England's 2,548 FUE with Dr Feriduni

[England]

Hey all,

 

So I’ve been on this site for over 7 years, I tend to read rather than comment but now I feel I should share my experience. I’ve broken it down into sections because it’s quite a long story, but I’ve tried to include everything to give you the full picture:

 

Operation Summary

 

Duration: 10 Hrs (approx)

Technique: FUE

Blade: 0.9mm Manual Punch

Graft Total: 2,548

1's: 504

2's: 1,174

3's: 830

4's: 40

Area Covered (approx): 50 sq cm

Avg Density (approx): 50 grafts / sq cm (plus native hair)

 

 

Background

 

I first noticed my hair loss after college, when I went to university. Probably just about the worst time to lose your hair and your confidence as a result. At the tender young age of 20, I was vulnerable enough to be taken in by Jeremy Isherwood and the Norton Clinic. Looking back with embarrassment I’m ashamed to say I did everything wrong – I had my consultation with a salesman, I didn’t even consider going anywhere else, I don’t know even know how many grafts I had or needed, I didn’t fully understand the long term implications and of course the end result was pretty poor. That being said, I’ve seen and heard of much worse horror stories with the Norton Clinic, my scar is mostly pencil thin and even the wider places do not show at all normally due to my hair colour being so close to my skin colour (extremely light). Despite them placing doubles and triples in my hairline, and some of the graft direction being somewhat suspect, the end result was undetectable and it’s lasted me a good 7 years. The plan from Norton was always that I would go back for a second operation to have the hairline thickened up, I never felt the need to but I always intended to.

 

More recently, I’ve started to find it harder and harder to style my hair, with wind becoming more and more of a problem. My first reaction was that I just needed the hairline thickening up as per the original plan, perhaps 1,000 grafts would do – this turned out to be wildly inaccurate - so much for self diagnosis! There was one key moment in my life where I snapped at a family member after having my hair messed up by the wind, and that was the final straw - I made a new year’s resolution that this year I would sort out my issues with my hair as they had begun to affect how I was living my life, and even who I was as a person.

 

From the very start, I knew that I wanted FUE for this second surgery. I have had a medium sized strip surgery, and I’ve felt the tightness from time to time even years and years after the original operation – I simply didn't want to go through that again. I also feel quite fortunate that I only have a relatively short, straight scar, rather than a smiley face, and I did not want to risk making this scar worse (it’s extremely easy to cover). I also wanted to leave myself the option of FUE into that scar at a later date to give myself the option of shorter hair, which I felt would be compromised if I had another strip making it both longer and potentially wider.

 

Even though I’ve been on this site for so long, I actually first considered the convenience of an FUE surgeon local to me, and I arranged a consultation with them in January. This is despite them having no information on their surgeon on their website or upon request. I feel it is somewhat more embarrassing that even with my relative ‘experience’ within this industry, I still nearly made the same mistake twice. It just goes to show how easily people can be sucked in and end up in the hands of sub-par surgeons, underlining the importance of sites such as this.

 

Thankfully, I cancelled, looked up the recommended European surgeons on this site, and began to see and hear very good things about Dr Bisanga and Dr Feriduni. After consulting with both these doctors and some other surgeons from the states and Canada online, I arranged a consultation with both in January of this year.

 

The Consultation

 

I consulted with both Dr Feriduni and Dr Bisanga. Interestingly, they both had different approaches, and took a different line in reaching the same conclusions:

 

Dr Bisanga measured my donor density at 60/70/70, Dr Feriduni measured it at 80/96. Dr Bisanga suggested that light hair needs less density, Dr Feriduni suggested light hair needs more. I think both are true – if you have blonde hair it’s easier to get an illusion of coverage with fewer grafts due to the lower skin/hair contrast, but it’s harder to get a dense look because the hairs aren’t as visible. The end result, however, was that both recommended 2,400-2,500 grafts over 2 days, which was in line with their and the other online consultations. Both also recommended that I dye my hair dark prior to the operation, as the hair is naturally so light it can make extraction difficult. Both asked the question had I considered FUT given that I already have a scar and that the yield can be very slightly higher (2.1 hairs via FUT vs 1.8 to 2.2 via FUE) – but I was decided FUE would be the way forward for me and both felt I was a good candidate.

