11 month update: Dr. Hasson 10/19/2006 - 3701 Grafts

[bayscholar]

looks good Bill-the crown work is very very nice.

[Bushy]

WOOHOO!!!!! GO Bill!!!! Looks unbelievable!

[Mike1651]

Bill:

Congrats on the great looking procedure--another masterpiece by Hasson & Wong...there's going to be alot of jealous guy's out there...good luck with your healing & I'm looking forward to following your progress.!

 

Mike

[M&M]

I agree with everyone else Bill - looks great! The detail work around the crown is mighty impressive! You will have one great looking head of hair in 6-12 months!!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Thanks guys for the support.

 

Here is my experience. I'm going to post it also under the photo section, but for those who already read what's up there, there's a slim chance for them to check it again...so here goes:

 

My wife and I flew into Vancouver on Wed evening, arriving at 7:22pm (which is really like 10:22pm where I'm from). It was a long ride, but it went pretty smoothly. You all know how it is...long plan rides, little foot room, not much to do...my wife and I entertained each other, but it was basically an all day affair to get there. It was definately worth it though...as I'll explain.

 

Wed night we arrive at the Granville Island Hotel....very beautiful and their restaurant food and atmosphere is to die for....right on the beautiful lake with a nice view of the city and the mountains. This is probably the most beautiful city I've ever seen. So after my wife and I ate dinner, up to bed we went in prep for the long day. I must add that my wife coming a long was such a sweetheart thing to do. I told her she didn't have to come, but she chose to come because she wanted to support me. What a woman!

 

Thursday morning I wake up at 4:30am and can't get back to sleep...though I think I laid around pretty much the whole night without getting to sleep...maybe dozing off here and there. Watched TV, my wife got up too (remember the time difference partially through us off...it was already 7:30 here when we were getting up). But there was no need for our wake up call which was to come 2 hours later.

 

Surgery Day:

 

We arrive promptly at 7:30 for the consult. I fill out a long report of my family history, medical, hair loss, etc. At about 8:00am, I sat down wtih Dr. Hasson and he analyzed my scalp, noticed I had very good laxity on the sides of my head, but not nearly as much in the back. So the majority of the donor area was to be taken from both sides. Then he shaved my recipient area....I remember when I first started out doing research in HTs, I resisted this notion for a long time...one reason why I didn't go here in the first place (silly reason I know). But based on the superior results I've seen come from his office AND his explanation about why recipient area shaving is most beneficial, He was the doc I would go to. Anyway, I showed my wife my shaved recipient area, joked with her telling her that this was the look I should keep, and then off to work Dr. Hasson went on my donor. The most painful part were the few pokes in the back of the head with the anesthetic needles (which anyone who had an HT knows this is the worst part only to be followed by the second worse part...the tape being taken off your head later...which is funny that's the second worse part because it's not bad at all). And then out came the donor area. The donor strip was more difficult to remove in my case. I don't remember all the technical reasons, but I know Dr. Hasson said it was challenging....he labled it a 9 out of 10 in difficulty, but he said it was technical work, but there was no problems at all. So it took about 1.5 hours to remove the donor area....which when he was about half way done, he explained that if I had a virgin scalp it would have been out by now. Dr. Hasson and I talked the whole time which passed a lot of the time. He is very personable and knowledgable.

 

Once the donor strip was out, it was time to start making the recipient insicions. Some were made when I was on my stomach, some my side, and some my back. This is contrasted with my previous docs who did the whole thing on my back. Since I'm curious I asked, and he explained that it was easier to make the proper angles. So I told him he's the boss and I went in whatever position they wanted me to.

 

The first 1500 incisions were made first because as about 10 techs were still cutting grafts he didn't have the final count. Before any grafts were inserted, lunch came...my wife and I were bought lunch and we ate in a separate room and joked about how I looked as well as having additional discussion.

