My 6 months results with Dr Rahal

[Hairgoesnothing]

I am now sitting at the 6 month mark and I just wanted to share my results. My transplant date was July 11th, 2011. Dr Rahal and his team transplanted 5604 grafts in all. As I mentioned in my previous posts, I was and am quite pleased with the whole experience. I shaved my head down to a #4 (13 mm) last week. The pictures I am posting were taking today ( I am also including my pre-op pics so to give you an idea of my starting point). I am very pleased with the way things are progressing. The donor scar is a non issue and (in real life) nobody can tell anything was ever done. The results really do look natural almost like the hairs were always there. I am planning a second procedure with Dr Rahal to address the crown area. Hopefully this will take place this upcoming summer. I will post again in a month or so. Cheers for now!

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Looking good!!

[orlhair1]

Looking good and at six months still more to come. Big difference!!

[Dutch]

Impressive difference already & it's only 6 months. Great to see Dr Rahal doing big sessions

[HARIRI]

My magician buddy. It looks good. I almost have the same results of yours and going to post my 6 months post OP pics by Jan 25. You can view my thread too, regards from Andrew too.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/164456-2500-fut-dr-rahal-hairline-repair.html

Edited January 16, 2012 by HARIRI

[Hairgoesnothing]

HARIRI,

Glad to hear things are going well with your results. Looking foward to seing your 6 month post also. You ever figure out how I did those magic tricks for you the night before your transplant at the Foxbar? Cheers for now.

 

Dutch,

Thanks for your reply. At the time of my procedure, 5604 grafts was the second largest procedure Dr. Rahal had performed in one sitting. You would never know it, however, the way the whole team performed that day! Now I can't wait till my second procedure.

 

Orlhair,

Thanks for your reply. I am really looking foward to the things to come. The best has yet to arrive!

 

NEWHAIRPLEASE,

Thank you also for reply. I know you've been folowing my progress since day one. I will certainly keep you informed on how things progress. Cheers.

[gasto]

I thought Norwood/Hamilton 5 were hopeless even with hair transplant, but now I realize I was wrong!

[Hairgoesnothing]

I thought Norwood/Hamilton 5 were hopeless even with hair transplant, but now I realize I was wrong!

 

You’re to kind gasto. I was/am actually a Norwood 6. But thank you for the encouragement. I was lucky to have very good characteristics for this procedure. In my case, I had very good density in the donor area and good laxity too. On the down side, my hair is very fine. This means that more grafts have to be transplanted per square centimeter to achieve the look of density. But I am never the less very happy on how things are progressing. I also follow the traditional medical treatment for hair loss. This has made a big difference on how well things are progressing also. My crown area is actually growing hair without having received grafts. No density or anything like that but some growth that helps to take the “shine look” away.

All the best!

[TakingThePlunge]

Hairgoesnothing,

 

Congratulations! It's clear at only 6 months that your transformation is going to be a wild success! Can't wait to see the final product!

 

Enjoy!

[Hairgoesnothing]

Hairgoesnothing,

 

Congratulations! It's clear at only 6 months that your transformation is going to be a wild success! Can't wait to see the final product!

 

Enjoy!

 

Thank you David,

I am actually really happy with the way things look right now. But the best part is that it's only going to get even better!

[Capelli11]

Congrats!!! Looking good thus far and you still have a lot more growth left...good stuff! Keep us posted!!!

[Hairgoesnothing]

Congrats!!! Looking good thus far and you still have a lot more growth left...good stuff! Keep us posted!!!

Thank you Capelli11,

I will certainly keep you posted on my progress.

Regards

[gasto]

How was it during the operation? Painful, any anxiety?

I am assuming it was FUT, I've heard FUE is much less painfull.

Edited January 19, 2012 by gasto

[Hairgoesnothing]

How was it during the operation? Painful, any anxiety?

I am assuming it was FUT, I've heard FUE is much less painfull.

 

Hello gasto,

The operation itself was a breeze. I had FUT. No anxiety whatsoever (probably because I knew I was in good hands). There is no pain at all during the procedure (with the exception of the little needle pricks during the administering of the anesthetic). There is some slight discomfort in the donor area at night when the anesthetic wears off but this is controlled fairly well with pain medication given to you after your procedure. This discomfort is practically all gone twelve hours after the procedure. I’ve never had FUE so I can not comment on this procedure. But I do know that the healing time in the donor area is much quicker.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

Regards

Hairgoesnothing

Ps: I invite you to visit my website here on the HTN (don't know how to include it here in my posts yet). I wrote a pretty detailed description of my surgical experience.

