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?

Nile, It's not a term that Dr Epstein used when we discussed the procedure, but that's not to say he didn't use the technique. All I can say for certain is that he used a combination of "deep stitching" and surface stitching to close the donor area, which I understand minimises stretching, particularly in the excision of previous scarring. In any event, as you can hopefully see from the pictures I posted recently, thankfully the condition seems to have been temporary and the shockloss effect is decreasing as each week passes. Regards, Neil

BS, take a look at Dr Jeffrey Epstein in Miami. I am the victim of long-ago surgery and chose Dr Epstein for hairline repair and scar excision. My choice was on the basis of feedback on Dr E from this site, his plastic surgery background and his hairline/scar repair specialty. Check out the end of my thread lower down in this section, on scar shock loss. You'll see pre and 16-week post surgery pictures of my scarring. My old, "grafty" hairline is already softening, and I'll be posting pictures of the 4-month position in a couple of weeks. Dr E's website is foundhair.com Indicative prices can be found within the website. Regards, Neil

Jacob, thanks. Good to get objective feedback on progress. Staying with the donor area for a moment, I thought you and other viewers might be interested to see the mess my donor area was in before my procedure with Dr Epstein, so I've put in a link to his own pre-op pics of my rear that he sent me just this weekend, together with his accompanying comments in his email. The pics were taken just an hour before my surgery in December. I hope people would agree, the contrast is astonishing. It certainly amazed me when I saw the extent of scarring that Dr E has removed: Pre-Op Scarring "Neil- Here are some photos showing the donor arear prior to your procedure with me. Anytime Neil there is scar tissue, and we are trying to obtain the maximum number of grafts, shock loss is always much more likely to occur, but should resolve with time as you are seeing." Jacob, as far as progress in the recipient area goes, it's intriguing, and I'd welcome your views. What I'm seeing at 16 weeks is very "patchy" growth in the hairline. What I mean by this is that in some places along the line there is already density developing, with some hairs well over a centimetre long, yet in other areas absolutely nothing. I guess I was expecting more even growth, but that's probably naive. Whatever, I'm starting to see a softening of my old "grafty" hairline from previous ops, which is just great, and the more it softens, the more confident I'm becoming in my new appearance. I'm already starting to feel more like a normal member of the human race again, after more than 15 years of people giving me strange, questioning looks above my eyeline. I'll post a couple of pics of the front around the end of this month, when I hit the full four-month mark. All the best, Neil

Hey Philly, How are you, dude? How's progress? Yeah, I saw on Dr E's website that he's opened up a NY office for consultations and post-op care. Obviously he's continuing to do all his surgery in Miami. I've posted some pics of my progress in my donor area, on my thread in the "Questions" section, if you and Paris are interested in having a look... Keep well, Neil

Bee, Just my two cents. I live just 5 miles away from the Farjo clinic in Manchester England. After doing my research on this site I chose to go long haul to Dr Jeffrey Epstein in Miami. Distance should not be an object no matter what the difficulty. You simply cannot choose a surgeon on the basis of geography - you have to live with the results long after the memories of the journey have subsided. As Smoothy notes, Dr Sharon Keene gets very good reviews on this site and others. Good luck with your search and your decision. Neil

Guys, Just a quick update on the past couple of posts, particularly for Eric and Lurker. I had a very thorough haircut last Friday, where my barber buzzed the back of my hair down to a number five in the donor area, and so significantly shorter than the length I'd been wearing it to disguise the shockloss. It actually looks great - not a sign of any shockloss at that length, and my barber told me he was being conservative - he could probably have taken me down to a two or a three, but wanted to wait until next time (3-4 weeks) to be absolutely sure of the recovery. I'll try to post some images when I can, but I can promise you that Dr Epstein's scar work is truly remarkable. My barber says he can barely see any signs of my scarring from previous ops, let alone the latest with Dr E. And running a comb through the number 5 length, you would truly not now know that I had surgery only 16 weeks ago. You'll be okay guys - just a few more weeks! NB - amended 8th April with attached photos taken today, one week after a number 5 buzz at the rear. Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 4 Pic 5

