BrightIdea

I didn't have donor hair from the chest or beard, but would if I had enough chest/back hair. If I was fairly certain scarring wouldn't be an issue, I'd definitely have it taken from the neck area of my beard in the event of another HT, but I haven't been able to gather enough information to make that determination. I think things to consider on the beard would be how it might scar. You seem to have a darker complexion, so depending on how you scar, you might want to consult with a physician on how the scars might contrast to your skin. I found this thread helpful: StaggerLee Gets Repired By Dr. Konior: 1710 FUE, 150 Beard Hair Grafts Into Scars - Page 4 - Forum By and for Hair Loss Patients All the best.

Hmm, not sure what to make of that. If you must know if these are grafts, I suggest saving the structures and showing your doc if you get the chance to see him. Definitely don't touch or pick at the area. Just keep the attitude of letting nature do it's thing. Everything will fall off when it's ready. I've seen cases where some dudes are battling crusts for over a month after the HT, but they just let it be, and ended up with an amazing result. Here's a good example: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/184961-konior-hairline-restoration-6.html

How long after the HT did you observe this? Have any pics?

The hairs and structures collected in the image were captured fresh out the shower. I believe the tissue pictured was more "scabby" in texture and form, or even crust-like, but they look clear/transparent because of how wet my head was after a shower. The feel of the structures was more like wet scab attached to hair.

Thanks for this input. It's encouraging. I was extremely ginger and followed directions. Looking back, I would've not touched the area for 2-3 weeks and let nature do it's thing, but I'm not sure that's the correct care with regard to crusting. I'm far from it having "worked out" for me. I won't really know until a year. And that's the pain of it all, but I'm not gonna count hairs or obsess. I've done enough of that leading up to the procedure to know it's not productive. Whatever happens from here on out, I know I took action on something that's bothered me for a really long time. I've done all I can, so I'm gonna do my best to be at peace with it and exercise patience. All the results I've seen from my surgeon have been outstanding. He's assures me I'll be happy when this is all done, and I believe him.

Excellent progress. Big difference overall. Congrats on the weight loss and the hair gain!

I've been in touch with my doctor throughout. His communication is excellent. My hairline still looks great. I did have a lot of grafts put in to thinning areas. At this point, I'm not really able to distinguish my native hair from my grafted hair. They did an amazing job. Thanks for your input. I didn't touch the grafts at all days 1-6, except for light misting, gently pouring water using a plastic cup on the back of my head and letting it flow over the front. Day 7, when I started tending to the area a little more, is when I noticed these structures. I may have been overzealous in the removal of crusts. No bleeding whatsoever. My doc wasn't in the day I reached out, but gave me the option to stop by his office and consult with another doctor and the techs. Of course, I just couldn't wait, so I elected to see another doctor instead of waiting one day (I know, I should've just waited another day). While there, one of the techs were inspecting my scalp with a q-tip and similar structure came loose. I collected it from my forehead and showed the doctor, to which they replied, "Yea, but there's no follicle." My doc advised me not to stress about it if the grafts weren't touched 4-6 days after surgery. He viewed the image above and said they do look like follicles. He eluded to the possibility of the early healing bonds' integrity being compromised if there was forceful manipulation of the grafts. There's nothing to be done at this juncture except wait with respect to regrowth. He also assured me multiple times he'd correct anything I was unhappy with. They really did an excellent job. My hairline still looks good and I marveled at how clean it was post-op. I had been anguishing at the possibility that I may have done something to compromise the beautiful job they did. Thanks for your input everyone. Though this doesn't seem to be normal shedding, I was able to find one case on the internet where someone was losing these type of structures - kinda fleshy/crusty pieces with hairs attached, and they reported their HT turned out fine: https://www.baldtruthtalk.com/threads/18068-Crusts-scabs-falling-out-look-like-grafts-after-hair-transplant Just gotta wait and see I suppose. If anyone went through something similar, please chime in and let me know how it turned out.

Hey all, This is my first thread. Thanks to everyone that has been so helpful in making my FUE decision. I'm worried about my FUE procedure. I'm 16 days out. Out of an abundance of caution, I didn't touch the grafted zone days 1-6 except to apply ointment. After that, I began being a little less conservative in removing crust and flakes. Most hairs that have come off in the process of applying ointment or flicking off crust seem to have a bulb-like structure, or something that could perhaps be a crust or dried flesh attached. It's not just a hair. It's kinda like a drumstick-type structure attached to a hair, or in some cases, it's only this crust/flesh-like structure without the hair. I did follow directions and have been very gentle in handling the grafted zone. I understand that shedding can begin between 1-5 weeks. I'm wondering if these are grafts that didn't take or grafts that I possibly damaged when gently removing crust, or maybe they're native hairs shedding. Maybe they're what normal shedding looks like. Does anyone have any images of hairs or follicles they lost after their procedure to compare? Can anyone describe what their hair looked like when it came out after their procedure? Was it just the hair, or was there something attached to it? I visited the doc on Day 9. My doc wasn't in that day. It was either wait or have another doc inspect the scalp. Another doctor and 2 technicians examined my head and said they didn't see any blaring gaps where grafts could've fallen out. Furthermore, doc said the grafts are pretty much anchored after 4 days. No one was alarmed. Any input would be great. I just want to know if this is normal or not.

This is looking great. I think the front and midscalp is gonna fill in nicely. Even though the hairline hasn't had the time it needs to fill in at 4 months, you can already see the way it's beginning to frame your head and face when comparing these images to your pre-op photos. The back is undetectable. There's no evidence of persistent redness in the grafted zone. I bet no one even suspects you had something done. There are so many good things to take away from your most recent update. Thanks for sharing. Congratulations on the progress.

I can imagine it can be quite itchy after the procedure. It's plausible it happened in your sleep. I can see myself doing something like this because I've woke up with minor scratches occasionally with no idea how they got there. For what it's worth, from all the posts I've seen, the grafts are most vulnerable up until the 2 week mark. Must be encouraging to observe evidence of growth. Congratulations on the sprouting.

When is your 3 month mark? Yeah, I heard he's extremely meticulous and detail-oriented. Another reason I chose him is because he executes the entire procedure. Many HT doctors only harvest the grafts, and have the technicians/staff finish implant to the recipient site. I'm not too far out!

I'm not too far out from taking the same plunge with Konior. My biggest worry is facing the phase you're going through. Apparently, it's totally normal though and you just have to weather it. Keep us posted with updates. Your post will help a lot of other people. Thanks for sharing.

@StaggerLee123 Thank you for posting the requested images. It provides a good idea of what someone can expect from using the neck as a donor zone. Much appreciated my friend.

I'm scheduled with doctor K. Any chance you could post-op and present-day pics of the neck/beard donor area? Or any pics at all from present day if you don't have any immediate post-op pics would be appreciated. Congrats on your look! Amazing results.

Congratulations on your amazing results. Is that to say that Dr. Kesser both extracts the follicle and implants the graft himself?