4Dad

Thanks Bill. Is Mederma a concealer? Is it available in stores or just online?

Thanks for the replies. I've edited the message to include pics from ten days out when the staples were removed. Once the pink dots disappear from where the staples were, the scar will be undetectable (any suggestions on how to speed this up?). I've shaved down the back and sides to match the top, and it looks surprisingly good. No shock loss at all. I'll keep posting periodic updates as others have. 4Dad

THREE MONTH PICTURES After nearly 8 months of research -- mostly on this forum -- I took the plunge on December 22, 2006 with a strip procedure with Dr. Feller. My experience was just amazing. I'm very, very happy with how it is shaping up. Dr. Feller is everything as advertised on this board, and his staff clearly knows what they are doing. Dr. Feller is a no-nonsense, no-BS person. I'm the proud father of 4, 39 years old, and happily married for ten years. I decided to do this because I simply didn't like the way I looked. No one else cared. My wife met me when my hairline already had receded and never pushed me to do this, but she was supportive. I want to thank everyone on this board that has shared their experiences with any of the doctors. This certainly helped me picked Dr. Feller, but it also made me very comfortable with the procedure. I can get pretty nervous at times even though I'm a trial lawyer, but I was not nervous at all before or during the procedure. I even slept well the night before. I don't know what Norwood class I was; I only had some bridge hair toward the back that I was able to comb over somewhat. We decided to fill in the hairline all the way back to (and ultimately into) the bridge hair area. The goal was to get 3,000 FUs, but we ultimately got 3,424. We started at 7:45 a.m. and ended at around 5 p.m. The most interesting thing was it took about 30 minutes to draw the hairline. We had pictures from the initial consultation, and I thought he had matched them pretty well after 10 or 15 minutes, but he re-drew the line two more times to get it exactly right. One suggestion that I would make to others is to have someone that knows you at the consultation/hairline drawing session. I brought my wife; she had some suggestions for some little nuances for the hairline that I never would have thought of and that we ultimately used. Another perspective never hurts. As everyone has said, the most difficult part of the day was the injection of the anesthetic. Ouch. At least we got that part out of the way quickly. Then, the most difficult part was sitting still! More on that later. I thought I was going to be grossed out by the removal of the strip. It turned out to be painless, and there was no ripping or tearing sound at all. The valium Dr. Feller gave me probably helped. After the stitches, Dr. Feller went about punching 3,001 holes in my head. This is a quiet time because of the intense concentration required, so I just zoned out. Within just a few minutes after the last hole was punched, the techs came in to put the grafts in. This was pretty tedious. I didn't realize that it's not just about sitting in the chair for 8 hours; you have to be absolutely still while the grafts go in to ensure the right placement. What I didn't know going in is that they pile the grafts on your head to store them before they actually put them in the scalp. At one point, I turned my head and the Doctor thought some of the grafts would fall off! He stopped me in time thankfully. The rest of the day was a blur. I was lucky enough to have a fantastic lunch prepared by the staff for the office holiday party (thanks again!). I was even luckier when I was told at the end of the day that the doctor would be punching another 400+ holes because they harvested more grafts than projected. I drove home afterwards only on the power of Dr. Feller's new painkilling method (he gives you a syringe to pump more of the anesthetic through butterfly needles fastened with a headband). I had some major league swelling over the next few days, but I was able to sleep comfortably. Too early to tell exactly how the scar is going to turn out, but it looks promising. The staples came out today. Not fun. Because I have a sensitive scalp, I had to get 6 more pain injections! These were not as deep as the ones on the day of the procedure, so they didn't hurt quite as much. I'm trying not to get too excited about the new hair just yet, because I know it's going to shed. It looks like it's going to be pretty dense too, but it's too early to tell. Again, thanks to everyone for their insights on the process. TEN DAY UPDATE I've attached some pictures from Dr. Feller's office (before and on day of procedure). I've edited the message to include pics from when the staples were removed (10 days out). THREE MONTH UPDATE Attached are recent pictures documenting growth as of approximately three months after a haircut. The hair is rather thin (can't be combed or styled), but the progress is encouraging. 4DAD <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> </pre> <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> </pre>

