HappyValley

Thanks Stublue... I had a 2300 graft FUT performed by Dr. Lindsey in MClean, VA. Best of luck!

Congratulations and best of luck to you. I just had a HT a week ago focusing on my hairline as well... those numbing shots are not the most pleasant things I've ever felt either. Heal and grow well.

Thanks slimjim. I see you are in the early stages of HT as well. I hope you also had a good experience and your new hair grows quick and thick. Best of luck.

Thanks Raphael84. I see you just hit the 4 month mark for your own HT... exciting times. Best of luck to you as well!

Thank you Blake. I'll post progress pics.

Hello everyone... I’ve watched my hairline thin out and slowly recede over the past 15 years. I took my first step at addressing the problem 9 years ago when I had a few consults with local doctors. I was 38 at the time and decided to try Propecia first to see what happened. Well, flash forward to today and I’m 47, been on Propecia for 8 years, have dense hair on the back, sides, and crown… but my hairline has continued to slowly erode. I was ready… it was time to take the next step. So, after searching the web I come across this forum… thankfully! I spent three months doing lots of reading and following the journeys of many of my fellow hair-challenged sufferers. I was really excited to see how the techniques and results of hair transplants had changed since my first investigation back in the early 2000’s. I narrowed my list of doctors. I prepared my list of questions. I knew want I wanted to achieve. I ended up choosing Dr. Lindsey in McClean, VA. My wife and I drove 3 hours to his office for my initial consult in early January. Dr. Lindsey felt that I would need 1500 to 1800 grafts to restore my mature hairline. I have very fine straight hair… so we walked through pictures of past clients with hair characteristics similar to me. We discussed risks, the process, and what to expect. He was extremely approachable, down to earth, and candid. We took a tour of his facilities and even spoke with a gentleman in the process of getting a transplant that day. I really valued that. I went home, slept on it, and called him the following day booking my surgery for February 8, 2013. My wife and I stayed in a nearby hotel the night before my surgery. I did not sleep too well that night… it was a weird mix of being excited, nervous, and sleeping in a strange bed. We arrived at the office at 8:00am, signed all the paperwork, agreed on my hairline placement, and took some Valium. Then the surgery began. Step 1: Shaving and numbing the donor site… that was a piece of cake. Step 2: Removing the donor strip and sewing me up… I felt the tugging a bit as the strip was being removed… strange feeling, but not painful. Fortunately, Dr. Lindsey noted that I have really dense hair in my donor area which meant I only needed a skinny strip removed… less chance of tension and scar stretching… and lots of additional hair in the bank for the future if needed. Stitching me up was uneventful. Step 3: Shaving and numbing the recipient site… not bad either. Step 4: Doc makes the slits… did not feel a thing. Step 5: Wendy and Chi Chi place the grafts… this was the longest part of the day. Both ladies were fantastic. They held great conversation and were very attentive to their work. One stood on either side of me placing the grafts each working their way towards the middle of my head. This lasted until about 2:00pm. I was then able to grab a quick 15 minute lunch. Step 6: Wait! We have hair left over… the technicians still had more grafts, so Dr. Lindsey came back and added more slits to my head. Wendy and Chi Chi then placed the grafts. By 3:30pm I was in my car heading home. In the end, I received 2300 grafts… 500 more than the 1800 we had expected. These 2300 grafts equaled about 3800 hairs adding up all the 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s. To his credit, Dr. Lindsey only charged me for 1800 grafts… he kindly gave me the extra 500 for free. I spent the week following his post-op instructions… babying my new hair and keeping it safe. I saw three lost hairs and one graft during the week… and I flipped out each time… even though I know that in the big picture this is nothing. Dr. Lindsey was lightning fast at replying to several emails with questions and concerns I sent him during the week. I returned to VA yesterday for my one week follow-up to have my stitches removed and for a general check-up. Both the incision and the recipient site looked very good. I’m still scabby… but time will take care of that. Three last things. First, I’ve included some pictures. I start off pre-op showing my hair, following by the new hairline location, incision and strip, then the slits and grafts, concluding with my one week recipient and incision sites. Second, I’m a big gym rat. I’ve read all the threads here noting all the differing opinions regarding when and how to get back into lifting after transplant surgery… the concern being that it’s important to protect your investment and not stretch your scar. It amazed me how diverse the opinions were. I timed my surgery so that I was ready for some time off from lifting, but I was thinking in terms of weeks off, not months. Dr. Lindsey told me I could start back immediately… no need to wait longer… and no need to stay light… I repeated my question… and he confirmed… no need to wait. He said anything like crunches, behind the head pulldowns, or movements that cause pain should be avoided… other than that, no restrictions. I guess I still want to play it a bit more conservatively. I’m going to wait one more week, then start off a bit lighter… correcting any time I feel pain or tension in my incision. Lastly, a big “Thank You” to Dr. Lindsey and his team. They were professional, informative, and friendly. No regrets at all. Now, it’s all about the waiting…

