Rbs

Day 7 Update - Wash Day!! So the donor and recipient area had healed pretty nicely as you can see below and finally took a shower as instructed to wash it off. Pic - Recipient Area Pre-Wash First, I soaked the gauze with lot of saline water and put it on top of the recipent, covering it well and let it remain for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, I worked in some J&J Baby Shampoo nnicely through the gauze and gently massaged over the gauze. And let it soak for 30 minutes. And kept spraying the saline to keep it nice and moist. This helped soften the scabs pretty thoroughly. And then, I took of the gauze ad started a very soft massage with light touch of the scab, again with generous amounnt of shampoo. I realized it helps if you are standing in front of a mirror and doing it as the area is still numb so you cant really control pressure via the feeling. Looking at your fingers really helped. I EVER used nails or any kind of scratching motion to dislodge the scabs. Just genttly working in and moving. This was good enough for most of the scabs and they were coming off well. Then, I washed off gently with a cup all the shampoo and scabs. Letting water carry or dislodge any that were loose. I used distilled water (2 gals) for this instead of tap water. Thankfully, I could not see ANY hairs (or grafts!) in the sink! Phew! As you can see in the picture, ALL the scabs on my temples came off but only about 50-60% did on the front. Which was fine by me. Plan to be try this again tomorrow. Pic - Recipient Area Post-Wash There seems to be no redness in the recipient areas and even the donor seems to have healed well. Esp, was amazed at how well the sideburns had healed! Pic - Recipient Area Post-Op DAY 1 Pic - Recipient Area Post-Op DAY 8

He's still on vacation but the number (Calls / WhatsApp) is being managed by Suryakant.

Absolutely! Good luck with everything and ping me anytime!

Same here as Berba. This thread (amongst others) was my go-to bible... I took the plunge and had mine done last week. Fingers crossed!

Thanks guys! I thought so too. Fingers crossed! Seems very uncharacteristic of Eugenix. I can put you in touch with Anil; let me know via PM?

Quick Day 5 update. Looks like the donor and recipient area are healing well. At least, that's what I feel...Feedback appreciated! Pic 5 - Recipient on Day 5 Pic 6 - Donor on Day 5

While it's a great idea (I remember doing this for almost the entirety of our Peru trip ad was so worth it!) I think it;s an overkill if you are going with Eugenix. They have multiple folks who speak perfect English available throughout. Esp during the airport-hotel trips etc.

Sorry if I wasn't clearer; I traveled from the US. o issues leaving or returning; pretty smooth.

Folks, I just finished my HT in Eugenix and am back in the US. Thought I'll weigh in with my opinion. The law says you shouldn't carry more than US$5,000 in cash PLUS US$ 5,000 in travelers check by law. I recommend using third party transfer sites to do pre-payment in advance to avoid carrying cash. In parts or full. If you are, I highly recommend Remitly and NOT Xoom (By Paypal). I tried both ad Xoom asks for a bunch of extra documentation. Time to transfer is 4 days end to end. Arrive T-2 Day evening. This will give you time to relax, get your blood work done at Eugenix (T-1 Day) and your surgery on the D Day. When they do the blood-work, depending on your departure date, ask for COVID test to be done as well as you need that to get back. To India - It's painless. COVID test taken 72 hours or less before travel (NOT 3 days, 72 hours!), Letter from Eugenix and the acknowledgement from the AirSuvidha portal where you upload all this. To US - COVID test, declarations are done as part of the airline check-in process e-Visas and Medical Visas ARE being issued. I wouldn't say they are painless but not too much hassle. I could hear/see a lot of activity in Eugenix around this and as always, the super helpful folks there were coordinating with patients and consulates to make it painless. If you plan i advance, I don't think you'll face too much of a hassle... YES!! I highly recommend flying out AFTER 48 hours of surgery. As per Dr Arika Bansal, the recipient area heals in 2 days. I would say 7 days is an overkill but I can see the merits of doing that i terms of risk reduction. I didn't have the luxury of time so instead booked business class for return. Also, the surgery MAY NOT BE done inn one day. Eugenix/Dr Bansal is very thorough and meticulous. It took 2 sittings for me for 2589 grafts as they were slow and sure. Which is what you want! THIS! I was quoted around $400 for all the tests. I paid INR 3,000 (Approx $40) plus it was super convenient; the lab sent someone to my hotel room to take the blood and emailed me my reports! You are spot on. I thought about this as well (I stayed for 2 days)Even with all the precautions i took and despite having a secluded, flat pseudo cabin for the return flight, I could hardly sleep because of paranoia. If you can do this, then why not! Other comments/tips: 1. Take a bunch of button downs as you don't want the tee's/polos scraping the spot accidentally when you wear them. 2. Keep a 100 Ml (3 Oz) spritz bottle with you as a travel/TSA friendly saline spray option 3. The >100 Ml saline bottles are allowed through security checks/TSA with a doctors note IF they are sealed and labeled. They let the sealed bottle through but a larger spritz bottle I had with no label on it was not let through. 4. Travel pillow helps to ensure you don't roll over in sleep. Not just while traveling but even on your hotel bed! More details and progress updates on my dedicated post, if you guys are interested. Let me know if you have any more questions! Good luck!

