Just got 4300 grafts from Hasson & Wong

[Rhodeman]

Well,

 

I'm back from getting 4300 grafts from Dr. Jerry Wong a couple of days ago. I've got to say, I am extremely satisfied with the results.

 

My day started at 6:15 in the morning when I was greeted by Dr. Wong at the H&W office. After thinking all night about what I was expecting from this procedure, I discussed this with Dr. Wong in the morning[this was slightly different from what I had discussed with him the day before], and he had no problem adjusting to my new request.

 

I was promptly prepared for my procedure after the "before" pics were taken, and was immediately placed in the room where the procedure would take place. The room has a wall of windows with a fantastic view of the city & the surrounding water, with the mountains in the background. Very impressive.

 

One of the first things that you notice right away is how friendly the entire staff is, and that they are constantly making sure that you're comfortable.

 

The other thing that you notice right away is that Dr. Wong treats you like a good friend, and makes you relaxed.

 

After having a transplant previously in Rhode Island, it was interesting to compare the two procedures. It was apparent that Dr. Wong is a perfectionist when it comes to the creation of the hairline. He was constantly "tweaking" it & adjusting it to get it just right. This is the opposite of what I remember from my previous procedure. You got the feeling that Dr. Wong treated your final appearance like it was his own.

 

Another thing that impressed me was when Dr. Wong was told that a "consultation" patient was there to see him. He basically made them wait until he was done with the particular item he was working on at that time, and didn't rush through it. He also seemed to be constantly overseeing the implantation process, offering comments and making any necessary adjustments.

 

The gals that worked on me [Paula, Vanessa, Winnie, & Leena] were super nice, funny, & kept the mood light. They were constantly working, & seemed to go out of their way to make sure I did not want for anything. You could tell that they had been learning from Dr. Wong by their attention to details. An example was Leena wanting to make sure she got the crown implants just right.

 

It's always the small touches that you seem to remember, like Dr. Wong making a point to take a second to stop & see you when you're getting your post-op hair wash the next day, even though you know he's got his hands full with other things, & offering to provide to you a copy of the pics that were taken. Or maybe it's the call from Doug noting that the disk with the pictures was in the mail, & that he would get the breakdown on the hair numbers, & provide details on the FU distribution.

 

I would highly recommend anybody wanting a HT to visit with Dr. Wong & his staff before going anywhere else. I'm glad this forum provided the support and information that led me to go there.

 

I'll follow up with some pics in the next few days.

[Rhodeman]

Well,

 

I'm back from getting 4300 grafts from Dr. Jerry Wong a couple of days ago. I've got to say, I am extremely satisfied with the results.

 

My day started at 6:15 in the morning when I was greeted by Dr. Wong at the H&W office. After thinking all night about what I was expecting from this procedure, I discussed this with Dr. Wong in the morning[this was slightly different from what I had discussed with him the day before], and he had no problem adjusting to my new request.

 

I was promptly prepared for my procedure after the "before" pics were taken, and was immediately placed in the room where the procedure would take place. The room has a wall of windows with a fantastic view of the city & the surrounding water, with the mountains in the background. Very impressive.

 

One of the first things that you notice right away is how friendly the entire staff is, and that they are constantly making sure that you're comfortable.

 

The other thing that you notice right away is that Dr. Wong treats you like a good friend, and makes you relaxed.

 

After having a transplant previously in Rhode Island, it was interesting to compare the two procedures. It was apparent that Dr. Wong is a perfectionist when it comes to the creation of the hairline. He was constantly "tweaking" it & adjusting it to get it just right. This is the opposite of what I remember from my previous procedure. You got the feeling that Dr. Wong treated your final appearance like it was his own.

 

Another thing that impressed me was when Dr. Wong was told that a "consultation" patient was there to see him. He basically made them wait until he was done with the particular item he was working on at that time, and didn't rush through it. He also seemed to be constantly overseeing the implantation process, offering comments and making any necessary adjustments.

 

The gals that worked on me [Paula, Vanessa, Winnie, & Leena] were super nice, funny, & kept the mood light. They were constantly working, & seemed to go out of their way to make sure I did not want for anything. You could tell that they had been learning from Dr. Wong by their attention to details. An example was Leena wanting to make sure she got the crown implants just right.

