richardrr1972

Thanks to all the great members of this board(Bill in particular.) I now know I don't have cobblestoning but folliculitis(an common inflamation of the hair follicles. Turns out this if my forth procedure with Bosley Boston and it looks like it's going to be fine just like the others. My Boston doc was on Vacation but I called the Bosleys 1-800 number and they paged a dr on the west coast who got out of bed at 6AM on a Saturday and let me email him some pics of my scalp. He then called an antibiotic in to my local Pharmacy and even gave me his personal number in case things did not work out. I have to really say that i'm impressed with this type of treatment, fast action, and a personal phone number to a Dr that did not even treat me. Again, it looks like my forth Bosley procedure will turn out well. The minor infection had nothing to do with the quality of work and they addressed it ASAP. Thanks again to the board for if it had not been for Bill. I probably would have waited several weeks for this to go away on it's own. I'm still trying to resize my pics so I can post the temples so if anyone has this they won't panic. I also want to post some before and after photos as to get everyones opinion. I'm not in anyway endorsing Bosley medical. All I can say is I had good experience with the same doc with four procedures and some excellant customer service(though this is one time and maybe I got lucky.)

I have had four procedures and did not have any redness issues on the first three after about a week. I also started with a fair amout of hair and all the grafts were placed behind my hairline and in my mid-scalp. I have had the same luck with my recent forth procedure except that my temples were done. They are still very red 16 days post op but this is a delicate area. The rest of the grafts were pretty scab-fee and normal in color after 7-10 days.

This really depends on where you're having your grafts placed. I have had four procedures. The first thee involed just the top of my hairline and mid-scalp area. All three of these procedures were only around 600 grafts. About 3 days after the second procedure, I noticed my forhead was swelling. I called my Dr. and he prescribed an oral steriod (methlyprednisone) and this made the swelling do down virtually overnight. This last procedure was about 1300 grafts and involved some temple work. I just knew I was going to have a swelling problem so I asked for the methlyprednisone. He told me to call him "if" I had any problems. After reminding him I had swelling on a procedure half the size he finally gave in and gave me the drug. I noticed very slight swelling on my temple areas that were easley covered by a baseball cap. My advice would be to request aggressively request something beforehand. With the preventative meds and a baseball cap I was walking and driving around the very next day after my procedure and nobody noticed a thing different about me(except I usually don't wear a baseball cap.) I doubt anyone suspected I had a baseball cap on due to a transplant.

Thanks for your input. I'm trying to resize the pics as they are too large. If you have an email address I would love to get an opinion from someone who also has had some temple work. It seems similar to what you're describing. Both sides look pink and inflamed but on close inspection it appears the grafts are slightly elevated much like tiny pimples as opposed to pitted. Maybe it will be ok and I don't mind waiting three months so long as I know it will correct itself. I really think the Dr or someone should have warned me that the temples would take longer to heel then the rest of the procedure. They merely gave me the standard instuctions for all my prior procedures which was resume normal activity after two weeks and the rest of my treated area is pretty much undectable.

Thanks for both of your inputs. Is there a certain period of time I should wait to see if it gets better? As I stated before I'm two weeks post op. Also, I guess i'm just really concerned as temple/side burns really have to come out nearly perfect to be virtually undectible. My temple areas on both sides are noticeable from over 10 feet away. would two more weeks be a reasonable time to wait as I will then be a month post op? thanks again

This is the way my temples look 14 days post op. They actually look worse in person as I have some cobblestoning(there are bumps and elevations.) I know this is early, but shoudent the redness and bumps be better by now?

This is the way my temples look 14 days post op. They actually look worse in person as I have some cobblestoning(there are bumps and elevations.) I know this is early, but shoudent the redness and bumps be better by now?

Thanks for your answer. I actually had the same Bosley physician the last three procedures and everything went well. It's just that this is the first time he actully did sideburn/temple work and this area is still red and cobblestone like and really sticks out. From what I hear this area is very difficult to work on and get a natural appearance. Sounds like I just have to wait it out but it really will be unfortunate if it does not heal correctly as I really don't think he needed to bring my sideburn/temple forward in the first place.

I just did a little homework and it looks like I have what is referred to as cobblestoning. It's worse on one side than the other(I had a different graft tech on each side of my temple area. I guess it's caused by either the dr not making the incisions large enough, the graft techs not placing the grafts deep enough, or even the the wrong grafts placed in the incisions(a three unit graft placed in a 2 unit sized incision.) Before I get all worked up about this has anyone had a similar experience? It has now been two weeks since my procedure. I know I should not have had this done at Bosley but I had three great procedures with them prior to this. I called and was told that the skin should smooth out with time but was welcome to come in. I decided to wait few more weeks to see what happens. Will this get better with time or is the cobblestone effect at two weeks post op pretty much what I'm stuck with?

