8 Months Hair Transplant Dr. Madhu

[gat4]

Hello everyone,

 

It's been 8 months since my hair transplant and I thought I should put up my pictures to show everyone where I am at. Also just to let you know that I did not shave my hair prior to my transplant as Dr Madhu who performed my transplant was confident that I could undergo the surgery without shaving. However there was an added cost to this.

 

I haven't uploaded pics of my hair transplant a day after the surgery as the assistant at Dr. Madhu's clinic told me they got lost at their clinic. Unfortunately I didn't take any pics of myself during those days thinking that there were pics already taken and they would eventually be sent to me.

 

Also there are some black marks present in my crown and midscalp area if you look in the "Crown after" and "Top Right Midscalp" pics. I showed them to Dr Madhu through pics but he couldn't detect them very well and suggested I visit a dermatologist which I did in the New Year. I was told it was black heads and was prescribed an ointment but the black marks still seem to be present. Any one experience anything similar? I'm thinking it could be because I didn't shave my hair as I didn't experience anything like it when I had my first transplant with Dr Pathovanich when I had shaved my hair then. I also have Keratosis Pilaris on my arms but the dermatologist ruled out the possibility of experiencing the skin condition on my crown due to the skin condition on my arm.

 

Anyway please provide your feedback, thoughts/opinions on my surgery.

The total number of grafts that I had done were 2412 at the front, midscalp and a little bit on the crown.

 

I shall provide a detailed analysis of my hair transplant after your feedback.

 

Many thanks,

 

Gat

[grwelshy]

Hi Gat,

 

Looks good. Could you tell me about your experience with Dr Madhu. Are you from Hyderabad? I go to Hyderabad in 4 weeks.

Very nervous!

[Dutch]

Hello. Congras on your procedure, any pre-op photos?

[grwelshy]

dutch i think the first 3 are pre op. If you go by the captions on each picture.. i think anyway. you can see the density difference on 3rd and next to last

[Spanker]

Honestly, based on your pics, it is hard to tell you had a proceedure. Your hair looks better now than at 3 months.

[JustOne]

I agree, it is hard to tell you had a procedure...a good thing , right?

Do you have graft placement photos / pre op / or during photos?

That would help us gauge how well you transplant went...

and as for the black dots, hard to tell what you are talking about by looking at the pictures. Other than that , your hair looks pretty good man!

[gat4]

@Grwelshy: Thanks for your feedback. While I am from India I am not from Hyderabad.

@Spanker: Thank you, My hair was thicker before my transplant and hopefully I can get to that in the next 6 months or so and also exceed it.

@Justone: As I mentioned in my write up, pictures were taken of my surgery a day after my procedure. Unfortunately they (staff at Dr. Madhu's) lost those pics and I didn't take any thinking they would send them to me eventually.

[gat4]

I'd also like to add that before my transplant I had asked Dr Deepak (assistant to Dr. Madhu and the person who I had my first consultation with) whether I should delay my transplant for a few more years. He told me that it would make no difference whether I have a transplant now or in a few years time as it would come to the same thing. Also the fact that Dr.Madhu had seen me too and had not advised me against having a transplant I felt it was okay to have a hair transplant and hence trusted their judgement.

[TakingThePlunge]

Gat,

 

It's really a shame that you don't have any immediately post-op pics. It would really help us to make sense of what we are seeing. I agree that you look as if you've not had work done at this stage and also mean that in a good way.

 

Your hair does appear to be fuller in your 8 month photos. If you feel that you've actually lost some density I'd say that is perfectly normal at this stage and you should continue to see it filling in over the coming months.

 

As for the black spots, I've not heard of this before. I did not have my head shaved for my second hair transplant. While I experienced the normal ingrown hairs associated with the procedure, I did not get any similar spotting.

[gat4]

David,

 

Thank you so much for your feedback. Interesting to know that you too had a transplant without shaving your hair. However 3 months after my transplant I looked up the Hasson and Wong website and there is a question there that reads: " Does my head have to be shaved for surgery?

 

Yes, the recipient area must be shaved. In order to achieve the most natural results, the angle of the new hair must match that of the native hair perfectly. The incisions into the recipient scalp must be made parallel to the direction of native hair growth. Only when the hair is shaved to roughly 2mm is the true direction and angle of hair growth revealed.

 

If the native hair in the recipient hair is not shaved, the doctor must move the hair out of the way to make incisions. When this is done, the visible angles of hair growth are distorted and it become virtually impossible to match the angles, resulting in permanent shock loss of the existing hair."

