Hiding surgery

[hairdini]

My HT has been over for four days now. Going into this procedure I made up my mind I was not going to tell anyone. It's not that I'm ashamed of it, but rather I just respect my privacy and would choose for friends and family not to know. Because of this a few months back I stopped cutting my hair. My goal was to be able to go out immediately and be undetectable. Since all the work was being done to my hairline and temples I wasn't sure it would be possible. Well today (day Four) I left the house and roamed around public and not one look at my head from anyone. I've attached a pic of my comb down concealed style. It's not a perfect concealor but pretty close. This photo can be compared to my photo log so you can see what it looks like when I'm not hiding it. I thought this might help someone going through similar concerns about getting an HT and not wanting anyone to know. If you grow your hair out a lot before I think you'll be thankful post-op. I know this advice doesn't apply to all but it definately will help those with minimal front loss.

[rp1979]

hairdini,

 

your post and picture was helpful. I too have stopped cutting my hair over a month ago in anticipation of an HT as to hide the surgery. I was wonder how I would conceal the temple area and your picture gave me a good idea. I see that you brushed your hair forward a bit, sort of a "wind-blown" affect. Good idea and I'm going see if that works for me.

[Bill - Seemiller]

hairdini,

 

We certainly can understand why you wouldn't want to go out into the world and broadcast that you had an HT. In fact, most people don't. Part of the "point" in restoring your hair is that you can go along living your life naturally as if you had nothing done. Where some may choose to broadcast to the world, others choose to tell only a few close loved ones, or nobody at all. It's certainly your choice.

 

I agree that your picture conceals most of the grafts. Just be careful not to actually comb the grafts for at least the first 10 days.

 

Bill

[Noglare]

I had 4,300 grafts (megasession) from Dr. Jerry Wong just this past Thursday. Today (Monday) was my first day back at work and I just went ahead and faced the music. I'm typing this at 10:30 pm in the evening in Seattle at home and it's over - everybody knows and that's it. They can make fun of me if they want, but I've been an important part of the company I work for, and own 10% of, for 18 years and what they think isn't important. My wife, kids, mom and sisters have been very supportive - that's what counts.

[hairbank]

Hairdini-

 

Nice post about hiding the surgery. You're very fortunate to have been able to do so. Most of the time if a person needs any dense packing and is going into or around existing hair it's highly recommended that you shave down for reasons that can be found on many a thread if a person searches using the find feature.

 

Noglare-

 

Glad to hear of your experience with Dr. Wong........he does great work. I kept my HT private but kudos to you for putting it out there. Also glad to hear the family has been supportive............that's the main thing! Any pics you can share I'd love to see!

[Scarred4Life]

Noglare, I am sorry to know that you have gotten HT. it's too late now but I wish I could have prevented you from having it done. Here is a photo of my donor area scar. I can never ever wear my hair short for the rest of my life and not look like a freak. I shaved my head three weeks ago and thought that I wouldn't care if people noticed the scar but after a couple of weeks I just didn't want to deal with the stares and I am growing my hair back again to cover up the stupid scar. Getting HT has been the biggest mistake of my life. Good luck to you man.

[hairbank]

Scarred-

 

You've now replied to a few threads basically scaring those who have researched and opted to have a HT. Again, I am sorry for your bad experience but what proof do you have that ANY of the Surgeons recommended here peform bad HT's?? Who did yours and what were the results?? Either share your "whole" story or stop posting.

 

Yes........there are some poor Ht surgeons out there, but they aren't recommended by this site so why start making those who have researched and opted to moved forward second-guess themselves??

[NervousNelly]

Scarred4life,

 

I'm sorry to see you unhappy as you are. I feel for you man, but life is full of choices and you should have educated yourself that with the HT you will get a scar that is quite visible with short hair. Did you not ever know this????

[hairdini]

Scarred for life,

 

To me it seems like a no brainer scenario. When I look in the mirror and see my hair thinning and receding in the front it makes me feel not so good about my physical appearance. Everything in life has a trade off. I will gladly take on a scar on the back of my head in order to look good in the front. The only part of my head that I ever see anyways is the front and sides. To me it seems logical if hair loss bothers you get a HT and grow your hair out just a little and cover the scar. You then have the best of both worlds.

My procedure was 6 days ago and I attached a pic of the back of my head. My scar and stitches currently go just about from ear to ear. I have short hair in the back but it is not buzzed. There is no way that my scar is the least bit detectable. I think it's a fair compromise to not be able to shave my head down to a 1 or 1 1/2 to boost my overall satisfaction with my appearance.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Scarred,

 

I've responded to you on several threads now. At this point, if you don't reply to anyone who is actually asking you specifics, we can only assume you are here to cause trouble and not to share your experience. If you wish to share your experience and photos, I encourage you to start a new thread. But scare tactics are juvenile. Please respond to my detailed response/questions to you on the other threads you've posted on.

