BillyJ

Magnificent Joe, so pleased for you. It was good meeting you again in Vancouver during my trip in August. Please say hello to everyone at H & W for me. I very much enjoyed my almost daily visits to clinic. Best wishes. Bill

Hello all, Had my second transplant with Dr Wong on 23 August 2011. At a consultation with Dr Wong in London, during his May 2011 visit, it was estimated that I could achieve around 1300 grafts, possibly increasing to 1500 with sustained scalp exercises. The plan was to improve the crown with around 800 grafts and plant the remaider behind the hairline. The resulting harvest of 1859 grafts were distributed as follows: 1067 Crown; 657 behind the Hairline; 135 donor Plug scars. The whole process on the day was as good as I remembered it from the first visit and the after servce was equally so. I stayed in Vancouver for 2 weeks 2 days. A significant bonus was not having the hairline to mid section shaved. Photographs can be found on my Blog, apologies for not replecating them within this thread, still, as ever, a technophobe. Regards. Bill

Good of you to respond TC and thank you for your encouraging viewpoint. My hair is particularly thin in the crown and adding around 800 graphs will give the area first transplanted a fuller appearence but not inappropriately dense. I agree, lowering the hairline would not be beneficial and I have no intention of doing so. Just looking to add a degree or two of density that a few hundred graphs should provide. All in all, if things go well, I should achieve an overall improvement top down also. In person the current result, now into its 14th month, is better presented than in my poorly taken photos. So in reality a marginal improvement is the expectation but one that will perform even better in those unforgiving lights I referred to in my initial post. Regards. Billy

Thank you for your kind words Spanker, much appreciated. Essentially, it's a case of prioritising available graphs. I met with Dr Wong last month and he feels I might only achieve around 1200 graphs, possibly up to 1500 with good laxity. This is more or less the extent of my remaining donor capability. Therefore, given my age, I think I would be better served by addressing a thin crown and adding density to the front/mid section. However, you raise a good point that I don't wish to dismiss entirely so will mention it during my pre-op consultation with Dr Wong. Regards. Bill

Hello everyone, I reached the first anniversary of my transplant on 13 May 2011. The following photos were taken on 15 May 2011. Apologies again for the indifferent quality; hopefully they convey an indication of progress made. The year has gone swiftly by and I am delighted with the result. I clearly have a hairline, the hole in my head is gone, albeit with thin covering. The top of my head is also relatively thin, certainly under an unforgiving light. Nevertheless, such seemingly apparent negatives are unequivocal positives for me. From where I began to where I am is a significant leap; tangible as well as in faith. I am thankful for the skill of my Surgeon Dr Wong and his wonderful (or should that be Wongderful) technicians and for Hair Transplant Network, specifically this Forum, as without it I would not have embarked on this adventure. The above two paragraphs have been pasted from my blog, thus the photos mentioned are there too - after all this time I am still to master the art of including pictures within a thread!? I have booked a second transplant with Dr Wong, when it is hoped I will achieve between 1200 and 1500 graphs, 800 of which should be placed in the crown and the remainder in the front third. The surgery is scheduled for 23 August 2011. I shall be happy to keep you updated with my progress. Be pleased if you would take a look at my blog and happy to recieve comments and to answer any questions. Regards. Bill

Alix, I recognise your anxiety with regard to wind or breeze as it used to effect me in the same way. I was at a music festival yesterday and the wind was particulary strong, against which my hair looked good, tousled but good - certainly from the front view anyway! I've read that you will be seeing Dr Wong in London next weekend; in my opinion he is a pre-eminent physian and a nice man too. Should you choose Dr Wong to provide you with your next procedure I feel you have every chance of losing the dreaded wind syndrome. I can only speak for me and cannot second guess what your result will be but feel you would have every reason to be optimistic. Incidentally, I shall be meeting Dr Wong on the Saturday of next weekend, along with Garageland and Jotronic. It will be 6 days short of my transplant anniversay. Hope I will get some good photos to show on this forum. In any case I shall take some of my own on the actual anniversay date. Best wishes. Bill

