Tav1

I'm already seeing a significant jump from your nine week pictures until now - it's very evident visually if you compare side by side. At this rate, you'll be over the month charting progress going forward. Congrats!

I asked this question of my own HT doc - you'll be fine. Happy growing!

Incredible result thus far Shacked. Happy for you.

Amazing.

Hairkinase - that is very, very solid progress for three months time. Hoping you'll update monthly, as you seem to be growing like a weed.

This does seem a bit abnormal based on what I have seen. Was it possibly due to the amount of available donor? I'm certain someone with more knowledge than I have will weigh in. Either way, looks great and happy growing.

Hey lowlux88 - technically, pills can lose their effectiveness after some period of time due to air and moisture. I assume you have a pill splitter, and conventional wisdom is to split only one pill at a time. Remember also that finast isn't necessarily giving you 1.25mg per cut due to uneven distribution of the drug and fillers, but over the long term, you'll get the dosage needed, particularly if taken daily. I've been splitting finasteride for well over a decade. I only split more than I need if going on a long trip. Once split and sealed in a pill bottle, both air and moister concerns are essentially eliminated.

Yes KconK - that was a pretty rough couple of weeks, but all good now. I wanted to document the issue for any folks who may be concerned following their HT, see any symptoms and subsequently search the forum for "necrosis" or "necrotic tissue." Truth is, as scary as these situations sound, caught early and treated appropriately, the world doesn't come to an end after all! Cheers!

win200 - not sure where you are seeing anything on inhouse where a script is necessary - that isn't the case. I've ordered both fin and dut from them many times without issue, both before and after the domain hosting change.

Thanks for the support farmcat - now just entering that "completely shed phase" so I have to look back at my immediate post FUE pics to realize that (hopefully) that hair will reappear in a few months!

gizmo12 - my Doc had me putting Bacitracin on the grafted areas for a while post FUE to keep things moist, especially the scabs - some doctors recommend this, while others do not. You might ping your Doc to see what he thinks, but I have to think he/she gave you a solid list of post-op recommendations? Happy growing!

Yea Cali - keep that picture handy, as you'll want to remember what you WILL look like in a few months, especially once those grafts shed in a few weeks. I'm going through that stage at the moment....

Update: saw Dr. Umar today, and he's cleared me for takeoff, so to speak. The previously necrotic area is almost completely healed, so for the next two weeks, just Bacitracin (no Nitro-Bid) on the impacted area - just to be safe and finish healing. The plan from here is to see the Doc at my four month mark in late July, at which time we'll discuss any grafts that might need to be placed in the area. Dr. Umar was very positive about my recovery overall, most of my other grafts shed naturally, and as for the impacted area, he doesn't think it will take more than 10-20 grafts to fill. As I stated before, he's doing any additional FUE at no additional charge, which is very nice to hear. I'm assuming we can do non-shaven FUE for such a small repair, so I don't believe I'll miss a beat in terms of growing and/or appearance. Lastly, as FYI for you guys in the same stage of growth as me, my Doc indicated that if I did get any "pimples" or "in-grown's" as the new grafts attempt to pop through the skin in the coming months, I should let him know, and he recommends a script for antibiotics to make sure any of it doesn't get infected or impact overall growth. I must applaud Dr. Umar once again for his professionalism, his ongoing concern and his calm, reassuring demeanor. I'll update with a few more awkward "selfies" at my two month mark, which is in about two weeks time.

ZeoRanger - for what it's worth, I was prescribed Keflex (Cefalexin) for seven days post my FUE surgery (as a precautionary measure). Two weeks later, I was put on a seven day cycle of Cipro by my HT Doc for another issue. Both are pretty darn common antibiotics administered for any number of reasons. Can't imagine my Doc would prescribe either if they would potentially adversely impact growth.

Interesting, particularly re: the alcohol. Hopefully you will respond to finasteride better this time - perhaps a dosage change versus your last time? Also, I assume Dr. Mohebi also has you on minoxidil starting a few weeks following post-op to the recipient areas?

markhenry - good for you taking the plunge. It would be interesting to know why you decided after 13 years to stop finasteride. Did you start to experience side effects after all of that time on propecia? Also, possible you could include some "before" photos to see what your hairline looked like prior to seeing Dr. Mohebi? Good wishes on your growth!

Just read your entire thread KConK - fantastic results early on, and amazing results now one year post-op. You are without a doubt a case study in tremendous success for anyone looking for a little encouragement! And from your posts you seem like a cool dude - so congrats!

