KulMD

Jojo1, BTW, Pure 100% Emu Oil is the way to go. It's not greasy. The creams have lower concentrations of Emu.

I used Aloe post op and found it to be slightly irritating. Once i stopped the irritation & redness decreased significantly. I did some research and liked what I read about Emu oil. A little bit goes a long way. I recommend 100% molecularly distilled Emu oil. There are many brands and varying prices. Purchase from a reputable company or farm that sells directly to the public. There are several in the US that procduce high grade Emu at a reasonable cost. It is not necessary to purchase from Australia farms as advertised by some. Just get high quality oil.You can get 4 ounces for about $25. Emu Oil has essential fatty acids and many antioxidants which are beneficial to the skin and hair. I use it twice a day and have incoporated it between Rogaine foam applications. I apply to both recipient and donor sites. My goal is to minimize healing time and maximize jump starting native hair growth. At the same time, I believe the Emu oil provides a good environment for new graft growth. Will it expedite new hair growth? I don't know the answer. Perhaps others can chime in based upon their experiences.

2400 grafts may provide fair coverage. Any reason why you are not considering more grafts? Some people have a long term plan in place and want to conserve grafts for future procedures.

If you are having dryness and irritation from Minox, have you considered using Rogaine Foam?

Dr. Feller's fee schedule was and still is one of the most reasonable compared to other surgeons. In the NYC area, his new fee schedule still remains less than True,Dorin,Bernstein, Epstein & Bosley. Still a reasonable fee for one of the coalition's finest.

One of the best sources of topical essential fatty acids is Emu Oil. EFAs appear to help and aid hair growth It is a non irritant and rapidly absorbed. The tricky part for me was finding a reliable source. Apparently some of the items being sold are not high quality. You need to do your homework and find the best product for you. Nobody wants ot buy snake oil. Also, there are Emu oil shampoos and conditioners but they have lower levels of Emu. These can be used as an adjunct with topicals. Once again, one has to be careful; for example; if you are sensitive to Rogaine/Minoxidil liquid, you miught be sensitive to some of the shampoos because some contain propylene glycol.

Aloe seemed to irritate my recipient area and definitely stung when I applied a small amount to donor area as an experiment. I aggressively applied Aloe and perhaps applied it too early and often. I swiched to a Vit E spray and Emu Oil. So far so good. Less itching and irritation. I also use Head and Shoulders 2x/week. I am 19 days post op and am waiting for the redness on the scalp to decrease a bit more before starting Rogaine foam.

Thought I would share experience with Aloe. I decided Aloe would be ideal to apply regularly several days post surgery. I purchased anorganic, preservative free natural Aloe and have had continued redness and itching in the scalp. I decided to discontinue the Aloe and just use Vit E and Emu Oil. Within 1 day the itching stopped and the redness seems to be improving. The moral of the story is simple; certain products work better for some than others. I will save the Aloe for skin care in the summer.

Dr. Seager in Canada. He passed away in the past year.

It is my understanding that the post op Rogaine may possibly jump start the growth of the native hair and not the new graft hair. I plan to start Rogaine post op to possibly increase the rate of growth of the native hair which was shaved peior to the procedure. My only concern is that with some redness still present 13 days pre-op, will the Rogaine slow down the normalizing of the redness? I never had any itching or side effects with the Rogaine foam prior to HT. Dr. Feller advised me to start the Rogaine 14 days post op and use my discretion to discontinue or slow down its use if any side effects occur.

Thanks Janna. I tend to agree. I assume that most post op patients have the redness for awhile. Mine has decreased by about 50%. The itching is mild and intermittent. As long as the current redness is not adversely effected by the Rogaine, I will start at the 2 week mark. I will call Dr. Feller for clarification to be it safe.

Balody, Did you have itching and still redness when you started the Rogaine post op?

You should have no problem from the doctor and the fact that he even mentioned suing you is terrible. My suggestion would be to do what many of us have done on this website; create a hair blog or write an e mail stating the facts: Date of Surgery Surgeon # of grafts Pre & Post Op Photos Every physician has poor results whether a coalition member or not. There is no guarantee of a successful result. However, it is extremely important to go by experience, honesty,state of the art and most importantly a surgeon with a superb track record.

