Jotronic, HT #4, October 5th 2010

[Jotronic]

Alright boys,

 

Thanks for being patient. As I stated in my other thread I had my 4th HT with Dr. Wong on Tuesday, October 5th. Dr. Wong got 1399 grafts. My goal was to finally address the one area of my hair loss that was never touched before. The bottom half of my crown.

 

What does this mean? Well, I've never had work for my entire crown before. Dr. Wong only touched on the top half. The theory was that once the transplanted hair in the top half had some normal length to it then gravity would take over and allow it to "drape" over the bottom half of the crown. It has worked beautifully for me over the past several years and was a genius move on the part of Dr. Wong as it made the most efficient use of the grafts. In reality, he allowed for a small number of grafts to cover twice as much area as they normally would.

 

Here is a photo from the end of the day after my third procedure in January, 2004. This shows you where the grafts were placed to allow for the draping action to occur.

 

**Update**

Here are four videos I put together from all of the footage that was taken from my surgery.

 

 

Interview before surgery...

 

 

Pre-op Plan and beginning of surgery with Dr. Wong...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RAt7f4Jlgo]

 

Next...

 

 

Final...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBg0MIihf7A

 

 

 

 

So, here are the surgical photos as well as some post-op photos.

 

On the evening of October 4th, the day before my 4th hair transplant with Dr. Wong.

 

 

 

 

You can see where my crown has had no work performed on it before. The bottom half is still thin as always, the upper half is obviously fuller because of my previous work.

 

 

 

 

 

The strip removal process has begun.

 

 

 

One of my first breaks before Dr. Wong starts on the other side of my donor scalp.

 

 

My grafts being dissected.

 

 

It's tough laying on your face for several hours.

 

 

Some grafts being placed.

 

 

Angie and Sylvia placing grafts. They have worked on my from the beginning starting in 2002.

 

 

 

Camille is trying to discourage me from any further surgery...

 

 

 

It really isn't as bad as it looks

 

Edited January 3, 2011 by Jotronic

[Jotronic]

Here I am immediately post-op...

 

 

Yes, my face is wider and I have lost my wrinkles. Dr. Wong tumesced the temples for the temple point work so the fluids are making me look this way.

 

 

 

 

 

Great haircut, huh?

 

 

 

Now the bottom half of my crown finally has more hair added.

 

 

 

Here I am on day 3 post-op. Doug gave me a great hair cut to blend the shaved areas with the non-shaved areas. It's hard to believe I've got a few dozen staples underneath that hair.

 

 

 

Here I am this morning, October 10th, unshowered and in my favorite robe.

 

 

 

The redness seems to be subsiding nicely.

 

 

 

 

Scabs are also falling off as expected.

 

 

[YouOnlyLiveOnce]

Happy growing Joe. I'm the guy that was getting washed up when you were being transplanted. You told me "Thats a good looking hairline"

 

I have a question though. Tomorrow will mark the 7th day since the procedure. Is it safe to wear a hat where the hat comes in contact with the newly transplanted hairs? I want to make sure I do as much as possible to have the best growth so I'll wear the hat all big and floppy if needed but I'd prefer to wear it normal. Also, shoudl I still be sleeping with my travel pillow on my back or can start sleeping on my side?

[Jotronic]

Hey, yeah I remember you. Yes, you can start sleeping on your side. You can wear the hat normal but don't make it tight fitting. You can wear it tighter by day ten.

 

I hope your post-op has been good so far!

[RCWest]

That work is impeccable, Joe! So are you all tapped out on grafts now??

[uncjim]

So Jotronic's back in the Headlines huh? I guess 4 procedures makes him something special.

Apparently only 3 with the good Dr. Wong makes me chopped liver!

 

Great Joe! I'm happy for you old friend.

 

UNC

[Jotronic]

RC,

 

NEVER! Not sure how much I have left at this point. I'll have a better idea in a few weeks but my scalp is feeling more loose at 8 days post-op.

 

Jim,

 

You sir will never be chop liver, not with those temples points and side burns you be sport'in. You sir are a gentleman and a scholar.

[Jotronic]

Here is a quick update from day 6, which was this past Monday. The redness has greatly subsided and the scabs are pretty much all gone which seems to be normal for me.

 

 

[Bill - Seemiller]

Joe,

 

As if you weren't already hairy enough, this is certainly going to be the second layer of icing on the cake. I'm sure this procedure will make the crown appear thicker. You're going to look fantastic bro!

 

The back of my scalp still appears relatively thin especially under harsh lighting....especially below the crown above the occipital ridge where only natural hair remains. Perhaps you'll see me back in the chair in a couple of years to thicken this area myself :-).

