yalla8

Hey guys! I recently underwent a FUE hair transplant to fill in recession around my hairline and temples. To recap my background: I'm 28 and have been on finasteride for about 5 years. Fin stalled my hairloss but some of the damage had been done by the time I got on it, and I've become more self conscious of my hairline ever since. I figure I was a Norwood II to III. So I took the plunge to get a hair transplant about a month ago thanks in part to this community! I don't want to share the name of my surgeon here, since I've seen how they can significantly bias people's perspectives. But I will say that he is considered at the top of his game where I'm from. And I had a very pleasant experience with him and his team of 5 technicians who worked on me. As you can see, the plan we came up with was the keep the hairline pretty much as is, lowering it by only 0.5cm, to fill in the temples, and add a bit more density to the forelock. (Keep in mind looking at the photos that they shaved about 5-10cm into my hairline the day of surgery.) In total, I got about 1700 FUEs and 3500 hairs. As time has passed since the date of surgery, my mind is racing from browsing this forum, since I look at other threads here and question my results so far. In particular, I'm concerned about density since I've seen other people use upwards of 2500 grafts for what seems to be the same amount of area. (Though I realize head sizes vary, and I have seen great results with similar number of grafts like this one). The doctor I went with said 1700 was enough, and that number wasn't due to cost constraints. I'm hoping to get an objective opinion on how this transplant looks at this early stage — especially with regard to density and design. (Yes, I know it takes 12-18 months to really know the outcome. :D) Partly this is to ease my mind, partly this is for me to plan ahead since many top docs have a 1 year+ waiting list if I need to do a second surgery. Below are images of 1) pre-op with new hairline; 2) immediate post op; 3) two week post op; 4) three weeks post op (with about 15-20% shedding) Thanks guys. I'll try to keep you updated as things come along!

How's it coming along?

Out of curiosity, what was the # of grafts you agreed on, and hairline design?

Thanks Jim. I think I'll shave it later this week. It looks like we're on similar journeys. I checked out your post with Diep and our new hairlines look somewhat similar, although yours was lowered it looks like, which may account for the additional grafts. (Or maybe you just have a bigger head :D) Otherwise it seems from the photos that our recipient densities are close to identical. Best of luck brother!

2 Week Update: Overall feeling good. No pain anywhere and numbness at donor/recipient site has nearly disappeared. I still use some ointment on donor site but going to ween off of that soon. But otherwise donor looks untouched. The hairs in the recipient site seem to be growing. Only about 15-25% have fallen out at this point (mainly small single grafts in the front). Still showering with J&J baby shampoo. All crusts are off. Curious how folks think it's look design & density-wise at this point. I'm really hoping it gives me results that I'm after. I'm not really happy with my haircut right now, so I may shave it off or go down to a 3-4 guard all over. Any advice?

Have you thought about Duastertide? It may be more effective for you than Fin.

Good luck! I just had 1700 grafts for an area about half your size, so those graft counts seems accurate. It's smart the dr is choosing to do two sessions instead of one mega session. However I think PRP is a scam and his telling you that it will help redness is a bit disingenuous. Unless it's free, or money is no object for you, I would think twice.

יכול להיות אבל יש כמה רופאים שנראה לי יותר איכותי ממה שקיבלת בחו״ל. תראה את הפוסטים שלי לגבי עופר מור.

Thanks for documenting your journey. אני ראיתי שאתה מישראל. אני יכול לשאול אותך למנה בחרת לעשות את הניתח בחול ולא בארץ? @TempleRunner

Hey @Fluffhead — I'm curious your experience being on Finnasteride and Dutasteride (Avodart) together. It looks like you started Avodart after your ht — was that recommended by your dr? Was there any explanation on why you should take both? It seems like Fin is unnecessary if you're on Duasteride. I'm wondering because I've been on Fin for about 5 years myself and just had a ht. Although it seems like Fin has done a good job keeping my hair loss at bay, I'm curious if Duasteride could do an even better job. But I'm not sure it's worth the risks...

Hi, I'm now 7 days post op for a 1700 FUE surgery. Two nights ago I was instructed by my dr to apply an ointment to my recipient site and then wash off scabs the following morning. Yesterday I was able to get most of the scabs off with massaging. I went about the day feeling fine. However, in the afternoon I noticed that a small splotch of blood had formed on my forehead. I may have rubbed a hair shaft there, but nothing too severe. Of course I'm worried I may have dislodged a graft. But from what I've read, the blood discharged from dislodging a graft would be more severe — this was very localized. I'm wondering what this might have been? Would I be able to tell from looking at my recipient site if a graft dislodged? Thanks in advance.

Thanks. Absolutely — here is his website. It's currently only in Hebrew: https://www.drofermor.co.il/

Day 6: Everything is coming along! I don't think I've lost any grafts, as I was pretty much sedentary for the critical 72 hours. Last night my dr instructed me to apply a cream to the recipient site and let is soak in overnight to loosen up the crusts. He then told me to massage (with some force!) the crusts off this morning. I was a bit nervous to apply much pressure, but gently and with the tips of my fingers (cleaned with soap, of course) I was able to get 99% of the crusting off! See before and after below. Now that the crusts are off, I can see the tiny hairs, their density and their direction on the scalp. It's getting me excited for the final result. I think my dr did an excellent job from what I can tell at this point. The donor site is a little itchy. I'm continuing to wash it with baby shampoo 2x/ day and apply a combo of antibacterial cream and vaseline. The vaseline has helped a lot in terms of soothing and getting rid of the scabs. Other than these updates, the numbness around my scalp (middle section) is fading but still present. No numbness on donor site. Biggest aesthetic issue is the redness around the follicles (especially the front hairline where 1 shaft grafts were used -- not sure why). I'm trying to apply coconut oil to see if that may help sooth the recipient area. Any feedback or comments would be great, thanks! @Melvin-Moderator

Day 0 - Complete. Aside from being groggy and finding it difficult to sleep upright, I was ok yesterday. Day 1: Most of the sensation has returned to my scalp. The back of my head is still a little tingly, but I can feel sensation coming back there too. I've been spraying saline solution religiously today. I can finally start to see tiny hairs around the crusts, which weren't visible yesterday. I also took off the dressing on my donor site for the first time, washed it with baby shampoo, and applied an antibacterial cream that the dr put me on for 5 days. Although it's hard for me to tell how the donor site looks up close, I think it looks ok? Any opinions?

