Dr. Umar - 5300 FUE and BHT

[Taz]

This being my first post on this forum, I'll try to be as 'cut and dry' as I can about my proceedure. I will say that I'm optomistic about the outcome and my experience with Dr. Umar was very good. Both he and his staff are professional, hard working and very talented, in my opinion.

 

I just finished my HT sessions with Dr. Umar last week. I was a NW6, and it was important to me that BHT was part of the process because I did not want to use all my head hair for possible future sessions.

I was scheduled for 5000 grafts, which he believed would be done within the alloted 5 days with no issues. It ended up being 4 days and 5316 grafts because of the yield, and Dr. Umar does not and will not charge for any extra grafts that are in each session, so I got 300+ graft for free..

All consent forms and consoltations had been done already via Email/phone contact, so when I arrived on Tuesday morning, there was only the basic exams and paperwork to finish before the Dr. started.

After a brief exam from the Dr, he noticed that I had psoriasis that was just starting on my scalp ( which was news to me ), but he fully explained what this could mean for the transplant and that it did not jeopardize my proceedure as long as I kept and eye on it after I left his office. Dr. Umar is also a board certified dermatologist, so he was able to perscribe medication to help with the psoriasis also.

Everything except the graft 'cleaning' is done by Dr. Umar only.

In the end, I had 1300 grafts from Head hair, and rest was all BHT..

 

My overall experience was very good. I was able to watch tv, or DVDs if I wished, and lunch was included each day. I was at the clinic at 8:30am every morning, and don't think I left until after 10pm each night. Very long days, but I believe it will be well worth the outcome. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

 

The pics are from 3 days post op. The shin extraction point was from day 1 and the chest from days 2-4. The camera is not great, but I think you can zoom in on the pics to get a better view...

 

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[NervousNelly]

I'm speechless. I'm not overly familiar with BHT and can't believe it was a 4 day process. Why the larger scabs on scalp, I thought it was usually less invasive? Will you have small little white scars in the donor areas? The work does look good and very labor intensive I'm sure. How much???? Please post future pics as I'm very curious. Best of luck with things.

[Guest Cousin_It]

To be quite honest I have never been a fan of BHT, seems too experimental to me, too many variables and inconsistent results. The thought of 4 days of surgery would deter just about anyone on this board, I must commend you on your fortitude in enduring this.

 

I cannot see your donor area, so I cannot comment on your decision to choose this method, you must know best. Have you had previous transplants that depleted your donor area or was it unsuitable as far as density and laxity. I would be very curious to know why???

 

In looking at your recipient site, it is hard to understand the extent of scab formation, considering all the BHT were single follicles and the incisions should have been extremely small. Did you bleed excessively for any reason?

 

You certainly have your work cut out for you in the next fews weeks with that extent of scabbing. Is your doctor aware of this and has he made suggestions on how to handle it?

 

I certainly do not envy you in this respect. I am curious, as I am sure many members are, as to the price of this procedure. I would also like to see some pics of the donor area and hope you continue to post followups on your recuperation. Best of luck to you and I hope it turns out as you expect.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Taz,

 

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. As you can see from the above posts, as well as I'm sure you are well aware, BHT is less common and somewhat controversial...but surely some people have had some great success with it. I do look forward to seeing your progress so I do hope you'll post the healing of your donor areas and the progress of the growth on your scalp.

 

It does appear that you did bleed a lot during this surgery with all the big scabs. Has your doctor recommended anything to clean the area?

 

Bill

[Heliboy]

Taz,

Congratulations on what will be a great experience for you .For those only familiar with strip procedures BHT is somewhat of a foreign experience to which I can understand. But it works and works well when done by the right M.D.(all M.D's are not equal in this field just as they are not in the strip procedures). When I started my BHT restoration with Dr Umar I too began with 5000 grafts . It is a good amount to see exactly what yield that you will get. You are fortunate that you appear not to have had any previous surgeries in need of repair and you can concentrate soley on your Norwood area . The healing is very quick in the donor areas . My procedure of 1600 leg grafts 13 days ago with Dr Umar is unnoticeable today .

 

Also for the first few days try and keep the top moist as much as possible . This will aid in the scabs falling off .

