CuriousJungleGeorge

I hear it's normal for transplanted hairs to fall out shortly after the procedure. About how long does this take to happen? It seems they continue to grow for at least a short while immediately after surgery. Are they all supposed to fall out before they start to grow again (to "really" grow)? It takes three or four months from when they fall out for that to happen, right?

Thanks.

John K, I don't mean to sound cynical, but I have reason to suspect your sincerity. You say you were worked on in December 2008; it's been about three months. You were a class VI, you say. How much "more than happy" can you be with the results at this stage, and how "natural" can the work look? You even mention "small graft sizes" and praise a "expert placement." Patients don't typically say things like these. It sounds as if you made up a date that sounds relatively recent, then made a bunch of promotional statements. I hope, if you are just pushing business, I'm not helping you refine your technique, and I hope, if you are sincere, I'm not being to vicious.

Hell, it may be, you're trying to destroy Dr. Epstein, for some reason, by posting such a message. Then, I wonder, why would you wish to do so? Are you the competition? There, you'd be targeting everyone (I doubt Epstein causes you direct harm). Maybe you're a rival doctor who hates him. A scorned patient?

Something, somewhere, though, to me, at least, does smell odd.

*Nine months after your first procedure you went to a dermatologist? So, you saw him in September, 2009? Are you Marty McFly?

**Your entire procedure was performed with you in a "chair" (3,000 grafts, at that: long time in a chair)? No beds at the clinic?

***How do you know Dr. Epstein is a great facial plastic surgeon? Did he do that sort of work for you, as well? Maybe you failed to mention it.

By the way, what's IrishLad31's story?

Myself, I first thought I shouldn't be cynical, and consider Dr. Bernstein is simply a member of N.H.I. (after all, the latter isn't a practice in any particular physician's name). However, why doesn't this page (http://www.newhair.com/fees/) on N.H.I.'s Web site list Dr. Bernstein's fees? Only two surgeons are listed: Drs. Pak and Rassman (the latter far more costly than the former).

You're not supposed to expose your scalp to direct sunlight for the couple of weeks immediately following the procedure (read, no tanning). You can, however, after about a week, use cosmetic products that match your skin-tone to cover up any redness.

Also, you're not supposed to put anything on the recipient areas right after the surgery; you shouldn't even really touch it a lot for about a week.

Wow, that's amazing.

How long till the pain dies down (strip-method)?

A clinic may require you undergo a blood-test prior to your procedure, which, of course, on your end, would involve the same act. No, it shouldn't be a problem to donate half a liter of blood a week before you have work done.

The minoxidil isn't for the transplanted hair (I doubt "dependency," though): it's for the hair nearby, which is still susceptible to being lost.

It seems you're asking yourself whether or not you'll want a hair-transplant after you've seen yourself with a shaven head. If you do think you might look the look, and not have the procedure done, why not just shave it? Unlike with having a transplant, there's no commitment (or real cost) involved in clipping your hair.

Originally posted by hairseekerusa:

Could anyone please let me know when i can wash my hair after my HT? I had it done on 25th and little worried that is i wash my hair now, the grafts may not be well settled in. Could please someone respond? Appreciate it a lot!

Different doctors have different instructions, but it seems typical for a patient to wash his or her scalp the day following the procedure. Of course, this doesn't mean showering your head. You're supposed to mix some shampoo and water in a container, then pour the mixture over your head -- do not rub the graft area. When finished, rinse well (again, just plain water being poured over you). If in doubt, contact your surgeon; do so soon, because it is important to keep your donor and recipient areas clean.

Is the question, "Why don't balding celebs. get transplants?"? Well, why should they, unless they personally feel very compelled to. You don't pursue surgery because you're rich and it's available; you pursue it because it's important to you. Hey, Connery never needed a head full of hair to be confident; he just put one on when his role demanded it. Of course, if you do care, I feel there's nothing wrong with getting the work done.

You went out with a woman who "blew you off" because, according to you, she didn't find you very attractive. Later on, she (again, according to you), did find you attractive, and you got to feel good about yourself by blowing her off. How is this poetically just, at all? You liked her for her appearance, didn't you? Sorry, but I don't feel she did anything wrong by not pursuing a relationship with you; hell, it might not even have been your looks that did you in.

Well, strip-harvesting, too, requires the donor region to be shaven, does it not? Only, with the method, that region is quite smaller than it is with F.U.E.

Can you imagine shutting down your immune system to get a lower hairline? Lol. Man, maybe we really ought to work on being "comfortable" with ourselves about as hard as we do to find that perfect doc. ...Nah.

I think it's all right to use minoxidil right after your surgery, so long as you don't get any on your donor or recipient areas. If it's impossible for you not to, I believe you're supposed to wait about a week (you don't want to rub your grafts, and you'd have to to work in the medication) before resuming your schedule.

I'm not sure what his surgeon told him (I wasn't in the room the whole time), but, no matter what he said, how could he know? We'd left the little specks lying somewhere on the bathroom floor. I think they were follicles, as, again, they looked somewhat like white "bulbs" with small hairs going through.

I guess, then, as long as the dislodged ones weren't right by one another, as you mention, things should be fine.

Thank you.

Thanks, guys. That's what I thought, but I was unsure. I know this sounds morbid, but the thought crossed my mind that perhaps cadavers... never mind.

This was a few weeks ago, and I was not the patient.

I shall not name the doctor at the moment. The person wore a hat home from the procedure (adjusted and placed on by the surgeon), and, when he took it off, there was some blood at the temples and a few follicles (little white things with a short hair going through) were stuck to the cap (altogether, I saw four or five such white things). We went back to the clinic within an hour. They cleaned everything up, patted him down, blew on some cool air, and sent him home. I'm just concerned as to whether or not everything will be okay.

Thank you.

*The loose white follicles found in the cap were discarded in the moment of panic and uncertainty.

Also, F.U.E. typically costs about twice as much as the strip-harvesting method.

Is there a reason one person can't donate follicular units to another? Is it a simple matter of biological rejection? Thanks.

Is there a reason one person can't donate follicular units to another? Is it a simple matter of biological rejection? Thanks.

Is it a sign of doom if one returns from one's procedure to find a handful of one's grafts are bleeding (a couple of follicular units [white bulbs with short hairs going through] having visibly come out)? Is everything ruined?

What's something like methadone generally prescribed for?

Are you happy with your hair, right now? If so, I suggest you put off taking any surgical measures until you are not. If not, I suppose you could consider taking action now; just keep in mind, it would be unwise to exhaust your entire donor supply on getting a Blagojevich hairline, then end up with nothing to fill in spaces that may later go empty.

Dr. Armani doesn't "do" strip? That's stunning to me, as most surgeons in this field with whom I've consulted have advised the benefits of strip still make it (for most people) the best option available. F.U.E. tends to cost twice as much, and offer a lower yield of follicles from the donor region.

Anyway, as you say, what's done is done, and there's nothing to feel bad about if everything is working out all right. Again, to me, your hairline looks good, but (also again), how you feel is more important than how anyone else does. Could you post a shot of yourself pre-op., so we can form an idea as to what's really going on with the results?

At short of four months, I think you really need to wait that much longer before you settle on how you feel about anything. It's possible some units are just taking longer to start growing than are others. I understand the trepidation (many in this forum will): just try -- with all your might -- to go on living without checking your head four times a day with three mirrors -- .

*What per-unit rate did Doctor Armani charge (if you don't mind my asking)?