JSecret

Original Test Transplant Info I had a smaller test transplant with Dr Konior a couple years ago that went well and scheduled a larger surgery (approx. 1500 grafts for this spring). My surgery was scheduled for March 31st. Dr K and his staff was amazing and kept office traffic to an absolute bear minimum due to the whole COVID epidemic. They also drove me to my hotel afterward so that I didn't have to have anyone come pick me up and spent some time checking everything out and cleaning it the next morning. They have always been extremely easy to talk to, made sure pain was manageable at all times, and continued to follow up with me in the days after surgery. I did get a ton of swelling on day 1 and especially day 2 but by 4 it was down. I experienced almost no paint or discomfort on the front of my head but the scar area was very painful for a few weeks, definitely worse prior to stitches being removed. All hair has now shed and I'm starting to see a few itty bitty hairs peeking through, I cannot wait to see how it ends up progressing!

This response is exactly why I am trying to post results and so forth both here as well as a long detailed explanation of it all on my facebook to friends/family. This is a condition a lot of people seem to hide and women in particular are so embarassed that they just don't talk about it at all which in turns makes the next woman feel like she is dealing with it completely alone. I am doing my part to break that cycle, get it out in the open, and let other people know they aren't alone.

This past Thursday (a week ago today) I had a test transplant with Dr Konior. He did a small strip removal (approx 1x2 inches) in the back of my head and put approx 100 grafts into the center of the hair loss region. The entire surgery took about an hour. I have experienced discomfort in the back where the stitches are but the frontal region has had no pain which is mostly due to a numbness in the area. The grafts appear to have taken well so far and now we just wait and see. Dr Konior has advised me to check in with him around the 4 month mark if we are seeing growth. At that point I can set up for a full transplant provided the grown continues and stays. I cannot say enough good things about the people at Chicago Hair Institute.They are kind and patient, checked in with me after the transplant, and were very willing to work with me as an individual. I live a bit farther away so they had no issues using disolvable stitches, I preferred to drive home so we used a local and no sedation, my Mom was a complete wreck and they dealt with her terrifically. As a 30 year old woman dealing with hair loss this is the most relieved I have felt in a long, long time.

My biopsy results are in from Dr Konior. A biopsy from the core of my problem area showed end stage scarring alopecia and a biopsy from a better covered area showed burnt out scarring alopecia. Dr K has said he can do a test area but that's it until we are sure the area is stable. He also said an option was medically managing it with Dr Nadimi, but I am not sure what medical management consists of. I am not very familiar with this outcome and unsure where to go next. But being a 30 year old female something has to be done and the sooner the better. Advice?

I had my consultation with Dr. Konior and Dr. Nadimi on Monday morning (Dr. Nadimi was present for part of it but I never got to see her since she was only there during the biopsies). Dr. K said he could not make any good guesses on what is going on by the visual appearance of my hair, since it is an atypical pattern. His only thought was frontal fibrosing alopecia. He did say the hair looked great, very strong and thick, my scalp looked healthy (including the bald spot), and I believe he said he saw some miniaturization of hair (which I do not know a lot about). However I have a lot of shedding going on for unknown reasons yet. Two biopsies were taken, one from the core of the problem area, the other from a control area on the edge in a "healthier" area of hair. Biopsies were sent to Dr Troy in Wisconsin and now I not so patiently wait for the results.

I have not tried any medications at this point. It is something I literally hid from everyone until recently. My general dr has no experience with any of this and at this point I felt it was safer to wait, go to the consult with Dr K, and then see what he says... he very well may recommend I start a medication or shampoo before the surgery to see how it is effecting me.

Okay I have scheduled a consult with Konior for June 12th... like I said his partner/apprentice there was available within 2 weeks but I have not been able to find any of her work on the internet and would prefer someone with more real life reviews.

I may look into him as well, thank you! I am not going to take graft estimates to heart I just wanted to see a ball park number. The hair on the rest of my head is EXTREMELY thick which makes this even worse, everyone is constantly commenting on how beautifuly my long thick hair is and they have no idea what I'm dealing with. I actually have to get it thinned every 6 months or so or I get bad headaches from the weight... but of course the hair I lose is right front and center, ugh.

I am assuming you had a good experience with him as a surgeon as well? I have been through about 4 forums reading all the experiences I can find on him and can't find anyone with complaints so that makes me feel good, and him being less than 3 hours away helps as well! Any idea what his wait time usually is?

You actually posted this right as I was getting ready to try and edit mine. I just now stumbled upon a picture of my aunt I haven't seen in years and she has the exact same thin/bald spot. So apparently this is something that is running my family (lets hope it skips my daughter, for her sake). I finally broke down bawling over it last weekend though after YEARS of covering it with keratin fibers and showed it to my mom... mind you nobody had ever seen my head like this before as I did such a good job covering it up. She immediately offered to pay the money for the surgery if I am a candidate. Now I cross my fingers that I can get an appt with Dr K. 2,000 grafts is much lower than I was expecting and would be great! I really hope I can get this fixed... I see how much misery the guys on the boards here go through with these kinds of situations, let me tell you being a girl going through it is even worse.

I am a 30 year old female who has been dealing with gradual hairloss since approx 2008. I have not yet seen any before/afters in regards to this type of hairloss, only full front where they are repairing hair lines in women. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I am setting consults with surgeons at this point and will be completing necessary bloodwork, labs, physical as well. So far I have emailed for consults with Dr Konior and Dr Shapiro - I know they are both top of the line but are they good for these types? I originally received an email back from Dr Nadimi at Konior's office but was unfamiliar with her and couldn't find info on the web. Also, does anyone have a rough estimate on what I am looking at as far as grafts or even if this is surgically fixable?