Hair Apparent

Update 1 HT2 + 6 I gotta say, I'm loving this. Obviously, there's not much in the way of developments to report after only a week, but I can speak to the experience, and so far, it's been great. Following my first HT, everything was new. I didn't know what to look for, except in the most general of conditions. It was tough to know if what I saw looked good, adequate, or bad. I had to learn everything from comparison from photos and comments posted here by others and the answers from the fusillade of questions with which I bombarded Ailene Watts at Doctor Cooley's office (and to which, she was most patient, informative, and gracious). Now I have the benefit of experience and with that, I have to say I'm tickled to death at what I see so far. The transplanted hair from front to top is much denser than last time--because I went with the front loading this time (as opposed to an even distribution across all of my balding scalp last time). That's the 2,550 grafts I got this time plus half of the 2,600 from my first HT all in that area, giving it a much more impressive look this time than last, at least from the front. For the first few days, there was some redness of the skin in the transplanted area, but nothing dramatic. Almost no scabbing and what there was was tiny. And, like last time, no swelling at all. I went ahead and buzzed down my naturally growing hair to match it as closely as I could to the length of the transplanted hair, just for symmetry's sake. The suture line shows, of course, but who cares? (And, in fact, the fresh suture line this time is less conspicuous than my first one was at the same time along in the process.) In fact, the day after the HT, I visited my father-in-law's house (I had to, to take care of a family squabble) and stopped off at a grocery store on the way home, and went hatless. I got no undue stares or questions. Since then, I've gone out in a public hatless a couple more times--I try not to do that too much, just to avoid any accidental bumping or trauma to my scalp--and haven't felt conspicuous in the least. The best part has been seeing clearly, in any kind of reflexion, under any kind of light, the hairline which I had hoped to gain. No "washing out" of the hair under harsh lighting because of the sparse density. As far as any discomfort: the first night, I had a bit of a headache--six or seven Tylenol took care of that--and some tightness at the suture line. Within a day or so, there was no more aching, although I still feel a bit of tightness at the back. Itching has not been a significant problem. The sutures itched more than anything else, and the itching creme that Doctor Cooley provided took care of that. As for itching in the area of the transplants, most of the time it has been so minor that it was easy enough to ignore. Sometimes, though, I just sprayed some of the "green stuff" on my scalp and that remedied the itch. I've noticed this morning that some of the transplanted hairs have started to shed--as is to be expected. It's a bit sad, since it has been so much fun having them there, but at least I know that it's not "good-bye" to them, but rather "until we meet again" in a few months. This is going to be a fun year!

Kamin, If I may, permit me to add my two cents here. First of all, I'm glad that your results with Doctor Holt of MHR pleases you. No-one on this board wishes anyone an ill result on an hair transplant, regardless of who does the work. And, when it comes right down to it, that is the bottom line. That said, let's address the issue of MHR as an entity. You used the analogy of McDonald's, stating that if one has a bad experience at one McDonald's restaurant, that does not mean that the rest of them are equally poor. Fair enough. However, the inverse of that analogy would also hold true. If one visits a McDonald's and receives exceptional service, that does not mean that the rest of the restaurants in the chain also provide the same level of service. The decision to undergo an HT and to whom to go for the procedure is a complex issue and, even though there is much guidence to be found in fora such as this one, as well as whatever information can be gleaned from the various websites of MHR, Bosley, and the individual surgeons who perform such work, there is still the fact that, to some extent, potential patients are forced to make a decision while at a disadvantage. Most potential patients are not physicians, so we lack the technical knowledge. Nor do most of us possess the resources to personally investigate thoroughly every HT surgeon and operation out there. To be sure, it behooves us to do as much research as possible--a great deal of research, as a matter of fact--but all we can realistically do is load the odds of making a wise selection of HT physician in our favour. There is no getting a 100% guarantee. (If for no other reason than nothing in medicine is 100% guaranteed.) So, a potential HT patient is, in a real sense, playing the odds in selecting a surgeon, with the understanding that there are some factors which are going to be beyond one's ability to research. When I decided to investigate the possibility of whether or not an HT was feasible for me, I had not yet discovered this forum, or any like it. I spent an aggragate of twenty-four hours just performing on-line research (one night for twelve hours straight). I educated myself as much as possible on the most current techniques of hair transplantation. I contacted various surgeons and investigated MHR and Bosley, receiving their promotional literature and videos. I have no formal medical education, but I do have a few initials after my name; even so, I knew that, to an extent, no matter how I educated myself on the process and the physicians, there were still some blank areas I could not fill in. Given that, what I decided to do was look for "red flags"--certain signs that would tell me that a particular surgeon or clinic should be eliminated. In the case of MHR--and remember, this was before I read a single post on any forum--it was MHR's promotional video that sent up red flags. It wasn't so much in what was told to the viewer, but what wasn't said. When someone promises you the world and mentions no strings attached, that is a big signal to me that there's something there that isn't meant to be found. That's why I scratched MHR off my list. Since then, having discovered this forum and others, I find similar sentiments about MHR. Mahair suffered a singularly tragic result from his experience with MHR (and bear in mind, this is no indictment of the research and thought he put into his decision to use MHR; he fell victim to that "X" part that is difficult, if not impossible, for a potential patient to ferret out) and not only should the terrible results of his work by MHR send up a red flag, the way MHR responded to it sends up a bigger one. A truly professional entity would be bending over backwards to repair or compensate Mahair for his loss and suffering. Not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it also would rehabilitate MHR's own reputation. MHR, apparently, has no interest in doing either. The other comments regarding MHR as operating like a "hair mill"--charging the patients higher than the industry standard to pay for its commercial advertising, its "come on" technique of promising that one procedure will do the job as a lure to bring a patient back, and so forth--are reasonably accurate. There is just too much smoke for there not to be a fire. You got results from an MHR surgeon that are satisfactory for you--and I'm very pleased for you. But I cannot say that your one positive outcome undoes the overwhelming number of indications that MHR, as an entity, is an inferior choice for one seeking an HT.