 

Keep us posted Joe! You may also want to create a blog with photos or photo album on your social profile.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[hair_me_out]

Crown's looking good. Looking forward to see how it grows in. Keep us posted, Joe, I know you will

[conan]

Hello Joe .

 

How many surgery did you have in total ? Do you have anymore donor area left ?

 

thanks

 

David

[Mercury]

Joe

 

Thanks for showing the photos. Should turn out great.

 

What did you say to that lady that is trying to stab you?

 

Looking forwad to seeing results. Little advice: try not to piss off the ladies that are holding those little golden grafts - wait until they are done putting them in - then piss them off!!

[Jotronic]

Time for an update at 2.5 months. Not much to report but I am seeing activity. In fact, I had my first ingrown pimple thingy at 4 weeks and 2 days post-op. That is a personal record. I took a pic...

 

 

Here are some outdoor shots while I'm in Northern California for the holidays. I have been keeping my hair quite short and this latest round of photos show me 1.5 weeks after a #3 cut. Of course the top is longer, I'm talking about the back and the sides.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a close up of the crown and each temple point. In the temples points you can see the outline of placement because it is ever so slightly discolored. You can also see new sprouts in the temple points and in the bottom half of the crown where the bulk of the work was done.

 

 

 

 

Sunshine on my spot:)

 

 

I've got more material to upload, not only photos but also video that has to be edited. Expect that in the next week.

[aaron1234]

Thanks for all the pics Joe. The variety of angles/lighting really give us an honest look at where you are right now. I especially like the overhead shot at the end. It's really a good barometer for the rest of us who plan on undergoing multiple surgeries. Good luck growing the next few months!

[amanindia]

Looks great Joe.I was there from 21st of October to 31st of Ooctober and i saw you several times.You looked great and i knew that few days back you have had a ht with great Dr Wong.I feel now you will look even more young and happy.God bless you.:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Edited December 28, 2010 by amanindia

[tarepanda]

Hi Jot

 

i think ur hairdresser does a good job too!!

 

u apparently skipped the ugly duckling phrase after the first haircut.

[TC17]

So far, so good, Joe!

 

Do you know how much area in centimeters has been covered in all of your surgeries?

[Jotronic]

Aaron,

 

Thanks for the comments. It's all about honesty with my photos, always has been, always will be. I'll uploading video this week too.

 

Aman,

 

Thank you my friend. It was odd walking around the office with a shaved head again but I feel it was a good some patients to see me like this so that the reality of hair restoration is evident.

 

Panda,

So far, Doug has been my only hairdresser. He as graciously pulled out the clippers every time I've asked him to and he does a great job. He's better than my normal stylist!

 

TC17,

 

At least 300 cm2 if not more. I'll have Dr. Wong measure my head again when we get back in the office.

[Jotronic]

Ok, time for some donor scar photos. All of these were taken on December 27th, 2010. This is the donor scar after 2.5 months. Remember, I have had 9360 FU grafts over four surgeries with Dr. Wong and 800 (300 grew) mini-grafts over two surgeries with Dr. Norris back in 1993. All I can say at this point is, not bad. It appears that I have a lot of hair growing in my scar. Back in 2006 Dr. Wong used me as a guinea pig for tricho but he only did the very back of my donor scar. It worked out ok but he never did the sides. In this surgery he only took the strip from either side and used tricho on both sides when he closed me up. It looks like it is working out quite well.

 

 

 

 

 

Close up of the left side.

 

 

 

 

 

Close up of the right side.

 

 

[RCWest]

Jotronic you have superhuman healing! That scar already looks great!

[Jotronic]

RCwest,

 

Superhuman? Nah, but I am happy with the way it is turning out.

[multiplier]

Looking good man.

 

Can I ask, do you take Finasteride and if so, when did you start taking it and did it help stop loss during all your procedures?

[Jotronic]

Yep, been taking fin for going on nine years now and it has worked wonders in preventing more loss.

[multiplier]

If I remember right, you had a fair amount of loss before your first surgery. Was it then you started the finasteride?

 

I guess I'm trying to convince myself that sticking to Fin for the long term while potentially getting another surgery won't result in the later in life "island of hair" you see on some people. I really want to make sure Fin will maintain my hair in the long term. Thanks!

[Jotronic]

Yes, I had a lot of loss already. I started the medication basically the day after HT#1 with Dr. Wong. I'll put it to you like this. If you start the medication and stay on it you have roughly a 5% chance of losing more hair. If you do not go on the medication and stay on it then you have a 100% chance of losing more hair.