 

After lunch, 2 technicians, both who I've asked how long they worked there, and have both been there 7 years + began to work on inserting the grafts in the 1500 sites. Jody and Slava were the two that worked on me. They were both very professional and very friendly. We didn't talk too much because it was obvious they were concentrating and were in a zone, so I let them concentrate and they put on a movie for me. Most of the grafts were put in while I was on my back but I did have to position on my side and stomach a few times. When they were almost done the 1500 grafts, Dr. Hasson came in with the final count and we went over the rest of the strategy. He asked whether I wanted to dense up primarily the mid region or whether or not I want to hit the crown. After careful consideration, I decided to hit the crown, but not neglect the middle, my goal in which was to make the crown and mid section be closer to equal density which might mean a slightly thinner mid section and thinner crown, but it's better than a completely bald crown. My theory is that most people will see me from the front, others will see me from the back...but very rarely will someone see me from the top. The goal of course is to get the most out of the donor supply, so this is the direction I went. Dr. Hasson agreed that if this was his head, he's probably do the same thing. So he made the remaining 2000 sites. This would only equal 3500, but what he did was for the mid section, coupled 200 of the single hairs and put 400 hairs in 200 donor sites. I asked him the benefit of this and he stated that the density in the mid section would be the same either way, but by doing it this way, he would cause less trauma to the scalp, he gave me the technical details which I know related to the incision size and number of incisions being less overall in that area, which makes sense that less trauma would be given to the scalp. Knowing his expertise, I told him to do what he feels is best, so he did.

 

Jody and Slava worked on me the rest of the time....maticulously placing all of the grafts in all of the incisions. The session was long...I finally got ot of there at 8pm or so, so unfortunately, we didn't have any time to walk around the city. My wife at least did while I was in surgery, so Im glad she had a good time.

 

Other things that happened during the day....there were before pictures taken by Dr. Hasson before my initial consult. I finally got to meet Jotronic who I've talked to on here a number of times (his hair looks amazing by the way). I met another Dr. Hasson patient who had come in for a 4 month post op consult....his head of hair looks amazing. He was completely bald and now after 2 procedures looks phenominal. I told him seeing his case gives me hope.

 

Because we were there so late, Hasson and Wong bought Cindy and I dinner too....so we had 2 meals on the house. That was nice of them. At the end of the day, the went over all my post op instructions, gave me medication, a hat, a bandana, and told me they'd see me tomorrow for the post op cleaning.

 

SURGERY NIGHT:

 

I started to feel a little bit of pain about 2 hours after I left, so I took my first pain medicine. I had very minimal pain on Thursday night as I slept, but again, I don't think I slept very well. I was up a lot of the night, not due to discomfort, but I think travel anxieties of the next day.

 

POST OP CLEANING:

 

That took a total of 10 minutes. Jody washed that donor area and gently sprinkled some water over the recipient area. Then they took some pictures. I hung around a little while as they put together a disc with all my before and after pictures and now I have it. Of course, I also brought my camera so some of the pictures are from my camera. At the end of the cleaning, I shook Dr. Hassons hand, told him and all the staff (particularly Jody and Slava) thank you very much and I'd keep in touch.

 

IMPRESSIONS:

 

I am really impressed on this one for a number of reasons:

 

1. It's the most amount of grafts I've gotten in one session. Dr. Hasson said I would have been an easy candidate for 6000+ if this was my first HT.

 

2. It's the cleanest my head has been right after surgery...the least amount of blood in the recipient area. Must be attributed to the fact that they probably make smaller sites in the recipient areas (as Dr. Hasson says...just big enough to fit).

 

3. There was no guess-work. Dr. Hasson specifically asked me what I wanted in terms of filling in the middle or the crown after we punched 1500 holes for the top 1/3 of my scalp....I chose to hit the crown and dense up the middle a little bit as opposed to densing up the middle fully and no crown. This is not to say that the other Drs did guess work...but there was something about how thorough Dr. Hasson was that jumped out at me. He was very maticulous, and that is obvious by the whirl pattern.

 

4. Out of the 3 surgeries, I'd say I have experienced the least amount of pain with this one....even post op donor area pain. Now, I'd say it's comparable to my second surgery in terms of pain...but maybe I think it feels a little better because I'm used to this feeling....this is, after all, my 3rd surgery. The first surgery, however, I remember feeling a lot of bad pain in the donor area for the first 2 days.

