had surgery with dr h. rahal at the age of 20

[azza786]

thanks guys for that,

 

it did give me some reassurance. the reason why i was concerned was because i noticed that there are soo many who initialy had a worse case scenario than me and yet at this point had dramatic improvements. im hanging in there no doubt and not panicing. just keeping my self really busy which is making time fly by.

 

hope all is well

[azza786]

i have posted my 7 month pics on my blog. please have a look. i can now see the change!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Azza,

 

You are coming along nicely. It's obvious that there are definitely going to be some thinner areas, but you did have a lot of balding area to cover for such a young age. Give your results a year to mature and then you can consider going back for more density.

 

I STRONGLY recommend however, that you keep a strong donor hair supply in reserve for the potential of future hair loss especially at your young age.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[azza786]

thanks Bill,

 

i understand that my density will change from now on. im still feeling alot of stubble coming through all over my head so i guess its good signs.

in the comparison pictures, my 7 month post op hair is shorter than pre-op as i got it cut recently.

 

when you say keep a good amount of donor hair, how can you do that? isnt that dependant on how much you are destined to keep?

[hairthere]

azza, you really do have to give the HT 1 year to make any judgments. and even after that it will continue to soften and refine. it's looking good so far man....

[Guest josh - b]

Originally posted by azza786:

 

 

when you say keep a good amount of donor hair, how can you do that? isnt that dependant on how much you are destined to keep?

 

Hi azza,

 

Almost everybody has an absolute safe area of donor hair that is not predisposed to male pattern baldness. Even a norwood 7 has this safe area. This is what all ethical surgeons work with. The average person has 6000 - 8000 grafts that can be safely extracted from this area.

You've used up 3600 at a very young age.

As mpb is very progressive you just don't know where you'll end up. In your case your pattern may suggest a norwood 6 but you might be headed for a norwood 7...ie even more grafts may be needed in the future than you originally thought.

Thats why its important that you don't deplete your donor supply at a very young age as u may regret it in future years.

I think you've had a dramatic improvement from your procedure with dr rahal with more growing and softening to come over the next few months.

The difference is already night and day.

Sit back and enjoy it for a few years and if hair greed strikes take that pre op picture out of your wallet, look at it and think of how far you've come.

 

best of luck.

[azza786]

hello people,

 

i have made it to the 8 month mark and pictures are up on my blog.

 

just a quick analysis of what its like now and i can say that even though there has been some change, thinness is still there is some parts and especially behind the hairline (see image of spiked hair (top) in blog). the hairline has improved but obviously more would be better lol.

i personally feel that for 8 months, im sort of behind in terms of density. i dont know if the thickness period is coming rapidly upon me or im just really really slow. anyhow, i will just sit back and just watch what happens in the next couple of months. hoping for the best obviously.

also, to get a true image of what my hair looks, i have taken the images under relatively harsh lighting i.e. not too bright, not too dark, just under normal room light conditions.

 

thanks

 

az

[thanatopsis_awry]

Definite, major improvement; and you still have ample time to thicken up. From looking at your pictures, I think it looks best in the "just out of bed" shot, where the hair is pushed forward, but then "spiked"/lifted up in the front/hairline.

[bverotti]

I believe technically this is a very good job, well done.

However I do believe that 70 grafts cm2 is somewhat exagerated.

You treated area is AT LEAST 100 cm2, most likely larger.

Putting the numbers in place I can not see how you get 70 grafts cm2.

[azza786]

bverotti- i dont really get what you mean. if im right, you think that i have recived more higher grafts/cm2 right?

 

i say this because yo say i am EXAGGERATING 70 cm/2 meaning you think that i am quoting more than i have recieved. And then you go on to say that you think i have recieved 100cm/2! thats exaggeration even more!

[azza786]

one thing i forgot to add was that even though there are areas of thinness, i still have stubbles all over but mainly along the hairline region and they are apparent now.

 

Bill, as you said on my blog that months 8-14 can bring changes, im sure thats true so my area of thinness behind hairline could become diluted in the months to come!

[bverotti]

Let me clarify for you,

In my opinion, the total area of the implant zone is at least 100 cm2 (most likely larger).

You harvested 3600 grafts total from your strip.

In the case where all grafts where implanted at the same density over 100 cm2 it would proceduce a density of 36 grafts per cm2.

 

Obviously a higher density is used for the frontal area. Most surgeons will alway put highest density in the frontal area, lowering the density going to the rear.

 

Let's assume you received 70 cm2 in the hairline. Further lets assume your hairline is 20 cm long and 1 cm wide. Just this small area of 20 cm2 would eat 1400 grafts, leaving you with 2200 grafts to cover the remaining 80 cm2 with an average density of 27 grafts per cm2. 30 grafts per cm2 is usually considered a minimal coverage.