 

Keep us posted as the months progress.

 

www.myhairtransformation.com

[Taz]

Thank you all for the encouragment guys.. I'll post more as the healing process continues..

 

All: It seemed to me to be a much less invasive proceedure, so the scabbing/blood is probably just me, and very sensitive skin type.. The doctor did not say I bled excessivly during the proceedure at all, and I do have instructions to help with healing ( mainly distilled water sprayed on the area as often as possible ). It is very labor intensive with the extraction/insersion, so we averaged only 1300 grafts per day.. The price was $5 per graft.

 

NervousN: I ( and the dr. ) believe I should not have any scaring from the extraction points.. This is due to my skin type ( lighter ) and the extraction type.

 

Cousin_It: 4 days did seem like a long haul ( it 5 days to begin with ), but hopefully the results will be worth it. The donor area is thin, but mainly my choice was because my chest and leg hair was thicker than my donor head hair ( which is very fine ). This led me toward BHT instead of just FIT ( FUE ), because of the possibility of better coverage with less grafts. It ( BHT ) is still controversial to discuss, but Dr. Umar has shown some promising results. I had lengthy telephone and email discussions with him so I felt/fell very comfortable with this decision.

 

Thnaks again and I will keep updating.

[Pat - Community Publisher]

Taz and Heliboy,

 

Congrats to both of you and thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

Although the reported results from transplanting hair from the body to the balding scalp have been mixed, BHT has become a subject of intense interest to many patients (especially those who are endowed with the body hair of hairy back gorilla).

 

A small number of hair transplant physicians have been experimenting with and studying the viability of such body to scalp hair transplants, including Coalition member Dr. Bob True in New York City.

 

Dr. True made an excellent presentation on this subject at the recent annual ISHRS (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery) meeting in San Diego this October. He was kind enough to provide me with his presentation so that I could share highlights of his findings on this forum.

 

To view the highlights and photos from his presentation, see the photo album entitled "Hair Transplantation (BHT) presentation by Dr. Bob True".

[Heliboy]

Pat,

I really appreciate you posting this information. It is good to see that the field of BHT is moving forward and studies are being brought forth to prove its worth. From his index I would classify myself as a TDI 5 .

 

Thanks again for posting this .

 

www.myhairtransformation.com

[Guest Cousin_It]

For whatever this is worth... this post is on numerous forums... make you wonder???? Not pointing the finger but ...

[the B spot]

Cousin-- Yes, Dr. Umar seems to be targeting the forums rather heavily. I understand the need to get noticed, but I have seen a concerted effort by a couple of Umar patients, who have been kind enough to share their entire story on just about every hair loss forum I can think of.

 

I belong to 4 forums---- my pics and story are only listed in detail here on this site..

 

I think this information is a GOOD thing. Since I have been researching BHT a bit more, I am less inclined to toss it, but I still maintain a rather narrow view of its efficacy.

This may change in the future.

 

I just wonder if we are seeing a concerted targeting by a doc on the various forums. If that is the case, the all I would ask is the nature of patient relationships be disclosed, so our members can weigh information accordingly.

 

Perhaps others can comment as well?

[NervousNelly]

Anything is possible and it would never surprise me to learn that there is a concerted effort to self promote, but I question that somewhat in this particular case. My reasoning is that if I were to try and self promote my skills as a surgeon, I don't think that I would have displayed such early photos post surgery. Lets face it, several of us asked about the bleeding and I would think the doc would have waited until the scabs had shed before sharing these pics. Even the most educated looked at these photos and immediately thought "is it a good job or not, I can't tell because of the excess bleeding." My immediate thought was that things looked technically sound, but the bleeding gave me doubts. Just my 2 cents.

[Guest Cousin_It]

B...

 

My sentiments exactly. If this was posted as purely a satisfied customer to enlighten the community then I embrace it. But on the other,if their motives were less than honorable,namely a free "advertisement" for this particular doctor and less than "arms length",then I disagree.

