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Dr. Paul Rose - 1535 grafts on 8/6/03


Teddw2ds

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Here are the results of my recent HT with Dr. Paul Rose, perfomed on August 6, 2003.

 

I had 1535 grafts, and I was a Norwood 3 prior to surgery. I am 32 years old, so I discussed a fairly conservative approach with Dr. Rose, not knowing what my future loss would be like. I am very happy with the results so far, but I'm only on day 19.

Day1-7.jpg.cdf6514879c39aeb0a206de82eb4c034.jpg

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Here are the results of my recent HT with Dr. Paul Rose, perfomed on August 6, 2003.

 

I had 1535 grafts, and I was a Norwood 3 prior to surgery. I am 32 years old, so I discussed a fairly conservative approach with Dr. Rose, not knowing what my future loss would be like. I am very happy with the results so far, but I'm only on day 19.

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As of that photo, I would estimate that maybe only about 10% of the transplanted hair had fallen out. It looked really weird, with so much stubble in the midst of the rest of my hair, which was much longer than I normally keep it.

 

It is now day 20, though, and I would say I've lost about 75 - 80% of the transplanted hairs. I enjoyed them while they lasted. Now I just have a few months to wait until they make their comeback. I was hoping they would stick around for the long haul, but I knew that wasn't very realistic. Oh, well... I can be patient.

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Ted~Congradulations on your procedure and for good thing to come.I've heard only good things about Doctor Rose his professionalism and craftmanship!

 

For my nest procedure, Dr Rose or Doctor Charles gets my vote!

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Thanks Solid!

 

I would definitely recommend Dr. Rose highly. I don't know if it's purely a factor of his skill or if I just happened to get lucky, but I have had almost no negative side effects. I have had only the slightest trace of shock loss, and just a bit of numbness, but other than that, I have had no swelling, no redness, very little pain. Plus, I was just looking at my scar line yesterday after not looking at it for several days, and I was amazed. At just under 4 weeks, the scar line is already hard to find! I am planning on getting my 2nd post-op haircut in a few days (1st was 10 days out) and I plan to cut it down to a #3 blade, which is almost as short as I kept it before the procedure. I don't think it would be noticeable even at a #2, but I don't want to chance it just yet. You'll definitely get a great result with Dr. Rose.

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Ted-

 

Keep me(and everyone else) updated with how the scar looks at a #3 buzz(or even #2 when you venture out to that level). I spoke with Dr. Rose awhile ago and he was very nice(and definitely who I would have a procedure with if I got one). At the time I decided that I could live with my hairloss since I didn't like the idea of exchanging one problem(early hairloss) for another(a scar and even more uncertainty about how to deal with future hairloss seeing that I'm only 23). Having said that, it seems pretty likely to me that I'll eventually get a procedure done, so be sure to keep us informed(with plenty of pics!) as your new hair comes in.

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I definitely plan to Ironman.

I am getting a haircut tomorrow, so we'll see how that looks.

 

I think you're doing the smart thing for your situation. Since you're only 23, you want to wait at least a few years to see how much more hair you lose. I am 32, but since I have been on Propecia and Rogaine, my loss has all but ceased, so I felt secure in proceding with the HT.

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Well, I just got back from my 2nd post-op haircut, and I have exciting news! I told my stylist at first just to go with a #4 blade, so he did. After doing that, he said I could easily go with a #3 without anything to worry about, and so I did. It looks amazing. There is no sign of a scar anywhere, and my hair is once again all even in length in the back, just as I like it. I am so thrilled. This is only at one month post-op. Next time, I imagine I could even go with a #2 blade.

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Sounds great. I cut my hair on the back and sides with a #2 also.

 

As for my hair loss progression, it's just a matter of time. Even with propecia I've been losing hair(albeit more slowly than I would have otherwise). I figure that in another 3-4 years I'll be pretty bald(or so see-through where I have hair that I'm more or less bald already). Maybe at that time I'll do something. I think it would be really cool to have a decent amount of hair again, but longterm I'm not sure hairloss will bother me so much(if I was 40 I probably would just deal with it like my dad does).

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Well, there's certainly nothing wrong with waiting, especially if it doesn't bother you that much. For me, it was something that I just really couldn't stand any longer, especially after doing the research and finding out just how natural a HT could look. I thought, if I could have my hair back and it would look completely natural, there's just no way I could NOT do it. Even then, though, I waited a couple of years before I worked up the courage to go through with it.

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Yeah, I like the wait and see approach too. I've been taking propecia or Rogaine for awhile, and have given some thought to doing both. Dr. Rose told me that my hair loss would be a lot worse if I wasn't taking propecia, but even so I'm still losing hair at a pretty good pace(more in the front than in the crown area though). At some point the benefit from a hair transplant will totally outway the risk since I'll be pretty bald already. At that point I'll make an appointment and get a transplant. But until then I'll just deal with it.

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And you're young, too! That can play a significant factor in designing your HT, especially if it's falling out at the rate you describe. Both of those factors would make future planning more challenging for any doctor.

