Transplant 2 weeks ago with Dr Rahal, 4506 Graphs-World Class Organization!

[RP43]

I am/was a norton 6. Now thanks to Dr Rahal and his great staff, I HAVE HAIR!

 

I had the procedure done on February 11th. I live in Toronto and after visiting 3 Doctors in Toronto, I am extremly thankful I made the trip to Ottawa for a 4th opinion.

 

Believe the hype! Dr Rahal and his staff are as proffesional, welcoming, knowledgable and comforting a staff in any type of business I have been exposed to. World Class indeed!

 

The procedure went well, and virtually pain free... aside from the needles to freze my head OUCH those stung a bit. I thanfully felt nothing after that and aside from the first night really no pain or discomfort at all since.

Sutures are coming out tomorrow and as far as I can see and based on the feedback from his office on the pictures I have sent him, so far, so good.

 

For anyone who is on the fence regarding doctors and Dr Rahal is on your list, you could not be in better hands. This is your head you are getting a procudre done on, dont nickle and dime the options.

 

" A lot of people know the price of everything...and the value of nothing" This is by no means your least expensive option, but ask yourself, are you worth a few extra dollars on your head? Dont get sucked into the standard 3000 grafts for 7k. This is what the previous 3 consultations told me. There is a reason why Dr Rahal and his staff can do over 4000 grafts on a regular basis. I know the anxiety and nerves involved first hand...YOU DESERVE THE BEST!

 

In total I received, 4506 graphs, which was thankfully about 10% more than he planned on, I guess following all me pre op instructions did make a differnce

 

I would like to thank Leesa, Adrian, Mike, Dr Rahal and the entire staff for a making what was a very anxious and nervous part of of my life a wonderful experience. I cant believe when I look in the mirror I see HAIR, I cant wait until it grows... I will do my best to keep everyone updated.

[RP43]

Oops meant to add Pre and post op pic as well

[RP43]

....and here is an immediate post op, sorry, cant figure out how to post multiple pics on one post

[Megatron]

Dont get sucked into the standard 3000 grafts for 7k. This is what the previous 3 consultations told me. There is a reason why Dr Rahal and his staff can do over 4000 grafts on a regular basis. I know the anxiety and nerves involved first hand...YOU DESERVE THE BEST!

 

Can you please explain what you mean by "don't get sucked into the standard 3000 grafts for 7K". I realize you're all excited about your recent HT and all, but unless you have some kind of crystal ball I suspect there isn't a whole lot of substance to what you wrote above. You simply used your judgement to choose the doctor you felt was right for you.

 

I doubt anyone would disagree that Rahal is one of the top docs in the world but, I hope you're not expecting great density with 4,000 grafts on a NW 6. And do you have plans to attack the crown in your next HT?

 

I do wish you all the best.

[RP43]

Megatron, to be clear, in my personal experience

having consulted with three doctors in the Toronto area I felt like just another patient. All three of the doctors ( I wont name who because that is not important) spent some time with me and all gave me the same verdict. We can do 3000 grafts and honestley they all quoted me 7,000.00. It felt so "cookie cutter" and matter of fact. This was all in the last year or so. Something did not feel right but then I found this forum and website and dug deeper

 

When I went for my consultation with Dr Rahal, there was a proffesionlism and genuine sincerity about how he actually checked my hair, drew out a potential hair line and how far he could go. He asked me a lot of questions, and also was very direct about what to expect in one session

 

He was very honest about my density which he said to expect about 40%. I am realalist and am well aware I will not have thick density by way, so if your intent was to dim my expectations and excitement, you did not. Dr Rahal also told me what he would expect in terms of further hair loss

 

He clearly explained to me, that if i wanted maximum coverage a minimum of two transplants would be required. As this was all new to me, we decided to approach it as I would not get a second transplant. He approached it as such.

