5000 FUE with Dr De Reys

[William38]

I got back to London from the second procedure with Dr De Reys about a month ago.

 

I'm very happy with the result although I was also very happy with the first operation which I had with him last year.

 

I chose him because I knew he had been the lead surgeon at the Pro Clinic, which is also in Belgium.

 

My overall impression of Dr De Reys? Very professional and very experienced. He seems to be trying to limit the number of clients he has these days.

 

His Rep said I was a Norwood class 5 going on 6.

 

Here are some photos of me before I had anything done:

 

 

 

This is straight after the first operation. 3000 grafts put in front and centre. Dr De Reys actually took these photos himself in the clinic.

 

 

 

 

I've been asked a few times about the donor area so I dug up some photos from the day after each operation to see if I had any of the donor area.

 

 

This is what I had.

 

 

For Operation 1, I had two reasonable photos of the donor area after the first operation.

 

 

 

 

If you look closely, especially on the one taken from the left side, you can still see small points of blood which formed on top of the tiny holes made during the extraction.

 

I'm afraid I didn't think about snapping the donor area at the time so these are the only two donor area photos that I've got for the first op.

 

 

Anyway, When I got home, I kept on taking photos and here are some shots after three days. You can still see the crusts (or scabs) on the scalp. At this stage, you're not supposed to touch

 

the hair.

 

 

 

 

 

This is how it looked after seven days. Now I was allowed to wash my hair using a special Aloe Vera shampoo that Dr De Reys gave me.

 

 

 

 

 

After 3 months. Here you can see that the transplanted hairs had already started to shed. This is normal and after they had fallen out, they came back again after five or six months. At

 

this stage I'm still using the Aloe Vera shampoo

and also applying an Aloe Vera cream in the evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I go on, I have to admit that I cut my hair a few times in the first few months.

 

I'd always had a buzz cut before the first operation to hide my thinning hair.

 

It was an eye-opener growing it in the months before the op because I finally saw how much had gone!

 

Dr De Reys recommended I grow it before the operation but on operating day his nurse cut it back down to grade one.

 

I also have to admit that after three months I let the photos slide a little ...but I also started to let the hair grow out.

 

I still had it cut but now it was at the barber shop!

 

It was great to visit the barber again and get a proper haircut - no need to use the clippers at home anymore.

 

So here are some photos at around eight months, just before I went to see Dr De Reys again for the second op.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now a few days after these photos (at eight months) I went to see Dr De Reys for the second operation.

 

This time I wanted to get the back done and he said I had 2000 grafts still available in the donor area.

 

He also said that the grafts from the first op were not all through yet and he expected the full result to show at twelve months.

 

I'd already decided to add more to my temples, to bring the hairline even more forward.

 

Dr De Reys said it was no problem. He put 350 grafts to fill in the temples a bit more. The rest (1650) he transplanted into the back of my head.

 

Here are the pics he took immediately after the second operation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see how he added a little to the temples to move the hairline forward. You can also see that there's absolutely no scarring from the first operation. Here's the result after one

 

week:

 

 

 

I've got more photos of the donor area for the second op though.

 

Here you can see the small points of blood much more clearly. These have disappeared completely now and there is no scarring.

 

 

 

 

 

A week later, the points are already disappearing but still visible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I've got some more photos of 1 month post-op (although I'm not on this forum as much so there's always a delay before I post

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some photos at 2 months after the second operation. From the front, back, left and right first:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now I took some close-ups of the hairline. You can see that the results of the original operation mean I now have to push the hairs back to see the new grafts.

 

At the moment the new grafts are at the shedding phase so they have mostly fallen out. I'll have to wait a few months before they grow back. you can barely see them at the moment.

 

Still, the fact that I now have to push hairs back is a great feeling!

 

 

 

Here's another update with the photos at 3 months. You can see the original transplant hairs are really going strong now. It took about 5 months before the hairs from the first transplant

 

showed at all so the hairs from the second operation aren't showing yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right, so here's the four month update. As you can see the hairs from the new transplant at the crown are really starting to show. I can't wait for the full results in 12 months!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's five month time (I know it's been longer than that!! Sorry work keeps getting in the way). This time I've pulled the hair back on the right and left so you can see how the extra grafts

 

at the temples are coming through. I'll keep doing this from now on (promise )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, it's a bank holiday here so I can finally get round to posting the next update. I'm really, really sorry about not posting sooner but work has been keeping me away from the forum and this time when I look into it I thought WOW! 11,000 views on this thread is awesome!!!

