Hair Apparent

Cleanhead, Thanks for the kind thoughts. I checked out your photos. You actually have a bit more on the sides and in the back than I do/did. I hope you get the same reaction from your friends and co-workers that I did. It's made life--and the waiting--a lot easier. Still, there are lots of jerks in the world. (The lady at the viewing that you spoke of is a case in point.) My feeling--before I experienced the acceptence of my peers--was that I would have the last laugh when my HT hair started coming in. I've been contemplating photos--my wife actually suggested it. I have an aversion to photos; it's not my bare head--if there is any place I can show those, its here--I've just never been comfortable with any photo ever taken of me. Still, it would be a service to the board to show my progress and results, so even though it's a late start, maybe I'll whip up a set this week-end. I can't make any suggestions on how many grafts to get or how to have them placed. In the first case, it's a matter of the pocketbook and how much density you want. In the second, it's a matter of what kind of hairline you desire. And, of course, the recommendations of your HT physician after his examination are critical. For another thing, I'm still too early in the process to have a solid idea. I ended up getting 2,600-plus grafts. With the kind of frontal hairline I got and my salt-and-pepper hair (more salt than pepper), I expect to get a decent result, if not lush. I still have about 2,500-3,000 available donor grafts left if I'm not satisfied with the density of the first HT. One of the few advantages to age is that it takes less hair to get a natural-looking result. The best of luck to you on your HT!

Update 3 Thanks for the good words, SC. In all frankness, I'm not sure how much of my decision was guts and how much was necessity. As I mentioned in passing, my old hairpiece required a smooth scalp to affix, and even with the small amount of hair remaining on my head, it wouldn't attach. I could have jury-rigged it to make it fit, but that wouldn't have passed my "too much work" test. It's now my eighteenth day since my HT. I am surprised to find that many of the transplanted hairs are still there. I expected them to all be gone by now. But the front, top, and crown still boast several of the hairs. Not enough to make a real cosmetic difference, but enough to show me that the work was done. That's a real psychological boost. Yes, I know the work was done. And if I look very closely, I can spot the sites where the grafts were inserted. But seeing those sparse hairs there is an immediate reassurance that, yes, with enough time and patience, things will sprout. And it is nice to see the hairs in front, since it helps me to envision my final hairline. As I mentioned, since I preferred overall coverage (as opposed to leaving the crown bare for a second HT), my hairline does not cover as much area; it's more of something of an softened, but advanced widow's peak. This was satisfactory to me for two reasons. One, it freed up more grafts to be transplanted in the crown and on top. Two, it's a more natural hairline for a man of my age (48). Frankly, that has been a mistake I have seen in some of the photos of other HT patients. Don't get me wrong: the frontal hairline should be appropriate to age, and those patients who are fifteen-to-twenty years younger than me should have a broader hairline, and are not wrong to go for that. But some of the photos (and like all of us, I've scanned hundreds) are those of men around my age who opted to have that broader hairline. For those who had enough of their own hair left to pull it off, that's fine. But some of them had balding as advanced as mine, and I think they would have been better serviced by settling for more recession at the temples and using those grafts for the top or crown. But that's my own impression; of course, everyone has his own idea of what works for him. I've also noticed that my hair is beginning to regrow below the suture line at the donor site. That's a good sign that the scar will be minimal. As I said, when I decided to go without the piece, I went ahead and buzzed my hair down so the scar was visible (it scarcely was at my hair's usual short length). In for a penny, in for a pound, was my reasoning. I don't have a problem talking about my HT and will with anyone who asks. I don't broadcast it, though. I'm dealing with people who are totally unfamiliar with the process, and I reason that if I talk about it too much, their expectations will be that I'll have a full head of hair in a year. Certainly, I won't meet that expectation. But if I keep quiet about it, they won't be expecting what hair does grow in and they will be impressed. I also find that, now that the "thrill" of the surgery has worn off, I'm getting slightly impatient for the results to show. I know I still have quite a while to go, so I'll just have to suck it up mentally.