 

We certainly welcome valid information on this forum, to enhance our own knowledge of the field, and promote uncoming technologies. Had the poster been a "quasi" member with a past history I would not be suspicious, but this does not appear to be the case. I tend to be a bit suspicious in such cases. Take it for what its worth,though I agree it was a good post and has made me look into the future possibility of BHT as a valid methodology.

[Taz]

Suspicion is something I expected, since this was my first post, but I'd hoped the pictures would lend some validity. Neither the post nor the pictures were put here for any other reason than to offer some customer information because it is such a hot topic.

 

Yes, this is on 1 other forum also. I did not believe this would be cause for concern, which is why it was not stated to begin with in my post, but I will be happy to add it if it would help?

 

I'm not sure how else to validate, other than to keep posting.

 

Because of the holiday, I will be away from my computer, but I will post pics when I get back right after Christmas.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone..!

[Guest Cousin_It]

I am very glad you replied to my concerns. You have to admit, posts promoting drugs/surgeons run rampant on these forums. We try to steer people in the right direction here. Many newcomers come here looking for legitimate information and may be unduly influenced by the less than honorable posts. Nothing personal, you have never posted before in any form, so this appeared questionable to me.

 

I hope to see additional followups in the future so we can gauge the success on this method of transplantation.

 

Good luck to your recovery.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hello everyone,

 

I think a healthy concern posted by Cousin_It is important to keep the integrity of this forum in tact. Additionally, I agree with B Spot that it is great that the information is being posted on many different forums. Kudos to all for handling this intelligently without "pointing fingers".

 

Now for a general statement, though I encourage anyone who this applies to to follow what I'm about to say.

 

Patients, even those who are paid by the doctors are allowed and encouraged to post here, as long as they put a disclaimer in their signature stating that they are paid or compensated in some way by their respective docs. So IF this is the case, I encourage both Taz and Heliboy to follow the forum rules. Keep in mind that this disclaimer does NOT invalidate any claims you make...in fact, two very well respected members of our forums (JoTronic and Spex) are paid by their clinics (JoTronic with Hasson and Wong and Spec with Feller Medical) and have developed a great deal of respect for their honesty and integrity on these forums. I do know, however, that both of them have taken some cheap shots and some turmoil by some people because they work for these clinics, but they have been major contributers and helpers direct perspective patients to the place that is best for them, even if not to their clinics.

 

That being said, I'm only making a general statement above...if it doesn't apply to you, that's neither good nor bad. Either way, I hope you stick around and share your experiences and keep us posted as the growth comes in.

 

Heliboy,

 

I just looked at your site....all I can say is WOW! That's remarkable. I think you hold one of the records for greatest number of grafts placed in the Norwood area. Your results are astounding and even though I've already had 7550 scalp grafts, it gives me great hope, because I am probably a TDI 5-7, though most the time I shave it off .

 

Bill

[Heliboy]

Bill,

I appreciate the compliment on my work thus far.Although body hair is somewhat of a low priority at this point for most I think it is very encouraging for individuals to know what options are available . Body hair is also an excellent option for scars and filling in areas .I have had extensive scar repair using only body hair and hope to be finishing it up in 1 more procedure. Body hair's optimal function is when used with scalp hair and that is very well known. Anytime one can use scalp hair it should be used . But for many of us that is no longer an option due to donor depletion. That is why I had to resort to body hair for my repair work .

 

I routinely shave my chest /abdomen like yourself because I like to be smooth :-) but if you fit the TDI scale 5-7 you definitely have options in the future if needed (doesnt look like you will need to use the body hair ) .

 

www.myhairtransformation.com

[the B spot]

Good Thread All.

 

The reason for my insinuation or question is that I have been following some of these BHT cases elsewhere, and although I have posted a few times on HLH, on a couple of other forums, I refrained, in order to see the overall response by members of that particular community.

 

On one forum, a fellow member of this site, absolutely trashed myself, Pat, and this site, because we had the audacity to question the efficacy and the ethics of BHT.

 

It is not important to carry baggage from one site to another, but this is my "home" so I been patiently following the progress/posts/patients of Dr. Umar's for quite some time now on other sites.

 

These posters have now made their way to this site after documenting their experiences elsewhere.