Good catch! Yes. The doctor added some there (~300 grafts) as I had some loss in that area. Primarily to improve the aesthetics of the ew hairline.

Yes, they did and I dont see anything in their multiple results that show otherwise. For me, it was simple. There are already so many variables (Genetics to bumping your head post op) in play so I did the best/maximum I could do to reduce uncertainty...

New York actually. Direct from Newark to Delhi. 4A-ish I'd say. Had slight retrograde alopecia near the nape and ears as well No. Asian.

Day 3 (Or Day 3.5? Who knows with these time zones!) So, after bidding goodbye to a rained out/flooded Gurgaon, I am finally back in the US. The trip home was uneventful. I was SUPER paranoid about two things; regular saline spray and ensuring the recipient is protected from bumps, direct sun or jealous looks. Which basically meant that even with a flat bed, I didn't sleep a wink the entire 13.5 hours trip back home! The travel was pretty painless and jet lag is still manageable (4:30 PM now and I landed at 4:30 AM with no sleep) The recipient and donor areas look good with the redness and swelling reduced. Or maybe lights hitting my sleep deprived eyes differently Pic 4 - Recipient Area

D- Day No. 1 Anil picked me up from the hotel and drove me to Eugenix around 11 (They sent a 3rd party lab work provider to the hotel room around 8 to do some pending bloodwork and a COVID test for my return trip). Anil and I had a good chat about his HT experience and progress since his surgery 2 years back at Eugenix. At the clinic, Dr Arika and I had a discussion on the hairline design. Since we had chatted twice over video, it was quick. I asked for a minor change so that the widows peak looked like what I had in the past. She amrked/edited accordingly on my scalp/hairline. After that there was a allergy test for quick anesthesia and the customary pictures BEFORE and AFTEr a partial trim. Not gonna lie, it wasn't easy seeing my (not so magnificent) locks being trimmed 😀 Onto the Operation Theater where I was made comfortable. There was a large crew there apart from Dr Bansal who made every effort to make me feel comfortable. Anil was also there for a long time and checked/insisted on breaks for stretch, bathroom and lunch! Overall the surgery was as expected. The most uncomfortable part was the local anesthesia jabs but after those, it was painless! I had opted for the super premium package so Dr Bansal did the design, 100% of slits and 100% of extraction. Was talking to her a little while under the scalpel/punch about hair density, her thought process in picking the right grafts etc... Since we started late and took breaks, we couldn't do the eitre procedure of 2,589 grafts inn one sitting. Around 8 PM, when the first batch of ~1,400 was firmly in, we called it a day. I was given instructions (Not unlike post op ones) and went to the hotel for some rest and decided to continue this earlier the next day around 9 AM. D- Day No. 2 The next day, we started as decided at 9 and same process as the day before. And by 3 PM or so, we were fully done. I had planned a three day stay so this meant I had a solid 36 hours AFTER the second part to recuperate. Was given the meds, post operative care instructions and then dropped of at the hotel! Also, the initial estim,ate was for 2,500 grafts but it eneded up being 2,589. They refused to charge me for it though i was fully expecting to pay! Like I said multiple times, the level of customer service is unparalleled! Pic 3 - Immediate Post Op after all grafts were implanted

