jim_hair

@InTheSix That's awesome man I'm glad it's smoothing itself out for you , literally. Thanks for taking the time to let me know that you were in a similar situation and that it's been moving in the right direction.. Eases my mind quite a bit and that's been much needed these past few weeks. I mean, I read about the ugly duckling stage and have seen different levels of that situation. The examples I found were somewhat similar but none really resembled the hundreds of "pit appearances".. My initial logic was that it was the incision marks taking a while to close and remodel due to the large (1.5mm) incisions they used. As I read more and speak with people like you it appears that's the case.. I'll be doing monthly updates on here for my recipient site. It'd be great to hear how things progress with you from time to time as well! Thanks again!

Yes, the technician who did the harvesting had about 6 years of experience doing FUE. Very green. Donor turned out decent, but it could have been far better with a smaller punch size. I'll buzz it down next month and share pics so you can see.

@InTheSix Sorry to hear you went through a similar experience. How is everything looking for you now? Hoping that it's back to normal or very close for you!

@BeHappy Yes, it's hard to see any improvement when you view it every day and worry about it. But I agree with John that there appears to be some minor improvement. Some images and lighting seem to make it worse or better so it's hard to gauge with certainty... Some people on Reddit have said that theirs looked the the same and cleared up by 90-120 days, so hoping I follow suit. Honestly this whole process is super distressing and depressing. Really hoping it all works out in the next couple months. @gillenator @BeHappy The donor harvesting was an excessive punch size. SMG says they only use 0.7mm & 0.8mm.. Fortunately, the donor area was undetectable after about 2 weeks, but did look a little thin on my right side the prior to hair growing out. My hair is pretty long in this area so I don't really know how it looks under there. SMG inspected the donor however, and said it looked good and they would suggest another FUE for my next procedure.. So, that sounds promising. I have a wedding to go to on October 3rd so I don't want to buzz down to expose more of the recipient, but I will buzz afterward and share the pics. Really wish that hats were acceptable at weddings! Contemplating just wearing one lol.

@JohnAC71 After taking a closer look at side by sides, it does seem to be a little less noticeable.. I'm 7 weeks post-op right now so hopefully the next 2-4 months does the trick. Many people have told me it's normal and it takes 4-6 months to heal but having a hard time finding similar stories or any reassurance on that. I got the impression from my consult with Shapiro Group that this is not normal however, but wouldn't tell me that directly. Thanks for the help and staying with the thread John!

I haven't seen much improvement at this point.. Here's a picture of my head right now. These pics appear a little better when held side by side I suppose.

So, I went and met with Shapiro and they didn't seem willing to tell me their opinion on whether or not they believe I have pitting. Told me to wait it out and see how things heal and that they "don't tell clients at consults things that may distress them"... I'll keep the thread posted as I continue to heal (hopefully). If anyone knows of any similar story, where the healing looked similar and it all worked out (or didn't), it would be great to check out. Thanks for all your comments and help!

I thought it was odd they didn't use smaller incisions on the hairline and surrounding area, but that is what they deemed appropriate I guess. FYI: they used 1.25mm and 1.0mm hole punches to harvest the grafts, so hopefully those sizes line up in a manner that's not too prone to pitting. Honestly just hoping it is the incisions finishing their healing and that the remodeling phase will even this out for me. It doesn't appear I have any cobblestoning appearances. It just worries me so much that it won't ever go away.. I've seen a few threads where they thought it was pitting but it resolved itself over time, but there's not much out there that I can find to reassure myself.. The ugly duckling phase is much more stressful than I anticipated.. I will be seeing the Shapiro Medical Group (not who did this operation) on September 14 to discuss their opinions on if it is pitting and to see what my options are for a second Hair Transplant. Will update this thread with their conclusion (hopefully a favorable one)!

@lana I'm sorry to hear this. I'm going through a similar situation at 5 weeks post op. How'd everything turn out for you? I hope you had the improvement you were hoping for.

@TheEmperor I'm glad the appearance of tiny pits resolved itself for you over time with the skin remodeling process. I am 5 weeks post-op and am seeing a large amount of pit like appearances on my recipient area. I'm honestly worried, as you were, that it won't go away with time. Could you take a look at the thread I posted asking this question to see if mine looks similar to how yours looked? I'd really appreciate it!

@JohnAC71 & @gillenator Thank you both. Surgery was on 7/22 so at the one month mark right now. All incisions for recipient site were done with a 1.5mm scalpel, so they are large and could be taking longer to finish healing.. It seems like it is almost every incisions/recipient site giving off the pit appearance.. So, I'm hoping it is just all of the incision sites finishing their healing process and will finish closing / smooth out in the months to come.

Melvin, Thank you sir! I'm going to wait it out for a few months and see how things progress. Will keep you and the community updated!

Interesting, hopefully that isn't the case as I plan to proceed with another op and could use all the grafts I can get. However, from what I've read I thought the natural hair follicles were approx. 1mm apart in every adjacent direction, so in theory they'd have to be very off center in the donor harvesting to hit an adjacent follicle with a 1.25mm punch even. I may be very off on that just theorizing with what I remember from readings.

