Middleson

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Bill...you may be right, but....you may be wrong, I'll let you know.

LOL...oh no, I damaged the normal shedding process B-Spot, Yep, I used the Graftcyte shampoo and concentrated spray, but not the compresses (didn't have the kit). thanks nobuzz, no worrying here at all, as i said just curious to know if anyone else might have retained more than 50% of their transplanted hairs instead of the typical post surgical shedding process?

Hey Fellas, Question for those with experience: It's been almost a month since my first HT and I still seem to be holding on to many of the hairs that were transplanted. I would estimate a bit over 50% remain and seem to be healthy & growing. I'm washing my hair normally & often run my hands over & through the transplanted hairs. Do you suppose these hairs have survived enough to continue growing & shedding normally or do you think it is more likely I will lose most of them sooner than later? I'm not stressing at all, I understand it would be very normal for them to all fall out & go into a resting phase...just curious to know if anyone kept most of their transplanted hair?

Hey Fellas, Question for those with experience: It's been almost a month since my first HT and I still seem to be holding on to many of the hairs that were transplanted. I would estimate a bit over 50% remain and seem to be healthy & growing. I'm washing my hair normally & often run my hands over & through the transplanted hairs. Do you suppose these hairs have survived enough to continue growing & shedding normally or do you think it is more likely I will lose most of them sooner than later? I'm not stressing at all, I understand it would be very normal for them to all fall out & go into a resting phase...just curious to know if anyone kept most of their transplanted hair?

Oh give me a break! (outa here)

Bill, I have to admit that your results present a compelling argument for "dry healing" (and you've been through this 3 times while I've only been through this once...and only 13 days at that). However, my personal preference is still toward wet healing, particularly with the saline rinses. I believe the therapeutic benifits are more than just mental at best. I also want to point out that I would not advocate using the Vitamin E oil on the donor wound...I only used it on the relatively healed recipient sites because it made it easier for me to get rid of the scabs/crusts. An interesting point...in my hours of research I even found this amusing advice: "..remember that if it's wet, dry it; and if it's dry, wet it.". Here is the source for that quote. Perhaps the ultra-refined HT's surguries heal so rapidly that it really doesn't make that much difference one way or the other. IH, I wanted to get the sutures out earlier, but it just wasn't convenient for me. I am anxious to the the things out tomorrow!

NicNitro, The side view pre-op photo looked really impressive as well. I think your results are going to be one for the books. Really incredible, for sure.

Ditto what NN said. Occasionally you run across a progression of pre & post HT photos and say "WOW". This is one of those...very impressive domie. I also really enjoyed reading your running commentary, which was both informative and entertaining. Best Wishes!

Greetings All, I spent a lot of time reading & researching after my first HT 12 days ago. I used this site extensively, and looked around all over the place for information that would help me develop a sensible plan for the best post-op care for me for the first week or so following my HT. The following is what I did, and I can say it worked very well for me. Days 1-3: Several rinses with a saline solution made with Epsom salts. I have a deep sink and used a large 2 quart container to pour the solution over my head. I followed the saline rinses with tap water rinses. I also used a folligen spray several times throughout the day. Days 4-7: Starting on day 4 I started soaking my entire scalp in a saline solution from Epsom salts. For this I used a cheap plastic 12 quart container. I placed two large bed pillows lengthwise in front of the container on the floor to make it easier to lay down & extend my head back into the container of saline solution. Using a hand held mirrow helped with positioning my head into the solution. There's no particular reason I waited until day 4 to soak my scalp other than personal convenience. After these soaks, I would rinse my head in the deep well sink by pouring tap water over my scalp or by pouring water over my head using a large plastic cup I kept in the shower. I also continued using the folligen spray throughout the day. Days 7-10: I continued with what I was already doing, but after day 7, I stopped using the large plastic cup in the shower. To rinse my head in the shower for days 7-10, I made sure my head was at least a couple feet away from the shower head (kneeled down in my shower). Boy did this feel good! Days 10-12: At this point I felt comfortable enough to start getting rid of the crusts on my scalp. I did this over a 3 day period (day 10, 11, 12) by using Liquid Vitamin E. I purchased a small 2 oz bottle with a dropper and only used about half of this quantity. The vitamin E oil really made pretty easy work of getting rid of the crusts without pulling out any transplanted hairs, but it was very messy (and didn't smell nice). After applying the Vitamin E oil, I gently massaged the crusted areas with the pads of my fingers (definitetly not the fingernails). After doing this, I found I was anxious for a shower to wash off the oily and smelly Vitamin E. During Days 10-12, I allowed my scalp to get closer the the shower head until I was showering normally. I have no remaining crust matter on my scalp. My scalp feels and looks very clean without any redness, swelling, dryness, itching, etc.. In addition, I've lost very few transplanted hairs at this point. My donor scar looks good and seems to be diminishing as far as the "raised feel" along the length of the scar. Day 13 (tomorrow) will be a normal day, and I'm having my sutures removed on Day 14 (this Tuesday). Hopefully I'll have some photos to share this coming Tuesday/Wednesday. After that, I'll post progress monthly and/or start up the weblog.

