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Azn_Guy's experience with Dr. Cooley: 3007 grafts


azn_guy

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Hey everyone, I just updated my hairloss site, I also added additional photos for my 1 month post op

 

Some observations

 

- pimples are forming (which is normal)

- shedding (I'm not shedding much though)

- hairline doesn't look very good, it looks sporadic and is concern #1

- donor above left ear I'm paying close attention to, concern #2

- rest of the donor scar looks good

 

As you can see I have 2 concerns but I will wait to make any real judgement

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Originally posted by azn_guy_001:

Hey everyone, I just updated my hairloss site, I also added additional photos for my 1 month post op

 

Some observations

 

- pimples are forming (which is normal)

- shedding (I'm not shedding much though)

- hairline doesn't look very good, it looks sporadic and is concern #1

- donor above left ear I'm paying close attention to, concern #2

- rest of the donor scar looks good

 

As you can see I have 2 concerns but I will wait to make any real judgement

By shedding, do you mean the transplanted hairs aren't falling out?

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Hey Buckerine11,

 

Yup, shedding of the transplanted hairs. Sorry for not being clear on that.

 

Also one thing to note, the donor area is still a tad sore, from a scale of 1 to 10, it's like a 2, very minor

 

I'm assuming in another 2-3 weeks (maybe the 2 months mark), the soreness will be a 1 or have gone away completely

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Hey Azn_Guy - I think 1 month is still way too early to have any concerns about how your final hairline will look.

 

From your pics I see some thin, short hairs in the recipient area. Do you think these are transplanted hairs that haven't fallen out or new growth? I'm sort of struggling with the same question myself.

 

As I said though, still way too early in the ballgame for us to be concerned about anything.

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Hey Megatron,

 

I agree 1 month is too early, but it's always fun to worry, helps time pass by, haha.

 

As far as the short hairs in the hairline, all the "short hairs" are transplanted hair.Some have fallen out, some have not, my hairline even after the transplant never looked to be full. Of course I have very short memory so I fully expect my hairline to look just fine.

 

If you take a look at my the 2/12/2010 photos from my blog, it definitely looks like Dr. Cooley did an awesome job regarding my hairline design

 

It's more of a waiting game for both of us Megatron icon_wink.gif

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Month 1 is out the way. Make way for month 2. I didn't start to notice a considerable change until month 4 so the wait continues. It's dreadful but, try not to think too much of it. If all goes well, it can be quite rewarding. I know I'm excited with my results thus far.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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For those interested, I've updated my 2nd month post op photos

 

you can find them on my weblog

 

A few notes from the 2nd Month

- Donor Scar feels a lot better. Pain level is now a 1/10, I expect to not feel anything at all at my 3rd month post op

- Pimples have been seen around the hairline, I am also getting them in my Donor Scar, very minimal though

- Recipient Growth has not started, I did see a sprout of 1 hair in the hairline, it was curly

- Donor Scar is red I can't tell if it has stretched but if I touch the Scar, there is definitely a ridge.

 

My expectations for Month 3 post op

- Donor Scar should feel no pain

- Recipient Growth

- Donor Scar Redness to fade

- Another haircut icon_smile.gif

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One thing to note, I still have 50-70% of my placed grafts in my head (this is a complete guesstimate)

 

The Placed Grafts are just sitting there.

 

Any idea what's going on with these grafts?

 

I'm expecting this month that more of the grafts will shed, but I haven't had any shedding in almost 3 weeks.

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Originally posted by azn_guy:

One thing to note, I still have 50-70% of my placed grafts in my head (this is a complete guesstimate)

 

The Placed Grafts are just sitting there.

 

Any idea what's going on with these grafts?

 

I'm expecting this month that more of the grafts will shed, but I haven't had any shedding in almost 3 weeks.

 

if they've not shed after week 7 I think that means they're permanent. they're growing, right? I think that's got to be a good thing man. best of luck!

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Megatron, no. They are not growing.

 

This makes me now wonder if this is something I need to be concerned about

 

I will pay close attention to these specific grafts because they are quite obvious (they are short compared to the existing hair that is growing)

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azn_guy,

 

1st... Pictures can lie but it looks to me you have had plenty of shedding, but...

 

If the pictures are lying do a search in the find tab and I think you'll be surprised how many guys have had this happen. You may have been at the end of your telogen phase at the time of the procedure and it may take a little longer for you, or you may be a rare case that doesnt shed at all "or so it would appear". Either way I think you may be unnecesarily worrying about this at only 7 weeks.

 

FYI I think your donar scar looks fantastic for only 2 months!!

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the transplanted hairs have not grown in 2 months??? that's the weirdest thing I've heard. are you sure? I know some people say new hairs grow slow, but no growth in 2 months???

 

could it be that you've mistaken the transplanted hairs for new hairs and maybe most/all of your transplanted hairs have fallen out like dakota suggested.

 

dunno for sure, but I doubt it's anything to worry about.

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Hey Dakota, thanks for the comments

 

you may be correct and I may be a rare case, lets hope so, haha...

 

Megatron,

 

Yes I am 100% sure that the hairs have no grown, I have 3 on my hairline (I can take a photo if guys want) that have been around since the beginning and I've paid close attention to them.

 

I also can touch my scalp and I can feel hundreds or even thousands? that are short and prickly versus my grown out existing hair.

 

Weird isn't it? I'll keep everyone posted.

 

I will not worry yet, but I hope these new grafts don't just sit there forever. That would be really odd.

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Hi azn_guy,

 

First of all your transplant looks very good and you are right on track. Growth will soon start.

However based on your pictures I would say a surgery for you was not necessary, especially a surgery of 3000 grafts.

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I also can touch my scalp and I can feel hundreds or even thousands? that are short and prickly versus my grown out existing hair.

