I have just turned 42 and have have about 2,300 grafts on top of my > head. These were inserted about 19 days ago by Dr Feller. Thats where > I am today, my hairloss history probably starts about 25 years ago in > school. I remember guys at school noticing my hair was fine and that > my scalp was visible when my hair was wet. Its not quite that it > bothered me greatly, more that I was aware of it, what I did know was that if > I could keep my hair, I would do what I could to do so. My hair was > always brushed backwards and stood up so it gave me a little extra > height, at best I am 5 foot 7 inches tall. Around the age of 30 I > noticed the hairloss starting. When my first son was born, and there > were pictures taken of me looking down at the new arrival, a visible line > accross the top of the skull was appearing. This was not really > noticable to me most of the time as the hair as the front of the > hairline was thick enough to hide it. Fast forward a few years, the > hair is slowly getting thinner, we are lucky enough to have two sons > now. My wife decides a family of four is nice round number and there will be no more additions. Propecia > ( I'd think carefully before taking this product, consult your doctor) > is available, not a threat to my wife or future kids so I start taking > it and it works...for the time being...there is a slight development > of moobs which is one of the potential side effects. Around 2010 I > have not lost much more hair, but it is still fine on the top. In the > summer I go to a clinic in Dublin where the actor James Nesbitt who > tell I need 2500 grafts. High definition pictures shock me about how > much hair I have lost. However the cost would be €25,000 and I > ultimately decide its not worth it and would put too much pressure on > our families finances. It was also not that easy or not easy enough to > find examples of the clinics work. In spring 2011 I did contact Spex > but did not really pursue looking into a transplant, to be honest I > was probably confused and did not know what I wanted. My mind was made > up however as that summer my hairloss suddenly increased, not sure if > this was related to switching to a generic version of propecia that > was cheaper and sourced from Spain. It was time to change what I was > doing or get the buzz cut. There was a gap appearing in the hairline > above both eyes. I dont like this new look and now it is bothering me. > I contacted Spex again last sping. He > advises such products as Rogaine foam 5%, Saw Palmetto and Nizoral > shampoo. I started using these and recovered some of the hair I had > lost. Spex sends pictures of me to Dr Feller who suggests about 2300 > grafts. The cost is much more afforadable, about $10,500. Luckily a > work savings scheme matures and I have funds for the $2,500 deposit > that are not needed for family matters. Within a couple of weeks of making > contact with Spex again and after checking out Dr Feller's work, in > March I book a date with Feller Medical for August 27th and book > flights that same week. > I have found Spex an amazing help. At times I was surpised that he was > so patient and so helpfull in answering all my emails and questions, > never making you feel like you were asking stupid questions and > probably responding to questions he had answered thousands of times. > If I am honest I went with Dr Feller, not so much because of all the > positive things on the web about his work but because it occured to me > that Spex, given his growing profile, would only align himself to one of the > very best surgeons. > Fast forward to August 27th. I stayed in the Adria Hotel the night > before and am booked in for tonight, I went for a less expensive hotel > and treated myself to hiring a Chevy Camaro ( what midlife crisis) hire car . > The Adria is fine, a little small, the room was clean, had good wifi > and a lot of movie channels. Breakfast does not start till 7 so I > missed this as I did not want to be late for Dr Feller. There are however many > restaurants very close and a Dunkin Donuts and Burger King / Wendys accross the > road. > Dr Feller himself exceeded the tales of making you feel at ease and > being very witty. He made me feel like I had known him for years and > we chatted for about 15 mins about his hobby of flying. He is a very > likeable person and just enspires confidence. After 5 mins in his > company I was sure that I had made a very good choice and was in good > hands. He told me has been doing this for 15 years and I was really > surprised by how personable he was. > I guess the procedure started about 9am. Dr Feller talks you through > each part. He gave me some meds to relax me and started with shots to > numb the donor area, the first few shots I could feel a bit, slightly > more so when he worked on the left, however, as the area became numb I > would feel less of the shots. He told me some guys dont like the shots > but said I did pretty good, in general I dont llike needles but knew > it had to done so didnt mind them too much. After a while I feel > shivery