance of the after-care I have been provided. I will detail this later in the review. I understand he is busy, but he really needs to produce better post-care help in my opinion. I am going to be as kind and fair as possible and allow the DR more time to reply to my questions and any that are posted here that may help me and others.

 

But, to be fair, the patient care during the surgery was stellar and I can't fault that. He used to practice at the prohairclinic.

 

Now he works out of his own private clinic. The price was very competitive. He is very kind , quiet and confident. I really felt apart of his family, as its a family business.

 

But first to the rest of the technicals...

 

Grafts and hair folicle count:

 

2700 grafts total. Had asked for 3000, told me I didn't need the other 300. A more technical explanation was not given. Apparantly my lower scalp has a roll in it, and it made it hard to extract. However, I don't believe that's a very adequate explanation given my

strong density factors.

 

6148 hairs comprised of:

 

470 singles

2140 doubles

450 triples

12 quads

 

I have no idea what that density equals, but appears the FUR technique works well with some and produces high yields in cases like mine.

 

FUE punch style:

 

A manual FUE punch. Care was taken with every hair graft and I compliment his team on this result.

 

Recipient area:

 

Total size of the recipient site was not provided. These technical specifics have been requested and are pending.

 

My donor density:

 

My donor density was also not provided. Again, I wish I had this figure. The doctor said that it's impossible to count, but we all

 

know this is not the current medically accpeted opinion among other docs on this forum.

 

During surgery:

 

I bled profusely I was told. And the level of antisethic that I needed was very high. I needed a nerve blocker above my eyebrow at one stage. I could feel quite a bit of the insertions and extractions and continued to need more injections to stop the pain. It

wasn't easy.

 

Donor punch:

 

0.75mm

 

Because of the small instrument used, the donor area after 5.5 weeks shows very little shockloss, minimal scarring and itchiness is subsiding.

 

FUE placement techqniue used:

 

Lateral slit technique. Pretty standard for most docs.

 

Density/dense packing:

 

The doc was conservative with density and post-transplant, this is an area I am not happy with. It is my mistake because I never discussed the issue in enough detail, but from my understanding I had assumed 50 -60cm2, but the doc told me no and instead, this is

how he peformed it/counted density in my case:

 

- single hairs at 50cm2 at the first halfcm of the hairline and then 2s and 3s (hair folicles) at 30-35cm2, which the doc tells me is

 

roughly equivalent to 50cm2. Based on my research, I am sceptical that this is the same as 50cm2 all over, but the doc told me he did this so I wouldn't lose grafts to miniturisation during the growth stage. I know other Belgium docs can get density, so i'm annoyed I

was at least given the option to try.

 

Procedure:

 

Doc was very professional and his small team very good. Was broken up into a 2-day period. 1500 grafts the first and 1200 the second day.

 

Procedure took many, many hours and I must admit the doc and nurse payed very close attention to me and the grafts. Procedure roughly lasted from 8am - 9pm on both days. But that included copious amounts of time for bathroom breaks, meal breaks and to prevent doctor and nurse fatigue. Top marks.

 

Pain:

 

Lots. Anyone who tells you FUE is painless is either lying to you or basing his/her beliefs on the fortunate results of those who have not experienced any pain. Yes, it's not common, but it can happen.

 

In my case, the pain was shocking. The donor area exploded into a nerve ending all-night party after 4 days. Before that, everything seemed fine and then...whamm! There was constant heat extruding from the donor area and it was agony to sleep at night. Only cold

packs helped and massive amounts of over the counter painkillers such as Nurafin (ibrupfoen) and paracetamol.

 

After about 2 weeks, the pain finally started to go away. At 3 - 4 weeks, the pain had vanished completely. But I have to say, it was so bad that at one stage, I lost my appetite, could hardly walk, couldnt sleep and was so ill, I thought I would have permanent

damage. Things improved greatly and now I can live to tell that part of the tale.

 

Scabbing:

 

All scabs were cleaned away by the 8th or 9th day, after beginning to wash them on the 7th day with shampoo according to strict post hair wash procedures.

 

After 5.5 weeks:

 

Here is where the problems begin. At 5.5 weeks, as my pictures will show - I have deep red pigmentation in my recipient area. In regular light, the skin appars just 'pink'. Under florescent indoor lighting, the scalp appears very red and looks inflamed.

Furthermore, I know this to be true with my skin type as I am fair skinned and get pink very easily.

 

Problems: (pigmentation, pimples, potential pitting/cobblestoning)

 

In the last few weeks I have developed lots of big pussy pimples, bumps and on closer inspection, a 'cobblestoning' effect of the skin. However, I could be wrong about this, but that's what it looks like (see attached pics). I would appreciate any docs on the forum to check out my close up pics and give their most honest opinion. My doc has still not provided me with an answer for my pics.

 

I have been a little depressed lately, as I believe that my recipeient area looks very unnatural and very hard to hide. I wonder how much longer it will take. Also, the skin seems more raised and where the hair folicles are growing, you can see the little raised

bumps from where they have popped out. I would like to know people's opinions if this is normal at 5.5 weeks or something that will go away in time as the months wear on?

