zx_toth

Looks like you've come a long way ... plenty of improvement in your hair. I do recommend you take some better pictures however.

Nice result! He definitely looks younger than his stated age now.

Yikes dude. Sorry about the experience. I went on the Dr's website and most of his results look that they were likely from the propecia he probably prescribes and not the hair transplants he performs as all of them seem like minimal aesthetic improvements and some of the pictures seem to be intentionally blurred ... my spidey sense telling me something is not right here.

Good luck with Round 2.

Any chance you would post some pre and 1 yr post op results from your first surgery? Thanks.

Where you using Minoxidil before HT? If yes how many weeks before HT you stop using it

No I hadn't used minoxidil in the past. I had used finasteride about 10 years ago for 2 years with good results but was having some mild side effects and just wasn't a fan of taking a med daily. It seemed that at the timey hair loss bothered me a bit less after the results from propecia and I discontinued it ... Of course I would have lost the gains made from the medication but my obsession over my hair lessened for a few years.

This time around I am considering staying on the minoxidil and looking into topical finasteride as per available in Europe and prescribed by Hasson and Wong of Vancouver which is compounded at compounding pharmacies rather then more simple dispensing pharmacies. The systemic effects seem to be minimized from the topical application as per Dr Hasson, lower dose needed and results are comparable to oral. Just to clarify I hadn't talked to the Hasson and Wong clinic this is just from what I have read from what their clinic has anecdotally done and a blog reply that Dr. Hasson wrote.

http://hairlosscure2020.com/topical-finasteride/

Hey, thanks for posting about your procedure with Dr. Rahal.

 

I agree the placement of the grafts look like you will have some pretty amazing density! And I love the hairline design with the widow's peak. I will be having my FUE procedure with Dr. Rahal on Monday and am hoping he can design a somewhat similar looking hairline for me as well.

 

And it sounds like you had a great experience at the clinic and with Dr. Rahal and his staff, which is very encouraging to hear. It's reassuring to hear such great reviews and feel like I definitely made the right decision in choosing him for my transplant.

 

Thanks again for sharing. I'll definitely be following you for updates!

I hope you had a good day on Monday with your procedure. Glad I could be of some assistance.

Attached are some pictures from two weeks post op. Ill do some proper comparison pictures once my hair starts growing at 3 months. But for now these were just for some fun so no standard angles. The black and white pics were me just wondering what it would look like without the redness ruining the visual appeal of the hairline so I took them.

Scabs are out after washing my hair and some gentle massaging.

Have been using Rogaine since 14 days post op and I haven't had any reaction to it. Some say the recipient area may become very red but I haven't noticed that though the area remains red just from surgery, which will take time to lessen. I have noticed from 2 weeks post op to getting closer to 3 weeks the redness is down several shades.

I don't want to get tangled up in this thread too much but want to make a couple of comments. I am not defending the clinic by any means but would like to give a point of view.

1) Clinics are smart to get patients to sign lengthy consent forms/documents. This is cosmetic surgery so you are subjecting yourself to medically unnecessary surgery therefore the clinic wants to protect themselves in case something happens.

Also to be honest, we are a neurotic bunch to a certain extent - hence why we obsess over our hair - some of us more than others and a higher percentage of us from higher income brackets who could take up legal issues if we are not happy with a sub-par result. So they want to make us aware that a sub-par result is a possibility by signing off on certain statements of understanding.

Heck I had to sign a 20 page document and I was fine with that. Have you guys every signed mortgage papers or loan documents? lengthy as well ... doesn't mean they are shady, just protecting themselves.

2) Regarding increased use of anesthetics. You should discuss your wishes with your physician. I was given Valium with my consent to relax me for the procedure along with the anesthetic. There was no problem with this.

It sounds like the clinic may make people drowsy/less aware of the pain of the procedure. So what? you want to be aware of the 3000 pokes in your head?

Culturally there may be less tolerance to pain and this is how it is dealt with. Some percentage of people even in dentist's appointments say 'knock me out Doc, I don't want to be aware'.

If you have concerns about the meds, have an open and frank discussion with your wishes going into to the surgery.

Again I am not defending the clinic but tired of how people always put a negative tint on practices they don't understand and immediately jump to conspiracy theory.

3) Regarding the poor outcome, well thats a skill issue not a legal issue. Sadly you may have been one of the earlier FUE patients and now the clinic has improved their skills by more volume of patients. Sorry you had that outcome.

Here is my graft breakdown for anyone interested.

I don't have the square cm's listed on it but I believe my area filled was 48 cm2.

60 graft per cm2 up front with decreasing density going backwards. I had asked if there was any advantage to increasing the number of grafts used by a few hundred to maintain 60 grafts per cm2 but Dr Rahal stated that there wasn't any aesthetic value in this due to the grafts placed behind the hairline would be larger follicular units (2s,3s,4s).

You've burst some blood vessels under the eyes due to the swelling. This was told to me as a possibility after the surgery. I did not get it but it was mentioned. It will go away. If you are truly freaked out about something you should really call the clinic's office, they should have an open line for patients - including an emergency number although it is not an emergency.

What a great result for the ole fella! He must be thrilled. Great work Dr. Diep.

Mercedes? BMW? I think you will be happy with either surgeon and their results.

It is pretty cool though that Dr. Konior does all the extractions and implantations though.

Fully agree with everyone ... a rock'n result. Thanks for the ongoing updates.

This looks really promising zx.

 

Best of luck!

Thanks. I am of course hoping for a great result I have been spraying the grafts on an hourly basis for the past 9 days on the advice of the clinic because my scabbing/grafts seem to get dry quickly - this is in comparison to the usual 2 hour interval. So with all this effort, cost and waiting I hope the result is good.