My surgeon advised starting Rogaine foam 14 days post op. If there is itching and mild redness present post op, will the Rogaine exacerbate these symptoms? FYI, prior to surgery, I never has any problems with Rogaine foam. Any thoughts?

Just returned from Dr. Feller today, 11 days post op for staple removal. Uneventful normal post healing. Dr. Feller was quite happy with both the donor & recipient site and he took more pictures which I will share in the near future. What a refreshing feeling to have those staples out!

Hairthere, Thanks; I can't wait to have those staples plucked out.

Thanks for the feedback. I had such minimal scabbing that I wondered if something was wrong. Apparently not. It must be the small incisions with those miniature 0.6 & 0.8mm blades. He takes great pride in his work and is meticulous in his detailed plan. He did tell me that he expected very little scabbing. I had no bleeding or drainage and have been just shampooing, applying Aloe and E and wearing a hat. I have an appt with the good Doc tomorrow for staple removal. As far as the hairline being lower than the marking, I am not sure. He was explaining his technique to me, but I was a bit Valiumed out to remember much. All I know is that with my native hair, I can cover 90% of the recipient site. This is without concealers and a pleasant surprise.

I believe about 2000 grafts in the front and 1300 in the crown. Originally, the plan was 1800 front & 1200 crown. Fortunately, Dr Feller offered me the additional 300 which he knew exactly where to place based upon our pre-op plan of action. Besides being a high caliber surgeon, he takes an individual approach to each patients needs. Other patients would have requested that the additional grafts be placed in the graft based upon their preferences. Dr. Feller listens, provides his opinion and puts the mutually agreed upon plan in action. No surprises!

Since I am unable to activate my hairloss blog, I thought I would share some pictures and basic info. I have previously posted about my experiences during the HT journey: Surgeon: Dr. Feller Date of Surgery: 12/6/07 Meds: Finasteride 1.25/day and Rogaine foam 2x/day Supplemnts: Multi vit, 500 mg Niacin, 200 mg CoEnzyme Q10, Biotin 5000, MSM 5000. Goal of Surgery - Restore thinning hairline and balding crown. Grafts- 3300 Pre Op Pics http://www.fellermedicaldata.com/images/kul/1.jpg http://www.fellermedicaldata.com/images/kul/2.jpg Post Op http://www.fellermedicaldata.com/images/kul/4.jpg http://www.fellermedicaldata.com/images/kul/3.jpg http://www.fellermedicaldata.com/images/kul/6.jpg http://www.fellermedicaldata.com/images/kul/7.jpg

