cueball16

Thank you for your comments. Chris39, thanks for your comment, the blog is probably worth taking a look at for a more detailed account if you're interested. Spidey, I have to agree with HairsGone, although I was basically slick bald on top, the last thing I need is to start losing hair below the crown and on the sides! For the cost of regaine/finasteride and the small amount of time it takes of my day, it's totally worth it. HairsGone, yes, you are quite right about the density, it's pretty strong at the hairline, but that number of grafts covering such a large area...I'm still amazed at the level of coverage but yes I intend on another procedure later this year to add some density for sure. thisguy1, thanks for the congratulations and I couldn't agree more with your '120 days' comment. Spot on

Can't blame you for running out of patience, but we can hope there will still be some more growth. Dr Bhatti usually produces some good results from what I've seen. Try to keep positive buddy, hope it all works out for you.

I don't really expect any new hair to grow. I think they have all grown. I'm just hoping they mature and thicken. Really happy with how it's gone. I use MSM, Hair-Force, Regaine and Finasteride. I think these things helped my grafts to grow quicker, hence the good result at only 6 months. What do you guys think?

At the half way point to what is generally regarded as the 'final result'. At this point I couldn't really have asked for more. I would have taken this as a final result pre op - a complete transformation in 6 months.

This was the first time I had allowed my hair to grow long enough to cover the scar. As you can see it is still pretty short here.

This is where things really kicked off - noticeable changes by the week. Feeling above the scar was pretty much back to how it was, probably completely back by around month 5.

These were the first signs of real growth. I did keep my head shaved, this was as long as I would let it get. After month 4 I let it grow out.

I kept my head shaved for the first few months. This is about as long as I let it get. For the first few weeks when I felt any irritation in the recipient area I would massage my scalp with a few drops of Vitamin E oil mixed with some almond oil which would help calm it. Within a month there was no irritation at all.

One month post op. The scar probably looks worse than it really is because of shock loss around it. At this point I started to use regaine again. Healed nicely, no tightness. Obviously above the scar it was numb.

Photos taken the day after surgery

I'll start with my hair loss history - I started to lose my hair at the age of 11 believe it or not. When I was 13/14 I would regularly get comments from other kids at school regarding my hair. By 18 it was mostly gone on top. I used to use a great deal or nanogen fibres from the age of 17 but by 20/21 the fibres didn't even any hair to attach themselves to. Just black fibres sitting on my scalp. I looked ridiculous and would always feel uncomfortable when talking to people as their eyes spent the majority of the time on my hair, or lack thereof. I knew I wanted to sort my hair problem out. I spent a few years planning it in my head. My research in the early days was more about me looking at clinics websites looking at images that I wanted to believe were the results I would end up with. Eventually I started looking at the forums and a friend of a friend suggested Hasson & Wong. After further research, many many hours reading up on peoples experiences I came to the conclusion that they were the best. I did consider a few others, and even seriously considered some cheaper options in the East but in my heart I always knew it had to be H&W. I had a consultation with them in London with Dr Wong and David Anderson. We decided that I should start on Finasteride and we'd re-evaluate in 12 months. The following year, summer 2013, I met David again in London. He and Dr Wong said I was a good candidate for a hair transplant. It took me a while to get the money together, but in the summer of 2015, I told David I was ready to go ahead. He got back to me with a date in late July. I flew out the morning before the procedure. Vancouver is a beautiful city. Be sure to spend some time out there if you choose H&W, it really is a great place. Everything from the moment I walked into the clinic, to the moment I left it 2 days post-op was perfect, I couldn't find a single fault. The staff were superb, the care was exemplary, I cannot recommend these guys enough. David Anderson was out there for a few months too, so David, Dr Wong and I had a meeting the day before surgery. We were aiming for 4,000 grafts. Dr Wong drew on a hairline which I was happy with. I was told that we would build a new hairline, higher than my native one. It was unlikely that there would be enough grafts to address the crown area. Dr Wong cut out the strip and sealed the wound up with staples. The process was totally painless. He then started making the slits and I relaxed watching TV shows on Netflix. In the end we hit a scarcely believable 5,140 grafts! 1,746 singles, 2,732 doubles and 662 multiples. It took Dr Wong and his team 16 and a half hours. I was totally comfortable the whole time, regular breaks to stretch my legs, lunch and dinner of my choosing, no pain at all - I even fell asleep for a little while! So, after arriving at 0600, I finally left for my hotel at 2230 with a goodie bag including an inflatable neck pillow, a pillow cover so I didn’t get any blood on my pillow in my hotel room, special shampoo, cream for the scar, painkillers, sleeping tablets, staple remover and a large baseball cap. They had thought of everything I could possibly need. I went back to the clinic the next 2 days to have my hair washed, and also so they could show me how to wash it for the first couple of weeks without damaging any grafts. Dr Wong said everything was looking good. David was also there, and I have to give special thanks to him for everything he has done - he has always been there when needed and always reliable. I am writing this 7 months post op. The first couple of weeks of recovery were pain free and pretty easy. Lots of sleeping, lots of meals. Was good to go back to work within a week of surgery. I am really happy with how things went, I really couldn't have asked for more. Dr Wong is a great and generous man, his Golden Follicle award was truly deserved. My case was a difficult one as there was such a large area to cover, my hair loss was pretty bad, there was very little left on top and the density in my donor area was below average. I was actually told by a couple of clinics that they wouldn't take me on and they suggested SMP as an alternative. I believe it is challenging cases like mine that separates the men from the boys in this industry. I have a blog on the Hasson and Wong website. If you want to read more about my experience, please do check it out as I went into a lot more detail in that. When I was researching into having a hair transplant, I found that the long, in depth write ups with lots of details were what I really enjoyed reading and gave me invaluable information...so check it out under the blog section on their official site! Thank you for reading and I welcome all comments and opinions, good or bad. Looking forward to hearing what you guys have to say.

