Edsarn

Great transformation, I can see why you are happy! Just goes to show there are doctors out there who don't charge the earth, but do a solid job.

I thought I would add my thoughts on this matter. I found the initial injections in my donor area and the creation of the hairline uncomfortable, but was given more anaesthetic when I complained of any discomfort and that did the trick - this only happened a few times during the procedure. I am now 10 months post operation and have experienced good growth. I am going back for another 2500 grafts in July to a fill in some other areas and add a bit more density to my crown. I will update my blog at 12 months. I could not praise Dr De Reys highly enough for he treated me during the two days. At no point did I feel that he was rushing the surgery or that he was getting fed up. Quite the contrary, he and Gina could not do enough for me. For this, I am grateful. Funnily enough Mickey85, I discussed the subject of recommendation with Dr De Reys, whilst in Belgium...

Looking forward to seeing the 12 month updates!

Just seen your day 10 photos. Have you got a bit of shock-loss in the donor area? Shedding is just horrible...

Looks really natural Gwar. There are some interesting results by Dr Villnow on here now, and it would be good to see some more, as his work looks really good. Are you on any meds?

They all look really good! You can't see much redness at all - I had quite a lot 9 days post op.

This is an interesting point and I wonder if 10 000-20 000 grafts are really needed to look good with a buzz cut. Will38's hair, for example, looked pretty good shaved down prior to his transplant with Dr Villnow. He'd only 5000 grafts with Dr De Reys and was previously a NW5/6. This is documented on here. It will be interesting to see the full results of this too...

Are you still in Heist-op-den-Berg? How long are you staying for? We were in and out pretty quickly when we went. Are you going off for day trips or just staying in the town? You can buy dermatch online. I have very dark hair, so got the dark brown, but as my hair is now very short (i.e., no guard on the hair clippers), I am going to see about getting a lighter colour so it blends in better with my skinhead hair cut. It is fine, but my girlfriend said it looks at a bit too dark and that I had shoe polish on my head when applied wet. It is better applied dry, but I still think it might look better with a different colour. So glad I had a FUE though, because if we had a strip op, shaving our heads would not really be an option due to the scar.

I've just posted a one month photo (labelled August 2nd). Things are healing pretty well and the redness is going by the week. In part, I think this is due to the aspirin mask I am using. My girlfriend is a doctor and suggested this can be quite effective in reducing inflammation. I do this around 3 times a week. I did not like the aloe vera creams as they made my spots worse. I know the photo is not the best, but if you look in the recipient area I have a few hairs that have come through. I have stopped shedding though now. I got in touch with my doctor's rep who contacted Dr De Reys, and I received the following information: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've spoken to Dr De Reys and he has suggested a number of reasons for what you are seeing. Firstly he says that some patients do experience growth in some grafts at an early stage. This typically happens when the sheath surrounding the grafts has been cleanly extracted in its entirety. Then it is possible for these grafts to start growing already although they may also be affected by the next point. Secondly, it is possible that some of the transplanted grafts are starting to emerge from below the skin as they are pushed out by new hair that is starting to grow beneath the surface. This gives the appearance that the transplanted grafts are growing but actually they are emerging and they will fall out. The new hair growth below the surface will halt and then restart according to the body's natural cycles. This is why the new hair takes several months to start growing. Thirdly, he says that since you are an athlete your circulation is probably better than most people and better blood flow causes better growth. Patients who lead sedentary life-style often wait longer to see their hairs start to grow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I should state that I am a semi-pro rugby player and definitely don't consider myself an athlete!! I guess I will be fitter than the average, but am no marathon runner. I am pleased that the training I will be doing may help my growth. I am just happy that my hair now looks ok when it is short. I have found that applying small amounts of dry dermatch over the recipient area and then rubbing it in with my fingers looks natural and hides the redness. I plan to keep my hair short for the next 4-5 months and then try growing it to see what it looks like.