 

One thing that I noticed in your post that is a little troubling, though. You said you have been taking propecia or rogaine, but not both. It sounds like you are switching back and forth and not taking either very consistently. Am I reading this right, or is that just my interpretation? I would encourage you to get on both... and stay on both. The results will be most effective you they are taken regularly, and the two medications work by completely different mechanisms, so the combined effort will almost certainly be more effective than either one alone.

 

Tedd

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I pretty much know my future pattern of hairloss. It'll be like my dad, who's a NW6 I believe. Maybe like my uncle, who's a NW5 or so. Either way I'm not likely to have much hair 10 years from now in my early 30s.

 

As for my medications, I used Rogaine for about 1.5 years starting when I was 21 or so. After consulting with a transplant doctor in Miami I was given a prescription for Propecia. I used both for about 6 months as a transitional period and then just stuck with Propecia. I've been on it exclusively for about a full year now. I found that Rogaine was just too much of a pain to use(I only put it on at night because I hated how oily it made my head and hair). I've thought about using both again, but I doubt any hair will grow and my current pace of losing hair is acceptable to me.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm only four days post op as of today but I will be watching your results as they grow in... I thought that Dr. Rose and his staff were very good. Did you have your work done in Tampa, Florida.... Who did the majority of the graft placement? Did they do any FIT grafts?

 

fatphilly icon_smile.gif

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Hey fatphilly

 

You will not be disappointed.

I am at the two month point right now, and I am starting to see some real regrowth, and I can't wait to see what the next few months hold for me.

 

Yes, I had my work done in Tampa, and Dr. Rose did probably 25 - 30% of the placement himself, mostly along the hairline area. For the area further back, one other doctor (don't remember his name now... a Hispanic guy) and a female technician placed the grafts. Dr. Rose did all the incisions, though.

 

You will be amazed at the results. I cannot tell on my own head which hairs are native and which are transplanted, and there's absolutely no variation in skin tone or smoothness from the grafts. You'll be very happy.

 

Tedd

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Yeh, My procedure was similar to what you stated... Dr. Rose did 200 FIT grafts on me because I had so much previous work done in the past. Not sure if the FIT yields a better result but he was able to go more into my side hair than a typical strip would have allowed. .. The healing seems to be going well and I know that it will be months before I experience the new growth... The Belgium Doctor that assisted Dr. Rose was a guy named Chris... Really nice guy and seemed extremely conscientious about the work.... I enjoyed Dr. Rose's entire staff. The three girls that participated as surgical technicians each had their own personality and we shared great conversation. One of them actually brought in the entire 1st season of Sex and The City on DVD... That was fun to watch. as the procedure was being done...

 

I will try and post some photos in the days ahead as the healing begins...

 

Did you say that you were already getting regrowth of the transplanted grafts up front... Which ones are growing? The single hair grafts of the 2-3-4 follicular unit grafts? I am pretty surprised to hear that they are growing.

 

 

Philly icon_smile.gif

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Yeah, no one was more shocked than I was. From everything I read on here, I didn't expect to see diddly squat for at least another month, but I started seeing the first sign of growth breaking through the surface at just five weeks! Now, I'm at 2 months and I'm seeing sprouts breaking through everywhere. They are mostly the single-hair grafts, but also the 2s and 3s that didn't initially fall out (about 10% I would estimate) are now clearly growing strong and thick. It's really amazing. This is my first HT, so I've never witnessed this before, but I just love looking into the mirror each morning and seeing more and more hair. All the time, I am finding new ones starting to pop through and they are now too numerous to count. It's awesome!

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Here at long last is the photographic demonstration of nearly 3 months post-op (11/06/03 will be the 3 month mark).

 

It's still not a great shot, but I think you can see the beginnings of improvement. I will try to update this at least monthly from here on out, now that there is actually some growth taking place.

 

Everything you see just to the sides of the middle peninsula is all brand new growth. Those areas were previously shiny bald. I would say probably 10% of my grafts are growing at a mature phase, while a whole lot more are just now breaking the surface. I see probably 3 - to - 1 the number of hairs that are 2mm long to those that are fully growing, so I think the next month or two will be really exciting.

 

Tedd

 

[This message was edited by Teddw2ds on October 27, 2003 at 08:53 PM.]

HT_-_3_month_progress.jpg.978f58607e66d87185fb4f86b20aee69.jpg

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I finally was able to upload another third photo that really shows the detail well. Sorry for the large size, but I wanted to get a close zoom.

 

This was also taken 10/26/03, and I've marked the area (in front of the red line) where there previously was no hair. The only exception is where my hair is brushed over to the side on the left.

 

Oddly, the hair on that side is growing back in faster than on the right. also, much of what you see here is from those hairs that never did fall out after the HT, but you can also see some smaller, shorter ones that are really startin to come in now.

 

Tedd

HT_-_3month_close.jpg.a708124bb413a470e303e816a4626509.jpg

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  • 4 months later...
Guest fatphillypp

No posts from his since October 27, 2003.... I had a surgery done by the same Doc... Would like to see some updated photos...

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