1300 Grafts with Dr. Charles

[MarkEinstein]

Yesterday I wrapped up my first session with Dr. Charles here in Boca. My wife and I flew down and made a vacation of it all. 1300 some odd grafts to the frontal hairline, temples and into the corners.

 

Here's my experience. Hope it helps others.

 

DAY 1

The day started around 9:15am. I was the only patient for the day. Nevertheless, I was NERVOUS AS HELL! Now, I wasn't so much worried about pain but the idea of the scalpel and sissors slicing out chunks of skull skin did freak me out a little. But I was worried about how this would turn out in the long run. If I could comfortably hide the procedure until things came in. Was this the right thing to do? I'm paying large sums of money to have something permanently altered on my body by people who I just met. So let's just say I was in need of seditives.. lots of them.

 

Now that I'm in to the second day, I'm really happy. Strangely enough I'm already looking forward to future sessions that I might need if the hairline continues to creep back. Thankfully it's a fairly slow creeper. I'm 32 and I've crept back about 1cm at the "widow's peak" but probably 1 1/2" in the corners. So this forms deep v-shaped acreage and that pattern of change has kept constant. It's pretty amazing the things they can do these days. The ability to alter your hairline this way is even more exciting to me than I thought it would be. AND IT'S PERMANENT! No more windy day worries or swimming pool fears. This is going to be cool.

 

But anyway, on to the procedure. I was surprised at my reaction to the lidocaine used for local anesthesia. I'd never had problems with that type of local anesthetic before but I'd also never had this much at one time. Either way, lidocaine generally is mixed with a little epinephrin. Epinephrine (adrenaline) is mixed with the lidocaine because it prolongs the anesthetic effects of lidocaine and helps control bleeding. In any case, I was so nervous before the injections I could feel my heart beating and for some reason the 4 Valium (20mg)I was given just didn't seem to do a thing.

 

So I think the lidocaine/epi was just a little much for me. I got a little naseous and dizzy and sweaty and we had to stop or slow down several times. Everyone was really nice about it thought. It was totally unexpected to me but it happens to some people. I think that next time I just need to add a few more Valium to the mix and hope to get to the point where I really don't care.

 

That was the worst part. After I was completely numbed Dr. Charles began to remove the donor strip. That was little strange. Crunching kind of sounds you hear through your skull but you don't feel a thing. During the suturing I felt a little tugging but no pain. Soon the donor harvesting was over and I watched a little TV. (btw, my wife is an RN for a group a plastic surgeons and she was really impressed at how well the suture looked on the donor incision. She is used to seeing them everyday and is certain this one will heal nearly invisibly. Dr. Charles appears to have excellent skills). Anyway, I digress. You'd think that Valium would have put me out but I was wide awake. The team was working on preparing the grafts while Dr. Charles started making the incisions for the new grafts. Again, that was a strange feeling. You don't feel anything but you hear the "crunching" sounds of the knife going into the skin. Totally painless, just weird.

 

We ate lunch and after that the team began placing the grafts. Again, totally painless. By 2:30 we were wrapping up. Dr. Charles came in a placed more incisions to shore everything up and more grafts were inserted. The right side of the donor site started coming back to life and I could feel it. Dr. Charles shot a little more longer lasting lidocaine in there and everything was fine. We consulted for a while to go over the post-op instructions then we were off to the hotel.

 

I started slow on the pain pills once the local anesthesia started wearing off. It wasn't major but you knew something had been done. I took about 2 1/2 total and started to feel a bit sick to my stomach and should have realized this beforehand but I guess I had forgotten. Most opioids (hydrocodone, codeine, oxcodone) tend to upset my stomach. That's probably the most common side-effect most people experience. Itching is another. But we called Dr. Charles and he graciously called in a prescription for Darvocet for me which I have no problem taking. I took one and a sleeping pill and I was out. Woke up in the same position.

 

DAY 2

I woke up today and felt a good bit better. I took one Darvocet and sat around a bit then we went to get lunch. Legal Seafood rocks! We spent the day around the Mall then around 5:30p headed to the Beach. Yes the Beach. There is nothing like good ocean water to heal wounds fast. I had no pain at all. I hit the surf a bit and dunked the ole head a few times and let it soak. The late afternoon sun was low and we caught some rays for a while then headed back.

 

Right now I've taken no more pain medication and feel fine. Just a bit tender in places but certainly not anything you could call pain. It's really cool to see those little hairs. I'm going to have some serious patience problems though as I wait for them to grow. I surely hope they don't all fall out but the odds are probably against me. The waiting game is truely going to be the hardest part.

 

All in all, this was a fine decision. I do believe this will change alot of things for the better. I do hope they do find a way to clone folicular units one day. Then we could all have as much as we wanted and you could get 6000 in a day if you wanted since there'd be no time used to carve up the grafts.. ah, dreaming again..

 

Thanks again to Dr. Charles and his team. I'm sure I'll be back again.

