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.

1 hour ago, sabe said:

Hey Man im on my 4.5 month post-Op HMR. we have the same problem! my right side was harvested more than the left. was it Dr Cortez who harvested or Dr. Guerero? the young doctor is Dr Guerero. he harvested mine. Dr Cortez planted. my hair line now is full at 4.5. i would say very happy with the density. also my donor looked like yours up to 3.5 months. now you cant even tell. hang in there it will cover up soon. you look like you have thin hair. yours probably 5-6 months donor area will be hidden. 

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!

36 minutes ago, John Leo said:

@emo24, you made the wise choice. I will need another procedure to achieve the proper density for sure. Also, the doctor didn't participated in my procedure at all. He let his technicians work on my head alone. This is not allowed in California if the technicians don't have the proper licenses based on California State Medical Board's guidance. My attorney has requested the clinic to provide the full names or licenses of their technicians. The clinic has refused to provide those information so far.

Wow, keep us posted on this. Good news is you can now go to a reputable clinic where the doctor does the surgery and not only technicians. Cant believe they shorted you like that but, bright side is you only got about 2,000 grafts, which means your donor wasn't completely drained. Sucks in the short term but, another procedure will do you right. I had a quote from there too so I know it wasn't inexpensive. Best of luck to you. And yes, provide photos if you have any, or can legally do so at this moment.

Any follow up @John Leo? I almost went here when I was rushing into a hair transplant more than a year ago. Luckily, I pulled out after I got some weird vibes from the clinic. I hope all is well with your hair.

Appreciate the responses and definitely have eased my nerves for now, only time will tell. @Gokuhairline I've followed your procedures for a while now, your results are crazy! 

Yes I actually saw a dermatologist today, and was prescribed a topical to apply so I will see how that works. I have sent donor pics to surgeon - they mentioned shock loss and that it is still only 7 weeks post op. 

Hi all,

I have been lurking in the forums the past few weeks and finally decided to make a progress update because I would appreciate any honest opinions on my procedure thus far. am a 28 year old who got an FUE procedure done on my hairline in mid February so I am on my 7 weeks. I went to the HMR clinic in Tijuana Mexico as I live in Southern California and have seen some good, clean work and results from people on this forum as well as youtube. The procedure went extremely smoothly, done by Dr. Cortez, and I had no problems walking across the border before and after the procedure. I will post update photos from pre op, one day post op, one week post op, one month post op, and 7 weeks post op. I am very happy with the results thus far on my recipient area, however, my donor area is really struggling on the right side. I developed a bit of a folliculitis flare up a few weeks ago and that is apparent in the last photo (I am on antibiotics). I think this may have been from a combination of sweat and toppik since I was trying to cover up my donor area thinness at work since I cannot wear a hat and then subsequently going to the gym. I was not anticipating my donor area would be slowly recovering as it is but, please let me know if you think this is a cause for worry (I don't think I could have been overharvested with only 2200 fue grafts), or maybe it is potential shock loss. I may just have to ride it out a few months before making any judgment calls, trying to stay positive. I have some early growth in my recipient area too which is nice. I look forward to updating the forum and hearing from you all.

Pre Op:

One day post Op:

One week post Op:

 Scabs removed: 

One month post op:

7 weeks post op: Donor right side