Cheers

[gasto]

That is very nice of you. Thanks for sharing your experience. By the way, how is it going with Dutasteride, I've read that it is much more powerful than finasteride.

Are you ingesting it so that new hair grows out of the newly implanted grafts, or is it to maintain the remaining DHT receptive follicules?

It seems from your pre-operational pictures that the remaining DHT receptive hairs are scant. That's why I ask...

[SharkBait]

Amazing results and very encouraging for someone starting to do their research. Congrats!

[Hairgoesnothing]

That is very nice of you. Thanks for sharing your experience. By the way, how is it going with Dutasteride, I've read that it is much more powerful than finasteride.

Are you ingesting it so that new hair grows out of the newly implanted grafts, or is it to maintain the remaining DHT receptive follicules?

It seems from your pre-operational pictures that the remaining DHT receptive hairs are scant. That's why I ask...

 

I take Dutasteride primarily because that was the DHT inhibitor that was first offered to me by a hair Doc (not Dr Rahal at this point). I’ve been taking it for a few years now and I have not experienced any ill side effects. But that is me. You would have to talk to your doctor about the pros and cons of both Dutasteride vs Finasteride. But from what I’ve read, they both accomplish what they are supposed too. As for why I take it? It is to help maintain the hairs that I have left on my head. The new grafts that are planted in the balding area are not susceptible to the affects of DHT so they will grow regardless of whether or not you are taking a DHT inhibitor. But, if you still have hairs around these new grafts, these have the potential of falling out. So it’s a good idea to consider taking some form of DHT inhibitor in you decide to have a hair transplant. Once again, this should be a topic of discussion between you and your Doctor.

I hope this helps

Regards

Hairgoesnothing

[Hairgoesnothing]

Amazing results and very encouraging for someone starting to do their research. Congrats!

Thank you SharkBait,

You've picked a wonderful site to learn a lot about the subject of hair loss. I hope your research goes well. You can learn so much here.

All the best

Hairgoesnothing

[Cant decide]

Looks great so far and more to come. What is your strategy for the crown? Have you discussed specific placement yet wth Dr. R? I may be getting mine done in August and was wondering what your plan is. To me, the outside left and right of the crown is a priority over the center since the outside defines your left and right visual profiles.

[Hairgoesnothing]

Looks great so far and more to come. What is your strategy for the crown? Have you discussed specific placement yet wth Dr. R? I may be getting mine done in August and was wondering what your plan is. To me, the outside left and right of the crown is a priority over the center since the outside defines your left and right visual profiles.

Hello Cant decide,

Good to hear from you. I have not discussed any specifics with Doc Rahal yet about my crown work. If all goes well, I will visit him in February to discuss this with him. But with the advanced degree of my hair loss, I would be happy with just some coverage just to even things out. I'll be sure to keep you informed.

Best regards

Hairgoesnothing

[Cant decide]

I know what you are saying. With my advanced loss as well, I am not looking to end up with a completely full head of hair in the end but my goal is to make sure the side profiles are solid and get some coverage on the top center crown which in my mind is the lowest priority. Remember that on average, a patient can get 70% of the amount of grafts extracted the first time around so if you were at 5600 the first time, you may be able to get 3900 the second time which would make a huge difference and could completely cover your crown with decent density; Especially with Dr. Rahal's magic

 

Good Luck

[Hairgoesnothing]

I know what you are saying. With my advanced loss as well, I am not looking to end up with a completely full head of hair in the end but my goal is to make sure the side profiles are solid and get some coverage on the top center crown which in my mind is the lowest priority. Remember that on average, a patient can get 70% of the amount of grafts extracted the first time around so if you were at 5600 the first time, you may be able to get 3900 the second time which would make a huge difference and could completely cover your crown with decent density; Especially with Dr. Rahal's magic

 

Good Luck

Ya. I hear you totally. 3900 more grafts would be sweet. Sure would be nice to be a member of the 10 000 + club though! Wonder if it's possible in my case? Either way, you are certainly right about doc Rahal; he does incredible Magic!

Good luck to you also

[Cant decide]

With a first of 5600, I would bet you could easily get to 10k plus. I was at 5229 the first time and Dr. Rahal said he could have gotton 6k plus but I asked him to stop at around 5k. I felt no tightness with the closure so my laxity must have been good. He told me I had 5k or so left.

[Hairgoesnothing]

Your results, by the way, are nothing less than amazing. 5k + in reserve is great. Ironicaly, I never asked Dr. Rahal how many grafts I have left for transplant. Will be talking to him about this in February. I still have great laxity though. So I figure I must have at least enough to finish the job (and a few in reserve I hope!).

Regards

[KiwiGuy500]

This procedure was flawless. Simply a stellar result. Congratulations.