 

I found the consultation with Dr Feriduni to be a very pleasant experience, he was able to show me my donor area magnified on the computer, live, and seemed to listen much more closely to what I wanted and approach the transplant with a great deal of artistry, he seemed more precise in his approach, using a mask to align the hairline perfectly, and he also had hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of excellent case studies on his computer. It must be such a low percentage of his cases which actually make their way onto the forums but the case studies he can show speak for themselves. There was never a feeling that he was pushing me into anything, or that he was in a rush to get rid of me – he gives you his full time and concentration. On top of all of the above, he’s one of those people you just know are genuinely good guys. I know you shouldn’t select a surgeon based on how nice they are, so I didn’t, but I had confidence that he would stand by me should anything go wrong and that means a lot. This level of care wasn’t just confined to Dr Feriduni either, the whole team of nurses and Daphne & Cristian were extremely friendly and professional. I was left in no doubt after the consultation that I wanted Dr Feriduni to be my surgeon, so I promptly made a booking for a 2-day surgery at the end of March (thanks to a cancellation).

 

The total cost for 2,500 grafts was 10,750 EUR (?8,576), which works out at 4.3 EUR / graft. The deposit which had to be paid was 1,000 EUR per surgery day, so 2,000 EUR in my case. The remaining balance was due 21 days prior to the surgery, I elected to pay the upper amount for 2,500 grafts (as opposed to 2,400). One nice thing I noticed on the terms and conditions was that unlike some other surgeries, this deposit is refundable in the case of ‘unforeseen circumstances’ for example if you fall ill or if a relative dies.

 

The Operation

 

28th 7:00 PM– Arrived at the Radisson Blu hotel, took my time dying my hair jet black to make sure it could be seen during the operation, since I was shaving it anyway I didn’t care. I had a bit of a last minute panic about dying my hair so soon before the operation, and I’m ashamed to say the evidence of this remains – I posted on this forum at the 11th hour asking when the best time to dye hair was!

 

29th 7:30 AM – Arrived at the clinic where I was greeted by the nurse and shown to my personal room for the day. I read through all the legal documents, signed them, and changed into op clothes which were surprisingly comfortable.

 

8:00 AM – Was shown to Dr Feriduni’s office for a second consultation, to mark out the proposed hairline and to finalise the details of the operation. I was absolutely delighted with the hairline, as per the original consultation it was not aggressive, pretty much keeping my existing hairline height but rounding off the temples and adding density throughout zones 1, 2 and 3. We also lowered the central peak by about 1mm across roughly a 1 inch width, which I preferred to a widows peak – I have a large forehead so the doctor advised doing one or the other to break it up. This is a good example of the attention to detail and artistry that I mentioned before. The doctor mentioned that zone 4 seems to be holding up well for now, which was great news, although I do anticipate requiring further grafts down the line.

 

8:15 AM – I headed into the OR where I met some of the nurses, who were all extremely friendly and professional throughout - and had my head shaved. I’ve never shaved my head before so I should probably be grateful that there were no mirrors around!

 

8:20 AM - Blood pressure and heart rate were measured, and I was given IV antibiotics. I had a relatively high bp and heartrate, which I’ve actually had since I was young. The nervousness didn’t help.

 

8:25 – Face down in the chair, a vibrating tool basically made the numbing injections painless – I couldn’t feel the first one and subsequent injections were close by so the area was already numbed.