Hello, I am worried I may have pitting from my FUE procedure that was done 26 days ago. In many locations where the grafts were placed it appears to have a pitting appearance in the right lighting. I am worried that these will be permanent and that healing will not get rid of them. However, I can NOT tell if it is actually pitting or just the incisions finishing their healing/closing, or just the appearance of pitting that will even out with more healing.. The surgeon used 1.5mm scalpel to make the recipient incisions, which are pretty large. They also used 1.25mm & 1mm hole punches for donor area. I hear the appearance of pitting is somewhat normal in the first months, but eventually subsides (3-5 months).. Anyone have experience with this? Any idea how long it takes for the recipient area to go back to normal and for the surface to become flush again? I theorize that with such large recipient incisions it could just be taking longer to close up and level out, but I am uncertain and worried that the worst case scenario has already manifested. My surgeons technician said to give it a few weeks, but that seems like the perpetual answer to any concern "just give it more time". Not much of a choice on that one, but if anyone has any knowledge on this topic or opinion on my situation, I'd appreciate the comment. Please, let me know your thoughts, good or bad. Sorry, photos aren't best but you can see that the angle plays a huge difference in them showing up, due to elevation differences of skin?

Maybe I should be addressing this in a separate thread, but does anyone have some insight into how long it takes the incisions in recipient area to heal? I feel like I still see small incision marks, or pitting like depressions where the grafts are. I'm 3.5 weeks post op and basically shed all grafts at this point. I hear the appearance of pitting is somewhat normal in the first few months, but subsides after 3-6 months..? Anyone have experience with this? Any idea how long it takes for the recipient area to go back to normal and for the surface to become flush again? Sorry, photos aren't best but you can see that the angle plays a huge difference in them showing up, due to elevation differences of skin?

Yeah, I'm not going to bring it up with them again until I see how it grows in at the 6-9 month mark. Not worth the stress at this point.

They used a 1mm & a 1.25mm hole punch for the donor harvesting. Then a 1.5mm incision to place the grafts. Very large by todays standards from what I've been reading. Hoping it doesn't leave incision scars in recipient or to noticeable scars in donor..

@NebulositySo it's been a couple years, how did everything play out for you? I'm going through the same thing, 4 weeks post op and locations grafts were placed appear to have pitting in the right lighting / angles. Did it go away after a few months?

Yes, I knew he was but went for a cheaper alternative, worst decision ever. Would gladly go back and pay double what he was asking now, but that's hindsight.. I'm meeting with Shapiro next month to discuss this procedure and discuss options for a 2nd round. Unfortunately, the older Shapiro (that wrote the book) is retiring from what I've heard, but his brother is still working there. I may try to pull him out of retirement though lol.

Right, I have yet to find a single person that thinks I received 2500 grafts. I didn't know there were so many issues with the neo-graft until after unfortunately. Basically a graft death trap with the suction etc. All in all I made a bad and very impulsive decision when selecting my clinic. I was going to go to Istanbul but after getting talked out of it I figured the 3 top reviewed clinics in MN should all suffice. Bad Decision! Do your research!! Just hoping I heal well without any cobblestones, pitting, or highly visible donor scars.

Yeah I agree, it would be a tough one but if I'm not satisfied / feel stolen from I can't not bring it up and try. I don't think they'd have to admit fault to issue me a refund, they could just say they issued it to calm me down from posting horrific reviews about my experience with them or that I just wasn't satisfied (he's a crazy client lol). My logic is would they rather give me 50% of my money back for one procedure or have a horrible review on every outlet and lose much more than that amount in lost clients moving forward. Thanks for the advice and comment! I'll keep documenting it moving forward and handle it in a calm manner lol, though that may be difficult. I have yet to have a single person say they think I received 2500 grafts. Definitely gotta voice my complaint at an appropriate time in the future.

Thanks, that's a little reassuring at least. I've been crossing my fingers that it's just shock loss. The rights my worst spot but there's a couple more diffuse areas on the middle donor. Going to shave down to a low guard in a couple months to assess that situation. Was told by a different surgeon that if I get another procedure they'd suggest FUT which I'm not pumped about so hopefully shock loss recovery changes their opinion in a year..! Thanks for the help and comments it's much appreciated.

Yeah I'm hoping the graft count is my only worry moving forward from this clinic and that I can get another one done without any corrective work for; cobblestones, pitting, overharvesting. Some of my grafts seem to have very tiny pits and there's some irregularities in my scalps elevations, but I hear that subsides within a couple/few months. Any experience with the scalp depressions "pits" and the time lapse of that healing process?

Definitely; These are from 4 months pre-op though but should work.

Hey @Berba11 , I arrived at 7:00am and was out of surgery at 4:00pm. I'd say with taking the pre-op signatures, discussions, and pre-op photo shoot it took 1.5 hours to get started. Then a 30 minute lunch break. Wifi went down for 30 minutes so Neograft machine wasn't operable during that time. So maybe 6.0 hours - 7.0 hours of operation time, making it about 8.64 to 10.8 seconds per graft if it was 2500. I was in and out of it so not positive they operated that entire time though. Also, they had 3-4 surgeries in entirety that day.. The proof is in the pudding they say though, if there's only 1200 scabs and a very similar number of punch marks, it's funny how they line up. I can't come up with any explanation I believe on why there wouldn't be evidence that 2500 grafts were placed 3 days post op. Whether that be scabs, hairs protruding where there aren't scabs, or any signature showing something was done.. Thanks for your comment the time-lapse is an interesting way to analyze this.