 

After having gone through this experience, I will definatley get a second tranplant in a year or so, to do the crown and increase my density in the front area with Dr Rahal

 

My point is, none of the three doctors I went to previous to Dr Rahal, took the time to explain any of this to me. I was simply shuffled in and out, and told, 7k for 3000 grafts. That was all thier opinions. None of them took the time to tell me about density or do what Dr Rahal did which was to put grafts where I had hair in the side of my head because he felt I would have further regression there and I decided to not get a second one, there was a chance I would bald spots on both sides of my head.

 

I did not mean to offend you or anyone else on this board, the reality is alot of people dont even need 3000 grafts when they get thiers done. Maybe I should have qualified by stating, anyone at a Norton 6 should not simply take the standard 7k for 3000 grafts because there are talented doctors like Dr Rahal and several more on this board who can offer so much more if anyone is looking for more

 

This forum is for opinions and experiences, all I can say for sure is that I have had a great one to date with Dr Rahal and would recomend anyone to him without hesitation based on my experience.

 

I guess that's why there is chocolate and vanilla.....

[Megatron]

thanks for that explanation. now I understand where you're coming from. I too would have felt very uncomfortable going to a doc that didn't seem to put in the effort in my consult. I also agree that there are a lot of places in T.O. that I would never, ever let near my hair with a 20 foot poll. that said, there are a few recommended docs from T.O. that I think don't deserve to be slotted in with the rest of them. you don't have to name anyone, but did you consult with any of the T.O. docs that are recommended by this forum? feel free to PM me if you prefer.

 

btw - no, it was not my intention to dim your hopes. from your second post, I realize now that you made a very informed decision and are aware of all the pros and cons.

 

thanks

[RP43]

Thanks for the update Megatron, appreciate it, at the end of it all, we are all here to help each other and share experiences and information so that we all do what is best for our individual cases

 

IF it was not for the information posted on this site, and the research, suggestions and information posted by hundreds of people, I would not have got a transplant. After my first three consultations, I had no intent of getting it done and was just going to accept, I was bald.

 

Thankfully with the info I found here, I was able to come across a great option for me, Dr Rahal and I am thankful I did

 

All the best to you, I will follow your progress and get around to starting my own page

[Raphael84]

RP43 -

 

Primarily, many congratulations regarding your recent HT procedure with Dr Rahal. He is for without doubt amongst the very elite in both patient care and consistent results. After solid research, I myself have chosen Dr Rahal to perform my HT surgery in the not too distant future.

 

Ive enjoyed your posts to date and all of your documentation, opinion and personailty. I genuinley wish you all of the good luck regarding the results of your transplant. I will be following you progress and hope that you share a patient hair loss site with us.

 

May I ask, regarding your consultation with Rahal, with your level of hairloss, what was Rahals opinion on what could be achieved after both 1 HT, and after a potential 2nd HT? Also, what was the analysis of your donor, both quality of hair and scalp laxity? Do you have a grafts breakdown or are you aware of the total number of hairs transplanted?

 

Again, good luck RP43.!!!

[RP43]

Raphael (which is my name as well)

 

I appreciate your support and kind words

 

As far as what can be achieved with two transplants, Dr Rahal was confident that he could give me a "full head of hair" in two sessions. Density of course would be hard to predict, (Adrian if you see this perhaps you can comment I really dont want to quote out of turn.

 

What I do know for sure,based on my experience to date is that as of right now, I will be second one done. We approached the first one, as not sure if I was going to get a second one because Dr Rahal and I decided that would be best. Hindsight is 20/20 of course, and knowing what I know, I would have opted for more density and less area covered, but no regrets as Dr Rahal can increase density in the front during the second session. He did suggest we do wait at least a year though

 

The original analysis of donor area was average density according to Dr Rahal. His goal was get to get 3800-4000 graphs based on what he saw. Dr Rahal does recomend and insist you do some scalp stretching excercises prior to your surgery. I did them throughout day and more than was suggested because I trusted his suggestion and felt it may help get more. Thankfully he was able to get alot more the following numbers are what he was able to get.