Yeah, I have to agree. At the time Doctor Cooley had my scalp flayed open to remove the donor strip was probably the time in the process when the chances for infexion are the greatest (let alone it probably being one of the most delicate phases of the operation). Just a matter of unfortunate timing. Incidentally, I took a look at your pics and the results look great. You have a higher fringe area of hair than I do so you got excellent coverage with your 3K grafts. You saw the kind of hairline I wanted, and received from Dr. Cooley. With the 2,600 grafts from my first HT distributed across my entire bald area, it fit that hairline but was sparse all over. With this next 2,550 concentrated on the front and top (and some used to close the sparse spot at the crown) I feel confident that I will get oh-so-close to my goal. But with what you're starting with, Mike, I think you are going to wind up with an outstanding result. It's going to be fun to see what the next year brings to all of us.

No worries, Mike. I figured the lines had gotten crossed somehow. I'm a little surprised that Stacey didn't ask Doctor Cooley to admit you (or maybe she did, and he had his reasons for not admitting you at that particular time) since during my first HT, Dr. Cooley asked if I minded if a potential patient come in to observe the procedure--and, of course, I had no problem with that. Most likely, there was some hygenic reason why you couldn't be admitted at that particular time. Anyway, sorry I missed the chance to meet you. As I mentioned, there are at least a half-dozen of us who have all received HT's from Dr. Cooley in the last six weeks. We'll all be going through the growth phases together. It's like all of us are in the same graduating class. Maybe we could all work out some kind of "final result" reunion sometime next year. Thanks for the kind thoughts, Mike--and good luck with your new hair.

Thanks for the good wishes, Robert. I'm even more excited about this one than I was my first. My first HT was, in many ways, an experiment. I had not learnt as much about number of grafts versus density as I have since the first one. My goals were modest and I wanted complete coverage to avoid a shiny bald spot in back. Because of those two desires, I gambled that, maybe, one would be enough. And if it turned out that it wasn't, even with the modest goal I had in mind, I wasn't any worse off, since a second HT would take care of it. At my age, I was going for a mature look along the lines of actor Robert Montgomery's hair (see photo) This is the way Doctor Cooley designed my hairline on the first HT and now he's added the density to it that should give me the results I want, at least in the front and top. I know for the younger fellows out there, this would hardly be satisfactory, but for me, it is perfect--and a hell of an improvement for a guy who had no hair in front or on top when it all began.

Here We Go, Again. To-day I had my second HT with Doctor Cooley. 2,550 grafts just in the placement I had desired--front loaded, leaving the front hairline low enough to form an advanced widow's peak, and the recessed temples filled in a touch. And the rest used to add density to the front and top. The blueprint Dr. Cooley sketched on my head left a little more of the crown untouched than I had hoped for, but he had sufficient grafts left over to add to the crown's circumference, "shrinking" it, as it were. And with the part of the 2,600 grafts I got the first time already there and growing, it's more than satisfactory. I don't have to go into the details of the operation; it was identical to my experience the first time and mirrored the experiences of everyone else who has related his time in Dr. Cooley's chair. This time, I was wise enough to take the proffered Valium in the afternoon as well as the morning so I felt no discomfort whatsoever, except for a brief episode of "restless legs" that erupted toward the end, from being so relaxed the whole time. There was also the benefit of "compressed time". I was in the chair for eleven hours, but it seemed like only three or four at the most. Now the waiting drill begins. It won't be so bad this time, since I already have the results of the previous HT, and because I've already asked and got answers on all the niggling questions that come up. With the denser packing, I'm looking forward to a much better "bumper crop" this time, at least in the front and top. (According to Dr. Cooley, I still have about 1,000 viable grafts left in my donor hair. It will be quite some time before I can find my way clear to do anything with those.) With me, Nashville Kat, Maximus, Prosipicience, tntiger, ifloss, and Robert, we have quite a fraternity of Cooley patients here,and we'll all be going through the growing phase together (except for Robert). Good luck to us all!

Michael, Congratulations on your HT! Sounds like everything went just as great as each of the other experiences those of us here have had with Doctor Cooley. Your impression of him as a human being echoes my impressions, as well. Every once in a while, one comes across a really, exceptionally decent person, and Dr. Cooley is one of them. I'm sure you'll realise the maximum gain that you can get from the amount of grafts you had transplanted and be thrilled with the results. Good luck with your new hair!

If you're going to be in Doctor Cooley's office for suture removal on 18 January, that's when I'll be there getting my second HT. Feel free to pop in and say "hi", if you've a mind to do so.

Mike, Congratulations on your HT. I'm sorry, but the fact you were undergoing the procedure Wednesday completely slipped my mind. (Frankly, I probably couldn't have stopped by even if I had remembered; a water line in my main bathroom ruptured this week and I'm in the process of getting the wall knocked down so it can be patched.) As is no surprise, your experience mirrored that of everyone I have seen post their experience with Doctor Cooley's surgery. You provided some details that the rest of us omitted, which is a good thing. If someone wants to get a thorough idea of what undergoing an HT with Dr. Cooley is like, all he has to do is review your post, mine, Nashville Kat's, Robert's, and all of the other posts by Dr. Cooley's patients. While they all are closely similar, each of us has provided a few details not mentioned in the others--details which just happened to be omitted but were true in each patient's experience. While nothing in medicine carries a 100% guarantee, I would bet my pension that you will show excellent results from Cooley's handiwork. Being a Norwood VI like I was, obviously we both would have loved to end up with a full head of hair, but that's not going to happen. But it's a sure thing that Dr. Cooley has maximised your gain and you will get the best possible results from those 3K grafts. In case you missed my posting it in my own thread on Dr. Cooley, I am going in for my second HT with him on 18 January. I went with overall coverage the first time; this time I am going for the "front load", concentrating on the front and top. I'm probably more excited about this one than the first; since I've been through it once before, to most of the agonising questions I already know the answers. I'm pleased to see Dr. Cooley getting repeat business. All of the HT surgeons mentioned here are top-rate, and I would be hard-pressed to categorically state that so-and-so is better than so-and-so. But Dr. Cooley certainly stands in the top tier, but for some reason his name isn't bandied about as often as some of the others. Actually, the hard part for you begins now--in having the patience to let time work its magic. For the first three months or so, as I waited through the "dormant period", it was hard to avoid asking myself the question "What the hell did I spend all that money on?" But it does pay off when you start to see those hairs sprout and take off. Best of luck with your new hair, Mike!