I cannot say for certain whether or not they all work for Dr. Umar or are simply members of the "suffering baldness brotherhood" who wish to offer insight into a misunderstood/misaligned/perhaps misused practice (BHT)

 

I really don't care if these guys work for Dr.

Umar. At this point in time, we do a good job of filtering posts, so very little is missed, which is much different than a few years ago. I find that Heliboy, Taz, and Helmet have met questions and answers with respect and information and do not post agenda filled crap intended to push their Doc off on others.

 

At this point, I still have reservations about BHT and Dr. Umar, and these things work themselves out over time.

 

I do appreciate the DETAILED photos and strategy that have been posted here. They are educational, to be sure.

 

 

Everyone associated with this thread is doing a GREAT job.

 

Keep it up!!!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Heliboy,

 

It does seem that BHT has come a long way, and with Dr. True's scientific research and scales, he makes a strong case that BHT can indeed be useful. And according to these pictures, it does seem that there is hope for BHT, in SOME cases. so hairy gorrilas like myself might just be able to use that at some point to add more density if I feel i want/need it. But yeah, I don't know...some girls love chest hair and others don't...but as for me, I prefer to be shaven most of the time...it's just much cleaner I think.

 

B Spot,

 

Great post! Like you, this is my home and where I say the most...I am pretty reserved and rarely post on other forums. Actually, I should probably get over there at some point recently because I haven't even taken the time to get there. I guess I have a little bit of a life after all .

 

Bill

[Guest Cousin_It]

I would be curious as to any shedding in this procedure. As stated by Dr.True in the excerpt posted on this forum, if the grafts are inplanted within a certain time they may not shed. That would be a pleasant addition to this excellent procedure.

[Taz]

Happy Holidays everyone!

 

First off, thanks to everyone for the good wishes toward my recovery. Things are going quite well I believe, and getting better by the day..

 

Cousin_It - I very much understand your concerns and I appreciate the tact in which you voiced them. Keeping that balance makes it much easier for all of use to get good information that we can all use. Thank you.

 

So, on to the updated pictures.. I tried to make them as similar angles as in the first set, so they are close, but not exact..

 

My update: Seems that the recepient area has healed very well. The scabbing that was seen in the first pictures was all gone by about 11 days or so post op ( Monday the 18th ), even to the point that I could go out in public without a hat and not feel weird.. Even during the Christmas rush at the mall.. There has been some shedding, probably about half to 2/3 of the grafts so far, and I'm prepared in case ther is more. On the same note though, I've noticed that many grafts have hairs that have been growing already.

The donor areas are still a bit red, but this is fading each day, and continues to get better.

 

Any general questions about my recovery, I'm happy to answer..

 

 

Thanks again!

Taz

[Bill - Seemiller]

Taz,

 

For such a short period of time, your donor area has healed very nicely., of course, only to get better Of course, your recipient area is healing nicely as well. Thanks for the update and Merry Christmas to you!

 

Bill

[Guest Cousin_It]

Taz...

 

I really must commend you on the results so far. You have excellent healing capabilities. I have to be honest, I was somewhat doubtful with your initial photos, but your transformation has caused me to re-evaluate BHT. I wish to thank you for posting your experience and bringing to light the potential of this procedure. I look forward to updates in your condition over the following months. It has truly been a learning experience. Best of Luck!

[Taz]

Thank you both so much for the kind words.. I very much appreciate the support..

 

I will keep updating as things progress.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New ( hair ) Year!

 

Taz

[Taz]

Hello All,

So it is probably at about 2 months now and time for an update! Things have been going well, there was some sheding, but that seemed to have stopped and there is some growth already from the transplanted grafts.. Here are some pics!

 

[Guest]

Concerning the excessive bleeding which resulted in large scabs in the photo: I had the same experience, only worse, after my 2nd procedure. I do not believe that it was the surgeon, because I bled normally after my 3rd procedure (same surgeon). The only difference on my 2nd procedure was that I took several supplements, some of which reportedly "thin the blood' and may cause a delay in clotting, e.g., garlic, gingko bilopba and vitamin E. Before that procedure I kept taking them until about one week (maybe less) before the procedure, which probably decreased the clotting time. I believe that I should have stopped earlier.