jimcraig152

More proof that your HT is enviable work brutha. Congrats! Looking forward to your next update in 30 days!

It is not urgent. Just want to breakdown of the grafts (singles, doubles, etc.) and to have follow-up consultations scheduled.

I've never used concealers. I tend to sweat a lot. Always have. Not sure if it is a good idea for a guy like me to use concealers. I am going to keep my hair short-ish through the 12-18 month recovery period, then grow it back to shoulder length. Going to be cool to be able to have long hair without forming over hair and locking it down with lots of hair spray to cover up the receded corners. That is of course if I don't need a repair procedure. Oh, on a side note. Absolutely zero response from MHTA even after I set up the Onpatient account.

I shopped out a mole that is very visible IRL so I can be more conspicuous. I am putting away the clippers from here on out until which time when I can give myself an actual haircut. Probably around Thanksgiving. But the reason why I took things down low was I wanted to count the extractions in the donor area. But it seems I lost that opportunity weeks ago now as the scars are too healed to get an accurate count. I marked off my donor area with a pen to do the planned extraction count (no double counts as I moved around my head). I am abandoning the counting process with these pics. But decided to see a comparison in grayscale so that the redness is eliminated. You can see how things are very much a line and the overharvesting at the lower edge of the donor area is very visible. Being Asian, we typically wear our hair very short on the sides and the back (as much as zero-1/2 guard). So throughout this process I will be keen on figuring out what is the lowest possible guard I can use for haircuts going forward. And here is a shot of the hairline in natural indoor lighting (fresh out of the shower). I left in my parts of my eyebrows so that you can see the hairline placement and design in relation to my face. I do feel this is done very well. Could have been better. But once this 12 months is all over with, will need to decide if I need to do any repairs as a result of the cornrowing. Also, the hairline is very linear. I know zig-zags/stair steps were added in to break up the linearity. But that will need to be assessed after the recovery period is over too.

End of Week 6 Update: I took my hair down to a 1/2 guard to get a better look at the donor scarring. I figure we are in quarantine anyway, so no big deal and it will grow back quickly. Much of the transplanted hair in the middle above my forehead hasn't fallen out yet. Hair in the corners have fallen out but are being replaced by slow new growth. Hoping this is the worst of the ugly duckling stage. I will put away the clippers and just let things take their course from here on out. I am seeing new pimples. There was a rather large one in the middle just above my hairline that quickly popped. The grafts in the upper part of the corners are filling in here well. You can see some pimpling. Same for the right side. The upper grafts are starting to fill in. But still, this bugs the hell out of me because, well, they are placed in rows. But those rows are so widely spaced apart. Hard to take a pic of the back donor and to get an accurate image of the state of things. You really need the camera pointed upwards towards the donor area to get the best picture of the scarring. Side angles show the scarring better. Right side. As you can see, the grafts in the upper areas are coming in well in this overhead shot. Left side is filling in faster. Frontal area hasn't lost many grafts.

My right eye was completely swollen shut by the 7th day too. It isn't real bruising through. Mostly it is the fluid injected into your head to expand the skin for the grafting process. For me, the swelling went away by the end of the 2nd week. Visually, the bruising went away by the 3rd week completely. You should be given instructions to begin removing the scabbing by the 7th day. Each doctor's recommendation is slightly different with the timeline. But once the scabbing is gone, the cracks go away too. I was a bit too cautious when it came to removing the scabbing. I was really hoping they'd fall out on their own. On @Melvin-Moderator suggestion, you do have to work them out by the timeline your surgeon suggests. Those grafts do grow before they fall out and the scabbing adhering to the follicles may impede that growth. Here is what I did, stuck my head under the shower and got it thoroughly wet with cold water. Then gently lathered in shampoo over the sink in front of a mirror. Then I cut open a produce bag (the kind you get from the grocery aisle in supermarkets no harmful BPA's) and wrapped it gently around my head gently to slow the evaporation. Set the timer on my phone for 20 minutes. Sat and watched TV till the timer went off. Removed the wrap and the scabs are now thoroughly soaked and easy to remove (they'll look like snot on your head). With a wet finger in front of a mirror, I used the tips to tease the scabs out. The scabs then either balled up and fell out into the sink, or they were pushed to my forehead where I could wipe them off. I never pinched to pick at a scab. If a scab was being stubborn, I got back at it the next day. Then I jumped into the shower to shower off the rest of my body (just a rinse of the head). Might take 2 or 3 days, but before the end of the 2nd week, scabbing is a thing of the past. Everything is looking good for you during this process. You are looking much better than the Sixers do. How are you feeling otherwise? Oh, don't forget to post donor pics.

