Neil Nelson

I underwent corrective surgery with Dr Epstein in Miami in December 2004. As my posting history shows, I have been a vociferous advocate of Dr Epstein's work based on my experience of his practice. In August this year I holidayed in Florida with my wife and two sons. I let Dr E and Roxy know I was in the state and they invited us to call in to the surgery while we were in Miami. We spent more than an hour on the premises, mid-morning, mid-week. Of that hour, Dr Epstein chatted with us about our holiday and property prices in the state, uninterrupted for 20-30 mins. It was only at the end of the social chit chat that I asked Dr E if he would like to take a proper look at my results, and maybe take some photos. He did not ask himself - he waited to be invited. I was not charged for his time.

Hey there HH, I would agree with our friend GuitarPlayer above. The general rule of thumb tends to be to wait at least a year to see the final results. The nine-month stage is a pretty good marker for the coverage you're going to achieve, but as GP observes, the following three months should see the new hair thickening up to give you more density. I'd be looking to the New Year before I'd give a second session any serious thought, if I were you. Regards, Neil

No problem Philly - you're justified in concentrating on your own results! They are great! Nothing much more to add to my last update and pictures, except to say that my barber and I are experimenting with an ever-shorter style. I'm now down to a #1 buzz on the sides (testimony to how fine DR E's scar is over my ears), 1.5 on the top, and a mixture of 2 and 3 at the back where I still have older scarring that Dr E couldn't excise in one sitting. I tell you my friend, after nearly 20 years of covering up inferior work, to wear a modern, authentic short style that looks totally natural is just, well, "liberating" is the best way to describe it. The sense of freedom and confidence is just awesome. My wife keeps telling me I now have a full head of hair cropped stylishly short and totally cool-looking. What more could a guy ask for? Keep well and happy my friend. Neil

Hey Philly, Just admiring your latest photos. You must be delighted, my friend - the results look absolutely remarkable. I'm guessing no regrets? Best wishes, Neil

Guys, Just a quick update with a sample of some of the nine-month images that I've sent Dr Epstein this weekend. In truth, there's not a great difference between these and the four-month images I posted in the photo gallery, which is perhaps testament to the immediacy of the impact of Dr E's surgery in my case. Philly, looking forward to seeing your update sometime soon. Regards, Neil Outside Shot Left Side Right Side Frontal Rear

Hey Philly, Looking good, my friend. Been a very busy summer on the work front so I've had little time to browse the forum. I'm conscious I'm overdue sending Dr E 9-month pics, and I was thinking about doing it in the next week or two when I have my next haircut. Ironically the hairline seems to have strenghtened quite noticeably in=b the past couple of weeks, so it's probably worked out well to wait a while. I'll put an update in the gallery in here as soon as I can, but to be honest I'm not sure you'd see a great difference from the 4-month update on digital images when my hair is buzzed down to a number 2 at the front. In person, what I think you'd see is more dense coverage overall - disguising the original grafts much more effectively. The donor area still concerns me slightly - still some shock loss along the scar - we'll have to see how that looks at the 12-month mark. But overall, very happy with the results and absolutely no regrets about going with Dr Jeff. Anyway, enough about me - how's your growth going? Are you pleased with the results so far? Does the new hairline look good?

Hugh, I saw a significant improvement after around 16 weeks. I'll be six months out in two weeks and I've been able to have a number 4 buzz in the donor area for at least the past 6 weeks. My barber says I may be able to go lower in time but the scarring remaining from earlier HT's is more an issue than what remains of the scar line from last December's surgery. Other contributors on here have commented that it can take up to 12 months to grow out shockloss in the donor area, particularly after multiple HT's. Hang in there. Regards, Neil

Robert, By way of a final sign-off on this thread, just wanted to quickly flag up that I've posted some images of my 19.5 week post-op status in the Photo Album section. Hopefully they might be of interest to viewers of this thread. Regards, Neil

Cas, I really empathise with your situation. At the risk of coming across as an overwrought Jeffrey Epstein groupie, take a look at my thread on scar shock loss in this section, and have a look at the pre and post-op scarring photos I posted. If you're looking for reparative surgery, talk to the man. I can still barely believe what he's done with my previous scarring. Regards, Neil