 

I'm definitely going to keep posting up my updates and to kind of make amends for my slackness , I'm going to put up a sneaky preview of how I look right now...but first:::

 

I did the same things again with the photos at the six months mark (after the second operation), with it pulled back so you can see the temple areas that Dr De Reys gave some more attention to in the second operation. He filled them in a bit more with around 250 grafts (in total) and as you can see from the pulled back photos, they have held well and are pretty damn strong!!

 

I also took a photos from the top of the head too..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've also received a ton of questions since I did this first post so I'm going to try and post some more answers at the end of this thread as they keep coming in.

 

 

Hope you like this journal and let me know if there's anything else you'd like to see or know!

 

 

Cheers,

 

Will

Edited May 6, 2013 by William38
New Photo Format

[JustOne]

thanks for sharing your story, looks like you had a great result from the first surgery! after the 2nd grows in your will be styling happy growing ! keep us updated!

[mb30]

Looks like a great result. Do you have contact details for Dr De Reys cant seem to find a website online? does he operate through pro clinic?

[William38]

No he's not with Pro Clinic anymore. He used to be the lead surgeon there. He has his own clinic now.

[Jazzy]

Great result.

 

I thought i knew that name from that clinic and i remember him leaving them.

 

Is he still in Belgium ?

[Sean]

Looks great. Nice coverage with FUE.

[William38]

Dr De Reys is still in Belgium. He has his own clinic now. I'm at one month now, I'll put some more photos up soon.

 

@mb30

 

I'm 100% happy with the result.

 

One nice thing is the reaction from folk you don't know.

 

I went to my local doctor's clinic to get prescription and told the staff my date of birth ('73). They checked to make sure it wasn't '83!

[KO]

that's shockingly good. I wouldn't have thought you would be a good candidate for an HT to begin with, needless to say I was wrong.

[scar5]

Great to see in recent years, increasing numbers of people with extensive balding keeping their options open by choosing FUE, for 'big jobs' and putting, slowly but surely, that old preconception that you need strip for anything past nw3.

[KO]

I have trouble believing these pics. The sides look thicker after the HT....it makes no sense.

[William38]

@KO It's definitely real! But I'll post the 1 month photos next weekend so you can take a good look at those as well.

[RCWest]

It looks really good! What I can't believe is that Dr. De Reys said he could only get 5000 grafts from the two operations. I've seen lots of NW6 cases get 9-10,000. Your donor density must not be really good. But I will say you have had a great transformation so far!

[William38]

Thanks RC!

 

I'm no expert but I think you can't get as many grafts from an FUE operation as with an FUT or Strip method operation.

 

I read somewhere that those are the ones that yield 9 to 10 thousand grafts but they leave a hefty scar on your head so you can't cut the hair close anymore.

 

I'm sure there are some more knowledgeable folk on the forum who can weigh in on this.

 

Dr De Reys was always really careful throughout the whole process not to overpromise with the extracting and the result works for me. I was NW 5 going on 6.

 

I originally asked him if I could do 5500 but he ultimately said the donor area would only yield 5000, so maybe you're right ( and he was being nice about it!) ?

 

5000 is still a heck of a lot of grafts.

 

Now after the operation I can see that the donor area is not overfarmed (if that's the right word!) so it doesn't look thin or anything but I think but it'll be a few months before I see the full effect.

[KO]

@KO It's definitely real! But I'll post the 1 month photos next weekend so you can take a good look at those as well.

 

Well, take my scepticism as a compliment then, definitely looking forward to seeing more pics. you should create a journal on hairrestorationetwork here so it will be easy to follow - if you are so inclined.

[Cant decide]

This is a great result but confuses me a bit. How could 3000 grafts cover that much ground? Certainly, your skin to hair color ratio helps alot.

 

Congratulations!!

[William38]

@ KO,

 

I've had a few people ask me about the sides and back of my head and so I dug up some photos from the day after each operation to see if I had any of the donor area.

 

I hope you can see the sides properly with these photos. You should be able to click on the photo to make it bigger.

 

Anyway, this is what I had.

 

Operation 1.

 

I have two reasonable photos of the donor area after the first operation.

 

 

If you look closely, especially on the one taken from the left side, you can still see small points of blood which formed on top of the tiny holes made during the extraction.

 

I'm afraid I didn't think about snapping the donor area at the time so these are the only two donor area photos that I've got for the first op.

 

Operation 2

 

I've got more photos of the donor area for the second op though.