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The donor looks untouched for 2800 grafts. There is no asymmetry. No over-harvesting in any one area.The hairline appears nature made. The graft placement exhibits no unnatural patterning. The angle of insertion matches your natural hair growth. By day 8, when the scabs come off and the hair grows out a bit, you will just look like you have tight buzz cut. Subbed to your thread and will follow your updates closely. Enviable work man. Congrats! Wow, just wow!

Hi @Shifty, Just to confirm, you use this shampoo, correct?

I am 6 weeks post op with Dr. Diep and I can tell you getting him or his staff to respond to me has been a chore. I am detailing that in my thread. But to answer your question, no. I haven't even been able to ask the question. But when I do, I will point my high powered intelligence into dissecting his answer :). Good luck with your decision and journey brutha. Keep us posted.

Me too man. I had been following his work for years before I took the plunge with Dr. Diep. And while I know I need to wait longer for the final results, the techniques observed can clearly be seen. The corn rowing/grid placement alone should be enough for you to make the final decision. But make no mistake about it, FUT will be a concern for you too. There are examples of good FUT scars and bad ones from Dr. Diep. They are on this forum. But like any of his work, it is a bit of a dice roll, coin flip, or you are laying of odds beyond 50-50. This isn't a witch hunt. Just a bunch of people suffering from hairloss who want to help other people make the best possible decision. Good luck with your decision man. Keep us posted!

The thinking is based on math: (1500 extractions) - (800 grafts) = 700 extractions unaccounted for and lost for future follow-up procedures Industry standard transection loss rate by an expert surgeon is what 5%, 10%, 15%? What is the rate of loss here: (700 unaccounted for extractions) / (1500 total extractions) = 47%. The count wasn't speculated upon or drawn up on thin air. Someone counted the extractions with a photo editor. I didn't reply to that thread but I did download those photos before the thread was deleted. I counted them myself and stopped at 1300. No doubt Specific-violinist60's new hairline will look good in 12 months. But his donor supply was salted for 700 units he won't have to treat progression in the future. You still have access to that thread's content. I'll help you count them for yourself in GIMP. 47% loss via transection or mindlessness. Let's just call it for what it is. Word. Take $1000 loss @Buffaloboy. I wish I could sell you my corn rows.

The thread was from Specific-violinist60 (27 years of age, mind you) from about three weeks back. He posted it under the heading "Someone Please Help Me Gain Peace of Mind" or something to that extent. He showed his 800 graft transplant procedure with photos of is FUE extraction site. He said he counted conservatively 1200-1400 exactions. Others came in and showed him what and 800 graft procedure looked like. More commented that his donor site did not look anywhere close to the proper amount of extractions for an 800 graft procedure. Someone came in and used a photo editor and counted all the extractions and came up with 1500. After that, the OP deleted his photos as he was stressed out and asked Melvin to delete his post. Anyone who saw that thread regardless of the surgeon that performed it knew it for what it was: a botch job.

I am totally envious of you. Though you have not yet had any kind of results from your transplant journey at all. At least in your current journey, you have the ability to weigh the cost spent and maybe already lost against having grafts placed as rows on your head. You don't have to contemplate what it is like to go from combing your hair in such ways as to disguise your hair loss, to combing your hair in the near future in such ways as to disguise that you've had a hair transplant. You don't have to worry yet about whether or not your donor supply was salted away possibly preventing you from future procedures. What a golden opportunity there is that still exists for you. Hope you make the right decisions and good luck.

End of Week 5 Update: My natural hair was really starting to come in and my transplants are growing but slowly. As I am a NW3, things are starting to look awkward. I am starting to look like Zangief: So I decide to take my hair down a bit. I start with a 4 guard but not much is coming off. I switch to a 3 guard and it hits the spot. I also want a closer look at what the donor healing progress is looking like, so I take the sides and back down to a 2 guard. I am still feeling the sensation of hairs in the recipient area pushing through my scalp. Usually, this happens right as I am ending my work day around 5pm. Donor area discomfort is still there. I am still on Min (2x daily) and Fin (1x daily). Day 14 into this process was the peak as to when the transplanted grafts were still viable and growing before they started falling out. Everyday in between, more grafts fell out and were replaced by new growth (at least I think it is new growth). Grafts shedding has slowed to just about to a halt. Nothing is falling out as far as i can tell. Let me know if you guys are seeing the grafts growing in. Another shot at the hairline from another angle. Left side of the hairline. Right side of the hairline. Good ol' Dr. Diep cornrows in full effect! With the hair taken down to a 2 guard in the back, you can once again see the over-harvested asymmetrical extraction. Right side of the donor area. Left side of the donor area. Overhead shot.