I just did a little homework and it looks like I have what is referred to as cobblestoning. It's worse on one side than the other(I had a different graft tech on each side of my temple area. I guess it's caused by either the dr not making the incisions large enough, the graft techs not placing the grafts deep enough, or even the the wrong grafts placed in the incisions(a three unit graft placed in a 2 unit sized incision.) Before I get all worked up about this has anyone had a similar experience? It has now been two weeks since my procedure. I know I should not have had this done at Bosley but I had three great procedures with them prior to this. I called and was told that the skin should smooth out with time but was welcome to come in. I decided to wait few more weeks to see what happens. Will this get better with time or is the cobblestone effect at two weeks post op pretty much what I'm stuck with?

I just did a little homework and it looks like I have what is referred to as cobblestoning. It's worse on one side than the other(I had a different graft tech on each side of my temple area. I guess it's caused by either the dr not making the incisions large enough, the graft techs not placing the grafts deep enough, or even the the wrong grafts placed in the incisions(a three unit graft placed in a 2 unit sized incision.) Before I get all worked up about this has anyone had a similar experience? It's still been less than two weeks since my procedure. Will this get better with time or is the cobblestone effect at two weeks post op pretty much what I'm stuck with?

I just did a little homework and it looks like I have what is referred to as cobblestoning. It's worse on one side than the other(I had a different graft tech on each side of my temple area. I guess it's caused by either the dr not making the incisions large enough, the graft techs not placing the grafts deep enough, or even the the wrong grafts placed in the incisions(a three unit graft placed in a 2 unit sized incision.) Before I get all worked up about this has anyone had a similar experience? It's still been less than two weeks since my procedure. Will this get better with time or is the cobblestone effect at two weeks post op pretty much what I'm stuck with?

I has a HT almost two weeks ago. I noticed I have some "bumps" where they placed some of the grafts. It's like the skin is slighly raised in some places where the grafts were placed. It's not every where but only on parts of the grafted area. Is this the "dolls head" effect? Will my skin smooth out so that the graft areas will not be raised and be at the same level as the rest of my scalp. It's not really that bad, but it's only on one side of my temples yet both sides have the same amout of grafts. Could it be the way the graft tech placed the grafts? not far enought in. I did have a different graft tech do each side. Does anyone know what i'm referring to?

I has a HT almost two weeks ago. I noticed I have some "bumps" where they placed some of the grafts. It's like the skin is slighly raised in some places where the grafts were placed. It's not every where but only on parts of the grafted area. Is this the "dolls head" effect? Will my skin smooth out so that the graft areas will not be raised and be at the same level as the rest of my scalp. It's not really that bad, but it's only on one side of my temples yet both sides have the same amout of grafts. Could it be the way the graft tech placed the grafts? not far enought in. I did have a different graft tech do each side. Does anyone know what i'm referring to?

ps.........I used avodart from Jan of 03 to about six months ago. I stopped because I did not see any results. I did notice after about month six my crown, mid scalp, and even frontal hairline and temples were receding a bit. I could tell from pics taken a year ago but could also see that the skin on my hairline was a ligher color. I just started avodart .5 every other day and hope this will help. I don't know if I want to use rogaine as well. I really hope this info helps because I did use Avodart .5 per day for five years. My experience was that it did not grow any hair but I did not get anymore loss in the five year period. It even held my hairline. After six months of stopping. My hairline did go back and even the doctor said my hair was thinner on the crown and mid scalp area. I never even noticed until he held the mirror over my head. My message is that Avodart is powerful stuff and even if you're not seeing results, I would monitor yourself closely for hair loss after stopping it. Keep in mind that do to it's extremly long half life you may not notice any hair loss for several months after discontinuing it. With Proscar/Propeica you would probably start noticing shedding within a month or two.

wow, my scabs were almost gone by day 7 and I was told to soak and gently massage the remaining ones off on the 7th day which I did. This was my forth tp with Dr Phillips at Bosley. I now how this board feels about Bosley but I had three good procedures with the Dr. Phillips and wanted to get one more in before he retires in Jan. I have actually had good luck with him on my last three but this time i'm a bit more concerned. The first three procedures were abotu 600 grafts and were all behind my hairline(so even if the work was not perfect it was really impossible to detect.) This time I had 1400 grafts. He brought my entire hairline forward including the temples and sideburns. I'm afraid this will be very easy to detect. This is day 11 and things look good except my temples and sideburns still a little red. Before we start trashing Bosley I agree they have some unethical practices in general but Dr. Phillips in Boston has always been good with me and I have had excellent results. I'm only now concerend about the fact that this will be the first time my hairline will "all" grafts. Also, not one person has had anything good to say about Bosley. Three, I can't go back now and can just hope it works out. I really just want to know if using rogaine will just help the hair grow in faster by minimizing shock. I was under the impression that using rogaine would just simply get me my results faster. If I don't use rogaine I will still end up with the same results from my procedue but Rogaine would have sped up the process.

"I dont mean to cause any unnecessary stress, but I had a procedure done w/ Dr. Phillips in Feb of 07 and it didnt turn out well at all. He was only there to cut out my strip, punch holes in my head, "which he did very fast, and then sew me up. Other than that I never saw him. Dr. Phillips was very rude to me during my follow up w/ him 9 months later. He got offensive when I told him I wasnt happy" Do you mind explaing anything Dr Phillips did besides be rude to you and make the incisions fast? I understand this is not acceptible but what specifically was wrong with your procedure aside from the way you were treated? I don't care much for Bosley in general but went back to Dr. Phillips because "I know" he did a good job on my first three procedures. I have a good head of hair thanks to his three procedures and I have people actually don't believe me when I say my hair is transplanted until I show them the donor scars.

