emo24

Hey all - haven't been on this in a bit. It's been over a year and I am content with the results, I will post a picture soon. I will definitely go for a second transplant to reinforce the hairline especially on the right side which didn't get as much coverage, but had more recession to start so kind of expected. Also some grafts to reinforce the middle third of the hair, and then comb it back. I will need to go to a doctor that is very experienced in donor management so I will take recommendations at this point. Thanks for checking in ya'll.

here is the front. 9 months will be next week.

Hey all - Here is an update on my donor area, looks a lot better now. Hair has grown out and covers a lot of it, and its a lot thicker. When my hair is wet, you can still see a lot of scalp but, that's OK. No one has ever said anything. Catch you guys at the one year mark.

Been busy with life sorry I will give you guys an update at 7 months which is in a week.

Appreciate everyone's input. I am going to let it grow for the full year before doing anything - hoping it may cover it enough to not bother me as much. I usually wear my hair long anyways. I'll keep you all posted each month.

Perhaps there is still shock loss. I had pretty moderate folliculitis infection from about 5 weeks after procedure to ~12 weeks. It lasted a long time, even with oral antibiotics... so I'm not sure if this is playing a role too in the donor area. I can't say it doesn't look better... because at month 2 it was BAD. I saw Dr. Cortez at around 3 months and he just said "oh wow its very thin, your donor density must have not been as good" or something along those lines. Dude, you're the doctor... you're supposed to understand that prior to surgery lol but anyways I will give it the full year before I do anything, I am able to hide it pretty well with toppik in the back and the hairline is coming in well. It's just a pain right now.

5 month update: donor area is still looking pretty rough. I've been coming to terms that I was overharvested because there hasn't really been any noticeable improvements, just that the hair has grown longer and covered a bit more of the scalp. When my hair is wet, you can see the extent of how thin it still is. Taking a look at the extraction pattern from 1 day post op, really shows how close Dr. Cortez removed follicles in proximity to each other. There really was no homogeneity in the extractions and it is pretty sporadic (see earlier in this thread), and paired with my finer hair, has left me with what looks like a depleted donor. Are there any doctors out there that can move donor grafts around the back of the head to the empty spots (not beard, but actual follicles from the back of the head), to give it a more homogenous look? Appreciate all input and will continue to grow my hair long to see how well it can get covered. Appreciate all the input, thanks!

Yeah I went and got a PRP session at the 3 month mark as I live in southern california so its easy to get across the border to the clinic. Jimmy Cortez did the PRP session and also looked at my donor - I got PRP in the donor and the recipient. He said to hang on about the donor because he saw lots of little hairs growing so I will take his word. It definitely looks better than the previous photos I posted.

Hey! appreciate the response. I think Guerero harvested mine and Cortez planted as well. I just passed 4 months and my hairline is starting to look good, it is filling in quite nicely. I just passed 4 months yesterday and will most likely give an update at the 5 month mark. Thanks for the reassurance and I'll keep you posted. The hairs are very thin after surgery so hoping this is just transient, as pre op the donor was quite full. I also will say I had a moderate case of folliculitus from month 2 to 3 in the donor area, so its been through some trauma with the surgery and infection. Happy growing

@BMWFAN31 Thanks - I think the front of my HT looks great but my donor is pretty jacked up right now per my photos above. So just keep that in mind.

@Greenlantern2020 Appreciate the reassurance that yours did in fact recover in a similar extraction pattern so I am not alone in this. I will give it some more time and try minoxidil on the donor. I will keep you all updated!

@OliverAtom Thank you for the reassurance. I am confused as well but, plan to go see him again this month and have him take a look and do a PRP session in the donor and recipient. After 2 months I was freaking out and the donor area had grown longer on the left side with decent coverage but right side was still thin (and shaved it down which was a mistake), so I am hoping just growing out the coverage will help in time. I will keep you all updated!

@Fue3361 Thanks for being straight up - for real. If worse comes to worse I will have to get SMP and shave it down. Not the intended outcome but, we'll see. My hairline is looking good though which is a plus. Fantastic results on your end man!

@Gokuhairline No reasoning besides the doctor started on the right side and stopped when he got what he needed, is what they said. I know some other doctor's do the same thing, however, it's looking rather depleted. Going to grow it long to try and cover what I can. We'll know for sure around 6 months but not looking great right now.

So you can find the pre-op, post-op pics above. the attached photos were taken with camera flipped so what you see in the pic as left, is really the right side. Next saturday will be 3 months - I shaved my head down which was a mistake haha. So the biggest thing is the right side of my donor zone is really thin (they took more grafts in this area), just like almost bald which makes me think its shock loss since my donor area pre-op was pretty thick. Also, the left side of my head, is really thin (by my left ear) where they didn't even take any grafts (reference my one day post-op pic) - which would lead me to believe shock loss. I also included a picture in harsher lighting of the right side which really shows the thinness. I got ~2300 grafts. Any thoughts on shock loss vs overharvest would be great. I understand I'll probably just need to give it more time and allow it to grow out but, please share your thoughts. Thanks!