 

4506 graphs

766 singles

2826 doubles

914 triples

 

9160 hairs in total

 

Not sure where you live but great choice, rest assured you are in great hands. When is your date? The only part that caught me off guard and was uncomfortable for a few seconds, that felt like an eternity was the freezing needles, once those are done, there is no discomfort at all

 

Also, I am not much a alcohol drinker. Part of your post op instructions is no booze for two weeks prior. I did not have a drink for 4 weeks and as such had very minimal bleeding as alcohol does thin your blood and can cause blood to run as Dr Rahal maps out the recepient area. Minimal bleeding does make the technicians job a lot easier so I would strongly suggest you sustain from any alcohol for as long a period as you can.

 

If you have any other questions feel free to drop your email address and ask away.

 

I will try and post my progress later this week.

 

 

Good Luck

[RP43]

It has been three weeks since my transplant. So far, so good. Still have some scabbing going on but no real bother.

 

Had the sutures remooved by my GP and then met with Dr Rahal a few days later while he was in Toronto. According to him, my donor area and receipient area both look great

 

Now all I have to do is wait for it to grow! I am so happy I had this done with Dr Rahal and cant wait for the growth to start

[aaron1234]

RP43,

 

Everything looks great as expected from Dr. Rahal. I'm also glad you understand that you will need two procedures to get the density you want. But 4,500 grafts with 9,000 hairs is a great start to where you want to be.

[drmstx]

RP43

 

Congratulations. I assume you are already on Minoxidil for your crown, which might help you improve the overall appearance.

[BANDIDO]

RP43, you mentioned that Dr. Rahal said he was going to give you a " full head of hair" in two sessions.I am kind of surprised he told you that as you have a large area to cover. I think you can attain some decent coverage, but a full head of hair is pushing it.

 

Dr. Rahal has pushed out some nice results. Good luck.

[RP43]

Bandido,

 

I should clarify a "full head of hair", meaning full coverage of my bald area. I guess I just get overlly excited and things may come across not entirely like I mean them to, so let me explain

 

As mentioned earlier, one of the decideing factors to go with Dr Rahal was because of his candid honesty. Most definatley he can cover all the area that was and is bald on my head,with one more session, all you have to do is look at what was covered in one and that would not be a stretch. However densitiy would not be 100%.

 

After all, a full head of hair to a formerly Norton 6 guy and full head of of hair to Norton 3 are totally different interpretations and expectations.

 

It was not my intent to confuse anyone.

 

My aplogies if I mislead anyone.

 

But, Hey, I have hair on top of my head and could not be happier, thanks again Dr Rahal and staff!

[RP43]

Drsmtx, to answer your question, yes I am using rogaine for my crown and recepient area and have been instructed by Dr Rahal to do so for about a year.

[BANDIDO]

PP43, Thanks for clearing that up. Looking forward to following your HT journey.

[Megatron]

Originally posted by RP43:

..yes I am using rogaine for my crown and recepient area and have been instructed by Dr Rahal to do so for about a year.

 

curious statement...why only a year? is the idea that you'll have a full head of transplanted hairs and will therefore not require any hair loss treatment anymore?

[RP43]

Hello Megatron,

 

Hope your doing well. To be honest, as far as one year on rogaine that is what Dr Rahal stated to me with reference to getting the translplanted hairs growing I beleive. He may have said to improve blood flow, but dont quote me for sure.

 

In your experience or anyone else here, is it beneficial long term? Forever>

 

I live in Toronto as stated earlier and headed to the US tomorrow, Monday and Dr Rahal did suggest picking up some of the rogaine foam which he preferes becasue it is not available in Cananda, so I will roll the dice and hope I dont get stopped coming back into Canada....

 

At this point, if all I have to do is spray some rogaine on my head a couple of times a day, no problem with me