Robert, Thanks for the reply. For what it's worth I'd seriously recommend a short buzz. Of course, everybody's situation and style preferences are different, but I can say that at 19 weeks post-op my family swear to me my new crew cut looks completely natural - they assure me nobody would know I had transplanted hair. Hopefully I'll post pictures next week and our friends on this site will be able to judge for themselves. But at your stage post-op I'd say it's a great option, worth thinking about. Regards, Neil

thinkingaboutit, Everybody responds emotionally to HT surgery in their own way. For me it's been a tough time since mid-December, and that's after working with a world class, highly supportive surgeon. Physically you'll be perfectly fine at 4 weeks if you choose the right surgeon. (No visible signs of surgery and probably no signs of new hair growth.) But only you know your own emotional constitution. Me, I walked away from a situation just a week ago, where I wanted to impress a group of people, and that after four months. Mentally, I just wasn't ready. If you go for it now, with a good surgeon you'll be in great shape when you hit 50 next year. But there is a risk in terms of how you'll feel about yourself in the short term - a risk that will be increased by your other surgery. Do some serious self-analysis before making a decision. Good luck! Regards, Neil

Philly, hey buddy. Tonight I've just had a number 2 buzz all over, except for the scar line where my barber stayed with a number 5 and blended it in. Amazing! My wife and boys think it looks totally natural and totally cool! And at that length it's taken the patchiness out of play -in fact, I can now see more virgin hair coming through more clearly in the hairline. I've forgotten to bring the digital camera home from the office this weekend and it's a national holiday weekend here in the UK (Monday off), but I'll take some pics and post them mid-week next week. I tell you my friend, this cut has totally transformed my self-image. After just four months post-op I no longer have a hair transplant on display - after 20 years, the first day of the rest of my life! And hopefully more growth to come! I gotta tell Dr E... Later, buddy.

Great to hear it's been so good for you, Damo. As a matter of interest, how did you think you looked, and how did you feel about yourself, at the 4 month stage? Were months 5-8 better for you, as many guys on the site seem to suggest it was for them? I'm curious because 4 months feels tough for me right now. Regards, Neil

Guys, Apologies for bringing this old chestnut back up to the top, but I was wondering what your experiences were, and how you felt, at the four-month (19 weeks to be exact) stage of your hairline growth? As you may know, I've undergone repair of a previous transplanted hairline with Dr Epstein. I've been in regular contact with Dr E concerning the donor shockloss, which has been healing well, but I relayed a concern to him this week that my new donor hair in front of my existing hairline was growing in "patches". What I'm seeing are some quite dense areas, where the new hair has grown to as long as 2-3cm's, but in other areas, absolutely nothing as yet - and no sign of any follicles in the scalp. Dr E's reply was that patchy growth is not uncommon, particularly in repair situations where there is previous scarring in the hairline. He also commented that 4 months is too early to make any assessment of the end result. However, to help allay my concerns once again, have any of you experienced a similar growth pattern, and can you reassure me that the current "bald" patches in the new line do eventually come through? Thoughts and comments much appreciated. Regards, Neil

Everybody's story is unique to them, but somebody out there could make a killing by writing a definitive book about the "HT Experience". How many of us go through almost the same thoughts and feelings, and indeed physical manifestations as we ride the emotional roller coaster pre-and post op? For my part, in the past six months through the planning, operation and recovery process, I've met with hope, anticipation, excitement, fear, relief, euphoria, horror, despair, impatience, concern. Overriding all of these, I think, have been the feelings of uncertainty and anxiety. As a vet of long ago surgery, the recollection of previous experiences fade, and the new surgical techniques to which I submitted myself last December bring a whole new ball game. Put simply, I just didn't and don't know what to expect. And that has led to a vivid intensity of life in the two months prior and four months post op. This site has been a Godsend, both for prior research and sharing post-op experiences. But wouldn't it be great if someone could write a "warts and all" account, encapsulating all that we go through?