 

Weird isn't it? I'll keep everyone posted.

 

Actually that sounds pretty normal!

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Originally posted by maxzor:

Hi azn_guy,

 

First of all your transplant looks very good and you are right on track. Growth will soon start.

However based on your pictures I would say a surgery for you was not necessary, especially a surgery of 3000 grafts.

 

Hey Maxzor, Thank you for the compliment icon_smile.gif and glad that many experienced people on this site think that it's a good HT, which is very assuring for me.

 

As far as getting a Transplant, It was a difficult decision because of my existing hair. I think the way the photos are portrayed it's very deceiving based on the angles. I went to 3 well respected HT doctors and they all said I was a NW3 Vertex on the verge of potentially going to a NW5/6 in the future.

 

Asian hair is very different to Caucasian hair (as an example), once you start losing it, it's very very obvious due to our hair characteristics. I think that is one of the reasons I'm trying to be an advocate for fellow Asians (Not from India as they have different hair characteristics) and post my experiences and results.

 

Rather than waiting for more hair loss to occur, I decided to go and enjoy the next 10-15 years without having to think about this.

 

I asked my HT doctor if I had made the right decision to be proactive, he said "this will produce very good results and you won't have to worry about this for at least another 10 year, and that is me speaking conservatively"

 

It was definitely hard decision as I really kept on saying to myself that "I have hair"

 

icon_smile.gif Luckily I had the money to do the procedure and I'm at least 30 years of age

 

Obviously there will be advances in the HT industry, FUE could get cheaper, it could get more efficient, etc... PRP could eventually become an effective alternative method to Surgery. Instead I went with the tried and tested FUT. Could I have waited and reaped the benefits of better solutions? Probably yes, but I'm at a state in my life where I'm going to happy hours, going to parties, meeting new people. It's hard to enjoy being social when you're paranoid that someone is staring at your head. (noticed I said paranoid, I know sometimes we over project and make mountains out of mole hills)

 

I sometimes still tell myself, was this the right thing to do? I'll ask myself this same question in 8-12 months.

 

ps: Will I have another HT? Yes, But now the more important question is "When will my 2nd one be?" Hopefully not for another 15 years...*crossing fingers*

 

Dakota3, thanks for the feedback icon_smile.gif

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  • 4 weeks later...
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3rd month post op photos

 

you can find them on my weblog (see my signature)

 

A few notes from the 3rd Month

- Donor Scar is a pain/annoying feeling of 1/10, I had thought the pain would go away on my 3rd month, but it continues to be a 1/10, just like my 2nd month

- Pimples have been seen around the hairline, I am also getting them in my Donor Scar, very minimal though, pretty much the same as the 2nd month

- Recipient Growth is minimal, nothing spectacular and still awaiting recipient growth

- Donor Scar in my opinion has stretched, there is a ridge, and I can feel hair growing out of the donor scar

- Majority of placed hair in the recipient area has not shed (this was a concern of mine in Month 2 as well)

 

My expectations for Month 4 post op

- The hair that has not shed, they BETTER SHED this month

- Donor Scar should feel no pain

- Recipient Growth should blossom (being optimistic)

- Donor Scar Redness to fade (I didn't see much on my 3rd month, so I have raised expectations)

 

As you can see, I have very high expectations for month 4. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help but do it. :) So we shall see what happens in the next 30/31 days

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Hey azn_guy, with us sharing the same HT date of Feb 12, I was hoping you'd post your updates today and you did not disappoint! :)

 

It's hard to judge your progress IMO, because your hair was pretty good to begin with and mainly because your trying to thicken an area which already has a lot of pre-existing hairs. It's probably easier to notice growth for others like myself that are lowering our hairlines substantially. For example, if I see hair somewhere where I know it didn't exist before it makes me happy.

 

In your case, you're probably perceptually challenged by the shockloss of existing hair too. Do you think you experienced much? In the temple areas where Dr. Cooley implanted new hairs do you see some sporadic growth? It's kind of hard to tell from the pics.

 

Anyways, I truly hope for a successful outcome for you. It's still very early in the game and there are a lot of variables which make it tough to judge/know where you're at. I'm still confused about the whole non-shedding thing. Perhaps I missed it, but has Dr. Cooley commented on that?

 

On the bright side, there's no way anyone can tell you had a HT because you've got great camouflage. Let's hope your 4 month pics start showing some significant added density in there.

 

Stay positive my friend.

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Hey Mega, I didn't experience much shock loss to be honest. As far as sporadic growth it is difficult to see especially at the temple region, all I can do is wait and see. I am trying to pay close attention to the hairline because this is the best and easiest way for me to see if hair grows or not, unfortunately I havent even seen any hair pops sprout as of yet.

 

i will continue to wait and see :) looking forward to Month 4 ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
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Hey Everyone, it is time again for another post on my HT progression

 

http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/journal.asp?CopyID=5622&WebID=1584

 

Some things to note

 

- Grafts that I complained about that has not shed are still present

- Hairline is now starting to form, Hair is sprouting

- Donor Scar Pain is now 0/10, I feel nothing.

- Donor Scar Redness is still present, this should go away in 4-6 months

- Donor Scar is Visible at Clipper #4, there is another thread where many of you think it is shockloss, I hope you guys are correct :)

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=156578

 

 

Expectations for Month 5

- Grafts that have not shed, will shed

- Hairline should really form and thicken (Overall transplanted hair should start doing its thing)

- Donor Scar Redness should start fading

 

I expect from now on, a lot of good things will happen in the next couple of months

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In the third picture down of the donor scar that is probably not shock loss. It appears to be scar tissue. Have you sent this photo to Dr. Cooley? I would be very surprised if he said it was not scar tissue.

 

Otherwise everything else seems to be going well.

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