care_for_hair_78

Looks fantastic! I'm about a week shy of 2 months post my surgery with Dr. Nadimi, and completely agree she has been outstanding to work with. Now I'm just looking forward to another few months to see some growth!

Back to share my 1 month update! Over the last 2 weeks I have definitely started to experience an accelerated shedding phase, and am very much in the ugly duckling phase. Having the expectations of this period has definitely helped me mentally prepare for this time and the coming month(s). I've also noticed on and off itching in mostly my donor area that I try not to scratch and mainly just tap/rub a bit to get it to go away. Overall though, nothing unexpected!

I am sharing some new photos of my progress below. I also realized after I took these photos how much my phone saturates my grey hairs lol. They are not THAT grey in reality, but seeminly my phone wants to automatically make my grey hairs hairs pop just a bit more!

1 hour ago, mrmane85 said:

It's more about peace of mind and this is his first surgery so makes sense to stay the extra days. After a few surgeries there are less nerves so shorter stays are the norm. 

Pretty much this. I had the time off from work, and being my first surgery wanted the peace of mind.

1 hour ago, mrmane85 said:

Great decision in choosing Dr Nadimi for this surgery. Can almost guarantee a home run. 

Thank you! I am feeling very optimistic about it.

5 hours ago, Shadman said:

@care_for_hair_78 work looks super clean, best wishes 👍

Thanks! Really appreciate it!

3 hours ago, JoeD said:

I can’t believe how good the donor looks three days postop.

I couldn't believe it either. I give all credits to Dr. Nadimi and her precision and focus on donor preservation!

5 hours ago, TorontoMan said:

Amazing work from Dr. Nadimi as per usual. And amazing your hair loss has stabilized 8 years on fin!

Thanks! And yeah, I've been a great responder to fin. Haven't noticed any dip in efficacy since I started, which I'm really happy about.

Hi everyone,

Long-time lurker finally ready to join the amazing community of folks here that share their journeys. I spent the better part of the last 2 years researching hair transplant surgeons, and I owe my final decision of going with Dr. Nadimi in large part to the contributors here. So first off, thank you!

History

I started noticing my hairline recede towards the end of high school, with my temples being the first to go. Noticing this happen when you're a teenager really hits the confidence levels, and I spent the rest of my teens and early twenties wearing a hat more than I would have liked. Having said that, my recession halted for a while, with honestly not much more recession until around age 24 or 25 when I noticed my hair starting to thin a bit more. It was at this time that I finally started taking finasteride, and for the past 8ish years have seen tremendous success in maintaining my hair's thickness and overall quality.

Decision

Fast forward to the end of 2021, I had realized that even though finasteride had stabilized my hair loss, I was still not able to go out in public feeling like my most confident self. So, I decided to at least give hair transplant research a go, and boy was I thrilled to come across this community. From a distance, the concept of a hair transplant made me think of the traditional "pluggy" look that a lot of people associate with the procedure, so it was an incredibly welcome surprise to discover a space where I could see what actual top-level surgeon work today can look like.

After following along countless posts here, I eventually created a decision-making criteria for myself to follow when selecting a surgeon that started with the basics all the way up to my specific requirements. It looks like this:

• The selection should be made off of the work of the surgeon, not the name or work of just the clinic
• The surgeon should be involved in every step of the process, ideally being the only person making the extractions/incisions/implantations
• The surgeon should demonstrate an ability to properly leverage and preserve the donor
• The surgeon should perform no more than 1 surgery per day (I was very keen on this)
• The surgeon demonstrates an ability to create soft hairlines, avoids implanting in rows, and uses single grafts effectively in the front of the hairline
• The surgeon/clinic provide high quality post-operative care

The above criteria is what guided me, and combined with the experiences shared here and my eventual consultation with Dr. Nadimi, what ultimately led me to my decision to go with Dr. Nadimi.

Day of the Procedue

I flew in the day before my procedure, and actually had a nice night's sleep. I was expecting to feel anxious about the looming next morning, but to my surprise I was actually very calm and excited. I arrived the next morning at the Chicago Hair Institute still feeling calm and excited, and those emotions remained throughout the rest of the day. Before the procedure I met with Dr. Nadimi and spent 30-45 minutes drawing a hairline we both felt great about (she had originally estimated needing 1700 grafts in my consultation, and the designs I liked all stayed right around that number), her team then shaved my head, gave me a valium, and off I went to the operating room. This might have actually been the only point where I felt a tad nervous specifically about the needles for the local anesthetic from what I had read from other people's experiences, but I actually found my experience to be completely tolerable. Kudos to Dr. Nadimi and her team for using a vibrating device alongside the injections that caused me to barely even notice the needles!

The whole surgery lasted about 8 hours roughly, with a few bathroom breaks and a break for lunch. I honestly couldn't believe it when we were done, as I found the whole experience to be relatively comfortable (I drifted in and out of sleep a bit due to the valium). When I finally saw my new hairline, I was stoked! Dr. Nadimi and her incredible team really took care of me and I was impressed with how the hairline looked immediately post-surgery.

My graft breakdown was as follows:

Total grafts: 1770
1-hair FU: 254
2-hair FU: 647
3-hair FU: 749
4-hair FU: 120

First Few Post-Op Weeks

I stayed an extra 5 days in Chicago after my surgery so that I could come in for cleanings and post-operative checks. The cleanings and general post-operative care were great (big shout out to Anya who was with me the whole time. She shaved my head, supported Dr.Nadimi during the surgery, and took care of my cleanings), and Dr. Nadimi checked up on me personally during each of those days except for 1 (where she was in surgery for the day). I did not have any major scabbing, and all of the minor scabs washed out within the first week or so. I have had some crusting/dandruff in the transplanted area that I am almost finally rid of, and my donor is still a tiny bit sore, but these are things I expected and honestly haven't troubled me much.

Photos

I am a little over 2 weeks past my surgery. Here are photos pre-op, the evening immediately post-op, the donor area at 3 days, and my hair at the 2 week mark. One thing to note in my donor area is that the noticeable area of skin on the back of my head without hair was already there. I have had a scar there since I was a child, so was not a part of this surgery!

Pre-Op photos

Immediate Post-Op

Donor 3 Days Post-Op

2 Weeks Post Surgery

Going Forward

I cannot speak highly enough about Dr. Nadimi and her whole team. I had a much easier experience than I anticipated, and I am thrilled with the early results. I know the next 2 months will be a new challenge in the ugly duckling phase, but it's one that I am ready for (thanks to this community for helping set those expectations for me) and not sweating! I'll do my best to post updates on a reasonable cadence, and pay back to this community what it helped me undertake!

All feedback welcome!