 

It's always the small touches that you seem to remember, like Dr. Wong making a point to take a second to stop & see you when you're getting your post-op hair wash the next day, even though you know he's got his hands full with other things, & offering to provide to you a copy of the pics that were taken. Or maybe it's the call from Doug noting that the disk with the pictures was in the mail, & that he would get the breakdown on the hair numbers, & provide details on the FU distribution.

 

I would highly recommend anybody wanting a HT to visit with Dr. Wong & his staff before going anywhere else. I'm glad this forum provided the support and information that led me to go there.

 

I'll follow up with some pics in the next few days.

[MrJobi]

Congrats

 

They always have postitive comment ( and results) on here

 

Good luck

[youngsuccess]

"I discussed this with Dr. Wong in the morning[this was slightly different from what I had discussed with him the day before], and he had no problem adjusting to my new request".

 

I remember that the thing I was most nervous about on the morning of my ht was agreement upon the placement of the hairline: I was worried that my doctor would'nt recreate the exact outline that we had previously drawn. Funny to think that I wasn't really concerned about the potential pain involved or anthing like that (good thing there wasn't any though!). Once it was drawn on, I was relieved and went through the rest of the procedure relaxed. Glad to hear that you took the initiative and communicated exactly what you wanted to him.

[Glock08]

Rhodeman:

Congratulations and best of luck to you on your recent HT. I had an appt. booked for my first HT with a local Dr. in RI..cancelled shortly after finding this site..just in time.

 

You picked a great Dr. and I'm sure your results will be impressive. I roughly had the same amount of grafts--just reached my 7th month.

 

Happy growing.

Glock08

[Rhodeman]

Glock,

 

Thanks. Looked like you're just getting into your growth cycle right about now, & I wish you the best of luck.

 

Luckily you found this site prior to your scheduled HT, and it sounds like you were very happy with Dr. True. He was one of the docs I considered before making my final choice. I only wish I had found this site before having my first HT done in RI.

 

JOBI, thanks. I hope to have similar results to the pics I've seen in this site. Hopefully it will be a nice X-mas present.

 

Youngsuccess, since I previously had a HT procedure, I noticed that this time around I was a lot more focused on what I wanted to achieve & the overall placement locations, and less concerned about the actual cutting, post-op, etc. I used the occasional bathroom break to look at the progress in case there was something I wanted to address. I also was more cognizant of the incisions being made & the implantation process, especially at the hairline area.

 

I will post some pics after the disk with pics arrives in the next few days.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Rhodeman,

 

Welcome to the community. I'm glad to hear that you had a good experience and you were certainly in the hands of a top doctor. I look forward to seeing your pictures when you get a chance to post them.

 

Bill

[Rhodeman]

Bill,

 

One of the reasons I chose H&W was due to all of the positive responses I read about them in this forum, including your analysis of why you chose them. Your decision on how to distribute the FU's also helped me decide on how to get the most out of mine.

 

I also enjoyed the info & pics on Jotronic's site, who I met when I was there. He's a friendly guy, & I can only hope my HT ends up looking somewhat close to as good as his looked.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Rhodeman,

 

I'm honored and glad to know that my experience and my shared information helped you in your journey and led you to Dr. Wong. I look forward to watching your progress my friend.

 

Bill

[MrJobi]

Sweet

 

4300 is a nice number for any Norwood. Should provide some nice coverage

[Telephone Man]

Rhodeman

 

Who did you have your procedure with in RI.

 

Thanks

TMAN

[Rhodeman]

TMAN,

 

I had my RI HT with Dr. Robert Leonard. The results just weren't as good as I had hoped they would be for density or for the hairline.

[Rhodeman]

I've added some pics I took on my weblog. Take a look and let me know what you think. Notice that Dr. Wong left my top intact. He basically did the front, crown, temple points, & sides of the top. I will post the distribution when I get the info.Weblog & pics

[Rhodeman]

Spex,

 

Thanks. Your work looks great.

[Rhodeman]

I got my pics from H&W uploaded & got FU breakdown, but still need to get hair count. FU distribution was 1600 at crown, 380 at right temple area, 220 at left temple area, & 2138 at front & sides at the top.

 

Weblog & pics

[Bill - Seemiller]

Rhodeman,

 

Pictures look great. That combined with what you had before (though I don't see a before picture, I"m going by the shaved hairs) should give you a really nice look. Dr. Wong does tremendous work. I can't wait to see how it all turns out.

 

Bill

[TheHairLossCure]

It is interesting to see the work from your initial HT procedure shaved down. Looks like the grafts are a bit large and too widely spaced. Based on the immediate post-op photo from the recent surgery, it looks like you have received far more elegant graft placement and hairline design.