[MarkEinstein]

Yesterday I wrapped up my first session with Dr. Charles here in Boca. My wife and I flew down and made a vacation of it all. 1300 some odd grafts to the frontal hairline, temples and into the corners.

 

Here's my experience. Hope it helps others.

 

DAY 1

The day started around 9:15am. I was the only patient for the day. Nevertheless, I was NERVOUS AS HELL! Now, I wasn't so much worried about pain but the idea of the scalpel and sissors slicing out chunks of skull skin did freak me out a little. But I was worried about how this would turn out in the long run. If I could comfortably hide the procedure until things came in. Was this the right thing to do? I'm paying large sums of money to have something permanently altered on my body by people who I just met. So let's just say I was in need of seditives.. lots of them.

 

Now that I'm in to the second day, I'm really happy. Strangely enough I'm already looking forward to future sessions that I might need if the hairline continues to creep back. Thankfully it's a fairly slow creeper. I'm 32 and I've crept back about 1cm at the "widow's peak" but probably 1 1/2" in the corners. So this forms deep v-shaped acreage and that pattern of change has kept constant. It's pretty amazing the things they can do these days. The ability to alter your hairline this way is even more exciting to me than I thought it would be. AND IT'S PERMANENT! No more windy day worries or swimming pool fears. This is going to be cool.

 

But anyway, on to the procedure. I was surprised at my reaction to the lidocaine used for local anesthesia. I'd never had problems with that type of local anesthetic before but I'd also never had this much at one time. Either way, lidocaine generally is mixed with a little epinephrin. Epinephrine (adrenaline) is mixed with the lidocaine because it prolongs the anesthetic effects of lidocaine and helps control bleeding. In any case, I was so nervous before the injections I could feel my heart beating and for some reason the 4 Valium (20mg)I was given just didn't seem to do a thing.

 

So I think the lidocaine/epi was just a little much for me. I got a little naseous and dizzy and sweaty and we had to stop or slow down several times. Everyone was really nice about it thought. It was totally unexpected to me but it happens to some people. I think that next time I just need to add a few more Valium to the mix and hope to get to the point where I really don't care.

 

That was the worst part. After I was completely numbed Dr. Charles began to remove the donor strip. That was little strange. Crunching kind of sounds you hear through your skull but you don't feel a thing. During the suturing I felt a little tugging but no pain. Soon the donor harvesting was over and I watched a little TV. (btw, my wife is an RN for a group a plastic surgeons and she was really impressed at how well the suture looked on the donor incision. She is used to seeing them everyday and is certain this one will heal nearly invisibly. Dr. Charles appears to have excellent skills). Anyway, I digress. You'd think that Valium would have put me out but I was wide awake. The team was working on preparing the grafts while Dr. Charles started making the incisions for the new grafts. Again, that was a strange feeling. You don't feel anything but you hear the "crunching" sounds of the knife going into the skin. Totally painless, just weird.

 

We ate lunch and after that the team began placing the grafts. Again, totally painless. By 2:30 we were wrapping up. Dr. Charles came in a placed more incisions to shore everything up and more grafts were inserted. The right side of the donor site started coming back to life and I could feel it. Dr. Charles shot a little more longer lasting lidocaine in there and everything was fine. We consulted for a while to go over the post-op instructions then we were off to the hotel.

 

I started slow on the pain pills once the local anesthesia started wearing off. It wasn't major but you knew something had been done. I took about 2 1/2 total and started to feel a bit sick to my stomach and should have realized this beforehand but I guess I had forgotten. Most opioids (hydrocodone, codeine, oxcodone) tend to upset my stomach. That's probably the most common side-effect most people experience. Itching is another. But we called Dr. Charles and he graciously called in a prescription for Darvocet for me which I have no problem taking. I took one and a sleeping pill and I was out. Woke up in the same position.

 

DAY 2

I woke up today and felt a good bit better. I took one Darvocet and sat around a bit then we went to get lunch. Legal Seafood rocks! We spent the day around the Mall then around 5:30p headed to the Beach. Yes the Beach. There is nothing like good ocean water to heal wounds fast. I had no pain at all. I hit the surf a bit and dunked the ole head a few times and let it soak. The late afternoon sun was low and we caught some rays for a while then headed back.

 

Right now I've taken no more pain medication and feel fine. Just a bit tender in places but certainly not anything you could call pain. It's really cool to see those little hairs. I'm going to have some serious patience problems though as I wait for them to grow. I surely hope they don't all fall out but the odds are probably against me. The waiting game is truely going to be the hardest part.

 

All in all, this was a fine decision. I do believe this will change alot of things for the better. I do hope they do find a way to clone folicular units one day. Then we could all have as much as we wanted and you could get 6000 in a day if you wanted since there'd be no time used to carve up the grafts.. ah, dreaming again..

 

Thanks again to Dr. Charles and his team. I'm sure I'll be back again.