After years and years of deliberation, denials, comb-over/unders; I've finally decided to take the plunge. And after talking/consulting with around 7 surgeons, picked Eugenix as the best choice. Apart from the amazing results they seem to consistently churn out, what swayed me was the fact that they seemed to genuinely care; as in not as a patient or a customer but genuine care. I could see that in every interaction I had with them. Prologue I never had thick hair but it was pretty good till 35. Then the decline started with receding hairline and thinness. This led me to fist be a silent stalker in this forum and research as much as I can. And then early this year, became more active as I had a (self imposed) point of no return set for 2021 Have to say thanks to @Melvin- Moderator @Dr. Suhail Khokhar multiple reps from other doctors and of course, @Abhinay Singh! And also, to the well detailed stories from @paddyirishman @Looking for HT and @Zoomster I hope to do the same for the community (And this post is a start) Had my initial consultation with Dr Arika Bansal that @Abhinay Singh helped coordinate early this year. She answered all my questions and on call drew a pretty balanced hairline and estimated around 2,500 grafts to achieve that. I wanted to be a little less aggressive and leave around 2,500 grafts for a procedure down the road (If I chose to). After picking Eugenix (Reason above!) Decided on doing this sometime in July and booked with tentative date as mid-July. Sometime in May I picked the dates and booked my flights. Thankfully the travel ban didn't affect me so there were no last minute cancels. We had one more video consult with Dr. Bansal (And well, thousand line chat with Abhinay with my never ending questions...) and with nervous excitement set out to fly the 16 odd hours to Delhi! Day (-) 1 Landed in Delhi around 9 PM and (Thanks to a surprisingly super fast immigration/validation process) was in the hotel by 10 PM. Eugeix had booked me into the Hilton nearby and the hotel sent the car. Both Suryakant and Anil called me multiple times to check and welcome me. Have to say, their dedication is amazing (Much more on that later). Got to the hotel and after a heavy dinner (United food sucks!) slept early to prepare for the day ahead! Also, Eugenix folks were kind enough to setup a blood-work appointment at the hotel (Had some tests I couldn't do in the US plus the COVID test to fly back) (To be continued...)

No pressure but same here!

On a related note; I am planning to shave a few months before to kinda ease into the new look. And shave maybe 2-3 weeks before surgery (Which should be OK) How soon can you shave (Or close trip) AFTER the surgery? Plan is to maintain the look 5-6 months till the grafts stabilize...

@mustang How are you measuring the DHT levels in scalp and serum? Are there any at home kits? I am about to start Finasteride (Oral, 1 mg a day) and want to benchmark before and after. And if side effects occur, reduce dosage, frequency OR move to topical; and continue measuring.

You break it down really well...I am having the same dilemma and (Not to argue or prove it's the right choice) I am going with option 3. (Who cares what factor resulted in your amazing hair if you are committed to both) Why?? Well, my friend ciaus explains it better than I could... I want to do it now. Not going into details but this is the best time for me for so so so many reasons. And, IMHO, a lot of the risk of the doctor doing a mediocree/bad job can be mitiagted by picking the best in class, ethical and highly skilled doctors!

I assume lower the better right? Sorry for the noob question. As @Melvin-Moderator and @Dr. Suhail Khokhar are aware, I am straing on this journey and evaluating options and doctors along the way. Dr Wesley recommended non-surgical treatments to fortify and possibly regrow hair BEFORE attempting surgery and I feel it's a great idea. He has apparently had great success with a topical blend (Of Fina and Duta) combined with dutasteride mesotherapy. (Plus thrice weekly use of a ketoconazole 2% shampoo, and a series of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) procedures)

Thank you doctor. I would prefer all topical. While I know that the Fina side effects are greatly exaggerated, I don;t want that weighing on my mind and causing unnecessary second guessing and psychological impact. Have you had any experience with the topical fina/mino blend? Attaching more photos of my donor area in the back. Thank you for your help!

Hello Everyone, Long time lurker (4 Years+) who has read through a lot of the posts and want to start off by saying that this is one of the best communities on the internet! And not just for hairloss. Kudos to moderators and frequent contributors for keeping it that way for so long! And the care, thoughtfulness and diligence in answering even the most inane or redundant of questions is amazing! That's why I know for a fact that any solution(s) I choose and doctor(s) I pick will be based on the guidance from this community! I am a 39 year old male and sporadic male pattern baldness exists in family (Dad and uncles) but not too spread out. Over the last 5 years, I am experiencing general thinning and receding of hairline and am at a stage where I need to explore options. Hence the first step question: Looking at my donor areas, do you guys think I am a good candidate for FUT or FUE?\ If Surgery; I'd prefer to do FUT first and save for FUE later as recommended. Does that sound good? OR Should I fortify my hair with medication BEFORE even going for surgery? I am not very keen on oral and would rather do THIS topical Dua/Fin combo that seems to have generated good results (Lot of discussions in this forum as well) Pics are attached and keenly looking for your advice and guidance!