and cold, the doc tells me why this is but now I forget what > he said, they give me a blanket. What I didnt mention to him was I > seemed to find it a little harder to hear.Soon, while I was aware he was > soon taking a donor strip I couldnt feel anything. The top of my head > was buzz cut and then shaved. Then there were shots into the > transplant area. Again I could feel the first few but they were ok. > What happened next I didnt expect...I started falling asleep. He > encouraged me to sleep saying 80% of guys do for a while. I'd guess I > slept for most of the time while he worked on the area to receive the > grafts as his team prepared them. I woke up when he was finished > and his team then took over and started implanting the grafts. There > were two teams of 3 ladies. 1 on either side and 1 at the back keeping > the transplant area wet. The girls work in silence and seem very > focussed, I cant feel a thing up top but am aware of where they are > working.During the procedure Dr Feller shows what is happening to > someone who I assume is having a consultation, I dont see his face. I > did however get to meet a nice English guy who had 2 transplants > already, he tells he had lost all his hair on top, what he has now > looks really good.I did regret not getting a coffee before we started > as I feel > I need one and my neck is kinda killing me...this happens to me when I > change cars e.g. getting a hire car on hols, and I should have remembered this. > Its all finished about 2-3pm. They gave me lunch ( you order this > around noon from a deli menu ) and a coffee which I was really glad > to get. One of Dr Feller's ladies explains to me what to do for the > next few days, washing the donor area as normal but only using a cup > on the new hairs for 2-3 days, very important to keep clean but dont > touch at all. Then Dr Feller tells me is very happy with how things > went, shows me pics of my new hair and answers any questions I have. > While I feel good for some reason I'm a little out of it. I could > drive back to New Jersey in the mid life crisis mobile where I am staying with relatives but am glad > I am just going back to the hotel in a taxi with a larger baseball cap that > the doc gave me. I brought one but its not large enough. The head > feels numb but not sore at all. To be extra cautious I sleep in a > chair that night. If you remember I said the Adria is small, not > fancy, but now I am glad of its good wifi and close proximity to food > outlets and Dunkin Donuts which I walked over to, I guess I'm back in > the hotel about 4.30. I didnt sleep really well but it was ok, could > be the chair, the doc gave me painkillers in case I need them but I > only take one the next day. There is no pain, more an awareness of the > 65 staples in the donor area. The second night I wake up as I feel the > top of my head touch a pillow, it felt like there are very strong > stalks in my head, luckily no grafts are lost. Over 3 days, this is > the only time the grafts touch anything. The HT was done a Monday, I > get home to Ireland Saturday. While you probably need 3 weeks off work if you > dont want people to know you had a HT, I only took a week as I didnt > want to impact our family summer hols. Before I go back to work to > work I get my remaining hair cut down more, I > have prepositioned a hairdresser who has had guys with HT's before and > we have a plan for the next few months, the hair on the sides growing > much quicker so we need to keep these trim. Tuesday I go back to work, my boss is very supportive. > Up to now I had only told my wife and him about the HT. He has no > problem with me wearing a baseball cap but points out it might look > odd with a suit and tie. As it happens we are too busy at work for me > to worry about what people think so as I think I need to I explain to > people that I had a HT. I feel I need to do this due to the visible > line at the donor area, the top of the head now just looks like a buzz cut. . My wife took out the staples after 12 days, > these were a bit itchy. The redness and flakyness in the new area went > in the second week. The grafts are still all there today but growing > really slowly, if at all. If the new hairs are to fall away as happens > in 80-90% of cases, that should start this week. Hopefully the visible > donor line will blend in soon, I am concious about that line and have bought nanogen fibres in case I have a meeting to attend. My wife and I did a test and these do conceal the gap nicely, I am however giving it 3 weeks before I use these fully as I want the donor area to remain clean and heal properly. There are 1 or 2 itchy spots where the staples were and if my head touches the car headrest the donor area is noticeably numb. All par for the course from what I read on the web. So far so good. I will post time and again with pics so you can see how it grows. It may take a while for it to grow but again that's to be expected. I guess you need to patient....my boys don't really like the buzz cut look... I'm stuck with it for a while though!
