Plug repair Dr. Vogel

[nobuzz4me]

Hello all, great site, very informative. I am scheduled for a repair session with Dr. Vogel in Baltimore. A little backround - In the early 80's, I had about 60 plugs put in the temple areas when I was freaked out about my hairloss in my early twenties. I had repair work via Dr. Halford who was with Elliot and True several years ago. He decided to camaflouge the area and it worked pretty well.

 

Now I am about a NW5A and need more work to cover the plug area and am considering a 1200 FUT via strip and plug reduction and recycling with Dr. Vogel. My concern is the method of reducing the plugs. I am really not sure the size of the plugs, I do not think they are the largest I have ever seen, they may contain about 9-12 hairs. Would it make sense to remove the plug totally or just a small part of it with a small punch? We talked about it during my consultation and he thought a small punch would not need to be sutured and would heal just fine without sutures. This kind of scares me as I still have the circle scars in my donor area from the early disfigurement "restoration"! Has anyone out there had repair done this way or is this similar to fueing the plugs down in density?

I do not want to make a mistake during this repair and I don't want to end up needing many more sessions to fix the problem. Many thanks for your suggestions!

[nobuzz4me]

Hello all, great site, very informative. I am scheduled for a repair session with Dr. Vogel in Baltimore. A little backround - In the early 80's, I had about 60 plugs put in the temple areas when I was freaked out about my hairloss in my early twenties. I had repair work via Dr. Halford who was with Elliot and True several years ago. He decided to camaflouge the area and it worked pretty well.

 

Now I am about a NW5A and need more work to cover the plug area and am considering a 1200 FUT via strip and plug reduction and recycling with Dr. Vogel. My concern is the method of reducing the plugs. I am really not sure the size of the plugs, I do not think they are the largest I have ever seen, they may contain about 9-12 hairs. Would it make sense to remove the plug totally or just a small part of it with a small punch? We talked about it during my consultation and he thought a small punch would not need to be sutured and would heal just fine without sutures. This kind of scares me as I still have the circle scars in my donor area from the early disfigurement "restoration"! Has anyone out there had repair done this way or is this similar to fueing the plugs down in density?

I do not want to make a mistake during this repair and I don't want to end up needing many more sessions to fix the problem. Many thanks for your suggestions!

[Guest]

I had exactly the same history with plugs in the early 80's. Had about 350 circular plugs placed about 1/4 inch apart in 3 rows across my forehead. Wore a hairpiece until NHI camoflaged the work with 1600 grafts to the hairline and top. This worked well with concealers. Just had 2300 more grafts put in by H&W along the part side and hairline. Dr. Wong took out a couple of lower plugs and then sutured the hole closed. You can't see any scar at 10 weeks post op. Like you I have donor bumps from the old 1980's plug removal that I can feel with my fingers. If I was going to have any plugs removed, I would prefer suture closing...

[nobuzz4me]

Thanks for the reply, what size were your plugs originally and did Dr. Wong remove the entire plug or most of it. Since mine are 9-12 hairs each maybe this is why Dr. Vogel advised not to suture since the hole punch will be so small in removing part of the plug. Since I had some camoflage work which turned out fairly well, maybe there is no need for aggressive attack on these plugs and can just be refined some. I will try to get pics soon as I am new to this site. What can we do about the swiss cheese donor site if the harvest area is close to being above the safe zone. My 2nd procedure the doc removed the lower row of the bumps. I would like to get the whole area stripped out and use what is there for FU. Did Dr Wong consider this with you or were your plugs pulled from a non-safe zone? I am on propecia now and hope the donor area does not start to show thru in the future, also, my choice would be to have one linear scar rather than these stupid bumps! Your thoughts? Many thanks!

