Betterhair

I suspected my nw scale was around a 4 but asked Arocha at my consultation. If I remember correctly I think he said 5/6 which I was shocked to hear since I have thick and somewhat curly hair. My sides are very thick and high , so the balding doesn't appear to be as bad as it is. Maybe I was in denial . Arocha stated that after the transplant I would be a 3.

Here is a current pick 3 months and 11 days post op. This is the part that can be frustrating as I look worse than prior to the transplant. I had quite a bit of shock loss in the recipient area. Hair is coming through nicely though and my left side (your right) is more dense. My right (your left) is lagging but I heard this is common. My right frontal hairline strip did not suffer shock loss and actually is hair from a previous transplant 10 years ago. You can also clearly see some red dots and i guess that's a good sign revealing additional hair popping through , I think. I am really tired of having to try to camouflage the recipient area, its quite a chore but I must stay positive and keep my fingers crossed that there is hair at the end of the tunnel. Arocha said I will be amazed at the before and afters 8 months post op. So, just 5 months to go

Okay, I am exactly 3 months post op and I have some new hair coming through. More so on my left side though. I do still have some original stubble that has not shed , so giving that additional time. I will try to post some pics this weekend if I have time. I have a long way to go for sure but being patient. I'm really trying not to check it daily as that can definitely drive one crazy. Chow for now.

several reasons: it's cheaper, more density per cm squared than FUE, I have curly hair and don't wear my hair short, therefore the donor scar won't be noticed , even though it's microthin. With fut, you retain full density in donor region, with FUE, the donor site will be permanently less dense.

Almost 9 weeks post op info. About 80 % of the transplanted grafts have shed. Original stubble in certain areas still remain. some stubble has grown some have stayed the same. Redness is almost gone and some pimples (minor) are forming but scattered. This is a sign the new hairs are starting to come through. Have along way to go and patience is a must. Looking forward to 3 month mark as I believe I might start to see some new hairs sprouts. Will keep you posted and pics will be shown at 3 month mark. Chow for now.

I've been thinking about your situation and of course pictures speak a thousand words , so without seeing your lopsidedness I thought I might inject my thoughts here. Just an assumption of sorts. When Arocha performed my transplant, same situation involving who was assigned per task. Only difference is my was a FUT and from what I have read, the FUT does yield more density than FUE. However, what is perplexing is the fact that one side is more dense than opposing side and you are attributing that to a variance in skill level between the techs. So let's start from the onset with my FUT procedure. Arocha incised the donor site (strip) and closed the incision. Step 2 involved the techs dissecting the grafts while the Doc then proceeded to make the recipient sites. After the recipient sites were completed, the Doc stepped away and the 2 techs got to work , same as your situation, a different tech on each side began placing the grafts into their recipient sites. I distinctly remember the tech on my right was very talkative ( nothing wrong with that, she was funny and polite) and the tech on my left was pretty quiet. Now, from what I have read, the techs only have a certain window of time to transplant the graft into the skin, even though the grafts are placed in a saline solution or in other cases , the patient's own blood . This is crucial ! In addition to that, whoever dissects the grafts and groups the follicles, that person must be well trained or there is a chance the follicles could be damaged prior to install into the scalp. Now, let's say every follicle( this is the component that's grows the hair) is unharmed and is placed properly into each recipient site within the safe time frame recommended. Technically, each follicle should grow, taking into account the patient followed post op instructions, which should prevent any harm to the grafts and follicles. So by the 10th day post op, the follicles are now permanent and should adapt nicely to their new location. With all of this being said, I clearly asked Arocha's clinic what their guarantee was since I was about to invest a lot of money and I'm by no means rich, just a teacher so I wanted assurance besides reviews and Photographs . The response was 95 % of the grafts will grow and I've always wondered what could occur to the other 5%. It will be interesting to see your pics and I'm curious if the FUE robot can in some instances damage follicles thus explaining imbalance but I'm not sure on that. As far as placing a graft into a pocket in the skin by hand per the techs, I don't know enough info to comment on the actual expertise needed to perform that task. I do remember asking Eduardo if the Doc implanted the grafts and he smiled and said "no , if he did it would take him 3 days". I then asked how skilled the techs were and if they had been doing this a while and he responded that they were very good and experienced. so there are my thoughts

I don't live in Houston and there was no mention of a follow up by his clinic. I suggested I fly down 10 months post op.

Absolutely agree. How much longer do you have until he determines if a touch up is necessary?

