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My story and HT results at 1 yr


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Hi Everyone.

This my first post on this site. I have been lurking around for a long while and thought I'd share my story and HT results.

I had a HT just over a year ago and I'm very happy with my results. My experience was a good one. Although I have to say I feel lucky to have had these great results. It seems a lot of people do not. I really think doing research and gathering up all the information I could find assisted me with my decision and positive results.

My Story:

I'm 43 and started losing my hair almost 10 years ago. Not fast....just typical receding and thinning over the years. But it really bothered me. Especially these last few years. I started spending more and more time on it in the morning using hairspray and a blow dryer just trying to cover up what was happening. It got to a point where I wouldn’t leave the house until it was just right. Then it started to effect my personality. I lost confidence in my appearance and fell into depression. So I started searching the internet for hair restoration options and stumbled on to Hasson & Wong's website. I was blown away by the blogs with HT results. I knew I had to look into this further. I then found the hair loss forums and my life changed...I had hope! I also had support for what I was feeling. I was not alone!! I did a lot of research and looked at just about every post related to HT’s. By the time I made my decision to do it...I felt like an expert on the subject. However, I needed to find the right doctor. Again, I searched and read reviews on a lot them. I made my choice based on several things (doctor’s results/reviews, travel, down time, cost, etc.) I picked Dr. Robert Haber and made an appointment. He put me on FIN immediately. (3 months pre-op) I probably should have been on it years sooner. I let my hair grow longer in back for the surgery so it could help hide the donor site once complete. I took 2 weeks off work and scheduled my surgery for a Friday so I would have 16 days to heal as much as possible before returning. (I work in an office environment and can’t wear a hat.) I also asked the Dr. not to shave the donor area or the recipient area. Again, I did this to help hide the HT once complete. The surgery was a breeze. Although it did suck to have to sit there for so many hours but other then that it was easy. The first 2 days post-op were a little painful and the tightness in my scalp was weird feeling and annoying but that went away within a week. Not much swelling at all either.

On the 15th day post-op my hair stylist shaped my hair to help hide the HT. Not much she could do to the recipient area but she was able to hide the donor scar real good. With some Dermatch and my new haircut, I returned to work without so much as a question as to what I did. Either people really didn’t notice or they were just being nice not to say anything. My wife said she couldn’t tell. I did everything I was asked to do by the doctor pre and post surgery. There were no surprises before or after the surgery. Here I am 12 months later and I am completely stoked on my results. I don’t even need Dermatch anymore. My only regret was that I had this done at the end of April which made for a rough summer. Special thanks goes out to Dr. Haber and his staff for their great work.

Here are some pictures of my journey.

Ronpreop.jpg

RonHT4mths.jpg

RonHT6mths.jpg

 

 

 

1 year

 

24-1.jpg

 

 

 

14.jpg

 

 

19.jpg

 

 

27.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • Senior Member

Dude513,

 

Welcome! Thank you for sharing the details of your excellent results with Dr. Haber. Your hair looks great!

 

Congratulations!

David - Former Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant

 

I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice.

 

View my Hair Loss Website

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  • 1 month later...
  • Senior Member

And huge difference between 6 months and a year. This should be linked in spex's thread titled patience.

Dr. G: 1,000 grafts (FUT) 2008

Dr. Paul Shapiro: 2,348 grafts (FUT) 2009 ~ 1,999 grafts (FUT) 2011 ~ 300 grafts (Scar Reduction) 2013

Dr. Konior: 771 grafts (FUT) 2015 ~ 558 grafts (FUT) 2017 ~ 1,124 grafts (FUE) 2020

My Hair Transplant Journey with Shapiro Medical Group

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  • Senior Member

Brilliant i'm really happy for you pal. All the best with your new happy life.

Bonkerstonker! :D

 

http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=1977

 

Update I'm now on 12200 Grafts, hair loss has been a thing of my past for years. Also I don't use minoxidil anymore I lost no hair coming off it. Reduced propecia to 1mg every other day.

 

My surgeons were

Dr Hasson x 4,

Dr Wong x 2

Norton x1

I started losing my hair at 19 in 1999

I started using propecia and minoxidil in 2000

Had 7 hair transplants over 12200 grafts by way of strip but

700 were Fue From Norton in uk

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Thanks everyone. I couldn't be more happier! My hair in the photos at 1 year is longer then I usually keep it. I will post more photos this week of what it looks like shorter.

 

@KM77 - I would highly recommend Dr. Haber from my looking at my results. But after reading post after post on HT's...everyone's outcome seems slightly different. I guess it all depends on the individual.

As far as advice.....If you don't already know....Dr. Haber will excise the donor strip and make the recipient sites, His techs separate the grafts and then place the grafts into your scalp. At least this is how mine went. I think a lot of people think the Dr. will do it all. But from what I read this is standard. Also, the HT takes a while depending on how many grafts you are getting. (Mine took all day) So bring a couple of movies to watch. If not, they have a decent selection on hand. They will also provide lunch. They let me choose from a menu of a local place and let me and my wife eat in private in one of their offices. The biggest advice I could give anyone getting this done is to have PATIENTS! Just relax, let the Dr. and Tech's do their thing. Then sit back and wait for your results. Most will say "visible results in as little as 4 months". However, mine took 6 months. This is where the "patients" part really comes into play.

