echoes

He didn't mention any specific risk factors. The only explanation that comes to mind, is that my skin tends to scar easily and form big scars. One physician explained awhile back that this is linked to having flexible connective tissue (eg, my joints are relatively flexible, I have flat feet, etc.) I mentioned that to Dr. Erdogan but he didn't indicate that this was any concern for the FUE. Who knows. Some people seem to say that fair-skinned patients are at higher risk, but I am not convinced. There are plenty of cases of fair-skinned patients not getting redness while others do. I haven't seen any real evidence or rationale for that. Anyway I am somewhat in the middle, as far as white caucasians go so I doubt that'd have been a big driver one way or the other for me.

Hi jcs87, thanks for writing! When I saw your post I took some photos to share, but I haven't had a chance to get to it. I'm not sure if the photos really show it, but please have a look. The overall transplant I think went well, results are now stable and are pretty similar to what I shard in my last update, so I'll focus on the recipient redness - it's still there. In the current state, it's only noticeable under specific lighting conditions (if there is a light coming down onto my hair from directly above, for example). This is despite me having tried a few things: - hydrocortisone (recommended on this forum, and by ASMED) - aloe vera, almond oil (recommended on this forum, and by ASMED) - aspirin paste (recommended on this forum) From months 0-4 the redness made huge improvement But from month 4 until today (16 months post-op), improvement is slight if any. I take hope in that a few members have posted that their recipient redness took a few years to fade!! Not sure what else there is for me to do? To be clear, overall transplant result is good. My concern now is more long-term, if the skin is damaged and if something changes with my hair and this recipient area becomes more visible... **EDIT** sorry the one photo seems to come out upside down, even though on my PC it displays fine; I don't see any way in the post editor to ensure the attached images display the right way...

Congratulations on your excellent result (so far, with more sure to come). How is recipient area redness? It looks like you still have a tiny bit?

Looks like you've made great progress so far, and you seem to have handled the ugly duckling phase with grace. The best should be yet to come. Glad as well that you suffered very little recipient area redness.

Hi pandapanda - for a general before/after comparison, if you scan through this thread you should be able to see the evolution. Let me know if you're curious to see a specific angle. Side effects of finasteride. In 11 years of taking it, no sexual side effects. Some people report it causing anxiety, though I haven't experienced anything serious or debilitating. Of course, I do sometimes get anxious about things (like anyone I suppose) - would I experience less of that if I weren't on finasteride? Hard to tell.

Other than redness I am really happy with things! By now the ugly duckling phase feels like a distant memory... Regarding vertex, do these photos help? Note my hair is wet here. Yes, I had 900 grafts placed in a roughly 50cm2 area in the vertex, and I'm happy with the result. My goal for the vertex was not to restore full density but just to give it some light coverage. Possibly in the future, I might lose more in the vertex area and want to reinforce slightly.

8 month update with photos! Sorry for the delay; here are a few photos I just took - some with dry hair and no flash, others with wet hair and flash. Am sharing these with ASMED as well to see what they might have to say about the redness.

Hi DEB1982, sorry for the delay in writing! Current status at about 8 months post-op: * I don't feel like I have gained much density in the last month or two. It could be for me that peak growth was months 3-6 (after ugly duckling), and from month 7 on it just fills in more slowly? * Recipient area redness is still an issue. I spoke to ASMED about this at month 5, and they asked me to wait until month 6 to see if it would resolve itself. It didn't so they suggested 1% hydrocortisone, applied 3 times a week over a one month period. I have just finished that, and don't notice any improvement. I've been quite busy but in a few days I'll manage to take a few good photos, both to upload here and to share with ASMED to see what they suggest now for the redness.

Actually I'm not sure what my hair thickness was, the punches used were 0.7mm on the side and 0.9mm at the rear, if that gives some sense. Vertex and future loss: The vertex was planned to receive 900 grafts over 50cm2 (density of 18/cm2). I'm not sure exactly how strictly they stuck with that plan. Also, once at a certain age, having an intact hairline but a density of 18 follicular units per cm2 in the vertex is probably an acceptable look? Probably I will progress to Norwood VI eventually and need another procedure to deal with the expanded vertex. Dr. Erdogan estimated me having a remaining donor capacity of 4000 after this procedure. Shock loss: yes, in the recipient area (specifically in mid-scalp) Swelling: Yes, for about a week after the procedure. Thanks!

Hi DEB1982, not a pain at all. I appreciate you following my progress and I'm glad to be of help, after so many previous posts on this forum helped me. Here is my 5 month update Yesterday I got my first normal haircut since the procedure (it was my second haircut since the procedure, but the first one, I only had them trim the sides since the top was still thin and short). It was actually because of the haircut that I had in mind to post another update here. Obviously I am looking much better now, and feeling great about the results so far, and looking forward to continued progress!! Only issues now are some lingering redness and numbness in the recipient area, though both seem to continue improving, albeit slowly.

Sorry for the delay, I've been terribly busy the past few days! Here are some photos from 14 weeks post-op Finally I'm past the point of being extremely self-conscious in public, and am now only slightly so. The recipient area redness is still there, though much fainter than before, and furthermore it's now hidden a bit by emerging hair. Hopefully over the next few months it fades completely. There is continued tingling, itching, etc. in the scalp so all seems to be progressing well! It was at around 12 weeks post-op that I finally got my hair trimmed, and just the sides at that. The top hasn't been touched yet, though I suppose that around 18 weeks post-op I will be back to getting normal haircuts. There certainly were times a month or two ago that I looked at my fugly recipient area and questioned what I'd done, but patience (and more patience) is everything. Prepare yourself in advance for months of looking awful. If you're lucky then you might get through it faster, but be ready and be patient! I'm already feeling very excited and am looking forward to the months of further growth. DEB11982, I hope this helps as you prepare! I'll keep posting updates, probably every 3-4 weeks at this point...

Hi DEB1982, I'm indeed coming out of ugly duckling phase! This coming weekend marks 14 weeks - I'll have a chance to upload some photos then.

Thanks for asking, sorry for the delay in replying. I got a notification you posted but have been travelling for a few days. I'm now a bit past 10 weeks and am really pleased with improvement the past few weeks. I'm starting to notice regrowth in the recipient area. Lots of tingling and itching, which are hopefully signs of continued growth. Still some redness though it seems to be slowly improving (the photos this time make it look worse than it really is. especially the top view). Still some numbness, and I expect it may take a few more months for that to go away. I hope I'm well past the worst of it! My appearance is better than a few weeks ago so hopefully the ugly duckling phase is almost at an end. I'll post another update in a few weeks, hopefully things continue to progress!

Do you mean the initial consultation? I don't remember exactly but it was something like 2-4 days. I guess this may depend on their current volume. After the initial consultation email response time has generally been within a day or so, both in the weeks before surgery and after surgery.

Thanks for the encouraging words! It really helps, now in the ugly duckling phase where progress is slow, and my recipient area still looks red and bare! Here are some photos from yesterday morning at 7 weeks post-op. I'll keep uploading photos every week or two for awhile, hopefully it helps some readers here. Apologies that the lighting doesn't match the past few weeks, I just moved! I still have some numbness in the recipient area, though less than a few weeks ago. I think I see a few translucent hairs coming up in the recipient area and I'm hoping this is the beginning of the regrowth!