Track my progress: 3000 grafts Dr. Panine

[supercopper]

I made the jump at the age of 34! My story begins from the time I was in grammar school! No, I was not bald then, but my father was, and I distinctly remember my uncle one day looking at me and telling me that I would be bald one day. Who wants to be bald, right?! I noticed that even at a young age, my natural hairline was farther back than many of my friends, so this confirmed my belief that I would indeed, be bald one day. I am a former U.S. Marine my hair looked great during my corps days 18-22yrs. My hairline started slowly receding at about the age of 25 and I have always kept my hair pretty short since I am in law enforcement. At age 30, the thinning increased and over the last two years my dad and my sister both have commented honestly on my thinning :rolleyes:. Over the last two years I have really noticed that I can see 'through' my hair and I have to fix my hair in a way to cover (no comb-over) my hairline.

 

So I made my appointment with Dr. Panine's near Chicago after doing some research and seeing some great results in this forum. Dr. Panine's administrator, Stuart, is very helpful, accommodating, and a super nice guy. Dr. Panine's other lab workers, who participated in the actual procedure, where very experienced, 15 years one in particular,per our conversation during the procedure. I arrived on the day of my procedure at 10 am. and the procedure began shortly after we had decided the best looking hairline for my age and we had earlier decided that a little more than 2500 grafts would be needed. In the end about 3000 grafts were use,which makes me very happy.

The experience was as pleasant for me as can be considering that it is a medical procedure. I have to say that I am a relatively 'good' patient, meaning I like to allow the experts to do their job without any interruptions by my part. In reality, the procedure was almost painless. I suppose that my donor area was pretty numb but even the local anesthetic placement was not bad at all when Dr. Panine was numbing me up. I watched three movies, I think, and had a great lunch from some greasy burger joint across the street and of course, everything was brought to me while I sat in the chair and took a break. Swelling was not that bad the first day but gravity started to do its thing and the swelling began to go down form the top of my head to my eyes by the third day. Third and fourth days are toughest with the swelling then it gets better. Sleeping at night the first few days is a bit tough since you have to sleep in an upright position for the swelling to to down as well as the fact that you don't want to lay on your sutures. Today, two weeks later, I went in for suture removal and here are the pics so far. Much of the crusting is gone and I am healing very well. the little implanted hairs are about half shed at this point and the rest will likely fall off within the next two weeks, at which point the waiting game begins. Please feel free to comment as I will post pictures every 4 to 8 weeks. Thanks for reading!

Edited May 13, 2011 by supercopper
better choice of words

[RCWest]

I am going to be following your case closely, as Dr. Panine is tops on my list of surgeons. You can't beat $3 a graft and the successful procedures he has posted on here.

[supercopper]

I'm glad to hear you will follow my case. I will also begin using Propecia 1mg this week.

[TC17]

I agree with RC that Dr. Panine has been posting amazing results, and he might just be the most underrated physician on this forum. It will be interesting to follow your results as I do not recall seeing any patient posted results of Dr. Panine.

[supercopper]

Today is week 3 since my procedure and I still have about half of the transplanted hair stuble (maybe slightly fewer than half). Is it unusual for them to stick around this long? Returning to work next week.

Edited May 19, 2011 by supercopper

[supercopper]

Ok. Its been a few months since I've posted. Just wanted to touch base and let you know how my procedure is progressing. I had some shock loss so my hair look thinner than before the procedure for about two months. The last four weeks have definitely been better. I would say that i am slightly better than before the operation by now. I see the stubble starting to grow! new hairs springing up all the time. I'd say about another 4 weeks I will be out of the ugly duckling phase. Just hope the new growth keeps coming as my native hair is still thin. I have been taking Fin and Rogaine Foam daily. Overall I think I'm where I need to be at this time. Of course I would like to be ahead, but I am actually still loosing hair in the shower every morning. Maybe 15 or 20 hairs-- more than I'd like to see with the Fin and Rogaine. Still a waiting but I am feeling good right about now, as well as optimistic.

[aaron1234]

Looks like you are where you need to be at 3 months. The shed could be from the fin if you just started it. Or it could be shock loss. But the good news is that you should start growing soon. Good luck!

[Spanker]

I would not sweat that many hairs. I have always shed that much since a little kid and I still have much of my hair. I think people with no loss can also see that much shedding.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Supercopper

Sounds like you researched very well. I personally think Dr Konior is the best in that area, but Dr Panine is throwing out some serious results!! Dr Panine is an excellent surgeon and in my opinion he is highly underrated.

[supercopper]

Just wanted to post some new photos of my progress. I am at seven months. Not sure if I will get any new hairs growing or if it's just maturation from here on out.

[BadBeat]

Looks great already and you still have lots of growing left! Congrats man, it would be a big success even if you didn't grow anymore. The hairline looks very natural -- nobody would ever think you had an HT.

[Bowser1982]

yes its very good for only 7 months as i believe you grow untill 12 months and then your hair matures until 18 months if i am correct. either way great result and you're only half way there

[RCWest]

Dr. Panine has always been one of my favorites as he is kind of an underdog but does exceptional work. Your transplant is looking great and 7 months is still early. It should thicken a lot more.

[orlhair1]

Looking really good.....thanks for posting.

[TakingThePlunge]

supercopper,

 

You're looking great at 7 months! Comparing your pre-ops to your latest photos, it's clear that you've come a long way. Very happy for you1

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Looking great for 7 months!

[iwokeuptoabaldpatch]

really nice clean job and its only 7 months!!

[supercopper]

It's been exactly one year since I had a procedure with Dr. Panine. I had 2500 + units. I've been on 1mg Finasteride and try to use Rogaine but and not very consistent with the Rogaine. I've been very pleased with my results, so I share them with you. I hope to get about 10% more density in the next few months (hair greed:D).

 

Obviously, the last two pics are pre-op.

[Levrais]

Very nice result!

[RCWest]

Supercopper, this is a major improvement! Dr. Panine seems to do more with less. This is excellent!

[aaron1234]

Congrats Supercopper! You've got yourself a successful hair transplant! Well done.

[Stuart01]

Supercopper,

 

Thanks for allowing the HTN community to follow your progress over the last year, Dr. Panine and his staff really appreciate it. By the way your hair looks great.

[RCWest]

I still can't believe it has been a year!