Reporting live from London Heathrow Airport!

[Tubs]

Hi Guys

 

Sorry, this is a fairly lengthy post, but may be of particular interest to any guys in the UK considering an HT.

 

I am sitting in an airport lounge in Heathrow on my way to see Dr Feller for my first HT.

 

Whilst waiting I though I would share my story of my HT journey thus far.

 

I have been seriously thinking of having a HT for the last couple of years, I went to see a clinic in the UK but felt uncomfortable that I was only seeing a "glossy" side of a HT, my brother in-law is a plastic surgeon in the UK and he warned by of bad scarring from HT's (he is not aware of the advancement by the quality clinics).

 

I pretty much ditched the idea until I stumbled across a HT forum early in 2008. I felt pretty excited by the find (amazed at my stupidity for not seeking forums out before).

 

A HT was now a definite possibility, I just need to decide how to choose a surgeon. I set myself the following simple rules:

 

1. The choice would be made on grown out results, a number of quality results would indicate consistency.

2. Travel would not be an issue, I realised from what I had read thus far that the HT journey is less than convenient (downtime immediately post op, growing out 6 to 18 months) ??“ the thought of a few hours extra travelling really should not influence my decision.

3. Cost should not influence my choice ??“ (as I discovered the top clinics seem to charge similar amounts in any case).

 

The important part about excluding travel and cost is that if you really feel you need to compromise you can gauge the level of that compromise by excluding them as factors in the first place.

 

I narrowed down my search to a few top clinics (top as evidenced by posted results).

 

Dr Feller was in my shortlist and I had seen Spex was associated with Feller Medical. I searched back on Spex postings and satisfied myself he was genuine and his posts seemed to give good advice.

 

I called Spex and told him that I had narrowed down my search to 3 clinics, he was very complimentary about the other two clinics, he also made it clear that he only wanted to talk about HT's in general and help me with any questions I might have ??“ he did not want to influence my final choice.

 

Spex was a huge help ??“ it is enormously helpful having someone in the UK to discuss HT issues and over the course of numerous phone calls, emails and a face-to-face meeting I gained the confidence to make my final decision.

 

Even when I told Spex I had decided on Dr Feller, he suggested that I wait a few days, digest the decision and if I felt the same, then proceed.

 

Above is bit of a Spex ??plug' but I feel a debt of gratitude for his unbiased, straight talking and advice, and for giving me the confidence to proceed.

 

In summary, if I can offer any advice to anyone considering an HT is not to let travel or cost be an issue in your initial selection process. The "top" clinics based on my selection criteria are not the only great clinics but sitting here in the departure lounge with an hour or so to take off I feel really comfortable that I have seen enough results / patient comments to give myself a best chance of a great outcome.

 

I will keep my weblog regularly updated and would like to say a big thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences.

 

I nearly forgot, I am hoping for circa 4,000 grafts (strip).

 

Is anybody still awake?

 

Tubs

[Crown Royal]

Hey Tubs,

 

Thank you for sharing your story. You've made an excellent choice in your decision to go with Dr. Feller. I have full confidence that you will be happy with the whole procedure. I think 4000 grafts will make a huge improvement for you. It seems you need to address both your crown and your front and I'm sure Dr. Feller will lay out a detailed plan the morning of your surgery to meet your satisfaction.

Good luck with everything! Feel free to swing by or call room 402 at The Andrew as I'll be here til Tuesday, August 12th

 

I have plenty of beer

[richie48]

Hey tubs

 

Seriously good luck and try not too worry too much , it's easy now , the hardest parts are making that first call and the 12 months after while it grows hahahaah

 

New York is ace and Dr Feelgood is one of the worlds best at this , so sit back and enjoy the ride .

 

 

4000 wow ! big session , are you doing the whole head , temples and crown , where you having the 4000 go ?

 

Thanks buddy and good luck

 

richie

[badger_01]

Good Luck with your surgery. Congrats on taking the big first step on your path to getting your hair back! You're in great hands..you have nothing to worry about!

[bullitnut]

good luck dude you will be fine. keep us posted buddy

[HairDew]

Tubs,

 

Good luck dude....you are in great hands....(of course talking like a person who has never had HT done yet lol) but from I see as far as results Dr F is one the best in the world...you are in great hands. Heal and Grow WELL!!

[Tubs]

Thanks for good wishes guys.

 

Feeling pretty relaxed, pleased to be making another major step forward in my HT journey. I am going to be sooooo bad at waiting for the results to start showing!