Update Interesting development. I'm posting this for the benefit of any of the rest of you who are hairpiece wearers who are facing/will face the decision whether to keep wearing it after your HT, until the new hair grows in. As I mentioned, except for my wife, the folks who made my hairpieces, and, of course, Dr. Cooley and his staff, no-one had ever seen me without it in twenty years. I never had an accident or an inadvertent "unveiling". (Actually, that was pretty remarkable, considering during my tour with COMSEVENTHFLT, I worked out every day for ninety minutes with the staff's SEAL officer in the hottest temperatures with wind blowing across the deck.) This past Thursday, I made the decision to go back to work Friday without it. My boss had let me take two weeks of sick leave knowing only that I was having an operation on my scalp. (Fortunately, I have a great deal of integrity capital built up and my need wasn't questioned.) I went into work early the next day, before anyone but my boss was there and explained the whole thing to him, and he was great about it. He wasn't even surprised at my appearance. Even though he (the lucky so-and-so) has a full head of hair, he knew how important this was to me and thought it was great. The real test, though, was going to be how my peers and subordinates reacted. I braced for wide-eyed looks and a healthy salvo of good-natured (and maybe some not-so-good-natured) kidding. None of it happened. No questions. No looks. No stares. No jokes. Actually, there was almost no reaction at all. The only comment I got was from one subordinate--an older fellow, also with all of his hair--who said I looked younger without it. And, remember, none of them knew I had had an HT; as far as they knew (then), I had simply decided to stop wearing the piece. The real test, I thought, was when I went to lunch at my usual haunt. I was sure the regulars there would evince some reaction. But nope, not a single raised eyebrow. I wanted to post this here to present a real-life example of what can happen if you decide to go "hairless". Naturally, I can't guarantee that anyone else would get the same instant acceptence. But obviously, from my experience, it CAN happen. So it's something to keep in mind while making your decision. The only extended conversation I've had at work about my HT was with a fellow I work with who survived a C-130 crash and was burnt pretty badly. It cost him an ear, a couple of fingers, and scarred his skin on his face and arms. And left him with two bare spots on his scalp--one at the back of his head and the other on the side where his right ear used to be. He was supportive and seriously interested. (In fact, it was his presence which helped me decide to get rid of the hairpiece. Certainly, all of us noticed his scars, but we don't notice, either--if that makes sense. What I mean is, we know they're there, but we never give them any more thought than if he had blue eyes or something. Given that, I figured that quite possibly my bald head revealed wouldn't be the sideshow display that I saw it as. Turns out I was right.) I'm still satisfied that I had the HT. I wanted hair again for myself. But it's nice to know that it has been so easy for me to go bald during the time it will take for my hair to grow in. I wish anyone else on these boards who makes the same decision gets the same reaction. Alas, it probably won't be that way for everyone, but there is the chance it might turn out the same as in my case. And that's why I wanted to mention it here.

Update Ailene removed the sutures from the donor site this afternoon, and Dr. Cooley popped in for a quick look (he was in the middle of another procedure). They both gave me a thumb's-up on the status of my grafts so far, so evidently, I did everything right WRT the post-op instructions. Many of the graft hairs have jumped ship, but I still have quite a few left and many more on the back and crown than I expected to be there. Anyway, there's still enough left to define where my frontal hairline will be, and that's a morale boost for me. The donor scar is reddened, of course, but nothing too ghastly, and I don't expect any problems. I wear my hair fairly short and even at that, the scar was mostly covered. I fully expect that, within a few months, the scar will be virtually unnoticeable. At Dr. Cooley's recommendation, I have adopted a regimen of Propecia--two a week. I don't have an "island" of hair on top--more like a couple of "isthmi" that don't quite meet at the centre--and his concern is that, on the slight chance my baldness will advance, it would thin out that area too much, forcing another procedure to fill it back in. To answer SouthCarolina's earlier question, I've decided to do away with my old hairpiece. The way the unit affixes (or rather, affixed--past tense) to my scalp was dependent on keeping my scalp shaved across the whole area of the unit, and I'm not about to do that, now. I tried donning it when I got home, and even with just the remaining graft hair, it won't remain in place. So the decision was made for me. So, I went ahead and buzzed my hair down. The donor scar is quite visible that way, but I can live with that. It's going to be quite a jolt for my co-workers, anyway. I'll take a bit of razzing when I go into work to-morrow, I'm sure. But it'll pass quickly, and in several months, when my hair starts to grow back, I'll enjoy the last laughs. I have to say, I am so glad that I can dispense with wearing the Saran Wrap and surgical cap when I sleep. Ailene said that she was tempted to tell me that I had to keep wearing it for the next year, but she decided not to do so, since she knew I would take her seriously. I tend not to be a good patient; I'm the wash-it-under-water-and-put-a-bandage-on-it kind of fellow. But I followed Dr. Cooley's instructions to the letter. After all, this was quite an investment for me, and I wasn't about to screw it up. As I write this, no-one but my wife and, of course, Dr. Cooley and his staff, have seen me without my hairpiece. It should be interesting to see the reactions of the folks with whom I come in contact. So the good news is everything is proceeding exactly as it is supposed to with no problems or misfortunes. The bad news is no-one has invented a way to make a year go by faster.

