kimura50

I had pretty much the same amount of hairloss, I went with FUE with Dr. Bisanga and it turned out great. Check out my thread if you want to see the before and afters.

You look 10 years younger now, amazing progress so far. 

You look 10 years younger now, amazing progress so far. 

22 minutes ago, jj51702 said:

looks great. how long did that gap take to fill in from month 7?

I think a few months after it improved. It was only quite noticeable if my hair wasn't styled and I combed it back wet or with no product in. But yeah now it looks much more natural IMO.

Thankyou for the kind words everyone. This forum and its members were instrumental in helping me make the right choice with surgeon.

Hi everyone. Firstly apologies for the lack of updates, to be honest life just got in the way and I'm at a point where my hair isn't on my mind 24/7 like it used to be. However I'm basically at my 1 year post surgery anniversary. So here are the latest photos.

Keen to get some thoughts and opinions.

As per title. I'm a few months off the 1 year mark of my surgery, I was an early grower and am already at a stage where I am happy with my results.

However today I was out in the sun for an event for around 2 hours. I wore sunscreen but neglected to get one area near my hairline where the grafts have already grown in. There is a small patch of light sunburn (more pink than fiercely red)there now on my skin and creeping into the transplanted area. I can see becuase I have the sides and back in a short fade style. I say 'light' becuase it's not super red, no blistering and there is no pain associated with it at all.

I've been very careful this whole time to avoid sunburn at all costs so to trip over so close to the finish line I feel like an idiot. Should I be worried? 

Just giving this a bump as I've been lazy with my updates, will post some new photos soon as I'm approaching month 9.

For the first 6 months of my post op phase I was extremely strict about covering my hair at all costs when I was outside. Even if it was a quick 10/15 minute walk somewhere.

Now that I'm past the 6 month phase my Dr. (who is highly regarded on this board) has said it's ok for me to let my hair get some sunshine. Though I have heard others say it's 12 months minimum before you should be exposing your hair.

Thoughts? I'm not talking 4 hours on the beach or fishing, talking 30 minutes or less walking around. Basically what I would do pre surgery. And usually just out of habit I'll duck in and otnof shade where it's available too.

7 month photos. As mentioned earlier, I'm at a point where I can style and cut my hair however I please which is great. However I am a little bit concerned with the gap in the front on view in centre.

Not sure if I'm overthinking and it's normal. I can hide it somewhat when I style it but I am hoping it fills out and thickens over the next few months.

20 hours ago, Payam said:

Amazing result man, does Bisanga supervise the entire surgery? And do you know how many he does a day? Also what was the price? Comparing this to other results with similar or even more grafts from different surgeons makes me question their claimed graft survival rates.

Bisanga does the punching of the grafts and incisions. His techs did the harvesting and placement, he would pop in and out to make sure it's up to standard as I believe there was one other patient he was operating on that day.

The price was around 9,000 Euros from memory.

On 8/6/2018 at 7:17 AM, jj51702 said:

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

 

kimura, how was ur sleep before and after after surgery? Did u take anything to help u sleep? Were u able to sleep on the plane?

No real problems with sleeping in the hotels. I don't generally sleep on planes anyway, so I was awake for 95% of my flights apart from nodding off for a few minutes here and there.

6 hours ago, jj51702 said:

Hey man

I'll take some tips on travelling stress free to Europe. I'm scheduled to go to Spain in sept for my ht and I'm quite on edge. Thanks 

I wouldn't say stress free entirely but there are definately things you can do to minimise the stress significantly. Also worth noting Spex did a great article on travelling for HT's (hopefully he sees this and can provide the link). Some tips I can provide from my own experience though, this revolves predominantly around keeping the precious grafts safe and free of any risk to damage.

1. Check in to your flights as early as possible to secure a window seat (preferably near the toilet also so you can pop in to spray the saline on there). if you're lucky enough to get an emergency exit window seat even better.

2. Wear a bandana not a cap. I've travelled previously for vacation and worn a hat through the airports, without fail I've been asked to remove it at check in, customs, immigration and any security checkpoints. With the bandana I was only asked to remove it twice in total at immigration and one security checkpoint, and after mentioning the word surgery they said I can move on without removing. (Though if they insist ask for a private room).

3. Wait until the majority of people have left the plane before getting your luggage and leaving. All you need is a stray elbow or luggage falling on your head to undo all the great work by your surgeon, just stay patient.