 

Bill

[Noglare]

Actually - I have been reading this forum for over a year now before finally going to see Dr. Wong and having the procedure last Thursday. I couldn't ever / anywhere find anybody unhappy about this guy, which is why I finally went there. My decision was in no way a blind one, thanks to this forum which I've lurked on for a long time.

 

Time will tell if I'm completely satisfied. But as a previous poster on this thread conveyed, I too, have spent a lot of time looking in the mirror and not liking what I saw. I have hope now and I think it'll be fine.

[Noglare]

I'll post some pictures next week. I'm not quite ready yet... But it feels good to be posting here.

[Al - Moderator]

I'm sorry to see you unhappy as you are. I feel for you man, but life is full of choices and you should have educated yourself that with the HT you will get a scar that is quite visible with short hair. Did you not ever know this????

 

 

I can't speak for Scarred4Life, but I can honestly tell you that I did not know there would be a scar. In fact when I mentioned that I was concerened about what happens to the donor area, they added $150 charge per procedure for the first 4 sessions for a guarantee that I would not have any scars and to add thickness to the donor area because I felt some of the side areas were a bit thin to begin with. No joke.

 

 

I will gladly take on a scar on the back of my head in order to look good in the front. The only part of my head that I ever see anyways is the front and sides. To me it seems logical if hair loss bothers you get a HT and grow your hair out just a little and cover the scar. You then have the best of both worlds.

 

 

Not directing this to any particular person, but to everyone in general:

 

How many scars would you take on? 2? 3? 4? And how large of a scar? At some point it's going to matter more that you have the scars. What if after 3 or 4 years you lose a lot more hair and that hair loss gets to the scar line so you no longer have enough hair above the scar to cover it? If the additional hairloss goes past your scar line that means you're losing transplanted hair too. Still feel like it was the right decision? You would then need a lot more work to cover the additional loss. Got an extra $20000 in your pocket that you don't need? What if it doesn't grow like some of the other people such as one member here a little while back who went to a coalition doc? All of these are things you need to ask yourself before you go through it. I don't see this kind of stuff mentioned here.

 

Maybe none of that will happen to you and that's great, but it's easy to think you made the right decision and that it should be a no brainer for everyone until or unless the bad things happen to you. When it happens to someone else all you say is you should have done more research and blame it on the guy who had the bad luck.

[Al - Moderator]

Originally posted by hairbank:

what proof do you have that ANY of the Surgeons recommended here peform bad HT's??

-- SNIP --

Yes........there are some poor Ht surgeons out there, but they aren't recommended by this site

 

Here's one:

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=147388

 

I thought there was another recent one about Dr. Keene, but I can't find that one.

[Bill - Seemiller]

BeHappy,

 

How many scars would you take on? 2? 3? 4? And how large of a scar?

 

 

Just so you are aware, the latest techniques used by top physicians is to remove the same scar with the strip for any subsequent surgeries. So if you get 2 or 3 surgeries, you still end up with one scar.

 

Obviously, how large of a scar would someone want is a personal question. For me...and probably most people...we want minimal scarring. Clearly there have been bad cases of scarring, especially in the old days AND today with not-so-reputable clinics. But even though there is a risk of bad scarring today, it's much more minimized than it used to be and looking at the majority of posts by reputable clinics in the last several years shows evidence of minimal scarring.

 

If the additional hairloss goes past your scar line that means you're losing transplanted hair too.

[/quote[

 

I'm not sure what you mean here. Ethical doctors will only remove a strip of tissue from the "safe zone" which means the area below where DHT can get to the hair. That way, one is never in danger of losing transplanted hair.

 

What if it doesn't grow like some of the other people such as one member here a little while back who went to a coalition doc? All of these are things you need to ask yourself before you go through it. I don't see this kind of stuff mentioned here....

 

Here's one:

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=147388

 

 

 

You are absolutey correct. It's important to weigh ALL the risks before jumping into surgery. I would never advise anyone to "just do it" when there are many risks.

 

Dr. Deyarman is no longer a coalition member just FYI. Because there have been a few cases like this, we have removed him from the coalition. Whereas he once did quality work, there have been inner-clinic problems that they must get resolved. To see what I mean, look up a user named "Radgav" or "Ragdav" (I forget how it's spelled) who is the lead technician for Dr. Deyarman. Unfortunately for their clinic, she only came on and made things worse for them with this community. But no longer are they recommended here.