It's an individual choice and one that should be made with a boatload of research, while layering in your individual (and personal) considerations. And you need look no further than this website for all of the information required to make the best personal choice for yourself. Take CaliHairGuy and myself. I believe we both live in California. Our ages are essentially the same, as are our hair loss patterns. Cali chose to travel to Konior and did a strip procedure. I went to school in Chicago and would have been very comfortable doing the same. But I didn't. I stayed local and went to Umar, deciding on FUE. Both approved Docs on this site. We did our procedures around the same time, and we both had approximately the same number of grafts needed. So let's say you wait six or more months and follow our respective progress on this forum. Should you chose the Doc that gave one or the other of us the best results? Of course not. In my opinion, it is more complex. So do the research and don't listen to anyone on this forum or any other that hasn't either had a procedure or otherwise is a Doc. Clinic advisors? Listen but remain cautious.

Thanks for the support wylie. It's a little difficult taking "selfies," but the area has really responded well to treatment, and I'm feeling much better about things versus a few weeks back. Dr. Umar never panicked, and his calm demeanor help keep me the same. I consider it fate that I decided to "stay local" and also that Dr. Umar is also a well-regarded Dermatologist - both of those factors worked in my favor in this situation. I'll update this thread with what's next after my appointment next week.

Attaching photos outlining the area of necrotic tissue. The photos follow left to right and are labeled from development, to full blown necrosis, to healing, and finally, a most recent shot showing (what I hope is) a solid recovery. The Doc originally anticipated a six week recovery period for the impacted area, however I've been diligent with the treatment, and finger's crossed, I'll be pretty much fully recovered by my appointment next week, which will put me just shy of one month since this situation was fully diagnosed and treatment began. Regardless, based on my progress thus far, I'm 100% confident all will be well by week six. So then the next question is when we go in and do a small FUE to the area - hopefully I'll find out soon enough...

It has been one month and one week (as of tomorrow) since the last of my three-day FUE procedures totaling 4,000 grafts in early April of 2015. The donor area is healing just fine as would be expected with FUE - really can't tell anything had ever happened to the donor area at all as of now - just waiting for the hair to grow out a bit longer. But I don't anticipate any lingering impact visually or otherwise, and Im fairly certain I can buzz down as much as I'd like based on whatever future hairstyle I want down the road. There remains just a little bit of random itching and tenderness (nerve endings?) on occasion in a few random areas, but otherwise, things are looking/feeling good in the back of my head. As for the recipient, things are mostly healing nicely. I bit pinkish as to be expected, most of the transplanted hairs have now shed, and I'm entering that awkward stage many of you know so well. On to the more recently concerning issue: necrosis. As I outlined previously, I unfortunately experienced an area of necrotic tissue a week or two into my transplant recovery. Neither my Doctor nor I can pinpoint how it occurred, but quite frankly, since it was identified, I've always been more concerned about the treatment rather than the cause. The necrosis was initially identified during my two-week follow-up. Dr. Umar immediately put me on Nitro-Bid, which I use twice per day. The good news is, after two weekly follow-ups, the area is healing/repairing nicely, and I was actually able to skip this week's appointment and see the Dr. next week, as things seem to be on-track. We assume that once completely healed, I will need a small FUE procedure in that area. I'd certainly like that to happen soon, so that all the new growth is more or less coordinated from a timing perspective. For whomever it might help in terms of identifying/looking out for potential necrosis, I'll post four or five pictures that sort of demonstrate the progression from immediate post-op, to identification, to the worst of it, to how well things have healed. Will do so tomorrow morning at latest.

Cali - I'm just a few weeks ahead of you, similar graft count and age, and damn sure also had an "issue" in about the same area of my scalp a few days post op. My Doc said the same - let's see how things fill in and a non-shaven FUE with a small number of grafts (<50), particularly back from the hairline a bit, is hardly a big concern a few months from now. Or at least we're both telling ourselves the same thing....

@#%ing Fantastic results Squatch! I'd imagine it's nothing but a pleasant bonus as you continue to thicken over the coming months.

I appreciate your concern wylie - I'll PM you a few pics. And yes, I believe it's a good thing that Umar is also a dermo. Cheers.

orwell - I have no first-hand experience with your strip issue as I had FUE, but regardless will send you a private message. You can find it on the upper right side of your internet screen.