I just had a HT last week. I was told that I should start using rogaine a week after the procedure(I never used rogaine before but was told that it would help minimize hair loss from shock and that my transplanted hair will come in faster.) I have also seen many doctors recommed not using rogaine for weeks after a procedure because it can irritate the scalp and cause more hair loss. So I guess i'm not understanding the pros and cons of rogaine after a procedure. Since my graft area is scab free but still red, common sense tells me that I would be more apt to irritate the area more and possibly scar the area making the transplant more noticeable by leaving more scarring. Does anyone have any advice on this?

I just realized that i'm worrying for no reason. I had three successful procedures with Dr. Phillips before so this one should turn out the same. The more I read about Bosley on this and other forams, the more I expect that I will have bad results. I agree Bosley as a franchise is overpriced, uses unethical tactics, and some have had some bad experiences. The reality is that it's the surgeon and not the outfit that determines what results you will have. I read about the Bosley trainging program and it's a joke. But Dr Phillips has been at Bosley since 1992 and was transplanting hair even before coming on board at Bosley. I just found out last week he is leaving this Dec though. If I need more work I probably wont go back to Bosley. If Dr Phillips were still there after I got excellent results after a 4th HR, I sure as hell would go back to him regardless of the cost. I also think that all candidates are different. Perhaps my Dr works well with my hair and hair loss type.

I just had my 4th HT last week by Dr. Phillips at Bosley Boston. I never shopped around and this was stupid. But this was my experience. My first three procedures were great. My hair was much thicker and no hair stylist ever said a thing. Even the donor areas are usually not noticed. My local stylist does not even know. She did notice one of my donor scars eventually but this was after my third procedure. Everytime i'm out of town and get my hair cut I ask the stylist to find the scars as I don't care because I will never see them again. They can find the scars and don't even think transplant. When I tell them I have had 3 procedures they are really surprised. I'm a little more concerned with my last procedure because It was larger, the Dr seemed a little rushed, and the techs were different(the last three times I requested the same team and was lucky enough to get it.), and this last procedure involves more frontal work and some temple and even sideburn work. I had no worries before during, or even after my 4th procedure with "Dr. Phillips" until I just now started reading all the horror stories about Bosley. I say "Dr Phillips" because common sense should tell anyone that it's the Dr and not the franchise that matters. Sure, I agree they are over priced, the counselor is a salesman, and the ethical practices of Bosley in general are not good. But the fact is I had great results with the the same Dr three times prior. If another Dr were there, I probably would have gone somewhere else besides Bosley. Turns out Dr Phillips is leaving in December so if you want to get something done you should hurry up. I really think that you're like me. We both have had good experiences with one Dr that happens to work at Bosley. Now were both concerned about Bosley because of all the bad things we read.

Thanks. I think it will be ok also. But this time was a little different because it was a much larger procedure, the surgeon and techs seemed rushed, and before most of the work was done behind my hairline. This time they brought the entire hairline forward and even did the temples and part of my sideburns. I'm a little concerned about the sideburns looking natural and this will be the firt time my entire hairline will be all grafts. Before, my entire hairline with the exception of about one inch on each side of my hairline was my orgianl hairline which made detection very difficult. I know I can't go back now but It seems that nobody has anything to good to say about Bosley. I think most of the negative is about their sales like attitude and trapping people more so than their doing bad work(At least this is what I hope.) I can't find anyone on this site that says Bosley is even ok

Has anyone undergone a procedure at Bosley Boston? I have actually had three procedures in the past and just had my forth Wednesday. Even though I had excellant results the first three times, i'm now reading so many negative things about Bosley in General and that maybe I will not be so lucky this time. I did have the same surgeon David Phillips but this was a larger procedure this time and he seemed more rushed. Also, the graft technicians were not the same ones and seemed to rush right along. I now know that it may take over six months to know if my procedure went well. Has anyone had experience with Dr Phillips in Boston? And how much importance is the skills of the techs versus the skill of the surgeon. I was told that the surgeon actually angles the holes so that the techs can't put the graft in at the wrong angle. Any feedback would be welcome and I will post my results when I see them

Has anyone undergone a procedure at Bosley Boston? I have actually had three procedures in the past and just had my forth Wednesday. Even though I had excellant results the first three times, i'm now reading so many negative things about Bosley in General and that maybe I will not be so lucky this time. I did have the same surgeon David Phillips but this was a larger procedure this time and he seemed more rushed. Also, the graft technicians were not the same ones and seemed to rush right along. I now know that it may take over six months to know if my procedure went well. Has anyone had experience with Dr Phillips in Boston? And how much importance is the skills of the techs versus the skill of the surgeon. I was told that the surgeon actually angles the holes so that the techs can't put the graft in at the wrong angle. Any feedback would be welcome and I will post my results when I see them