 

So this is all I have for now. Feel free to ask me any questions about the experience or make any comments about the photos or anything else. What do you all think of the hairline? The crown? The mid section? I'll be posting more pictures every now and again....in the beginning, I post them pretty regularly, and then again month by month. My goal is to keep a detailed progress report for 2 reasons:

 

1. I want and desire your support and feedback. This community is great because of everyone who participate and supports and educates one another

 

2. I want to encourage others, to show others what this experience is like, from start to finish.

 

Bill

[Mark H]

Hey Bill, I took a careful look at all your photos so I could give you an a to z impression.

 

So I started looking at your original pre op picture: seriously bald guy.

 

I spent less time on your 1st HT pic, its old news. The most I will say is that it dit its job, you weren't bald, but was rather thin.

 

Your 2nd HT pic...which is obviously some time after your 2nd HT, looks much better. I now see a guy that wouldn't register as bald, and if I gave any thought to it at all, I might have said to myself, "this guy will be bald in a decade or two".

 

I'm guessing then with this third HT, that you're seriously haired now, and I would be very confident that it will look natural. Heck the first two looked okay, especially the second.

 

Hairline-wise, I actually would have asked him to make it irregular somehow. In my case, at the last minute I asked Dr. Cooley to put in a slight widows peak, which I'd had earlier in life, and which I hope will give me a slightly imperfect look...if you know what I mean.

 

However, my hair type is very different from yours too, and judging from the earlier HT's you're certainly going to be undetectable by anyone who doesn't know up front.

 

In fact, your hairstyle screams, "see ma, no toup!"...lol, as opposed to the guy Dr. Feller posted recently, who in my opinion got a great HT too, but has managed to style his hair in such a way so that it looks as bad as possible.

 

I was ASTOUNDED to read that your excision took 1.5 hours. I don't think mine took 10 minutes, but this is my first, and that has to be the difference.

 

BTW, I don't even recall the needles from my excision, so it couldn't have been too bad, although I did need a few booster shots during the session that weren't a lot of laughs.

 

My biggest pain in fact involved some of my poor choices in DVD's.

 

So without reservation I'd say you did the right thing. The first took you out of the bald club, the second one put you into decent coverage, and given Hasson's rep, and what I see, you're going to look full-metal-jacket haired soon.

 

I would have some concern about having some FU troops in reserve in a decade or two. You're a young guy after all.

 

Next year you'll be touring this forum strictly for nostalgia. Must feel good.

 

mark h

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hey Mark,

 

Thanks for the comments! Yes, I've gone through a lot to get where I am....and I have a lot of faith that after this one, I'll be much closer to where I'd like to be. I'm certain that I will stop here for quite some time, if not forever. My donor supply is getting low so I want to save some for the future, and these things are expensive .

 

I'm actually quite content with the hairline, though I'm aware that many people have different opinions on what makes the best hairline. It pretty much fits what my hairline was before I started going bald...well...my hairline may have been a bit lower...but I certainly was not going to lower it. Dr. Hasson refined my hairline and softened it, but did not lower it, so that is good.

 

Unlike you, the DVD selection was quite vast...so I had no problem there .

 

I do indeed hope this is my last HT, but I will be coming by the boards to help out others and offer what I learned....it does feel pretty good to see a light at the end of this hairloss tunnel!

 

Bill

[Mark H]

It pretty much fits what my hairline was before I started going bald...

 

 

Yes, and that's why I added a peak to mine. The original line drawn by Dr. Cooley was great, and I really got excited when I saw that line.

 

It was only later after some consideration that I decided...it didn't look right to me...and that had everything to do with how my hairline used to be.

 

I'll tell you straight out...and this is truly a cheap-sh*t irony. I HATED having a widows peak, when it seemed that most didn't have one, and I felt out of place. I didn't like it.

 

Man I was laughing as I wrote the above, but its true. Ultimately though, I wanted to be me, you know? So, I've recreated it, and I know exactly what you mean about having it _as it was._

 

You want to be you. That's a good goal.