Robert, WRT redness, my case was the same as yours and Brando--it was almost completely gone within 36-to-48 hours. (Arriving home from Dr. Cooley's office immediately after the procedure was a different matter; my wife took one look at my head and was certain I had to be in some kind of agony. But, as no doubt with your case, it looked far worse than how it felt.) I'm due to go into Dr. Cooley's office either to-day (Wednesday, 29 Sep) or Thursday to have the sutures removed. I don't know the exact time, yet; they're still trying to fit me into the schedule. Since I don't go back to work until Friday, my schedule is completely free for the next two days, and I live so close to his offices, I've told Ailene that short notice on when to come in is not a problem.

Brando, Big1, Thanks, fellows, for the kind words. I only wish I had discovered this board during the months and months of research I did. (The Hair Transplant Network was invaluable to me, but for some reason, it never occurred to me to check for a message board.) You folks here would have saved me invaluable time and pointed me in the right direction sooner. Even though I did it the hard way, I came to the same conclusions. When I first sat down to research HT, I was inclined toward MHR (I can hear the horrified gasps from the audience, now) because of all of the advertising. The more I started digging, though, the more all of MHR's commericalisation worked against it. In short order, I began to realise that any outfit that indulged in such bells and whistles had its focus on being a money-making enterprise, rather than providing a medical service. (Not to say guys like Dr. Cooley don't deserve their fees. They do! They earn them three times over, in view of the effort, dedication, and labour they put into each operation. But men like Dr. Cooley put the patient first and their wallets second.) The more I researched, the more Dr. Cooley's name kept popping up with so many good things attached to it in terms of his credentials, his reputation, his dedication. My personal experience with him and his staff bore this out, as well as his humanity and generosity. (Dr. Cooley had told me after the procedure that I had received some "bonus" grafts during the 2,000-graft session. The other day, I got curious over the exact number of grafts I had gotten, so I checked with Ailene. She told me that the techs had stopped counting after I had gotten 2,500! Now I know the ethics of HT stipulate that the surgeon not discard any extra grafts, but still, given all of the time and intense, labourous work Cooley and his staff devoted to me, that is still incredibly generous.) When I found out how he had contributed his services for free to the first essay winner, I was tremendously impressed. And while I never had any doubts about the man's integrity and skill, once I had met him, it was nice to see my evaluations reaffirmed by those of you here who were his patients also, after I discovered this board. I've been extremely interested in all of the posts here, especially by all the HT vets here. (I patted myself on the back for my perception once I read all of the negative comments on "hairmills" like Bosley and MHT.) All of you have been very helpful and informative on what to expect and that's made things so much easier. Naturally, I've been especially interested in your case, Brando, and those of NC30 and Satisfied Patient and the other patients of Dr. Cooley. Unfortunately (for me, that is; not for you fellows) my original degree of baldness was worse than all of yours--it would be nice to be able to compare results of similar operations, since all of you are months and weeks ahead of me in the process. But in all honesty, especially after reading how your experiences with Dr. Cooley during your procedures mirrored mine, I feel certain that my final results will be the best that could possibly have been obtained. That's the kind of impression that Dr. Cooley makes on his patients. The idea occurs to me that I have been so laudible about Dr. Cooley that, perhaps, I should provide a disclaimer here: I am in no way affiliated with his office, nor contracted or compensated by him in any way--except as the normal doctor-patient relationship. It's just that I have been so impressed by my experience with him and Ailene and all the staff--and I am a cynic by nature. This is my twelfth day since my procedure. The hairs have started to jump ship, now. This doesn't dismay me; I knew to expect this. But it was nice to have them there for awhile--it made it easier to envision what the final results would be a year from now. The grafts are set in place now sufficiently that I've been able to lightly run my hand over them, and it is such a thrill to feel hair there for the first time in decades--and I know that will only get better in the coming months. The sutures will be removed this week and after that, it just a matter of the long wait. I appreciate the words of encouragement, guys, very much.