[troy]

thanks for posting your expirence in detail, as I know i will have many of those same feelings. I go in december for 2500. I have looked at so many photos, as well as met matt at shapiro, but feel the same way it permenant and very scary. wish me luck, please keep us posted how you progress.

[MarkEinstein]

We're now at about the 41st hour since the procedure and things are feeling a little more "solid". Meaning the grafts feel alot more secure. A few spots still have a bloody scab but most are all fairly clean. Sorry there's no pictures. I know how much that helped me when folks posted pics.

 

Last night I did have a minor problem. I was trying to move some of my hair out of the way that had plastered to my forehead and inadvertently pulled on a graft. That sucker popped out and bled like a mother. I was pissed but it was just one hair and I certainly couldn't put it back in. Pressure on the bleeding stopped it quickly and the lesson was learned. I'm sure in the next day or two the grafts will be alot more solidly in place and the tippy toeing around them won't be as necessary.

 

I don't have any swelling. Still putting ice on my forehead and donor scar frequently. The scar area looks really good and clean. I really think it will become fairly invisible with time. One more dunk in the Atlantic today should really progress the healing. Please feel free to drop me any questions.

[Guest]

Hi Mark, thanks for posting with so much detail, it was very educational. 6 weeks to go until my first HT, so it's nice to know what to expect.

 

PB

[MarkEinstein]

You know, I'm sure every one of us has thought the same things about this whole ordeal. I am grateful that we live in a time where the technology has advanced far enough to get down to the folicular level and achieve completely natural results. And I've seen many great pictures and outcomes. But even with all of that, you still have doubts and worries that things won't come out right. That the grafts look too far apart or whatever. Where did all those 1300 go? ;-) But I think its all good and normal to think those kind of thoughts. I mean, we are talking something you'll live with the rest of your life (well, unless you go get laser hair removal) Now begins a fairly long waiting game.

 

Good luck on your surgery. If you're nervous about the actual procedure just ask that they let you get good and ripped on Valium or whatever they'll offer before you get going. You surely won't die from a good 20-25 mg but you'll be good and relaxed. Funny, I wonder if any Docs ever use a little NO2 on patients to get them ready? I know at my dentist, after five minutes sucking on that I'm ready to let them pull out my toenails if they want.

 

Tomorrow will be the third day post-op and I believe things are progressing as normal. The graft sites have started to ooze a little serous fluid. Just a few have actual scabs. Starting to swell again a bit in the forehead and will apply ice shortly. The donor scar is fine. No pain, just tenderness at the corners of the incision. That's where you'll have the most discomfort and scabbing.

 

Like I said, please ask any questions. I'm certainly glad to share. I wouldn't be here in FL if it weren't for the research I did on this site.

[MarkEinstein]

Here are some day 6 pics. All you guys with experience please let me know if everything looks ok for this timeframe. Does the density look right? To me some areas seem a bit sparse. Is that me overanalyzing again?

[MarkEinstein]

left

[MarkEinstein]

right

[Robert_]

Mark, your recipient area looks absolutely great for 6 days post-op. The redness has already subsided substantially.

 

Pardon me if you have already stated, but I was wondering how old you are. This is just for my own curiosity because I am thinking of doing some in-depth research concerning age and healing characteristics and the effect of truly ultra-refined follicular-unit hair restoration surgery has on patients of all ages.

 

Happy growing!

 

-Robert

[MarkEinstein]

I'm coming up on 32.

[MarkEinstein]

Fellas,

 

I have a question on shock loss. I haven't appeared to lose any (maybe a couple) hairs from the grafts (in fact, they are actually longer than the first day they were in) but I'm definitely seeing long hairs across the top of my head come out in my hand/brush at an increased rate. This is day 7. I did not expect to see anything like this til later on. This kinda sucks... any comments?

[Robert_]

The trauma of the insertion of grafts near and between your native hair can cause the shock loss you are experiencing. It is natural and should come back sooner rather than later if you are experiencing it this early on.

 

 

-Robert

[Gorpy]

Originally posted by Forum Moderator and Satisfied Patient:

Mark, your recipient area looks absolutely great for 6 days post-op. The redness has already subsided substantially.

 

Pardon me if you have already stated, but I was wondering how old you are. This is just for my own curiosity because I am thinking of doing some in-depth research concerning age and healing characteristics and the effect of truly ultra-refined follicular-unit hair restoration surgery has on patients of all ages.

 

Happy growing!

 

-Robert

 

This would be interesting Robert. However, and I'm sure you've thought of this, there are many factors which could complicate the outcome. Densitiy is one. The more dense the grafts are placed the more trauma which results in a longer healing time. Skin type is another factor. Light colored skin can retain or show redness longer, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it is taking longer to heal. It could just be that the visual effects linger more.

[finallyfree]

A strip for just 1300 grafts seems a bad thing. Just my idea.

I would have rather stuck to a fue for such numbers.

[Smoothy]

Dr. Charles one of the best. Good luck with watching the results.