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3rd day after procedure: day 4 title

3rd and final wash @ clinic before heading home

Day 2 after procedure

After 1st wash

Day of surgery:

first few pictures are wet hair from the shower before Dr Cooley's pictures followed by pictures from the first night

night before surgery

Adding in the last few pictures prior to surgery

Hi Everyone

I had a procedure done with Dr Cooley in July 2017. I've been a VERY LONG TIME lurker.. been a few years now. Looking back I should never had been lurking to begin with.

I am currently in my mid 30's. My obsession with hair started at a young age due to my paternal side of the family being bald and on my maternal side, the only one really going strong being my maternal grand father. In my late teens, an uncle of mine (currently a NW6) who I love dearly, jokingly said I would lose hair at the front of my head. He didn't realize I would take those words to heart and so started the obsession of a head full of hair.

A couple of years ago, my father was contemplating going for hair transplant # 3. He had done 2 priors at Bosley and the results left much to be desired. It was around that time I came across Dr Cooley and decided if all went well with Dad, Dr Cooley probably has me for a patient as well. Come July 2015 dad and I drove up to Charlotte and he had his procedure. That was also the day of my first consult with Lollie and she confirmed what many had said: I had a thick head of hair however I was thinning. At that point in time, the recommendation was 2k grafts and I even had a possibility of lowering my hair line. Meds were recommended however I was on propecia in 2010 for 4 months however i was very unpleasant to live with. I was always tired and when I wasn't tired I was very angry (not my character). For the sanity of my marriage I had to get off it.

Dad got the hairline he wanted and the results were very natural. Other than Mom, my wife and myself, no one knows he had a 3rd procedure. During his procedure he said Dr Cooley was with him through out which wasn't what he was expecting. He was very happy with the experience he received.

Nov 2016 I went to see Lollie again for my 2nd consult and I had lost more hair than my initial visit. Dropping the hairline wasn't an option and an increase of grafts to 2500 was recommended.

I left bummed out but knew if I was to do this, I found my clinic. As you will be seeing in the PLENTY of pictures I will be sharing, I feel my identity and confidence is tied to my hair.

I started having a receding hair line in the late 200's but could cover it up due to the way I styled my hair. I hated it but made peace with it. Then I started thinning infront and on top. Haircuts were painful. I couldn't do a middle parting anymore. Each visit resulted in a further corner parting to give the illusion of density.

My wife had no clue how thin my hair was till the night before my surgery when I showed her the pictures.

On my drive to Charlotte from another state in the South East United States, I was unbelievably nervous. Kept asking myself am I doing the right thing. At the amount of money I was spending, I could easily feed a huge amount of people in a 3rd world country.

I chose to have a procedure with Dr Cooley on a Monday because in my mind, he and his team would be fresh from a weekend. He does all the surgeries and I figured he'd be freshest on a day off vs a day after a procedure. **This is just my opinion; my father had a procedure middle of the week with Dr Cooley and it turned out great**

FUE wasn't on my list as I keep my hair a medium-long length. FUT was the way to go for me but I hated the concept of having skin removed. Prior to this, the only surgery I've ever had was wisdom tooth surgery so I had no idea what to expect.

After meeting with Dr Cooley and Brandi (prior to meeting them you take some pills, choose your movies and lunch selection) pictures are taken and hair goals are discussed. Then you're taking the operating room, shirt is removed and given a gown to wear and made to lie on your chest.

As I was zoning out I heard clippers turn on and I was thinking weird.. I thought I was having an unshaved FUT.. then I was knocked out due to the meds (needed the sleep). Later on I find out the donor strip was trimmed down and not my head

I was knocked out for the strip removal, I stirred a little when I felt the sutures going in but then I went back to dreamland.

Woke up and slits were being made..I have no idea how I got on my back or how my glasses were back on.

Dr Cooley and his team work like a well oiled machine. Each of them knew their role and the most efficient way to get it done. When they spoke there was no tension, just calmness and focus. A professional family (not sure if that's a real word?) in a way.

Upon the conclusion, Dr Cooley appeared to be very happy and excited. His demeanor was contagious and I started feeling and believing. He gave me the sprays to use and the after care instructions, Brandi called the hotel for the shuttle to come get me and I was on my way.

