Mars11

Month 3 (day 90) Cheers everyone!

@Calihome1 Thank you! I really appreciate your kind words. If you don't mind me asking: How do you come to this conclusion when you see my progress at month two?

Hello all, it's been 2 months now (day 63 after surgery). I am still using minoxidil foam and aloe vera daily. I can't really say if there is any growth so far. I would guess that most of the visible grafts in the recipient area are the ones that have not been shed. I am hoping that there will be some early growth in the next few weeks. So far, nothing special has happened, I would say.

No. It was never mentioned during the whole process from first contact til today.

Thanks!

Hello all, Today is the first month mark (about day 30). Most of the implanted grafts have more or less fallen out. Was expecting the ugly ducking phase to be more mentally challenging than it actually is. So everything seems to be alright from my point of view.

Yes, this might be true. But it must also be said that Ferreira generally emphasizes a dense hairline. Most estimates from other clinics were more in the range of 2,200 - 2,600 grafts total. Nevertheless: For me, the hairline is the most important thing, plus my status comes across better in the pre-surgery pictures than it actually is. My receding hairline was already quite pronounced. Ferreira had even classified me as NW 3A-4A. Now, I can understand your skepticism, but I could rather live with a slightly open tonsure (should the donor be empty; capacity according to Feriduni and Ferreira about 8,500 - 9,500 grafts) than with pronounced temples. And the most important argument not to operate too conservatively or not at all: Am on 5mg/week fin for 2.5 years - with no side effects and stabilization of hair loss. But of course there is always a residual risk.

Thank you very much, @Gatsby! Today is day 9 after the surgery. Since the scabs came off today, I am attaching a few pictures from today. The photos are still made with a flashlight setting. Therefore, for example, the redness looks much stronger than it looks in normal daylight. PS: I really struggled to find any sleep at all until day 8 (3-4 hours max per night). So I contacted the clinic that I had a burning sensation in the donor area that I couldn't get rid of. Bruno advises me to increase the ibuprofen dose for a while and relax the donor area with massages - might be a placebo or not, but I slept over 10 hours tonight. I really appreciate the aftercare that the clinic offers.

Since I had my first contact with the clinic in the beginning of 2021, I paid the price at that time (2.50€/graft). As far as I know, the price now is 3.50€/graft, but I can't say that with absolute certainty.

Hi @Calihome1, thanks for your kind words!

Thanks for your reply. I really enjoy following your progress. Yes, my main contact person is Inês. I told her in advance that I wanted to do patient documentation, so she probably prepared all the images very quickly. In general, I agree with you that most of the processes seem to be very well optimized.

Hi everyone, these are some homemade pictures using flashlight from day 4 after surgery. This is the day I washed the recipient area for the first time. The next pictures I will post will be once the scabs is completely off (should be around day 10). From then on, I plan to post an update once a month. Cheers!

Crazy! Going to be an incredible density. Happy Growing

Lastly: post-op pictures and graft statistics after two day:

Second the pre-op pictures after shaving:

Attached you will find first the pre-op pictures unshaven:

Hi, I would advise you to just keep trying. I'm pretty sure you'll get a personal reply at some point soon. 🤞

Yes, you are right. I also noticed the asymmetry while drawing the hairline. Bruno and I have discussed this. It is intentional because my head in general and the temple points e.g. are not symmetrical. This is to achieve the most natural result possible. Also, what you see in the picture is far from what it is now - Bruno started the insertion at the left corner (of the picture), so at the time of the picture (still in the clinic on day 1) the swelling on one side was much bigger than on the other side. This causes a strong temporal asymmetry. Haha hope everything works out well for you!

Hi, thanks for your answer. Might we found our Doppelganger. I'd reach out to you via pm if that's fine for you. Happy growing to you as well!

Thank you for your reply. I have not seen any other results tbh. But over the last 2 years I have felt that those who have been documented have all done very well and ethically. The main reason I made the decision was because of his consultation by mail. It was exceptionally accurate (+ seemingly consensus that he's on of the top ones atm).

