Mikey1970

In Adelaide we are fortunate to have one of the world's leading Trichologists - David Salinger. David has told me that if I were to travel anywhere else for treatment I would be wasting my money - he tell's me George is the equal of anyone, anywhere in the world with more experience than just about anyone. I think sometimes repeat procedures are unavoidable if we want our "perfect" result. I do empathize with your shock loss experience....it can be terrible but is just so unpredictable.

Can anyone please shed light on information I have received that anaesthetic from a HT procedure can cause accelerated hair loss and/or shock loss? I have heard this from several sources now. Is it a case of too much anaesthetic being used by Dr's? Thanks in advance.

Another couple of months has passed & it does seem to be improving slightly. There is no real area of significance that now has a completely bald patch but rather my left temporal area is quite diffused & id say quite a bit of the hair appears to be on the road to miniaturization. That said, a few months ago it was probably completely bald. When i style my hair wet it is almost undetectable now but i can't walk around with a spray bottle all day lol. When it is dried it looks diffused. My surgeon has said he can thicken it up with 100 grafts but i am obviously now worried about further shock. My trichologist seems to think it might keep improving but it is now 10.5 months since the last surgery and 7.5 months since i noticed the shock loss so i dont know how much more improvement could be to come. Also wondering if PRP could be worth a try? I keep recalling Dr Feller's clip on shock loss & he said it can take 1.5 years for shock loss to fully recover so maybe i might be lucky. Not embarrassed to admit that this has really crushed me but i am hoping i am through the worst of it now.

Another couple of months has passed & it does seem to be improving slightly. There is no real area of significance that now has a completely bald patch but rather my left temporal area is quite diffused & id say quite a bit of the hair appears to be on the road to miniaturization. That said, a few months ago it was probably completely bald. When i style my hair wet it is almost undetectable now but i can't walk around with a spray bottle all day lol. When it is dried it looks diffused. My surgeon has said he can thicken it up with 100 grafts but i am obviously now worried about further shock. My trichologist seems to think it might keep improving but it is now 10.5 months since the last surgery and 7.5 months since i noticed the shock loss so i dont know how much more improvement could be to come. Also wondering if PRP could be worth a try? I keep recalling Dr Feller's clip on shock loss & he said it can take 1.5 years for shock loss to fully recover so maybe i might be lucky. Not embarrassed to admit that this has really crushed me but i am hoping i am through the worst of it now.

My surgeon seems to think 100 grafts will be enough to fill this in. Will have to go ahead with it when the time is right but want to make sure it is as safe as can be. Will leave it a full year since my last procedure until it do & probably seek a 2nd opinion. It has been really tough!

Guys, as i have posted on here in recent months - it isnt always only the miniaturized hair that can be lost. I had permanent shock loss in the left temporal area 2-3 inches away from the front of my hairline where i had only 30 grafts placed & that area was previously dense, thick hair! In my instance it could be viewed as awakening a progression of MPB as i had been pretty much stable for 10+ years. I did have 3 procedures in 10 months though so too much trauma to the scalp in a short time? Shock loss is bloody traumatic, thats for sure.

in my opinion, for anyone who is distressed enough about hairloss to under a HT then fin should be just about mandatory. i would view a HT without fin as being at best pointless or at worst a disaster waiting to happen. i have been on fin for 18+ months and virtually side effect free. that said, hair loss & balding can be extremely depressing & distressing and imho these pose a far greater risk to sexual side effects.

I have had a few procedures and recovered from shock loss. Then my last procedure....a 30 graft touch up at the front of my hairline has caused a small section of permanent shock loss in my left temple area, some 2-3 inches where the work was done! The hair that I have lost was decent terminal hair too, certainly did not appear to be on its last legs. Shock loss is bloody unpredictable. Also don't have too many procedures in quick succession. IMHO it can accelerate hair loss, my hair had been stable for 10+ years....I just got greedy in wanting a lower hairline & paying now...

6 weeks since my last post. I have recently seen my trichologist again who confirmed under magnification that i still have a lot of empty follicles in the affected area. He is now beginning to say that he thinks it is largely genetic hair loss & permanent. Hard to believe that prior to my latest tiny touch up procedure there was thick native hair there! I am in no doubt that frequent ht procedures have accelerated my hair loss which had been largely stable for the past 10 years. In hindsight i have made a big mistake & should have been grateful for the good results achieved in my first two procedures. Anyway, what i really need now is good advice. It is only a relatively small area on the left temple area and i would like to get it filled in but worried that permanent shock loss could appear somewhere else if i do & i could just be embarking on a game of chasie all over my scalp. Or am i heading for another mistake? How safe would it be to get a small area filled in a thinning area behind the existing transplants without risking further shock loss? Any thoughts?

Id say sit back and wait until at least the 3-4 month mark. I had a hard time with one of my procedures but at the 3 month mark when the next hair begain appearing I loved it & almost felt born again. You might be surprised how these feelings of despair can turn into feelings of delight when you start seeing some results. Good luck.

Dr Feller. Here are some photo's of the shock loss i am describing. I recovered completely from a larger procedure in April 2014, but a tiny 30 graft procedure to the centre of my hairline has done this damage, 2-3 inches away in my left temple area. I think i am noticing some small improvement but it is very, very slow.... Again, thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts. [ATTACH]83382[/ATTACH]

The area of lost hair was dense, healthy hair but just above the area transplanted to replace temple recession. My hair loss had been stable for at least 10 years but I had sought a transplant to improve my hairline. I will attach photos when I get access to my laptop. Thankyou for replying.

