Accelerating scab reduction (aka "My First HT" w/ pics)

[Joe HT]

Hi there, everyone. I decided to jump right into the hair transplant thing and had surgery the day after consultation, Saturday.

 

Problem is I am going away this Friday, and would like to at least lessen the scabby appearance. These are not all little pinhead scabs, and I've unfortunately had a couple bleeding areas run down and harden into long scabs.

 

I'm now on the 4th day post-op and was wondering how dangerous it would be to over-wash or touch the actual surgical sites.

 

No biggie if nothing can be done, I was surprised by just how big that donor area and stiching turned out, so it may bae a baseball cap weekend regardless.

 

Any further tips would be appreciated. I'm using the Graphcyte spray and shampoo, btw.

This is some very interesting stuff.

 

[This message was edited by Joe HT on November 11, 2003 at 02:04 PM.]

[Joe HT]

Hi there, everyone. I decided to jump right into the hair transplant thing and had surgery the day after consultation, Saturday.

 

Problem is I am going away this Friday, and would like to at least lessen the scabby appearance. These are not all little pinhead scabs, and I've unfortunately had a couple bleeding areas run down and harden into long scabs.

 

I'm now on the 4th day post-op and was wondering how dangerous it would be to over-wash or touch the actual surgical sites.

 

No biggie if nothing can be done, I was surprised by just how big that donor area and stiching turned out, so it may bae a baseball cap weekend regardless.

 

Any further tips would be appreciated. I'm using the Graphcyte spray and shampoo, btw.

This is some very interesting stuff.

 

[This message was edited by Joe HT on November 11, 2003 at 02:04 PM.]

[JohnH]

You're still at the stage where you need to pat some shampoo onto the grafted area and rinse using a plastic cup. Don't let the shower jets hit the recipient area yet. Hopefully this will clean away the scabs that are just blood driblets. It definitely looks like a baseball cap weekend for you because by this weekend you probably still won't be able to brush your hair over the scabs to hide them. I try to warn people that for that first week, a hair brush is a lethal weapon (at least to your new hair).

 

By the way, how many grafts did you get and on what part of your head?

[Joe HT]

I don't even know how many grafts.

It was a combo-job. Slots, mini and micrografts, apparently.

I'll ask for an idea on my followup.

 

It's a partner of Hitzig I believe, Dr Karamikian. Heard some things about Hitzig (after the fact), no wonder the receptionist was working on my head!

 

Most of my head was worked on, I don't have any completely balded spots, just a thinning across the whole thing to the back and receeding hairline.

 

I just decided to give it a shot letting the doctor control my head.

 

I'm going to go for at least another session or two, I want to lower my hairline a bit, and will probably need to fill in some more.

[NC30]

When I read the first post on this thread, I was kinda shocked that you would have a consultation one day, and then an HT the next. I wasnt going to offer my thoughts about how jumping in too quick is incredibly risky because I'm more about offering help/advice etc than being negative or scaring someone about mistakes they've made.

 

After reading your 2nd post, I wasnt even sure if it was real considering how flippant you are about the whole thing. When no one else commented on how quickly you made your decision, I felt somewhat responsible to new readers on this message board. I wouldn't want a newbie here to read this post and think it's ok just to run out and find the first HT doc and jump right in. There are soo many horror stories out there about bad HT's, it's just the worst thing you can do.

 

JoeHT....welcome to the board, and I truly hope everything turns out find with your HT. To address the topic here. I washed my hair by filling the bathtub with warm water and baby shampoo. I then dunked my head and swished it side to side. I also used a tiny spray bottle I got for $1 at walmart to keep the scalp moist. My scabs cleaned up very quickly.

[Joe HT]

Thanks for the input. I'm an impulse guy. For better or worse. Usually worse, of course.

 

Here's a couple pics, I had some bleeding on my way home, you can see two drippers ran down my head.

