I live in the Tampa Bay Florida area, and chose Dr. Glenn Charles due to his great reviews on this site and elsewhere. I was considering someone local, but could not find any information on the surgeon (good or bad), so when Dr. Charles office indicated they would comp travel costs to the East Coast, it was an easy choice. (A little more per graft, but still well within the acceptable range, and with the added insurance of a highly regarded surgeon).
I had approx 1850 FUT grafts in my crown area on January 3rd, so I'm 3 1/2 weeks into it. The procedure itself was about what I expected, perhaps less stressful and less painful. As others have stated, the worst part are the initial numbing shots, which pinched for a short time, a little more so closer to the ears, and about as uncomfortable as a blood lab test needle stick repeated over a few minutes across the donor region. The actual removal of the donor tissue was completely painless. The numbing shots on the top of the head not as sensitive as the donor region, and again the small incisions were painless save for a few that pinched and resulted in more numbing. The transplants were also painless.
Overall, the process was pretty easy, i enjoyed the dialog I had with Dr. Charles and his support during the procedure. He kept me well informed during and after, making sure I was comfortable and well prepared for post op. First night was a little hard to sleep due to some head throbbing, but again probably less than expected. Did not take prescription pain medicine that night, nor afterward. No other pain that I remember other than a little sensitivity in the donor region when shampooing the first week.
No noticeable scar in the donor region, and after 3 1/2 weeks I still have 80-90 percent of the transplants still protruding, and would bet some were growing. I've had occasional itching over the last few weeks, but that has been the worst of it. Still have some red spots, but scabs pretty much gone. Overall, a pleasant experience which I hope will give great results. I highly recommend Dr. Charles, and would not change anything about my experience (other than losing the hair in the first place).
