harrylloyd

Haircut at 17 Days Post Op

Today which is 28 Days Post Op

15 Days Post Op

8 Days Post Op

My scalp got really dry and it looked like I had really bad dandruff but after talking with Dr. Konior he said I needed to be a little more aggressive when shampooing and soak longer. So after I did that the scabs all started coming out and the dryness went away. Lesson was that it's ok to be a little more aggressive when shampooing around the 7th day mark.

5 Days Post Op

Hi Everyone - I've been lurking this super helpful forum of ours for the past 1+ years and I thought it's about time I start contributing back.

Background
After extensive lurking I reached the conclusion that Dr. Konior had the most respect and was regularly being praised as the top doctor in this field so I decided to go with him. I had a few email exchanges with Dr. Konior and after looking at my pictures and hair loss he recommended I needed around 3,000 grafts in the frontal region but if I wanted a more conservative approach I should get 2,000. I liked Dr. Konior's email response time and he answered my questions really well so I went ahead and booked my appointment with his office in June of 2017 as he's booked out a year in advance. I think now it's more like 1.5 years.

Pre-Op Pictures
All pictures in the maroon shirt are a month before the surgery.

Day of Procedure
I flew into Chicago with my brother the day before the procedure and we were at Dr. K's office at 6:30AM the day after. I do believe it's super helpful to have someone that can help you during the first few days. All these people that say that it doesn't hurt, it's not a big deal, and you can be back to work within a few days are full of it. The reality from my standpoint is that yes, the procedure itself doesn't really hurt since you're drugged and numbed up but you know and can feel you had something serious done right after. So expect a certain level of pain and give yourselves a week or two for the initial recovery.

Anyhow, once I got to Dr. K's office I started getting a bit of cold feet because while I was waiting I was flipping through his published book and the pictures can be quite scary. And all those questions whether this is worth it started going through my mind. And when Dr. Konior came in I started asking him some basic questions again and I don't think he really liked that lol. In his mind all of that should've already been answered in our emails and today was not a consultation it was the day of the procedure, which I agree with him on. So after a little bit of light humor (he has a dry sense of humor which I really enjoy) and examples from Dr. K I was a bit more at ease and I said let's do this thing. After his main tech trimmed the front portion of my head and showed me my scalp in a mirror I was in complete shock. I had no idea how bald I truly was. Dr. K actually did say he was surprised how much volume I was getting with my hair. So this also made me feel better that I was making the right decision.

After this, Dr. K asked me where I would want my hairline and I sort of showed him and he said that it would be way too low and require too many grafts. He then drew a hairline which he said wasn't too aggressive and wasn't too conservative either. So I said you're the expert, I'm willing to do whatever you want. So I agreed to the hairline and then he spent around 15 mins or so perfecting the hairline and taking pictures.

Once that was done, I was given a valium and taken to the OR. By the time they started numbing my head I think I had already fallen asleep. I would wake up a few times for bathroom breaks and a granola bar but other than that I believe Dr. K and his tech knocked the procedure out. I do believe Dr. K does all the placement and hard work. I had asked him this before the procedure and he said he does all the placements and I have no reason to doubt that as every time I woke up I could hear him behind me.

Post Op
Dr. K placed 2,177 total grafts. He charged me the initially quoted price for 2,000 grafts so I appreciated that about him. 
Graft numbers: 1's - 675 ; 2's - 1364; 3's - 138 = 2177

I'm gonna quit rambling and start posting some pictures. Let me know if you have any specific questions. 

On 7/7/2018 at 9:29 AM, hairlossPA said:

I always wonder why we never see more reviews and results from the main surgeons that are booked months to years in advance.

I rarely see posts about Konior yet he is booked over a year out. You would think there would be more results posted. I'm not saying Konior doesnt do excellent work, its word of mouth at this point, but I would like to see more by him and the other big surgeons (Diep, Erdogan, etc...)

So this convinced me to finally open up an account on this forum after lurking for the past 1+ years. I think I owe it to this community because everyone has been a great help and it's time I start participating in the dialogue. In regards to Dr. Konior, I actually had my procedure done from him in June and I'm about a month out. Nothing to rave about at this point as we all know this is a very timely process. But I do agree with you, the fact that Dr. K is so booked out and everyone keeps saying he's one of the best if not THE best in the US is why I went with him; however, at the same time it does worry me when I don't see many posts by his patients. So I'm going to start my own thread and start documenting the progress there. I just hate having to take pictures