baldiee

What I mean is that at my clinic, the surgeon used the FUE devices and made the surgical punches for each follicle. But then let one of their technicians to do the extractions (pulling of the grafts). And the technician did it so fast (like rapid fire pulling) that most grafts were not able to be used because the hair follicle would tear from the root. 

When are the grafts fully secure? I get mixed answers from my surgeon, the forums, and other hair transplant doctors. I am post-op day 8, and have only been pouring cups of water with shampoo onto my head. When can I actually start to scrub with my finger pads without worrying about losing any grafts? Thank you! 

People acting like MD vs DO is a relevant argue point lol

On 10/10/2022 at 1:07 PM, sunsurfhair said:

Bloxham also gives monster scars that he hides well in his videos. He’s a family medicine physician doing surgeries. Would you let your family doctor do a surgery on you? F$ck no. I also think a lot of his videos are enhanced and photoshopped to be perfectly honest. 

He's an internal medicine doctor, at least get your facts straight lol 

From that one picture, it looks like you have good donor. But you need a surgeon to evaluate and make a thorough assessment. You can achieve full coverage, but keep in mind you will need multiple surgeries, not just one. It's not guaranteed that you can extract 4,500 grafts in one session. I recommend starting with FUT. Then switch over to FUE after you've exhausted FUT. Happy growing! 

On 6/12/2022 at 11:05 AM, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

Baldiee,

At 3.5 weeks post-op from an FUT/strip procedure, it’s quite safe to engage in just about any kind of sport. The only sports or activities that could be potentially problematic would involve anything that could potentially strain the donor area.  This would be a little different if you had undergone FUE but with FUT, the donor area needs more time to heal and certain activities could cause scar stretching.  Some of these activities include certain  heavy weightlifting exercises such as flat bench press (barbell or dumbbell), crunches with your hands on your scalp as there’s a tendency to pull with your hands.

All that to say, I don’t see any reason to be concerned about basketball. I know Melvin suggested wearing a cap as that might provide some extra comfort and protection in the events of any contact.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

When can I weight-lift after FUT?

~5,000-6,000 grafts for full coverage from frontal to crown/dip

As the title says, I've had my 3rd FUT transplant 3.5 weeks ago. Can I play basketball today without risk of stretching the scar? Would love to hear feedback. Thank you!

Update us!

It'll be fully back within a year, don't stress over it.

I get depressed from the staples and pain for the first 2 weeks 😭 i get depressed because lack of comfortable sleep, thorough shower, no t shirts, no outside/sun, etc. Once the staples get removed on day 14 and get to buzz cut my hair and shower ohmyygawdddd 🥴

Oh yeah by those pics, you can easily restore your hairline with that donor. I see no signs of thinning in the crown at age 30. Just confirm with one of the top surgeons in US. There’s a list on this site. 

PRP is a waste of money. Tried it from personal experience. Does not work. 

1 hour ago, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

Baldiee,

With due respect to Burnie, his advise is actually inaccurate.  The reason scalp exercises work is because you’re ultimately stretching the skin creating a temporary elasticity that can be beneficial for surgery because it allows the surgeon to take a larger strip. If your scar has not fully healed, there is definitely a risk of scar stretching.

Honestly, It’s advisable to wait at least a year before undergoing a second FUT hair transplant and thus, I would wait at least 10 to 12 months before starting scalp exercises and then another two months of doing exercises prior to undergoing surgery.  That said, if you are a slow grower, I would extend this time out to 18 months because a hair transplant can take longer to fully mature.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant

but my next transplant is 10 months after the previous one. So I should start scalp exercises on month 8?

Also try not to freak out so much. You CAN fix your hairline in the future. You will have a good hairline again. Hair transplants really do work. So don’t feel like this is how you’re going to look for the rest of your life. I can relate to losing your confidence/identity with even the slightest change in hair loss. Let’s first try being conservative for a few more years before committing to a hair transplant surgery. These forums will help find the right surgeon for you.

Since you are really young and not showing aggressive signs of hair loss - i say wait a few years to see the progression of it. You look great - i’d be happy with that amount of hair at 24. Focus on other things in life  

Reassess around age 27-28+. If your crown is stable, you can fix the frontal hairline. If you can tolerate finasteride without any side effects, then take that to protect your crown. 
 

You don’t want to use up so many grafts right now to fix/lower the hairline. And then years down the road, you run out of grafts to keep up with hair loss towards the back of your head. Donor hair is limited. We want to make sure you are set up safely in the long-term. Good luck! 

8 hours ago, BurnieBurns said:

Sooner the better, nothing unsafe about it. Just make sure you keep it up right until the date

Is there no risk for stretching the scar?

As the title asks, when is it safe to do scalp stretch exercises? After how many months? I have another FUT surgery after 10 months from my previous one. I want to make sure my laxity is at its best. 

You have beautiful donor hair, I'm jealous! Good luck on your surgery. 

The problem with doing FUE first is that you lose the option to do FUT because it messes up the donor harvest area. With FUT, you can do multiple clean strips of harvest. And then perform FUE around it when you've exhausted the strip method. You can also do FUE into the strip scar and conceal it at the end. Ultimately, this is how you can get the highest yield of grafts in the long-run. This method is really good for those with severe hair loss like Norwood 6+. If you are barely thinning in smaller areas, then FUE is probably favorable for you. It just depends on the person, how much hair loss you have, and how many surgeries you are planning to do. 

If you decide to do a hair transplant, start with FUT first to get the highest yield. Keep in mind you will need multiple surgeries to cover your loss. FUE should be the last surgery. Only go through with surgery after a surgeon has looked at your donor and has given you the green light. 

To be honest, you got a good head shape and facial features to pull off the bald/smp look - attractive guy 👌🏽

4 hours ago, JoDimaggio22 said:

So do you have 3 different fut scars?

No, I only have one scar. They make each subsequent incision along the same scar.

8 hours ago, JoDimaggio22 said:

How many grafts in total would you have had after the third fut?

A little over 5,000 for me. Some people might have better donor hair and can probably get 6,000 grafts with 3 procedures.

3 hours ago, Z-- said:

@baldiee- any updates? As someone with nearly the exact same pattern, would love to hear if you took the chance with Dr. K or elsewhere, and if so, the result.

 

EDIT: I will post a major update after my 3rd transplant in May!