Did I Get the number of Grafts I paid for?

[Andalus]

Hi - recently had 5900 FUE but how can I be sure I received that many? Is there a way of telling by the post op photo which I had taken straight after while I was still at the clinic?

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

No way of tell by photos?? Did you have 5900 FUE in a one day procedure???

[Andalus]

No, it was over two days.

 

What concerned me was there were only 3 petri-dishes on day one with two containing two pads of grafts and the third containing three pads. I don't think they made the 3500 worth claimed for that day but they said there were others not photographed on my camera.

 

On the second day, I counted approx 1000 incisions but allegedly had 2900 grafts. The explanation was that I potentially did not feel all of them due to the anaesthetic even though I was counting the piercing sound in 100's on my fingers.

 

Also, the number of incisions made on day one (they photographed on my camera phone) seemed far more than what the post transplant photo of that day seems to show which may suggest a high volume of follicle wastage.

 

Are you supposed to just accept the number they tell you without any way of being to confirm it?

[Dutch]

When you do through research & select a quality clinic, you put your trust in them.

I had a clicker to push everytime Dr. Hasson reached a 100 incisions. The techs did the final count & I had every confidence in the doctor that the number of grafts I received was genuine.

5900 grafts is a very large number for FUE. I had 7 dishes worth of grafts totalling 4703 grafts.

Does your scalp look dense with grafts inserted ?

[Jazzy]

I had 3160 fue in two days by Dr Feriduni with only 2 techs and that is alot for two days.

 

The doc told me this is the max he can do over 2 days.

 

5900 is alot of grafts to do by fue even if fut.

[Andalus]

This is what the recipient area looks like on day 9 from two angles, front and top. I have shed some hair witht the scabs too I guess. Not sure if they provide any clues?

 

The other two pictures are pre-op.

Edited April 5, 2012 by Andalus
added pre-op picture.

[mattj]

That's a very large number of grafts. A lot of clinics quote hair numbers rather than grafts and I see it as more likely that you're looking at that number of hairs rather than follicular units. (With follicular units generally containing 2 hairs).

[Andalus]

So you think I have more likely have had 3000 grafts?!

 

I was definitely quoted and paid for 6000 grafts in writing and told that 5900 were accomplished.

Edited April 4, 2012 by Andalus

[Andalus]

Here are my post Op Pics as my donor area was being bandaged.

[Andalus]

I enquired with the clinic to confirm the number of grafts and here is part of the reply I received this morning:

 

"In Mr. ****'s particular case, the capacity of the donor area allowed the surgery team to extract 5,900 grafts (3,500 on the first day and 2,400 on the second day). On the front parts, they managed to implant around 50-60 grafts per cm2 since they used the grafts, which had less number of hair on, hence had smaller diameters. On the top parts, however, they implanted around 30 grafts per cm2. This technique allowed a natural looking hair, as well as an even density overall."

 

Does that sound credible?

[RCWest]

The red hue of the photo makes the recipient area look REALLY red! It looks much better now.

 

If they did the quoted 50-60 fu per cm2 in the front and 30 on top then you probably did get 5900 because that is a lot of area to cover. You should have pretty decent coverage considering your fine hair.

[Andalus]

The red hue of the photo makes the recipient area look REALLY red! It looks much better now.

 

If they did the quoted 50-60 fu per cm2 in the front and 30 on top then you probably did get 5900 because that is a lot of area to cover. You should have pretty decent coverage considering your fine hair.

 

Thanks - I hope so!

[mattj]

Seeing the post-op photos and their explanation, it probably is credible.

[Andalus]

Thanks guys - that makes me feel better.

[Adamsons]

Hi Andalus, Hope your new hair must've been grown, can you upload some of your recent photos? Also, how much did you pay for your procedure?

 

Thanks buddy.

[Andalus]

Hi

 

I was intending to upload some current photos in order to get the views of members if they still thought that was 5900 Grafts worth - thanks for the prompt!

 

The said 3500 grafts concentrated a tthe front have come out quite well but the said 2400 distributed around the centre and back do not provide teh same kind of density.

 

Do people still think 5900 grafts are probable comparing to the before pictures I posted earlier?

 

I paid approx ?3500 GBP.

 

Thanks

[Andalus]

hi - any views?

[Adamsons]

Hi Andalus, your hair look awesome. Good job done!