Dr Feller, in the video you say that shock loss might take 6 months, or a year and 6 months to recover but it usually comes back. Could you please elaborate on this? Most of the online literature i can find states that shock loss in the recipient area should begin to return 3-4 months post op. Can it really be delayed to 18 months and what might cause such a lengthy recovery? Im not sure if you have read the posts from my experience but I had a HT in April 2014 & experienced heavy shock loss that recovered fully within 3 months. I then had two small touch up's in November 2014 & February 2015 and was hammered with shock loss 2-3 inches from the area of work in May 2015. It is now late August 2015 and I dont know whether to give up but your video saying it can take up to 18 months gives me some hope. Thankyou.

Thanks for your interest mate. To be honest i dont know if i am recovering or not. If i am it is very slow. My friends & family tell me that when i have my hair styled normally nobody would even know there was an issue, but when i part it & examine the area of loss it is quite stark. It does seem as though i have very short, blonde hair coming through the baldest of spots and i think the telogen has spread as a lot of the front of my scalp is prickly to touch....(think it might be new growth coming through??). The thing is though, this is 6 months post op & 3 months since i was really smashed by shock loss & i am none the wiser if this is normal or not? I had actually hoped to get more of an idea of what was happening to me by posting on this forum but apart from gillenator, david & a couple of other members i am none the wiser. I see my trichiolgist & surgeon next month so should know more but i guess i wont know for sure until a year or so has passed. Apparently sometimes recovery from telogen can take a full year or more?? Fingers crossed....but i would never take a HT lightly again or pursue a small procedure for the sake of very minor improvements....

I use Ionil T daily & have done for over 20 years. It is tar based & fantastic for that type of condition. I also use Rogaine Foam daily & tend to use that as a mousse type product. That said, i wouldnt recommend using it for at least 10 days post transplant. My surgeon recommended i stop taking it for 10 days to ensure the grafts settle, for the first 10 days post op i used a very soft, organic shampoo & conditioner only...

IMHO if anyone is serious enough about tackling their hair loss to undergo a HT, FIN is just a given! My surgeon doesnt like it because of the purported side effects but there is no way i would have undergone a HT if i thought there was a strong chance of hair loss continuing. IMHO, FIN is just as important as the surgical procedure.

that looks great to me. i have seen lots of fue where it looks like a mouse has been chewing on the persons head. nothing at all to be worrying about....

What are people's thoughts about whether regular HT's can accelerate MPB? From my experience i think it is best to be satisfied with a good result rather than chase perfection & risk permanent shock loss with small touch ups.... Each procedure requires anaesthetic and a certain amount of trauma to the scalp.

I personally think the rule of thought that you cant shave your head after having had a HT via strip or fue is BS. I recently saw a guy who had scalp reductions back in the 1980's and he is now sporting a shaved head. Sure he has scars but they are neat and he actually looked surprisingly good sporting a "tough look". If a surgeon does a good job with a neat strip & a Trichophytic Closure then i wouldn't be past shaving my head if the time came to surrender to MPB.

Outstanding result. No wonder you are happy. Congractulations

Hi guys. Apologies for the running commentary. I posted a photo earlier today of the shock loss looking better, here is another just taken with it at its worst. Has got to the stage where my mood is on a see-saw & tied to whether i think this is going to recover or not. If this is permanent shock loss or a progression of MPB can it be fixed mid scalp without triggering shock loss somewhere else & me entering a game of chasie across my whole head? Cool heads have told me to wait a year or more before doing anything else but i dont want it looking like this. What a bloody nightmare...

850 grafts for the two procedures & yes, just a small cut for the touch up strip...

As a patient & from my experience with shock loss, if you experience it soon after surgery it returns after approx 3 months. That said it is very unpredictable. I have recently been hammered 3 months post op, it is now 6 months post op & i think i am only just beginning to see recovery. In Dr Feller's youtube video on shock loss he says it can sometimes take 6 months, or a year & 6 months for temporary shock loss to return? I would like to have that clarified or reinforced by either Dr Feller or another Dr if possible myself... It can also be permanent if the hairs were weak, miniaturized & destined to be lost due to MPB anyway. I suspect HT's can speed up the process of MPB if not done carefully. I think it is really important to plan all procedures carefully with a good Dr, be happy with a good result & not fall into the trap of regular procedures to chase perfection. I have had real grief with bad shock loss by requesting small "touch ups" to fill in the smallest of gaps...lesson learnt.

Just writing to provide a testimonial of my experiences with hair transplantation with Dr George Kerry, in Adelaide/Australia. Dr Kerry has done two HT's for me in 2004 and 2014, and two "Touch up's" (180 grafts via strip and 30 grafts via fue). From the first time i met Dr Kerry i was impressed with his people skills and his prices are very good & fair in comparison to competitors. He really makes the patient feel comfortable and relaxed. He is a fierce proponent of the FUT method and doesn't really like doing FUE. His strip work is immaculate, my scar is virtually undetectable with a number 3 clipper cut at the back. Nobody has ever commented on the scar and my close family members that know it is there have marvelled over it. I probably have not been the easiest patient for Dr Kerry. I had been a perfectionist & pretty much wanted even the slightest of gaps filled but have learnt to now be happy with a good result. I would not hesitate in recommending him for anybody wanting a HT in Australia.

Here is a photo taken yesterday. Over the past week i think i have begun noticing some really small fine hairs & i do feel that the area of complete bald skin is smaller. The photos do appear to be affected by things like light etc & it looks quite a bit better when my hair is wet. I return to see my surgeon & trichologist early to mid september so will know more then as they previously took photo's under magnification.