Excellent, Robert. I'm glad for you, and of course, I have an especial interest in your results since Dr. Cooley just did my HT ten days ago--even a three-month wait seems like an eternity. While studying your photos, a thought struck me, but it's worth mentioning for those who check out this board and considering HT for themselves. As you know from my first post, detailing my procedure with Dr. Cooley, I'm pushing fifty years of age, was a Norwood VI (maybe a scosh better), and am reasonably certain my hairloss has stabilised. At my age, a full head of hair is not expected and the risk of additional balding is minimal, so I opted to have Dr. Cooley distribute the 2000 grafts (I know I got some bonus grafts out it, but I don't know how many; just out of curiosity, I asked Ailene to let me know the exact number) over all of my balding area, rather than concentrate on the frontal hair line. (I had about 5,000 potential grafts to start with, so I could have held off the crown until later, but I gave my own reasons for wanting a greater coverage initially.) That meant trade-offs, and for me, I was willing to sacrifice a wider frontal hairline--and I noticed that your original frontal hairline just about mirrors the one that Dr. Cooley constructed for me--although mine will be somewhat more defined and denser. And this is the point I am trying to make for anyone out there reading these posts and trying to make a decision to go for HT. Even setting aside the important distinctions of individual characteristics like density of one's remaining hair and the colour and width of one's individual hairs and, of course, the degree of baldness, there are different expectations and desires and levels of appropriateness to age. I will be thrilled to have what Robert had to begin with when he had his procedure, if it's a bit thicker in front (and if not sufficient, that's what some of the other 3,000 grafts can be used for). That's very appropriate for my age and with my salt-and-pepper hair, people will consider my hairline to be a result of natural ageing and not premature balding. This is not to say that Robert is being vain in wanting his hairline filled in. He is younger than me and the hairline designed for him by Dr. Cooley is most appropriate to his age. What Robert is getting is most fitting for his situation. And that's the thing: many folks out there considering HT's and going over this board for information will be scanning pictures like Robert's closely, to see how it's working and to evaluate what can be done for them. (I didn't discover this board until after I had my HT, and I still do that.) The thing is, everyone doesn't have to shoot for a complete frontal hairline and the appearance of a full head of hair to end up looking great.

Thanks, fellows, for the kind words. Actually, it's an even better post, now that I have edited out the dozen typos or so that I shuddered to find in re-reading it. (That's what I get for rushing this post to board.) I haven't gone back to work, yet. Dr. Cooley stated that the grafts' attachment wouldn't be at 100% for two weeks from the date of the procedure, so that's what I have allowed myself. I haven't redonned my hairpiece, yet. And in all frankness, I'm not sure if I will when I go back to work. There are some colour-matching considerations; my own hair has greyed to the point where it no longer matches the piece. I had been dyeing it to match, and that's such a pain. (That was one of the other factors that forced me to make a fairly swift decision to go for HT or not--I am at the point where it is time to invest in another hairpiece and my quandry was: if I go for HT, how quickly can I make it happen? I was trying to avoid the situation of having to wait so long to have the HT procedure done that I would have to pay $2,000 for another hair piece and then shell out another chunk of money for the HT procedure.) So I am strongly considering, as soon as the sutures are removed, just buzzing my whole head and living with it. Right now, the hair from the initial grafts is still in place and it masks the scarring I suffered from the implants decades ago, so it would be tolerable for me to go "hairless" until the grafts grow in. (Besides, it would be kind of fun to see the reactions from my co-workers, as the new stuff starts to come in.) I don't know which route I'll take. I'll make a decision next Friday, and I'll let you know.

I am over a week into this thing, and only to-day I discovered this message board. I was pleased to have my own evaluations of Dr. Cooley--both before and after dealing with him--corroborated by so many others here. For anyone interested in pursuing hair transplantation and seeking an opinion on Dr. Cooley, I joined the board to give my impressions. Up front, I will tell you that they are completely positive. I won't go over the same ground as others--such as NC30, Satisfied Patient, Brando, and others--did in describing the experience in toto. Suffice it to say, my time at Dr. Cooley's office, both at the consultation and during the procedure echoed theirs completely. I will touch upon some differences particular to my own case which may be informative. First, some background. I am a Norwood VI (or at least, I was until last week), and have worn hairpieces for decades. For many years, I had discounted hair transplantation: one, because of my extensive hairloss; and two, because early on in my baldness, I used the suture method to attach a hairpiece to my scalp. In all honesty, at the time, I was much more active, and the guaranteed security of the unit was an acceptable trade-off. However, it resulted in some scarring of my scalp. I was afraid these two considerations would render me unsuitable for HT. About a decade ago, I shifted to a more