 

8:30 – Extractions started. I had a LOT of bleeding (due to my high bp) which made the operation harder to perform. I found the situation very uncomfortable – breathing face down into the moulded face holder made me very hot, and some blood started running down over my face. I was very nervous because I could feel the stress in the team, and was worried something was going wrong. If I had one criticism of the whole experience it would be that I wasn't reassured or spoken to much during this time. The nurses performed the majority of the extractions, there were 2 at a time working in shifts for about an hour at a time. Dr Feriduni also did some of the extractions himself, but there was no discernible difference in technique. After a while I asked if everything was OK or not, and was told that I was fine but bleeding a lot. To add to the drama, my heart rate monitor kept beeping from time to time, indicating a high heart rate (mainly due to me panicking a little). Towards the end, the extraction zone had to be widened in order to obtain the required grafts. I was later informed that the team went through 3 pads of tissues when normally one would suffice for a day. My bleeding meant that numbing injections had to be re-made several times during the process.

 

12:30 – Extractions complete, I was offered lunch and drink/chocolate. I declined because I wanted to have the grafts out of my body for as little time as possible. Instead, I had a glass of Coke and a chocolate bar in the chair and then Dr Feriduni started to make the incisions. This stage was much more comfortable as I was sat up and could talk properly. Dr Feriduni took his time with the incisions, carefully avoiding all native hair. I continued to chat to him during this time and the worst part was most definitely over.

 

14:00 – Incisions complete, I was offered another break for food/toilet but declined for the same reasons as before. The nurses began placing the grafts, this process was quite comfortable too. Dr Feriduni came by to check everything was OK every now and then.

 

17:00 – By now the grafts has all been placed, but Dr Feriduni said we needed more. This required more numbing injections in either side, which REALLY hurt this time (I believe I even let out a loud ‘ouch’). An additional 190 or so grafts were extracted from the sides and placed into the remaining incisions.

 

18:15 – I was cleaned off and washed down, bandaged up and taken back to my room where my lunch was waiting. The operation has been completed in 1 day, which I was absolutely delighted about. I didn’t fancy my body going through the same trauma the next day, when in my own mind I felt it was best for the body and my grafts to be recovering. I don’t know the difference in terms of yield, but I know in my personal (and totally unsubstantiated opinion) – I much prefer this to splitting the operation up over 2 days.

 

Immediately After the Operation

 

I later had another check up and post-op review with the Dr. Everything was looking great. He informed me that the extraction had been very easy because my roots aren’t very deep, meaning extremely low transection and capping rates. He also informed me that the ‘excellent’ blood flow I was so worried about would actually greatly help the implanted grafts, which put my mind at rest.

 

I asked the doctor whether or not he managed to avoid the native hair when making the incisions (my biggest fear was making my hair loss situation worse through surgery), so he demonstrated to me with a piece of paper, a pen, and a blade how easy it is. He drew some dots with the pen to signify the native hair, and illustrated how he could easily make hundreds of tiny incisions all around them, without transecting them.

 

After a few more questions about the specifics, I was bandaged up, a taxi ordered, and I was taken directly back to the hotel. After a lively conversation with the taxi driver, he informed me that my scalp looked very clean and that he had seen everything before – he was completely unphased. He also suggested he dropped me at the side of the hotel, by the underground car park – that way I could sneak back to my room without meeting a soul. I was very grateful for this.

 

Note - Some pictures below are quite graphic.

 

Donor Area - Pre Op (dyed black)

 

Recipient Area - Pre Op (dyed black)

 

Donor Area - Magnified

 

Donor Area - Magnified Further

 

Donor Area - Showing strip scar

 

Extracted Grafts

 

Graft Placement - Nurses

 

Immediately Post Op - New Hairline

 

Immediately Post Op - Magnified (

 

1 Day Post Op

 

12 Days Post Op

 

Donor Recovery - 2 Weeks

 

Recipient Recovery - 2 Weeks

 

I will post more updates shortly.

 

England

Edited August 23, 2012 by England

[HARIRI]

England, How many months Post OP are you now? Any latest picture to post, buddy?