Hello zx_roth,

 

What a coincidence that I came across your HT journey right when I was thinking about contacting Dr. Rahal.

 

Would it be okay if you could share the cost of HT? I'd contacted Dr. Bhatti but got a rude awakening when he said "You seem to have diffuse alopecia and that does not make you an ideal candidate for a hair transplant."

 

Thank you.

I sent you a PM

which location did you get this Rahal HT done?

did Rahal actually have a hand in the procedure?

how many ppl in total worked on you?

Thanks.

My understanding is he only does surgery in the Ottawa clinic. The other clinics are for consultations only. Perhaps one of the reps can chime in.

Yes, Dr. Rahal did the hairline design, some initial graft extractions though the senior nurse/tech seemed to do most of this and Dr. Rahal did initial graft placementsand final adjustments. He oversaw the procedure as the day went on to make sure things were progressing.

I was facing towards the TV so I couldn't see how many people were in total in the room at all times but seemed to be between 3-6 people at various times - graft counts, graft placement, etc. It was busy.

did you have a lot of facial swelling after the operation. did the doc say why they had to shave your whole head

No I wouldn't say that I had a lot. Mild to moderate. See the attached pics comparing days 1 to 5 post op.

You can see the areas in which I had swelling post op day 1 and the swelling moves down into lower parts of your face later. I was spared in my eyes, so I was happy about that. I used compression on my forehead with a cylindrical object and slowly moved the fluid off to the side a few times through out the first few evenings. Much like boxer's coaches/cut doctors move swelling in the forehead away from the eyes.

Even my wife didn't notice much facial swelling besides in the forehead. It did take a good 6 days to be totally back to myself but post op day 5 is hardly noticeable in my case. I fared MUCH better than two guys who had FUT done, with the big scar on the back for swelling as well as pain control - FUE is definitely better tolerated from those two factors.

I had the option of just shaving the donor area and recipient area however I would have looked like an idiot with a huge chunk shaved out from the back and the front shaved down. The nurse told me many people who opt to for only partial shaving end up coming back the next day for their entire head shaved because it looks stupid just partially shaved.

This is going to be an interesting transformation! Happy growing.

We are only 3 days apart from our procedures.

Usually if you go with that doc, the consult fee goes toward the cost of the procedure. I still think it's BS UNLESS the consult includes some high level scalp examination and truly takes a full educational hour.

I agree - if they do in depth scalp examination to look at areas of miniaturization and spend a decent amount of time with you and doing education. However if it is a 'wham, bam, thank you ma'am type thing it should be free. For example, car dealers don't charge you for going through the dealership and talking to you about your car options.

Yeah I thought the same thing with my surgery but its what they do to make the work precise and blending easier that way for the future growth.

 

Looks really good and can't wait to see you updates.

Thanks ftbpicks! Will update at 2 weeks, then monthly afterwards like yourself. Wish I could already be at the 6+ month mark where you are but oh well it's a process.

Healing of donor area - Post op day 1, 3, and 5. You can see how quickly the donor heals if you follow the post op directions closely, eat well, go for walks, etc.

5 days post op FUE.

Any perceived gaps between the native hair and recipient area are merely where they shaved down my native hair with a razor to integrate the native and grafted hairs, so there are actually no gaps - just where down to the skin shaving was done vs the head shaving with clippers else where.

Dr. Rahal designed the hairline and got it perfect for me at first pass. Only thing I added was the addition of a widow's peak.

Things that bothered me - 1) Deep temple recession, particularly on the Right side, 2) high forehead, 3) Minaturized hairs in the forelock that were definitely going to be gone and progressive my recession.

Thanks for everyone's kind words of encouragement and support. It is much appreciated when taking a plunge like this.

I thought since the forum has helped me so much, particularly the high volume of Rahal patients posting back when I was considering my HT I would give back during a bit of a dry spell - in regards to forum posts - for the clinic. The clinic itself is super busy.

Special thanks to Ftbpicks for his blog and routine updates which I watched keenly as he was also FUE in the 2500 graft range with a Norwood 3 range.

Rawkerboi: They have actually moved the guest house to the 'Rahal campus' complex so it is in the same complex as the clinic. It is quite nice, modern though I can't compare it to the previous location as I hadn't ever stayed there. It's really the way to go, and Mahesh, who tends to the guesthouse is super nice and accommodating.

Thanks. Looking forward to following your results as time progresses. Always interested to see people who are ahead of the game and see where I am headed.

Looks solid and dense packed mate!! Nice hairline as well. Happy growing!!

Hey everyone,

I had my procedure with Dr. Rahal on April 10 and am currently 3 days post-op. I will be receiving my pictures from the clinic on Thursday - official pre-op, post-op -pictures so I won't bother digging up any more than my current 3-day post op pics I captured with my laptop camera.

I can only say great things about Dr. Rahal and his staff. His staff have incredible endurance, patience and professionalism. After this experience I wouldn't consider anywhere else for any future procedures.

Feel free to ask me any questions about my individual experience thus far. Have met with 3 additional Rahal patients while here and they have nothing but glowing comments regarding the clinic as well.

Should add a few details - I had all my grafts placed in the frontal third. I have no crown thinning whatsoever, only deep temple recession and some miniaturization I was concerned about on the right side of the front forelock which was going to say 'bye-bye' in a few years. I did get the hairline lowered from where it was previously as well as have the temples closed. I also asked for a small widow's peak as I have always like the look of those but didn't actually have one in my natural hairline.

The pictures that I receive on Thursday should show the extent of my balding pattern as well as images of the donor area after surgery - so I won't laboriously try to take pictures of that now.