conventional type of hairpiece. I was willing and able to spend the amount of money one needs to get a good one and had no especial difficulties wearing it. But eventually, I got tired of the constant extra care it took to don it every day and to keep it natural-looking and the necessary replacement every couple of years. So I decided to re-visit the feasibility of HT. For that, I did my legwork. Bearing in mind that all information on the Internet has to be sifted for accuracy, I did days of research over a six-month period. One night, I spent twelve straight hours at the computer, learning what I needed to know. (Unfortunately, I did not discover this message board; it would have saved me a great deal of effort.) From that, I learnt two things: one, at least, on the surface, I was a potential candidate for HT; and two, such concerns like Bosley and MHR were--as is put here--"hairmills". (I love that term; it is so aptly descriptive.) That led me to studying independent physicians. Dr. Cooley's name kept resurfacing, and besides all of the positive factual information that pointed toward him, he was also situated in Charlotte, where I live, now. (In fact, his offices are only ten minutes from me.) The first thing that impressed me with Dr. Cooley's office was the on-line consultation. I had several general questions regarding my state of baldness and the scarring and a few other concerns. I sent the same questions to the on-line consultation sites for the "hairmills" as well (since I had not completely ruled them out, yet). In each post, I made it clear that I understood that specific questions about me could not be answered without a personal consultation and that, since all potential patients are different, I could get no guarantees. Dr. Cooley's office--actually, his head nurse, Ailene Watts--was the only source which understood I wasn't going to hold any answers "cast in stone" and answered my initial questions. (The "hairmills" simply and flatly responded: "Come in for a personal consultation." That crossed them off my list.) Ailene's responses made HT look even more possible in my case, so I scheduled a consultation. Another point in their favour was circumstances required me to have a consultation within three days, and Ailene was able to accommodate me on short notice. The atmosphere, courtesy, friendliness, and professionalism was just as every other poster described it. One thing I was gratified to learn was that, while my scars did pose a problem, it was not insurmountable. I did have a specific request, though. In the case of most Norwood VI's, the plan is to fill in the front first, leaving the crown bare (pending a later procedure). I did not want that. I certainly understood walking in that I could not have a lush head of hair, again. And in fact, I didn't want that. I'm pushing fifty, and I wanted a more appropriate mature hairline. (Hint for others going to their first consultation: if possible, bring along some photographs of the kind of hair you want; no amount of verbal description can convey what you want as well as a photo.) In fact, that was one of the problems I was having with the hairpieces. The hairpiece outfit I was using, while having been most accommodating to me for all the years I used it, never could grasp the idea that I wanted less dense hair in the units. But bearing that in mind, I didn't want the front of my head covered and the crown left bare. I much preferred a more even distribution over my entire bare spot. (My rational was this: nobody really notes a man's hair when it is thin but still covers his head; but in the case of a man who's frontal hair is thick, but is still bald in the back, folks think "Oh, look--he's going bald!" Of course, that's my impression. Your mileage may vary.) Ailene pointed out that this was more difficult to achieve. I understood that, but I was also willing to sacrifice a rounder hairline in front, to free more grafts for the crown. (I was envisioning a more Mephistophelean frontal hairline, which was fine with me, but I understand many men don't like.) That's when Dr. Cooley came in, and we discussed my goals and my understanding of the limits. The good news was I had excellent donor hair--dense and the hair was moderate in thickness. Dr. Cooley informed me that I had about 5,000 potential grafts. We then spent long minutes going over his album of previous patients, and between our talk and what I saw in some of the photographs, I determined that he could do what I wanted. Dr. Cooley recommended a 2,000-graft mega-session. I was in! And as it turned out, the most difficult part of the whole process was juggling the money around in my various assets to get the needed funds for his fee. I had it, but so many investment sources have so many rules and waiting periods that the "shell game" I was playing to free up what I needed took three weeks. In the meantime, I kept peppering Ailene with all kinds of questions that occurred to me afterward. She was incredibly gracious and informative. One concern that developed in my mind was, after going through literally hundreds of "before and after" photos, I began to see wide disparency in results from other patients who had my degree of baldness and roughly 2,000 grafts performed. Some of them looked perfectly acceptable for what I wanted, but some of them looked dismal. I forwarded a number of these photos to Ailene--both the acceptable and unacceptable results--and put to her the question "What can I reasonably expect?" Understand, this is a tricky question for any HT surgeon to answer, since all patients are different. Again, I stressed, I wasn't asking for a guarantee; but I wanted to know why some of those patients' results were so dismal and some looked so good, and where was I likely to fall