I had a HT done by Dr. Lindsey last Friday... stitches came out today. Dr. Lindsey is a great guy with a world-class staff. Mine was a wonderful experience... I will be posting pics and my thoughts soon in a new thread. I know Dr. Lindsey speaks of a few local "competitors"... and the fact that he gets many opportunities to perform "corrections" to the work of others.

It went very well thanks! I plan to do a full write-up next weekend... I get my stitches out this Friday and I'll get all my pics from Dr. Lindsey at that time... I will post them all. I ended up taking 2200 grafts... 400 over what was planned... and Dr. Lindsey was kind enough to throw them in for free. Wendy and Chi Chi were great... we had some good conversations in between listening to music and sleeping. I'm at the end of day 3... so my face is swollen... I'm pulling off a pretty solid caveman look right now... my brow ridge is monumental. :eek: Kazan was awesome... mixed grill, complete with donner kebab, was dinner the night before the procedure. How goes your progress?

I'm at day 3. My brow ridge directly above my eyes is puffy and distorted. I'm pulling off a really good Neanderthal look right out of National Geographic. Cant wait for this to go away. Until then, sunglasses, please... :cool:

This is great advice. My hairline began to look like yours when I hit my late 30's. I got on Propecia and things stabilized alot... somewhere between a NW2 and a NW3. I waited 8 years after starting Propecia before I finally pulled the trigger... a 2200 graft FUT procedure with Dr. Lindsey just last Friday to redefine my hairline. Take your time, stabilize, research, and get really clear on what you want. Best of luck!

Kazan is already on the schedule. I definately will post after the procedure. I just sent Dr. Lindsey an email with a few more questions... how long until I can resume weight lifting at the gym (don't want to stretch the scar) and if there are any special sleeping instructions after the procedure? Thanks again and the best to you!

Congratulations! I have my HT with Dr. Lindsey and his staff this Friday. Yes, I too was very impressed with Dr. Lindsey during my consult with him and he has been great at returning my emails quickly. I really appreciated your post... it gave me one more boost of confidence in preparation for my big day.

Hello everyone! I'm new to this forum... having lurked around for the past several months I'm 47 and my hairline has been slowing heading north (in a very uneven and patchy way) over the past 15 years. The rest of my hair is fairly dense with no signs of hairloss past my current NW2 or NW3 situation. My hair type is very fine, but luckily I have lots of donor hair. I've posted pics of my hairline and how I wear my hair to conceal my hairloss. I recently have been chatting with Spex (who has been quite helpful) and I had a consult with Dr. Lindsey concerning a FUT procedure. He thinks I'll need between 1500 and 1800 grafts. I was very impressed with Dr. Lindsey and I think I'm ready, after over a decade of "thinking about it", to finally take the plunge and have my hairline restored. Any words of advice or suggestion before I pull the trigger? Much appreciated!