Hair Transplant procedure Doctor Radha Rani

[RodG]

Hi Forum members,

 

After much research and deliberation I have undergone my second hair transplant procedure with Doctor Radha Rani on Monday 30/01/12012.

 

My first hair transplant was with DHT Clinic in August 2010 where Doctor Kulukarn (second doctor at DHT Clinic) performed the surgery for me. Unfortunately I was a norwood VI and I was virtually bald, Doctor Kulukarn was able to do a 3743 grafts procedure and I think that I had a good result which dramatically changed my appearance (for the better).

 

My initial goal, however, was to have a relatively thick hairline and to cover some of my crown but unfortunately due to my extensive hairloss this was not possible. After much deliberation I decided I wanted another hair transplant but this time decided that I wanted to travel to India and I will admit that price was part of my deciding factor. However, I needed to make sure that the surgeon I chose would have very good skills just like the surgeon that I had with DHT Clinic.

 

I discovered that Doctor Radha Rani had spent 18 months as Doctor Pathomvanich's assistant and over the course of a year I did a lot of research about her transplant skills and noted that she had been operating her own clinic here in her home town of Vizag, India for 2.5 years. During the consultation process with her (via email) she was very responsive and answered all of my questions. She told me that because I had had a previous mega session that it would be reasonable to expect 1500 - 2000 grafts for the next session.

 

I arrived in India on 26/01/2012 and I have to say that I was a bit overwhelmed with what I saw because it is so different to asian countries that I have previously travelled to and it really pays to do your research because I stayed in Chennai overnight on route to Vizag and the accommodation was really dodgy.

 

My arrival in Vizag was very good and Doctor Radha's clinic booked me into a very nice 3.5 star hotel which I have been happy with and I have to say that the food is excellent. I had my consult with her on Saturday, 28/01/2012 and she told me that she expected to be able to extract up to 2000 grafts from my donor hair. She agreed to maintain my existing hairline and to go 7.5cm past my hairline with a density of 30 grafts per sqcm and to continue to go a bit further back but with a reduction of grafts per sqcm. She also placed 500 x 2 hair grafts into my crown area. My baldness was so severe that there is no way to get full coverage but she agreed that it would help my appearance to have a bit of coverage in the crown area.

 

On Monday 30/01/2012 I attended the surgery and it was much the same experience that I had at DHT Clinic. I had to provide all my details i.e. health/medications etc. During the discussion with Doctor Radha stated that she was concerned that she could observe a number of 1 hair grafts and thought that my density was only about 65 grafts per cm (my first procedure was 108 grafts per cm). I have to say that I have never read any mention of this on our forum and it was interesting what she had to say. I also asked Doctor Radha whether I could keep my recipient hair without having it shaved because I have a special event at home on my return and I didn't want to look like a circus freak :roll eyes:.

 

The procedure was very long and went for about 9 hours. She told me that I was a very restless patient and this had slowed her down quite a bit (well I have a pigeon chest with a bone that sticks out and it was very uncomfortable ) and also the vallium didn't seem to work either. After the procedure was completed she told me that she was able to extract 2075 grafts but unfortunately 800 odd were single hair, 1200 double hair and the rest were three hair grafts. She also had to take the scar a little higher than the previous one because my first procedure scar was a bit low and the grafts in this area were a bit too thin to use (I was given the option and chose to have a second scar which meant that she could use better quality grafts). Also my scalp was so tight that it was a difficult close and she thought that my scar might be a little wider than the pencil thin one that I previously had. Doctor Radha planned my surgery during the consult, removes the donor area and sutures it. She also does all of the hairline grafting and she places 50% of the grafts and her technicians do the rest. She was very hands on during most of the procedure except for a break that she had during the day. Her clinic only does 1 hair transplant per day to maintain high standards.

 

At the end of the surgery Doctor Radha provided me with instructions and then her driver returned me to the hotel. I was given vallium to help me sleep but I forgot to take them and apart from waking up at 3:00am and taking some more pain killers I had a great nights sleep. I had my hair washed at the clinic today and another consult with Doctor Radha. My pain level has been significantly less than my first procedure (I was out of action for 3 days last time) and I'm going out tonight with some lovely local ladies that I met at the airport.