in the range. Here, again, Ailene was able to give me guidence (and bear in mind, if one does this, there has to be assurance and confidence by both patient and doctor that the patient is not asking or expecting a guarantee). From what she told me, it looked like I could get sufficient coverage for my desires, and that removed my last trepidation over whether or not the whole HT process was worthwhile for me. Things started moving fast as soon as I had cleared the funds; I notified Ailene and she told me that there was an opening two days later, if I could do it. That was no problem, and the morning after the next, I was walking in at 0830 to undergo the procedure. Here again, my experience was virtually identical to the ones described by NC30, Satisfied Patient, and the others. One thing I was pleased to see was, when Dr. Cooley drew in the hairline he had designed for me, he not only remembered what my goals were, he drew it in exactly as I envisioned it. Just to touch on some things specific to my experience. I took Valium for the first half of the procedure. I'm pretty drug resistant, so it didn't knock me out, nor did I fall asleep. But I did get so relaxed that the first five hours just seemed to fly by. (I turned down the offer to watch a movie; I wanted to pay attention to what was going on. Even as the patient, I didn't want to be a passive subject. That's important to remember, no matter what surgeon's services you use; this is a big investment for you, and it's never wise to just sit back and hope that the people who are working on you are doing what you want. However, I had no reason to raise any questions about anything that took place.) I did make one decision which, in retrospect, may have been a poor one. After lunch, they were ready to tackle my crown, and I was offered more Valium. Dr. Cooley had a concern, however, about my ability to drive (I had driven myself there) after it was over. I had felt pretty sure I would be able to drive, even with the Valium, but I thought it would be more prudent not to risk any issues along those lines, and since I had not experienced anything in the way of pain in the first half, I turned down the Valium. That turned out to be unwise--but that was my own fault. Since the remainder of the work was on my crown and the top of my head, I was face down for the remainder of the afternoon, which doesn't sound so bad, except that the table was slightly bent upward at the head, so my back was hyperextended slightly. I can't get over the dedication of Dr. Cooley and his staff. Of course, I have no knowledge of the medical or technical actions involved in what they do, but I could tell that Dr. Cooley was intimately involved in the exact placement and order of the grafts. That kind of attention-to-detail is easy to spot (especially since it is such a rare thing in to-day's society). Every graft was placed with an eye toward the complete picture. The word "artistry" is overblown on HT sites, but in Dr. Cooley's case, it is accurate. However, because he and his staff were meticulous in getting it right, the hours wore on, and bent upward like I was, that got very uncomfortable without the Valium. I struck it out, though. I figured if Dr. Cooley and his people could go through all that time and effort for me, the least I could do was endure it without complaint. My recommendation, though, is, if you are going to have an all-day session--take the Valium! Everything was done around 1900--seven in the evening. Like I said, they were dedicated to doing a good job and doing it right. Dr. Cooley gave me the same post-op instructions as mentioned by the others, and I drove home. As far as post-op discomfort, the area from which the graft had been taken ached slightly that first night, but a few Tylenol took care of that. I took a couple of tablets of Valium, as the doctor recommended, to sleep that first night--and I did sleep well--but I never really needed it, and never took it after that. The area where the grafts were inserted never bothered me a bit. They itched a bit on the second day, but I just sprayed them with water from a spray bottle and that ceased to be a problem. Right now, it's eight days since the procedure. I've experienced nothing negative. I followed the post-op instructions faithfully. Almost all of the scabs are gone, except for a couple on the back of my head. Nearly all of the hairs are still visible, but all the redness around the graft sites is gone. Again, I bombarded Ailene with questions that occurred to me as the days went by, and she faithfully addressed every concern. Since my scalp looked so good, I didn't bother to go in for the clean-up, but I go back next week to have the sutures removed. At this point, the hardest part is the waiting. A year never seemed so long as it does, now. Since then, I've been pouring over every HT photo I can find, trying to develop some reasonable estimation of what I am going to look like in a year, based on comparing the immediate post-op photos of other patients with their year-later pics. I know this is not completely reliable, since all patients are different in terms of hair width and graft placement. But with all the downtime--two weeks of no work and no physical activity--it's something to do. And it's dawned on me that that is the damndest part of it: 2,000 grafts on me may look different than 2,000 grafts on you and look yet different still from 2,000 grafts on the other fellow. There's no way to know for sure--except to wait. Of course, I won't know for almost a year precisely how good a job Dr. Cooley did, but I feel confident. I would most certainly recommend him. All of the glowing comments that NC30 and the others have made about him and his personality and professionalism I found to be true.

