UKLad81

You know i was thinking the same thing as you. I've seen so many documented procedures on here and with some of those, 2 days post op you can really tell they've had something major done to the head. I'm 3 days post op and apart from a few blood spots, the work still looks really clean. I'm also shocked that i have had no swelling and such minor pain. Whatever he does, he does it well! I'll be sure to ask him when i see him tomorrow and report back!

Thanks Speegs, and thanks for all your help during the process! Appreciate it! You're not wrong buddy, I'm so glad i have managed to hold on to frontal hair line otherwise I would've blown a fair few grafts in reconstructing and probably not got as much coverage. Yep I'm already thinking about another pass next year but obviously need to wait for it to grow out.

Hi mate, I've just had a great experience with Dr Cooley and i would highly recommend him. I was talking to him yesterday and he mentioned that he does a whole load of repair cases. If you do a search on YouTube for Dr Jerry Cooley you'll see a series videos showcasing Cooley's clinic. In the video you'll see he's performing a repair case on a patient who had a bad experience with FUE. Check out the final result and you'll see how good he is. There is definitely no harm in running your case by him and his team. They are all top notch!! You got some great surgeons listed there, i would also include Gabel in that list. He's another great guy and highly regarded. Contact Speegs for more information on him. Konior is a magician and as I have mentioned before, he was my first choice but couldn't get a date till next year. I would contact them all and speak to them either in person (or skype calls) and see where you go from there.

I just had my procedure with him earlier this week and he's a top bloke and his team are great as well! Look forward to seeing your updated pictures.

Thanks Spanker, couldn't have done it without this forum and experienced posters like yourself. As promised here are a few photos up until today (today being Day 2). Hopefully they render in the order that I uploaded them But to give you an idea, I've uploaded photos of my hair loss prior to the procedure and some photos of the day, day after the procedure including a picture of the scar if you can make it out. I've also added pictures of pre / post hair washes both yesterday and today. I'll also be getting the photos from Dr Cooley later this week so shall add them as well and also get the graft breakdown. I'll also try and get an idea of how he placed the grafts in terms of density. If anyone wants to see any additional views, please feel free to let me know and i'll be happy to accommodate. Once again appreciate any comments / questions.

Great write up and great to hear you had a fantastic experience! I wouldn't expect any less from him and his staff. I had a Skype conversation with Dr Gabel and he is exactly how you have described him. Very detailed, know's his 'stuff' and you can definitely feel his passion! I had the difficult choice of picking between him and Cooley (and he knew as well!), i felt so bad when i told him that i had selected Cooley. He was so re-assuring and went on to say that i would be in great hands. Anyhow, the work looks great and I'm sure you're going to have great result!! Heal well and please keep us posted with your progress!

Post-Op Day 2 Nothing new to report today. Have been spraying the new grafts religiously at the required intervals. Have just arrived back from having my second hair wash with the Dr Cooley's clinic. Today it was Stephanie who was also part of the team dissecting the grafts on my procedure day. During the hair wash she was applying a little more pressure round the donor area to remove some blood spots. I felt some pain here and there, again nothing too unbearable. The pain has really been non-existent which has really surprised me, in fact today i barely feel any pain whatsoever. My scalp does a feel a little itchy which Stephanie advised is fine and is all part of the process. Again its nothing major and just let it be. I'm sorting out my pictures and should be able to update the thread later today. Once again if anyone has any questions, please feel free to reply or PM me!

That's great to hear mate!! Like yours the procedure went very well, Cooley and his team did a fantastic job and worked meticulously through the 13.5 hrs i was there. Really impressed with how things are already healing and how pain free things are! I should have some photos and my thread (which is awaiting publishing) up in the forthcoming days!! I've been religiously spraying the ATP solution at the required times. I'd rather lose sleep then not follow the post op instructions! Overall a great experience!!