Topshiny, BHT is a fascinating concept! Your before & after is very impressive at this point. It will be very interesting to watch your progress through the next six months.

Hey pushing 40, I'll say it again, I think your results are going to be phenomenal. Are you sure about 4000 grafts? I'm no expert, but where are you going to put all those grafts?

head honcho, In my opinion, Dr. Cooley is an outstanding surgeon, for many reasons, many of which are already well documented in these discussion groups. Today I am one week post-op with Dr. Cooley. I can tell you that his surgery on me exceeded my expectations. I can also tell you that I am progressing exceptionally well at this point. If I can answer any other questions you might have related to my own proceedure/experience with Dr. Cooley, don't hesitate to ask.

pushing, Congratulations on your decision! I just searched back and found photos you posted back in September. It seems to me from looking at your photos, that you are going to have some spectacular results from 4000 grafts! Judging from what I've read/seen from stories/photos posted here it looks as though you are really going for bear, so to speak. Your crown appeared full in the photos, and your receding hairline didn't appear overly excessive for someone who's pushing 40 (speaking as someone who's been pulling 40 for nearly 7 years). Best of Luck to you, and I will be particularly anxious to see your results. I hope you'll continue to share after your HT.

bayscholar, I'm about 6 months behind you. Your pictures look fantastic! I will be pleased if I have as much progress when I hit 6 months this June. Interesting that you had a major shed session in your 5th month. From my recent reading/research here, I have the impression that most folks shed much earlier than that. I would be interested in reading more about your progression to this point.

Clarification: My instructions say to use the non-medicated shampoo on the back and sides of my scalp during the first week. They also sent me home with a sample of "Folligen Therapy Shampoo" and "Folligen Therapy Conditioner with Copper Peptides". Since this product is being recommended I'm thinking of ordering it myself & continue using it for a while. I've never been really selective with shampoo, but what the heck? [edited for poor spilling]

asds, I just checked my written post-op instructions as far as shampooing goes...only says to guard against letting the shower stream hit the scalp for one week (and to use a non-medicated shampoo)...suggests using plastic or styrofoam cup for rinses...they told me that frequent soaking would be benificial as well. That's about it for the shampoo suggestions. I have done very frequent rinsings with salt water solutions and I'm convinced it's really helped the healing process. My gut feeling regarding the benefits of salt water rinses/soaking for post-op HT care is rooted from a boyhood growing up very near the beaches in Florida...salt water seemed to work wonders on all manner of cuts, sores, and skin issues. I'm still really pleased with how I'm healing with the one week point being tomorrow, and I'm more than pleased with how it seems it is going to look down the road. I sure hope you and the B-Spot (another brother in the class of January 07) are also pleased and doing well. And that goes out to all the other recent class members who either post or lurk here.

asds I got the Folligen spray from my Dr's office after the HT. Here's the website for the product(s). I'm not sure if you can find in locally or not.

Forgot to mention the Folligen Spray (stuff with Copper Peptides?). I'm also using that regularly throughout the day.

Well I'm another one who had a HT this first week of January, and seem also to be doing pretty well. I have no swelling and hardly any redness to speak of. However, my scalp does itch every now & then but I think it's better than it was yesterday (my HT was Jan 3rd). During the first 4 days I basically rinsed my scalp several times/day with a mild solution of water/epsom salts. I'll probably continue with these rinses for a while...not sure if it's therapeautic or not, but it sure does feel good. Best of luck both you guys. I'm really looking forward to the holiday season in '07 and I know you guys are too.

