NW 5a, Jan. 12, 2006 -> 3,217 with Dr. Cooley

[Maximus]

Just had my first hair transplant procedure on my NW5a head with Dr. Cooley for 3,217 grafts.

 

For me, the procedure was very pleasant...easy, relaxing and painless. It lasted from 7am to about 9 pm. I'm still amazed with the staff, Dr. Cooley, and especially seeing HAIR on my head. It is too cool!

 

You can also see my blog: http://www.hairlossweblogs.com/home-page.asp?WebID=29

 

 

 

[thinkingaboutit]

Read your blog and looked at your pictures. Very well written, I think we all appreciate your sharing your experience with us so soon after surgery.Best wishes to your for a most exceptional outcome.

 

I am nearly certain that I will be undergoing the procedure myself of 1500-1800 grafts and will almost certainly have it performed by Dr. Cooley.

I would loke to have the surgery performed in late March or Mid-June.

 

I am a school teacher with a 2 week break the first 2 weeks of April.It is important to me to keep the procedure private to me,unknown to my students and fellow teachers.I wonder if 2 weeks healing time is enough to accomplish that. If not, I will wait till June to have the procedure.

 

Please keep us posted about these early stages post op.Pictures do not convey the whole story so I value your own personal impressions.

 

Thanks and Best of Luck!

[Maximus]

Hi!

 

Thanks for your encouragement. What NW class are you?

 

Your two-week break sounds good enough and I don't think it will be a problem. Especially if you get your stitches out before you go to school.

 

I will post pictures after a week and after 14 days to give you an idea what to expect. I'm new to this as well. It is going to be fun to watch how all this unfolds.

 

Like you, I'm trying not to draw too much attention to my hair. I start my new job just 10 days after my procedure. From what I have, heard that is enough time. Except it would be really great to have my stitches out as well.

 

During my first week of work, I will still have my stitches in and hopefully they will be invisible. Unfortunately, a week before the procedure I cut my hair pretty short (b/w #2-#3) but with a little Minoxidil and MSM I'm hoping it will grow some...we shall see.

 

They say any scabs and all will fall out from 5-10 days. Stitches are taken out after two weeks.

 

Do you live near Charlotte? Dr. Cooley's staff likes to do 7-day post op exam/cleaning. There is a good chance that the 7 day post op cleaning will remove any remaining scabs. Some people on the forum said scabs were gone after a week.

 

Right now, I have a strong "5 o'clock" shadow that I am hoping will mostly fall out by the time I start work so it is less noticeable. I heard that some people keep ~10% of the hairs while the rest fall out to grow back in 3-6+ months. Of course, with the scabs gone, the new "5 o'clock" shadow looks good and I don't think anyone would really notice it stayed.

 

Good meeting you and take care.

[Robert_]

Those are some good pre-op and directly post-op photos, Maximus. A good idea would be to take your progression photos in similar lighting and angles for documentation. You may also want to start taking hairline shots (you can edit out your face, of course) so you can watch it fill in as the months go by.

 

-Robert