 

I am a little skeptic about the hair/graft count, I will let experts to comment on it. To me it looks like more 3000 to 3500 grafts... but as said hair experts can comment better on it hair count.

 

Please keep updating photos

Best wishes my friend.

[Andalus]

Thanks for the feedback Adamson. I have been skeptical from the start and believe that I have had probably no more than 2500 grafts. That's because on the first day of my surgery, there were two petridishes with 2 pads containing my grafts and one containg three pads if I am not mistaken. That is about 1250 grafts based on 250 grafts per pad.

 

The following day, I counted no more than 1000 incisions being made and when I questioned this, I was told my skin was numb due to the anasthetic so I must have missed some. This did not sound too plausible since I was counting based on the piercing sound being made by each incision and that is when I was told that each petridish with with two pads contained 500 grafts - 250 per pad.

 

I cannot remember now how many dishes/pads there were on the second day but I did point out that I had only seen the 3 dishes the day before to which I wa stold there others I did not see. I acquiesced and let them get on with it.

 

But then when I arrived home, I began recalling the two days and a couple of areas which seemed untouched by teh surgery which made me start this thread!

 

I do have pictures one of the technicians was kind enough to take on my phone during some of the procedure and may have to count the actual incisions or implanted grafts if possible to double check.

 

An opinion from the experts would be most welcome.

[jfables]

It's quite possible they split your grafts and lied to you. Most clinics in this industry are shady. Happened to me.

[Andalus]

Here is the number of actual grafts in the 3 petri-dishes on day one which do not look like 3500. They said there were others but I do not remember seeing any other.

 

The other photos are of the number of incisions made on day one, which do seem to cover a large part of the top of the head but then the other pictures from the next day seems to suggest that perhaps not all of those incisions were filled since the dried implants do not extend to cover the same breadth.

 

And the last photo shows the full head after the second day of surgery.

 

Any views?

[Andalus]

Does not look like any expert is going to comment?

[Janna]

Hi,

 

I'm not on this thread as an expert but I can give you my opinion on what I see from your recent pics of your result and your continued concerns.

 

It's difficult to guage exactly the number of grafts(3500) from the petri dishes and since your clinic state there were more dishes than what's pictured, there's no sense in worrying about the number of grafts in the dishes. What matters the most is the result.

 

Judging by your pics from immed post op and your 1 yr post op, the yield does not look like the density the clinic says they did of 50-60 per cm2 in front and 30/cm2 in back. You did have a large area of coverage but 5900 graft session should have yielded a more dense result. To me it looks closer to 5900 hairs but not an average result of a 5900 grafts fue result.

 

3500 GBP for a 5900 graft fue session is really, really low and it explains why you had and still have concerns about your result and what the clinic is telling you. I wouldn't be surprised if you did pay per hairs. The price makes sense if your did. Perhaps ask for the graft breakdown? Do you have any pics of your donor area?

[HairKlepto]

Looking at other procedures of the similar size should give you some insight. Check out:

Hair Transplant Photos Hair Transplant Gallery - Hasson & Wong. Sessions: 1. Grafts: 5475

 

Most of the results I've seen with that many grafts are pretty dramatic. Your top looks pretty thin for 6000 grafts. When your almost completely bald it makes more sense to have more density and go with a less aggressive hairline.

 

Going to a local surgeon just to see how much donor you have left might give you some insight into what was actually taken although it would depend on what your donor was to begin with of course. At the very least you would know if you even have donor left. I've learned from my first 3 procedures that you shouldn't even bother getting a transplant unless you go to one of the top five or so surgeons (hasson, shapiro, rahal, etc). It's not worth the stress of a bad result. Glenn Charles made some major improvements to my hairline after my first procedures although there was still some parts of it I am unhappy with. I have another procedure with Shapiro in July.

[Andalus]

Hi Janna - thanks for your response. I will upload pictures from my donor area next week after I have had a haircut as it is quite grown at the moment.

 

The response I have had from Longevita's Doctor to explain my lack of density has been to suggest that my post-op aftercare carelessness may have resulted in the lack of density or some grafts not having grown due to my hair type!

 

The former is certainly not the case since I was extremely careful in following the post-op instructions. The latter does concern me since the offer for another free session was appended with the result may still not be satisfactory if my "hair type" did not allow some grafts to grow!