Hi folks, I just wanted to share my recent experience following an FUT procedure with Dr Jerry Cooley yesterday. I apologise if this post is long and detailed but I took a lot of value from all the various posters and wanted to give the same back. Days leading to the procedure I had been speaking to Cooley’s clinic in September and had various conversations with Lollie as well as telephonic conversation with Dr Cooley himself. After speaking to them both I kind of knew that this was the clinic I wanted to go with. I paid a deposit at the end of October for a 4000 FUT procedure. During the lead up, I must admit it was a mixture of emotions and last week was possibly the worst. At one point I just wanted to cancel and not go through such was the nerves and anxiety. But ploughed through it and as the day got closer the more excited I felt. Travel to Charlotte from LHR Some of you may be aware the UK experienced snow fall which as per usual played havoc with some of the outbound flights. I was due to fly out at 13:30 and came to know in the morning prior to reaching the airport that the flight had been delayed to 14:20. 14:20 came and there was still no news about what gate to go to or if the flight had been delayed or even cancelled, despite repeated attempts to find out information from the relevant information desks. Finally, we were given a gate and told to expect to take off at 16:30. We boarded the flight around 17:00 and didn’t take take off till 19:30. Which meant we didn’t arrive in Charlotte till 23:30!! Immigration control was no issues, just told them I was here for vacation and they asked some additional questions such as “where I am staying, how long, what I do for a living, how much currency I have etc?”. Breezed through with no problems. The clinic had arranged for us to be put up in the Hilton Garden Inn which is about 20 mins or so from the airport and approximately 5/6min drive to the clinic. Day of procedure I was advised by Aileene to be at the clinic at 7am. The hotel offers a shuttle bus and because of the late check in they were unable to schedule this for me at short notice, so had to get an Uber to the clinic. Arrived at the clinic and was greeted by Stephanie and taken to a room where I was asked to complete the normal paperwork. These were actually sent to me prior so I could’ve made my life a little easier by completing these prior to arriving. Stephanie was very kind and didn’t make an issue out of this. She was very calming and friendly. Once the paper work was completed, I was asked to choose some movies (like most clinics they had a large range) and also lunch (again loads of options and if anyone is interested I had a turkey panini wrap). Once this was all done Dr Cooley arrived to greet me. Following an initial conversation about goals etc I knew this guy was top notch, such was his confidence, personality and straightforwardness. I had my photos taken and the hairline drawn not that there was much to draw as I already had frontal tuft it was just a case of bridging the areas which had been lost. He looked at my donor and said it was excellent and that laxity was very good. We both agreed that the frontal third would be the most dense and continuing in to the mid-scalp area with less density and also shrink the crown outside in but not completely fill. Once this was all agreed, I was given my meds; antibiotics, valium and two prednisone’s (these are to help reduce any swelling). Once that was done, I was taken to the room. The room was exactly how I expected it to be. I had previously watched Joe Tillman’s visit to the clinic and if anyone wants to see it, take a look on YouTube. My hair was then slightly shaved where the strip was due to be taken. At the same time Brandy was taking my blood pressure. It was a little high, not sure why as I was super calm and excited. Anyhow, I was asked to lie face down on the chair for strip removal and was also given something to calm me down. After this was done I don’t remember much. I vaguely remember the anaesthetic shots and these were not as painful as I thought they would be. After this I must have dozed off as I cant remember anything thereafter. I do remember it was around 08:30 when I was asked to lie down. I woke up later and asked for a rest room break (I was literally bursting!). Dr Cooley advised that it wasn’t an issue as he was almost done closing the strip. I got up and felt a bit light headed, so sat down, I looked at the time and it was 10:30. Dr Cooley advised that it was a straight forward removal and there was no heavy blood loss or any other issues which I was very happy about. The strip was closed with sutures. After the rest room break Dr Cooley and Brandy started to make the incisions in the scalp and at the same time I think I counted six technicians in the room doing the graft dissection. I felt absolutely no pain at all during this process. I just had my headphones in and probably nodded off a couple of times. I cant stress enough how painless everything was so far! Time for lunch around 12noon. I asked Dr Cooley how the work was going and he mentioned that they had done around 2000+ incisions and would be inserting the grafts after lunch. We broke for lunch for about 20/30mins or so. I ate and at the same time was talking to the extremely friendly technicians. After lunch the work continued and at the same time I was watching the selected movies. Don’t