[chrisdav]

Very detailed,informative write up England.I made the same mistake as you with Jeremy Isherwood but now having learnt from that mistake,you have picked an excellent surgeon in Dr Feriduni. Keep us posted with your progress.

[MAGNUMpi]

Looks like clean work. Looking forward to some updates.

[TakingThePlunge]

England,

 

Congratulations and thanks for taking the time to share such a well documented and detailed summary.

 

The work looks stellar. I hope you continue to present updates.

 

Best of luck!

[Blake Bloxham]

Great presentation! I really love Dr. Feriduni's work, and this case is no exception. Look forward to watching your results progress.

 

Congratulations!

[HARIRI]

I have feelings that you are going to have great results, especially you didn't go so high in grafts number plus Dr. Feriduni used Manual FUE on you. I think you are 5 months post op now, surprise us with some latest post OP pics Buddy.

[Spanker]

you have a crazy number of 3's!

[hairshopeing]

Looks very clean! I am considering fue with feriduni so would be interested in an update and some pics if poss?

[darren smith]

keep us updated very keen to see result looks good

[England]

Post Op

 

I really wanted to maximise the effect of any surgery I had, so I elected to stay at the Radisson Blu for 16 nights, (15 nights after my surgery) - the theory being that I would be close to the clinic and could check in should there be any problems.

 

The most uncomfortable part after the surgery itself was sleeping – you obviously have to sleep on the back of your head, but that’s where all the extractions came from. With strip you could find a comfortable position lying on your side, but since the FUE extractions I had included the sides of my head, I simply could not get comfortable at all. The provided neck pillow helped a bit, but not a lot.

 

To my surprise, Dr Feriduni invited me back every single working day that I was there. Every morning I had a taxi, paid for by the clinic, pick me up and take me to the clinic, where the nurses cleaned my grafts, washed my hair, inspected the grafts and generally made sure that everything was fine. They also had a special towel system for removing scabs, which made the whole process of post-op care really comfortable for me. I also had personal inspections from Dr Feriduni, who helped by applying various creams which were on the post-op instructions, as well as checking on the grafts through the special microscopic glasses. He even bottled up some Aloe-Vera gel in a container for me, free of charge. A taxi, again paid for by the clinic, then took me back to the hotel. I have to say that this is simply outrageously good service, far in excess of any expectations, I was blown away.

 

Day 7

 

I noticed that as the scabs were healing, there were some ‘lines’ in the scabs which concerned me. Of course, I was able to directly show these to the Doctor who informed me that they are very normal. He likened these to lines in the desert – the scabbing and healing dries out the skin, stretching it and leaving what appear to be ‘gap’ lines in between. This is absolutely normal.

 

Day 15

 

The doctor attempted to pull out some of the implanted hairs using a special surgical tool (they are meant to fall out and re-grow anyway), and found that they wouldn’t come out – this could be a sign that I would see early growth and perhaps I wouldn’t shed! Being fair skinned, I still had some redness at this point, but Dr F tested that the redness subsided when it was pressed, it did, which is apparently a good sign.

 

1 month – 2 months

 

Unfortunately, the early promise of non-shedding failed to materialise, and I found myself most definitely in the ‘doldrums’ – with my hair effectively going back to pre-op state. All of this was expected, though, and I knew that from here on in it would all be positive.

 

All in all, I am reserving my final assessment of Dr Feriduni until I see my final result, which will be roughly in March 2013 (1 year after) – however, I have to say that the care and support I received was simply unbelievably good. I could not have asked for a nicer, more professional group of staff and I am absolutely delighted (so far) that I elected to go with Dr Feriduni. It backed up the feeling I got when I first consulted, and then some.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Unregistered

[chrisdav]

The aftercare sounds superb and all round real positive experience with Dr Feriduni.