The ceaseless march of technology. A thought processor away from the first mobile 3D hair transplant, and I can just about manage texting! Well done H & W. Bill

Anonymous Man, A heartfelt declaration. I wish you well as you go along. My concern or the only thing that jarred with me reading through your missive, was your Rogaine comment. It suggests to me that you have not fully let go. I just hope that you can and shall find peace of mind doing so. It's a hard road travel well. Bill

David, As you know I'm so very pleased with my new hairline, if I had yours I'd be more than thrilled, well done! Looking forward to meeting up next Saturday. Kind regards. Bill

Thank you for the compliments Alix, gratefully received. You ask a good question. When going through the research process I determined 6000 to 7000 graphs would be needed to achieve a truly acceptable result. The outcome from receiving 3739 graphs is at a level that has met my initial expectation. I recall a conversation with Dr Wong following surgery. I asked if he felt I would need a second operation, his answer was no. He said I should have a good final result and woudn't require another transplant. I am very happy with the way things have gone. I have a hairline, I don't fear wind blowing, in fact I now enjoy it. I'm sure in certain lights or viewpoints my hair from top down will look thin. From the front aethestic I think it looks terrific. However, I do have scarring from an old plug procedure, fortunately not extensive, and something at the time was totally unneccesary, such is life! So am partially considering scar revision and should I go forward with it I would have a second procedure at the same time to increase all over density. Big if though, at the moment! Have to say I had a very good experience of the whole process, so have no concerns there. Down time being the only exception and that is age related i.e. at my venerable age do I want to commit to another year? Thank again, and a very good question to boot! Best wishes. Bill

Atomic, Harriri, Ziggy, thank you for taking the trouble to view my update and for your kind response. Atomic, I couldn't agree with you more about the quality of my photos. I'm meeting with Garageland, Dr Wong and Jotronic in London a week shy of a year from my transplant. Hopefully, it will produce some decent pictures - won't be too hard to do! Harrari, I feel I have a great deal to smile about - am grateful too! Ziggy, I am pleased it can look good without the need for hair products, other than water. All good wishes. Bill

David, Am pleased to catalogue my progress in the hope it will prove useful to others. It was good to talk recently and I look forward to meeting you in London in May during Dr Wong's visit. Best wishes. Bill

Ukpatient, Apologies for the lateness of reply. Thank you for your kind words, it is always very satisfying to receive such compliments. I can understand your frustration with slow passing time. In retrospect it now appears that the last ten months or so have almost rushed by for me. I appreciate my saying that is of scant consolation to you. Four/five months along is when I started to see things developing, hopefully it will at least be the same for you. I wish you well and an excellent result. Regards. Bill

Ukbloke, Apologies for not repying sooner. Thank you for your kind words, much appreciated. Regarding a top down view, the only perspective I have are the photos I've taken to date. From the front I think my hair stands up well to most lighting. Looking down on the top I would suggest an unforgiving light would expose the reality of the limited number of graphs transplanted. Such a reality would not be unexpected. However, I do get the impression the hair is getting stronger and thus appears more dense. Certainly, a vast improvement on what went before. As Garageland mentioned in his message, I shall be meeting up with Dr Wong in May, when photographs of a superior quality shall hopefully be produced - much better than my efforts anyway. Hope all is progressing nicely for you. Regards. Bill

Hello my brethen, Posted 9 month 6 days and 10 month 2 weeks updates on my blog. After all this time I've yet to master the art of transfer from blog to thread! Apologies, for any incovenience this might cause. Continue to be pleased with ongoing transformation. Crown remains thin, on the plus side hair is in there, albeit short and wispy. It amazes me that I am seemingly complaining about this situation, I'm not. It is just a measure of how far I have progressed - could it be a case of the fabled hair greed! The perspective is a Norwood 5A, 60 years old and 3739 graphs. It'd be like saying Moses parting the sea was a minor irrigation issue! Let the good times roll - for all of us. Be pleased to answer any questions. Best wishes. Bill