2,508 FUs + Acell with Dr. Cooley 7/27/2011

[Blake Bloxham]

DJ,

 

Thank you for sharing your story with the community! Dr. Cooley is an excellent surgeon, and it looks like your procedure is another example of his fantastic work. I'm glad to hear the surgery went well, and it looks like everything is healing nicely. I hope you'll keep us updated. Good luck!

[GreaseDJ]

Thanks, Blake!

[Reece]

I've noticed from the results of Dr. Cooley's work that he is VERY conservative when it comes to hairlines. It is as if he will not even touch the temporal area. I am not saying this is a bad thing since his results are very consistent. The donor scars are non existent, and the yield and density seem to be excellent the first go round as well. Sorry Grease DJ I assure you I am not trying to steal your thread but Dr. Cooley seems to be the top surgeon that I am considering and I think this is a good forum seek opinions.

 

1. Has Dr. Cooley lowered temporal recession and if so are there results?

 

2. I know he only performs FUT procedures. Is he strictly FUT because of his comfort level with FUT or is it the uncertainty of results with FUE?

 

3. Million dollar question. Are there documented results that ACELL actually benefits the donor area/yield. I read a lot of "it seems to have...." but no control vs. test.

 

Again Grease DJ, it looks like your going to have a good result. I am interested in your updates, keep us posted.

[GreaseDJ]

I've noticed from the results of Dr. Cooley's work that he is VERY conservative when it comes to hairlines. It is as if he will not even touch the temporal area.

 

 

After having been through the process with Dr. Cooley, I would have to disagree that he is VERY conservative. I would consider him more realistic and having the patient's best interest in mind.

 

I think these are some great examples of age appropriate hairlines from this site that Cooley did:

 

One of my favorite hairlines on this site: Hair Restoration Journal -12 MONTHS

 

Temple work: Hair Restoration Journal -Day of procedure

 

Hair Restoration Site for latinlotus

 

We talked quite a bit about placement of hairline and he was pretty flexible but was very willing to share his professional recommendation and that was the simple fact that no one can predict the future and he wants his results to look good for the long run. As he said to me "I don't want to make someone look great for the next five years and then look absolutely silly the rest of their lives- hair loss is progressive and even though we stack the deck with medication and evaluating family history, no one can predict the future 100%" As for my hairline, my temples are actually more 'filled' then they were when I was 14. I have always had a rounded shaped hairline and I personally love it.

 

I guess I would compare it to a plastic surgeon who does breast augmentation (go with me here - it is the best way I can describe how I feel about it) Any plastic surgeon CAN do crazy unnatural sized breasts that just look audacious, yet many women want, but many of those considered the best would only feel comfortable performing augmentations that are in proportion and natural looking. I think that is the kind of artist Cooley is. He wants his work to look natural and not like a transplant.

 

There are a few Dr.'s that will give a 25 yr old NW2 guy a juvenile hairline halfway down his forehead and deplete his donor supply, but I believe that is unethical as those guys run a big risk of looking ridiculous 10 yrs down the road.

 

1. Has Dr. Cooley lowered temporal recession and if so are there results?

 

 

That is a tough question- I personally wanted to be very conservative there because filling in temples can be a dangerous proposition. What happens when/if the hairline progresses further? Having a strange island of juvenile temples with thinning or even worse- balding- behind would be a nightmare. I am on fin and minox, but still that is something to think about. I would rather stay on the safe side with a great looking, age appropriate hairline just because I have already receded so I KNOW I am genetically predisposed.

 

That being said, if I were comfortable doing temple work, yes, Cooley has done it, in my opinion, quite well-

I think this is a great example of temporal work from his website:

 

Before & After Hair Transplant Photos | HairCenter.com | Ultra Refined Hair Transplant Surgery | Dr. Jerry Cooley

 

 

 

2. I know he only performs FUT procedures. Is he strictly FUT because of his comfort level with FUT or is it the uncertainty of results with FUE?

