Hair-loss story and 2500 FUT with Dr Feller

[krisl]

Hi everyone, finally have a moment to write about the surgery I had with Dr Feller 3 weeks ago. Thought I’d start with a bit of back story and then go into the specifics.

 

My hair-loss began when I was about 17, making me quite self-conscious as none of my mates were even close to having a receding hairline.

 

At 21 I made my first (costly) steps to addressing this. I had no idea where to turn to, so I contacted the only hair-loss practice I knew of - Advanced Hair Studio. For anyone who has been down that route you’ll know what a complete waste of money it is. It came to ?2000 for a year’s worth of ‘laser therapy’ and minoxidil.

 

At 23, and after a couple years of using Propecia I began to wonder if this hassle (and expense) was worth it. I shaved my head and tried to embrace the inevitable. But as Spex has mentioned in his excellent guide, my hair was my identity, and a shaved head didn’t fit in with the image I had of myself. So I grew it back, and was pretty happy for a few years.

 

By my late 20s I decided to shave my head again, as the hair seemed to be thinning too much. I’d had a few comments from friends saying the time had probably come where I couldn’t get away with the longer hair look. So at 28, I began to picture myself bald for the rest of my life. It definitely didn’t suit me as my head is far too big, and it wasn’t me. Also I wasn't into using concealers, as I knew I'd become too reliant on them, making it quite a shock to those around me if I stopped using it.

 

I’d say the moment I began to take a real interest in going down the surgery route was when Wayne Rooney got his done last Summer. I began doing all sorts of research, first checking out FUE, Harley Street doctors etc, and it was around that point I found Spex’s website and this incredible forum.

 

I spent a while on here, and the same surgeon names kept coming up, with great referalls and evidence. In the end I settled on a 2500 graft FUT procedure by Dr Feller on the 26th October.

 

SURGERY:

 

I arrived in New York the day before and stayed at the Adria. Cheap(ish) and cheerful(ish), it’s a 25min walk, or 5min cab, to the surgery.

 

It’s crazy to say, as you’d think the date of surgery is ingrained in your head, but I still managed to completely mess up my surgery date. For months I was certain my surgery was on the Saturday, however the night before (the 11th hour as Spex put it) I realised I’d almost made the most expensive mistake of my life, as my surgery was the very next morning. Like I said, an unbelievable mistake, but it can happen.

 

Arrived at Dr Feller’s at 7.45am. He was just getting himself ready for the day which gave me a few moments to catch my breath and soak it all up. He then called me into his office and we had an informal chat about the restoration of the hairline and what I was after. He said that I had a very good donor area, reminding him of Spex’s in density and texture (a good omen hopefully)

 

I asked if there was any chance of doing the bits on my temple that have receded away or on my crown area. Dr Feller cautioned against this as my hair loss had already been quite aggressive already, and re-assured me that re-constructing the frontal part of the hairline will ultimately make me forget about the back. At least for the time being.

 

I certainly got some anxiety sitting in the chair and having the front mohawk shaved away. It suddenly became quite real, and I couldn’t believe I was actually getting it done. As has been discussed in the forum, the injections were the nastiest part of the whole procedure, but for me the cutting away of the strip made me feel the most nauseous. Dr Feller was reassuring me that this was a ‘nothing-procedure’, enlightening me of horror stories he faced in A&E when he was younger. Let’s just say one them involved removing a lightbulb that somebody had inserted, without it breaking. I should mention at this point that I found Dr Feller to be such a genuine, and very funny guy. He certainly made me feel a lot more relaxed, and certainly knows how to help calm any nerves/anxiety you have.

 

(Definitely bring an mp3 player with if you have ADD like me, because sitting in that chair doing nothing for 6 hours can be quite difficult!)

 

Not much else to say on the surgery itself - the technicians worked quietly and diligently, swapping half way through as it takes a lot of concentration to insert the grafts. It’s very re-assuring knowing that the staff have worked there for many years, and do this on a day to day basis - they are as important as Dr Feller in many respects.

 

The post-surgery part is also a bit hazy. To be honest I think I was quite overwhelmed with the whole thing, especially when I walked into the bathroom and saw the finished work. I remember chatting to Dr Feller and discussing the post-op routine, and wishing I’d brought a buttoned up shirt so as not to disturb the grafts by removing my T-Shirt. However Dr Feller ended by saying I’d been a great patient and telling me he had a good feeling about the eventual outcome.