 

If only had I read this prior to my hair transplant! As you can imagine I was angry that I wasn't told this by Dr. Madhu or Dr Deepak. :mad: Therefore I got on the phone and rang them up to enquire why I hadn't been advised about this. I spoke with Dr. Deepak and he intially tells me that he had advised me about the adverse effects of not shaving my hair and hence the reason why they charge an extra fee which is to discourage patients from not shaving their hair. I then had to remind him of the celebrity client story he told me where various of his clients who are celebrities opt to have a transplant without shaving their hair due to their work constraints. I also reminded him that at no point did he mention any adverse effects of not shaving my hair because if he had I would have shaved my hair and not taken a chance. He then acknowledged this and said that he and Dr. Madhu would have told me to shave my hair but they felt I had good strong natural hair and I would not experience shock loss. I then sent them an email showing them the link of Dr. Hasson's view on this. After all 'Hasson and Wong' are one of the leading hair transplant surgeons and there must be a whole lot of truth to what they have mentioned. Dr Madhu's response to this was "Yes we agree that Hasson and Wong are great surgeons. Always we give two options , not only in crown in other areas also we do with shaving and without shaving on regular basis and getting consistently good results, mostly we can detect who is suitable for with shave and without shave depending upon the recipient area and the existing hair, don't think much about the angulation of the hair, the existing hair helps for better angulation while implantation much better than shaved recipient area, so if we performed a procedure on you means you must be ok even without disturbing your existing hair.

Shock loss and permanent hair loss always depends on the quality of your existing hair and other fact you have to accept is that balding is a continuous ongoing process."

Yes while I do accept balding is a continuous and ongoing process but I don't accept an accelerated rate of balding due to Dr Madhu's mistake of not advising me to shave my hair. To give an example if there are two 40 year old's who lead completely different lifestyles where one uses harmful drugs, is into heavy drinking etc he is bound to accelerates his aging process regardless of the fact that aging is an ongoing and continuous process when compared to the 40 year old who chooses to stay away from that kind of lifestyle .

Also in one of my previous emails to them (prior to my transplant) I had enquired about shock loss and their response was " in our technique of hair transplantation for so many patients shock loss is a minimal concern which is very temporary."

 

 

 

Well it's been 8 months and I have less hair now than I had prior to my surgery especially in the mid scalp/crown area. I know there's still another 4 months to make a year but honestly I don't think there's going to be that much of a difference. In hind sight it would have been better had I not had the surgery and I should have waited a couple of years.

 

At the end of the hair transplant I was also told that I have another 1000-1200 grafts left in my donor area and that I could have another surgery in 5 months time should I want to. It's funny how various doctors work as Dr. Pathovanich would advise you to wait for at least a year before undergoing another hair transplant.

 

Anyway thanks for the feedback though David. Much appreciated.

[TakingThePlunge]

gat,

 

Shaving or not shaving the recipient site is one of several hotly debated hair transplant topics. Some patients refuse to go with a doctor that insists on shaving while others wouldn't consider any other option but shaving.

 

Again, speaking from my own experience, I didn't have enough hair on my head at the time of my first transplant to make a difference. However, during my second, I had quite a lot. I was perfectly willing to shave my head but Dr. Alexander said he preferred that my hair remained the length it was at the time. You can view photos on my blog. The link is below.

 

While my first transplant had some growth issues, I'm very pleased with the results of my second procedure with no shaving having been done.

 

Yes, it's true that some leading hair transplant surgeons are adamant about shaving. But, there are many that do not require it. You will certainly find lots of members here that have had successful transplant without shaving.

 

It's always recommended to allow a hair transplant to fully mature before assessing the results. Yes, eight months is a long way in but you've still got quite a few months of growth and maturation to come. You may be pleasantly surprised in the end and I wish you the best of luck.

 

I've also taken the liberty of notifying Dr. Madhu of this discussion and asked him to provide his insights.

[Bill - Seemiller]

gat4,

 

What you are quoting is from Hasson and Wong's website and is not a philosophy shared by all world renowned hair transplant physicians. While I do agree that shaving the recipient area can make things easier for the surgeon, many world renowned hair transplant surgeons regularly produce excellent results without shaving.

 

To shave or not to shave depends on a number of factors. While some surgeons prefer shaving the recipient area in all cases, other surgeons will only shave if follicular units are being placed in between and around a lot of pretty dense natural hair. Furthermore, physicians like Hasson and Wong who make perpendicular (lateral/coronal) incisions tend to shave more frequently because it's more difficult to make these types of incisions in between and around existing hair. Physicians who regular make paralel (sagital) incisions can more easily slide in between and around existing hair with fewer risks of transection.

 

I recommend reading the following articles for more information:

 

Why do Some Surgeons Require Shaving my Head While Others Don’t for a Hair Transplant?

