StaggerLee123

Congrats Aaron your hair is looking very healthy and you have great coverage. I am way jealous =). How did your scar turn out this time? Any pics of it? We are very similiar in skin tone and hair color. My scars took a long time to heal up and were red for about two years before they settled down. Physiology plays a big role as we all know, I like the fact tht Dr. Paul attacked it differently your last time out. I'm going to have to take a drive up to SMG.

Congrats again!

Well where to start... If this Doc is telling you that 1500 grafts is the max ANYONE can do he is a bit....umm... behind the times. He probably should be saying "1500 grafts is the maximum that I can do..." 1500 grafts was once considered a big procedure probably back in the late 90's. You should look through the results of and see what the donor scars look like of Docs who routinely perform "large' sessions and I think you will see that his statement seems way off.

Check out other Docs, anytime you have a Doc making difinitive statements like this alarm bells and whistles should go off. Remember the least expensive option is the best when it comes to buying cars, not when it comes to having procedure done that could affect you for the rest of your life.

I think from the tone of your post you know what time it is.

Good luck.

Things are looking great, I'll be interested in seeing the result. Keep us posted.

A quick question: Why shave your head and leave that one area long? You're going to end up shaving that anyway I would imagine and it seems as if that longer hair would just get in the way during the surgery...

Any thoughts on that?

Mr Jobi I think you answered the wrong post here but yes the docs have custom cut blades to match the size of the grafts they are inserting.

At this point you have to tough it out or sleep in a recliner with one of those travel doughnuts around your neck so you're not rolling around on the sutures. Take an ambien if you can get one, you will sleep like a rock and not move an inch.

Don't psyche yourself out about the suture removal, at worst it will be a few minutes of slight pain and best it will be a walk in the park.

Ty Wylie.

You may have to wear a Holter monitor for 24 hours for them to determine what is going on as an EKG or stress test might not be definitive. At this point I would just relax and be reassured that you will have some answers soon. It could be any number of things going on and not be related to the minoxidil usage at all.

As an aside I also had some heart palpitations/ rapid heartbeats and thought for sure I had A/Fib but that was not the case. Stress, drinking lots of coffee, night terrors, etc all could be playinging a role.

Let us know how things turn out. Good luck.

Give Jotronic a call I bet he would be more than happy to have you stop by for a visit.

Congrats on your first mini-milestone. Things looks like they are coming along as to be expected. You are on your way!!

Hard to tell from those pics but if you are concerned you can always get on Propecia to maintain what you have. IMO it looks fine though.

Lol sorry meant to say "it WASN'T torture or anything..."

It's over quickly don't worry too much. Ok I'm gonna be quiet now.

Many clinics have their pricing schedule posted on line. Figure around between $4-$5 dollars per graft with a discount for larger sessions and more for FUE. According to H&Wong's website a 3000 graph procedure will cost $13k.

The suture removal was the worst part for me, not to blow smoke up your rear. I understand staples are a bit easier coming out. It hurt a bit more than mild discomfort. I would call your doc and see what you can do to prepare for it, maybe soaking the wound or applying a mild anesthetic cream or something. Give him or her a call. I did none of those as I was told it was a piece of cake.

I doubt any skin would grow over the sutures but if it did the suture will slide out.

Don't get me wrong it was toture or anything but for me it wasn't pleasant either. The bright side is that is over fairly quickly! A shot of Jack Daniels wouldn't be a bad idea. If you are really worried about it you could always take a xanax or valium to calm down and relax you, again discuss this with your doc!

Good luck!

Good luck... the fact that the Doc wouldn't even look at your hairline should tell you something. If they were incompetent the first time around do you think things are going to be different 10 days later? If you do go back I would make it crystal clear as to what you want done and leave no doubt about it. Request a different tech and ask that the doc supervise very closely.

You could ask fo your money back but I dout that is going to happen.

I feel for you, what an awkward situation to be in. Good luck and post some pics if you can, maybe it isn't as bad as you think!

Looking good, that hairline works great for you. Sending good vibes your way...

Thank you for the detailed post Dr. Beehmer. You give a very good account of the overall tasks that are shared by the physician and techs. Your approach seems to make the most sense and fatigue monitoring in everyone involved in the procedure must be paramount. The whole day really needs to be choreographed well as there are so many moving parts...

Thanks again.

Not ot sound harsh but instead of worrying about it and asking for advice on a message board you need to go see a medical doctor asap. Tell him your situation and let a professional tell you what to do. It may be anxiety, night terrors, or something else... go find out!

I think you are good to go after 10 days.

Graft Anchoring in Hair Transplantation: Hair Restoration Surgery Publications | Bernstein Medical - Center for Hair Restoration

Hey Aaron I'm fairly sure that I remember some posts where Dr. Konior stated that he did all of the planting and didn't leave his patients side for the entire procedure. I'll find out for sure as I am going to do a consult with him. Lol I get tired after 15 minutes of doing scalp laxity exercises, I can imagine how tough it would be to do a whole day of this very technical procedure.

deebo I think that you should definitely NOT pluck any hairs from the back of your head in the attempt to even things out. That could snowball into its own problem. You have another two weeks or so to heal up and I think you should probably just take a deep breath and wait it out.

If it looks the same by the time you need to return to work and it is still bothersome you could always use a concealer to even out the look. Good luck I hope things continue to settle down.

After reading through some posts I've noticed that some docs, including Umar and Konior, do all of the work in their procedures themselves. They take the donor hair, close the wound, make all the recipient sites and then do all the planting of grafts.

While this seems to be very laudible as they can absolutely control the quality of their patients procedure, does anyone think that this approach is too much for one person to take on? The thought of one person doing that very detail oriented work for hours upon hours seems like it would take its toll in the form of fatigue, and when fatigue is a factor mistakes can be made more easily. This is in no way a criticism of their method.

Any thoughts on this way of working?

I think your hair is looking very good, you do have a few "light" areas on your right side but they may still fill in. It must be good to know that Dr. Umar has promised to fill those areas in if they ultimately do not start to grow acceptably.

I have heard of other Dr's such as Konior who do almost all of the planting and while it is admirable that they do this I have to wonder if it is a bit much for them. The thought of one person being hunched over a patient for 7-10 hours or however long it takes seems like it might be detrimental because of the fatigue factor. It must be tedious and painstaking work and it must be extremely tiring!!!

Anyone have any thoughts on the Dr's who do all the work themselves? Postive or negative?

This man did have a fantastic hairline to begin with... Is it me or is there a noticeable gap between the grafts and his original hairline? Seems odd that their would be that area with no grafts, maybe it is just the picture.

The results look great!

Everything in life is negotiable. As Aaron pointed out maybe they can help out with financing, a repayment schedule etc....

It doesn't hurt to ask.

Good luck dude you are in very competent hands with Dr. Rahal. I had two procedures done with sub par clinics so I kind of know how you feel. It is key to have a long term plan as you are a young guy and I'm glad Rahal has discussed this with you.

Best of luck, you are in for an improvement for sure.