I had my operation today! Here's a general overview of the day and a detailed description following: 8:00am: Arrival 8:00-8:15am: Meet with dr and finalize hairline 8:15-8:30am: Head shaving 8:30-10:00am: Dr makes incisions in hairline for grafts 10:00am-11:00am: Dr uses motorized punch (0.8-0.9mm) in donor area 11:00am-2:00pm: Technicians implant grafts (dr supervising) 2:00-3:00pm: Lunch and post-op debrief One of the technicians was keeping count of the hairs on an iPad. The final tally was: 1715 grafts 3478 hairs 405 ones 875 twos 393 threes 36 fours As a reminder, the primary goal of the surgery was the restore my hairline with particular emphasis around my temples. The hairline was lowered in the center by only 0.5mm. The day started bright and early at 8am. The doctor and his team of 5 super friendly technicians were ready for me when I arrived and I was made to feel comfortable. Each of the technicians had a role and it was clear they had been working with each other for a while. The doctor took me to his office to go over my hairline design. After measuring my face, he marked me up and we agreed on it. He went conservative on me due to my age and hair loss pattern. Next, I had my head shaved in back "marines" style and in the front forelock and temple region. Then we proceeded to the operating room. The doctor applied local anesthetic to my forehead. I was a bit surprised that the first step was making incisions on the forehead, but I think this was so that once the grafts were extracted, they could be immediately implanted, saving time and increasing their chance of survival. Then the doctor had me flip over as he used a motorized punch to extract the grafts. Again, felt nothing due to the anesthetic (which itself only felt like a pinch -- the doctor had an electronic massager he used during the needle portion that I think helped reduce pain.) Then came the longest part of the day, which was implanting the grafts. I couldn't see what was going on, but I felt a lot of different motions (pulling, squeezing, injecting). My guess is that it consisted of a combination of the Lion Implanter Pen and "stick and place" technique for different areas of my scalp. The technicians handled this part (with two working on each side of my head) and the doctor observing and making comments. At the end of the procedure, I was given lunch and then instructed by the doctor what to do/not to do for the next week. The doctor said everything went very well, and he was able to achieve very high density in the hairline and even slightly behind it where I haven't yet lost much hair (as you can see, further up) due to the number of two and three shaft grafts he was able to obtain. That made me happy to hear, as I told the doctor that density was a high priority for me. Right now I look like a tomato, but here are the post-op pics. Would be glad to hear any feedback on how it looks. Thanks guys!

Thanks for weighing in. I understand the consensus is that real patient reviews are the gold standard. But when that's not possible for whatever reason, I do think there's valuable data in the photos and videos put out by the surgeon himself. That's where I was hoping to get feedback here.

That's why I made this thread

Thanks. There are a few positive testimonials online, but I haven't found any on forums like this one.

Hi everyone, I'm looking for help getting an informed opinion of my surgeon I found based on his Instagram. He has many photos and some stories of his FUE transplant work. I've met with him, felt good about the consult and what he would do for me, so I scheduled an operation. Why I felt good: He is an MD, dermatologist by training and specializes only in hair transplant (both FUE and FUT) In addition, he has a dedicated hair transplant clinic with permanent technicians (not traveling ones). He is also young and I think highly motivated to make a name for himself in my country where there aren't many hair transplant doctors. That all said, I don't have as keen an eye for quality and details as many of you on this forum. So I'm hoping you can help me figure out — and ideally put me at ease! — that the work he displays is high quality. Including some specific examples below. Thank you in advance!

@Melvin-Moderator — I'm curious what you think about the hairline design before I go in for my operation. Thanks!

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I'll have to raise this with the dr. When I asked him about the sides, I remember him saying that the sides would not look natural if I filled them in now. For reference, he showed me this patient as an example of something very similar to what he would perform on me. I guess he did fill in the sides on him just a little bit. How many more grafts would you expect the sides as you drew them to take? I'm worried about overharvesting on my first FUE.

Thanks, ciauc! Staying positive and excited. I don't have the hairline the doctor drew up during my consult, but I've tried to recreate it here (purple line below). Basically the doctor said he would lower my hairline by 0.5mm and not touch the sides, as this would not look natural over time. What do you think?

Hey Everyone, I'm going to have my first ht procedure next week, and want to share photos of my results on a monthly basis with the forum here both to document for myself and others who are in similar shoes or just want to chime in. About Me 28 years old Live in MENA region Been on Finasteride for 5 years; hair loss has stabilized Mixed history of MPB in family (present on paternal side; not present on material) My Procedure My doctor is an Israeli MD (dermatologist) who specializes in hair transplant using manual FUE and FUT. Although he is not discussed on this forum, he is known as having the best hair transplant clinic in the country. I've been told I have a good donor area, so I'm ok with 1700 grafts to start with at my age My Concerns Going In I'm worried about the recovery time and feeling judged in the first 7-10 days I'm concerned about ensuring a natural appearance I'm hoping that 1700 grafts is enough density for good results and that it blends in nicely overall P.S. Any advice in the next few days before my surgery, please let me know! Before Photos