Senior Member kg007 Posted February 2, 2006 Senior Member Share Posted February 2, 2006 Hey what's going on guys?? It's been awhile since I have posted. Actually I have been very busy at my new job, and I barely get any chance to hang around here. I hope all you guys are doing well. I just uploaded my 8 month post-op HT2 pictures. So far so good, but I am little disappointed as I had higher expectations. My hair feels very lifeless, flat and thin. I am still not very happy with my crown. Although I have already invested about 2200 grafts, I still feel the need to add more to fill in the crown. What's your take on that? Also, I am thinking about making a switch from Propecia to Avodart. I know lot of you have started taking the Avodart in past few months, how's the experience? Is it working better/worse? KG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hairbank Posted February 2, 2006 Senior Member Share Posted February 2, 2006 Best of luck to you kg007. I'm ahead of you 5 days - I'm also having my 2nd HT with Dr. Wong, scheduled for Feb. 15th. We'll have to keep in touch and compare notes on progress! You've got a head start on me though, I'm about a NW 4 with not much on the crown. I'm going to start there and work forward depending on how plentiful the harvest is. I'm hoping to get some pre-op pics posted for comparison. Hairbank Hairbank 1st HT 1-18-05 - 1200 FUT's 2nd HT 2-15-06 - 3886 FUT's Dr. Wong 3rd HT 4-24-08 - 2415 FUT's Dr. Wong GRAND TOTAL: 7501 GRAFTS current regimen: 1.25mg finasteride every other day My Hair Loss Weblog Disclaimer: I'm not a Doctor (and have never played one on TV ) and have no medical training. Any information I share here is in an effort to help those who don't like hair loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member kg007 Posted February 2, 2006 Author Senior Member Share Posted February 2, 2006 Hairbank - Good to hear from you. I saw your profile and picures, you're definitely heading in right direction. I don't know about 5000 grafts, but I am sure Dr. Wong will be able to harvest 4000 grafts as long as you have been doing the scalp exercise. Anyway, I am really looking forward to see your progress. Keep in touch, and share some pictures after your procedure (maybe before I go for mine). Who did you have your first procedure with? KG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Pat - Community Publisher Posted February 2, 2006 Administrators Share Posted February 2, 2006 Wow, with so many going up to H & W perhaps we should set up a topic for those wanting to car pool across the border :-) KG, You have certainly done your due dillegence and been a very constructive and regular contributor to this forum (thanks). You deserve a great result and I expect you will get one. I like you and Dr. Wong's plan for how you intend to distribute the 3000 grafts. I think it is important that you do get your frontal third at a good density rather committing all 3000 grafts to the crown area. Hairbank, I'd wish you luck too but with your choice you won't need it. Congratulations to both of you in advance. I hope we all get to see your results on this forum and perhaps in a weblog. Pat Never Forget - It's what radiates from within, not from your skin, that really matters! My Hair Loss Blog Sharing is what keeps this community vital. Please join in. To learn how I restored my hair and started this community, click here. Follow our Community on Twitter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hairbank Posted February 3, 2006 Senior Member Share Posted February 3, 2006 Originally posted by kg007:Hairbank - I am really looking forward to see your progress. Keep in touch, and share some pictures after your procedure (maybe before I go for mine). Who did you have your first procedure with? KG kg, I had my first HT with Dr. Samuels in St. Louis, MO. I don't know of anyone on the site that's gone to him. He was only a 2 hour drive for me so I consulted, reviewed some before and after pics and signed up. I think his placement of grafts was okay, though probably more invasive that I'm sure Dr. Wong will be. All in all I'm please with results from the first, but would have gone for many more grafts if I knew then what I know now (if you know what I mean). Hey, I'd be glad to send you some post-HT pics before you go. I'll be back home on Feb 16th and will try to post on HTN Feb 17th or so. I just found out about the scalp exercises today and am starting to work on it. Pat - thanks for the encouragement and all of the invaluable information you provide. I'll definitely be posting post-op pics and keep everyone updated. Hairbank Hairbank 1st HT 1-18-05 - 1200 FUT's 2nd HT 2-15-06 - 3886 FUT's Dr. Wong 3rd HT 4-24-08 - 2415 FUT's Dr. Wong GRAND TOTAL: 7501 GRAFTS current regimen: 1.25mg finasteride every other day My Hair Loss Weblog Disclaimer: I'm not a Doctor (and have never played one on TV ) and have no medical training. Any information I share here is in an effort to help those who don't like hair loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member kg007 Posted February 3, 2006 Author Senior Member Share Posted February 3, 2006 Pat - Thanks for the kind words. I and Dr. Wong have a plan, which is to put 1500 grafts in frontal 1/3 and another 1500 in top/crown area. But it's only tentative; things might be different once he sees me in person. I'll keep you guys updated with the my procedure and everything like I did when I went under my 1st procedure over a year ago. Hairbank ??