And so it begins, again . . . . It's a "go", folks! I'm scheduled for my second HT with Doctor Cooley on 18 January. At least 2,500 grafts, but probably lots more.

Mike, As I mentioned before, I was the same age as you, and the same degree of baldness when I had my HT in September, 2004. Of course, each person is different, and I've never had any noticeable problems healing following injury, so bear that in mind. But when I returned to work two weeks after my HT, there were no signs in the transplanted area that any work had ever been done. No redness, no "dotting", nothing. Now, the donor scar was still visible. If I had let my hair grow longer in back, that might have been partially masked, but I'm one of those "in for a penny, in for a pound" types. I made no secret that I had had a transplant, and on top of that, I abandoned the hairpieces I had worn for years. As far as recovery time, except for the noticeable line where the donor grafts were removed (and that will fade in short time; Doctor Cooley does particularly outstanding work there; it's impossible to see where my strip was removed, now), you probably won't have any problems. As far as the transplanted hairs divesting themselves, nearly all of mine did so within that two weeks of recuperating time; the ones that did not fall out during that fortnight never did fall out, but they were so few, it didn't make a cosmetic difference in my appearance. So, barring some kind of bizarre complication, there shouldn't be any healing issues in terms of your appearance when you go back to work, except for the donor scar. I live about ten minutes away from Dr. Cooley's offices. If you would like me to drop by on 04 January to pick my brain about what you're going to be going through, I'd be glad to do so.

Mike, Glad to hear your consultation with Doctor Cooley went so well. Your experience mirrored mine almost to a "T" including the degree of baldness and the available donor hair. The costs quoted you reflect the ones presented to me, as well. I didn't comment on them in my previous post to you because, if for some unforeseen complication or other reason, Dr. Cooley had to charge you more, he wouldn't be put in the position of having to defend his fee to you against what he charged me. But your costs are exactly in line with what was quoted me. I've just initiated the "shell game" of my own funds, to free up what I will need for my second HT with Dr. Cooley. I'm trying to time it so that I will be in a stand-by status for the next one no sooner than the middle of December. I know he's booked solid in that month, but I'm taking the long shot that I can slip in during the last two weeks of December, which would be ideal for me. And I don't lose anything if I have to wait until January. (One thing one learns all too well as a HT patient is patience.) Good luck to you, sir! I'm sure you will find the experience a good one. You've picked a top-notch surgeon.

Prospicience, Doctor Cooley is held in high regard by many posters on this board. I had my first HT with him on 16 September of last year and am due to have another this coming December. I provided pretty thorough documentation of my experience throughout the past year on this board. Just access this thread: 2000+ Grafts from Dr. Cooley Based on your description of yourself, your situation mirrors mine somewhat. I was forty-eight years old at the time of my HT and I was a Norwood VI. Therefore, you will probably have to make the same choice I did for your first HT--whether to go for placing the grafts in the front and top and getting decent density; or to have them distributed across your entire balding area and sacrificing density. Either way, you will probably want a second HT--the curse of those of us in the high Norwood classifications. My only dissatisfaction was with Nature, which cursed me with lots of bald scalp. My experience with Dr. Cooley and his staff was outstanding. In my case, he maximised my possible gain from the first HT. In deciding to undergo a second one, I never considered anyone else. Hope you find this helpful--and good luck!

I had the consultation at Doctor Cooley's office yesterday afternoon. Since we didn't have to waste any time on background, details of the HT, or technical aspects, since I've been through the drill with Dr. Cooley once before and know what to expect, this session was devoted entirely to ???¦sthetics. My goals are in sync with what they recommend. I'm going to "double up" with another 2,500+ grafts and this time arrange them them with more attention to the front and top. My crown and back will still be a bit sparse, but the hair I already transplanted there will ameliorate that somewhat. For personal reasons, I will not be free to be on "stand by" until 14 December, but from then on, I'll be able to go into his office for the surgery on a 24-hour notice, although it probably won't be quite that short-notice. Probably 48 hours. I'll let you know, Robert, as soon as I get the call, but I completely understand if you can't get away to make that long drive to Charlotte. But, if you can, you are more than welcome.

Robert, I certainly don't have a problem with you being there. In fact, I'd welcome the opportunity to share some "sea stories" about HT's with you. It might be difficult for you to fit it in, unless we just happen to get lucky. The only part of the timeline I know is this: my consultation with Doctor Cooley will be sometime next week. After that it will take four-to-six weeks to play the shell game with my assets to free up the needed funds. After that, I cannot predict. Dr. Cooley allows a significant reduction in his fee for patients who are on "stand by", available to come in for their HT when a "last minute" opening arises. I'm fortunate to be in a position where I can do that, as I did with my first one. That time, I had forty-eight hours notice. If you can work around that--great! I'd be glad to have you there. But I know that's a small envelope to be able to make a three-hour drive. I'll let you know as things develop.

