nobuzz4me

Good luck bro, I am two weeks post HT #3 with Dr Vogel (first time with him) in Baltimore, had disolvable stitches so they stay in. My check up today, he just trimmed off a few loose threads and the rest are absorbed or fall off. All in all, very little itching in donor area, I used aloe vera and which helped and frequent washing, 2-3 shampoos a day, (was easy with the grafts though!). Should be looking good by Summer, (we hope!)

Sounds like a plan John, I think the temples can really give that fnished look and are paramount to anyones overall plan if they have receded. I also think you get a big bang for the graft in those spots, a couple hundred grafts may be all it takes.

The shedding is normal and is a good sign that the finasteride is working for you. When those hairs come back they will be strong. I have not experienced any real noticable side affects and I do not shed anymore than normal. It has stopped my loss and its too early to tell if any regrowth has started. Good to hear your sex life is OK. If too much sex caused more hairloss, there would be a world full of baldies!

How about a sign: "Will work for grafts"

tkerr, I agree, that the neck is pulled higher the the crown pulled down, it may have to do with the scar being below the nuptial ridge. Maybe that keeps the crown from moving as much. I looked at your webblog and you are coming along nice. Should look great for Spring/Summer. If you could get Dr. Alexanders thoughts on this question we would love to hear from the experts on this. Thanks,

S&P, I like your plan, I think you will be thrilled when it all grows in! Take it easy, heal well!

Good point NN, wouldn't want a desperate soul resorting to crime for hair

Who knows, that could start a trend. Imagine going in for a Hair reduction????

This won't happen to Bill - he will grow his full head of hair and flaunt it on this forum

Yeah, Some guys grow a head of hair and forget all about their bald buddies. Another frequent contributor was "Mark H" who had his HT with Cooley. He was real regular and disappeared

Great result with one pass, I am jealous. Great growth in just three months, again I am jealous. Crap, you are probably rich, good looking and date supermodels!!!! Seriously though, you must be thrilled. Congratulations, my friend!!!

Hello Harryben, For us to give you good advice we will need a little more info. What is your current age and how would your current hairloss rate on the norwood scale? Are you on Propecia and or minoxidil? Famiy hairloss history?? Did you recieve 300 grafts per session in 1997-2001? Were they Mini grafts or Micro grafts (around 4-10 hairs each graft)? The one question I can answer is that if donor area allows, you can get another strip from where you had it taken before and end up with one scar instead of multiple. UNLESS during your previous smaller surgeries, they just took from one side and you need to harvest from the other side at this point. Also, not all doctors require shaving but depending on your situation it may be advisable for the best result. Good luck with your search for info, you have come to the right place.

Thank you for documenting your journey so far, it is valuable for any newbies considering HT. It is a very big step and even though the experience is about as painful as going to the the dentist, the post op swelling, pain, nights sleeping for the next couple of days ar not like post dental work! Well, I remember wisdom teeth though, they hurt for some time after. Glad to hear your doctor walked you thru everything with no surprises. Hope you recover well and by Spring, those hair buds will be blooming!

JohnS, I think FUE is very smart to do in his case if that is all the grafts he will need. He should check with Dr. Feller in NY. At NW2 he easily has donor and even though FUE graft success in not as good as FUT he has plenty to spare to do just the hairline. FUE recovery is much easier as well.

You need to forget these types of products and get on finasteride, get proscar which comes in 5mg and cut them in quarters. You need to get a prescription from your dermatoligist whom you should see anyway to make sure your loss is in fact, MPG and not another cause.

Hello Dazzaa, Do a search using the "find" feature on AHS and you will find additional posts on customers experience with them. Maybe this will help guide you to a decision about whether to follow thru. All I can say is do not let them burn you. Make noise or threats to get your money back. Many of these businesses prey on the shyness of its customers. Good luck.