“ I too went under small procedure the first time. I wish I was more educated about HT back then, I would have gone for bigger procedure. Man you really missed out on the scalp exercise. It really helps loosen your scalp. It sucks you only have 2 more weeks before your procedure. If you had been doing it for past 3-4 months, it would have really helped you do a MEGA session. But anyway, 2 weeks will still help. I say do about half hour a day. I do 10 minutes back of the scalp (in the center), 10 minutes sides of the scalp (above ears), and 10 minutes in the middle (between the center and sides). That will definitely help you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member kg007 Posted February 9, 2006 Author Senior Member Share Posted February 9, 2006 Hello Mahair - I received your PM. If you don't mind I would reply to it here because others might have their own opinions to add. "Mahair: I still think you have too much hair for another pass. Save your donor for emergencies." I appreciate your concern. I have done lot of thinking about this concern over the past year. I have always been concerned with 'shock-loss'. But my hairloss has been very stable for past 5 years, thanks to Propecia. And I have been waiting for quite awhile to do something about thinning. See the thing is it doesn't matter if I get another HT now or wait for another few years to do something about my thinning on top, the shock loss concern is always going to be there as long as I have native hair on top. I have discussed this matter with lot of top HT surgeons who are frequently being talked about on this forum, and every one of them has claimed that I would not suffer permanent shock loss with new technology and blades being used. Dr. Wong even went on to say that shock loss should be the last thing on my mind to worry about when deciding for the 2nd procedure. I have faith in my doctor and I am going to go with whatever he recommends after seeing me in person. I think we have a good plan for now, 1500 in crown/top and 1500 in frontal 1/3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Gorpy Posted February 10, 2006 Senior Member Share Posted February 10, 2006 As Mahair would say - have them put it in writing. ____________ 2700 Total Grafts w/ Keene 9/28/05 663 one's = 663 1116 two's = 2232 721 three's = 2163 200 four's = 800 Hair Count = 5858 1000 Total Grafts w/Keene 2/08/07 Mostly combined FU's for 2600+ hairs My Photo Album See me at Dr. Keene's Gallery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member kg007 Posted February 13, 2006 Author Senior Member Share Posted February 13, 2006 Gorpy - I know what you mean, but would any doc give me that in writing? All we can do is, go by doc's past record of customer satisfaction, reputation and customer care. And the fact that almost all the docs I had consultation with claimed that I would not suffer from permanent shockloss has given me enough confidence to take the next step. And like I said before, I can wait another 5 years before I do anything about thinning on top, but shockloss concern will still be there. So why wait if I am going to have same risks now or 5 yrs later. And I don't like the whole idea of waiting for all your exisiting thinning hair to fall before getting a HT. I think that's just a plain dumb idea. Anyway thanks for your concern. I have thought about this for awhile, and I think I am making the right decision. Hopefully everything will go well. KG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Gorpy Posted February 13, 2006 Senior Member Share Posted February 13, 2006 Yes, I completely understand Kg. Be prepared to look bad/worse for quite a while. Then hopefully everything will turn around and bloom. It's a long painful process. Good luck. ____________ 2700 Total Grafts w/ Keene 9/28/05 663 one's = 663 1116 two's = 2232 721 three's = 2163 200 four's = 800 Hair Count = 5858 1000 Total Grafts w/Keene 2/08/07 Mostly combined FU's for 2600+ hairs My Photo Album See me at Dr. Keene's Gallery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member kg007 Posted February 22, 2006 Author Senior Member Share Posted February 22, 2006 Hello guys, Finally it's done!!! I have had my 2nd procedure with Dr. Wong, and words can't explain how happy I am. Everything went as I had hoped. It was an amazing experience and I am very happy with how everything turned out. Dr. Wong harvested 3522 grafts (initial plan was 3000 grafts). Placement was not exactly same as what we had planed over the phone consultation. My main goals were to balance the hairline and fill in the crown, but once Dr. Wong saw me in person he advised that we should not touch the hairline since it's already too low and it might be difficult to meet the ends if I lose more hair in the future. So we started working about half cm behind the hairline (see the pictures). Also he advised not to be very aggresive on the crown, but he put enough to cover the thin areas. So the final breakdown was --- 800 singles in the frontal hair line zone (1 inch in from the hairline), about 800 grafts on crown, and rest on top. I think this should give me pretty good coverage to hide the thinning. He said that he can harvest another 2500-3000 more grafts in the future if I ever need to go back. Also, on the same day I was having the procedure, there was this other fellow who posts on different forum - I think his forum name is iceman. He was having procedure with Dr. Hasson and he ended up getting 7000+ grafts!! Anyway, Dr. H & W do amazing work, their staff was extremely knowledgable and ofcourse we all know how supportive Joe and Doug are. Thanks everyone at Hasson & Wong. KG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member domie Posted April 5, 2006 Regular Member Share Posted April 5, 2006 anuther bruther in wong! i cant believe your 1 day post-op pics... looks like most peoples 10 day or 1 month!? thats some awesome healing power. im siked to see your progress kg, especially since your 2 months "older." ;-) ps. great call on my FU count before i even headed to the procedure. nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hairbank Posted April 5, 2006 Senior Member Share Posted April 5, 2006 kg, I hadn't looked at your pics for awhile but couldn't help noticing the similarity in Dr. Wong's strategy for each of us. I had a lot more "real estate" to