 

All in all at this stage I am happy with how my hair transplant has gone. I'll keep the forum updated on my progress because I feel disappointed when forum members don't follow up on their progress. Subject to my hair transplant outcome Doctor Radha will be another good quality surgeon for forum members to consider in India.

 

She has provided me with so much information that I cannot find fault with her.

 

Kind Regards

 

Rod

 

ps. I told her she needs to post more client results on our forum.

Edited February 10, 2012 by RodG
typo and grammar

[RodG]

Double entry post.

Edited February 1, 2012 by RodG
Double entry.

[chix]

Hi Rod,

 

Sounds like you had a great experience. Dr. Radha is very knowledgeable - what did you think of her skill

[Bill - Seemiller]

Rod,

 

Thanks for providing a detailed account of your hair transplant experience. I've been speaking on and off with Dr. Radha for a few months now. We are currently in the process of prescreening her technique and results and so far, I'm impressed by her work and results. I expect we'll be presenting Dr. Radha in the near future to garner this community's input on her potential recommendation on the Hair Transplant Network.

 

I do encourage you to share some photos before and immediately after surgery and then keep us posted each month on your progress.

 

I look forward to following your journey.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[RodG]

Hi Bill,

 

As soon as I obtain some photos I'll post them on the forum. For your information I have also been to DHT Clinic for a hair transplant and I am familiar with how a quality clinic operates.

 

Hi Chix,

 

Her skill appears to be very good due to my tight scalp it was a difficult close for her.

 

Kind Regards

 

Rod

Edited February 1, 2012 by RodG

[speedus]

hi Rod.

wish u the very best of results.

thanks for posting a detailed experience. i was in very much need of the same.

only thing i missed was the " like button"

i m new to this page, but in very short time i was able to narrow my search. i m from nepal . and india is the most feasible place for me . i m planning to choose among dr madhu, dr radha and dr poshwal. and ur description made me so much inclined towards dr radha.

i m having my holidays at present which last further 20 days, so i thought of having a transplant in the meanwhile as i might not get such a long holiday in a single stretch may be for a couple of years.

somewhere in the page someone mentioned that dr madhus clinic was like one out next in , while dr radhas single case a day makes huge differance in psyche of choosing a surgeon.

i wanted to contact dr radha , but i couldnt make it to her webpage. i could only collect her email (link removed by moderator - See Terms of Service) . is this the only way or could u help me with any other webpage i could contact her online.

and man enjoy ur tour.

greetings.

Edited February 3, 2012 by TakingThePlunge

[guipago]

Strange, when I try to access her website i get forwarded to a canadian pharmacy, medicshops.net. Not sure if its just me or has somebody hijacked her site. On another note i have to say she is very very slow in getting in touch. I sent her an email about 5 week ago, which she replied to. i then sent her my photos so that she could advise me on number of grafs. That was over 4 weeks ago and she still hasn't responded.

[RodG]

Hi Guys,

 

I'm going to see Doctor Radha and tell her about her website. In the past it has been working perfectly but I have noticed in the past few days that it is down. I have photographs of the work that she did for me but the wifi internet in my hotel is so slow that it won't upload on hair transplant forum.

 

If you send me a personal mail with your email address I'll try and send what photos I can of the important part of the procedure i.e. the donor and recipient areas.

 

I have been to DHT Clinic which is the pre-eminent HT surgery in Thailand and she ranks very highly with them. I can't recommend her highly enough and her surgery is not based on a production line but is about quality and good outcomes for the patient.

 

Hi Gulpago,

 

Try sending another email to her. In the past its only taken a day or two for her to respond to me. She does all the consultations by herself and doesn't use her staff to respond to patient requests for information.

 

Kind Regards

 

Rod

Edited February 3, 2012 by RodG

[RodG]

Hi,

 

Well I've woken up at 5:00am in the morning and been able to upload a couple of photographs. The clinic is going to send me photographs of my donor region which I think will be handy for forum members to view.