really remember the first two films. I had selected the Batman series and I do remember during the Dark Knight, Dr Cooley saying a few dialogues which I found pretty funny. Dr Cooley and Brandy meticulously inserted the grafts for the next 7 hours. Yes it was that long but this is purely down to both being perfectionists. One thing to note the anaesthetic shots (I actually don’t remember where these were placed in the front, I assume around the forehead area) but a couple did hurt just slightly but literally lasts for 5/10 seconds. It really isn’t that bad at all! During the latter part of the procedure I was quite alert and conversing with both Cooley and Brandy. They are both amazing people and extremely friendly to talk to. They actually bounce off each other was really refreshing. I did joke with them that they are like husband and wife which they found quite funny! The last hour was probably the most discomforting mostly because I had been in the chair for almost 11 hours and my shoulders and neck were getting pretty sore. Again I ploughed through. We eventually finished the entire procedure around 20:30ish. I asked how many grafts I got and was told over 4000 which I was really happy about. Post op pictures were taken and I was shown the back of my head and the top. I was slightly nervous about strip and where it was being taken from and if it would be visible. I can honestly say that Dr Cooley and Brandy have done a fantastic job as I couldn’t find it at all. The top of the head looked pretty good considering I had over 4000 grafts inserted. I was given my post op instructions, shampoos, meds, my post op ATP spray which I needed to spray every hour and every 2 hours when sleeping for the first few days. Dr Cooley showed how it is to be done (very simple!) and he asks to put a cling film type thing on top immediately after to help with healing, keeping the grafts moist and for the spray not to evaporate. He calls it the ‘green house effect’. Once back at the hotel, I sprayed as instructed even through the night although not every hour, every two hours in fact. In terms of pain, I feel minimal pain around the strip. Out of ten, I would rate it a two/three. I’ve honestly taken a pain killer since the procedure and today is the day after. The strip area does feel numb which I fully expected and also expect this to subside over the coming weeks. Post-Op Day 1 As I said earlier I took a pain killer in the morning as I was expecting the pain to increase. However, after the pain killers had worn off I still felt the same, no increase at all. Since then I have had very slight plan on the left hand side of the strip. The rest of the donor area is still numb but pretty comfortable. I did notice minimal swelling above my eyes, nothing like what I have seen on the forums and defiantly nothing major. Dr Cooley advises to take two prednisone’s the following morning after the procedure which I did and the has gone down. As also mentioned above I’ve continued following Dr Cooley’s post op instructions in spraying the post op ATP spray every hour. I also got my hair washed at the clinic and what can I say, the work looks extremely clean. Just a few blood spots but generally it looks just how I expected the work to be. Amy who washed my hair even mentioned that she found it difficult find the scar as she needed to put some antibiotic cream on it. This was refreshing to hear! Dr Cooley came in after the hair wash and checked things over and he mentioned that all looked well and that it looks exactly how it should be. He also mentioned me as the ‘model’ patient as I barely moved in the surgical chair and also kept the whole team entertained (while I was awake of course!)!! I did ask how many grafts we managed to get and he advised that the final figure was 4108. I’ll get the break down later this week and will share. He also mentioned that he could get another strip of about 2000-3000 if needed and some FUE grafts after that (again if needed). Dr Cooley also recommends a Help Hair whey protein shake which I purchased and have started to take this as well. I just felt it cant do any harm. Any how the day has been pretty comfortable and very pain less. To summarise my experience so far, I’ve definitely had a great experience with Cooley and his team. They all work extremely hard and are very meticulous in everything they do. Cooley (and Brandy) is a perfectionist and wants everything to be 110% correct. I know the whole team has put in 110% effort so that I can achieve the desired result!! Dr Cooley and Brandy were by my side every time I would look up and I probably remember Cooley walking out for a short while but I am 110% confident that he was there and doing most of the work throughout the day!! It really does ease any anxieties when you know the lead doctor is there playing a pivotal part during the procedure and being so heavily involved! I’m on my iPad and will be receiving a CD with post / pre op photos which I will update later this week. I have some on my phone and again I will post later (just need to blank out the face). If anyone has any further questions, please feel free to ask here or PM me. Apologies for the long write up, I hope anyone considering Dr Cooley and his clinic finds this useful. If anyone is due for a procedure in the next forthcoming days with Cooley, I am staying at the hotel until Sunday and am more than happy to speak to anyone!