 

 

I know I sound flippant...and am, actually, about most anything in life. I figure if they messed up my first session, I'm getting at least one or two more after that, I'll go elsewhere.

Somehow, every search I did on "hair transplants" came up with ads. Not sure how I missed this site, of course I wish I'd spent some time here, reading, first.

 

He didn't drop my hairline, so I can always have some repairwork and new hairline done by a doctor I see recommended from here.

[baldbozo]

Joe HT, did you say you went to the Gary Hitzig Clinic?

 

You went one day last week, had a consultation and went in the very next day for surgery, and those are your post op pics, right?

[Dart]

Joe HT,

 

Welcome to the board and thanks for posting the pictures! You have awhile for everything to grow out so that you can do some reseach now There are some outstanding doctors talked about here. I'd definitely consult with them over the next year rather than going back to the same place just for the cheaper prices on second procedures. Hope things go well for you! If you have any questions or need people to talk to this is the place to go

 

Dart

[Joe HT]

baldbozo, yes, that's how it went. Consultation Friday, and it was enough to convince me I wanted to do it ASAP. He didn't try to sell me on anything, and I liked the work done on him.

 

I just kinda jumped into it. I thought the Dr. who did my surgery looked fine, and liked his attitude so I just went ahead and scheduled the soonest possible surgery.

[JohnH]

Joe, You're another example of something I have been saying on this forum. That is that most people don't find this board until after they have had a transplant.

 

Had you found this forum earlier you would have read good advice such as growing the back of your hair a little longer to conceal the strip scar. And you would have known to demand only follicular units. The larger scars on your head look like mini sized grafts. The doctor you chose has now committed you to at least one more procedure. This is because when those mini grafts fill in, they are going to be more noticeable.

 

I don't mean to say anything bad or get you discouraged. The work in the front of your head looks good. But I would not go back to the same doctor. Read as much as you can on this board and you will find some top notch doctors. I would choose one of them for your subsequent procedure/s.

[arfy]

JoeHT

You can do much better, next time. Read the article Best_hair_transplant_procedure to learn why the "all-FU" transplant is superior to other approaches. Your doctor uses a "mixed graft" approach, which is not considered state of the art.

 

You may be interested to know that Dr. Hitzig is currently the subject of dozens of lawsuits by unhappy patients. I believe it was over a hundred disgruntled patients at one point.

 

You should be using Propecia, so that you can hopefully prevent the loss of the rest of your remaining hair.

[Guest]

How much did Hitzig charge you...just courious. I visited Hitzig before but I chose another doctor for HT. Thanks.

[trying2moveahead]

I've been staring at this post for a couple of days and have really been at a loss for what to say or even think....really at a loss. With the general lack of replies, I wonder if I am not alone here. I've been gettting used to seeing all-FU work and this is clearly not (not to state one is necessarily superior to the other...necessarily). It does remind me of some earlier work I got however. I guess it's too early to form an opinion on the work shown anyway and I really don't want to cause JoeHT any undue concern....which is why I am not sure I want to even post this reply.

 

I do wish you the best of luck and a speedy recovery, JoeHT!

 

trying2moveahead

[Joe HT]

Maverick, $5000, and less on subsequent visits should I decide to go there. It was another doctor, a partner ot Hitzig I believe.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

I absolutely intend to go full FU on subsequent visits. If I'm not mistaken I think that's what the doctor said he was going to do just that.

 

It is a shame I didn't find this place, I did look a few times, but I unfortunately had found ads above all, and basically felt I'd have to go for a consultation and see the doctor himself.

 

Thanks for the forum, I'll update the pics in a few months as a reference to someone who stumbles onto this site before looking around this area.

 

[This message was edited by Joe HT on November 11, 2003 at 08:09 AM.]

[Joe HT]

Updates. My head at least doesn't look like it was in the Vietnam War anymore. I didn't stick to dabbing my head with the damp gauze like I was told, so it looked much worse off than it was.

