romeoandhamlet

Introduction I’m European, Caucasian, 28 years old. I started to lose my hair at the age of 20, and it truly became visible at around 24. All men in my family are very bald, and I’m probably genetically geared towards a Norwood 6 or 7. My hair loss is particularly evident in the front, but also present on the crown. I’ve been on Finasteride for over two years now, and that somewhat stopped the loss. I added Rogaine recently, which seems to be giving me an additional edge. In January 2013, I decided to undergo a hair transplant, and started to document myself. I spent maybe about 100 hours reading blogs as well as scientific articles online, until I had all the information I needed to make an educated decision. I decided to go for it because: i) cosmetic surgery seems to me most useful at a young age, when one is at his maximum effort both professionally and sentimentally, and ii) the sooner I get my hair transplant, the longer I will enjoy its benefits, thereby getting better value for my money. Being a very resolute person, once I decided, I just did it without any hesitation. The Choice of the Surgeon I considered all of the surgeons in the list published on this site. I focused on San Francisco and surroundings, as I was in this city at the time, but didn’t neglect other respected physicians around the globe. I also focused on surgeons with a proven record in FUE, as I didn’t want to have the conspicuous scar that derives from the strip method. I ended up choosing Doctor John Diep. The reasons for my decision where: i) he seemed to have more experience in FUE than most other surgeons on the list, ii) considering his pedigree, he offered me a very competitive price. It’s been almost five months since the operation, and I’m very satisfied with Doctor Diep’s work. I would strongly recommend him to anybody looking to undergo FUE. I will proceed with giving more details and narrating my experience in its various steps. The Procedure I had two consultations with Doctor Diep, one in person and one via video call. He was clear in answering all my questions, and I felt his answers were overall honest and to the point, despite his obviously being in sales mode. I suggest documenting oneself very well before meeting any physician. This will help one to ask the right questions and immediately spot any shrewd sales talk. We agreed on rebuilding my hairline and filling a bit of the crown. I’d be undergoing FUE for about 2,300 grafts. Most of them would go to the front. I came in 3 weeks later, early in the morning, got sedated, and the surgery started. Doctor Diep did all of the numbing, the extraction work, and also the incisions to indicate where the grafts would have to be transplanted. About 3 or 4 nurses did the rest, mostly cleaning up the grafts, medicating me, and then implanting the clean grafts in the incisions. The staff was polite, friendly, and caring. The operation lasted for about 6-8 hours with no complications. I felt moderate pain at times, but, upon my signal, Doctor Diep was always prompt in sedating the painful areas again. I came in at 6:30 AM and left in the late afternoon, at about 17:00. I actually found it a fascinating and educative experience, not particularly painful or taxing. I do see how some people may suffer the sheer length of it. Very sensitive individuals may also lament the pain, but in my case I wasn’t bothered in the least. Overall, I felt Doctor Diep and his staff did an excellent job, both taking care of me as an individual and from the technical/medical standpoint. The Post-Op The hardest part was going through the following week or so. I had significant swelling and some itching. I slept on a chair for 4-5 nights to minimize the blood pressure in the scalp, and took steroids to help reduce the swelling. I couldn’t wash my hair properly and had to bathe my head with special care. Anyway, Doctor Diep gave me clear instructions and I followed them to the letter. After a couple of weeks I could shower properly and gently wash away the scabs. I started to lose most of the transplanted hair at that point. After a month I had no residual evidence of the operation in the transplanted areas. However, it still showed pretty clearly that something had been done to my donor areas. They were a bit red and the hair less dense. I also experienced hypersensitivity in certain parts of my donor area. Things improved quickly over the following month, and I’d say that, after about 2-3 months, all hypersensitivity had subsided, the redness in the donor area had almost completely gone, and most of the transplanted hair had regrown. From that point onwards it has been a continuous improvement. The Results I don’t know what the very final result will be yet (the transplanted hair takes up to 1 year to grow to its fullest), however, already after 5 months, I am very satisfied. My hairline has gone back to what it used to be. My front has decent density (considered that I was almost completely bald in this area), to the point that in dim light my hair looks very dense. Under strong light one can see a certain thinning, but nothing that would make me feel uncomfortable or insecure. The crown hasn’t improved much from what it used to be. Doctor Diep could only transplant 300 grafts in this area, and that’s not enough to make a very significant difference. Note that we had agreed to down prioritize the crown in favor of the front, so I expected this, and am totally cool with it. I feel a lot more confident today, I do all my sports, live an active and happy life and don’t pay any special attention to my hair, besides avoiding intense sunlight for prolonged periods (this is an important measure to follow for at least half a year after the operation). I go to my hairdresser, let people stroke my head, and feel I am more successful with women than I used to be (it may have something to do with a boost of confidence I got from looking at myself in the mirror and seeing a more attractive guy). I want to conclude repeating myself: Doctor Diep did a wonderful job, and I now would have no hesitation going back to him, should I feel like undergoing an additional procedure. Do take him in serious consideration, especially if you wish to do FUE rather than the strip method.