 

This makes perfect sense in the way that you have described your results and progress up to now : hairline ok, but behind the hairline it is quite thin.

 

Looking at your comparison pics I can see a huge improvement, I would be very happy with your result !

[Curious_George]

I think considering your age, 3000-something grafts was appropriate (although at 20, it's very young).

 

And then, looking at your pre-op pictures, you'll never have full density with 3000-something grafts.

 

Your results are great from that perspective.

[azza786]

hi all,

 

hope all is growing and thickening well. i have made it to round 3 now at 9 months. i have added quite a few pictures on my blog. please have a look!

 

many thanks

 

az

[Dewayne]

I think it looks great. But, I can see from your perspective (21 yrs. old) being somewhat underwhelmed. However, I'd bet if you were 40 years old and had made a similar transformation you'd be thrilled.

 

You had quite a bit of thinning going on at a young age so I doubt you'll ever get back your 14 year old head. But still, I think it looks awesome!

[Bill - Seemiller]

azza,

 

You have come a long way frmo where you were. It still apears thin behind the hairline but is concealed quite well when you style your hair a certain way.

 

Keep in mind that you received a good number of grafts but it wasn't enough to give you a great amount of hair density for your level of baldness.

 

I agree that giving it a full 12 months before deciding on your next course of action is a good idea.

 

Keep us posted.

 

Bill

[thanatopsis_awry]

Good job on the updates. Strategically using different styling options (length of hair, direction, products) to boost your illusion of density could be the way to go for you -- and it seems you have done that in certain pics. Having said that, you have come a long way and your final result is not even there yet!

[Jupiter]

azza coming from another young guy , im 19, your hair after the transplant is looking much better man. like everyone else said 3000 won't give you complete coverage, if i were you id go in for another one with a skilled surgeon, your results with you first one i think are great.

[azza786]

hi guyz,

 

thanks for all the kind words. generally i would say there is definately an improvement on the top of the scalp but im really sketical about the hairline for some reason. i say this becasue as you can see its very very thin and in real life, undr normal lighting, it looks like as if it is a receding hairline. whilst i can feel stubble in various places in that area, im quite surprised to see that the main area and main focus of the transplant which was the hairline is still lagging behind for me. i have 3 months more to finally evaluate my outcome so therefore based on that, i dont know why this is happening.the hairline hasnt changed much over the 9 months, i would say at the most, there has probably been a 15-205 improvement from pre-op. i cant even style the hairline at the momoent and neither can i comb it back othersie it reveals an area of extremely balding scalp.

i guess i will have to continue waiting and jus hope for the best.

[Eman]

azza-

 

Looking better each month. Have, by chance, you called Dr. Rahal to get his opinion? I think at this point it would be good to hear what he has to say.

 

You are probably goinjg to want to go in for additional density at some point but you have come a long way and may be happy "reserving" your donor for the future.

 

I would again give Dr. Rahal a call and have him review your pics.

 

Eman

[hairthere]

azza,

with the amount of loss you had and the amount of grafts you recieved i am guessing you will need another procedure to really thicken up. definitely sit tight and give it the full year, if not 18 months before making a decision. in the meantime, have you tried dermatch? i have been using it post-op and my trick is that i apply it straight out of the shower, that way it covers up all the exposed spots evenly. i can then style it a bit more. good luck.

[azza786]

howz it goin guyz?

 

i have updated my blog with 10.5 months pictures. have a look and see what you make.

 

thanks alot

 

az!

[dakota3]

azza,

 

You look great! You had a large area to cover and w/ only 3800 grafts Doc Rahal definitly maximized coverage. How's your donar area? How many grafts do you have left? You still have 2-4 months left for maturation. Good for you!

[Eman]

azza-

 

it is definitely looking a lot better. As others have said, I would wait even longer to get the full results and you are very young. By chance, have you spoken to Rahal at all?

 

The coverage you received from HT 1 should mature even more in the next six months. I know that you look around and see buddies and others with full locks of hair and want the same. I do it as well. Unfortunately, we were not blessed with that. I know you want to get to a non-thin look right NOW, but I would wait to see the full results of the first transplant. Have a little patience my friend!!

 

eman

[azza786]

i understand i have more to come. on the whole, i can pass little doubt that there has been a good change. i do understand that i wont b super-thick but my only aim rite now is to have enough so i can atleast give it some style and grow it long even if i want to. i know it will take another 2 hts to pull off anything amazing. the waiting game hurts but i will have to see what i end up with at the 1 year mark. fingers crossed! thanks for your support