My NY HT Surgeon Search previously posted: Sharing my NY HT MD Search: I recently decided to learn more about getting an HT. I am 50 and gradually losing the battle against my receding hairline and expanding baldness in my crown. This website provided me with exceptional resources and a great way to educate myself based on contributing member experiences. I live ?? hour from NYC and decided to look into the local HT community. I was willing to travel if I felt that the result would be enhanced. I am a physician and would prefer to be able to see my surgeon if post op complications arose. 1. Bosley NYC At the time I decided to pursue HT options, I put myself on Finasteride and Rogaine. I set up an appt with a Bosley consultant on Long Island. Interesting experience: I was told that I needed 2100 grafts and the surgery would be performed by 1 of 2 MD s in Manhattan. I asked about them and he scribbled down their names and said most patients prefer to just book the surgery rather than meeting the docs first. "It would save you an extra trip to the city". The proposed fee including operating $12,300 plus an O.R. fee of between $500 ??“ 1000, depending upon the day of the week. OK, I did have a pleasant chat with the consultant and he provided me with a fair amount of detail which helped me realize that I need to conduct more detailed research. 2. Dr. Jeffrey Epstein; Miami & NY ??“ I was able to get an appt with him while he was in NY. He mailed me several times and was very helpful and professional. His e mail informed me that he would be glad to evaluate photos and give me his opinion. Also, "my fees typically range from $3.50 to $4 per graft, and procedures are performed in both Miami (where fees are a bit less) and NYC". I met with him in NYC and was quite impressed with his professional demeanor and surgical results. He answered my questions and recommended 2800-2900 grafts. He did not require shaving of the recipient area which seemed to be a plus. His office manager showed me photos and provided me with a proposed surgery fee of $4.20/graft for a Miami procedure and a 30% premium to have the surgery performed in NYC. I was quite interested in pursuing the Miami option which appeared to be a common practice for many of his patients. I was told that they would e-mail with available dates and a patient in NY to speak to. Things were looking positive and I planned to seriously consider Dr. Epstein. I started looking into flights to FL and planning a mini vacation later in the year. Dr. Epstein said I would be contacted with the name of a physician in my area who had an HT with him. His office manager said she would call me when they returned to Miami with available surgery dates. Well, unfortunately I was never contacted by his office with the information promised. Fortunately, I had consults lined up with Dr.s Feller, Bernstein and True. 3. Dr. Alan Feller - I was a bit reluctant to consult with him because I could not shave my entire recipient site. However, I read several posts and Spex advised someone to go and ask the doctor in person. His online results and feedback were quite impressive. Dr. Feller was very professional and willing to share his experiences of the HT process on his computer to demonstrate examples. He drew an outline of a proposed procedure on my head and explained various options available to me. When I asked what he would recommend, he provided specific answers based upon my needs and criteria. He gave me the most thorough exam of any of my previous consults and seemed animated and demonstrated his passion for his work. No pressure, just his "humble advice." We discussed his post op protocol, staples vs sutures, shaving the recipient area and realistic healing time frames. Fortunately, he would only need to shave the front hairline wedge that he drew on my head. He claimed that very few surgeons were capable of transplanting the density that he performs. This shaved area could be covered by hair posterior to this region. He would then fill in most of the balding crown area and believed that the Propecia I recently started might provide some benefit. He was a bit more skeptical of the Rogaine but encouraged me to continue using both. His fee amounted to approx $3.58/graft for 3000 grafts which seemed very reasonable. I was extremely impressed with his approach to surgery and left his office in excellent spirits. On my drive home, I cancelled my consultations with Dr. True and Bernstein since I believe I found the ideal HT surgeon for me. As an added bonus, he was in close proximity to my home and his fees were lower than all of the physicians I planned to consult with.

Cost is an important criteria for any major purchase. My #1 priority would be the surgeon. Next would be the personal priorities: 1. Realisitc Expectations & Goals- Will I need another procedure down the road? Will I make the long term commitment of taking Finasteride? 2. Short term - when to have procedure, post op care, etc.... Back to my #1 Priority: Knowledge is power and your best ally for a successful surgical result will be to do your own due diligence researching resources. This website is an incredible resource! One can easily find 5 top coalition physicians and select the one that best meet their needs. For me, it was easier than I thought. Following my consult with a coalition surgeon, I was ready to book the case. Of course $$$$$$$$ is important. My surgery averaged about $3.26/graft which for me was the best of both worlds. Great surgeon, great value! I am only 9 days post op, but so far it's been smooth sailing (a little itching and pulling) at the donor site. From what I have gathered on this website, the healing process is a long journey.

You can purchase this "snake oil" on ebay. I am sure there are plenty of people attempting to unload their Laser Combs and re-coup some of their investment.

If you are in State College, PA you are about a 5 hour drive to Dr. Feller. He will carefully exam you and provide a candid realistic analysis of your options. BTW, I enjoyed my 4 years in Happy Valley. However,the football team was much better when I attended PSU. Good luck!

Bill, I will share set up a hairloss blog in the next few days. So far so good. So far I have no pain, just a little itching.

Dr. Feller is a D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy)which provides the identical training as an MD. DO vs. MD If you are like most people, you probably don't know the difference between a medical doctor, MD, and an osteopathic doctor, DO. DOs and MDs are alike in many ways: Applicants to both DO and MD colleges typically have a four-year undergraduate degree with an emphasis on science courses. Both DOs and MDs complete four years of basic medical education. After medical school, both DOs and MDs can choose to practice in a specialty area of medicine"???such as psychiatry, surgery, obstetrics, or sports medicine"???after completing a residency program (typically two to six years of additional training). Both DOs and MDs must pass comparable state licensing examinations. DOs and MDs both practice in fully accredited and licensed hospitals and medical centers. Both are medical doctors; MD is specifically Doctor of Medicine and DO is Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. I trained in a DO hospital which had both MD and DO attending physicians. My internist is a D.O. and my allergist is an MD.