 

 

I'm expecting to go through at least 2 more sessions in the near future. I am thinner on top and the back than I was going in, for now, for the obvious reasons (I'm already losing lots of hairs)

 

My face is still a tiny bit puffy and swollen around my donor area (which goes ear to ear)cheeks and neck area, but maybe that's all the food I ate on vacation settling in.

[Joe HT]

Was I incorrect in an assumption that further sessions (FU, I didn't know the term then) could fill the hair in and decrease the potential pluggy look?

 

Maybe I'm less concerned because I've always had bad hair to begin with. Dr Feller is the next one I'm interested in, having actually found this place and read up on things.

[arfy]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Was I incorrect in an assumption that further sessions (FU, I didn't know the term then) could fill the hair in and decrease the potential pluggy look?

Yes, it can. Except you want to avoid doing anything pluggy, right from the beginning. You don't want to start out pluggy when you don't have to, assuming that the later sessions will fix things. If that was your doctor's plan, his plan sucked... big time.

 

You need to hold on for the time being, and let this HT mature a little bit. I'm talking about a few months. In the maentime please read up about HT!!! Have a look at the section of the website "Best Hair Transplant" and look through the articles in the "research library" (or "articles") section. Some of them may seem overly technical at first, don't worry.

 

Also check out www.hairtransplantadviser.org for basic HT general info.

 

HT is different than regular medicine. If you have a flu, or need your tonsils taken out, there are only so many ways for your doc to do it. He's not trying to make a mint off you. He's not going to screw you up. He's not going to tell you that you should have your tonsils taken out, because HE needs the money.

 

However that is not true when you are talking about HT. There are a whole bunch of ways to do it, and it is incredibly easy to get screwed up by your doctor. And your doctor will SELL you on the surgery, and do things that aren't so good for you, but profitable for him.

 

I am really interested in your case, because I think your experience is typical. Most guys do not read the internet first. They think "how hard can this be". They assume that the doctor is an expert, and since every other doctor they met was honest, so they assume the hair transplant doctor is honest too.

 

Read up on hair transplants. I will give you a tip here, and say that (in my opinion) the number of doctors who do consistently excellent transplants is SMALL. VERY SMALL. Only a few guys in the whole world can do it in a way that is worth a damn, on any patient. In my opinion there is a handful of worthwhile docs. Almost none of them charge more than the crooks and the hackers do, so money is not the problem... the problem is figuring out which guys cut the mustard. In my opinion, the docs that cut the mustard are extremely rare.

 

I was wondering if you are using Propecia to keep the rest of the hair you still have? That is crucial. Hang on to as much "natural hair" as possible, it will make your HT look better. You need every hair.

[NW]

Joe,

 

This forum will help you immensly, you have already probably figured out you received a HT that mimicks the Technology of the 80's.

 

I am not being negative here, but avoid that clinic and read up before attempting another HT. You can probably get far better results elsewhere.

 

For now dont worry though, things can be improved. Happy to have you aboard.

 

Hang in there !

NW

[Joe HT]

NW, yep, I figured that 90% or so was 80's, maybe early 90's. I've got some Y2K work done around the front, whoopee.

 

I would only go FU, for my second and further session for sure. I think I kinda went with the budget plan or something. My doctor does also do FU upon request, but I didn't worry or care enough on my first transplant. (scary, huh)

 

arfy, thanks for the post, good stuff.

I'm taking Propecia (soon to be cut Proscar/Fincar pills due to cost), Rogaine, and just *in case*, Saw Palmetto.

[Guest]

You should be OK if you still have thin hair on top that was shaven down. The original hair will hide the plugs and your overall density will be thicker.

 

However, when the original hair disappears, you will be left with a "botch job" if you dont follow it up with more. It sounds like you have a good attitude and if you follow it up with one or two more all-FU procedures, you should be OK.

 

What is not clear is your NW pattern. If you are a NW6-7, youve got quite a race ahead of you!

 

Good luck!