My HT- Dr. Rahal- 4,600 FUT write up with pics!!!

[Capelli11]

Hey Everyone!

 

 

My apologies for not doing my write up earlier...surprisingly the main reason is that I obtained a rough cold and wasn't feeling good...mixed with also looking like an alien with my swelling! lol. Soooo...here is my write up...I will post a separate write up on FOXBAR shortly after this one. I am going to give as much detail as possible as I always enjoyed reading detailed write ups as they help future HT patients like it did for me.

 

 

 

For more info on me and my journey up till now...see my original post when I made my decision at

http://http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/162964-ive-made-my-decision.html

 

 

The week leading up to my HT I was very anxious not at the fact that I was worried that Dr. Rahal wouldn't give me great results but that I was worried how my hairline design would come out. So to ease this anxiety, I drew a hairline on myself utilizing what Dr. Rahal and I came up with during my consult in the privacy of my home and really took a lot of pictures and analyzed it like crazy in my mirrors. The reason why I did this was because when you are in the doctors office and he draws the hairline you can get very overwelmed in that you have to make a decision within a few seconds. So to avoid having this anxiety, I drew it on myself as the hairline I would love to have and then I took pictures and showed the doctor so that when he drew the final design he would completely know where I stood and wanted for my hairline.

 

 

DAY BEFORE HT:

 

 

I decided to drive to Ottawa (didn't want to have to put up with airports)...which was about a 9 hr drive...thankfully there was no snow!!! I had my pre HT consult at 3:30 and brought my pictures with me. The dr and I went through them and he said that my hairline was feasible. I kept stressing how I wanted a nice straight hairline with no widows peak and I also wanted my temple points done as this is a crucial part of hairline restoration. He thankfully agreed with my drawing and he said we would draw the hairline the day of my surgery. I left feeling very confident and at ease in that he saw my pictures and knew exactly what I wanted so there wouldn't be any surprises the day of...I truly recommend everyone do this before their HT...draw one on yourself and provide the pics to your doctor.

 

 

I also signed all the paperwork and consent forms...boy...as all consent forms are...that was interesting to say the least...u sign your life away on those things! But we all know the potential risks associated and we all accept that and I know Dr. Rahal is great and gladly signed everything.

 

 

 

DAY OF HT:

 

 

I didn't really sleep that good the night of bc I was so anxious to just get it over with. You are supposed to shower and wash your hair thoroughly. Also enjoy your last shower for a while as well as a great nights sleep which I def tried to!!! I arrived at 9:30 am and filled out some more paper work in that I had to pick my lunch that I wanted. I then met with the doctor to draw my hairline. He drew it on and we tweaked it from there...it definitely helped having him see my photos the day before and for me as well because I knew how it should look...I was a pain and asked to see a mirror and went into the bathroom to see it in private and from all angles...once I was ok with this I agree to it. In the process of it, I told him that I really wanted this to be as much of a one and done kind of HT for at least a few years in that I didn't mind if he went further back as I did have further recession that I wanted to take care of while I was here now instead of in a few years. Plus by increasing my temple points this added to increased graft count. So once we started measuring my head and area it came out that I would be covering a 90 cm area...so factor that with on avg. 50 FU/sq cm and that is where you get around 4,500 grafts...we agreed on around 4,200 at that point. I originally was scheduled for 3,000 grafts and didn't really expect it to come up that much but I was ok with it because I just wanted as much coverage as possible in this session instead of having to worry about further procedures in like a year or two...granted I am well educated in that I may need further work but I just didn't want to have to come back in a year...i'm sure u all can understand this. I also informed him I wanted a nicely dense packed hairline and he kept telling me I would definitely be happy with what he was going to give me. To confirm this we looked at other patients with similar hairlines and his results were literally jaw dropping...the density is unbelievable...so that made me happy and I was now ready for my life changing procedure!!! Dr. Rahal was so patient during this process as I can definitely be very anal with this...he was great and never rushed me making sure I was happy with the design and I was!

 

 

PROCEDURE:

 

 

WHAT TO WEAR:

I recommend wearing comfortable clothes...I wore jeans but recommend like sweat pants for my comfortability. Also wear a button down shirt but you won't be wearing this during the HT...they give you a hospital type gown to put on during the surgery...but u will need your shirt afterwards to wear when you leave.

 

PRE OP PICS:

Mike (who is the head nurse) is wonderful...he is very nice and down to earth and joked around with me which helped put me at ease. I must say I wasn't nervous at all and was so excited the whole time to be getting back my hair! He took pre-op pics of me then we went into the operating room to prepare for the strip extraction.