Too early to be so binary. But at this point, satisfaction is mixed.

Can't even tell that you have: Hairloss issues, and Had an HT procedure just 8 days ago That is the definition of outstanding work! Post pics of the donor area too brutha.

Yeap. You are good to go. That work looks spectacular! From the early results, you'll be able to sport a zero, half, or one-guard buzz cut when this is all over and no one will be the wiser. Be sure to capture the donor at this point as well. BTW, how are you feeling at this point, particularly in the donor area with the machine harvesting? I know my 2nd week was the roughest with discomfort in that area.

In my experience, donor area scabs and much of the resulting spotty red scars were all gone by the end of the 3rd week leaving just redness.

Who was your surgeon?

I'd be impressed if you can do the same by just from showing you the donor area. It is always about results, so we'll see in 8-12 months. But still, the techniques used contribute to that result in the end. I can't help but to admire a fellow brother's HT and be happy for him.

Good god. That work looks spectacular! Comparing the work done on you against mine from 4 weeks ago is like a Da Vinci painting to grafitti. Congrats man. You did really well with your decision!

Surprisingly, there was little scalp irratation for me most of the first week; 2nd week was miserable however. I made sure to adhere to my doctor's prescribed medicine regiment precisely: Anti-infection meds Anti-swelling meds Ointment for donor site Graftcyte shampoo sink wash to donor site each day. By Day 4, I could drip lather onto receipient site and when I was able to do that, felt great I was also given sleep meds, which I did not use at all. Pain meds that I did use only as needed. I probably didn't need the pain meds but it is always best to use pain meds as the discomfort teeters just before being pain. Best to keep pain at bay than to try to make it subside. I tried aloe vera, but it didn't do much for me. Might do better for you, who knows. Have some on hand. The only thing that really did the trick in remedying any pain, intense itch, or discomfort is a cool/cold shower on and after the 7th day As for short walks, you'll be fine. Like I said, you'll feel fine. Just you will look like you were in a motorcycle accident or something. Stay out of the sun and away from the UV rays and you'll be fine. Evening and early morning strolls out of the sunlight and you can walk around without the head coverings. I can tell you for much of the first week, my right eye was swollen shut. But there was no pain in the eye area. I knew it was just fluid pooling in my eye lids. Not a real shiner/bruise. Here are a couple of more tips for you: Ask for extra barrier sheets (7 should do it) and head coverings (10 should do it) You might want to practice sleepingat a 45° incline for a few nights before your procedure. See if you fall off at night. If you do, get some sort of arm-rest-type pillow that will keep you upright. Very important you sleep in the proper position for the first 2 weeks. And really think about fastening your hands while you sleep. Not like a bondage thing. But just enough to keep you from scratching by reflex while sleeping

Density aside, things look really good, your techniques in your procedure are technically sound, and you look like a different person since before your procedure. Positive vibes being sent your way brutha. Happy growing!

MHTA got back to me today via email after I asked them to send me another OnPatient invite. The previous three OnPatient invites filtered out as junk mail, so I never got them and never really was able to consult with Dr. Diep leading up to my 8/24/20 procedure after my 12/26/19 consultation. Those invites had expiered by the time I found out they existed. This latest OnPatient invite dropped into junkmail too. But at least this time I was told it was sent and was able to retrieve the invite from junkmail. I asked for those previous 3 items via OnPatient: Read out of the grafts placed (1's, 2's, 3's, etc) A copy of the agreement I signed on the day of the procedure A request to schedule regular follow-ups (1-month, 3-months, 6-months, 12-months, whatever the cadence is) Interested in seeing how MHTA performs with follow-up care and will keep you all posted. Also, a slight update with my current progress. I am now 1 month post procedure exactly. I would estimate that 30-60% of the grafts have fallen out. But I do see small sprouts of hair from the grafts. Will post pics on Friday and let you guys judge if I am seeing things. Also, the earlier pimple I found popped from showering later in the night after it sprouted. Oh well. Hope that makes it easier for the hair to push through the scalp. I do feel sensation in my reciepient area more so than I ever had since the procedure. If I am not mistaken, feels like outward pushing from my skull through the skin on my scalp. I may be imagining this, but that is what I honestly am describing what it feels like. Update on Friday.