Before someone else says it, let me give myself some good advice: "Chill out, everything will be fine. "

(well that's the last time I post something after taking Ambien ) Please understand, this is not a matter of being sent home with no post-op instructions...as I said in my original post, I was sent home with good advice and a printed sheet of instructions which includes phone numbers to reach the Doctor and members of staff. I am sure I can follow those instructions and be very well advised and expect great results. This is a matter of me being anal, persnickety, perfectionist, etc.. , combine this with Ambien (which seems to make me unusually loopy) and, well, there you have it. I'm the kind of person that will research and over-analyize most everything. If I have given anyone the impression I was sent home with no instructions or advice then let me clarify that right now. I guess the kind of thing I was looking for was something like "I rinsed my scalp with saline solution the very next day after surgery...rinsed it several times per day for the first week, keeping my scalp moist...I had very few scabs which came off easily by rinsing and most of the donor hair remained and started growing." No?

Maybe I'm a little loopy from Ambien at the moment, but I'm trying to find and confirm what a good sensible reasonable plan of action would be for follow up care after the HT...a course of action that will maximimize the good stuff & minimized the undesirable stuff. Of course I was sent home with good advice (but rather general), along with suggestions that soaking my head would be good, etc.. Reading these forums on can easily run across no shortage of opinions related to when to begin showering, how hard the water spray, when to use shampoo and what type, when to use copper peptide sprays and how often...when the grafts are secure and when to be concerned. How to avoid scabs, what do do if you get them, should you be concerned if you don't lose your donor hair? etc.. I read one person who swam in the ocean imediately post op and had great results and read other posts where someone advised keep the recipient site dry for 3-4 days... I tend to personally favor frequently pouring a lukewarm solution of dissolved epsom salts over my head several times a day and use the folligen spray a couple times a day, but this is not really based on anything more than a gut feeling. Any opinions of people who are smarter than I am, or more experienced?

Maybe I'm a little loopy from Ambien at the moment, but I'm trying to find and confirm what a good sensible reasonable plan of action would be for follow up care after the HT...a course of action that will maximimize the good stuff & minimized the undesirable stuff. Of course I was sent home with good advice (but rather general), along with suggestions that soaking my head would be good, etc.. Reading these forums on can easily run across no shortage of opinions related to when to begin showering, how hard the water spray, when to use shampoo and what type, when to use copper peptide sprays and how often...when the grafts are secure and when to be concerned. How to avoid scabs, what do do if you get them, should you be concerned if you don't lose your donor hair? etc.. I read one person who swam in the ocean imediately post op and had great results and read other posts where someone advised keep the recipient site dry for 3-4 days... I tend to personally favor frequently pouring a lukewarm solution of dissolved epsom salts over my head several times a day and use the folligen spray a couple times a day, but this is not really based on anything more than a gut feeling. Any opinions of people who are smarter than I am, or more experienced?

NervousNelly, I did not mention to Dr. Cooley that I was posting here, but I did tell him that I did a lot of research in this forum. When I left his office the next day, his assistant did give me what looked like a pretty standard form inviting me to participate anonomously (wish there was a spell check feature in here?) on a weblog and share photos of my progress. I thought about telling her that I'm already posting here, but I was more preoccuppied with my head/new transplants and hadn't yet made up my mind about the weblog. In all honesty, I would wager anything that posting here wouldn't make one bit of difference in the work he did on me. I actually wondered where his passion and committement to his work comes from, and I can't say that I know anymore having gone through the HT with him, but I can say that I don't think he's motivated by ego or profit (and I wouldn't begrudge him either of those things)...his motivation, wherever it comes from is genuine, and sincere. It's a tangible thing. A close friend just finished looking at my crown & hairline & she is stunned. Very impressed with the obvious coverage on my crown and improved hairline, also with how quickly everything is healing! It's a bummer to think I'm going to probably lose these grafts as part of the process! B Spot, I think you're right on the spot with what you said about continually cleaning the recipient area. Dr. Cooley did a lot of rinsing of my scalp throughout the surgery and advised me keep it clean & moist for a while. And I'll say this again, it also helps with the itching.