 

Why Do Some Doctors Shave the Head for Hair Transplant Surgery?

 

Is Shaving My Head Necessary for Hair Transplant Surgery?

 

Hair Transplant Photos – Parallel (Sagital) Versus Perpendicular (Lateral/Coronal) Slits – ISHRS Live Surgery Workshop 2006

 

Why Do Some Hair Transplant Physicians Shave the Top of the Head?

 

Will my head be shaved for my hair transplant?

 

Sagittal versus Lateral Incisions: Which Produces the Best Hair Transplant Results?

 

In my opinion, shaving of the scalp may make things easier for the surgeon, but it isn't always necessary for every patient. Furthermore, dozens of excellent physicians produce exceptional results daily without shaving their patient's head prior to hair transplant surgery.

 

Thus, in my opinion, there's no need to be concerned about this.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[gat4]

David and Bill,

 

Thanks for your input. I have lost a lot of natural hair a result of my transplant. This is from why observation as I am my best judge and get to see my hair everyday. Let's see what the next 4 to 6 months will do but as I mentioned before I don't feel it would make too much of a difference. However as David mentioned I may be pleasantly surprised by the end of it.

 

Just wondering though David, Bill and anyone else who's reading this and would like to provide their insight; what do you think about the Assistant doctors opinion when I asked him whether I should delay my transplant for a couple of years more and I was told that it would make no difference whether I choose to have my transplant now or later as it would eventually come to the same thing? I would like to know more about this from an educational perspective. Also would be good to get Bill's opinion on my hair transplant in general.

 

Many thanks,

 

 

Gat4

[gat4]

Just uploaded my 12 month results, let me know what you all think and I shall put in my input after.

 

 

Thanks..

[gat4]

Bill,

 

I was referring to this post. I got the name wrong then when it came to the 'X factor ' rather than the 'H Factor' as thats what I thought I heard when speaking to Dr Madhu over the phone.

 

Thanks,

 

Gat

[Spanker]

Honestly, I can't tell much of a difference, but that really was not a lot of grafts for the area. Are you on finasteride? You could have lost more hair.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Gat4,

 

Since you only recently broughtto my attention the fact that I missed one of your posts and questions to me, it's difficult at a glance to put everything in context. Thus, I will do my best to answer your question and if I missed something or misinterpreted what you were asking, please rephrase.

 

While surgeons have varying opinions on this, I think it's best to wait a full year between strip harvesting hair transplants or any hair transplant (strip or FUE) if hair is to be transplanted in the same area to add density. There are two reasons for this. First, in the event you underwent strip surgery (which I believe you did), it gives the donor area a full year to heal and scalp elasticity to return. Secondly, it allows the vast majority of the transplanted hair to grow. If you underwent a second hair transplant in the same recipient area at only 5 months post-op, there's a chance the physician will make incisions over follicles that haven't grown yet, thus, transecting and preventing these follicles from growing new hair. Thus, the net gain between both hair transplants will be reduced.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Bill

[gat4]

Bill,

 

Thanks for the reply. Appreciate it.

 

Gat

[Bill - Seemiller]

Gat,

 

Regarding your hair transplant, your post-ops looks nice and clean however, it's difficult to gauge the results based on only 2 pre-ops on your profile. The pre-ops only show the hairline and the midscalp areas while the after photos show the midscalp region and the crown. According to the post-op photos, only the front part of the crown received grafts (though much less density than the front and midscalp region) while the back of the crown didn't receive any.

 

In looking at the photos you presented, Spanker is right, I don't see a huge difference. But I'm not sure we're really comparing apples to apples since the before and after pictures show different areas of the scalp.

 

I know you said in another post that you lost a lot of natural hair after your procedure. Thus, at the very least, you probably just replaced natural hair on its way out due to MPB with permanent transplanted hair. In that case, it's still considered a net gain.

 

If you have some additional pre-op pictures you can post and can clarify the above, that would be helpful in providing my input.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

P.S. I also suggest taking some photos of your hair when it's styled as "messy" hair always appears thinner than it is.

[gat4]

Bill,

 

Here's a video of me prior to my transplant.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Gat

[gat4]

Bill,

 

Here's a photo showing my results where my hair isn't as 'messy'.

 

Thanks,

 

Gat

Edited September 1, 2013 by gat4
Attaching another photo

[gat4]

Bill,

Also please note the front hair you see is all my natural hair that I had prior to my transplant as the video clearly shows. My main point of concern is the midscalp region where the hair is far less than what it used to be. While one could blame the natural balding process, I don't see any growth from hair that has been transplanted in this region. The transplant has accelerated my hair loss more than anything.