Good write up - I had been wondering how you had got on. To be honest, I also found it very painful in places. I found it quite painful when Dr De Reys was marking out the hairline in that zig-zag shape he does, and that seemed to last a while. By then end of the day, the front of my head was pretty numb - it still is now, one month later - so it was not too bad. I found the injections in the donor are very painful too. I did not have any pain the first night and slept quite well. Personally, I think anyone who says that having a HT is not painful is lying!! I also think that you need be able to take having a few injections, as I lost count of the number of injections I had throughout the day for various parts of the transplant. I drank plenty of water: 2-3 litres for the first 4 days and I did not have any noticeable swelling at all. I also did a massage across my forehead and down towards my ears every few hours. I think this helped. I guess we all react differently. I was expecting quite a lot of swelling, so was really pleased when I didn't have any. However, I had a sore donor area for about 3 weeks. You must be happy that you've had it done? You soon forget about the pain, but they are two long days. I think I finished at around 7.30 on both days and the last couple of hours - especially on the final day - was tough. Very tough. Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

Hey Fitnessjunkie, I am now one month post operation and I also have these small bumps. I have just done some research on cobblestoning and apparently this was only an issue when doctors would transplant large plugs and that it is not common with modern techniques. As Dr De Reys only transplanted small grafts, as opposed to plugs it should not happen. Have you contacted Rudi, and if so, what did he say? I contacted Nick the other day, as it looks like some of my grafts are actually growing now. He contacted Rudi, and gave me a very detailed response of why it may have occurred and that it is not something to worry about. I would contact Nick, as he is always quick to reply. Your hair is looking good now, although I believe you have to wait 12-18 months for the full results! Can't wait until I am 5 months post op!! Take it easy.

Not long to go now!! I know it is easy for me to say, but really, you will be fine. You might be a little nervous on the first morning, but once you have been there a while you'll settle down and you won't even be worried for the second day. It is a nerve wracking experience having medical treatment abroad, as there are so many horror stories, but Rudi is a top man and a top surgeon. His family will make you feel really welcome, and it is quite relaxing having the operation at his farm house in the countryside away from all of the hustle and bustle. Rudi is also very laid back himself and that puts you more at ease. One the thing that I thought that was quite funny, was that each morning Rudi came to pick me up he had not bothered tying his shoe laces up!! Let me know how it goes buddy, but I know you'll be fine. Not sure what to do about my hair. My girlfriend wants me to grow it out a bit, as she said I am starting to look a bit thuggish now, and this is before I have hit the weights ready for the new rugby season - sustained a few black eyes last year, so a skin head and black eyes is not the best of looks. I am not sure my employers are too happy with me having such a short hair cut either. Will just see how it goes. All the best for next week. P.S., If Rudi recommends the film "Good Girl" from his collection decline!! I wanted to watch War Horse, but he didn't think there would be enough time and that Good Girl is funny. I didn't find it funny!!

Wow - Another great write up. Really looking forward to seeing the results of this. It will be interesting to see how the body hairs look too.

Cheers. I guess I am going through the lull after the surgery at the moment! Waited so long to have the operation after thinking about it for years, felt on a high after finally going through with it, and now just waiting to see what the results will be like - so it is a bit of anti-climax. You know the score the though, and I guess it is the same for all of us and something we all go through. I had my first pre-season training session last night, so was a bit worried about what the other players would say. I got my girlfriend to apply some make up over the remaining redness. I can honestly say it is the first time I have played rugby whilst wearing make up. I managed to pull it off as I have always worn a scrum cap and did not hang around after training - made some excuse up!! The things we do....

Yes, Dr De Reys uses only manual FUE, as he believes it is superior, although more time consuming. Here is a picture from 25th of July - 3 weeks and 2 days after the operation. The redness seems to have calmed down quite a lot in the last few days. I am just left with a few spots, phantom grafts, and a few hairs that have not shed.

I noticed a couple of these too, a few days after my operation. I just assumed I'd lost a few grafts, although there was no bleeding. When the rest of the transplanted hairs shed, they just looked like normal hairs.