THREE MONTH PICTURES After nearly 8 months of research -- mostly on this forum -- I took the plunge on December 22, 2006 with a strip procedure with Dr. Feller. My experience was just amazing. I'm very, very happy with how it is shaping up. Dr. Feller is everything as advertised on this board, and his staff clearly knows what they are doing. Dr. Feller is a no-nonsense, no-BS person. I'm the proud father of 4, 39 years old, and happily married for ten years. I decided to do this because I simply didn't like the way I looked. No one else cared. My wife met me when my hairline already had receded and never pushed me to do this, but she was supportive. I want to thank everyone on this board that has shared their experiences with any of the doctors. This certainly helped me picked Dr. Feller, but it also made me very comfortable with the procedure. I can get pretty nervous at times even though I'm a trial lawyer, but I was not nervous at all before or during the procedure. I even slept well the night before. I don't know what Norwood class I was; I only had some bridge hair toward the back that I was able to comb over somewhat. We decided to fill in the hairline all the way back to (and ultimately into) the bridge hair area. The goal was to get 3,000 FUs, but we ultimately got 3,424. We started at 7:45 a.m. and ended at around 5 p.m. The most interesting thing was it took about 30 minutes to draw the hairline. We had pictures from the initial consultation, and I thought he had matched them pretty well after 10 or 15 minutes, but he re-drew the line two more times to get it exactly right. One suggestion that I would make to others is to have someone that knows you at the consultation/hairline drawing session. I brought my wife; she had some suggestions for some little nuances for the hairline that I never would have thought of and that we ultimately used. Another perspective never hurts. As everyone has said, the most difficult part of the day was the injection of the anesthetic. Ouch. At least we got that part out of the way quickly. Then, the most difficult part was sitting still! More on that later. I thought I was going to be grossed out by the removal of the strip. It turned out to be painless, and there was no ripping or tearing sound at all. The valium Dr. Feller gave me probably helped. After the stitches, Dr. Feller went about punching 3,001 holes in my head. This is a quiet time because of the intense concentration required, so I just zoned out. Within just a few minutes after the last hole was punched, the techs came in to put the grafts in. This was pretty tedious. I didn't realize that it's not just about sitting in the chair for 8 hours; you have to be absolutely still while the grafts go in to ensure the right placement. What I didn't know going in is that they pile the grafts on your head to store them before they actually put them in the scalp. At one point, I turned my head and the Doctor thought some of the grafts would fall off! He stopped me in time thankfully. The rest of the day was a blur. I was lucky enough to have a fantastic lunch prepared by the staff for the office holiday party (thanks again!). I was even luckier when I was told at the end of the day that the doctor would be punching another 400+ holes because they harvested more grafts than projected. I drove home afterwards only on the power of Dr. Feller's new painkilling method (he gives you a syringe to pump more of the anesthetic through butterfly needles fastened with a headband). I had some major league swelling over the next few days, but I was able to sleep comfortably. Too early to tell exactly how the scar is going to turn out, but it looks promising. The staples came out today. Not fun. Because I have a sensitive scalp, I had to get 6 more pain injections! These were not as deep as the ones on the day of the procedure, so they didn't hurt quite as much. I'm trying not to get too excited about the new hair just yet, because I know it's going to shed. It looks like it's going to be pretty dense too, but it's too early to tell. Again, thanks to everyone for their insights on the process. TEN DAY UPDATE I've attached some pictures from Dr. Feller's office (before and on day of procedure). I've edited the message to include pics from when the staples were removed (10 days out). THREE MONTH UPDATE Attached are recent pictures documenting growth as of approximately three months after a haircut. The hair is rather thin (can't be combed or styled), but the progress is encouraging. 4DAD <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> </pre> <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> </pre>