 

Kind Regards

 

Rod

Edited February 3, 2012 by RodG

[RodG]

Hi Bill & forum members,

 

I'm back in Australia and have faster internet access and I'm uploading all the photographs that were taken at Doctor Radha's clinic and providing details of my surgery.

 

Procedure: Hair transplant Surgery using FUG via strip method

Size of the session: 2075 FUG

Session: II

Donor area:

Hair parameters: Donor hair density is 65%. Hair colour - dark brown. Hair calibre – 0.68mm

Chosen donor area extended from left supra auricular area to right supra auricular area, through mid occiput above the nuchal ridge. The previous scar is low. Therefore, the new strip is marked 1cm above the existing scar (poster comments: the grafts from the lower scar were of poor quality and I was given the option of having a second scar 1cm higher where the grafts were of a better calibre. This decision was made by me and I was fully informed by Doctor Radha. She normally excises the previous scar leaving the patient with one scar). Donor laxity is 26%. Strip removed is 33.2sq.cm. Wound is closed using trichophytic closure. Tight scalp made approximation and closure difficult. Bleeding at the time of surgery is average and controlled without cauterisation.

 

Session

1 hair x 800

2 hair x 1230

3 hair x 45

Total no. of FUG = 2075

Total no. of hairs = 3395

 

Recipient site:

350 one hair FUG are given to existing hairline to add density. Hairline is not lowered.

900 two hair FUG are given to the front half of the top of the scalp. This grafting begins behind the hairline with approximate density of 30%, and extends to 5-6cm beyond hairline with lesser density. 555 two hair grafts are given to crown at approximately 20% density.

 

The only thing that I was disappointed with had nothing to do with the surgeon but with the quality of grafts that I had available for the second surgery. My first surgery I had 108 grafts per sqcm and this had been reduced to 65 per sqcm (I was warned by Doctor Radha during our email consultation not to be expect the above average quality of grafts that I had in my first procedure) and single hair grafts were far more numerous and my 3 and 4 hair grafts were greatly reduced. Not the problem of the Doctor nor technicians. This is my last HT as I believe I have exhausted my donor supply. Basically, my goal is to have a denser hairline and thin coverage in the crown region. I have commenced finpecia as suggested by the surgeon.

 

Perhaps, some of the younger forum members should be aware of this when they opt for aggressive hairlines that if they require surgeries in the future their donor area may be exhausted.

 

I still hold DHT Clinic in Thailand very highly but I do believe that Doctor Radha's clinic in India is another good option for patients from Asia and Australia to consider (although I found it more difficult travelling to India than Thailand). I found Doctor Radha to be very dedicated to the art of hair restoration and her team appeared to operate very efficiently. I know that I was a difficult patient because I kept squirming during the procedure.

 

However, the final result is the most important aspect of any HT surgery and I will update this thread on a regular basis for forum members.

 

Regards

 

Rod

Edited February 10, 2012 by RodG
typo

[IMAX]

Hey Rod,

 

Thanx for posting these pics and your experience. It was very informative. I just wanted to ask you about the big sutures in donor area. They look very threatening. I presume you had a double layer, trichophytic closure. Then, why such ugly large stitches?

[RodG]

Hi Imax,

 

I'm not a surgeon but from my understanding the vertical sutures that you can see are part of the usual trichophytic closure. My first HT with DHT Clinic in 2010 was done the exact same way.

 

The suture were removed by the doctor after day 6 and the only stitches in the closure are the dissolvable one's at the moment. Personally, the closure looks quite good to my untrained eyes. Have you done much in the way of researching FUT procedures?

 

Regards

 

Rod

[IMAX]

Thanx Rod for the prompt reply.

 

As far as your Q is concerned, yes, I have done my bit of research into FUHT.

 

As per my understanding trichophytic closure means that upper layer of skin is removed from wound edge, so that new hair emerge from scar itself (rather than above and below the scar). Double layer closure means that there is a row of stitches just beneath the skin so that there is minimal tension on the skin stitches. Less tension on skin means finer scar. At least, this is what my surgeon told me.

