fortune

Thanks Arfy - that seems to make sense. By now the forehead is back to the way it was before surgery.

Ha Ha Rugger that was funny... But I guess I was too happy too soon, the skin in the forehead has begun to return to its pre-op state (I guess I now have a practical understanding of scalp laxity) but it is still slightly tighter compared to what it was before. I guess this should be advertised in the HT clinics' brochures - get a transplant and we'll throw in a free forehead lift

I had a similar experience, the white scabs are sometimes big and you might think they are follicles, but it is just the skin tissue falling off. In my case they were completely gone after day 10.

I had staples on me and so far ( 2+ weeks post op) I havent seen any shock loss in the donor area - the itching pain is gone as well (slight tender sensations still remains when I sleep on my back). However if I had to do it again I would ask my doctor to use sutures/stitches on me. Staples were a definite source of discomfort while sleeping for the 10 days they were in my head. Besides the creepy thought of having sharp metallic objects embedded next to your skull, they did hurt when I had them removed, though a little less when I used the advice I got on this forum regarding their removal. Now I cannot speak for others but what I have heard is sutures are a lot less painful than staples.

MDM, I hope my experience is like yours with regards to shedding. However I am beginning to see more shedding of late. I have started applying 5% minoxidil to my entire scalp - will see if that helps. Guys, Thanks for the support, I will keep posting as and when there are any new developments with my progress.

Thanks hombre. I would say about 1/3 have shed as I can feel the density n the front decrease. But the rest have started growing. Don't know when they will shed, but I hope they dont!

grafted area pic

day 11 postop grafts area

The scabs have pretty much gone by now. One thing I will say here is that I followed the post op instructions to the letter and started scrubbing the graft area with my fingertips after day 5. It didnt take long and most scabs fell off by day 7. I have resumed my regular shampooing routine with head and shoulders.

Here is the donor area pic. the red dots are the marks where the staples were. The area I am showing is where the scar is most visible. There are other parts where I have a hard time finding even the scar line.

Dr. Konior did it as a courtesy (since I was referred by Dr. Shapiro) and did not charge me anything for it - I was really impressed. I will try and post some pics of donor area as well.

I had my staples removed at Dr. Konior's office in Chicago at Day 9 post-op, since I did not want to go back to Minneapolis for that. Dr Shapiro was kind enough to refer me to Dr. Konior's office so that I could set up the appointment. For those who are not aware, Dr. Konior is himself a leading HT surgeon in Chicago and it was great to have him personally look my transplant and supervise the staples removal. He was very pleased with the work and the healing progress of the grafts and donor area. The staples removal does hurt but I took the advice of others on this forum and thoroughly washed the donor area with warm water an hour before, that helped reduced the pain. I also took a vicodin a couple of hours before the staples removal.

I think I paid about $45 for the meds (that included the graftcyte bottle and the anti-pain/dwelling meds). SMG gives it to thair patients at cost.

Thanks MDM and mapman, Your advice is well taken - hopefully I should have less discomfort during staples removal tomorrow.

tberry, Nice to know that you are recovering well. I had the transplant a day earlier and am in pretty much the same boat as you. A couple of questions: 1. Did you choose to go with sutures or Dr. Shapiro just selected them by default. I am asking this because he used staples on me. Now I have gone through all the threads on stapes/sutures debates and it seems sutures are much more comfortable. Do you feel any pain while sleeping on your back with sutures in place? I still feel uncomfortable with staples and am eager to get rid of them tomorrow. In the future if I had to make a choice, I would defnitely ask the doctor to use sutures. The added discomfort of the staples is just not worth it compared to the slight advantage they might offer over sutures in terms of scarring. 2. Are you using anything other than the graftcyte solution provided by the clinic? The bottle is over by now. The scabs haven't totally come off yet - do you think there is anything else we could do to hasten the removal of the scabs besides using graftcyte? Thanks, Fortune

Hi Guys, I am thinking of getting a uniform haircut after I get my staples removed this friday (day 9 post op). Now most of my transplanted hair is still there and about half of them have actually started increasing in length (I know they are supposed to fall out sometime). Is it ok if the barber uses a #2 and it cuts through the transplanted grafts as well? Or should i totally avoid the transplanted area and just buzz the donor and the sides where I had kept longer hair to begin with? Thanks

Hi Guys, I am thinking of getting a uniform haircut after I get my staples removed this friday (day 9 post op). Now most of my transplanted hair is still there and about half of them have actually started increasing in length (I know they are supposed to fall out sometime). Is it ok if the barber uses a #2 and it cuts through the transplanted grafts as well? Or should i totally avoid the transplanted area and just buzz the donor and the sides where I had kept longer hair to begin with? Thanks

I was just curious - I am 6 days post op now, all the swelling has subsided however the skin of my forehead is stretched tight giving it a much youthful appearance (all the wrinkles are gone). The question I have for the esteemed doctors on this forum is - can I expect this to last or will my forehead revert back to what it was before the transplant? My thoughts were since the skin in the donor area has been removed and then stapled shut tight, the wrinkle reduction on the forehead might be there for a while.

I was just curious - I am 6 days post op now, all the swelling has subsided however the skin of my forehead is stretched tight giving it a much youthful appearance (all the wrinkles are gone). The question I have for the esteemed doctors on this forum is - can I expect this to last or will my forehead revert back to what it was before the transplant? My thoughts were since the skin in the donor area has been removed and then stapled shut tight, the wrinkle reduction on the forehead might be there for a while.

Fit4Fit Thanks for the complement! What I meant was my hairline 4 years ago was much lower compared to what you see here; the temples were totally filled in as well. But didn't want to go back to that look. I figured that is a good chance I might need all the extra donor hair for later work on the top of my head. The funny thing is the grafts are so thick and dense when I comb my hair (very lightly) I can already see the thick bunch of hair filling in the comb making combing difficult - i know its gonna fall and then grow back but i am enjoying this feeling atleast for now

The density in my frontal hairline zone was 20-25 FUs/cm2. After cutting the hair short, and inserting the grafts, he expects it to be in the range of 45-50 in the frontal area. He also mentioned that since my donor hair was thick and coarse, it should be look fuller than what would be expected from that FU/cm2 count. Thanks for the encouragement - I selected Dr. Shapiro because of my research on this forum for last six months. After meeting him and undergoing surgery at his hands, I can definitely say he is a straight shooter and sets very realistic expectations. I have definitely come to believe that he is one of those doctors you can totally "trust" with making the right decision regarding your hairline, placement, grafts, etc. As you can see from the pre-op and post-op pictures, I have decided to maintain my existing receded hairline, and I have been told I have enough donor hair for atleast two more transplants down the road if the balding pattern continues. However I hope minoxidil which has helped me in the crown and top area in the past will continue to maintain hair behind the transplanted zone.

Dr. Shapiro did mention that he is placing the new grafts at the same angle as my existing hair in the hairline zone - I do not know if that is the same as the "lateral slit technique" Today is day 4 post op, almost all the redness has gone and there is no itching/irritation in the recipient area. The donor area also seems to be pretty calm except for the occasional pain once in a while which goes away in a few seconds.

Guys, Thanks for the encouragement. I got mine done on 17th. I have posted the pics and the story under a separate thread in Hair Transplant Experiences.

I believe he used very sharp edged blades but I did not specifically ask him which instrument he was using.

To answer your questions one by one: This was my first hair transplant. I am 28 years old. He cut it very short, I'd say to about 1/2 inch length. He could have kept it longer as well but I figured it will grow back in a couple of weeks anyways. My total cost came to approx. 6200, that included the bonus grafts which he extracted in the strip.