Day 3- Post Op

[Dr Zorba]

Well, after "thinking about it" for several years, I finally did it (June 27, 2006). My goal was VERY modest, as I am very bald. I did 1200 grafts, but the doctor tells me than I can have another 1200 at later date. Will see.

 

One question that isn't very clear to me is, when can I sleep where the pillow can touch the newly grafted area? I have heard anywhere from 48 hours to 10 days.

 

I will post a pic soon.

[Dr Zorba]

Well, after "thinking about it" for several years, I finally did it (June 27, 2006). My goal was VERY modest, as I am very bald. I did 1200 grafts, but the doctor tells me than I can have another 1200 at later date. Will see.

 

One question that isn't very clear to me is, when can I sleep where the pillow can touch the newly grafted area? I have heard anywhere from 48 hours to 10 days.

 

I will post a pic soon.

[hairbank]

Congrats to you on moving forward with the HT.........hope everything grows nicely for you.

 

The grafts are seated at 10 days so after that you're in the safe zone. I'd watch it until then. Realistically you're probably okay sleeping on them after 4-5 days but why chance it??

[Guest]

I've heard it's OK to sleep on them after 2-3 days but I waited for 4 days to be safe. I guess Hairbank's right, why risk it, but it can get uncomfortable after a few days.

Congratulations on going through with it. Now you have the hardest part, the wait. It'll be about 5 months until you see any real cosmetic difference.

1200 doesn't seem like a hell of a lot, but you will get some benfit. Where were you on the NW scale?

[Dr Zorba]

I am between VI and VII. So, nothing much left. But I am told I have enough for another 1200-2000 grafts. I will wait about a year to see how it goes.

 

As I said, my goal was very (very) modest. I will be happy with some hair in the crown area. Any frontal or back hair (in future HT) will be a bonus.

 

Today is my 6th day (execluding the day of the HT). I will wait until it is a full week before I sleep normally. The doc told me today will be OK, but an extra day makes me feel "better".

 

Thank you all for the advice.

 

Dr. Zorba

[spoon]

Originally posted by Dr Zorba:

I am between VI and VII. So, nothing much left. But I am told I have enough for another 1200-2000 grafts.

 

And the question is, told by whom? (which doctor, I mean). Look up Jotronic and Bobman, both NW6+ patients who have each received almost 8,000 grafts. You're being told you have about 2,400 grafts total, and unless you are the baldest of the bald, that's a really low estimate. I don't want to come across as too harsh but I get the sense that you're acknowledging the comments and advice directed at you as opposed to actually reading the comments and advice being directed at you. People here are giving you the advice because they are also patients and many know what the state of the art is, and you did NOT get the state of the art, both in terms of your transplant and in terms of the design.

 

So basically it is in your best interest to get more opinions from top doctors. Good luck and all the best to you.

[JakeVig]

spoon,

 

If you looked at the pics you will realize that he has a lot more area to cover and has nowhere near the donor hair available that jotronic and Bobman were lucky to have. My personal assessment is that he is not a good candidate for a HT. I hope the best for Zorba but I would have to agree that the final result will be modest at best. Unfortunately I believe that the extra 1200-2000 grafts available will definately be needed to achieve a natural result.

 

On the positive it does look like you have a denser packed hairline which hopefully should give you a moderate hairline after 1 year. I am anxiously waiting your final result as Im still not sure if you would look better with a very thin or a buzzed scalp. I wish you all the best.

 

If possible can you let us know the surgeon that ended up performing your HT?

[spoon]

Jake, I only saw two pics and the donor area wasn't clear in either of them. Perhaps I missed some other posted pics?

[Dr Zorba]

Originally posted by JakeVig:

spoon,

 

If you looked at the pics you will realize that he has a lot more area to cover and has nowhere near the donor hair available that jotronic and Bobman were lucky to have. My personal assessment is that he is not a good candidate for a HT. I hope the best for Zorba but I would have to agree that the final result will be modest at best. Unfortunately I believe that the extra 1200-2000 grafts available will definately be needed to achieve a natural result.

 

On the positive it does look like you have a denser packed hairline which hopefully should give you a moderate hairline after 1 year. I am anxiously waiting your final result as Im still not sure if you would look better with a very thin or a buzzed scalp. I wish you all the best.

 

If possible can you let us know the surgeon that ended up performing your HT?

 

My doctor is Dr. Samuels. St. Louis, MO. To be more exact, he said that I had more donor area for future HT, perhaps the same or bigger than this one. In fairness to Dr. Samuels, I was the one who told him my expectations are limited, and he revised these expectations upwards.

 

I do have some dense, dark hair in the back, and I am actually learning a great deal from this forum. So, for a newbie, I feel I have done pretty well. I couldn't have stood much more than the 7 hours I spend dong 1200 grafts anyway. This is phase I for me. Will see in 8-12 months how things look like. If it looks good, and I have more donor area, I will do more, if not, that is fine too.

 

As I said, I am 52, and my goal may be different than a 32 or a 42 year old.

 

I attached a pic, but it is not the right (donor potential) area. I will take one and post it soon.

 

Thank you all for the great body of knowledge and advice.

 

Dr. Zorba

[Dr Zorba]

Here is a pic from the back 5 days post-op.

 

Dr. Zorba

[troy]

I still disagree on the assessment you only have 2500-4000 grafts available. I say this mostly because i have never heard of it and it is so rare. I think you should do some online consulting in the coarse of the next year and see what some of the top docs recommended from this site tell you.

[johnnie69]

Originally posted by Dr Zorba:

Here is a pic from the back 5 days post-op.

 

Dr. Zorba

 

Im no expert on calculating available donor, but if its true that you only have 3000 available graphs (i seriously doubt it), with your advanced balding, you arent a ht canidate, IMO...

 

1200 is not gonna do much of anything and your graphs dont appear to be dense packed....never heard of your doc.....

 

Definatly do some more research and consult some top docs......the difference is night and day...

[hoose]

The grafts look to be very far apart. Also, are those mini/micro grafts?--they look like it. Also the graft placement look too symetrical;they are like perfect rows (stadium seating). I'm not trying to be harsh. Was your Dr. employed by one of the hair mills? He doesn't seem very ethical, IMO. Just being realistic, but you are not going to see much, if any, cosmetic effect from this first surgery.

Sorry if I sounded too harsh, but we are here to help each other out, and we need to pass the word about doctors who are unethical.

[Dr Zorba]

Thank you all for the good advice. As I said, I am very realistic about the expectactions. I would feel differently if I was 32 or 42, not 52.

 

My friend, who is a few years younger than me I am 52, he's 50) had 1200 grafts done, and it made a difference.

 

My doctor has been doing HT since 1991, and the reason I choose him was the work he did for my friend.

 

Once I see how this round of HT goes, I am sure I will be doing more. This is a great place to learn.