[hairshopeing]

That's the type of care and service which makes me think the doctor cares about the patient and there results in a way they should! Sounds first class all round! Iv got a consult arranged for December in London with Dr feriduni and I'm really looking forward to meeting him and getting his opinions! I think that its critical that before during and after the surgery a high standard of care and understanding is called for!! And that is exactly what u have,and I would like to recieve!! Looking forward to your updates!! Got my fingers crossed for you m8!

[England]

Hi England,

 

Sorry a bit off topic. I read you were trying to decide between the two doctors in Belgium. What made you choose Dr Feriduni at the end.

 

thanks,

S

 

Hi Splashin,

 

Decided to answer on here so as to not hijack the other thread. Here are the main reasons I selected Feriduni, but I will say from the start that I believe Bisanga to be an excellent surgeon, who would also make a great choice for anyone considering FUE:

 

1 - Case studies. As well as preferring the design of Feriduni's hairlines, he was also able to show me hundreds of studies of people with similar hair to mine who underwent a similar procedure, during our consultation. I didn't get to see any during my consultation with Dr Bisanga. I also met some patients in the waiting room prior to my consultation with Dr Feriduni, and spoke to some of his former patients online.

 

2 - Approach. I felt that Dr Feriduni was very interested in hearing what my specific requirements were, and creating a strategy based on that, whereas the impression I got from Dr Bisanga is that he had decided what he was going to do before I even opened my mouth. Dr Feriduni also took a more scientific approach to the consultation itself, using digital equipment to evaluate my donor (displaying it on screen) and the special mask to calculate the ideal hair line. While the consultation with Dr Bisanga was over within say 15 minutes, the consultation with Dr Feriduni was far more in-depth and detailed, lasting probably 45 mins.

 

3 - Environment and Personality - the clinic, the staff, and the doctor all seemed more professional and amenable to me, which perhaps doesn't count for much - but it counts for something. Not only did it mean I had absolute trust in the ethics and honesty of the clinic & doctor, it also gave me great confidence going into the procedure that if anything went wrong it would be handled properly. That isn't to say that anything about Dr Bisanga or his clinic was unprofessional, I just felt more at ease at the Feriduni clinic and in the hands of Dr Feriduni.

 

Best of luck.

[splashin]

Thanks for the quick reply England. I just made an appointment Dr Feriduni and it seems to be very smooth. They replied very quickly with instructions and seems very professional. I am trying to schedule an appointment with Dr Bisanga at around the same date but I am not sure. Are you happy with the results so far? I couldnt find any updated photos on your blog?

 

cheers,

S

[HARIRI]

ENGLAND, I strongly agree with 2nd and 3rd point you mentioned about Dr. Feriduni. Although I'm leaning more towards Bisanga in FUE method. But I agree that:-

 

1) He listened well to my concerns and followed scientific approach to the consultation itself, He answered every technical questions asked in depth and made me feel like someone important. He even had a skype conversation with me for 30 minutes.

 

2) Environment and Personality - the clinic, the staff (Daphne and Cristian) and the doctor all seemed more professional, great ethics and honesty of the clinic & doctor.

 

IMO, Dr. Feriduni is the European Rahal. A true gentleman and a talented doctor maybe the best in Europe when it comes to Strip.

[Spanker]

I still can't get over your donor area. 3's and 4's everywhere. Very lucky guy.

[England]

2 Months

 

 

2 Months

 

 

2.5 Months - Back to pre-op state

 

 

4.5 Months

 

 

4.5 Months Pt 2

 

 

4.5 Months Pt 3

 

 

5 Months

 

After going out with zero product in my hair for the first time in 7 years, I encountered extremely strong winds, and actually enjoyed it:

 

 

5 Months 1 Week

 

 

The bottom line is, even if I didn't see any more growth from my hair transplant, it has already changed my life. Before, I would spend half an hour styling my hair, using all kinds of product to hold the comb-over in place, and be worried any time I sensed even the slightest wind. If I ran out of product, I didn't go out. Going out in any kind of strong wind simply wasn't an option.

