Hi all.
The purpose of this post is to briefly relay my positive FUE experience with Dr. Konior (1995 grafts back in February). I’ve included a few pics- 3 pre-op and a 1-week post op.
Four months out, and hair is growing – will try to post more as things progress…
First – I want to THANK YOU all for the informative discussions on this forum. The mere existence of a community with such an esoteric knowledge of hair and hair loss was a welcome surprise to me.
For me, this whole follicular fixation is fairly new. I suppose my hairline was always (slowly) receding and thinning, but I didn’t even think about hair loss until I was 30. However, the last few years (currently 41), I began to look markedly less like me. Sure, post-35 will do that – but it was mostly the hair. I wanted to change it.
Living in Chicago, it was a no-brainer to choose Dr. Konior.
After a series of consultations (w/ both Tom and Dr. Konior himself), we agreed to focus on the hairline and frontal & mid-scalp density.
Here are the main takeaways:
1) The effusive praise given to Dr. Konior and his staff is entirely deserved. Dr. Konior answers all your questions in as much detail as you need. His avid interest in hair as both an art and science is unmistakable. He and Tom respond to e-mails promptly and thoroughly.
2) Dr. Konior does lots of FUE these days – at least as much as FUT, I believe – and it seems (so far) that he gets similarly clean and polished results.
3) Dr. Konior is a direct, no-nonsense guy. He won’t sugarcoat things, bullshit you, or offer you more than he can give.
4) The procedure itself was relatively painless – but quite lengthy. The injections stung, but the most difficult part (for me) was lying face-down, completely still, for a fairly long period of time. It’s more than a little overwhelming when you consider that the outcome of the surgery depends, at least in part, on YOUR ability to remain motionless. Once I flipped onto my back for the actual grafting, it was easy; I even slept a bit.
5) Not much pain the first few days. However, things got quite painful on days 3-6. This may not be the norm (Dr. K said as much), but it bears mentioning, since ANY pain is contrary to the “walk in the park” narratives surrounding FUE. I couldn’t sleep for a few nights due to pain in the donor area and neck. When I finally tried to recline on day 5, the mere contact of my head with the pillow led to a mix of shooting pains, tingles, and a fiery itching/burning sensation.
Don’t get me wrong – I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was bearable. But I was not expecting to use so much of the Vicodin that was prescribed.
I mean, ultimately, no one should be surprised. 2000 holes in one’s head ought to hurt at least a little, right?
6) My post-op experience has been relatively smooth otherwise. Hairline looked great immediately post-op and for two weeks after, redness notwithstanding. After some expected shedding (which I barely noticed, since I wore a wool hat to work most days), the hair started growing again circa 3 months. Currently @ the 4-month mark, and things are looking promising. I'll try and post more current pics soon...