 

I guess, I will talk to my surgeon regarding this. He is very open and honest. Let's see what is his take on this.

[RodG]

Hi Imax,

 

Some doctors also uses staples to help with the closure. I'm not expert but do know this is how the 2 closures have been done at 2 separate clinics.

 

Regards

 

Rod

[IMAX]

Hi Rod,

 

Indeed, every cook has his own recipe. As long as the pudding tastes good, it really does not matter.

All the best to you.

 

Regards.

[RodG]

Hi Imax,

 

I think that Doctor Radha does a trichophytic closure as taught by Doctor Pathomvanich from DHT Clinic. This was the same closure technique that his Assistant Doctor Kulukarn used when I had my hair transplant with her. As I mentioned I think some doctors use staples as well.

 

Its good for you to do as much research as possible. When I had my HT in 2010 I thought that I had done my homework but there were a couple of things that I was not aware of about the procedure. It worked out well in the end but its still best to do your good research prior to committing to a HT.

 

Who is your doctor?

 

Regards

 

Rod

Edited February 22, 2012 by RodG

[cardel25]

Hi Rod.

 

I have read about your experience. I am glad that you are happy so far. I will keep tracking your process. Happy growing

[oncled]

Hi everyone. It has been a while i was following you but this is my first comment.

 

I've decided to have my first FHT with Dr Radah. We have not fixed a date yet but it should be at the beginning of April. I've started my own thread here => http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/165102-fht-dr-radha.html

 

Your comments have helped me to choose the doctor so thnak you. I hope i will not regret it. But i'm confident and i know it will be for the best . I will keep all of you informed about everything. I can't wait doing it....

Edited February 28, 2012 by oncled

[2yrcoverup]

Hi what sort of prices does radha charge as my money short after 2 bad transplants

[RodG]

Hi,

 

She charges in the vicinity of $1US per graft for FUT. Do you require a repair as part of your surgery? I found her to be a good quality surgeon, but my results won't be known until at least 6 months time. Doctor Madhu also does good work but I chose her because she is much more hands on during the procedure.

 

Let me know if you want anymore advice.

 

Regards Rod

[oncled]

RS 50 per graft. If quality and results are good, it's a bargain.

 

I don't know her yet but she answered to all my emails and she looks serious... I hope to be happy with my future 1st Fht

[2yrcoverup]

Hi,

 

She charges in the vicinity of $1US per graft for FUT. Do you require a repair as part of your surgery? I found her to be a good quality surgeon, but my results won't be known until at least 6 months time. Doctor Madhu also does good work but I chose her because she is much more hands on during the procedure.

 

Let me know if you want anymore advice.

 

Regards Rod

 

 

thats very cheap, cheaper than my last 2 strips and they turned out very bad results, i hiope everything goes well, i need to find a really good surgeon to repair mine now thats cheapish but my last attempt so need finished results thanks

[RodG]

Hi,

 

I didn't get a repair because my first hair transplant was good quality and you should ask her what her experience she has in repair transplants. If you've had 2 previous failed hair transplants you should really do you homework. I've read that the average person has between 6000 - 8000 grafts and once the donor area is exhausted you won't have an opportunity for any more hair transplants.

 

My donor is exhausted at 5815 grafts and this is my last hair transplant. If I was in your position I would make sure the doctor is very experienced in hair transplant repairs.

 

Good luck

 

Rod

[HARIRI]

Any updates buddy? It would be nice if you posted some pics. I wish you all the growth, I can feel you when you say ITS MY LAST HT. Just dont lose hope, there is something out there called FUE and Dr. Radha is the only recommended Asian doctor that performs it.

[oncled]

I'm sorry but i have not done my FHT yet.... my boss didn't let me go and postponed my hollidays.

I 'm planning to do it after summer (for sure). I keep loosing my hair and i cannot bear it anymore...

 

I will have my FHT (or FUE) with Dr Radha. There is no doubt about it.

 

I will keep you inform about everything but for now, i just need to wait... such a long wait !