Senior Member Neptune Posted March 14, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted March 14, 2007 I've posted comments on the other forums about my experience with Dr. Epstein. I had the procedure performed Monday, March 12 and these pics are right after surgery. I'll take some more here in a day or two and share them as well. Dr. Epstein and his staff were fantastic! He ended up harvesting just under 2,200 grafts, of which about 120 or so (60 on each side) went to rebuild the temples. Funny, but these pics don't show all the newly place hair very well, which was all placed in the frontal zone. But when I put my hand on my scalp flat I feel a nice little carpet of new hairs. Hairline was dropped a tad as well, but not much. It's now Wednesday and the swelling has begun. Not too bad, but it is there. I'm using Graphcyte and Vitamin E oil to soften the scabs which are going away nicely. Seems like a typical experience from what I've learned from watching so many others go through this. No complaints from me as I'm very happy with everything thus far! More pics will be posted from time to time, and comments are welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Neptune Posted March 14, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 14, 2007 I've posted comments on the other forums about my experience with Dr. Epstein. I had the procedure performed Monday, March 12 and these pics are right after surgery. I'll take some more here in a day or two and share them as well. Dr. Epstein and his staff were fantastic! He ended up harvesting just under 2,200 grafts, of which about 120 or so (60 on each side) went to rebuild the temples. Funny, but these pics don't show all the newly place hair very well, which was all placed in the frontal zone. But when I put my hand on my scalp flat I feel a nice little carpet of new hairs. Hairline was dropped a tad as well, but not much. It's now Wednesday and the swelling has begun. Not too bad, but it is there. I'm using Graphcyte and Vitamin E oil to soften the scabs which are going away nicely. Seems like a typical experience from what I've learned from watching so many others go through this. No complaints from me as I'm very happy with everything thus far! More pics will be posted from time to time, and comments are welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Middleson Posted March 14, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted March 14, 2007 Hey Neptune, Great Photos. What a difference this surgery is going to make in your appearance! It certainly looks like Dr. Epstein has given you some good coverage in that frontal zone and I think the reinforcements in your temple points will only enhance your overall results. My results won't be as dramatic as yours will be because most of my transplants went to cover my thinning crown. I know what you mean about that "nice little carpet of new hairs". It's a good thing! I hope you plan on sharing photos of your progress down the road because I think you're going to have some very impressive before/after shots! Happy Growing Man! _________________ 2967 Total Grafts w/ Dr. Cooley on 1/3/07 [1st HT] Hair Count = 5,427 My Hair Loss Weblog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member its-only-hair Posted March 14, 2007 Regular Member Share Posted March 14, 2007 Congratulations on your ht, and I wish you good growth. I had swelling also that lasted about 4 days. I woke up the other day and rubbed my hand from my forehead upwards to my scalp, and for the first time I felt hair, just like you said, a carpet. I loved it. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hairbank Posted March 15, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted March 15, 2007 Thanks for posting the pics, Neptune. I agree with your comment about seeing the hair.............I had difficulting see much other than the grafts that showed due to blood. I'll be anxious to watch your growth, keep posting updates if you can. 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 Gorpy Posted March 15, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted March 15, 2007 Hi Neptune, That looks nice. I like the overhead shot. Your hair kind of looks like mine. I like Dr. Epstein's work. In the coming weeks, if you get a chance, could you query Dr. Epstein for the breakdown of how many 1, 2, 3 and 4 hair grafts you received? ____________ 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 Neptune Posted March 15, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 15, 2007 I have asked and been told that I will soon get a total count breakdown. I'll be sure to provide that to everyone as soon as I get it along with some new photos. It already looks a ton better than these. Taking some pics tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Gorpy Posted March 15, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted March 15, 2007 Thanks Neptune. You have quite a bit of existing hair. Are you on Fin or Minox in attempt to preserve it? Looks like Dr. Epstein did a good job of going in between your hair so as not to create too much shock loss. ____________ 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 Neptune Posted March 15, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 15, 2007 Gorpy: I'm on both Proscar and Rogaine. Been on Proscar since December, 06 and Rogaine for several years, but switched to the foam a couple of months ago. I like the foam more though I can't tell if the new growth I've seen (I have a blanket of baby hairs coming almost out to the hairline that are new) is due to the foam or the Proscar. Probably the Proscar though. Dr. E did a nice job going in between, but he cautioned me that I could lose 10% or so of the frontal hair to shock loss, and not to be surprised if I did. I figured this was a small price to pay for not having to shave down anyway. So far, nothing has come out but I'm only on my third day post op. I'll keep you posted though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member NervousNelly Posted March 15, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted March 15, 2007 Neptune, Dr. E has done an excellent job of providing you with a very clean surgery. It is amazing that in probably just another couple of days there will be no evidence of any surgical work. I think that you will be quite happy with the results. The 2200 FU will undoubtedly give you a lot of coverage, but it is hard to say in terms of density. The fact that you have native hair is certainly a plus. How does the donor area look? NN Dr.Cole,1989. ??graftcount Dr. Ron Shapiro. Aug., 2007 Total graft count 2862 Total hairs 5495 1hairs--916 2hairs--1349 3hairs--507 4hairs--90 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Neptune Posted March 15, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 15, 2007 Yes, density will be the key. I would have taken more if they could have been had, but I'm fine to wait and see how it looks. I can't believe the number of new (or soon to be new) hairs that are now all up front and center. Really does take me back about 20 years just thinking about it. Waiting till later Summer is going to be hard! Donor area looks good too. I'll try to get some pics of it. Can't see it at all without pulling the hair up. A couple of bigger scabs that I'm working on with Vitamin E oil. Thinking about an Epson Salt rinse on that area as well. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member rjvw Posted March 16, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted March 16, 2007 Neptune, You Did It!!!!..........Way to go!!!!!.............Everything looks good. Dr. Epstein does it again. Happy Growing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Neptune Posted March 22, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 22, 2007 Updated with photos week and a half out. Scabs gone. Redness gone. Just a bunch of new little hairs that I'm now trying to cover up with Dermatch and/or Toppik just cause they "look" darker than my natural hair. Actually, with a little powder from my wife's makeup, they (and the entire procedure) are invisible! Stitches are out and the donor scar is healing nicely. No complaints at all and now just waiting for the new little ones to drop off. Going back to work Monday so we'll see if anyone notices anything. I've got a few stories lined up if they do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Neptune, Sorry for the delay in my post . Just wanted to add my congratulations. You should see a good improvement when everything grows in. It doesn't appear too dense, however, you can always add to it at a later time if you want more density. Dr. Epstein does good work! Please keep us updated bro. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member rjvw Posted March 22, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted March 22, 2007 Hey Neptune, Dr. E strikes again. Less than 2 week post up and you can't even tell you had surgery. You look great! No scabs, redness or any evidence of a scar. You also got to keep your own hair. To me having an undetectable procedure is very important. It's the reason why we select the best doctors out there. It's all about their artistry plus when your new hair starts to come in you will have the people around you shaking their heads wondering what looks different about you. Happy Growing!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Neptune Posted March 23, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 23, 2007 Thanks Bill and rjvw. I am excited about the future and am delighted I chose Dr. E. My main reason was not density with this procedure, but being able to go back to work in short time and not have people know I had a transplant. We will see this next week, but I think I'm going to be able to get away with it! Once things grow in, and I determine how satisfied I am with the density, I may go back for another one. Time will tell. For now, I just want to go through the "cycle" and go from losing the graphs, to more shock loss, to starting the growth itself. Really exciting! Wish I was in Philly and I'd get together for a beer with you guys and Hairfree so we could all talk about our progress. Thanks again. More to follow as it happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Neptune Posted April 1, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 1, 2007 Up to three weeks and looking more and more like my old self every day in terms of the hairs falling out from the new grafts and the minimal hair I've lost due to shock loss. The two seem to balance each other out if not work in my favor. I'll be curious to see how things look in another month or two, so now the waiting game begins. So far, so good! I'll post one more set after next week (month one) and then go by month from there on out unless something warrants being shown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member rjvw Posted April 1, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted April 1, 2007 Damn...........Three weeks went fast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member irish homer Posted April 2, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted April 2, 2007 Very neat and clean Neptune, no problem going unnoticed there. grow well. IH HT2 2570 grafts Dr Feller HT 2350 grafts Dr Epstein Finax 1mg per day nizoral 2% 3/week MSM 3000 mg / day TOTAL GRAFTS 4920 http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums?a=albumtopic&TOPIC_OID=6751014913&f=2566060861 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Neptune Posted April 2, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 2, 2007 Yep. You said it would and it did. Looking forward to seeing your three month pics as we are almost there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member rjvw Posted May 14, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted May 14, 2007 Yo Bro.....hows it growing? Any updates on the horizon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Neptune Posted May 15, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted May 15, 2007 I do owe everyone some pics, don't I? I have some I'll post this coming weekend. Kind of quiet right now but I've started to get the pimples so I know something is happening or about to. Can't wait till I start to see some of the results you have posted on your photo album RJVW. Keep it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Neptune Posted May 22, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted May 22, 2007 Few pics at 2 months. Def. some thinning from shock loss and loss of grafts. Kind of in that miserable "nothing going on but loss" phase, but I know what's coming so I can handle it. Interestingly, I feel like my hairline is lower even though it is thinner. Absolutely is a mirage, but who cares? I'm happy as I wait for growth and it's kinda fun knowing that people who see me now as I am will be seeing something new in a few months. I'll post more pics at 3 months, though I suspect there won't be much new to report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member hair2stay Posted May 22, 2007 Regular Member Share Posted May 22, 2007 Thanks for the pic's Neptune. It looks like you heal extremely well, your skin looks great around the surgery area. Let's grow! h2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Neptune, Perfectly normal for 2 months. Unfortunately, shockloss is very common...but your newly transplanted hair and shocked hair should all start to grow back in a few months. Keep us posted my friend, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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