Hey Buzzbee, hows things going? You recovering well?

Thanks folks, some great advice here which i will certainly take note of. I'm doing the laxity exercise and have been doing about 20/25 mins daily for the last couple of weeks. How do you know if you're doing right? I know the sides feel looser whilst the back doesn't feel like it has changed. What should one expect?

Haha I know what you mean but then again your considering Reddy and he's going to cost you a fair bit so what's ?50 per month :-)

Probably is mate, I didn't do any searching around for it, just went on the boots website and cracked on from there. To be fair it's a small price to pay, if in the long run it stabilises your hair loss.

Hi mate, I assume your in the U.K. as you are considering Dr Reddy? I also asked my GP but they are just useless don't think the GPs here give hair loss that much consideration. Anyway, i recently started on Propecia and have been on it for the last 2/3 months. I get mine from Boots. You can go online and search for it on the website. You get the option of speaking to someone in store (basically fill out some paperwork about you and your hair loss, tell you about possible side effects etc) and then they you can buy some there and then providing you are applicable. If you don't want the in store consult you can just buy them, again on the Boots website. I did the in store consult first and they didn't tell me I didn't know already. So I bought a months supply in store and have just recently bought 3 months supply without going back to the store. Oh and it was also 1mg. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

It's not an easy process I'll give you that however, the more consults you do, the more you do your research and the more you speak to previous patients the easier the process becomes. Ask questions and don't be afraid of asking too many. until your satisfied you won't be able to make a decision. Believe me I've been doing the above for the last year or so and finally booked a procedure with Cooley.

Sorry to hear of your experiences. H&W have great reputations as does Feller. Not done any research on the other so can't comment. I would also consider Cooley and Gabel. They both have a no nonsense approach and have the patients best interests. Book a consult with all and see where you go from there.

London based, you and me both mate! If it's Europe you want to stay in, then Bisanga (Belgium), Feriduni (Belgium), Erdogan (Turkey) and Lorenzo (Madrid I believe) are all recommended on here. There maybe more but these guys seem to get mentioned quite a lot. Just an FYI Feriduni has a long wait list for both consults and procedures.

Think you meant FUE right? Why would you not go back to Rahal for a FUE given that you have already had direct experience with him and his clinic? Just curious. In terms of FUE surgeons if you're planning on staying in the US maybe consult with Konior and get his advice (bare in mind he has a long wait time). Gabel and Cooley as well. Outside of the US I hear the same names being mentioned Erdogan, Bisanga and Feriduni as top guys.

Hi Jonnyboy17, you'll probably need to upload some photos for people to assess and give any advice. Some before the procedure, after and how you look now should give a good representation. Maybe also advise who the surgeon was as well.

Jimmy86 this is so funny to read. I'm Indian myself and i can remember the first time i went and most recently in fact. It's an intimidating and daunting experience especially travelling around. Walking on the streets can be a nightmare as well. One thing i learnt very quickly on my most recent trip is do not offer any money to anyone that is asking for it. You'll get them asking for more and they'll get their friends and it gets quite aggressive. Keep yourself to yourself and you'll be just fine mate. Not sure how long you're planning to stay in India but you'll end up really liking the place after a couple of days, believe me! Hope your procedure goes well and keep us posted!! All the best!

@forgotpassword thanks that really helps. Thanks for reminding me about the spray. I'm aware that you can take up to 100ml on a flight but will check with Lollie. How long would you need to apply the spray after the procedure? If its just the first few days then I'm okay as I'll be staying in Charlotte for a week. Great suggestions with regards to the accomodation. I was thinking of moving somewhere else the day after the procedure and had Hampton as a possibility. To be honest, I don't plan on going out anywhere. Will be spent in the hotel catching up with some series on Netflix. With regards to the number of grafts I'll be paying for 4000 grafts and FUT procedure. @Speegs thanks mate, i really do appreciate all your help and sharing your experiences. Apart from keeping calm before, any other advice after the procedure. What about sleeping positions? Upright is what everyone else is doing? I'll be taking one of those in flight travel cushions which i will use for the first few days.

@forgotpassword, I'm hoping you remembered your password now! :-) Would you say the early shedding brought you back to what you looked like prior to the surgery or was it worse? Which areas of your scalp did you shed? Not sure I have seen photos but would be great to see a comparison. How's the scar for you? I imagine with all your hair at the back its concealed quite well? @Markee, best to reach out to the clinic and get a proper price but to give you an idea, I paid just under $4 a graft (FUT).

Thanks a lot, the decision was very hard but like others have said on other threads "you really cant go wrong with either of them!".

You're not wrong at all it was a huge decision made even harder choosing between two great doctors. I know I was shaking when I said "yes" and paid the deposit. I will certainly document as best as I can. Thank you!

Thanks mate appreciate your words! I know what you mean. I do look at the balding areas and say to myself "relax, you'll have hair there in 7-8 months". I just need to work on my patience game and not panic. In terms of the game plan, I'm planning on remaining in Charlotte for a week. I just don't feel comfortable travelling the day after the procedure. I imagine any swelling would've subsided by this time as well. What would you recommend? As its also Xmas time by the time I go back to work in Jan it would've been about 3-4 weeks. I'm just dreading the ugly duckling stage. I can cope with the transplanted hairs being shed as I have almost nothing there at the moment but I'm a tad worried about the frontal forelock. I guess I would just have to apply more toppik!