 

 

 

STRIP EXTRACTION:

I always thought you were seated face down but I was seated in a barber like chair upright. Mike then shaved my front and I asked to see myself with a shaved head...It looked weird as I never had my head shaved before! So he shaved my top and the back and taped my remaining hair up...it was quite an extensive tape job! Mike then gave me some pills and a sedative in my arm and that made me feel a little relaxed. The Dr. then came in and gave me the numbing shots...these weren't really that bad...like a normal needle feeling...nothing that crazy at all. The whole strip removal was very quick...I would say like 25-30 min and it was painless. I didn't really hear anything as some people state it sounds funny but I didn't really hear anything just felt some pulling as he was suturing but def no pain at all.

 

 

 

INCISIONS:

Once this was done he started the incisions. He positioned me so I was practically laying on my back as he reclined the chair all the way down. He numbed me up and this didn't feel too great but def not that painful. After this he started making incisions...this is where the genius happens...he was maticulous and is def a perfectionist which I really enjoyed about his work. This lasted about a good hour give or take. It sounded like a crunching noise as he poked my head over 4,000 times! I kept talking to him asking to hook me up and make it dense! lol. He kept looking at the front and making tweaks to it and that is how he is a perfectionist...he kept tweaking it to make it look just perfect and especially even!

 

 

AFTER INCISIONS:

Afterwards, there was a little time in between as they were slicing up the strip...so Patrick (a nurse) asked me to pick about 2 movies and I did...there was quite a good selection of movies and the TV was right in front of you and pretty big! I chose Mr. and Mrs. Smith so I could stare at Brad Pitt's great hairline hoping mine looked half way good as his! lol. The nurses and staff were soooo great asking me if I needed a break all the time and they were so diligent too.

 

 

IMPLANTING:

I was feeling good at this point...just felt my back of my head was a little tight and my face was tight too almost like what a face lift would feel like! The whole time I just kept invisioning my new hairline!!! You need to totally trust your dr. because I couldn't see what my incisions looked like at this point and knew Dr. Rahal would hook it up! So the movie started and so did the implanting..I was now sitting in an upright position as they did this. There were a lot of staff...I would say around 10 people in total...they all were working like a very well oiled machine as each member knew exactly what was their role and communication was great between them...i guess they did this a few times before! lol. This was the worst part if I had to choose one...worst in that it took a LONG time for this to be completed and there were a lot of staff working on me. It took at least like 5 hours because I burned through over 2 movies and then more time afterwards! I surprisingly didn't get anxiety for sitting still for so long as all I was thinking about was I am sooo close to getting my hair back and I was so excited the whole time I think I had a smile on my face the whole time! The Dr. kept coming in asking how I was doing every so often and he also was doing some quality control in watching the staff and often directed them. He then came in and said that they were able to get 4,600!!! I was like OMG...so he had to make additional incisions...I was worried that he wouldn't hit the mark and would have to cut me open again but thankfully it was the opposite...guess it was all those scalp exercises I did! lol. I also had a good density in my donor too which is great also! Often throughout the procedure he had to keep freezing my head as the numbness wore off...this happened a few times but didn't really hurt bad.

 

 

 

POST HT:

When the implanting was over...it was now around 7:30 pm ish...and I was shot...just such a long day. They bandaged me up quite extensively, I changed and Mike went over with me my meds that I had to take and also gave me a care package of everything I would need to clean my head so you don't have to buy anything as they provide this for you which is great! The Dr. was so nice in that he drove me back to Foxbar...it was like 8 pm at this point. I got home and felt pretty good actually...I didn't feel any pain really just a lot of tightness in my back. I had such a huge smile on my face in that it was finally alllll over...and my road to new hair has started!!!

 

 

 

NIGHT OF HT:

I started feeling some discomfort and pain in the recipient area so I took a Tylenol 3 and that didn't really do the job so I took a Percocet and that seemed to help dull the pain. They said to sleep in a recliner for the first 5 days so I didn't have a recliner in my room so slept in the recliner in the living room at Foxbar. It is really comfortable but my sleep was rough...didn't really sleep well at all...was up all night...the airline pillow wasn't really working for me...so I just put a towel and rolled it up and that seemed to do the job and have been doing that ever since.

 

 

 

DAY 1 of HT:

 

 

I woke up and felt ok...took my antibiotic and kept with the percocet pills for the pain...the hardest part was me getting a cold...so fighting that was the toughest part not the HT recovery ironically!!! I kept sneezing which didn't feel that great as you could imagine! All I felt was the tightness in the back of my head. I was told to stay off my feet and relax in the recliner all day so that is what I tried to do. I had my cleaning at 4 pm so I walked there and the cleaning was great...Mike does it and sits you in a barber like chair and cleans it for u and cleans your scar too. The Dr. then comes in and I had my first unveiling...I was sooooo nervous to see it for the first time scared that the hairline wouldn't be what I wanted...but I looked and was like OH MAN!!!! It looked amazing!!!! The temple points are so perfect and the hairline is so straight and nice and low (low meaning at a very reasonable level as we didn't technically lower it but kept it even with my frontal hair and just made it straight across from there). I was sooo happy when I saw that and it just justified my great job in selecting Dr. Rahal as he is a perfectionist and it totally showed. He came in and said it looked very clean and everything looks great including the scar! I was very relieved!!!