Hey man, I was there 6 days after you! 5140 grafts! So similar hair loss and similar procedure at pretty much the same time. I must say, great progress, it's growing pretty quickly. I will post my pics at the end of the month (6 month mark), I'm sure you'll be interested in comparing

Phenomenal coverage considering the extent of the hair loss. Just over 5k grafts too...amazing. Has the patient sent in 12 month photos? Would love to see the final result, though to be fair even if there was no further improvement I think anyone would take his results at 6 months!

Great progress so early. Still much growing to come hopefully. Will be interesting to see the density when it's all grown in. You must be so pleased so far

Massive improvement since your last update. I'm sure you're feeling more confident about the final results now.

Hey, I know Dr Bhatti can do both but I think the hairlines of Hasson and Wong look much more natural. I think the hairline and frontal third is the most important part and Hasson and Wong are the best in the world when it comes to a natural look. I'm not saying Dr Bhatti isn't good because he is excellent, but his hairlines can be a bit too aggressive and don't always look totally natural. I've seen quite a few people with similar hair loss to mine have all said that 2 procedures, strip and then FUE were a good way to go for them. It just makes sense to me. And if I'm having FUT then Hasson and Wong are the place to go. When I first sent Dr Bhatti some pictures he said he wouldn't even consider a hair transplant because my donor supply was lacked density. This is after I had consultations with some of the best known clinics in the world who all said there would be no problem. I managed to convince him to take up my case anyway, but yeah, I like this new plan, feel confident with it

Hey Niko. Looking good man - I wouldn't worry if I were you mate, 5 months is still so early. Even the hair that is growing has still got to mature and judging from your post-op pics there are still a lot of hair that hasn't shown up yet. Be patient, you're nearly there! I've actually had a change in plan - I will have strip surgery with Hasson & Wong first, sort out the hairline and frontal third. Then later on I will have FUE with Dr Bhatti for the crown and filling up mid-scalp. I've made that decision based on the fact that I don't have much donor hair and I have quite severe hair loss so FUE won't get it sorted totally. I think a combination of the 2 will work better for me. Keep posting mate - looking forward to each monthly update. Have you considered a grade 2 buzz cut? I think that would give you a better idea as to how the growth is going. But that's just all about personal preference. Keep it up! Good luck! Making good progress so far!

Hey Niko! First off congratulations on having a hair transplant. Looks excellent, can't wait to see the final results but it looks very promising. Great news that you've got potentially another 3000 grafts too! Lucky man! Thank you for your write up, I'm surprised at the lack of comments but keep it up because I'm sure your progress is being followed by a lot of people and it really does help guys like me. My hair loss is pretty similar to yours, I'm 26, and can totally related to using fibers, and eventually a ridiculous amount of fibers as the hair loss got worse. I shaved my head a year ago so don't bother with it anymore, am looking to have a procedure with Dr Bhatti in the near future, will have a consultation with him asap. Problem for me is that I don't have great density in my donor area so may need a lot of body grafts. I have been on finasteride for 3 years mate, never had a side effect. Don't let the bad things you hear put you off, it can do wonders for you, the bad side effects are rare, if you get anything then just stop. Having a positive frame of mind will help you too. Having said all that, I am no expert, just my opinion. Anyway, will be following your progress carefully, thanks again for your posts. Keep it up! And best of luck during the growth phase, must be very exciting.

Looks great, can't be fun when it all falls out but just think about the end result! Should look awesome! Congrats, will be keeping an eye on your thread as I am planning a procedure with Dr Bhatti in the near future. Excellent hairline pal

update please buddy!

Hey Transformer. Congrats on getting the procedure done. Looking good so far. I am hoping to have a similar procedure with Dr Bhatti and my hair loss is very similar to yours so I'm keeping a close eye on your thread. Any updates?? Looking forward to seeing them..