[Guest]

My old plugs were probably 5 to 10 hairs each. From what I can tell he took all the hairs out of a couple of lower recipient plugs and split them up and replaced them in the hairline. As I said, no scar is visible now. The old plug donor areas were very low and widely scattered. For example, I have a couple large bumps right above the left ear just at the hairline and top of the sideburn area. I never was told of any problem with later strip harvesting.

[Guest]

By the way, my old plug work was done with a circular boring tool. Kind of like a small Black & Decker hole cutter. We've come a long way since then....

[PCC]

NoBuzz,

 

Please keep us updated on your progress. I will be following it closely. I have similiar issues and am also considering traveling to Dr. Vogel for refinement/correction of my earlier work. He has extensive expertise in this area. He and I had a very pleasant phone conversation this summer.

 

Did you read his article which is accesible through the network? It covers all aspects of repairs including how to address the old donor scarring.

 

Isn't Halford currently with MHR out of the NYC office?

 

Phil

[nobuzz4me]

Originally posted by plugvet:

By the way, my old plug work was done with a circular boring tool. Kind of like a small Black & Decker hole cutter. We've come a long way since then....

 

Thanks plugvet, I will keep you posted as I am scared to death of going thru this crap but I know it is neccessary if I am ever to look natural again.

[nobuzz4me]

Originally posted by PCC:

NoBuzz,

 

Please keep us updated on your progress. I will be following it closely. I have similiar issues and am also considering traveling to Dr. Vogel for refinement/correction of my earlier work. He has extensive expertise in this area. He and I had a very pleasant phone conversation this summer.

 

Did you read his article which is accesible through the network? It covers all aspects of repairs including how to address the old donor scarring.

 

Isn't Halford currently with MHR out of the NYC office?

 

Phil

 

PCC, Yes I think Halford is in NY, I think he did a good job with my first correction via camoflage. I still need more work and would still like to get rid of these plugs even though Dr. Vogel says it may not be neccessary. Other people may not notice but I will still see them and KNOW they are there. So far very impressed with Dr. Vogel and I did read all of his corrective works and he has extensive plastic surgery backround instead of just doing HT. Compared to facelifts, etc., HT must be simple for him. Apparently, he does about 50% HT and 50% plastic and it was very hard to schedule his HT (I wanted to get on with it asap but cannot get in till January). I would be worried if his schedule book was wide open. His office and facility look first class and clean so I feel better about that.

I still have more questions since doing more research and will try to see him for a follow up consultation.

 

Do you have old plugs for repair and what is your situation? I just want to look natural, not like a movie star, at 48 and NW5 I can not expect miracles!

[nobuzz4me]

Originally posted by plugvet:

By the way, my old plug work was done with a circular boring tool. Kind of like a small Black & Decker hole cutter. We've come a long way since then....

 

Plugvet, did they suture close the holes or leave them to heal, One of my questions I asked Dr. Vogel was suturing these closed and in my case he said he would not suture close such a small hole. Maybe these holes will be so small like a FUE, I need to clarify. It scares me to think of ending up with a circular scar with no hair in it on near my hairline!

[Guest]

My old unsutured donor plug holes did not heal well at all. They were left unsutured and what resulted were raised and hardened circles. My latest surgery used sutures to close the old recipient holes on my forehead and they healed very well and are unable to be seen or felt. So, I would prefer suture closure vs leaving a large open circle of flesh. I think most repairs are using sutures. In spite of all of this, your Doctor's advice is the one to follow. Perhaps your plug repair sites will not be that large and will be able to heal better than mine did.

[PCC]

Hi NoBuzz,

 

My history is as follows:

 

Between 1983 and 1990 I had three proceedures with what I guess we would call the plug technique. This started at age 19 in response to MPB which began while I was in high school. These were with the same practitioner. I'm really not sure how many grafts were done each time but I doubt it would have been more than 100. While this definately gave me hair where otherwise there would have been none I was constantly aware of it and endured countless odd looks and comments/questions from others.