We are obviously kindred spirits, HairBeThere, when it comes to HT approaches. I was a Norwood VI when I had my HT, and I opted for the same approach as you did--overall coverage, as opposed to front-loading. I received 2,500 grafts and my results were virtually the same--disappointing in photos and in bright light, but under normal light, in a mirror, the results are noticeable. To be candid, while not expecting great density, I overestimated how much density I would get. Still, even knowing what I know now, I still would have gone that way. For one thing, with either approach, a second HT would have been necessary, and it just fit my nature not to leave a shiny bald spot gaping in the back. I'm on the verge of scheduling my next HT--within the month, it is hoped--and now that I have some hair in back, I intend to concentrate on the front and top, and only a small fraction of my 3,500 grafts available to the crown and back. If anything, you are somewhat better off than I am, since you had more hair on the sides and back than I did. In my estimation, you got max gain from your first HT, given the number of grafts. Like you said, it's like trying to re-paint a house that needs a gallon of paint with only a half-gallon to do the job. A very apt analogy. Good luck to you on your second time around!

To answer this question for you, Kat: I finally worked out a relatively painless way to spring for my next HT. I've shot off an e-mail to Ailene Watts to schedule me for a consult with Doctor Cooley sometime next week. It will take about a month to play the fund-shift game, and then it will be up to whenever Dr. Cooley will call me in. I'm going for max gain this time--about 3,500 grafts is all I have left--and going to concentrate them mostly in front and on the top. And, again, as I said in my post to your thread--congratulations on your outstanding results!

Kat, I've been remiss in not getting back to you and congratulate you on the results of your transplant. You have outstanding results and I can imagine how pleased you are feeling. You are along the lines of what I was hoping for with mine, and probably would have had if I had not opted to go for overall coverage. My hair is continuing to thicken on top and that makes for improvement. I've crossed the line from "bald" to "balding", and up close the change is obvious, since there is hair all over the formerly balding area, just sparse. It's a distance that gets depressing sometimes, depending on the light. The only thing now is that I wish the hair on the crown and back would hurry up and catch up with the front. Still, it's improving on a weekly basis. Another HT using the last 3,500 or so grafts I have left, especially concentrating on the front and top, now that I have hair in the back again, should get me to where I want to be--and if I get results like yours, I will be thrilled. I'm pleased for you, friend! Doctor Cooley is a top-notch surgeon and I wouldn't consider going to anyone else for my next HT.

Update 8 HT + 368 Days It has now been just over a year since my HT. There's not much to amplify upon from my previous post. The comments I made in my last post still remain true. One thing to add, is that Robert was not being overly optimistic when he mentioned that there was the possibility of further development after all of the grafts have appeared. In the five months since I entered that post, I've watched the new hair thicken and that makes considerable difference. It's not something one would notice studying the hair from day to day. I wasn't really paying attention until last month, I woke up and walked into the bathroom, looked into the mirror, and said "Whoa!" The new hair in the front and on top was thick enough that it actually looked tangled and unkempt from sleeping. It's been a long time since I needed a comb. (And actually, for me, a brush works better than a comb.) With the most critical eye, I can now state that I have passed from "bald" to "balding". Not what I was shooting for, but when one started as a Norwood VI, it's a hell of an improvement. With the thickness, the new hair now looks growing and vibrant, rather than the last dying hold-outs on a bald head--and that makes a big cosmetic difference. Mirrors are still a friend and a foe, depending. At a distance of more than a few feet or with especially bright light, such as direct sunlight, overhead, most of the hair still "washes out", making me appear as bald as I ever was. But close to within four or five feet, or in indirect lighting, and the new hair is apparent and my appearance changes significantly. My bathroom mirror remains my best friend; it shows off my new hair to the best advantage. The next stage is for the new hair on my crown and the back of my head to catch up with the top and front. Following the conventional wisdom, my hair on the crown and back has lagged in development behind the front by about three months. Once it "catches up" with the front, I'll have achieved the max benefit anyone under my circumstances could expect. That goes directly to the high quality of Doctor Cooley's work. He and his staff did an outstanding job; he obtained the most gain possible from distributing the 2,500+ grafts over my entire balding area. And for those who still wonder if it is possible to have a strip HT without being inflicted with a visible scar, I haven't even thought about it in several months. Believe me, I inspect the hair all over my head on a daily basis, and I notice everything to the millimetre, but the incision which Dr. Cooley made to extract my grafts has completely healed. The last time I visited his offices, about three months ago, it took him three attempts to even find where it was. See the grey line that divides one post from another on this board? The only evidence left of the incision is that same colour and about half as wide as that line, and in many places, it's healed over without any mark. So, even with modest goals, I am left with sparser coverage than what I had hoped for. That's the only downcheck, and the blame for that lies with nature that cursed me with baldness. The actual procedure and results were outstanding under the given limitations. I would defy anyone to know that the hair on the top and back of my head wasn't what nature put there. The upside, of course, is that I can go back and have another HT, as soon as I'm willing to pry open my change purse and spring for it. At that last visit, Dr. Cooley said that I had lots of available grafts left. (Based on his original estimation, that would be at least 3,500 grafts.) Now that I have covered up the crown and back with at least some hair, my plans for my next HT--depending on the amount of coverage I finally realise in the back and crown--are to concentrate on the front and top, putting 65-75% of the grafts there, and sprinkling the rest in the crown and back. That should take me from "balding" to "thinning", and I will be most content with that. To anyone who cares to go through all of my posts here, I've tried to provide an accurate account of how the results of an HT progresses throughout the first year, including the things that go through one's mind during that time. Even if one has only one HT, it is a "work in progress", for at least a year, and I've tried to provide some insight to the changes which occur over that time. I hope something in my rambling might prove helpful. If you are considering a hair transplant, I would overwhelmingly recommend it, so long as your expectations are realistic, given your age and own degree of hairloss. As for the procedure itself, it is reliable and safe with nominal scarring, so long as one selects a completely expert surgeon. Naturally, I recommend Dr. Cooley wholeheartedly, but the other members of this board have also used other outstanding physicians who have produced superb results. So, do your research--especially by studying the posts on this board (I wish I had discovered it before making my decisions; it would have saved me hours of legwork)--and the results will be positive.