 

mark h

[Guest brent]

Hey Bill. Your hair line looks great. I just had my third surgery as well so I know exactly what your going through, waiting for that THICKNESS!! Now just the waiting... t he worst part. But its all worth it, and thanks for sharing your story, It makes my experiences and worries go alot smoother

[Glock08]

Bill:

Thank you for the time and effort you put into your posts. I looked yours over several times (I keep my hair buzzed as short as I can also) before making my decision to get a HT.

 

From the looks of your pics, I don't think you'll need anything else after this one--it's going to look great.

 

Glock08

HT#1

One Month Yesterday!

[John_in_NC]

Congrats and looks great so far. The scar is a bit too close to the temples, BUT, as we all know, it's a choice between staying bald or this so I would have made the same choice under these circumstances. Worst case scenario you will have to put a few hundred FUEs there.

 

After looking the second HT results and adding 3700 grafts there, I'd say that this should fill you in for good.

 

Good luck,

[Bill - Seemiller]

Thank you all for your replies,

 

Mark H,

 

Funny about the hairline....I'm glad you are satisfied now though...it's good to be yourself. All you should be is be yourself right? I'm sure I'll be happy with this hairline as it's going to be in the same position and I liked the last one since it was like my original.

 

Brent,

 

When did you have your third surgery? Who did you go to? Do you have pictures posted somewhere? If not, let me know if you need help and I can help you post. Looks like we can bond and wait together for our results to come in. PM me if you need help.

 

Glock08,

 

You're welcome. I'm glad to know my posts are read and appreciated. I'm definately hoping that this will be my last HT...at least, that is/was my goal. And I definately went to the right place to get this one done.

 

John_in_NC,

 

I was suspecting someone wouold bring up the positioning of the scar....Dr. Hasson assures me it's in the safe zone based on my family hairloss and my own MPB pattern. I agree with him too....my hair was the most dense and thick in that area which is why he wanted to harvest from it. I am sure once the tricho scar heals it will be hardly noticable, especially since my hair up there will be a little longer.

 

Look forward to hearing from you all again.

 

Bill

[the B spot]

Bill!!!!!!! My Brotha!!!!!!! Wow congratulations on joining the 7000+ club!!!!!!! When I think about how you will look in a few short months, it really makes me smile buddy!!!!!!!

 

Yes, I wondered if someone would mention the excision path of your donor tissue, and I have to say that while I do not agree with how close to the temple region it is, if you are ok, then I am ok. I think after going through 2 previous HT's you are a qualified to assume any risk you think will help you reach your goals.

 

I am happy for you my friend.

My only question is, "What are you going to do now that you are no longer bald?

[Jotronic]

Bill,

 

It was great having youb at the clinic as I enjoy meeting my online compadres. I'm looking forward to your eventual results. Just so you know, Dr. Hasson mentioned that your strip removal took closer to 2.5 hours, not 1.5 as you and I discussed. He said yours required a lot of time, effort and concentration. When you said 1.5 hours when we were chatting I thought something was amiss as that is rougly what it takes for virgin scalp patients.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hey B Spot! I'm glad to hear from you! Yeah man, I'm pretty psyched about how this one looks from the start. Of course, the real excitement will begin when I start to see the results from this...but I have a long way to go for that.

 

Yeah, I'm comfortable with the decision to take the scar up that high. Dr. Hasson seems confident with the choice and he's been doing it a long time...so I'm content in it.

 

So hmm....what will I do differently when I have a head of hair...that's an excellent question! I'm thinking for starters, I will lose the hat almost completely. I have been wearing hats all my life so I will still wear it from time to time, but no longer as regular attire. Altogether, I will feel more confident, but my life probably won't change much. I already have myself a good women and good friends. The only thing that's really going to change about me is my look. I'm considering shaving the goatee off once my hair has grown in a good amount....time for a neater younger look eh?

 

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll keep you posted for sure!

 

Bill

[nobuzz4me]

Dude, you are going to have to comb it with a rake when all that comes in! Congrats - I am going for my third in January. I am working on the scalp exercises to increase laxity, I would not have known about that without guys like you all on this forum, Good luck with the new hair and I am sure your scar will not be bad up that high, your sides look strong and probably won't drop.