 

I encourage you to continue to read on and research. You are asking all the right questions to educate yourself. Kudos.

 

Bill

 

 

 

Bill

[hairbank]

Originally posted by BeHappy:

Originally posted by hairbank:

what proof do you have that ANY of the Surgeons recommended here peform bad HT's??

-- SNIP --

Yes........there are some poor Ht surgeons out there, but they aren't recommended by this site

 

Here's one:

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=147388

 

I thought there was another recent one about Dr. Keene, but I can't find that one.

 

Yes, as Bill mentioned, Dr. DeYarman was recommended here but isn't any longer due to quality control issues. So, I believe my statement to you holds true..........this site doesn't support subpar HT work.

 

Now, will a recommended surgeon EVER perform as less-than-perfect HT? Sure, unlike our Creator, surgeons aren't perfect and they will make mistakes. If this site is made aware of such situations, action is taken by the sites owner immediately.

 

Ditto Bill's post about the scar...............normally it is excised with each surgery. I've had two HT's but only have one scar and the 2nd is better than the first was

[Guest]

IMO getting A HT is a calculated risk.

The risk can go up or down with every aspect of getting a ht.

 

Example of a un-calculated risk

1) A 23 yr old that is a norwood 2 or 3.

2) He goes to a hair mil or unproven Dr.

3) He is not taking any drugs to combat future loss.

4) He looks good with a super short haircut or shaved.

5) He can't really afford a HT.

6) He doesn't know the risk involved.

 

Example of a calculated risk

1) He is over 38 & has a fairly established pattern

2) He is a norwood 5+.

3)He has been on propecia to prevent further hairloss.

4) He uses a Doctor with a proven track record & they develop a future plan.

5) He plans to keep his hair at least 1 to 2"

long minimum.

6) He has ample donor hair.

7) He has the money for a HT.

8) He knows all the risk involved prior to surgery.

 

Although there is still risk in any surgery,

The risk in example 1 for future problems is far greater than in example 2.

 

Behappy, you stated that you didn't know that there would be a scar, & that you paid extra to not have a scar. I don't know who "they" were

but I have never heard of paying for no scar.

Your skin is being cut, there is no magic that

can make a scar disappear for any amount of money.

 

I did have the surgery & only time will tell, but I can tell you that I am in the category of

having taken a calculated risk.

[MrJobi]

Hi

 

First of all I have had 3 Ht's my most recent 1.5 months ago.. There are risks involved in surgery and it is essential that one does research prior and makes an educated decesion. Part of this process is focusing on these key area's

 

- I accept the risks involved

- I wil do a TON of research and visit a couple doc

- I am going to a CREDIBLE doctor who is a specialist!

- If I am getting a strip surgery, there will be a scar and I cannot shave my head

- There is a year plus waiting process for final result

- I may need a couple surgeries to accomplish my goal

- I cannot judge my results EXACTLY against others as my circumstances may be different

 

Personally, I accepted all of these points. I can hanestly say I am EXTREMEMLY HAPPY with the results and my decesion..

 

There are always bad outcomes in any choice we make so it is vital we make an EDUCATED one..

[Al - Moderator]

Originally posted by folica:

IMO getting A HT is a calculated risk.

The risk can go up or down with every aspect of getting a ht.

 

 

I agree with you on that. The problem is we don't get to choose what NW scale we are at any certain age. If we did we would all choose to be NW 1 well into our 60s and never need a HT. If you are a NW 5 at 38 and felt you needed a transplant, don't you think if you were a NW 5 at 23 you would feel it was even more necessary to get one? Don't you think maybe some people take on the risk because they feel it's necessary?

 

 

you stated that you didn't know that there would be a scar, & that you paid extra to not have a scar. I don't know who "they" were

but I have never heard of paying for no scar.

Your skin is being cut, there is no magic that

can make a scar disappear for any amount of money.

 

1. I think when a lot of us say scar in terms of the donor area from HTs we are really talking about a line of no hair. If there was a scar underneath but hair was growing through it then it really would be the same as no scar even though the scar would actually be there.

 

2. I'm not a doctor. I never had any stitches or surgery prior to my hair transplant except when I was 3 or 4 for a problem from birth and that operation was done with no external cutting to me. I thought the reason for getting stitches on a cut was so you don't get a scar.

 

3. Let me quote the documentation I recieved when I went for my HT.

"During donor closure (Dr name) takes a line of hair and sews the area closed. His patients are completely healed seven to 10 days after surgery, have very minimal discomfort, and have no unsightly scarring. According to (Dr name) scar reduction is even part of the procedure."