 

By the time I got back to the hotel the top of my head was throbbing quite a bit, and unfortunately it looked as if I may have lost a graft on the way, as one tiny portion was quite bloody. But despite initially freaking out about it, I eventually saw it as 1 graft gone, 2,499 still in place. Felt quite self-conscious walking out the hotel to get some dinner, with my massive bandage, and loosely fitted baseball cap, but I’m sure that’s pretty normal, and it was only for that night. Another thing I’m sure is pretty normal is constantly looking at it in the mirror, taking pictures of it on your phone from different angles, and analysing it over and over and over. Not a great habit to get into, but one that can’t be helped I think.

 

The next day was a great excuse to stay in and watch the entire second season of Breaking Bad. Left the hotel once in the evening to grab myself a Burger King, and on my final day I managed to walk around Manhattan for a few hours. Really recommend the Museum of Modern Art.

 

Flew back home no issues (got on one of the last flights out on the Sunday night before Hurricane Sandy hit). Got through US customs without having to take the hat off, but I was asked at UK customs. I tipped my hat up, told him I’ve had head surgery, and then stood there embarrassingly as he asked if everything was ok and what I had - that wasn’t in the script!

 

Swelling came on pretty bad and didn’t recognise myself for a couple days, and the staples were a massive pain at night, but other than that not much to say. Stayed in pretty much that first week, and then only went out with the hat on the last couple weeks. Girlfriend removed the staples (soaked my head in warm water for about half an hour beforehand and had a good helping of duty-free bourbon to help), and apart from 3 that were tricky to remove, they all came out without a fuss. Bit of a tip: Check the Youtube video on removing staples BEFORE you begin, otherwise could lead to using the remover the wrong way round and causing needless agony.

 

Looking forward to this process. I've been pretty honest with family and friends - I think hair transplantation is becoming less of a taboo subject, and I'm pretty proud to be flying the flag amongst my balding friends, who have all complained about it but have yet to do anything about it. They've asked me tonnes of questions, and have all said I'm the guinea pig, but have no problem with that. With people in the outer circle, I'm a bit more hesitant. If they ask in the months to come I'll be very honest, but don't think there's a need to shout it from the roof-tops.

 

Know it’ll be a long old slog, but feel very prepared, simply because of the help from this forum. Also a big shout out to Spex for always being there with help and guidance at lightning speed. Thank you mate.

 

Pictures are from wet and dry before the op, back at the hotel post-op, four days post-op, and taken today, 20 days post-op.

 

(Spex - do you have the ones that Dr Feller took?)

[Arthur]

Hey Krisl. congrats on your procedure, work looks good and clean as is expected.

How's your head feeling now man? Are you nearly back to normal now?

[chrisdav]

Very detailed write up Krisl.

 

Hopefully by early summer, you will have some luscious locks

 

Keep us posted.

[krisl]

Thanks guys.

 

Arthur - feeling fine now, but still noticeable in my opinion. Have the red areas which will probably take a while to go, and shaved my hair down to Grade 2 to blend in, so the scar is still quite prominent. Haven't walked round without a hat on yet, but back to work next week so will have to face the music. Tried using Couvre but my hair is slightly greying so it doesn't blend in at all. Will see if I can do something bout that though...

 

Chridav - my thoughts exactly

[GlasgoIrish67]

Hi Krisi

 

Congratulations on your HT and hope you grow well.

 

My own experience with Dr Feller and Spex was also very good.

 

It is just over 3 months since my op and will post some pictures shortly to share my progress, not too much yet but there is definite regrowth and I am learning to be patient?

 

 

Good Luck

[krisl]

Hey everyone, thought an update was in order.

 

It's been seven and a half weeks now, and the redness has gone down considerably, as expected. The donor area has been quite itchy, which was also expected, and all the transplanted hair fell out around the one month mark, which was, erm, expected. I guess this was all expected because I was so well briefed by all those in this forum, so thank you.

 

At the minute I feel quite relaxed about it all, which is all due to what's been discussed here. Of course I would love it to be fully-grown, but I must admit it's quite exciting seeing the small hairs sprouting. It was quite a shock when I first noticed them a week or so ago. I got up close to the mirror and was like, 'Whoa...this is where my hairline will be' and it's quite surreal to think that in a few months that whole area will be filled with hair, especially when you've been so used to it being bald there for what seems like forever.

