SLA

So I opted for the 120 INR package, however, due to an unforeseen scheduling conflict, the design and slits were done by Dr. Pradeep, one of the founding surgeons. While I suppose I may have “lucked out”, I was confident enough that the 120 INR package with Dr. Das would have worked as well as she produces fantastic results. She monitored part of my procedure as she is a class act and a wealth of knowledge.

Thanks @Gatsby!- I created a thread yesterday on my Eugenix experience. It’s the one that say ‘5,484 grafts’ in the subject. Enjoy!

Thanks Jay- I’m keeping my expectations in check with hopes to be pleasantly surprised! Keep in touch!

Awesome man- I think yours will turn out to be stellar

Haha @davidn- let’s hope. The hair is fine, but I guess I have other stuff going for me. I’m keeping expectations in check. If I go with that attitude, then I have a better chance of satisfaction.

Hi Everyone- I just returned to the US from Eugenix in India after receiving 5,484 grafts (1,200 beard) to cover the front and mid-scalp on my NW 6 pattern. I will be 49 in December and have been losing my hair since ~age 32. I am so grateful that I found this forum as it increased my knowledge 10 fold; my journey and decisions would have been waaaaay different if not for this forum. Thanks to @Melvin- Moderator for all the tireless work he does to make this the top hair restoration forum around the globe and to all the dedicated forum members who have posted their journey to increase our collective knowledge. In addition, I was so fortunate as @Bandit90 (potential to be the GOAT), @MazAB and @Zoomster(AKA- The GOAT) arranged to go to Eugenix at the same time, which allowed for great fun and male bonding. We also met @cavemanwho embarked on his journey. The friendships developed are on-par with the idea of getting back my hair. Regimen Finasteride for ~2+ years Oral minoxidil 2.5 mg IRestore LLLT cap 3-4 times per week Why FUE (not FUT)? I have been researching this mysterious question ad nauseam garnering the opinion of many and have realized that there is not one definitive answer. After doing several consultations, one of the most pivotal ones in my decision making is when I consulted with Dr. Bisanga who suggested FUE rather than FUT. I was surprised because I thought at my NW level, he would say do FUT 1st or even suggest a combo FUT/FUE session which he has and can perform. His response was that if he can, he prefers to do FUE with beard hair thrown in on high NWs. He also stated that you can’t always get more grafts doing FUT 1st as many times, grafts below the strip scar miniaturizes leaving them un-harvestable. He estimated my lifetime graft potential around 6-6,500 and said I had a ‘good’ beard. I have also seen countless examples of top surgeons using FUE to ‘over-harvest’ by homogenously depleting donors to harvest a lot of grafts. Why Eugenix? I know lots of people have addressed this questions and everyone has similar answers. As a NW6 with not the most robust donor, I realized that if I wanted the illusion of full coverage, there would have to be BHT- mainly beard hair in the mix. After connecting with Dr. Bisanga and seeing high NWs go the FUE route with great success, I connected with Dr. Pradeep and Dr. Arika, the founders of Eugenix when they came by way of the US and they had a similar assessment and plan to Dr. Bisanga. I had been following Eugenix for a couple of years and when we connected at the clinic, Dr. Pradeep joked that I know more about Eugenix than him. The culture at Eugenix is fabulous as each staff member treats you like a family member- they are warm, hospitable and truly want the best for you. I loved connecting with the staff as it was an enriching cultural experience. If you are a westerner concerned about going to India- you have nothing to be concerned about! Eugenix are experts in mixing BHT and scalp grafts and properly treating high NWs with many documented results. All the examples I have seen on the forum have shown that the hair they implant grows and looks natural and while there have been examples of patients not being 100% satisfied, they have fixed at no cost. Inspired by results of high NWs who have gone to Eugenix, along with the low cost for the western consumer, Eugenix became my choice. I do think that while Dr. Bisanga may have done an equally as effective job, the cost would have been significantly higher knowing the amount of grafts that would be needed. Also, I have seen fewer documented results from Dr. Bisanga on high NWs. The Journey The total time in surgery for the 5,484 grafts (1,200 from beard) was probably close to 24 hours over the course of 2 days and change. While inspecting my donor, I kept hearing, “Your donor is GOOD!” I was a little surprised because my donor, while average is on the lower side of average. I have come to learn that donors of Caucasian hair type tend to be better than Asian hair type in terms of hairs per follicle. I was told my groupings were 2s and 3s. In my design, they made ~760 slits for the temples which had me concerned about burning through so many grafts for temples alone. It was explained to me that they are not using 760 grafts as they are taking hairs from of nape of neck (not normally used on scalp) to create a soft transition in the front and also splitting 2s and 3s for the rest of the temples- so 760 is really like ~350 grafts. I also questioned several times whether the hairline was too aggressive, but I was explained with the confirmation from @MazAB, that what appears aggressive, will look a lot less aggressive when hair grows, as there is a soft transition of singles in the 1st few rows. I think the frontal 3rd had ~2,700 slits and the mid-scalp around 2,000. Beard and scalp hair were mixed throughout the scalp in an approximate 1.8:1.0 ratio. I elected for 1,200 beard grafts and not more to see how it shows up on scalp and mixes with scalp hair. If things look good, I can always use more beard hair for added density should all go well and I return for the crown- which I would do next year. After the doc performed the slits on the frontal 3rd, they put a dye to make it easier to insert the grafts. When I saw myself in the mirror, it looked as if I had just had SMP done and I thought…”dang, I like this look!” It was a funny moment for me. The Eugenix technicians are diligent, focused and masters of their tasks. Each technician has ONE responsibility which they have mastered and perform over and over. So, if someone is responsible for loading grafts that is all they do- all day, every day. I was explained that new technicians do not even touch a graft for an entire year. Those doing the punches have been doing so for years. Any time that I had a question for the doctor, they were there within minutes. Surgery at Eugenix works like clockwork with no ambiguity- everyone knows exactly what they are supposed to be doing and do so confidently, carefully and quickly. After 2 marathon days, my surgery was done! I should have around 2k more scalp and 2k more beard hair for future use- if all goes as planned, I will do the crown next year. Not only will it be an opportunity to get more hair, but also to once again see and spend time with the friends I have made at Eugenix. It is important to remember that hair transplants are an illusion of density as I will be trying many styles, hair ‘gels’ and potentially fibers to style to maximum fullness, especially since my hair is fine (although, it is curly and salt & pepper, which fingers crossed may assist with the illusion). I hope this post serves as educational for those thinking about hair restoration. Stay tuned for monthly updates…