[Al - Moderator]

Originally posted by Mrjb:

- I accept the risks involved

 

 

I'm not bashing hair transplants. I think they can turn out great when done right these days. Unfortunately mine was done in the late 80s/early 90s but even so it should have and could have turned out a lot better than it did.

 

Anyway, I said in another thread nobody really knows if they fully accepted the risks until after the fact. Obviosuly if you thought you were going to be one of the few percent that goes horribly wrong you wouldn't have it done. But SOMEBODY had that bad experience. That's why there's a chance of it happening. If EVERYONE always had a good experience then there wouldn't be any risks. What if that 1 person was you? Would you still be happy with your decsion? Most likely not. I've heard of a woman who died having liposuction and another who dies having breast implants. Do you really think that was an acceptable risk? Just throwing out some stuff for thought.

 

I'm curious as to what risks are listed on some of your consent forms? Anybody want to post a bit of that? Don't know if they list a lot or not these days, but it might be an eye opener either way.

[Bayer]

There are lots of items on the consent form, but I thought I would focus on the topic of donor area scarring, as this appears to have been a hot topic lately.

 

"In the donor area, the ellipse of donor skin is removed, and then the two edges on either side of the gap of where the donor strip was, are pulled together and stapled closed. This usually, heals with a fine, white, very faint, pencil sized linear scar, which in 90% of our cases is less then 1 mm wide. In perhaps 9% of the total number of patients, the donor area heals having a linear scar of between 1 and 2 mm wide, In perhaps of about 1 in 1,000 of our cases,a scar is left that is between 2 and 4 mm wide. We cannot remember seeing a scar wider than 5 mm wide that resulted from one of our own surgeries. However, it's likely that sooner or later it may happen.

 

These wider than usual scars can result from the way that the patient's skin heals. Often, if one examines the rest of the patient's skin carefully, one finds evidence of other large scars. Even scars from simple acne, in these patients who make wide hair transplant scars, may have resulted in big pits and craters.

 

With the majority of patients, the resulting scar from a hair transplant should be very slight, usually less than 1 mm wide, so that even with backcombing, the scar should not be too obvious. Certain individuals, especially those who have had multiple sessions and heal poorly, may develop a sizeable scar; but provided that the patient does not shave the scalp, and lets the hair grow to at least 3/4" in length at the back, the scar should not show. The small minority of patients who choose to have their heads shaved after a hair transplant, have to understand that the scar may be readily visible.

 

Those individuals, who plan to shave their heads after a hair transplant, should not have the procedure performed in the first place!"

 

The above is the verbatim text on the consent form which I received several weeks before my procedure.

 

The simple fact is, ANY surgery will leave a scar - anyone stating otherwise is not being truthful. The presence of a certain length of hair allows for the inevitable scars of a hair transplantation to be hidden (unless something goes horribly wrong).

 

Case in point, I recently had surgery on my left eye. The surgeon made the incision through the crease of my eyelid. There is a scar, of course, but it is hidden in the crease and therefore cleverly camouflaged.

[Al - Moderator]

Originally posted by Bayer:

There are lots of items on the consent form, but I thought I would focus on the topic of donor area scarring, as this appears to have been a hot topic lately.

 

 

Wow! All that was JUST the part about the donor scar! That one section is longer than my entire "consent form" (I put that in quotes because it sure wasn't real informed consent). Mine didn't have anything about the donor area at all. Now I understand why you guys say everyone should know there's going to be a scar! Thanks for posting that.

 

Just for comparisons, here is my entire "consent form".

 

 

Consent to Operate

 

1. I, <my name here>, hereby authorize Dr. (s) <Dr.'s name here> to perform the following elective surgical procedure: Hair Transplantation. How this procedure is performed and the results that I may reasonably expect have both been explained to me in terms that I understand.

 

2. I also authorize the above named physician to use local anesthetics and any other medication or treatment he deems necessary during the course of the operation.

 

3. I understand that the above operation is a treatment for Male Pattern Baldness. Other possible forms of treatment for this condition have been discussed with me.

 

4. I have recieved written Pre-operative instructions which I have faithfully followed.

 

5. I understand that I will be involved in my post-operative care. I will follow written post-operative instruction carefully.

 

6. I understand that I may experience some mild post-operative pain. I also understand that some swelling in the area undergoing surgery is a normal, harmless occurrence.

 

7. I understand that there is a small incidence (less than 1%) of excessive bleeding and/or infection.

 

8. I have filled out a medical history, answering all questions truthfully.

 

9. I am not, to my knowledge, allergic to any medications or drugs except those listed: ________________