azn_guy

note, there are differences, Asian hair might be thicker but there is less of it compared to caucasian hair, so it's important that the doctor is comfortable with that and understands where to place follicles., etc... Private Message me if there are questions you want answered and I can help clarify if you'd like! I have a pretty wide scar which Dr. Cooley tried to revise but it didn't work, so scar revision would be top of my mind for my future HT (in my case, steroids in that area will be super important)

It's been 10 years since my procedure, so I'm sure my profile has been buried! Anyways, thought I'd post since I saw this https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/azn_guy/1584 Hope this helps! Note: The challenges I see now is just a necessary 2nd treatment, I'll try to update my profile with 2021 photos for everyone to see

In this case, this is for Chinese/Korean/Japanese/etc... Not Indian/Pakistani

Hey Everyone, Just thought I would come back and post again and give folks another update. It's close to 2 years and 10 months now As expected, my hairtransplant is holding up, I'm happy with it, and it is still undetectable (except for the scar) This brings up a few comments that I've concluded to after several months of investigation. My donor scar is pretty much the exact same as my previous donor scar. At first I thought it could have been the technique that Dr. Cooley used, but I've concluded that his new suturing technique was actually better than his old technique (no wonder he switched). He decided to use his old technique since he wanted to test it out. The scar actually was not as good. I am in no way criticizing his decision, as we both understood that it "could" have been his suturing technique, but there was no way to tell until after the fact. What I've decided with this is next time I get another scar revision, I will ask that he use his new technique. Secondly, I thought perhaps it was ACELL that could have caused the scar to widen. He was confident that ACELL was not the culprit. I 100% agree with him. What I've decided is that next time I get another scar revision, I will indeed utilize ACELL Thirdly, and this is what I believe is the issue. I have dandruff in the donor area. I've always had this. I truly believe this is the cause of the donor scar not being perfect. Also, there is one little 2mm section of my scar that was revised, but it appears that it has a keloid/hypertrophy, this is most likely because there wasn't enough steroids injected in this location. Dr. Cooley and I decided to use a topical Steroid for the donor area, It actually started to work and the donor scar was compressing! But I felt a bit sick and the side effects of the Topical Steroid was too strong so I stopped. What I've decided here is that Steroids in the donor are after the sutures are removed may be the key to my scar revision. My laxity of my scalp even after the scar revision is still plenty and I could potentially get another 2-3 hair transplants. So in conclusion if and when I get this fixed, I'll ask for the following: - Use the updated suturing technique, using all one suture - Use ACELL - Steroids is the key Right now, I can manage a Clipper #6, anything between Clipper #1-5, the donor scar is noticeable I thought I would share this with the community for those who have had excellent laxity, yet still ended up having a 4-5mm scar

You'll be happy with Dr. Cooley's results. Good luck!

Hey everyone, The last post I made was back in April 2011. Now that it's May 2012, I thought I would come back and provide a little information on how things are looking. Since my initial HT back in February 2010. It's been 2 years and 3 months. Everything appears to be good. I still think about my hair, I initially thought after doing this that I wouldn't ever think about it again, but as many of you know, it sticks with you. Anyways, regarding the results. I did end up getting a scar revision in December 2010 and unfortunately the scar revision didn't help. The same results of the donor area stretching still occurred and was consistent with my initial issue. I do believe I know what the issue is. I've always had dandruff back in the donor area. I believe if I were to do a scar revision or another major HT, I would ask the HT Doctor to provide me regular steroid shots in the donor area to help strengthen that area prone to stretching. I'm sure that would do the trick. Anyways, the Hairline itself is holding up. I can tell that there is tad bit thinning, but nothing noticeable to anyone but myself (my own worst critic). The best way to explain this is that the existing hair that Dr. Cooley transplanted around, those existing hairs are starting to thin out. Many of you will ask "are you going to get another HT? If so, when?" My answer is at this rate, I don't think I'll need another HT for another 5 years, honestly, the cosmetic result can stand up to its own and I could even go another 7-10 years (this me being optimistic)

I haven't been posting the past couple of months but I've still been quite active on the site by reading and keeping up to date on the site. I personally think one of the reasons why we're starting to see more and more "issues" come up is because the site itself is doing a great job of marketing Hair Transplants. I look at this site as helpful, informational, and most importantly an online support group. The fundamental problem here is many of the post (for example the ones coming from the clinics) are all VERY positive. I have never really seen results that were really that bad (perhaps I need to look harder?) The only time you see bad results is in the patients section, and when a patient does complain, there's a lot of opposition to that particular patient who was willing to share his bad experience. With that said, many people that come to this site are in a way encouraged that a hair transplant is the way to go. Thus, with all the negative posts lately, I wouldn't be surprised if the not so happy patients are the ones that have done their research on this site. I personally would like to see that the HT Surgeon is judged on the results. What I've noticed a lot of times on this site is, IF a Coalition Doctor does a surgery on a patient and the results are bad, the automatic response is "I trust he will stand behind his work" "standing behind his work" is great, but if he continues to showcase bad results, then what? In this situation, H&W is open to "fixing" it, but what guarantees the patient will be happy if the results are yet again, bad? This is where we need better transparency. If NotHappy showcases terrible results (due to physiology) I think situations like this should be showcased on the site, not shunned upon. I want to see more results from clinics showcasing not-so-common issues. This will then truly educate readers of the type of complications that can occur. I'm actually going to ask my HT Doctor to post something about me in a few months. While I've done my research, I've had issues with my Donor Scar (which my HT Doctor agrees is poor results). So that readers understand that there are complications and potential poor results.