Followed the instructions throughout the night and the next day came in for my 1st wash. Prior to the procedure I decided I'd stay back for another 2 days to rest and recover as this procedure is comes at a financial and physical cost. Best to protect my investment by not overdoing it. Before putting the deposit down I badgered Lollie to see if I could come in the clinic for my 2nd and 3rd washes as well which they did.

I believe Amy( I apologize if the name is incorrect) does the washes and it's so soothing. After all 3 washes on Tues, Wed, Thurs Dr Cooley came in to inspect his work. The work looks so clean. The only time there was blood on the pillow was on the night right after surgery. Otherwise there was no discharge.

I have a lot more to say but I will add it in my future posts as this is an ongoing process. Some will say why didn't I put this up a few months ago? Mainly because I wanted to heal in peace and not be worried. Having a positive mindset helps healing and I didn't want to hear any negative opinions. Unfortunately there are some posters who criticize patient's choice of surgeon or work done and that causes doubt. Doubt causes stress which could slow the healing process.

I didn't want to know my hair graft count til a month later as I didn't want to have disapointment if my goals weren't met. I'm glad I waited as I thought I'd have the most avg hair/graft ever but I didn't get close to my goal. Had I known on day 1 or 2 that may have caused me more frustration than anything else. I am writing this on day 95 so here are a few notes I jotted down so far:

2575 GRAFTS

SINGLES = 931

DOUBLES = 1076

TRIPLES = 479

QUADS = 89

TOTAL: 4,876—found out on August 16 2017: Day 30

Hair/graft = 1.89

Day 1= Monday July 17 2017

Day 2 = Tuesday July 18 2017

Using a pitcher to shower till Tuesday August 25th= Day 8

Regular shower Wednesday August 26th = Day 9

Sutures removed: Thursday August 3 2017: Day 17

Using Suture cream 2x a day till Saturday August 5 2017: Day 19

First signs of grafts falling: Thurs August 10 ; Day 24

First hair cut after procedure: Day 80

I am very sure I've not added a few notes so I will add them as I go along. The hardest part so far is being a "patient" patient. I thank Dr Cooley, Lollie and team for treating me with respect and understanding before, during, and after my procedure.

I will be sharing plenty of pictures as to document the before and after process. I think I went overboard with it but I prefer reading posts with more pics than less pics.

To see the timeline of each picture, click on the picture and in the header bar there should be a date/day of when the picture was taken as a refernce point.

The following pictures are all pre-surgery; as I post a new post, I will indicate which day it is

Have you tried parting your hair differently/style your hair forward to give the illusion of more hair?

You still have a few months; try to stay positive and re-visit it in 2018. Maybe you'll need another procedure; maybe you won't. Surgery is still surgery. If you're open to using fibers, that may help give the illusion of increased density as well.

UKlad: I got your pm on my personal email; I can't respond to pms on HRN..I've reached out to the mods but no response.. I will try to get you a detailed response by the weekend

what a jump from 4 months to 5 months.. congrats on the great result

HTREGRETS:

Thanks for the info. Everytime I click messages I get a blank page saying can't be loaded. Wondering if this is something the mods can help clarify. How does one get their attention to look into this?

Mods: how does one receive and send private messages? I've tried to do so but the page keeps showing up as :

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com is currently unable to handle this request.

quick question to the mods: how does one respond to private messages? I received a pop up in my personal email that I had a message but when I get on HRN to view it the page won't load.. can someone please assist? thank you

Greetings,

I had an unshaved FUT procedure done with Dr Cooley in July 2017; I've kept my pictures and notes offline for now as I'm only about 86 days out so the results won't speak for themselves for a few more months. I will start posting what I've documented next month.

Did you speak to Lollie? She's great

As for my experience, the whole team works great under Dr Cooley's leadership. While I was awake I remember Dr Cooley being there for close to the entire procedure.

If you have any questions in particular feel free to reach out to me and I"ll do my best to answer them.

Fantastic result

MayiraP0chu: I'm currently 7 days or so ahead of you; can you post pics of the white tissue? I haven't come across it on my scalp

Work looks very smooth; any chance you can share pictures without any product in the patient's hair?

well done

Great work Doctor; does Wendy have a fanclub set up yet?

Quick question to those who have done FUT/FUE:

When you go for physicals/doctor appointments and the nurse/doctor ask if you've had any recent surgeries and if so what: how do you respond?

Patient must be thrilled; congratulations

I love how natural the final result is

Fantastic result

Patient should be thrilled! How old is he?

very nice