 

 

 

I went back to Foxbar and was informed to spray saline solution every 3-4 hours which is easy to do. I looked in the mirror and suddenly noticed how swollen my face got....like alien swollen...my cheeks swelled up so much and my head looked like a light bulb shape! lol.

 

 

 

DAY 2 of HT:

 

 

I feel good today...no real pain anymore just normal discomfort. I am going to get my cleaning in a little while.

 

 

So that is my story...I want to thank each and everyone of you reading this and also those who contributed in helping me make my decision and educating me throughout my years of research and being on this wonderful site. This site allowed me to find Dr. Rahal and educated me on doing research research and more research before booking your HT. Thankfully i listened to everyone and made the right choice!!! To pay everyone back, please feel free to PM me or ask me any questions regarding HT and especially regarding Dr. Rahal as I picked all of your brains! Thanks again guys....I am a happy camper!!!!

 

 

Attached are my post op pics...I am very happy with the hairline and I finally got my temples back too!!! Let me know your feedback! Also...what do I do with my existing hair? Should I have them just shave it down now? How do u start getting it even again?!

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Great write up Cap! I'll have one to follow in a little over a month! Can't wait to hear from you! Your pictures look great!

[hairthere]

Congrats Cap! That is gonna look awesome when it grows in. I buzz my hair down always post HT. I usually do it about one week post.

[Capelli11]

Thanks Hairthere...question regarding shaving down...do u do it or do u go to a barber? I was thinking I would have Rahal shave it as they offered before I go. Also do u shave it down to like a 1 or do u tapper it to like say a 3 guard? Also how long before it covers the scar again? a few months??? I am concerned it will take a while to blend over the scar...thanks!!!

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Cap

I asked my wife the same question about shaving after you brought it up, her advice, FWIW, was to not shave and just wear a hat. Of course that's if you can. I have a lot of time off work so shaving or not shaving is not really gonna affect me. I don't know what I'm gonna do. Can't wait to see what you do, maybe I'll base my decision on what you do. Ha.

[Capelli11]

Hey...just came from the Dr's office...I decided to trim the back hair...so Mike (Dr. Rahal's awesome Head guy) shaved a 3 clip on top with a 4 clip down at the scar to keep it covered bc I said I didn't want it totally revealed..so for now it looks a lot better at least...still looks weird but there is no getting around that...they said it will make cleaning it a lot easier and I can def see why. If I were to do it all over again, I would have had it just shave me down to a 3 to start off and make it easier for them too. I suggest doing that bc either way you still won't be able to totally comb it over and have to eventually trim it to catch up the hair in the front so u r better off doing it now and letting it all kind of grow together.

[hairthere]

Cap, I bought a Wahl trimmer and just buzzed it down myself. I buzzed it equal length at about a 1 and just let it grow. It took about a month to conceal the scar.

[Sean]

Capelli, this is going to look friggen awesome when it is grown out. The work as usual looks very refined and you got some great coverage with those 4600 grafts. You got your temples done, the front and the midscalp covered. I think you are good to go. You probably don't have to worry about hair loss ever again. Now you just gotta wait and just sit by the pool with some shades on in the months ahead. Good stuff. Looks great, I know you are excited . Must be a major relief that you made the biggest step of getting the transplant and now you just gotta wait a little bit for the reward. No more hair issues , etc.,

 

Congrats.

[aaron1234]

Looks like classic Rahal to me. You'll be a happy guy in a few months. Hang tight the next 2 or 3 - they'll suck, but it's worth it in the end.

[Capelli11]

Thanks for all your comments guys...much appreciated. I'm so glad this is over and now I can focus on recovery and finally seeing my hair grow instead of fall out! lol. I shaved it down to a 3 ish today at the office but when I come back to get my stitches out in a week I am going to have them shave it down further so that everything can grow evenly I guess. Let the fun begin! lol

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

How many nights did you decide to stay? Do you actually feel like getting out and doing anything?

[Capelli11]

I had my HT on Tuesday and am going home tomorrow (Saturday)...that was the perfect amount of time because they cleaned it every day for me and monitored my progress and made sure everything looked ok...also my swelling has definitely went down considerably so I am ok to go home. I am going to drive back for my suture removal around the 20th. I think that is the best amount of time...I am itching to go home because u do get a little bit of cabin fever because u literally don't leave the house bc of obvious reasons...u should lay down the first few days anyhow so u r confined to the recliner!

[SugarHighs]

Dude that looks great. It's so clean and the incisions look really small and carefully carefully done. I think you are going to be really happy!