Packers Fan, Congratulations on your HT! I don't think I add anything to what the other posters have already told you, except to reinforce what has been said, and it is all positive. First--and you already know this--you picked a top-notch surgeon in selecting Doctor Cooley. He does quality work and his office set-up is second to none. For some reason, his name isn't bandied about as often as some of the other top-drawer HT surgeons, but several of us who post here are Dr. Cooley's patients and it's interesting to read our various comments. From the descriptions of the process throughout all of the follow-up, we echo each other, particularly in the singular touches which make Dr. Cooley stand out. As Pat said, I think every HT patient, in the beginning, worries that, for some reason, his HT won't "take". I would bet that thought has crossed the mind of every HT patient. It doesn't help that it takes several weeks for the results to even begin to show. You're well past that stage, now, and you're beginning to see the first vestiges of new growth. I commented in another post that, in some ways, this stage is even tougher than the initial "When the hell is it going to grow" stage. One knows the hair is growing, so now one starts to wonder "Is that as thick as it is going to get?"; "Will there be any more?" Trust me, there will be more. A little background on myself: I'm almost fifty years old and I was a severe Norwood VI. On top of that, my scalp was dotted with scar tissue from an implant procedure I had done years ago, when I was young and stupid and figured that I would never go without some kind of hairpiece. In short, I was one of the tougher cases. During my consultation with Dr. Cooley, he informed me that my donor hair was sufficient to provide approximately 5,500 grafts, but recommended an initial HT of 2,000 grafts to see if the scarring would inhibit the growth of the transplanted hair. (As it turned out, I got 2,500+ grafts and the scarring didn't cause any problems.) You had your grafts placed in the front and top. I don't know what Norwood classification you were, but for those in the higher classes, that is the recommended approach--for all the "framing the face" reasons. And for your age, I agree that was the way to go. In my case, I could not stand the idea of having a big shiny bald spot in back, even with hair in front, so I opted to have Dr. Cooley more evenly distribute my grafts over all of my balding area--front, top, crown, and back. There were trade-offs in doing this: I had to keep my temples receded and the overall density would be less, obviously. But at my age, I could get away with this--no-one expects a fifty-year-old man to have Elvis hair. Dr, Cooley initially recommended the same approach that he used with you, but once he knew that I understood the trade-offs, he was on board and came up with an excellent design for my hairline. I had my HT performed last September, so I am a little over eight months along--right in the middle of the "golden" stage. To be honest, even with modest expectations, I overestimated how much density I would get by distributing my grafts all over the way I did. That's no reflexion on Dr. Cooley--I know he maximised whatever gain I got--but the hard reality that I have a great deal of balding area to cover. It's just disappointing that I fell short of my goal. Even so, I have a hairline, now--something I haven't had in thirty years--and a noticeable amount of hair in front and on top. (Typically, for some reason, grafts in the crown and back take longer to sprout and reach maturity. In my case, the crown and back have been running about three months behind the front.) I'm almost at the end of the period when I can reasonably expect to see new growth burst through, but I still have several months in which the new hairs will mature; for them to thicken and relax. Right now, I'm seeing more and more of the hairs thicken on a weekly basis and I'm making a reasonable estimation that six months from now, I'll probably be about 30%-40% short of the density I had originally expected. Even so, my new hair has been noticeable since the four-month period. (One rather left-handed advantage to being a Norwood VI is that any hair is a definite improvement.) I never made a secret of my HT, and I stopped wearing my hairpiece the day I had the HT done. I never heard a single negative comment on suddenly "going bald" and at the four-month mark, I got my first compliment on my new growth. Since then, I've had co-workers comment that I should be going in for my first haircut soon, so even my modest growth is apparent--in a positive way. The most striking comment came from my wife about two months ago, as she leant forward to kiss me before I left for work. Now, the sun was still down and the lighting in the room was subdued, so keep things in perspective. Still, she leaned up, because I am tall, then suddenly reared back and said "Whoa! Your hair!" I said, "What about it? Has it suddenly turned green or something?" And she replied, "No, but it looks like you have almost a full head of hair." Now, when I tilted my head forward, she saw that most of it was just a trick of the angle and the poor lighting. But still, it was a remarkable comment for hair as sparse as mine. I mentioned all of that because, since you had your grafts all placed in front, your results should be even more remarkable. When you hit month seven--the start of the "golden stage"--you should definitely see a noticeable improvement, more striking than mine. As far as any reaction from others, I think you will find that it will be almost completely positive. And I guarantee, everybody who knew you before will notice. When I thanked that person who complimented me on my new hair at the four-month mark, I mentioned that I was impressed that she noticed, and she replied, "Oh, everybody sees it. It's just that nobody says anything." In my case, while it is disappointing that I didn't get even the modest density I had anticipated, it's not fatal. All it means is that I'll have to undergo a second HT (which I would have had to do anyway, if I had gone your route, to cover the bald spot in back). I was in Dr. Cooley's office this week for a procedure to remove some of the scars which are still visible (my new hair conceals the ones on top) and he made it a point to mention that I still had plenty of available donor hair left. When I can spare the cost of another HT without denting my nest egg (I have a Depression-era mentality; I'm not about to risk our financial security just for more hair), I'm going to readjust the distribution, now that I won't have a slick bald spot in back, and have more of the grafts placed the way yours were. That should bring me to where I had hoped to be. The most damnable part of the whole HT process is the waiting. It's at least a year before one begins to see the final results, and that's plenty of time to be plagued by doubts. But don't sweat it--in a few more months, you won't believe what you've got up top. And your friends with hair (the lucky #@*%#*#'s) will be impressed and your friends without hair will be jealous. Best of luck, and keep us posted!