I most certainly was! Definitely helped me get through the two long days. I had some very strange thoughts, particularly on the Monday. Dr De Reys had the radio on, and for almost every song I was imagining myself in the video for the song. Very strange indeed. I also woke myself up snoring a few times!

Good to know! Did you carry on with the cream and spray that Rudi gave you? I am considering stopping that for a few days to see if they settle down.

Thanks! All seems to healing well so far, but have quite a few spots/pimples in the donor and recipient area, which are itching me a bit! I am not sure whether this because of the aloe vera cream/spray aggravating my skin.

I previously posted this elsewhere on this site, but thought it would be best here in the FUE section. I returned home yesterday from Belgium after having 3000 grafts with Dr De Reys. I had 1750 grafts to the hairline and 1250 to the crown. Firstly, I would like to say how useful I have found this website in this whole process of undertaking a hair transplant and I hope this blog will be useful to others too. If it were not for this website I would not have found the excellent Dr De Reys – who I cannot recommend highly enough. Before describing my experience of the surgery, I thought I would provide some background information about myself and some consultation experiences, as these may be useful for others too. I am 34-years-old, and in addition to my day job I am a semi-professional rugby player, so having a FUT would not have been an option, due to the amount of time I would have to rest for. With my age I may only have one season playing at this level, so it had to be a FUE transplant. I initially consulted Dr Asim Shahmalak of Crown Clinic in April 2012 – I know he has been widely criticised on this forum, but he has done some good work on a celebrity doctor here in the UK, so thought I would have a consultation with him. To be fair to him, he was very thorough in our consultation. He used a microscopic camera and suggested that my donor area was very good and that I had lots of grafts with 2 and 3 hairs and that I needed 1500 to the hairline and 1500 to the crown. He also said that I would have plenty of grafts for future transplants. After the consultation with Dr Shahmalak I had a meeting with his practice manager, who I found quite pushy. I said I was unsure about whether I wanted a hair transplant and she said “if you didn’t want one, you would not be here.” Something did not feel quite right, so I decided to research other surgeons. In November 2012 I had a consultation with Dr Raghu Reddy, at Selston Cosmetic clinic in Nottingham, where Dr Reddy performs FUEs on weekends. To be honest, I found the consultation process and subsequent contact very poor. As I have previously mentioned, my consultation with Dr Shahmalak was very thorough, whereas Dr Reddy just lifted up the back of my hair and suggested that he would not be able to extract more than 3000 grafts and that he would put 1500 in the crown, but not touch the front and wait until the front of my hair goes and then add another 1500 grafts. I then had additional questions for Dr Reddy, before proceeding, but he did not reply to several e-mails and I could not contact him by phone. I just thought that if I could not get a reply before surgery, what would happen if there was a problem? At this stage, I was very confused as Shahmalak said I had plenty of grafts, whereas Reddy said I didn’t! I thought it was time for a third consultation. I remembered an old saying from a previous coach - "if there is any doubt, there is no doubt." It was time for another consultation. I contacted Dr Feriduni. He suggested that I needed 3000 grafts to the crown and 2000 to the front. I then e-mailed him about concerns I had relating to my donor, based on the Dr Reddy’s comments, and Feriduni asked me to send additional pictures of my donor. He suggested that my donor area was very good and that I would have enough grafts for the this operation and subsequent surgeries. I was very close to booking with Feriduni when I came across a blog on here by William38. I then did some research on Dr De Reys, as I had never heard about him before, and there are plenty of pictures and videos that document his work. I then sent off some pictures and he estimated that I would need 1500 to the hairline and 1500 to the crown. I asked his representative, Nick, many questions and I had a really good feeling about Dr De Reys. I liked the way that he did not have any assistants, other than his wife, and that he only performed one operation per day. I decided to book with Dr De Reys, and in January booked the surgery for the beginning of July. The cost was 7000 euros, which has worked out about ?6000 pounds – would have been cheaper last year, but the pound has weakened. I know there has been a debate on here about how much Dr De Reys charges and that cost should not be a deciding factor in selecting a surgeon. I agree with this. But, in reality all decisions we make are to some extent based on money and value for money. If I was not convinced about