 

 

You would have to ask him directly, but I believe he is FUT because it is the most reliable result possible today. For all of it's drawbacks, strip consistently, at least at this point, produces better yield and it is possible to do many more grafts in a session. With the healing I am experiencing on the strip scar so far, I can't even imagine going through 4 FUE sessions to get the same amount of grafts I got in one session of strip. Not to mention I can't bear to think of making a choice that would risk my limited donor supply (the less yield of FUE to me is just wasting grafts.) That is just my personal opinion. I do believe Dr. Cooley has done FUE in certain cases or repair or other instances, but it is not his standard method.

 

 

3. Million dollar question. Are there documented results that ACELL actually benefits the donor area/yield. I read a lot of "it seems to have...." but no control vs. test.

 

 

There is actually quite a lot of documentation - check out his 4 part presentation at the IAHRS Conference last year. The audience for this presentation is definitely for other surgeons but if you would like to see the control vs. test, it is all there. I believe part 2 has most of the slides that you are looking for. I hope that helps.

 

I think when it comes down to it, picking a surgeon is a very personal choice. For me, Dr. Cooley's philosophy matched mine. Would I have loved to have an Armani hairline 100 grafts per sq cm halfway down my forehead like a GQ model? Of course, but in my case that wouldn't have been a smart thing to do in the long run, so I appreciate that I wasn't led in that direction.

[RCWest]

You must have super powers, because you are healing amazingly fast! I can tell from the day 11 pics that you are going to have a really great head of hair.

[GreaseDJ]

You must have super powers, because you are healing amazingly fast! I can tell from the day 11 pics that you are going to have a really great head of hair.

 

Thank you RCWest! I needed that boost today. Even though the rational part of me knew those hairs were only temporary and would shed before the "real" crop comes in, it is still sad seeing them start to leave. I would say over half have fallen out.

 

As for healing- I don't think it is super powers but the Acell. I know the jury is out on all the hair cloning/multiplication studies etc, but as a wound healing agent, it seems from all the reading I did coupled with my own experience, it DOES turn healing into a lightning quick process. (I am not usually a quick healer) I guess the Acell, plus a clean procedure, plus a little luck.... now for the growing.... I was not born with patience :-)

[GreaseDJ]

Two weeks today! I had the stitches taken out yesterday at my general practitioner's office. The nurse said that was the most stitches she had ever taken out in one person- said she stopped counting at 137 :-)

 

Looks like it is pretty red now- probably just irritated from having so many sutures taken out.

 

 

As for recipient, I miss all those hairs, but they aren't gone forever. They are just on vacation and will be back soon enough :-)

 

[getitback88]

Hi GreaseDJ,

 

I am new to this site and still getting to grips with it so sorry if I ask some dumb questions. I was just wondering how much this cost? I am still researching Acell and it looks good but Im guessing there is a high added cost right?

[GreaseDJ]

Hi GreaseDJ,

 

I am new to this site and still getting to grips with it so sorry if I ask some dumb questions. I was just wondering how much this cost? I am still researching Acell and it looks good but Im guessing there is a high added cost right?

 

Welcome to the community getitback88! No worrys about dumb questions- you are in the right place and by participating on this forum and asking questions you are making yourself an informed consumer and will be much more likely to have a great result.

 

As for Acell- '

 

Acell is currently FDA approved for wound healing and is now just being experimented with in the Hair Transplant world. Dr. Cooley is researching and chooses to use Acell on the donor site as well and adding Acell to the holding solution for the grafts. Right now he only charges for the cost of the product, no extra charge from him for using it. The cost of using Acell was $500 for me which, with Dr. Cooley's reasonable prices per graft, worked out fine and was very competitive with other top notch docs.

[getitback88]

Okay thanks for the reply and the welcome. I'm going to research this further as it seems like it can't hurt to pay extra for it... I am trying to research body hair transplants because I thought maybe I could utilise my hairy legs because the donor area on my head is not very thick anyway but I am struggling to find any success stories on it.

 

I think maybe they haven't gone very well because normally body hair is much thinner but my leg hair is definitely as thick- if not thicker than the individual hairs on my head. I saw a little article on how Acell gave better yield for BHT as well which means I am now trying to find out as much as possible about them both.