[MrJobi]

Cheers to Bill!!!!

 

Your hairline is going to be killer. I can't wait 12 months from now to see before and after photos from when you had no HT's.. It will be amazing!! Everything looks great.. The donor area looks fine.. If it is hair that is DHT resistant than it's there for the harvesting & Dr. H knows what he is doing .. I had the T closure and at 10 months post op I can clip down to Guard 2 or so on the sides and back without detection. My hair is thick on the sides and back as well .. I just sent in a request to Dr. H to assess my situation as well. Only challenge I cannot shave my head as I will have to return to work and need to have a viable hairstyle .. I have left the donor area about 3-4 guard in the past to cover the stitches . The top is clipped to about 3 guard so it will look uniform upon going back to work (using Dermatch)..

[Bill - Seemiller]

nobuzz4me,

 

lol...a rake? That's funny! You're going for your third HT? How did your first 2 sessions? Any pictures? Who are you going to for your third? I'm glad I can be a help to you in your research! Good luck in January....do stay in touch...post your experience and photos...not only will it help others but you'll receive some good support

 

Mrjb,

 

I sent you a PM by the way...so check it out. Yeah, I can't wait for this one to grow out....hopefully I'll see some killer changes by about 6 months onward. I'm glad you can shave down to a 2 guard without any noticing of a scar. That would be great if I can do the same when the time comes. Well, I'm not sure if Dr. Hasson would do a surgery without shaving the recipient area...he makes such a strong case for it that I think it's very sensical. I understand the work situation though. Can you wear a hat? Maybe if you can...just start wearing a hat occasionally at work starting now and eeze into wearing it every day....that way 3 months after surgery you can start taking it off again. Just a thought.

 

Bill

[something]

best of luck Bill...

[Bill - Seemiller]

Thanks something! I appreciate your support!

 

Bill

[hairbank]

Bill,

 

Congrats to you! I, like many others, have been following your story and pics here. I really think 3701 additional grafts should give you the density you're looking for. Did Dr. Hasson provide you with any idea of what you increased your overall density per sq. cm to? Just curious as I've thought of doing the same thing at some point in the future.

 

I hope you'll continue to post your updates as you've been faithful doing in the past. It's great to be able to follow the progress.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hello Hairbank,

 

Good to hear from you man. Thanks for your support. It is people like you who are interested in seeing the progress pictures that makes me so faithful in doing it. I long for the support and also encourage and support others...so I'm glad that both is happening. Unfortunately, I don't know the overall density per sq cm....I think I might email Dr. Hasson and ask him. I would actually like to know that.

 

Talk soon man,

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

Joe,

 

Great meeting you too man! Sorry I missed your post...it must have gotten lost in the shuffle. 2.5 hours eh? That's a long time. I know he said it was complex, but it seems he did a terrific job! Well, I have just shaved my head down to a 1 clip so it's more even with the top now. Can't wait to remove these staples now

 

Bill

[troy]

I am curious at what point does your hair look normal again that you can go back into the public eye? if you could document that I would sure appreciate it. congrats, once the surgery is done its downhill from there. you are very fortunate to have such a supporting wife, does she have a cute single sister?

[Bill - Seemiller]

LOL Troy. Yes, my wife is great...she's a real blessing.

 

Well, to answer your question, it's hard to judge exactly what one would consider "normal". For starters, I did what Jotronic did and shaved my whole head just last night on Day 5 so it's more uniform. I'd say between day 7 and 11 all the scabs should be gone but I'll still have a slight pinkish scalp. After that, around day 11 or 12 I'll take the staples out and re-shave my head. At that point, it should look relatively uniform, but I guess one might not call a shaved head normal...especially since the scar will be obvious in the back. One might consider for one to look completely normal, you will have to wait about 2 months and sport a shorter hairdo....but to me, I'll look normal enough by about day 14 or 15 when everything is uniform, no more scabs and these staples are out. Does that help?

 

Bill