 

Hope to report back tonight.

 

Tubs

[Crown Royal]

Tubs!!! Happy Friday afternoon to ya! You must be finishing up or finished up already with Dr. Feller. I will try and swing down to your room around 8pm to check on you. Congratulations!!!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Tubs,

 

I imagine you're pretty much finished with your surgery by now (or soon will be). We'll be eagerly awaiting your surgical experience and photos.

 

I look forward to watching your new head of hair sprout in the coming months

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Tubs]

Hi

 

Phew - thats that done, now the waiting!

 

Huge thanks to Dr Feller and his team - really great down to earth people that made me feel very relaxed.

 

Dr Feller managed to get 3,500 grafts, short of the 4,000 I was hoping for but still a big number - I had good laxity at the side but it fell away at the back (I really noticed this when I was doing my laxity exercises - I almost have corners on my bump that causes the scalp to really tighten up).

 

Although the surgery itself is a long day, pain is minimal, you can obviously feel the injections but it is no big deal.

 

Last night was fairly tough, I just watched movies and took pain killers until I eventually fell asleep.

 

This morning the pain feels a lot better, I took a couple of Tylenol rather than the Vicodin and they seem to do the trick.

 

I am really pleased with the procedure and really look forward to seeing the result as it grows out.

 

Dr Feller said he would send his pictures to me and I will post on my blog. I'll also ask for the hair count. I have attached a post op picture - apologies quality not the best.

 

Tubs

[bullitnut]

wow well done tubs dude bet your thrilled thats done with now the best bit waiting ha ha anyway im happy for you man hope you have a speedy recovery and a good flight home well done tubs and feller medical

[Crown Royal]

Hey I recoginize that room!

 

It looks great Tubs and looks even better in person. The part in the back where it doesn't look like Dr. Feller put any grafts is where he had native hair and it was just shaved down. I think the final result will be awesome. Congrats again Tubs!!!

[Dewayne]

Looks good Tubs, but here's a question:

 

It looks like the Dr. drew the 'whirl' lines in your crown, does that mean you had some grafts put in your crown area?

 

I remember my doc drawing some back there, but then I think we didn't put any grafts in my crown so I'm a little confused about this part of it all.

 

Do they draw those lines on the crown even if you don't get any grafts there?

[Tubs]

Hi Dewayne

 

The following is my understanding:

 

Until the strip is actually removed, any graft quotation can only be an estimate.

 

Dr Feller's philosophy is to maximise the session without compromising the donor. My donor laxity was good at the sides but less at the rear (I could feel this when I was doing my pre-op laxity exercises). The marking on the crown was more of an outside chance that the donor would allow coverage back to the crown; the fact that the area was marked not shaved indicates that it was "outside chance".

 

During the process of removing the strip Dr Feller adjusts the width of the strip according to what he gauges as the true laxity.

 

Dr Feller manages expectations well so the fact we didn't get all the way back did not come as a surprise.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Tubs

[Tubs]

Spex - Thanks for posting pictures.

 

Healing well, many of the grafts now shed, really pleased with how the scar is healing.

 

I will post some updated photos at the weekend.

 

Tubs

[Bill - Seemiller]

Tubs,

 

Your postoperative work looks terrific.

 

I'm glad to hear your donor scar is healing well and that everything is going smoothly. I bet it hard to see those hairs jump ship though. But they are to return in time.

 

Keep us posted.

 

Bill

[Guest]

Hello all - for info this is my first post on this forum.

 

Tubs - thanks so much for posting your journey as you have so far - its a fascinating insight for someone seriously thinking about a HT (and currently in a wig!)

 

I have a question for you. What plans did you make for post-op recovery in terms of work, being in public etc etc? More importantly how have those plans gone so far?

[Tubs]

Hi Whattodo

 

I just read your other post re:AHS - really sorry to hear about your experience. You will find this site invaluable, a real community of people willing to share their experiences to help others.

 

In the past HT's produced such poor results that there still seems to be a real stigma attached, but, subject to your own suitability, if you do your research and choose your clinic carefully you can find solution (research also keeps expectations in check!).

 

I had my HT performed on Friday 8th August and flew back Sunday 10th August. I was happy to go out in public immediately, subject to my new best friend - the baseball cap.

 

I planned to have 3 weeks off work post op. but had to go in slightly earlier than this. I did not keep my HT a secret, IMO this gives me a big advantage, i do not worry about people asking why I am wearing a baseball cap, if they ask I take it off, show them and explain - the reaction is fine and sometimes funny.