his work, I would not have booked with him regardless of how much he charged. This is just my personal opinion. I flew into the airport last Sunday (30th of June) and was met by Dr De Reys, who gave my girlfriend and I a lift to the Hotel Villa Monte. On the Sunday night I had a good meal at La Cita – probably one of the nicest steaks I’ve ever had! Thanks Fitnessjunkie for the recommendation. The hotel was very clean and the staff were friendly. We had a great room at the back of the hotel, which opened out into the back garden, so sat out there on a night. Dr De Reys picked me up at 8 am and took me to his farm house, where he performs the surgeries. There was no messing around – he marked out my front and was very meticulous in designing the hairline and was assisted by his wife Gina. I was feeling very nervous and was offered a tranquiliser. I was only meant to take half a pill, but intended to bit the tablet in half, but it all crumbled to I just swallowed the whole thing! Dr De Reys said it would probably make me sleep. It certainly did that, and much more – I’ll come back to that!! The injections were painful. They iced the area and used a vibrating device, to ease this process and it did help. The extraction process went well. In parts it was painful, but Dr De Reys and his wife could tell when it was hurting and would give me more anaesthetic. To be honest, I was “off my head” due to the tranquiliser. I had quite a few hallucinations in between sleeping on an off. As such, the extractions went very quickly and were done by about 1pm. By this stage, the hallucinations had stopped, but the tranquiliser was still working. Although I was “tripping,” I still felt comfortable and was not concerned about what was going on. Dr De Reys and his wife were constantly monitoring me. We had a short break in the morning – just remembered this – and then a quick lunch, which was very nice, although I was not very hungry at all. At about 1.30 Dr De Reys gave me the injections and the front of my head – these did not seem as painful as those in my donor area. In fact, I was dreading these, but they were fine. The creation of the hairline was quite painful though. I put a film on, but was still out of it and slept on and off for much of the early part of the afternoon. As with the extraction phase, this was painful in places, but by the end of the day my head felt like I had a helmet on and I could not feel that much. You feel that something is being done, and hear it, but it is not painful. I think we finished by 7.30 and was given a meal before being taken back to the hotel, which is less than 5 minutes away. To be honest, the last couple of hours dragged on a little bit, but other than that it seemed to go reasonably quickly. You will see from the day 1 photos, that more grafts were needed to fill in one of the gaps. I slept relatively well after day 1 and was not in any pain - got to sleep fine, but woke at about 5 am. I felt much better at the start of the second day, but still wanted a tranquiliser just to make the day a little easier. I only had half a tablet this time. I slept again on and off throughout the morning. The extraction phase was finished by about 1pm. We had another break for lunch and the gap was filled in at the front, followed by the crown. The last few hours really dragged on and at one point I thought I was at home, but realised that I was not at home, but having a hair transplant - I was gutted! Dr De Reys could tell I’d had enough, after I asked how many grafts were left a few times. I thought at one point he said 150, but he’d said 350! However, he did not rush and made sure every last graft was implanted. Overall, my experience was very positive. Dr De Reys is very patient and everything I’d read about him before booking the surgery was true. He gave me the uppermost care throughout the two long days. I am really pleased with my results too. He said that the results should be good, as I had lots of two and three hair grafts – very few single hair grafts – so I should have decent density. As I write this now – on Thursday 4th of July, the few scabs that I had on my hairline seem to have almost gone from regularly spraying them with the saline solution. Things are a little sore and I am waiting for the swelling to come! I am really pleased with the decision that I made to have the surgery with Dr De Reys and urge others not to be put off by travelling for the right surgeon. I was quite hesitant about doing this, but I think that this should not be an issue as long as you make sure you do thorough research. There are plenty of charlatans out there, but there are also surgeons who can make a really difference and will care about their patients. I will try and take regular photos and upload them on here. Once again, many thanks to all of those on here who have documented their hair transplant stories. I thought it was only right that I do the same, because I think the more people that do this, the less work the poor surgeons will get, and will eventually be put out of business and not have the opportunity to do more damage.