 

Congrats to you

[Rhodeman]

Thanks Bill, I guess the waiting now begins.

 

Hairlosscure, Regarding my first HT with the RI doc, I thought the spacing was a bit extended as well. I also thought the grafts were not well distributed. For instance, from what I could see after the fact, there didn't seem to be many singles in the hairline area. Another thing that struck me as odd was that the transplanted hairs were not "cut" down enough [i.e. they were left longer]. While I guess this shouldn't matter too much as long as the implant is done correctly, it would seem to me to make the process more difficult. Is there any reason why they would leave the hairs longer?

 

Regarding my recent procedure, it has been 10 days now & I am just getting some dead skin wrapped around the shaft of the new transplanted hairs. I am always concerned about damaging the transplant while trying to get this off the hair [i.e. the hair comes out]. What's the easiest way to remove this?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Rhodeman,

 

At 10 days post op, you are safe. The dead/dry skin around the grafts is normal. I typically do with them what I do with the scabs while working them out...just use your finger tips in a circular motion around the grafts to work off the dead skin. At this point, you are not worried about harming the grafts so you can use more force...however, it's never advisable to use your nails.

 

I know what you mean about some doctors keeping the hairs longer while inserting into the recipient sites. While I can't comment on whether or not it's more difficult for the techs/doctor to insert the grafts, that it inself will have no effect on the effectiveness of the surgery. Actually, thinking logically, I'd think that the process may be a little bit easier with slightly longer hairs because they'd be easier to grab than the shorter ones.

 

Regarding the hairline, however, the hairline should be made up of singles, however some doctors believe that using doubles is sometimes appropriate. I personally feel that singles should always be used in the hairline with doubles used behind it and triples, etc. further back. This is what most top hair restoration clinics tend to believe as well.

 

Thehairlosscure is also correct about the spacing...I did notice that too from the initial procedure that things were spaced a bit far apart. Dr. Wong, however, did an excellent job with incision/graft placement as always.

 

Bill

[Rhodeman]

Bill,

 

Do you find it easier to remove this when your head is wet or dry?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Rhodeman,

 

For me, it was easiest right after I got out of the shower. I'd look in the mirror look for dry skin spots and give it a little circular massage until the dry skin fell off.

 

Bill

[Noglare]

Wow - I just got 4,300 grafts from Dr. Wong last Thursday 4-26-07! Everything was similar except I'd never been in the office until 6:15 that morning and had never met Dr. Wong. I'd come up from Seattle the night before and had consulted with Mike in H&W's Seattle office. I had a lot of blood and lost 1 graft (1 hair) overnight - Funny those guys at H&W noticed it missing when I came in Friday morning for a looksie and wash.

 

During the preocedure I slept a lot. The girls doing the work were great, but I really didn't bother them so they could do their thing. Most seemed to have a lot of years there. DR. Wong is a really nice guy.

 

I didn't tell them at work that I was going to do this and I got made fun of a little. My assistant got braces today at 48 years old, so she needed to keep her mouth shut about it (literally!).

 

Tomorrow will be a week and I look like a cross between Frankenstein and Bozo the Clown! But its getting better and the transplanted hairs are growing and are dark and thick. Scabs are coming off. I think it'll be okay but I can feel the staples digging in when I get in the shower.

 

The staples come out midday Monday and then I can crew cut the whole thing to be even. That will be good.

 

It's been a hard week, but I'll get there I think.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Noglare,

 

Welcome to our community. Thank you for posting a little bit about your experience. I hope you'll take the time to create a photo album and or weblog of your experience so we can follow it. congratulations on choosing an excellent physician.

 

At 1 week post op it's normal to still look funny. did you have any swelling? If so...how much? Is the swelling gone?

 

Keep us posted.

 

Bill

[kamin]

Originally posted by Noglare:

....the transplanted hairs are growing and are dark and thick...

 

I'm sure Dr. Wong told you this, but these hairs will fall out (this is normal), go into a resting phase, and then start growing again. I just didn't want you to freak out when you saw these hairs start to disappear!

[Noglare]

Yeah I know they'll go into a resting phase. I had a 'fair' amount of on top before surgery which was shaven for the procedure. That's coming back so I'll have some coverage through the summer.

 

The only swelling I had was on the 3rd day after on the side of each eye. I'm caucasian, but I looked Korean for a day. A good night's rest helped and I've been fine ever since.