Hi Jay- Great meeting you! You have promise for a great result! It is possible that the sides of the head can be experiencing some temporary shock loss which can potentially take some time to recover. I have seen this over and over. Looking forward to seeing your progress. I'll be posting my journey pronto.

Hi All- A few days ago, I underwent a 5,484 graft procedure at Eugenix (I will be posting in next day or two). I had been taking 2.5mg of oral minoxidil prior to surgery and was advised to stop minoxidil 15 days prior to surgery- which I did. Now that I am post-surgery...does anyone know when I can resume taking oral minoxidil 2.5mg? Eugenix doesn't really promote minoxidil, so there was no definitive answer, although Dr. Pradeep said that I could resume now. Please let me know if anyone has any experience with this and advice/instructions given by other surgeons. I just want to make sure that I don't do anything to disturb the grafts during this early phase. Thanks!

Extraordinary, Melvin!

I know the OP around a year ago went back for round #2 to get ~2,000 additional grafts. Would love to see that outcome.

Looks pretty good!

Armen...and the crowd goes wild!

Enjoy the new look!

Looking great!

You will be just fine. There are general guidelines for safety in India such as only drinking bottled water- all of which you can find online.

It is all about the OP being happy with the results :). I would beg to differ and say that there is a HUGE difference between before and after (without hair fibers). It is true that 100% perfect density has yet to be achieved, but remember that this was done on a close to a NW7 with fine hair and 1/2 of the 7,000 grafts coming from the beard (only 3.5k scalp grafts)- meaning less total hairs. Many would say that to achieve 'perfect density' on someone with this level of hair loss would require between 10k-12k grafts- especially with so many beard grafts. In addition, the OP, I think has a couple of thousand more grafts he can add in a future surgery which will significantly increase the density. All that being said, considering all of these constraints including depleted donor, etc, this is an exceptional result which few other clinics would have even attempted. ...and thank goodness we have such things as hair fibers to achieve perfect density as without the HT, this OP would not have been able to achieve these results with the fibers.

I couldn't agree with you more, @Berba11. Spot on. ...and with 7000 grafts (1/2 even from the beard) and some dashes of fiber, a hair model look has been achieved!

These results are fantastic- what a turnaround. I wonder what it would be like with SMP to augment the density in the crown. Any thoughts @Gatsby? Would SMP here make it look super dense or would there be a risk of it looking like a colored scalp?

I think he may have had 2 pre-Eugenix...but sure they could clarify.

Awesome!

Fabulous!

This one may give @Bandit90a run for his money!

How is the growth going @itisme_alssiri?

How is the progress, @PsSAU?

Hi @JP34567- How is the progress coming?