 

I guess I have to look forward to the surgery hat though, it looks like a lampshade, lol! 4 weeks to Ottawa!!

[Capelli11]

Yeah...we all joke around saying we all look like Smurf's at foxbar...we all walk over to the clinic each day to get a cleaning and everyone looks at us like we are nuts lol. They aren't bad...they keep it clean and it holds the vitamin E and any blood that may come out of the wound.

[SugarHighs]

Yeah...we all joke around saying we all look like Smurf's at foxbar...

 

lol!!

 

Man I want to fast forward the time!

[orlhair1]

Looks great.....should be an awesome result.....heal well. Look forward to following your updates!

[HairFusion]

Cap,

Welcome to the Rahal club !

Works looks excellent as usual. 4600 in such a small area is definitely a recipe for a WOW result. Dr Rahal does take dense packing to a new level. You are going to be one happy man in a few months.

[Jacob1989]

Great result! looks nice and clean and your post made me "LOL" a lot, especially the bit about brad pitt ha.

 

I am going for a HT with Rahal in Feb 2012 and pretty nervous but reading post's like this make me very excited. I've been told 3000FUT but i can see myself maybe wanting/needing more to get the nice dense result, there for im hoping to save some extra cash incase!..

 

Im flying back 2 days from the procedure, nice flight back to London so im hoping im not to swelled up!

 

Happy healing

[Capelli11]

Thanks everyone...much appreciated! Jacob...do u have pics? I had temple work done so my face swelled up also on the sides of my head pretty badly...I would say the night of I didn't have real swelling...the next day however it was pretty bad...my face was so wide and big...I looked like an alien or my face looked like the shape of a light bulb...it was crazy seeing yourself in the mirror like that...but there was no real pain associated with it though...it started going down on day 2 and by like day 3 I was getting better...I am now Day 5 and swelling has pretty much gone down outside a little left in my forehead but pretty much back to normal thankfully...so figure swelling occurs anywhere from day 1 through day 5 or 6 ish...so if u leave around day 2 you could be starting to swell...but remember everyone heals/swells differently...I wouldn't worry about it it only adds to the anxiety...focus on the results and not what the short term look will be!

[Jacob1989]

I shall get some posted on my profile soon! I think my temple's look fine at the moment but think i may need a few grafts there. Flights all booked now so i guess if i swell then i swell. Was really good reading your post knowing that im going soon! I hope your healing all okay, have you cut your hair quite short? im thinking on doing so when im there as ill most likely keep a cap on for the first few months anyway! Hope the healing is going well and your feeling good.

[Sean]

Capelli, how you feelin now buddy? Hope everything's goin good.

[Capelli11]

Hey Sean,

 

Feeling ok...I am on Day 6...just have some tightness in donor as expected...can't wait to get these sutures removed! I am going back up on Dec 19th to have them removed. The whole experience was really surreal to say the least...LUV my new hairline and temples...just upset that they will be leaving me soon! lol. I hope they come back dense...Dr. Rahal said that he packed the hairline as I kept requesting...he said like 65 FU/Sq cm in the hairline which is great!

 

How is ur hair doin?!

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Hey Sean,

 

Feeling ok...I am on Day 6...just have some tightness in donor as expected...can't wait to get these sutures removed! I am going back up on Dec 19th to have them removed. The whole experience was really surreal to say the least...LUV my new hairline and temples...just upset that they will be leaving me soon! lol. I hope they come back dense...Dr. Rahal said that he packed the hairline as I kept requesting...he said like 65 FU/Sq cm in the hairline which is great!

 

How is ur hair doin?!

 

Hang in there Cap!! Thanks for the phone call!

[Sean]

Hey Sean,

 

Feeling ok...I am on Day 6...just have some tightness in donor as expected...can't wait to get these sutures removed! I am going back up on Dec 19th to have them removed. The whole experience was really surreal to say the least...LUV my new hairline and temples...just upset that they will be leaving me soon! lol. I hope they come back dense...Dr. Rahal said that he packed the hairline as I kept requesting...he said like 65 FU/Sq cm in the hairline which is great!

 

How is ur hair doin?!

 

 

Glad things are goin good. Just follow that post op care to the core and your good to go. Once the sutures are gone, hopefully things will feel better. I can see why you love the new hairline and temples cuz it certainly kicks ass. Its gonna be dense. That's awesome density. Things are looking great. I am glued to your updates now.

 

Mine is going good bro, I'll update by the end of the month and try to do it before the end now. Grafts are sprouting up all over the place. LOL. I am excited!!!

[mattj]

I can see why you needed the higher graft numbers now. A pretty large area was covered.

 

You probably clocked up hours looking at the dense hairline results during your research. Your transplanted density should put you up there with those guys. Like Sean, I'll be glued to your updates!