 

I am now 5 months and 1 week in, I can style my hair in 2 minutes and I no longer need any product, whatsoever. I finally enjoy wind for it's cooling and refreshing qualities instead of being constantly nervous about my hair.

 

I seem to find the hair is getting thicker and thicker every week - I can't wait to see how it continues to develop over the next 7 months.

 

Cheers

[hairshopeing]

Looking good m8! Gonna be a belter!!

[RecedingTide]

This looks like it's going to be a cracker of a result when it has fully matured. Got to say, the best FUE results seem to being coming from Europe these days.

 

Keep us updated.

[HARIRI]

I agree with this. Best FUE results are from Europe, Lorenzo + Bisanga + Feriduni. If North America conquered the Strip market then Europe got the FUE one :-)

[alix]

England,your result already looks complete and excellent,and when you say you no longer fear wind and enjoy it instead,this means you have already achieved enough density.

I am considering Feriduni too and he will be the only European doctor I consider,but I'm going for strip.your pre op hair condition with dyed hair looked very similar to my hair situation so is your pre-op struggle with wind and going out etc.

[Mickey85]

ENGLAND, I strongly agree with 2nd and 3rd point you mentioned about Dr. Feriduni. Although I'm leaning more towards Bisanga in FUE method. But I agree that:-

 

1) He listened well to my concerns and followed scientific approach to the consultation itself, He answered every technical questions asked in depth and made me feel like someone important. He even had a skype conversation with me for 30 minutes.

 

2) Environment and Personality - the clinic, the staff (Daphne and Cristian) and the doctor all seemed more professional, great ethics and honesty of the clinic & doctor.

 

IMO, Dr. Feriduni is the European Rahal. A true gentleman and a talented doctor maybe the best in Europe when it comes to Strip.

 

Absolutely mindblowing. I love Doctors that actually liaison with their potential patients personally. Dr. Lorenzo has answered my emails personally and in depth, which bowled me over but a 30 minute Skype conversion is in another ballpark!

 

The one moment which struck me was when Dr. Feriduni posted a stellar result of a female who had a high hairline but revealed that she had some excess scabbing a few weeks after the surgery which resulted in a small touch up as she was not content with that. We would have been none the wiser but Feriduni still mentioned it. That is absolute honesty and it was not provoked by anyone but Dr. Feriduni. That made me notice him BIG TIME. I have noticed that he does work with patients in hairlines that they like and not just a "Oh that won't look right" etc. Kudos good Doctor!

[RecedingTide]

Absolutely mindblowing. I love Doctors that actually liaison with their potential patients personally. Dr. Lorenzo has answered my emails personally and in depth, which bowled me over but a 30 minute Skype conversion is in another ballpark!

 

The one moment which struck me was when Dr. Feriduni posted a stellar result of a female who had a high hairline but revealed that she had some excess scabbing a few weeks after the surgery which resulted in a small touch up as she was not content with that. We would have been none the wiser but Feriduni still mentioned it. That is absolute honesty and it was not provoked by anyone but Dr. Feriduni. That made me notice him BIG TIME. I have noticed that he does work with patients in hairlines that they like and not just a "Oh that won't look right" etc. Kudos good Doctor!

 

He's a true gent and great guy by all accounts. I too was impressed when he decided to mention that the young woman required a small touch up.

 

He also feels morally obliged to take on a pro bono case every month so you know he's in the industry for the right reasons. A proper doctor.

 

Agree with Hariri also about the trifecta of Lorenzo, Bisanga and Feriduni and FUE.

[Mickey85]

He's a true gent and great guy by all accounts. I too was impressed when he decided to mention that the young woman required a small touch up.

 

He also feels morally obliged to take on a pro bono case every month so you know he's in the industry for the right reasons. A proper doctor.

 

Agree with Hariri also about the trifecta of Lorenzo, Bisanga and Feriduni and FUE.

 

I didn't know this. Amazing....