4. Buy a decent neck pillow, I got mine from one of the airport shops.

I flew into Belgium on a Monday afternoon, surgery Tuesday, hair wash by Dr Bisanga on Wednesday morning and on a flight back later that day. Unlucky for me my connecting flight home got delayed so I had to stay the night in Singapore, my face was swollen as hell the next day but apart from feeling incredibly self conscience it had no impact. Back home by Friday and the rest is history

Official 6 month update. Very happy with my progress.

I'm at a point now where I'm really not worried about my hair at all anymore, I went out the other night and it was windy, raining and one of my friends messed my hair up as a joke, pre-HT I would've been panicking and looking for the nearest bathroom to fix it up. Now it's not a factor at all, it's a good feeling for sure. 

Looking forward to seeing how the next 3 months pans out.

From the sounds of things you and I were in a very similar position pre HT. I went with Bisanga 6 months ago and have absolutely no hesitation in recommending him even at this early stage.

Check out my thread in the Patient results forum if you want to see photos for reference.

On 7/31/2018 at 10:23 AM, Spanker said:

Wow. What a haircut...looks great. 

Thanks Spanker  if not for the wealth of knowledge you provided over the years with some of my other threads (under old username). I would have jumped into a FUT at 22 years old with a less than stellar surgeon, rather than being patient and doing my due diligence with research first.

2 hours ago, JeanLDD said:

Definitely makes me jealous how quick your growth was, especially comparing my (non-existent) 3 month today with yours. Your current situation reminds me of my 7-8 month mark in the first run through, majority of your hair sprouting a month earlier too. Very balanced and aesthetic hairline design too with natural looking temple closure.

Thanks  results so far are above and beyond what I ever expected.

On 7/28/2018 at 1:11 PM, Rawkerboi said:

Looks good, any pictures of dry hair?

Here you go, just came back from a haircut.

Sitting at 5 and a half months now, found an old photo pre-HT on my phone with my receding hairline exposed under bathroom light after a shower (still wet obviously).

Out of curiosity I tried to create the same photo for comparison now with the same conditions and I'm very pleased. The strength of the light isn't quite as strong but you get the picture

I did a long haul flight to Belgium for my surgery and managed to get through it very smoothly with minimal stress.

Spex's link above is very helpful so give that a read first and foremost. A few extra tidbits that helped me -

You mentioned about what the best hat to wear is. Personally I'd opt for a bandana if possible, especially when passing through airports, I've travelled before for non-surgery purposes and worn a hat and have been asked without fail to take it off at check in, immigration, security etc. every time. When I had the bandana on I had to go through 4 airports, and only was asked twice if I could remove (and as soon as I said the word surgery they let me through straight away).

Unrelated to physical items to bring, but where possible when you're flying home, check in as early as possible to secure a window seat, preferably near the toilet as well. So you can pop in every hour or two to spray the saline. When the plane lands wait until most of the other passengers have left the plane first so you minimise risk of someone or something knocking your head.

Best of luck.

On 7/15/2018 at 5:48 AM, Bill - Managing Publisher said:

Kimura,

im concerned that you said you usually post under another login name but are having problems logging in.  What is your other username?  Did you try the forgot password option?  Theres a nite there too about contacting me of you’re having problems logging in.  But I don’t have an email from you.  Send me a private message and let’s get your other account working for you. 

By the way your hair looks fantastic for only 5 months.  

Best wishes,

Bill

Thanks Bill, I PM'd you.

Official 5 month update. The only thing concerning me at this stage is that bare spot right in the centre, but still early days so I'm hoping it fills out over the coming months.

I had a haircut about 2 hours ago hence the short back and sides

9 hours ago, TrixGlendevon said:

I have just turned 33 but my situation is worse than yours. I also don't want to take meds and will just shave my head if a surgeon won't operate on me unless I do. The consultations will be interesting. Is there anything in hindsight you wish you had asked before that you didn't in the consultation(s)?

I asked the usual questions you'd expect around the surgery, recovery time, what expect with end result etc.

The one I forgot to ask which I wish I did, and it did leave me a bit uneasy at first until I saw all this early growth. Was the experience level of the techs that he uses for the surgery.

In my case, Dr Bisanga did the punching of the grafts and the incisions. His techs did the harvesting and the placement and Bisanga would pop in every now and then to make sure it's acceptable. They were complete professionals throughout but it was always a question in the back of my mind.

I had FUE, I was told 1 month. To be safe I started weights after 2 months and back into BJJ after 3.

55 minutes ago, TrixGlendevon said:

Great result. I have a consultation with Dr Bisanga next month. Looking forward to it. How old are you?

29