 

Apart from that not much to say. A lot of my friends keep asking me how I feel, and was it worth it, which I think is there way of not knowing what else to say. In truth, I don't know if it's been worth it or not, until the hair is fully grown. At the minute I look pretty much exactly how I did before the op, so will have to wait and see.

 

Will keep everyone updated and happy to answer any questions on how it's been so far.

[GlasgoIrish67]

Hi Krisl

 

I'm 4 months post op and definite progress for me. I have posted pics at 3 months and will post another set of pictures soon, it's encouraging to see things moving.

 

Good Luck

[1978matt]

Nice post, congratulations and thanks for sharing!

 

I was interested to see your 7 week photos as I'm debating how long I might take off work (nothing booked yet).

 

Hey everyone, thought an update was in order.

 

It's been seven and a half weeks now, and the redness has gone down considerably, as expected. The donor area has been quite itchy, which was also expected, and all the transplanted hair fell out around the one month mark, which was, erm, expected. I guess this was all expected because I was so well briefed by all those in this forum, so thank you.

 

At the minute I feel quite relaxed about it all, which is all due to what's been discussed here. Of course I would love it to be fully-grown, but I must admit it's quite exciting seeing the small hairs sprouting. It was quite a shock when I first noticed them a week or so ago. I got up close to the mirror and was like, 'Whoa...this is where my hairline will be' and it's quite surreal to think that in a few months that whole area will be filled with hair, especially when you've been so used to it being bald there for what seems like forever.

 

Apart from that not much to say. A lot of my friends keep asking me how I feel, and was it worth it, which I think is there way of not knowing what else to say. In truth, I don't know if it's been worth it or not, until the hair is fully grown. At the minute I look pretty much exactly how I did before the op, so will have to wait and see.

 

Will keep everyone updated and happy to answer any questions on how it's been so far.

[krisl]

Thanks Matt - I'd say it depends on how much you need done - some guys can brush their hair forward and cover up the work. With others, like me, there was no such option, but thankfully I work for myself so just avoided going out for the first couple weeks.

 

Once the staples were out, and I evened out my hair, I started venturing out, but only with a cap at first, and then only without once my friends assured me that I looked fine (and one in particular who I've known since I was a kid really wanted to take the mickey so he was disappointed that it all looked fine in his eyes!).

 

At two months there is redness, but barely noticeable. In all in all I'd say you should be absolutely fine by the one month mark, but definitely take two weeks out if you can.

[krisl]

Just seen your reply GlasgoIrish67 - thanks very much mate. Look forward to checking out your progress in due course!

[krisl]

It's been over three and a half months now since the op and thought a timely update was needed. Would've been earlier but was away in Bangladesh for 18 days so this is my first opportunity.

 

Something I noticed whilst I was away - my hair no longer looks as thin as it was at the front when wet. This is the key, as I've become so used to seeing scalp for so long after a shower, that I did a double take and started inspecting the hair to see if I was imagining it.

 

Also the whole time I was away I decided to do without any Toppik, which I've admittedly become addicted to, and was shocked initially when I look backed at the pictures from the start of the trip and saw how thin my hair looked, but became amazed at how much thicker it looked by the end. Again, I wasn't sure if I was imagining this until I arrived home Friday night and my girlfriend immediately picked up on it and commented that it looked a lot thicker, especially at the front.

 

The hairs either side of the old mohawk are starting to grow now as well, and I can't tell you how nice that is to see. There's something so positive about that, after becoming so used to having hair full out and inspecting the ever decreasing hair line, to then see hair growing there - it's a really wonderful feeling and makes me really excited about the coming months.

 

I'll add my bit to the 'first three months' debate - it is actually quite hard and difficult, but the hardest part was managing OTHER people's expectations, as I'd decided to be quite honest about it and tell close friends I was having it done. I've had to contend with a few mates sneeringly suggesting that it looks worse than it did before or that it looks the same, only for me to re-explain that this is all natural, most people go through shock-loss and not to judge the results until at least the 8 month mark.

 

Shock loss was bad and the redness stayed for a long time, mainly owing to me being quite pale, but things are definitely beginning to look up and I'm more than excited about the coming months. Will update again in due course.

[GlasgoIrish67]

Hi Krisl

 

Looking good so far although it is still very early days. I noticed a big difference in months 3 to 5 and have updated my pictures.