Megatron, amazing how time flies right? It's been 1 year for both of us. Anyways, I saw your photos and things look promising. I wish you good luck and hope things have turned out for the best.

I want to reflect a little now that it has officially been my 1 year anniversary. On February 12, 2010 I had my HT and opted for 3000 grafts. I believe I made the right decision at the time. After several months of micromanaging my first HT, I took several photos for a good documented result. By the way, during this whole time, I kept on asking myself "Did I just make the mistake of my life? Did I just screw myself over with this?" After 8 months, I noticed that the Donor Strip did not widened, but the surrounding tissue/skin had, which worried me. I consulted with Dr. Cooley and he admitted that the suturing technique used during my initial HT was the culprit. Keeping this in mind, Dr. Cooley had taken a secondary strip on the side (above my left ear), this was to reach the 3000 grafts. I realized due to my hair characteristics that the secondary donor scar was also noticeable, which I was not happy with. With that said, I opted for a Scar Revision on the 16th of December 2010, about 10 months after my Initial HT. I had the procedure done free of charge and Dr. Cooley extracted 400+ grafts and placed roughly 300 grafts in my temple region and portions of "zone 1", the other 100 grafts were placed in my secondary strip area since I was not happy with it. So to answer some questions, here is what I learned and concluded: Am I happy with my HT? Simply put. Yes. Mainly because my hairline is better. I think I would have been happy simply with a fix to the temple region but considering that I had 3000 grafts and they were placed through Zone 1-4, I think this has suited me in the long run, at least for the next 5 years. I would like to point out that it's not 100% where I want it to be, but I have a much easier time hiding my gradual hair loss. Am I happy with Dr. Cooley? Yes Would I go back to Dr. Cooley? Yes, simply because he now understands my physiological characteristics and he knows what works best on me. Would I consider another HT Surgeon? Yes, only if he consults with Dr. Cooley first. This will be my last post for the moment. Thank you all for being supportive and this is an awesome site, I couldn't have made a decision without all the pros on this site. I will be back in 6 to 8 months to give everyone an update on the results of my Scar Revision w/ ACELL with Dr. Cooley BEFORE (personal photos) AFTER (personal photos) BEFORE (consultation photos) AFTER (consultation photos)

Do what the doctor suggests, or at least take it into consideration. EJ, sorry it didn't work out for you. Dr. Cooley is definitely stands behind is work. Sometimes there are just some physiological things even Doctors can't overcome. Dr. Cooley recommended a Scar Revision for me. I asked him "what are the chances of this happening again to me" He said "I'm 99.9% sure the Scar Revision will fix this issue"

Hey EJ, it's looking good so far. I can already tell the donor strip scar is better than what it was with my First Official HT

Hey Everyone, I just noticed this topic and wanted to share my experience with you all. BTW, I am a patient of Dr. Cooley I personally believe ACELL has nothing to do with the scar widening When I had my HT back in February 2010, ACELL was being used, but also a "new and supposed to be better" suturing technique that was being recommended by many Doctors in the industry. My Donor Scar stretched during this time period (check out my web-blog) I went back to Dr Cooley back in December 2010 and had a scar revision done WITH ACELL. Dr Cooley also decided to go back to his tried and tested suturing technique as well. It's only been 2 months, but everything looks 100% okay EJ, please get in touch with Dr Cooley and I am curious to know if he used the same suturing technique on you that he had initially used on me. If so, then a quick scar revision may be all you need to fix this issue Good Luck!

Hey everyone, here are some updates from my scar revision procedure with Dr. Cooley You'll see my 10 month results taken by him, in addition to seeing a few photos of my scar that widened up to 5mm!!! I had a total of 429 grafts (618 hairs) This brings me up to a total of 3436 grafts (6119 hairs) I also had my sutures removed 2 weeks after the procedure Scar Revision: December 16, 2010 Suture Removal: December 30, 2010

Megatron, as long as you are happy that's all that matters Is it possible for you to take a video with your camera? maybe a short 15 second clip? So when is your next HT maybe we'll coordinate and get one at the same time again. haha

RCWEST, yeah I'm decently happy, the additional grafts that came from the Scar Revision were placed in two areas 1. Hairline 1-4mm (front to back) 2. Secondary Strip Megatron, Thanks I'll keep you all updated on how the things heal/grow

Hey Guys, I had my Scar Revision today with Dr. Cooley and it was quite pleasant and everything went as planned. I got to the office at 10am and had to sign some consent papers. Dr. Cooley went over the procedure one last time then took some reference photos. Himself and Brandi Burgess were in the room the whole time. I mentioned to him that i had two concerns such as the left hairline not being as low my right hairline, and the secondary strip on the left side above my ear is noticeable even at clipper #5. Dr. Cooley's plan was to fill in all the hairline as well as work on the filling in the secondary strip. We also decided to use ACELL which should compliment the scar revision procedure. I went into the surgery room and they drugged me and had me lie down so they could start working on revising the strip. I then had lunch at 12pm We started again around 12:30ish and they worked on the recipient area (It was Dr. Cooley and Brandi Burgess) They had 1-2 technicians working on the slivering. The whole procedure lasted until 3:00pm and I was off back to the hotel Everything went as planned and I asked how many grafts they were able to excise, to my surprise, they were able to get 420+ grafts (I will get details later) I'll be updating my weblog right after this.