Thanks for the encouragement, fellows. You're right, Robert: no matter what disappointments, this has still been a positive experience overall. First of all, modest though it may be, I have a hairline, again. One of the most discouraging things about my original balding was that I didn't even have the dubious benefit of going bald in a distinguished fashion. My hair jumped ship at the front and the back at the same time and within a couple of years, I didn't have a hairline. I took a look in the mirror this morning and I can see that the hair in the front and on top has almost integrated with the hair on the crown and the back. That makes a significant difference, especially in a few months when the hair in the back catches up to what's in front, now. In my most critical evaluation, I've gone from a solid Norwood VI to the high side of a Norwood V. That doesn't sound like much, I know, but for a former Norwood VI, it makes one hell of an improvement. You're also right, Robert, in that there are more benefits to follow. I've reached the point where I don't think the improvement I can expect will bring me up to where I'd hoped, but it will still be a major improvement. As the hair I've grown thickens and matures, it will add definition, especially to the hairline. Right now, the hairline tends to "fuzz out"; but when all those hairs reach their original thickness, it will provide a nice framing. Of course, I have several months to go before I can consider this HT "finished", but if the thickening brings me to, say, 25% shy of what I had hoped for, then I will be in ideal shape for the follow-on HT. With hair in the back, now, I'll feel comfortable dedicating most of the next 3,000 grafts or so to the front and vertex. So, most definitely, this has been worth the investment. And the good news is, it can only get better over the next six months or so. Thanks, again, guys.

Update 7 HT + 216 Days I just hit the beginning of my seventh month on 16 April; supposedly months 7 through 9 are the "golden" ones in terms of seeing the most cosmetic improvement following an HT. For this report, I have several positive items upon which to comment, and one negative one. Let's get the negative one out of the way first. Even with the most optimistic outlook, it is becoming apparent--to me, anyway--that I overestimated the degree of density I would experience by having the 2,500+ grafts distributed over my entire balding area, rather than concentrating on the front and vertex. Bear in mind, I had modest intentions and expectations from the outset. It's always difficult to gauge these things, but from looking in my bathroom mirror (which has always been the most complimentary to my new growth, whether in natural daylight or with the overhead electric lighting) I would estimate that I am 35-40% short of what I had hoped for. It is difficult for me to detect much new growth (we're talking about the front and vertex here; the crown and back are a separate issue which I will address later). However, that is not to say that there won't be improvement. Most of the hairs are still immature and I can expect to receive benefit when they do mature. In any event, I expect to get a stronger definition of my hairline, which will do wonders. And I have several months to go before all of the hairs reach their mature stage. This raises the question of was I right to go for overall coverage, rather than placing all the grafts in the front and vertex, as conventional wisdom recommends for Norwood VI patients. In all candor, I still believe I was right--for me. The idea of having a (relatively) lush amount of hair in front and a big shiny bald spot in back was an unattractive one to me. Even at less than what I had hoped, having hair all over my balding area is a thrill. I get the biggest kick out of running my hand over my head and feeling hair where I hadn't felt hair in over twenty-five years. The usual argument for doing the front first is that it "frames the face". One thing I have learnt is that, when one is a Norwood VI or worse, it doesn't take much to "frame the face" with a noticable improvement. I've achieved that now, with the modest growth I have at my hairline. For that matter, I have a hairline now, where I did not before. (Bear in mind, I'm an older man; a younger person probably would not be as satisfied with the modest framing that I have.) So, yes, I did the right thing for me. Even if I had known how I would look now, I still would have gone the route I did when I had my HT. Moreover, it was not a "fatal" choice; according to Doctor Cooley's estimation, I still approximately 3,500 viable grafts left in my donor hair--more than enough to "double up" with a second HT--and with hair all over my head now, I can place more emphasis on the front with the second HT. Now on to the positives--and there are many. "?? First, in every way, Dr. Cooley and his staff did a masterful job. I cannot recommend this man and his operation more highly. The hair that has grown in looks completely natural and I would defy anyone--save those of us here who have become masters at detecting HT's--to tell simply by looking at it, that my hair was transplanted. Not only does it look natural, even the modest growth does an outstanding job of masking scarring on my scalp from a procedure that was a folly of my youth. (That was one of the reasons for limiting the number of grafts transplanted to 2,500; Dr. Cooley was unsure if the scars would impede the vascularity of my scalp, and it would have been much worse to transplant 4,000 grafts and have only half of them grow. However, Dr. Cooley has examined the growth and has found that the scars had no impact on the circulation of blood in my scalp. So that was one break I got.) As for the donor scar, all I can say is--what scar? It is virtually invisible, and damn near impossible to find, even for me, and I know where it's supposed to be. I keep my hair about 1/2 inch short on the sides and back and there is nothing to show that anything was ever done. Lastly, Dr. Cooley designed the perfect hairline for my forehead, based upon my age and the shape of my head. It's perfect, and even if I had unlimited donor hair and unlimited funds to have HT's done, I wouldn't change an inch of the hairline, simply increase the density. For any and all future HT's, I wouldn't think of going to anyone but Dr. Cooley. "?? The hair is finally becoming managable, which means I'm beginning to realise some benefit from a comb. Before the last couple of weeks, my scalp strongly resembled a Chia pet. Having managabilty makes a big difference; up until now, I had to frequently trim the new hair just to keep from looking like the Wild Man of Borneo, but in keeping it short, it was difficult to tell when it had reached the stage when it could be combed. Now the hair in front, at least, can be combed; the hair in the crown and back still has to catch up, but that is another matter. "?? Speaking of the crown and back, as all the conventional wisdom has stated, my hair there had taken longer to develop and mature. It tended to lag about ten weeks behind the development of the hair in front. In the last few weeks though, the hair on my crown and back is really noticeable and when I look at my profile in the mirror, it is easy to visualise the hair in front and the hair in back integrating into one complete whole in a couple of months. This has been one of the most exciting aspects, since for the longest time, it seemed like very little was going on in back. "?? I have not experienced the "explosion of hair" that some HT patients stated they have experienced. Perhaps that is because I have been studying my hair with a critical eye. But the growth of my new hair has been constant and steady, with no static periods that I detected. "?? I finally see the hair in indirect reflexions under harsh light. That was one of the most disappointing aspects for me for months. Up close, in a good mirror, I could see quite a bit of hair, but under less exact reflexions, like in shop windows or under harsher light, like bright, direct sunlight, it all seemed to disappear. Now, in most of these poor reflectors, I see a hairline and a "shadow" of hair. Direct, bright sunlight still tends to wash most of it out, but much of that is due to the fact that most of the hair of not yet mature (the hair that is stands right out) and much of it is grey, which also tends to wash out in harsh light. "?? Something to bear in mind is--the HT patient tends to be more critical of his incipient growth. In other words, he doesn't see it as others do. I've recently gotten two reminders of that. First, a couple of weeks ago, as I was leaving for work and my wife was kissing me good-bye, she looked up, suddenly took a step back, and exclaimed, "Whoa! Your hair!" I said, "What is it? Did it suddenly turn green or something?" She replied, "No, it's just that it almost looks like you have a full head of hair, like in a crewcut." Now bear in mind, I am tall and she was looking at me directly from the front and from slightly below--the most favourable angle--and the lighting was subdued because the sun was still down. Once I tilted my head downward, she realised that it was only a trick of the angle and low lighting, but still it's something I wouldn't have expected. And last week, at a meeting, one of my co-workers was sitting behind me, tapped me on the shoulder, and said, "Looks like you'll be going for that first haircut soon." (I've never made a secret of the fact that I had an HT.) The point to take away here is that, while I think my critique of my hair growth is pretty accurate, I don't see it the way everyone else does and I'm probably being a tad too critical. To sum it all up, while I am disappointed in the sparseness, everything else about my HT has been excellent to outstanding. And even the sparseness can be dealt with in a follow-on HT. It's just that being a cheap bastard, I was hoping to avoid that. Oh, one last positive item: I now have more hair than my younger brother.