 

Here you can see the points much more clearly.

 

 

 

A week later, the points are already disappearing but still visible.

 

 

So there you have it. I have to say that I think the darker skin tone helps to hide the points. At ten days they were completely invisible.

 

Right, I hope this helps and next week I'll post the one month photos (after operation 2)!

[William38]

Sorry for not posting the 1 month update, I've been snowed under with work but I'll post them soon. Everything is looking great, right now! Went to the hairdresser and all he said was, my you've let your hair grow longer than you usually do before you come to see me

[Markymarc1981]

Amazing result bro. Congratulations

[azazelgs]

william ,

 

congrats with your ht. 5000 grafts with fue? that is amazing! and someone please give me some info about dr.de reys since its my first time i heard about him???

[Yiddo]

Work looks really good. Heard quite a lot about this surgeon, apparently he worked for pro hair clinic and then he went it alone, but no one has heard much from him since. How did you manage to find him ? A few people have asked you for his details and you havent replied?? whats his clincs name, price etc ?

[William38]

@yiddo,

 

You're not allowed to post links on the forum but if anyone wants to know then just drop me a private message and I'll answer if I'm around.

 

The price is on his website.

[Yiddo]

Hi william

 

Thanks for all the info on Dr de Reyes. I looked at his website, and his prices are reallly good. 3000 grafts for just over ?5000, especially for someone who is as good as him. I heard a lot about this guy when he was at pro hair clinic, his work looked really good, and judging by your work he hasnt lost his touch. I know you are probably busy, but when you get 5 mins, just wondered if you could give us a bit more info, such as how did you hear about him, how many techs does he use, what your stay was like, what he was like etc. I would be really gratefull, cos i im pretty certain i am going to use his clinic.

[1978matt]

Hi william

 

Thanks for all the info on Dr de Reyes. I looked at his website, and his prices are reallly good. 3000 grafts for just over ?5000, especially for someone who is as good as him. I heard a lot about this guy when he was at pro hair clinic, his work looked really good, and judging by your work he hasnt lost his touch. I know you are probably busy, but when you get 5 mins, just wondered if you could give us a bit more info, such as how did you hear about him, how many techs does he use, what your stay was like, what he was like etc. I would be really gratefull, cos i im pretty certain i am going to use his clinic.

 

 

I'd second this request. His website is easy to find with a simple google search.

[William38]

@1978Matt and Yiddo,

 

Sorry it took so long but here are the answers to your questions.

 

Q1. How did you find him?

 

A1. I googled Dr De Reys to find his website. It doesn't usually appear on the top of the google list but it can be found if you scroll down.

 

Q2. How many techs does he use?

 

A2. I'm not sure what you mean by this so I'm going to answer this question twice..

 

techs - what technology does he use?

 

He only does FUE and he does it with a 0.75mm needle (or puncher, whatever the technical term is!). To be honest, I don't know much about the technical stuff but I'd seen photos of his work from when he was lead surgeon at the Pro Clinic and I liked what I saw.

 

techs - how many technical assistants does he have?

 

He only worked with his wife, Gina who is a trained nurse. Dr De Reys extracted all the hairs himself and placed most of them too although Gina did some placing as well. He doesn't have any technical assistants.

 

Q3. What was your stay like?

 

A3. My stay was fine. The town Heist-Op-Den-Berg is a small country town with a long main street which has a couple of nice restaurants. I ate out almost every night.

 

The hotel staff know that Dr De Reys brings his patients there so they're very helpful and used to guys turning up for an operation.

 

They offered me breakfast in bed on the day after the operation if I wanted it - I didn't in the end and just ate in the dining room. There weren't many other guests so it wasn't an issue. My family went off to Antwerp to do some exploring while I was in the operating room.

 

Q4. What was Dr De Reys like?

 

A3. He's a straight-up guy who has seen it all before and can answer pretty much any question you fling at him. He can also prescribe medication if you need it.

 

It's a family business and his wife cooks meals for the patients and you might see some of the doctor's family around.

 

It's not a super-space station clinic with loads of staff but the main man knows his stuff and you know you're in safe hands. Like I said, he actually extracts every single hair himself. By keeping it in the family, he can afford to keep his costs down which helps my pocket too

 

So that's it for now. I've got quite a few more questions by PM so I'm going to get them together and start adding to the thread.

 

In fact, I've been thinking about turning this post into a blog or a website. Any ideas on that, you guys?

[William38]

Just added some two month updates. I've got to push hair back to see them now!