 

Good luck and keep posting.

 

Cheers

[tacolinowest]

dr feller is the man ,, his work is so natural looking, getting mine in april with him and not a min goes by every day that i dont think to myself, april april april april is it here yet?!?!? lolol

[tacolinowest]

any pics on the scar

[GlasgoIrish67]

Hi Tacolinowest

 

I haven't taken a picture as yet but will do and post as soon as I can. I can say it's very good !

 

Cheers

[GlasgoIrish67]

I have been trying to get a picture of my scar as requested however is healed so well it's not being picked up. My hairdresser today had a very close look and even he couldn't locate it.

 

The feedback on Dr Feller's surgical skills was a major factor in my decision and I am extremely happy with the result.

 

Cheers

[tacolinowest]

im very happy for you ,, still try n post some pics o the back of your head, hows the transplanted area doing? any growth?

[tacolinowest]

that goes for both irish and krisl

[krisl]

Something quite incredible has been happening the last few weeks. For the first time since I was 23/24, I feel like I have a semblance of my old hairline back.

 

It's all happening quite quickly, and it's really taken me by surprise. I have to keep reminding myself what it was like before, so I don't take this for granted, but it really is amazing. My brother, who lives abroad, was completely shocked when he saw me this evening on Skype. He saw a major improvement, and I love that I can slick my hair back now.

 

I came across a picture from January, and I couldn't believe how bad it was at one point. Really thin and wispy. My hair just looks so much thicker, and healthier. I really am amazed to think that it's only going to get thicker and thicker. Honestly, if it was to stay like this, I'd be happy.

 

The scar area is becoming unnoticeable, but my girlfriend brushed away a scab the other week, and unfortunately the area quickly became very bloody. Once it dried, I was left with a small hole in the scar area. Spoke to Spex, and he said it must have been an ingrown hair, but to rest up and leave the area well alone, which I have done. I've included pictures of that.

 

So apart from that very small detail, I'm delighted, and can't believe in a few more months I'll have a full head of hair.

Edited March 25, 2013 by krisl

[tacolinowest]

idk maybe its the pics but i dont see to much change, i no its early n all and its great that you are so hapy, but i jus dont see it,, is it better in person? no disrespect at all jus bein honest

[krisl]

No offence taken dude, no worries, I'm sure you're not the only one thinking that

 

I guess this 5 month stage must look barely noticeable, but to me, someone who has obsessed about their hair since my late teens, it's just massive.

 

My hair at the front is thicker, stronger, and I can now style it. I've gone back to being 24 again. I know it still looks thin, and there's no 'WOW' factor yet, but for me, it's exciting because I know this is just the beginning.

 

I said to myself I wouldn't stress about the growth, so instead of having the mentality that it's not thick yet, I'm not where I'm supposed to be, I'm appreciate and thankful of any growth whatsoever.

 

One thing everyone has said, is that there is now a shape to the hairline. Doesn't matter that the hair still needs to mature, the illusion has already been created.

[krisl]

I've been thinking that maybe the pictures I've been posting haven't given justice to the gradual transformation. The shape at the front looks a lot better than before, and a good friend has said that it reminds him of how I used to look. I keep reminding him that this is nothing, and to wait until it fully matures.

 

Here some update pictures (apologies in advance for the 'blue steel' in the latest one).

[rock1225]

I see the difference krisl congratulation. I am at two months and four days the waiting is killing me but after seeing your progression it helps me hang in there. Thanks for posting the pics keep us updated

[tacolinowest]

there it is!!! i see it and it looks great for 5 months! jus think what itll look like in another 6 months! im happy for you , im getting mine done with feller in 26 days!

[agenteye]

I know it still looks thin, and there's no 'WOW' factor yet, but for me, it's exciting because I know this is just the beginning.

 

I said to myself I wouldn't stress about the growth, so instead of having the mentality that it's not thick yet, I'm not where I'm supposed to be, I'm appreciate and thankful of any growth whatsoever.

 

One thing everyone has said, is that there is now a shape to the hairline. Doesn't matter that the hair still needs to mature, the illusion has already been created.

 

Really well said krisl, that's a terrific attitude to have. On top of it, your hair looks really great, and you should be over the moon with the transformation.....not only where you are after 5 months, but to where you're going to be in another 5!!! Really happy for you, and looking forward to seeing what the months ahead hold! Please keep us updated, as I will be following your progress!!