Thanks for the good words, Kat. I'll take all of them I can get. There are some pluses and minuses for me. From the beginning, I wondered if I had overestimated how much density I would get by opting to go for covering the whole bald area with the first HT. I had modest goals--at my age, I could get away with a thinner density, especially with all my grey hair, and I certainly don't mind the temple recession. At our in-person consultation, Doctor Cooley and Ailene were very frank in the limitations of my Norwood VI noggin, and I understood that. The factor that tilted my decision to go with an HT was a photo that Dr. Cooley showed me of one of his previous patients. It was very much in the target area for which I was hoping. And I've already spoken of how spot-on Dr. Cooley's designed hairline was in sync with my own expectations. I have more reasons to be positive than negative. On my first follow-up, Dr. Cooley made the comment that I was going to be very happy with the results a year from now, and he is not a man to blow smoke. And in my recent visit, Ailene examined me and said I was right on track. For my own part, I am now seeing a "shadow" of hair on the top and in front when I look in the mirror, even at long distance, in natural light. Most of it still disappears under a harsh light, but I do see progress. And when I look at my scalp closely in the mirror when I shave, I can see the new growth coming in (actually, it's like watching encroaching baldness in reverse!). The conventional wisdom says that it is in months six through nine when things really take off, so you can bet I will really be watching now. The damnedest part of it is sometimes I will look in one mirror under one kind of illumination and I'll think, "Wow! Look at all that hair!" and sometimes, in other reflexions, under other lights, I'll think, "Hey! Where'd it all go?" So I spend a lot of time trying to envision how my hair is going to look when all of the new wispy hairs have reached maturation and are thick and strong. Depending on the light and my mood, that's where my morale flip-flops. One of the things that birthed my concern is following the photos of others, and many of those fellows seem much further along in their growth and at an earlier stage than I am. On the other hand, most of them had more grafts on the first pass, or if they got approximately the same as I did, they were less bald than I was. And I don't think anyone else has gone the same route (of total coverage) than I did. So there's no one-to-one correlation. But it is a bit disappointing. I have to say that this whole experience has been an interesting ride, and there are a couple of things which I now bear in mind. First, even if I did overestimate the amount of density, I am still content with my decision to go for total coverage (rather than just "frame the face" by concentrating on the top and front). I love the feeling of having hair growing in all over my scalp and I just could not stand the idea of having a big bald spot in back. I know it sounds peculiar, but that would prey on my mind more than just having very thin hair all over. Also, I have at least 3,000 viable grafts left in my donor hair, so if I don't get enough density now, I can more than double up with a second HT and that should be more than sufficient. The only drawback there is I am not prepared to outlay the cash for a second HT for the next couple of years or so. I could, but I have a "Depression-era" mentality; I dislike running a credit-card debt that high. My wife and I have sufficient income to meet our debts and enjoy small luxuries without having to resort to plastic and I just about go into vapour lock the few times I do have to make small purchases on the card. So, a follow-on HT is at least a couple of years down the road. That will be a war between my impatience and my practicality. The other thing which has come out of this thing is rather ironic. It turns out that I am lucky enough to have a well-shaped head. After my wife got used to seeing me without my hairpiece and the first new hair started sprouting, she looked at me one night and said, "You know, I almost prefer you bald. You've got that Bruce Willis thing going for you." The thing is, I kind of see what she's talking about. The hair that has grown so far masks most of the scars from the old suture process, and next month, Dr. Cooley will remove the few that aren't covered by hair. I'd still rather have hair, but once the scars are gone, I really won't mind the baldness as much as I did twenty years ago. So, to sum it up, it's been an emotional roller coaster ride that I didn't expect. But through all that, I am even more confident that I have made the best decisions, for me, throughout the whole experience. "?? I selected a damn good surgeon. Dr. Cooley is top drawer by any unit of measurement, and no-one could have done more to maximise my gain, given the approach I wanted. Moreover, I am enjoying the benefits of his skill in areas that I never even thought of before, such as the donor scar, which is virtually non-existant, thanks to his skill. "?? I made the right choice for myself and my personality, by going for overall coverage, rather than concentrating on the front and top. (One caveat, as I've said before, the front-and-top route is the approach virtually every HT surgeon recommends for those high on the Norwood scale, and there are excellent reasons for that. Just because I didn't want to go that route doesn't mean it's a bad recommendation. As with everything else about an HT, one has to go with what is right for him.) "?? I was right in doing away with the hairpiece. First, I never experienced any negative reaction from my associates or friends or family after doing so. In fact, some even maintained that I looked better without it. And, while I had grown accustomed to the fuss and bother of donning it and maintaining it (as I told Dr. Cooley once, it can be equated to the bother experienced by those who wear contact lenses or a prosthetic limb--one gets used to it), it is liberating to be free of the bother. My daily grooming regimen takes less time now, and--while I never experienced any embarrassing accidental "unveilings" in all the years I wore a hairpiece, even under arduous conditions--that thought was never far from my mind. For a habitual worrier like me, it's always welcome to have one less thing to fret about. Nope. Even if nature precludes me from having the final result I'd hoped for from this HT, I don't have a single regret about any decision each step of the way. If I could go back and do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. I guess if there is any lesson to take from all of my blathering here, it's that the decision to have an HT will affect you in more ways than just physically. You started off in better shape than I was, hairwise, Kat, so I expect that in four months or so, I am going to be envious of you. Good luck, buddy, and here's to all the best for you!

