ptm1988

5 month update The hair has started to grow really well over the past couple of months. The left side has come in thicker than the right but the right always had more work to do. The right side does seem to be getting thicker as time goes on so I hope that continues as you can still see through it at the moment. No new hairs in the hairline as of today but there are some short hairs about 2cm long that I hope will thicken things up as they grow out. Pictures taken after shower/drying and without any products Thanks!

Slightly late with my 3 month update - these pictures were taken today so 3 months +12 days. Things are looking a lot better this month. I noticed some short hairs in my hairline about 2 to 3 weeks ago and it seems like more are appearing as time goes on. I believe there are also some new hairs coming through further back in the recipient area but they're a bit harder to spot. Fingers crossed this is the start of an exciting couple of months. The right side has a lot more work to do than the left, my main hope for the coming months is that the density on the right side improves a lot but I guess that's where patience comes in! The flakiness I experienced in the first couple of months seems to have stopped entirely also. Thanks!

2 month update No big developments in the recipient area, I had further flaky/dry skin in the same area as last month but it has cleared up now. If anyone has experienced something similar, I'd really appreciate any advice on what worked for you. Hopefully just a temporary issue. My native hair and the hair from my first HT continue to grow slowly but surely. I can almost cover the recipient area on the left side but I think the right side will take another month or two. I'm happy that some density is returning to the back and sides of the head too as it was looking quite spare at month 1. My barber tidied up around the ears last weekend so it was nice to feel a bit fresh even though I wear a cap everywhere! Hoping to return at month 3 with some signs of growth but I'll continue waiting patiently for now! Thanks for reading

Fingers crossed mate! I went to Becosmetic on Harley Street in London, surgeon's name was Hassan Nurein. He doesn't perform HTs anymore.

Would love to see an update also!

Haha indeed. Mirrors will be mostly avoided in the coming weeks! Following your progress too, congrats!

Just back with a 1 month update I can safely say the shed is in full swing. It began around day 20 and seems to be ongoing. I believe the majority of the transplanted hair has fallen and most what remains is from my first HT. Overall, I'm not too fussed with how it looks at the moment. There isn't really any way of disguising the differing density between native hair and recipient area so I've just been wearing a loose cap when I go to the office/out in general. I have some flaking in the recipient area that began around day 23. I've included a picture of this. It's mostly located in the centre left of the recipient area, from the hairline back to the border with my native hair. I've been able to remove most of it and have stopped washing my hair twice a day following advice from the clinic as this may have been drying it out. I started oral minoxidil on day 21. I'm taking low dose of 1.25mg and will increase to 2.5mg within the month if I continue to have no side effects. The end goal is 5mg per day by end of October, all going well. Probably being a little overcautious! Nothing else to report really other than the pictures. All pictures taken in bright light by a window so they're hopefully a fair representation of how things stand. Thanks for reading! Flaking - picture taken on day 24 1 month pictures

Thanks mate - been following your progress, looks incredible so far! Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can confirm but I think the three numbers relate to donor grafts per cm2 on the back, left and right sides of the head? It would make sense if that was the case as all grafts from my previous transplant were taken from the back which might explain it being lower than the sides. Again, could be wrong here! Really appreciate the encouraging words everyone

Day 7: Day 10:

Hey all, Long time lurker here and thought it was time to give back to the community following my recent HT with Dr Bisanga. I had an unsuccessful transplant in London in 2017 and have been on and off this forum since, mulling over the idea of getting it fixed. I found Dr Bisanga through others’ journeys so I can only thank everyone who has shared their experiences over the years. I hope mine will help someone else in months/years to come. Background: I’m 35 and started receding at around 19/20 which then slowly progressed throughout my 20s. I had 1700 grafts transplanted in April 2017. The doctor reconstructed my hairline and filled in the temples/frontal area. The recipient area was pretty much the exact same area Dr Bisanga worked on as I don’t seem to have receded much since that procedure. I started finasteride 1mg in March 2018 so I can probably thank that! The issue with my previous transplant was that the recipient area lacked density (pics below). The left side grew a bit better than the right but both sides were see-through. I’ve used hair fibres ever since with varying levels of success. Needless to say, my mental health/confidence/anxiety levels have taken a bit of a hit over the years.. avoiding bright lights, spending silly amounts of time styling my hair with fibres, etc… the joys! Consultation: I travelled from London to Brussels in March 2023 to see Dr Bisanga. The appointment lasted about 15 minutes and all the necessary measurements were taken to assess my candidacy. I explained my hopes for the repair - improve/increase density throughout the frontal area. I specified my main problem area being the right side as it was so see-through under light and that I’d also like to reinforce my temples following some loss there. The doctor said he should be able to improve density to an acceptable level but we would have to remove the grafts on my right temple as they were poorly angled. It was also suggested that I start taking oral minox 5mg daily. Just wanted to shout out to Ian at this stage as he has dealt with me from my initial correspondence with the clinic up to now. He has answered every question I’ve asked in detail both pre and post op. I had some density concerns post op so it’s been great to have him available to answer questions and put my mind at ease. Ian confirmed my surgery date in August and it was estimated that I’d need 2200-2400 grafts. I’ve also included my hair characteristics below for anyone interested. Hair Character - Straight Thickness - Very Fine Density - 80/65/85 Hair groupings - Mainly 2 hair follicles Dermoscopy - AGA and retrograde alopecia Surgery: I had a pre-op consultation with Dr Bisanga the day before surgery. We confirmed what we discussed at the March consultation and discussed the removal of grafts on my right temple. I mentioned that timeline involved in fixing this (removal procedure, healing time, another procedure to build the temple line) clashed with some personal events I have coming up in the next 6-8 months. We agreed I would sleep on it and discuss the next morning. I also asked about the possibility of having some work done on my crown but he did not recommend it this time around as the shock loss may make things worse. Hopefully oral minox will help that area as I didn’t realise how much hair I’d lost there until it had been shaved! Surgery day. I decided not to have the right temple fixed yet and return to sort it in the future – Dr Bisanga was happy to ignore this area which you will see in my post op pictures. He marked the recipient area on my head and the surgery began. Dr Bisanga and Dr Kostis did the extractions, Dr Bisanga made the recipient site incisions, and the technicians placed the grafts. The surgery day seemed to fly by. I started at 7.30, had a break for lunch halfway through and was finished before 5pm. The whole team is professional and friendly – I felt it in very good hands throughout. Graft count: 2400 grafts Graft breakdown: 1 follicular unit – 467 grafts 2 follicular unit – 1407 grafts 3 follicular unit – 514 grafts 4 follicular unit – 12 grafts Before and after photos: I’ll try to organise these as best I can. Worth noting at this point that I have a cowlick on the right side, so you’ll see the differing direction of hair in my post op photos. Being honest, I put my full trust in Dr Bisanga when deciding what to do here as I wasn’t sure what options, if any, were available to deal with it. You will see in my day 10 photos that the right side appears sparse when you look at it from the side but seems fine from the front. Ian has reassured me that this is because of the direction of the hair and this area has healed as expected and the clinic has no concerns. Overall, I’m super happy with the hairline and I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out. I’ll try my best to update monthly with progress photos. Onwards to the shed. Thanks for reading! Before photos + pre-op photos taken by the clinic: Day 1: