My HT with Dr Feller

[custard]

Well, I've been and done it ??“ I've have a hair transplant! And boy is it strange to see and feel hair where before was barren scalp? That sure makes me feel good.

 

I flew from the UK a week last Thursday, 6th September 07 for a strip session with Dr Feller to address deep temple recessions and re-define my hairline. I was a ??HT virgin' prior to this and had the good fortune to find the forums and meet with Spex, of whom I can't speak highly enough, in finding a solution to my hair loss.

 

I was very nervous about travelling to New York, but in the event, I don't know what I was worrying about! The journey was straightforward and I navigated my way to Great Neck by public transport without a hitch. The rail system is superb, easy to use and the staff really helpful. The cab drivers take a bit of getting use too, but after a couple of trips, you soon get the hang of it! They seem only to vaguely know where it is you want to go, which is a bit disconcerting, but I always ended up at my destination. I read in the local paper that the cabbies had been on strike for 2 days the week before, over the introduction of sat nav in cabs?

 

I had a pretty good idea of what to expect on the day from reading the accounts of those who have been through this process before. The advice and support of those who post on the forums has been invaluable in preparing me for what I was putting myself through, but it didn't stop me stressing as the day drew near.

 

On Friday, 7th September 07, I arrived at Dr Feller's office early and accosted him making his way into work from the car park. I introduced myself as his patient for the day and we rode the lift to his office with two attractive young ladies. Dr Feller has an easy manner, complementing them both of the smell of their perfume, which got him a good response and a smile. Unfortunately, they got out at level 1, whist we continued to his office suite on the second floor.

 

Once he had changed into his work clothes, Dr Feller showed me round and settled me in his office to discuss the day ahead. He asked if I had hear the laser comb debate and proceeded to tell me of his plans to seek FDA approval to market a therapeutic ??thermal hat' device to combat hair loss ( a woolly hat with heat pads) as a tongue-in-cheek response to the absurd claims made by the peddlers of such laser products. He's got a great sense of humour!

 

I was very soon at my ease and we were discussing what I hoped to achieve, given my loss pattern (NW2), hair characteristics (thick, wavy), available donor (very good density and supply) and potential future loss (limited due to my age [44] and the fact that my loss stabilised many years ago). Laxity was not an issue (This was my 1st HT & I had been doing the scalp exercises for about the last month).

 

Dr Feller drew what he considered was an appropriate hair line, approximately 1cm lower down my forehead and calculated that some 2000 grafts would be required to give good density (Spex had estimated 1800 ??“ 2000, so was spot on). I liked the hair-line as it was very natural given my age and gave me back a little bit more than I had lost. I was also keen to close in the temple area and regain the temple points that I had lost, so Dr Feller drew in the temple points, using the fine hairs that remained in this area as a guide. He then drew a line connecting the temple points back to the hair line and estimated that another 500 grafts would be required to fill in these area's, giving a graft count of 2500.

 

I was in two minds about the extent of the temple lines and considered asking for them to be drawn further forward to close in the temples a little more, but on reflection decided that what Dr Feller was proposing retained my characteristic broad forehead as a counter-point to my long and angular face shape. It is a testament to his experience and skill that Dr Feller was able to translate my aspirations so well in the hair line that he proposed.

 

Having finalised the extent of the HT, paid my fee and had pre-op photo's taken, we went though to the main surgery room where I was introduced to the team, who were without exception all welcoming and very reassuring. After I had taken off my shirt and handed a tee shirt to wear, Dr Feller started to mark out the donor area. I could feel him pushing against the scalp, checking the laxity and adjusting the line accordingly. Once this was done, he marked out how much of the recipient area he wanted clipping back. The Tech's then set about taping up my hair and clipped both the donor and recipient area. This was something I was dreading, but fortunately, very little was taken off and I was relieved that I still had enough to cover up the HT work.

 

This done, I went into another room to have the donor area numbed. I was asked to lay face down and Dr Feller proceeded to inject around the line where the donor was to be excised. He kept me informed of what he was doing all the time, which I found very reassuring. In all I had about 10 injections and can honestly say that it was only mildly uncomfortable and was over very quickly. I felt a little light headed and it was explained to me that this was because the injections contain adrenaline.