I really should post some pics, Kat. I'm not the most technically proficient when it gets to that sort of thing, and I keep putting it off. I do have the pre-op photo that Doctor Cooley took--all one is going to see from that is a vast expanse of bald scalp and several scars from an old, old suture attachment of a hairpiece I wore many years ago. A youthful folly, but at the time, it made sense. I dropped by Dr. Cooley's offices to-day, as a matter of fact. Ailene examined my scalp and everything seems progressing right in schedule. Since I opted to have my HT distributed all over my balding area, rather than concentrate on the front and hairline, I was a little concerned that maybe I had overestimated how dense the coverage would be. (Not that I expected a tremendous amount--I was hoping for something along the lines of Telephone Man's results.) And what fostered that belief was that, while I could see lots of growth burgeoning when I looked in the mirror when I was shaving, it all seemed to disappear when I took a few steps back, or if I'd catch my reflexion in the kitchen window or other kinds of indistinct relexions. In the past couple of weeks, though, I've started to see the growth at a greater range, and, close up, I see more hair growing in than ever before. So my worries are, no doubt, premature. Ailene was able to do a better examination of my scalp than I can, of course, and she spotted all kinds of growth just breaking the surface. (Also, making it tough for me to see is that many of the hairs are grey or white, and they're virtually invisible until they lengthen.) As for what hair is there now, it looks completely natural. Ailene was very pleased at that. It's undetectable as an HT. Ailene and Robert and some of the others here--as well as my own research--advise me that, in most cases, the growth of the new hair really doesn't take off until months 6 through 9, and I hit the six-month mark the day after to-morrow. Since I'm starting to see substantial growth now, that's probably going to be the case with me. As I said, I was a Norwood VI, with a lot of territory to cover. Dr. Cooley designed a hairline that still has much temple recession--imagine an advanced widow's-peak--in order to still provide me with descent coverage in front but free up more grafts for the back. (In fact, Kat, it is virtually the same as the hairline Dr. Cooley designed for you.) The front and top is starting to come in significantly--that's what I am now just starting to see at long distance in the mirror. Customarily, the crown and back lags behind in speed of growth, but it has been coming in steadily, if slower, too. In my case, the pace of growth for the crown and back seems to be approximately two months behind the top and front. As I've often commented, many would recommend a better course to be filling in the front and crown with a higher density and letting the rest wait for a follow-on HT. And that is sound advice for many reasons. But I knew myself--it would have driven me crazy to have hair in the front and a big bald spot in the back. It settled better with me to have less density but overall distribution. And I have have enough viable grafts left in my donor hair to double up on a second HT and increase my density that way. And I have to confess, it's a thrill to run my hand over my head and feel hair where there wasn't hair for twenty-five years. And on a windy day, like we had a couple of days ago, I can feel the wind blow through the small hairs that are too small to detect by touch. The other matter I discussed with Ailene to-day is removing the four scars from the old suture process that are just in front of my new hairline. That can be accomplished with little trouble and I'm looking to do that next month. So, thus far, my gains are modest, but rapidly improving. The next three months will really tell the tale. I know the waiting is the toughest part of it--especially because it takes almost a year to effectively gauge how good a job was done--but what I didn't realise is that the waiting is tougher after one begins to see results than it is in that early stage when there's nothing at all. Thanks for your good words, Kat, and again, thanks to all of you who offered words of encouragement.

Thanks for the encouragement, fellows. I really appreciate the support. Intellectually, I know you--and Ailene--are right. And you're right about this being typical of a first-time HT patient, Robert. In this case, I don't think "attention to detail" is a matter of my Navy background. Every first-time HT patient no doubt scrutinises his scalp as much and as often as I do. I do know that, whatever my inherent limits are, Dr. Cooley provided me with the best results I could possibly get. As I study the work he did and envision how it will look once it is mature, I am thrilled with the effort. He also has a procedure for eliminating the few scars (from my old, old suture attachment of a hairpiece--a youthful folly) that will still be visible after my hair completely grows in. That will be the next step. I would very much enjoy getting together with you at Doctor Cooley's offices to compare notes sometime, Robert. The logistics are probably easier for me, since I literally live only ten minutes from his offices, and I can work my daytime schedule around any time. So, I'll leave it up to you when we can do it.