 

Any kind thoughts/opinions that may help to relieve my fears would be most appreciated. More pics will follow in days/weeks to come.

 

Will update as the doc provides me with requested info.

 

Pics for comparison:

 

Pics at day 3 show placemnent under regular and indoor light. Pics at day 38 (week5.5) show pinkness, redness etc. Compare as you wish.

 

I will appreciate your comments and questions.

 

Thankyou for reading,

 

TrueWiz.

Hey man, don't worry too much about what your recipient area looks like this early. At 5 weeks I looked brutal as well and it can take quite sometime before things heal and your dome starts to look normal. I would look in the mirror obsessively and truth is its not very healthy as its gonna take a couple months to see real change start to develop. The pimples are a good sign I think. I'm at 6 months now and couldn't be happier with everything that has transpired, but at 2 months I thought that I would never Get to where I'm at right now. Chill out and don't get too obsessed. Early days man. Good luck!

That's about the best medical therapy your gonna get. Otherwise spanker is right about shaving your head

Did you stop propecia because you had side effects? Other than propecia you could give rogaine a try.

I think many on this forum would say that at 24 you're still relatively young for a ht as of this time.

Anyone else having trouble opening the YouTube clip?

I'm having same problem on my iPad. Regardless, congrats chrisdav, photos look great!

I started about 3 weeks after ht on recipient area and everything was fine

Awesome man, congratulations looks great!

It sucks! But each day you get a little closer to your desired result and after 3-4 months it becomes an afterthought. Stay strong!

Congrats on your first step. Everything you say is exactly what I went through, however I didn't start losing hair till 28 or 29. But at 34 it bothered me so much I pulled the trigger on a ht. I researched for years and I can say absolutely, 100% this was one of the best decisions I've made.

For me telling my gf and parents was easy, however they didnt understand why I wanted to go thru with a ht. none of them cared how my hair looked. But we all have hang ups and to get my hair back and move on from thinking about it all the time really is a great thing for me. And it might be a great thing for you. But many people around you may not fully understand.

Send an email to jotronic of h&w or mattj from rahal. They will certainly point you in the right direction. Good luck with your decision.

It took me about 2 months to start looking somewhat normal...

What is the cost to hide a strip scar? Why can't the local tattoo artist do the same thing?

I really am not sure about the answer to your question but I think the tattoo artist is permanent where smp fades over time I believe, so if your not happy with your result you can alter it a couple years down the line...I think spex knows a lot about this subject, contact him

I'm not sure about the answer to your question but I will say dr rahal is one of the best hair docs in the world, I'm 100% sure he will not make you more bald...unfortunately the 3 months or so after ht is not a fun time period and you will most likely look worse for a period of time. But than in a few months when all your native and transplanted hair starts coming back it makes it all worth it, IMO. Good luck man!

Maybe 3 months but more than likely 4. It really is gradual and chances are you may not even notice new hairs popping up. I think I noticed hairline taking shape more than small tiny hairs popping thru if that makes any sense. But I implore you not to stare in the mirror everyday, it's easier said than done, but it will drive you crazy...

crazy w/ these staples. It feels like a bear trap has been sprung around my mellon...it is also very hard to sleep--there is not a surface of my head that I can lay on comfortably.

How soon is too soon to pop these staples out?

Dude, I know. It sucks. I got mine out after 10 days and my scar is pretty thin. Take shampoos advice and get yourself a neck pillow, it really is better than pillows. That being said, there's not a whole lot you can do other than wait it out.

"That which does not kill us make us stronger." Nietzsche

My hair loss was similar to yours, I had 1350 grafts and am very happy with my result. I think the amount you were quoted will make a significant improvement

I live in nyc and lived in sf for 2 years. San Francisco is awesome! Although the weather may not be Maui, I'll take it over buffalo weather any day...my 2 cents, good luck with your decision!

Looks great spanker. Also looks like you haven't shed many grafts either!

Ah yes they do come out tomorrow at 9. I didn't realize if it was the sutures causing the pain or the actual incision itself.

Sounds like from what you are saying and from what another thread I just found is saying is that everything changes once the sutures are removed.

Yes, you will feel much better as soon as staples come out. Good luck!

I have been told that if there's blood, than you may have dislodged a graft. Otherwise I think your in the clear

Do you guys think the same result could have been achieved via FUE (same amount of grafts) instead of strip? Could FUE ever come close to this? I've never seen a FUE case with long hair like that...

I think there are many factors as to why Johnny b had such a killer result. 5000 grafts to the frontal third is a big part of it. To fue 5000 is a lot of time and money. Most likely you would have to have multiple sessions. Truth is, I haven't seen many fut surgeries that have had this killer of a result let alone fue, but anything is possible I guess...

Contact dr rahal or hasson and Wong. 2 of the best clinics in the world are in Canada. Good luck man!

Don't believe the hype. Chances are your hair has receded because of genetics. Major league baseball players would be in trouble if sweating in hats caused mpb.