Well, I hope this helps a little and good luck with your HT with Dr. Haber. Looking forward to seeing your results.

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  • Regular Member

Dude,

 

Thank you so much for the reply and encouragement! I just received my pre/post-op instructions in the mail today and very nervous.

I was aware that Dr. Haber excises the donor strip and makes the recipient sites.

My procedure will consist of roughly 2500 graphs and will also be an all day process.

Did you experience any shock loss?

 

Again, thank you for your advice. It helps!

 

-Kathleen

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  • Senior Member
And huge difference between 6 months and a year. This should be linked in spex's thread titled patience.

 

Unless I've got mixed up I don't see any difference after 6 month it looks fully grown as if it was a year at 6 months.

Edited by bonkerstonker

Bonkerstonker! :D

 

http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=1977

 

Update I'm now on 12200 Grafts, hair loss has been a thing of my past for years. Also I don't use minoxidil anymore I lost no hair coming off it. Reduced propecia to 1mg every other day.

 

My surgeons were

Dr Hasson x 4,

Dr Wong x 2

Norton x1

I started losing my hair at 19 in 1999

I started using propecia and minoxidil in 2000

Had 7 hair transplants over 12200 grafts by way of strip but

700 were Fue From Norton in uk

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Hi Kathleen,

 

I was also very nervous pre-op. The anticipation before was almost as bad as waiting for the hair to grow post-op. However, the day will fly by and before you know it you will be on your way home. The post-op experience is not that bad either. It's a waiting game at best. There really wasn't much pain. Just a weird numb feeling throughout my scalp. I guess the only thing that bothered me was the tightness feeling in the donor area. But even that subsided in a few days. Dr. Haber did a fantastic job on the donor scar. I have a herd time finding it myself. I didn't experience much shock loss either. I opted to not be shaved, although my hair was already kind of short. But even the existing hairs in the recipient area didn't experience much shock loss. I think your in good hands with Dr. Haber. Good luck with your procedure!!!

 

@bonkerstonker.......It was so weird that I had minimal growth at 4 months then blamo...at 6 months I had hair. I was blown away by how fast it grew and/or thickened up. The new hairs are still getting thicker and the coverage is getting better all the time. This is awesome!

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  • Regular Member

If you guys read the story, he was not on propecia until 3 months prior to surgery. So this result is due to a combination of the surgery and propecia. It is impossible to know for sure how much was due to the surgery alone. Also the growth was complete by 6 months not 1 year. It occurred between the 4 month and 6 month marks. This would have been 7-9 months on propecia which fits within the expected range. Amazing results though.

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Johnson I don't know how knowledgeable you are with propecia but the fact is propecia barely ever regrows hair like Merck claims it does it mainly maintains what you have so on that basis I'd say this result is all Ht and existing pre op hair and highly unlikely regrowth of propecia hair at all.

Bonkerstonker! :D

 

http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=1977

 

Update I'm now on 12200 Grafts, hair loss has been a thing of my past for years. Also I don't use minoxidil anymore I lost no hair coming off it. Reduced propecia to 1mg every other day.

 

My surgeons were

Dr Hasson x 4,

Dr Wong x 2

Norton x1

I started losing my hair at 19 in 1999

I started using propecia and minoxidil in 2000

Had 7 hair transplants over 12200 grafts by way of strip but

700 were Fue From Norton in uk

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  • 6 months later...

It's been about a month since my surgery with Dr Haber. The surgery itself was rather long (I had 2700 grafts or so) but not unpleasant or painfull. I went back to work after 5 days and didn't think it was noticable. I had somewhat long hair at the time though and had been combing it over the recipient area for quite awhile. I really liked Dr Haber and his staff. Every effort was made to keep me as comfortable as possible, and I was very comfortable.

 

I must say, I know it's only been a month, but I'm really nervous. I'm starting to get some shock loss and it's a little scary. I really like the hairline that was built for me, but again, I'm still nervous. I'll update in early summer or so.

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  • Senior Member

Hey Dude congrats on a really great procedure. That is some impressive coverage for the amount of grafts. Considering it looks like you blow dry your hair so it basically stands straight up, the pic from the top is extremely impressive as you can't see any scalp through your hair at all.

 

Excellent result, way to go!

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Thanks Chrisdav and Staggerlee123!! I think the FIN is working on the top part as it seems much thicker then in the past. Been on it for almost 2 years.

 

@ BarnabyJones1.....Hang in there. I too had some minor shock loss. Mostly around the donor area. However, about a month or so post-op, I did have a small patch of hair fall out just above my ear in the temple area. Just on one side and it was about the size of a quarter. As strange as it was, (because it wasn't in the donor or recipient area) I just dismissed it as shock loss. It all grew back in a few months. But it did make me a bit nervous. All I can say is be very very patient. It should be okay in a few months.

 

Here are some updated photos at 21 months. (Taken with my iPhone today so sorry about the quality)

I have colored my hair a bit (mostly to hide the grey's) I am still very happy with my decision.

 

 

a%3E

MHT21_2.jpg.7494e46bfb37ba587544e4d215414099.jpg

HT21_2.jpg.531fb37da6d2f48a6a6f21dc640c72a7.jpg

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