Hello everyone, after about 2.5 to 3 years of extensive research on the subject of hair transplantation, I had the surgery with Dr. Bruno Ferreira in beautiful Esphino (near Porto) on December 13 and 14. Some preliminary information (age, status, medications) can be taken from this thread: Several sources are the basis for me finally approaching the surgery. First, the general information here in the forum and in the German forum (https://www.alopezie.de/foren/transplant/) helped me a lot to be able to assess the general chances and risks of a hair transplant as rationally as possible. Also, I had read as many patient reports as possible over the last few years, contacted consultants and of course contacted a number of reputable clinics/doctors. With 2 doctors I have been advised personally, with the others I have exchanged e.g. by mail. In the end, the total package (consultation, hairline design, comparable cases, price-performance ratio, all-by-himself working method) of Bruno convinced me the most. So 2 years ago I contacted the clinic and received the recommendation to have a total of about 2,800 grafts implanted. At that time I started with Finasteride, which I still tolerate well (5 mg/week). My hair loss has almost completely stopped. So much in advance about my initial situation. In the following I would like to outline the course of the last week chronologically: The surgery was scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday (December 13-14). Unfortunately, I got sick the week before and had a cold that lingered in the form of a severe cough until Monday evening before the surgery. I was very lucky that all the sneezing and coughing from the night before just stopped on the 1st day of surgery as soon as I was about to lay down on the OP couch. Btw: One day before surgery, I had my blood tested for various health markers at a cooperating medical facility. Surgery Day 1: The walk from my accommodation to the clinic was about 15 minutes. I arrived at the clinic at 7:30 am. Bruno's rooms are located there on the ground floor. I had a few short conversations with Bruno's staff and gave them some typical sweets that I had brought from home. All of his staff, from the assistants to the office member, were incredibly polite and personable, so I felt - I want to preface this - very comfortable at all times.
 For the next 2 days, I was provided with my own lounge/room where I could relax and eat during breaks. 
Shortly after I changed clothes and read some enclosed information about the surgery and aftercare, Bruno came in and we had a brief conversation about what I thought about the surgery. Now, since I had been sleeping very little lately and was still a little sickly (coupled with some excitation), I forgot a lot of what I had been thinking about before. Anyway. Bruno still knew about our previous exchange via e-mail. My desire is to fill in the temple corners. But it was especially important to me to have a long-lasting result that would not conjure up a youthful hairline, but a hairline that would still look age appropriate when I was 40-50 years old. So we went to the next room. There, photos were taken from different angles and my hair was trimmed - one of my biggest tease for me was that my hair was completely shaved off. Nevermind, did look like a criminal but that was fine for the moment. We coordinated on the hairline, and it ended up being the line that Bruno drew in the 2nd approach. Slightly lower than the first attempt. Then it was straight on to the operating room. After I was given a sedative, things started right away. The atmosphere was positive at all times, music was playing in the background and in the supine position I had a view of a TV. I still felt the anesthetic injections slightly, but from then on the whole procedure was almost painless. Bruno always noticed immediately when the anesthesia wore off a bit and injected some more. By lunch-time, about 900 grafts had been implanted into the hairline. It was incredible for me to see how well-coordinated and professional Bruno was with his assistants. Bruno punches out the grafts and collects them together with a colleague. The grafts are immediately placed in a liquid and prepared under the microscope for later implentation. Bruno again does the slits and implantation of the grafts all by himself. I was allowed to choose my own lunch and opted for soup and fish with potatoes. The selection was really great on both days and the food is highly recommended. After a break of about 1 hour, we continued, so that almost 1,400 grafts were implanted on the first day. Bruno and his team took the time to explain some more steps to me and to take photos again. I started using the saline spray that was provided to keep the receiving area as moist as possible. By 7:30 a.m. the next day, I was ready to go. Surgery Day 2: Photos were taken again at the beginning. Everything looked just fine. Only a little wound secretion (fibrin) had formed, but this should not be a problem due to the recommended increased use of the saline spray. The 2nd day went almost like the first. The mood was good and by three o'clock in the afternoon almost 2,900 grafts had been implanted. Since I still had 2 days until I had to leave, I also came to the clinic the following 2 days to have my donor area washed. Again, photos were taken. Back at home, I feel pretty good. Only the swellings still distort the shape of my face. But since I took vacation until the beginning of the year anyway, that's not a problem. Unfortunately, I have hardly taken any meaningful pictures myself. That's why the attached photos are just from the end of the first day, sorry for that.
 In the course of the next week I should receive the pictures from the clinic and post them here. I'd like to do this chronologically from then on, so I'll post the clinic pictures first and then my own pictures from home. Tomorrow I have arrived at the 4th postoperative day and will wash the recipient area for the first time. At the same time, I will be switching from saline spray to aloe vera gel. Both saline spray, aloe vera and the shampoo were provided to me by the clinic in sufficient quantity. I also received a vitamin blend from Bruno, which is not necessary in itself, but prevents deficiencies of certain vitamins. So I took it. Every few weeks I will send Bruno and his team pictures of my current condition and get feedback. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Hello everyone, more than two years have passed since my last post. At this point, I really have to thank the forum for giving me the information and assistance I needed to move forward with my HT. Brief summary of my current situation: Since I have been taking Finasteride (5mg/week and Minox) for more than two years without any side effects and my hair loss is more or less stable (see attached photos) I'm pretty confident on doing a HT - would you agree? There is a (very) slight decrease in the front third, but in the middle and crown area my hair situation seems better than ever. At least that's what my hairdresser (who I've been going to for 15 years) says, and a miniturization mapping by one of the famous Belgian doctors confirmed it. According to his estimation, my donor area offers about 8500 grafts for surgery. The next steps are that I will fly to Porto in two weeks and have a HT with Bruno Ferreira. The appointment was made more than 1 1/2 years ago. I will have the surgery spread over 2 days. The estimated graft count is 2800. From his first documented cases he was my favorite surgeon, honestly. I really like the way he performs the hairline. Communication started sometime in October 2020 and it was very detailed. Bruno asked for lots of photos and information. His answers were extremely competent and detailed. So of course I am very excited about the coming weeks. Some things like post-surgery hair situation in combination with work have really been a headache for me, since I work in an area where one have to look somewhat very business-like. But luckily I seem to have a very relaxed boss who doesn't mind me wearing a cap for a few months if necessary. I plan to post the surgery and my progress here on this forum.

Thanks, sounds resealable! My plan is max 2000 grafts for the first one. I’m going to have a consultation with Feriduni in December. I guess that’ll might point me in a certain direction graft-wise. Wasn’t it hard to perform that many operations? Are you in fin?

Thanks a lot for your input. What is your story of I may ask?

Thanks for the clarification! 2) ok, I understand that it may take some time for Fin to accumulate and side effect might build up over time. May I ask why is it reasonable to observe affects until one year? Is it very unlikely for side effect to appear after 1 year (if those didn’t appear before)?