 

In the early 90's I began seeking out correction/refinement. In '92 I had one proceedure consisting of placing very small "strip grafts" along the hairline in front of the earlier plugs. This was done by a different doctor and the grafts taken from the sides. They healed and grew in fine and accomplished the objective of the hairline being unbroken. The problem though was that the plugs were still very visible behind!

 

In '95 I had my last proceedure with yet a third doctor involving masking the hairline/frontal zone with minis and micros. These came from the traditional donor area in back. The doctor initially wanted to remove, reduce, and redistribute some of the earlier plugs but then decided I didn't need it (?) This outcome of this proceedure helped somewhat although I still feel there is room for improvement.

 

Like you, I have the old donor scarring from the unsutured removal methods. However,in '92 and '95 the donor sites were closed properly using sutures or staples. The back and sides still get fairly thick and bushy and are thinned out by the barber at least once a month. I too would like to get as much of this as possible cut out and the area closed with the newer closure techniques.

 

Of course time took it's toll with progressive hairloss especially into the crown. Fortunately I don't have an isolated "island" or hair. I just started taking propecia for the first time this summer to hopefully prevent the lateral humps from racing downward.

 

I too dread the thought of another proceedure even with a top doc but feel it is inevitable. I also empathize with you that at 42 I have no illusions of a "gorgeous head of hair". I have a wife who loves me regardless and am in a field where one is not expected to look pefect. I only want to look age appropriate and not to be self conscious about my appearance.

 

Phil

[nobuzz4me]

PCC,

 

I am not familar with "strip grafts" as I did not keep up with the technology between 1983 and 2001. Were the strip grafts like a flap procedure and do these make your hairline linear? You may be able to get them excised out and divided into FU for replacement in to the hairline. I am too the point where I want to face my problem and just go thru what is neccessary to fix it. We will probably look like a freak for a few months but in the long run it should be worth it. It sounds like you have enough donor hair on the sides to make the repair for you work out. I don't know about you but I want ALL plugs removd and divided into FU for replacement. I do not think my forelock area can be filled enough to mask the plugs so it is best I get them removed. My second HT was about 1000 grafts to blend in and recreate a hailine. It is not too bad but in the wind or outside I am still too self concious about it and always go to wearing my hat. I will be happy when I can go without those hats!!

I will keep you posted, good luck.

[ogph]

Hey PCC, nobuzz,

 

I am looking for a doc as well to do the repair. Have done some online consultations. Have you guys contacted other docs and discussed the techniques ?

 

Any feedback ? SOme of them talk about no sutures, some say sutures whereas others even talk about skin grafting. Hoping to meet people who have already tried this with success.

[nobuzz4me]

Originally posted by ogph:

Hey PCC, nobuzz,

 

I am looking for a doc as well to do the repair. Have done some online consultations. Have you guys contacted other docs and discussed the techniques ?

 

Any feedback ? SOme of them talk about no sutures, some say sutures whereas others even talk about skin grafting. Hoping to meet people who have already tried this with success.

 

ogph,

 

It seems most every situation is different with regard to techniques in repair. Some say suture closed some say that will scar still and cause tension in the scalp making it hard to keep grafts close by, some grafts may pop out?

 

Another concern is damage to area follicles which were transplanted close by in my first repair which was to cover up the plugs. Some like to suture the holes closed, which is probably the right thing to do on large plugs which have no other hairs around them and are completely exposed.

 

It is confusing and in my case since my old round plugs are not that large and I have had some work to fill in around my Dr. is suggesting a small coring out of the plug and leaving open. This would amount to FUEing on a larger scale rather than one hair at a time.

 

I am looking to restore my hair not totally go bald and remove the plugs. If you want to go bald and remove the plugs I would consider fueing them out or laser. What is your situation and goal? Send me a PM if you like.

[the B spot]

Shapiro Repair

 

Follow this link to see what one of the best in the world can do with a repair patient.

 

I hope this helps you out!!!!!!