 

I am now a month post op. - my wife / friends tell me I could ditch the baseball cap - the receipient area is a little "pink" but not too bad, many of the grafts have shed but my original hair has returned (was shaved in receipient area) - the scar is noticeable but only because I have had a little shockloss beneath the scar - this can be concealed with Nanofibres / Dermatch.

 

The nature of my work means that I do not just have one office to "face" people, but I am consistent with my theory of not keeping it a secret. The only exception to this is when I am having a meeting that I do not want the "distraction" of explaining myself - in these cases I just say "excuse the baseball cap, I have had some surgery" - people appear to assume the worst and do not ask any other questions.

 

Personally not keeping a secret has paid dividends, I have no regrets and would highly recommend this course of action, subject to own personal circumstances.

 

I feel such a sense of gratitude for the other members of this site that posted their experiences that I would like to repay this by contributing in a similar way - if you like I could private message my details and have a chat.

 

The key point about research is to take your time, and although my experience with Feller Medical was A1 you need to look through many, many postings check patient experiences and any choices you make should be your own. Do not rush into anything.

 

Do not be hard on yourself regaring previous actions you will find that others have also made mistakes.

 

All the best

 

Tubs

 

PS - I will be posting some one month photos later today on this thread.

[Tubs]

I have updated my weblog with some photos taken one month after my procedure.

 

If it wasn't for the shockloss around the donor scar I would be happy to ditch the baseball cap, but with a bit of Nanogen I can make it look better, I have ordered some Dermatch to see if that helps.

 

I am in a bit of a catch-22 at the moment, buzzing the hair would help the recipient area blend in but likely to expose the shockloss / scar. I am not worried by how it looks at the moment; for me, the short term look is a small price to pay.

 

The month seems to have passed very quickly, I am happy with the progress to date, sort of sorry to see the grafts shed around week two (deserters!) but happy that I could tick off a stage in my recovery.

 

I will post some shots with concealers on the donor scar in the next few days and probably a shorter hair cut!

 

Tubs

[Guest]

Thanks Tubs for your earlier reply - reassuring and helpful. Thanks.

 

I'll be keeping an eye on your progress and maybe will PM you in the future when I get my head sorted out. I'm really pleased things are going well for you at the moment. I think you're right about being up front about the HT - however I work as a consultant and going to meetings etc in a baseball cap would be an issue I think. I'm looking way into the future now but an option I might consider is a career break and do it all then. Just ideas at the moment. Keep us updated. Thanks again.

[richie48]

Hey tubs

 

Its pants when them pesky grafts decide to commit folical suicide hahaha

 

Find something to occupy your mind , your in for a long old wait .

 

Other than that your looking great , I had a bit of shock loss around my scar , it soon returns , the shockloss on top took a little longer to return though .

 

You may have seen from my own blog , to stop looking like i had a step in mu head hahahaah , i just shaved down to a #1 and exposed the scar , told people I had an accident , even told one girl i had just returned from afganistan hahahaha saved my platoon from a motor attack , she gave me her number !!!! hahahahaa

 

take it easy

richie

[Tubs]

Cheers Richie

 

 

Buzzed down to a #3 last night, at work now, no baseball cap. The shockloss around the scar is a lot less noticeable with the short hair and my hair is now all the same length.

 

I like the idea of going for the sympathy vote - I'll give it a go!!

 

No matter how relaxed I feel about it all i still check the mirror every time I pass one - I don't think there is a cure for that!!

 

Tubs

[Tubs]

It is now 3 months since my HT with Dr Feller ??“ I have updated my weblog with some 3 month photos. As can be expected at this stage little growth from the HT itself.

 

The Propecia which I have been taking for 5 months does appear to have revived a little of the crown hair.

 

I have also included a picture taken with Nanogen (I am always amazed how effective it is).

 

I have not suffered any "doldrums", after about five weeks I had pretty much returned to my pre-HT position (a little red in recipient area but only people aware of HTs would notice / guess). The waiting game is not a problem, just looking forward to seeing the results over the next few months.

 

Tubs

[Tubs]

I have updated my weblog with a picture 4 months post op. Seems to be a big difference from last month (however, the poor lighting may be helping).

 

All seems to be going well, I am very pleased with the progress so far.

 

Tubs

weblog

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

Tubs Nice growth from month 3

It looks like the month 3 nanogen pics.

Just imagine what you have to look forwarded to.

8 more months of growth ,with these next 3 producing the most dramatic difference.