cover but the placement appears similar. Not sure why I hadn't noticed until now.................anyway, happy growing! Hairbank 1st HT 1-18-05 - 1200 FUT's 2nd HT 2-15-06 - 3886 FUT's Dr. Wong 3rd HT 4-24-08 - 2415 FUT's Dr. Wong GRAND TOTAL: 7501 GRAFTS current regimen: 1.25mg finasteride every other day My Hair Loss Weblog Disclaimer: I'm not a Doctor (and have never played one on TV ) and have no medical training. Any information I share here is in an effort to help those who don't like hair loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member kg007 Posted October 17, 2006 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 17, 2006 Hey what's going on guys?? It's been awhile since I have posted. Actually I have been very busy at my new job, and I barely get any chance to hang around here. I hope all you guys are doing well. I just uploaded my 8 month post-op HT2 pictures. So far so good, but I am little disappointed as I had higher expectations. My hair feels very lifeless, flat and thin. I am still not very happy with my crown. Although I have already invested about 2200 grafts, I still feel the need to add more to fill in the crown. What's your take on that? Also, I am thinking about making a switch from Propecia to Avodart. I know lot of you have started taking the Avodart in past few months, how's the experience? Is it working better/worse? KG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Big1 Posted October 17, 2006 Senior Member Share Posted October 17, 2006 Honestly, you likely will have another 4 to 8 months worth of growth. You have nothing to be worried about. 1 year from today you will look so good. 12 more months... it passes slowly (take the time to start learning something new and you'll be pleased with your new life when the 12 months are over). That sounds too much like a fortune cookie. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member John_in_NC Posted October 17, 2006 Senior Member Share Posted October 17, 2006 Originally posted by kg007:Hey what's going on guys?? It's been awhile since I have posted. Actually I have been very busy at my new job, and I barely get any chance to hang around here. I hope all you guys are doing well. I just uploaded my 8 month post-op HT2 pictures. So far so good, but I am little disappointed as I had higher expectations. My hair feels very lifeless, flat and thin. I am still not very happy with my crown. Although I have already invested about 2200 grafts, I still feel the need to add more to fill in the crown. What's your take on that? Also, I am thinking about making a switch from Propecia to Avodart. I know lot of you have started taking the Avodart in past few months, how's the experience? Is it working better/worse? KG It's a numbers game and honestly 2200 grafts is nothing when it comes to the the entire head. Wait a few more months and then decide whether to go for another final one.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member kg007 Posted October 17, 2006 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 17, 2006 John in NC - I think you're mistaken. My total is 5000 grafts. First procedure was 1500 grafts, 2nd was 3500 grafts. Out of that I had 2200 grafts put in crown which was real thin. I had about 800 put in hairline and about 2000 in 2/3 of the scalp. KG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hairbank Posted October 18, 2006 Senior Member Share Posted October 18, 2006 kg, Thanks for posting the updates. The top appears to be coming along fine. Density appears to have increased for your which was the goal. As I have experienced personally, the crown takes a little longer..............I really think you'll see more thickening and growth in the crown up to the 1 year mark or maybe even a little longer. I think we have a similar situation when it comes to the crown. It seems the Doc's go back to the point where the "whirl" of the crown is but don't drop below to the thinning "U" below if you know what I mean. I think it's assumed that you'll get some sort of coverage there with a little length. I say this because that's what was done with my crown as well. Now, at a little over the 8 month mark for me, I'm still a little thin on the crown but it's coming along. Your density on top/front is better than mine. The overhead view doesn't show any scalp which is great. You may want to shoot a pic similar to the one you took from the front with the comb lifting up the hair. I think it really provides a great view of actual density. So far, so good. Keep posting the updates! Hairbank 1st HT 1-18-05 - 1200 FUT's 2nd HT 2-15-06 - 3886 FUT's Dr. Wong 3rd HT 4-24-08 - 2415 FUT's Dr. Wong GRAND TOTAL: 7501 GRAFTS current regimen: 1.25mg finasteride every other day My Hair Loss Weblog Disclaimer: I'm not a Doctor (and have never played one on TV ) and have no medical training. Any information I share here is in an effort to help those who don't like hair loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member the B spot Posted October 18, 2006 Senior Member Share Posted October 18, 2006 kg, a couple of things: 1st, it is well documented that the crown takes longer to fully mature in some people, so that might be the case here. Again, another 4-5 months will see a truer result. 2nd: It is possible that transplanting in your crown simply accelerated your hairloss in that area, which is a very real possibility. The good point is you look awesome, and a little thinning in the crown is something we all would like if that was the worst thing that occurred. If you have a problem though, I recomment calling the clinic and explaining what you are going through, and see what the doc says. I hope this helps you out and hang in there! Go Cubs! 6721 transplanted grafts 13,906 hairs Performed by Dr. Ron Shapiro Dr. Ron Shapiro and Dr. Paul Shapiro are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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