So will you have to pay additional costs if density doesn't improve or will Arocha fix it free of charge since some follicles didn't take?

Interesting that you asked. I asked Arocha this during my consultation and he said a 6. I responded "really" in total disbelief. My hair is very thick and medium curly. He also informed me after the transplant I would be around a 2-3. I still couldn't believe I had reached a 6. I only had frontal region covered. My crown is thinning aggressively, so that obviously contributed. I guess I look around at others who are shiny bald and I'm not that. I thought I was a 4.

Weight loss was intentional. My blood pressure was going up along with weight. I started walking each day and cut out bread, fried foods, pasta, sugar and so on. I did get a comment from one colleague that said I looked good and what I did. Yes, it took a lot of discipline, especially on my little holiday trips throughout the summer. Feel much better and thanks. I plan on losing an additional 5-8 lbs but my wife doesn't think I have to . I'm 6'3 went from 245 to current 220.

I had a 2500 FUT with dr Arocha on July 3rd, 2018, so that puts me at around 6 weeks post op. Slight shedding in one small region in donor area and the recipient area has probably shed around 40% so more shedding to come. Scalp redness is still present but turning light pink and healing well. Arocha made all the recipient sites himself . I have a long way to go before I see results but I am confident, it will be good!

Okay, went to work today and nobody noticed anything or commented. I managed to style the hair and sprinkle some infinity fibers on top. In addition to all this, the last time my colleagues saw me I was 25 lbs heavier. I have the summers off. So here I am thinking there was a possibility that they would not only notice my hair situation but also my weight loss. Nothing ! Not one comment on either. So I guess we sometimes we assume that people can notice changes when in actuality, they are living their lives and don't really pay attention to details of others.

I have experienced some shock loss and even a little in my donor site as well. From what I have read, these hairs( not follicles) react to the trauma imposed from surgery. Since it is the hair shaft and not the follicles that shed, hair will grow back in a few months thus the shedding is just temporary.

My first hair transplant with dr Blaine Lehr ( Oklahoma City) 10 years ago was not good. All he did was remove the strip and his techs planted. My recent HT with Dr Arocha ( Houston, Tx USA) was totally different. Consultation was very thorough. Not only did Dr Arocha remove the strip but he also created all of the recipient sites, then the techs went to work with the implanting. I think having good techs implanting definitely helps with fatigue , sine it's such a long process. Doctors can get fatigued!

I might be misstating the vocabulary here. I guess the follicles remain in place regardless of shedding or not. The hair shaft eventually disconnects, dies and as a result, sheds. Correct? i found this info from Bill which helps to understand what's going on: "Most if not all the grafts will most likely shed in the next few weeks. Some of the transplanted hairs will grow for awhile until they shed while others have probably already disconnected from the follicle beneath. These hairs won't grow since they aren't connected to the follicle and will eventually shed. This is all normal. All the follicles underneath however are alive and well and all the hair will rise again starting 3 to 5 months after surgery." again this is per Bill

Okay, I will try to simplify my question. I have read that the transplanted follicles shed around 3-6 weeks post op. I am 5 weeks post op and I still have around 40% of the transplanted hairs in place and they have not grown. I guess my question is this, if these hairs do not shed and do not grow, is this a sign that the graft did not take? Or does one need to use tweezers later on to remove them to allow the new graft to come through?

And yet another question? A moderator might have the answer for this. I am 5 weeks post op and about half of the recipient site hairs have shed. I guess the rest will shed in time. Here's my question, if a transplanted graft /hair does not shed nor grow, does it mean that graft did not take?

Well, I start work Tuesday. I'm going to order Dermatch today. I have worn a hat everyday when I'm outside. Quick question on dermatch . This won't irritate the recipient site , correct?

The grafts cannot be damaged outside 10 days post op. Maybe an moderator can chime in here. From what my doc informed me and some research, once the hair follicle takes root, you are fine and again that's around 10 days. Now I guess one can get an infection but I don't know if that can interfere with the follicles.

True, but it's Brad Pitt ! He could sport any hairstyle and look bad a$$

Actually, that pic looks pretty good. i would like to take this opportunity to apologize for my post on this. I didn't mean to offend anyone and maybe I should have given more thought to my word choices, ideas and overall thought on this. I just have been confused when I see some men in their 40's and 50's sporting this undercut but call me old fashioned, I will be more positive. At least they have hair ! chow for now

Yes, that's it! I see 50 year olds sporting this. The 1940's , interesting. maybe I should bend the rules a little when my hair comes in and give it a try

I already know I'm an old fart