 

Once back in the surgery room I was prepped and the local anaesthetic given time to take effect. Work then started on the removal of the donor. This was painless and all I could feel was the Dr pressing against my head. The strip was removed in three sections, with each section being stapled before proceeding to the next and took about 45 minutes.

 

With that part of the procedure finished and the Techs busily working on excising the grafts, Dr Feller proceeded with numbing the recipient area. I found that this stung more that the injections to the donor site, especially in the temple regions. Dr Feller explained that the skin was thinner here and was more sensitive. He was very apologetic, but worked quickly and it was over in less than a minute or so. He told me that he uses a thinner needle for these injections and that made them less uncomfortable. All I all, it wasn't too bad and was bearable.

 

Once the local anaesthetic had taken effect, Dr Feller started work on making the incisions for the grafts. This again was painless and all I could feel was slight pressure and hear a ??snick' sound as each incision was made. During the 1 ?? hrs or so that this stage took to complete, he was totally absorbed in his work and I just lay back listening to the radio.

 

Following lunch, the Tech's came in and started on the laborious job of placing the grafts. This for me was the most uncomfortable part of the whole day as it was necessary to keep very still. In order to get my head at the right angle, I had to keep my chin tilted downwards, which I found awkward as it made swallowing very difficult. The Tech's did what they could to adjust my position and in the end gave me a valium to relax me! After that things when more smoothly and the final graft was placed at 3.30pm.

 

Finally, I was cleaned up, changed back into my shirt and had a chat with the Tech's about post-op care. Dr Feller took a series of photos and gave me some pain killers, together with a prescription for more if I needed them. Whilst I was getting ready to leave, Dr Feller was chatting with the brother of a UK patient who had had HT the day before and he kindly gave both of us a lift back to out respective hotels.

 

I can't thank Dr Feller and his team enough for what they have done for me. Dr Feller's skill, knowledge and empathy were manifestly evident and I know that I made the right choice in putting myself in the hands of one of the best HT surgeons in the world. I can't wait for the final results around 12 months from now!

 

 

Cheers and good growing!

 

 

 

 

 

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

Could anybody guess how many grafts it took to rebuild the temple points .Just that triangle shape not the part above it leading to the hair line Looks really good

[custard]

Hi PGP

 

I recollect Dr Feller saying that the temple points took about 184 grafts each to create.

 

Cheers

Custard

[custard]

Yeh - shame about that, but you can't win 'em all.

 

Here's a couple of shots showing progress at 1 month post-op. The redness is subsiding nicely and I'm starting to loose some of the numbness in the area between the reciepient sites. I am getting one to two pimples, which I'm treating with a mixture to blended tea-tree oil and surgical spirit, rubbed in using a cotton bud. This seems to be quite effective as they subside in a couple of days or so.

[NickD]

Hi 'Custard',

 

Thanks a lot for the detailed summary of your experience with Dr. Feller, and for going through the effort to post those photos. I'm 38yo and living in the Boston area, about 325 km or so from where Dr. Feller is located. It's funny, I posted just today asking about h/t doctors in the NY area who did good hairlines, and I have what I'd say is a similar hairline to yours, maybe a bit further down. My hair's not as thick as yours, though, and doesn't have the waviness. Given that I'm specifically looking for someone who can effectively and skillfully fill in my hairline and temporal area, and Dr. Feller is definitely a surgeon I'd planned on consulting with when I was ready, I'm very interested in how your progress goes from here. Please continue keeping us updated. And, good luck and "happy growing"!

 

Cheers,

 

Nick

[frog]

Does dr feller always shave down the hair. i know shaving down is supposed to be good but does he not shave in certain cases. i need to hide my previous bad ht and shaving hair down around it will make it very hard to cover. this hairline design is really what i am looking for and would love to achieve this without shaving the fronal hair. Can it be done? Dr feller can i send you pictures direct as spex is busy at present to look over my situation. i have a bad scar also which i would like fue into,can this be done all in one go?

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Frog,

Hop over to your computer and send your photos to me directly at info@fellermedical.com

 

Dr Feller

[frog]

thank you dr feller i will get some pictures over to you as soon possible. I am hopefully intending to come and see you in january when you are here. do you have any confirmed dates as of yet?