Eric, Lurker, For what it's worth, my skin around the scar was also completely smooth with no stubble, and worse in circular patches in several places along the scar line. I made a close examination of my donor area last night and there's been a significant improvement in the past 3-4 weeks, coinciding with my donor hair starting to come through in my hairline. From what I can see there are no patches of smooth skin remaining. The hair is starting to come through all around the scar which, incidentally, is almost invisible - just a thin red line in a couple of places along its length. As you can see from my earlier posts above, I was in despair at your stages, but it's coming good, and I fully expect it will for you guys too. Just give it another 4-6 weeks and you'll see a significant difference. And to repeat, Minoxidil in the donor area plus a regime of MSM may help speed up the recovery. Good luck, guys.

Eric, Lurker, For what it's worth, my skin around the scar was also completely smooth with no stubble, and worse in circular patches in several places along the scar line. I made a close examination of my donor area last night and there's been a significant improvement in the past 3-4 weeks, coinciding with my donor hair starting to come through in my hairline. From what I can see there are no patchines of smooth skin remaining. The hair is starting to come through all around the scar which, incidentally, is almost invisible - just a thin red line in a couple of places along its length. As you can see from my earlier posts above, I was in despair at your stages, but it's coming good, and I fully expect it will for you guys too. Just give it another 4-6 weeks and you'll see a significant difference. And to repeat, Minoxidil in the donor area plus a regime of MSM may help speed up the recovery. Good luck, guys.

Lurker, First off, welcome to the Forum. Your profile in your donor area sounds exactly as mine was at two months. I think I can give you some comfort - I'll be 15 weeks post-op this coming Friday April 1st, and while it's true to say I haven't scrutinised my donor area for at least a couple of weeks, the last time I looked I could see a definite darkening of the shock loss areas, and my wife agreed that the shock loss was much less visible. If I now run my fingers through the back of my scalp, I can't feel the smoothness that I could feel at two months, although my hair is quite long over the donor area. I'll be having my hair cut in the next week or so, and I'll report back on what my barber sees. When I last went in around 5-6 weeks ago he was already confident then that he could cut my hair much shorter at the back, but I decided to wait until my next cut, so I'll see what he thinks when I go in this week or next. As a side issue, I think it's important to distinguish between the shock loss and the scar itself. I have to say, my scar looks to be a work of art from Dr Epstein. To me, looking in reverse through a mirror, it looks almost invisible along most of its length, with no signs of "stretching", and my wife agrees. That gives me hope that the surrounding areas of scalp are undamaged, and the regrowth I think I'm seeing will continue through to full recovery. Keep the faith, my friend. I'll post again with an update within two weeks, and my best advice would be to keep your hair longer at the back if you can, and not over-focus on the shock loss. Using Minoxidil in the donor area and MSM to boost growth will almost certainly speed up your recovery. Hopefully in the next 4-6 weeks you'll also feel a lot happier, but hang in there for now. Regards, Neil

Hi there Gillenator, and thanks for your post. Right now Philly and I are both at exactly 12 weeks post op from Dr E, and while I have a small number of new hairs coming through in my hairline, there is no growth of any significance as yet and consequently no improvement in the look of my hairline. However, I have total faith in Dr E, and I know from reading elsewhere in this forum that there's no "magic switch" that gets clicked at 12 weeks. It could well be much longer before real change shows through. However, like everyone else who has been in this position, I'm now at the stage of staring at my hairline daily, willing the new hairs to come through, and wondering if I somehow damaged the grafts when I gently rubbed off the crusts that had lifted at 6-7 days. As far as the donor area goes, Dr E's scar is remarkable in its invisibility, and the shock loss areas have darkened up, so I have hope. Dr E advised me to put in Minox once daily, but my lifestyle in recent weeks has made this difficult to do, and as yet there is little re-growth. However my barber (who knows my history) tells me he's confident he can give me a much shorter style next month, without giving the game away. What is interesting is that the numbness around the donor scar has been replaced with a very dull "ache", and is slightly painful to the touch, even with a comb, which I don't recall from previous surgery (although it's many years ago so the memory will have faded). So in summary, a frustrating period, but I know Dr E has not let me down! Best regards, Neil