Ironhead, I am going thru some minor plug repair right now. I am continuing with restoring my hair on top rather than complete reversal. I keep my hair long enough to cover my scars in back. I opted to have about 15 or so plugs removed and filled in between the rest with FUT. In your case, if you want to eliminated the plugs in front, you have a few options. The scar revision via tricho may help but unfortunately will still not allow you to go down to a zero guard without it being detectable. Your plugs can be laser removed which would not allow transfer to the scar and I hear the hair grows back sometimes and repeated procedures are needed. You can remove via FUE and transfer to the scar. You need to know that you will not get 100% survival of the grafts once placed into the scar. You could have transection during removal and then planting the into scar tissue is not the best growing conditions for the graft. You can also have the plugs cored out (FUE on a larger diameter) and the grafts recycled and put back into the scar. The open hole can be sutured or left to heal on its own, depending on its size. I had some of my plugs punched out and then the plugs were recycled into FU's. My doctor has extensive experience in repair and in my case left the punched area to heal without sutures. This concerned me at first but when he showed me photos of it done each way, I trusted his judgement. Sometimes the plugs are sutured which leaves a small linear scar. Since I am continuing to restore my hair, suturing the holes closed would have caused damage to existing hair I had in between and increased tension in the area which would not be good for the newly planted grafts. Additional tension can cause planted grafts to "pop" out. I am 11 days post op and I was very afraid of how these open holes would heal. I can tell you, and I will post pics later, that I am healing great. The plug scabs shrunk each day and some are completly gone. In a few days they will not be visible at all. I guess I just wanted to let you know that this way may be an option. If you could give a few more details as to: # of plugs, plug size, # of surgeries and photos, that would really help. You can PM me if you like. Good luck,

Agreed, Cousin was/is a valuable contributor to this forum. I do hope he returns soon.

Yes, laxity is probably the key to take a safe strip. The tightness you feel after HT does go away in a couple of weeks and some laxity is restored. I actually think some of the tightness can be attributed to swelling, I know I had swelling in the donor area and even wondered if that was going to stretch my scar formation! I guess your sutures hold till the swelling stage is over. Bill, I agree the scalp never really returns to normal, perhaps I used the wrong term. My Doc says when all is settled down the movement will not be signifigant enough to notice.

I asked my Dr. on this and he said there is initial movement but the scalp, over time, stretches back to its normal position. The donor region, is of course, thinner as a result of the strip taken. I recall guys who have had scalp reductions done (barbaric), their sides pulled up after the crown was reduced and sutured. Many of these guys scars stretched as the sides returned back to its normal position. Thank God this is rarely done anymore!!

Glad your kidneys are OK, scarey stuff if they are damaged.

Bill, 3 months - wow wish I were there! Your hairline looks awesome and it looks like you are getting some action there. Does the crown go in slower, I think I read that somewhere? You top is blending in very nicely with the sides which will really give you a natural look. Your sides are very thick looking which sometimes give the top a thinner look than they actually are (if that makes sense??). Well you are over the hump I would say and you are coming out of the telogen abyss! Looking good brother!

RJ, I saw your photos, looks very clean, you are probably in the swellhead stage for the next few days. Keep elevated and ice forehead and donor areas. I am in about the same boat as you, age 46, just started propecia a few months ago for really the first time. I think your plan is perfect, rebuild the frontal zone and let propecia respond in the crown. Even if it does not work as you like you can revisit the crown later. How is your donor situation?? You will get a good result from 2200 grafts. Some may say you will need more in front but if you have thicker hair shafts for example, it will cover nicely. You cannot tell just by graft numbers if that makes sense. The other thing is how many 1,2,3 &4 hair grafts were there? That has an effect on the overall result also.. I think Pat, the publisher, says count hairs not grafts. I am sure in July things will be very exciting! I am post op 9 days so I am also looking forward to Summer results!

Wow, that is interesting, I thought it was required for the optimum result. I think he will get more business if more know he is flexible on this. He probably does not need the business though, with his reputation. I think H&W, Feller seem to do the largest sessions which makes them so attractive. If they are optional with the shaving, I would consider them for sure.