I am over a week into this thing, and only to-day I discovered this message board. I was pleased to have my own evaluations of Dr. Cooley--both before and after dealing with him--corroborated by so many others here. For anyone interested in pursuing hair transplantation and seeking an opinion on Dr. Cooley, I joined the board to give my impressions. Up front, I will tell you that they are completely positive. I won't go over the same ground as others--such as NC30, Satisfied Patient, Brando, and others--did in describing the experience in toto. Suffice it to say, my time at Dr. Cooley's office, both at the consultation and during the procedure echoed theirs completely. I will touch upon some differences particular to my own case which may be informative. First, some background. I am a Norwood VI (or at least, I was until last week), and have worn hairpieces for decades. For many years, I had discounted hair transplantation: one, because of my extensive hairloss; and two, because early on in my baldness, I used the suture method to attach a hairpiece to my scalp. In all honesty, at the time, I was much more active, and the guaranteed security of the unit was an acceptable trade-off. However, it resulted in some scarring of my scalp. I was afraid these two considerations would render me unsuitable for HT. About a decade ago, I shifted to a more conventional type of hairpiece. I was willing and able to spend the amount of money one needs to get a good one and had no especial difficulties wearing it. But eventually, I got tired of the constant extra care it took to don it every day and to keep it natural-looking and the necessary replacement every couple of years. So I decided to re-visit the feasibility of HT. For that, I did my legwork. Bearing in mind that all information on the Internet has to be sifted for accuracy, I did days of research over a six-month period. One night, I spent twelve straight hours at the computer, learning what I needed to know. (Unfortunately, I did not discover this message board; it would have saved me a great deal of effort.) From that, I learnt two things: one, at least, on the surface, I was a potential candidate for HT; and two, such concerns like Bosley and MHR were--as is put here--"hairmills". (I love that term; it is so aptly descriptive.) That led me to studying independent physicians. Dr. Cooley's name kept resurfacing, and besides all of the positive factual information that pointed toward him, he was also situated in Charlotte, where I live, now. (In fact, his offices are only ten minutes from me.) The first thing that impressed me with Dr. Cooley's office was the on-line consultation. I had several general questions regarding my state of baldness and the scarring and a few other concerns. I sent the same questions to the on-line consultation sites for the "hairmills" as well (since I had not completely ruled them out, yet). In each post, I made it clear that I understood that specific questions about me could not be answered without a personal consultation and that, since all potential patients are different, I could get no guarantees. Dr. Cooley's office--actually, his head nurse, Ailene Watts--was the only source which understood I wasn't going to hold any answers "cast in stone" and answered my initial questions. (The "hairmills" simply and flatly responded: "Come in for a personal consultation." That crossed them off my list.) Ailene's responses made HT look even more possible in my case, so I scheduled a consultation. Another point in their favour was circumstances required me to have a consultation within three days, and Ailene was able to accommodate me on short notice. The atmosphere, courtesy, friendliness, and professionalism was just as every other poster described it. One thing I was gratified to learn was that, while my scars did pose a problem, it was not insurmountable. I did have a specific request, though. In the case of most Norwood VI's, the plan is to fill in the front first, leaving the crown bare (pending a later procedure). I did not want that. I certainly understood walking in that I could not have a lush head of hair, again. And in fact, I didn't want that. I'm pushing fifty, and I wanted a more appropriate mature hairline. (Hint for others going to their first consultation: if possible, bring along some photographs of the kind of hair you want; no amount of verbal description can convey what you want as well as a photo.) In fact, that was one of the problems I was having with the hairpieces. The hairpiece outfit I was using, while having been most accommodating to me for all the years I used it, never could grasp the idea that I wanted less dense hair in the units. But bearing that in mind, I didn't want the front of my head covered and the crown left bare. I much preferred a more even distribution over my entire bare spot. (My rational was this: nobody really notes a man's hair when it is thin but still covers his head; but in the case of a man who's frontal hair is thick, but is still bald in the back, folks think "Oh, look--he's going bald!" Of course, that's my impression. Your mileage may vary.) Ailene pointed out that this was more difficult to achieve. I understood that, but I was also willing to sacrifice a rounder hairline in front, to free more grafts for the crown. (I was envisioning a more Mephistophelean frontal hairline, which was fine with me, but I understand many men don't like.) That's when Dr. Cooley came in, and we discussed my goals and my understanding of the limits. The good news was I had excellent donor hair--dense and the hair was moderate in thickness. Dr. Cooley informed me that I had about 5,000 potential grafts. We then spent long minutes going over his album of previous patients, and between our talk and what I saw in some of the photographs, I determined that he could do what I wanted. Dr. Cooley recommended a 2,000-graft mega-session. I was in! And as it turned out, the most difficult part of the whole process was juggling the money around in my various assets to get the needed funds for his fee. I had it, but so many investment sources have so many rules and waiting periods that the "shell game" I was playing to free up what I needed took three weeks. In the meantime, I kept peppering Ailene with all kinds of questions that occurred to me afterward. She was incredibly gracious and informative. One concern that developed in my mind was, after going through literally hundreds