Today is my 10 month anniversary. It's been a journey to reach 10 months. Now that I look back, the hardest months were the first three months, after that, things go by quite quickly. I believe I have reached a point where growth has finally reached it's peak (who knows maybe in another month or two, I'll see a little more and be surprised), but my expectations is what I see is what I get. A few things to note right now is that the dono strip will be revised on the 16th of December, so I will be going under the knife very soon to correct the issue.

Looks good Dr. Cooley! Very natural results.

Hey LadyNeedsHair, Trichophytic Closure was used, I have all the information in my weblog for you to read up on

OMY, This is my personal opinion, so this is not a fact, but I believe ACELL is a powder/strip. Also regarding the smaller secondary strip, again, my opinion, double layer suture was not used, it wasn't needed since the strip was so small.

Hey Everyone, I decided to wait and get all the facts before I add fuel to the flame. I thought it would only be appropriate and fair to everyone. So the situation was this, Dr. Cooley was trying a new suturing technique, he used it for a period of time and simply noticed that the results were not that good. So when it came to my main strip, it widened simply because of the technique that was used. I was told that during the latest 2010 Conference that many Doctors were still promoting this technique, but Dr. Cooley has decided that it did NOT provide the best results for the patient. As far as the Secondary Strip, it was needed to reach the 3000 grafts. Many of you may wonder why the Secondary Strip didn't produce the same results, it is because when extracting the strip from the side of the head, it is not required to use a deep layer suture technique. ACELL was used in my procedure and while it may have not been verbally clear, I believe it was of the best intention for Dr. Cooley to use this because he believes that the pros outweigh the cons. I want to be clear that the current results I have are very good, there are 2 things I would want fixed. #1 is the donor scar which will be fixed in a month with a scar revision, and #2 the secondary strip on the side of the head is visible to my eyes (again, we are our own worst critics) I'd like to apologize for using the words "experiment" because that really leaves a negative connotation and this was not my intention. Dr. Cooley is simply outstanding, and I think it's great that he is open to trying new things for the evolution of the HT industry. By the way, I mentioned earlier that I had hesitation with ACELL, but after reading and getting a better understanding of it, I am choosing to use it during my scar revision procedure because I believe it will only help the situation. Moral of the story is, the Suturing Technique that was used was the culprit of my donor scar issue. Bill, thanks for highlighting this, I know you had contacted Dr. Cooley about the situation and I think it helped speed up the process to clarify the situation.

Hair me out, Sparky, Let me talk to Bill before I post anything else...I don't want to stir anything by accident

Ah, yes, let me clarify. Simply put, ACELL was used on me. I asked Dr. Cooley and they explicitly said it was used. And yes, I did have a conversation with Dr. Cooley about this about the details of the procedure. Bill, I'll Private message you about your last question.

Here is an update because I reread my post and a lot of it is inaccurate. So here is the story with my situation. I decided to get 3000 grafts and had a successful HT. During the procedure ACELL was used When sutures are used during an HT, they are soaked in a solution. I think during this period, Dr. Cooley was trying a new method which included different Sutures, Different Solution, and ACELL With that said, the combination of Sutures, Solution and ACELL were used on the Main strip. I believe the type of suture and the solution caused the widening of the scar. ACELL was used too but according to the clinic, ACELL's benefits were offset by the solution and the sutures, so there was no benefit of ACELL. With the secondary strip, Dr. Cooley used his tried and proven combination of sutures, solution, and ACELL was used. This second strip turned out pretty good while the Main strip stretched. When I go back to Dr. Cooley, he is going to use his tried and proven combination of sutures and solution, unfortunately ACELL is now an additional cost since it's no longer funded by the company who provided it to Dr. Cooley in the first place There will be extra grafts because the stretched scar needs to be removed. I will ask Dr. Cooley to place the grafts in two places. - Secondary Strip Scar, because it is noticeable with my Asian Characteristic Hair - Temple Regions as they should be thickened up

Hey Mulitplier, the reason I noticed this is because in general I keep my hair short and I generally use a clipper #4. if I couldn't do this, I would have not chosen to get a HT in the first place. Most information from the Top HT Clinics mention that if a HT was good, you should potentially buzz down with a clipper #3 and the Donor Scar would be undetectable. This is probably an ideal situation. But most mention that clipper #4 is doable. I got a haircut and asked the barber to use a clipper #4 and low and behold I was very disappointed because the donor scar was noticeable That is how I know. You can see the photos in my blog