[GreaseDJ]

Okay thanks for the reply and the welcome. I'm going to research this further as it seems like it can't hurt to pay extra for it... I am trying to research body hair transplants because I thought maybe I could utilise my hairy legs because the donor area on my head is not very thick anyway but I am struggling to find any success stories on it.

 

I think maybe they haven't gone very well because normally body hair is much thinner but my leg hair is definitely as thick- if not thicker than the individual hairs on my head. I saw a little article on how Acell gave better yield for BHT as well which means I am now trying to find out as much as possible about them both.

 

Best of luck in your journey! IMHO, I wouldn't use body hair until it was an absolute last resort. It seems to work ok when there is no more acceptable donor supply left in the 'safe' area but, in my opinion, only looks natural with really short haircuts and as a "fill in" not as the predominate hair in an area. (I have very thick hairs on my legs too and think it would be very unmanageable on the top of my head)

 

Good luck!

[GreaseDJ]

Four months and all is well... even started experimenting with a little Toppik to beef it up in the interim...

 

No Toppik:

 

With a little spritz of Toppik:

 

Let me know whaccha think

[Cant decide]

Coming in nice. Right on track.

[aaron1234]

You're off to a good start! It's always encouraging to see new growth at the 4 month mark.

 

I'd recommend going a tad lighter with the toppik. It looks pretty thick in the front but toppik is dangerous around the hairline. Less is more with concealers.

 

Keep on growing!

[Guest mariewoltz25411697]

Thanks for updating your results. They look good so far. How is your scar? Do you think ACell helped in minimizing the scar? If you touch the scar area can you feel it? Usually the scar tissue protrudes outward. In my understanding ACell is supposed to eliminate the scar tissue and produce a flat skin. Is that true from your results? In addition, is the scar same as your scalp skin color or is it a bit red?

[hairthere]

I have to agree you're going a bit heavy with the topik. It doesn't look natural. I would try a bit of Dermatch instead.

[HARIRI]

Looks good. I have been always wondering if ACELL does really work or not. Some said it tend to make the tissue softer so it would cause a stretching in the scar but in your case it really worked well and your scar looks great really. Shapiro and Feriduni use it too in their practice. However about concealer try using Nanogen instead. I have using Toppik before and it really looked fake and ugly but once I switched to Nanogen nobody ever noticed. Happy growing buddy.

[aaron1234]

I agree with HARIRI that Nanogen is far better than Toppik. It's a similar type of concealer with the fibers and all, but the texture is different. I find it less chalky. Also, dermmatch is a great foundational concealer that works great with Nanogen/Toppik. I typically use dermmatch on the crown with a couple shakes of nanogen.

[GreaseDJ]

Thanks for updating your results. They look good so far. How is your scar? Do you think ACell helped in minimizing the scar? If you touch the scar area can you feel it? Usually the scar tissue protrudes outward. In my understanding ACell is supposed to eliminate the scar tissue and produce a flat skin. Is that true from your results? In addition, is the scar same as your scalp skin color or is it a bit red?

 

Actually I cannot find the scar. Feels just like the surrounding area. Very flat. I have a very very thick donor area and I think that plus the trico closure plus the acell makes it impossible to see. Only exception- I have one little area on the right hand size that feels like a bump the size of a pebble. That is my only point of reference for where the scar even is. No redness, but to be honest, with the exception of the day the stitches came out, it was never red.

[Levrais]

That looks like good progress for 4 months

[GreaseDJ]

I have been bad about posting pics the last few months. :-(

 

Hard to believe it has been nearly 11 months since the procedure for me. I couldnt be happier.

 

Just a reminder of where I started last July:

 

 

 

And today:

 

 

 

[BadBeat]

Your hair looks great! I don't blame you for being lazy about posting pictures. You're probably out ENJOYING life and your new hair! Congrats!

[TakingThePlunge]

Holy smokes! Great hairline! You must extremely happy. Enjoy!

[Spanker]

That is awesome!

 

 

Not sure if it is the hair, but you look like you lost quite a bit of weight too.

[orlhair1]

Looks fantastic!!