of "before and after" photos, I began to see wide disparency in results from other patients who had my degree of baldness and roughly 2,000 grafts performed. Some of them looked perfectly acceptable for what I wanted, but some of them looked dismal. I forwarded a number of these photos to Ailene--both the acceptable and unacceptable results--and put to her the question "What can I reasonably expect?" Understand, this is a tricky question for any HT surgeon to answer, since all patients are different. Again, I stressed, I wasn't asking for a guarantee; but I wanted to know why some of those patients' results were so dismal and some looked so good, and where was I likely to fall in the range. Here, again, Ailene was able to give me guidence (and bear in mind, if one does this, there has to be assurance and confidence by both patient and doctor that the patient is not asking or expecting a guarantee). From what she told me, it looked like I could get sufficient coverage for my desires, and that removed my last trepidation over whether or not the whole HT process was worthwhile for me. Things started moving fast as soon as I had cleared the funds; I notified Ailene and she told me that there was an opening two days later, if I could do it. That was no problem, and the morning after the next, I was walking in at 0830 to undergo the procedure. Here again, my experience was virtually identical to the ones described by NC30, Satisfied Patient, and the others. One thing I was pleased to see was, when Dr. Cooley drew in the hairline he had designed for me, he not only remembered what my goals were, he drew it in exactly as I envisioned it. Just to touch on some things specific to my experience. I took Valium for the first half of the procedure. I'm pretty drug resistant, so it didn't knock me out, nor did I fall asleep. But I did get so relaxed that the first five hours just seemed to fly by. (I turned down the offer to watch a movie; I wanted to pay attention to what was going on. Even as the patient, I didn't want to be a passive subject. That's important to remember, no matter what surgeon's services you use; this is a big investment for you, and it's never wise to just sit back and hope that the people who are working on you are doing what you want. However, I had no reason to raise any questions about anything that took place.) I did make one decision which, in retrospect, may have been a poor one. After lunch, they were ready to tackle my crown, and I was offered more Valium. Dr. Cooley had a concern, however, about my ability to drive (I had driven myself there) after it was over. I had felt pretty sure I would be able to drive, even with the Valium, but I thought it would be more prudent not to risk any issues along those lines, and since I had not experienced anything in the way of pain in the first half, I turned down the Valium. That turned out to be unwise--but that was my own fault. Since the remainder of the work was on my crown and the top of my head, I was face down for the remainder of the afternoon, which doesn't sound so bad, except that the table was slightly bent upward at the head, so my back was hyperextended slightly. I can't get over the dedication of Dr. Cooley and his staff. Of course, I have no knowledge of the medical or technical actions involved in what they do, but I could tell that Dr. Cooley was intimately involved in the exact placement and order of the grafts. That kind of attention-to-detail is easy to spot (especially since it is such a rare thing in to-day's society). Every graft was placed with an eye toward the complete picture. The word "artistry" is overblown on HT sites, but in Dr. Cooley's case, it is accurate. However, because he and his staff were meticulous in getting it right, the hours wore on, and bent upward like I was, that got very uncomfortable without the Valium. I struck it out, though. I figured if Dr. Cooley and his people could go through all that time and effort for me, the least I could do was endure it without complaint. My recommendation, though, is, if you are going to have an all-day session--take the Valium! Everything was done around 1900--seven in the evening. Like I said, they were dedicated to doing a good job and doing it right. Dr. Cooley gave me the same post-op instructions as mentioned by the others, and I drove home. As far as post-op discomfort, the area from which the graft had been taken ached slightly that first night, but a few Tylenol took care of that. I took a couple of tablets of Valium, as the doctor recommended, to sleep that first night--and I did sleep well--but I never really needed it, and never took it after that. The area where the grafts were inserted never bothered me a bit. They itched a bit on the second day, but I just sprayed them with water from a spray bottle and that ceased to be a problem. Right now, it's eight days since the procedure. I've experienced nothing negative. I followed the post-op instructions faithfully. Almost all of the scabs are gone, except for a couple on the back of my head. Nearly all of the hairs are still visible, but all the redness around the graft sites is gone. Again, I bombarded Ailene with questions that occurred to me as the days went by, and she faithfully addressed every concern. Since my scalp looked so good, I didn't bother to go in for the clean-up, but I go back next week to have the sutures removed. At this point, the hardest part is the waiting. A year never seemed so long as it does, now. Since then, I've been pouring over every HT photo I can find, trying to develop some reasonable estimation of what I am going to look like in a year, based on comparing the immediate post-op photos of other patients with their year-later pics. I know this is not completely reliable, since all patients are different in terms of hair width and graft placement. But with all the downtime--two weeks of no work and no physical activity--it's something to do. And it's dawned on me that that is the damndest part of it: 2,000 grafts on me may look different than 2,000 grafts on you and look yet different still from 2,000 grafts on the other fellow. There's no way to know for sure--except to wait. Of course, I won't know for almost a year precisely how good a job Dr. Cooley did, but I feel confident. I would most certainly recommend him. All of the glowing comments that NC30 and the others have made about him and his personality and professionalism I found to be true.