4737 FUT with Dr. Rahal- 11/16/12

[agenteye]

Hello all! Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving today!!! I just wanted to start a new thread here to track my progress on my recent transplant with Dr. Rahal in Ottawa! I am only one week post-op, so there is not a lot of progress at this very early stage obviously. However, I plan to update my photos and journey constantly over the next year, so as to provide a detailed account of my progress and to help the members of this forum track me. You can read more about my experience and write-up of Dr. Rahal and his clinic here: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/168320-dr-rahal-4737-grafts-fut-my-experience.html

 

I also created a couple photo albums on my profile so you would have photos (since I didn't include them in my original write-up) to have a better idea of where I started prior to my procedure. They include photos taken on the morning of my procedure, and one-day post-op. I still have a lot of redness and swelling in my post-op photos, so sorry in advance for that. I will be taking "1 Week Post-Op" photos tomorrow, and will post those here just as soon as I can as well.

 

Thanks for following my journey. Looking very forward to getting my sutures out next week, and to finally be able to take a normal shower!! :cool:

 

Best,

 

Mike

Edited April 18, 2013 by agenteye

[Cant decide]

I just looked at your post op pics which look really clean as usual from Rahal. Your bridge must have been strong since he did not touch it. Thats great. How many grafts were put on the crown alone?

[agenteye]

Hey Can't Decide-

 

Is it bad that I don't even know how many grafts were put where? I should have probably been more inquisitive, but kind of just let Dr. Rahal do his thing. I got a total graft and hair count, but don't know where the majority of the distribution was. Furthermore, there are a couple of parts of my mid scalp or bridge that are a little thin, but it seemed pretty evident that Dr. Rahal said I was going to need a second pass at some point regardless, so maybe he just focused on my bigger areas first?

 

The only other thing that has me curious.....and I'm sure it's just paranoia......is if it looks like I got decent coverage with the grafts that were placed?! I have looked at a couple of other post-op pics from other people who had similar graft counts, and it seems like they have a larger surface area of the "red dots" indicating that grafts were placed there. In my post op pics, just looking at the red dots, it doesn't look like a big area was really covered. I thought with as many grafts as Dr. Rahal got, that I would have had more of an obvious recipient area than I did in the photos.

 

But again, I'm always a skeptic....and I can't imagine the grafts just disappeared into thin air....lol, so I guess I'll just wait for the growth to start and see how well my head was covered with the grafts that were used. I have heard that the crown is a "black hole" for grafts, so hopefully a lot of the grafts "disappeared" into there....as you can see from my pre-op pics, I had major recession/loss in my front scalp and crown!!!

Edited November 23, 2012 by agenteye

[SADbutTRUE]

welcome to the forums, heal well and good growth to you, dr,rahal is a top doc and you will be a happy camper once it grows in, i cant seem to find the post op pics, did you post any ?

[agenteye]

Hi SADbutTRUE,

 

Thanks for the message. My one-day post-op photos can be found here:

 

 

Hair Restoration Social Network - Hair Loss and Transplant Photos

 

Best,

 

Mike

[Cant decide]

Agenteye - I also did not know the exact density that Dr. Rahal placed on my scalp so it’s not unusual that you do not know. The good thing about going to a top doc is that you can put your trust in them and know they will do what is right in terms of distribution. However, when I go in for my second, I plan on going in much greater detail with Dr. Rahal than I did the first time in terms of exact density in the given areas to be addressed. I feel like now I know what my already transplanted hair looks like so I know exactly what type of coverage I want on my crown (where I really need it dense and where I can live with it being a bit thin).

 

As far as the area Dr. Rahal covered. It is bigger than you think. One of the three big mistakes made in hair transplantation as many docs will tell you and we hear it all the time from Dr. Lindsey on here is panting too little hair over too large and area. Believe me, you want nice dense coverage on the front third and the fact that you were able to hit the crown on the first go is huge as many (Including me) did not really have this opportunity.

 

I believe you will be thrilled with the density placed. I suspect that about 1500-1700 were put in the crown with about 3000-3200 going to the other areas. If you find out for sure, I would love to know. Also, Did Dr. Rahal tell you what type of coverage you can expect to see in the crown from the grafts that were placed?

 

Happy growing!!

[agenteye]

Hi Can't Decide!

 

Hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving! Thanks again for the response and for personally emailing me and making me feel better right before I had my procedure last week. I really appreciated that!!

Yeah, the whole experience of sitting in Dr. Rahal's office just minutes before my procedure was surreal, and I definitely missed all the details of his density discussion and plan of attack. I am almost certain that there was mention that he was going for 50 cm density??? I vaguely remember seeing that written down on paper...but again, the day went by in a blur....and especially the technical jargon part of it all!! =)

 

The one thing I DO remember specifically is Dr. Rahal thinks I will need a second procedure to revisit a couple areas and make some final touches at some point, and I figured this would be the case. The thing that makes me feel better about it all, is he said that I had good donor characteristics and that I had plenty of grafts in my donor bank to take care of whatever else I'd need in the future. You can imagine how much better I felt after hearing this, considering I had never had an in person consultation.....I traveled all the way to Canada not knowing if I had decent density, laxity or anything else really. It was all a crapshoot, and a huge weight off my shoulders to see that I got the yield I did. Of course, I'm talking to you.....someone who got a considerable amount more grafts than I did. Your hair blog and updates are one of the main reasons I chose Dr. Rahal for my procedure, so thanks again for everything!!

 

Mike

Edited November 24, 2012 by agenteye

[agenteye]

Hey everyone. Today is day 8 since my procedure with Dr. Rahal. I still can't shower normally, and have my sutures in until Friday, but I wanted to snap a few photos of what my head looks like one week after surgery! Sorry for the semi-poor quality of the images....I am visiting family and only had my iPhone available to snap the shots. As you can see, (and all I can really see) there are lots of crusts and scabs and overall redness in the recipient area. This is obviously to be expected, but with the vitamin E oil and saline that I've been spraying on the grafts religiously (per post-op care instructions), I'm surprised I haven't lost any of the scabs/crusts at this point! I will post more photos in one week at just over 2 weeks post-op!

 

Have a great day everyone! :cool:

 

Mike

[Davis91]

One comment in your write up was interesting--how quickly Dr. Rahal removed the strip and stitched you up. I have heard that as well from other related Rahal discussions. However, I always remember Joe from H&W talking about how SLOWLY they remove the strip, especially on virgin scalps (sometimes taking more than 1 hr), not only to minimize transection rates but it can actually affect future capacity to maximize grafts from strip, healing, "regional" tension factors (his quote, which I assume to mean they alter strip size depending on the part of the scalp), etc. etc.. I am wondering about this issue a lot lately.

[joshbabu]

as i was habituated of plucking my hair sincee 4 years ,,,,, and nw its luking very ugly to me soo please tell me the treatment or any information or suggestions reagarding the getiing of my hair backk i made my hair on my head some partt totaly plucked ... so i neeed yourr help please

[joshbabu]

please reply my comment

[Slickers]

please reply my comment

 

you should start your own thread and try to be more precise about what your problem is.

[Raphael84]

agenteye,

 

Looking good mate. Most of the scabs will start to come off when you can start to shower properly at 2 weeks. Then when you gently massage your scalps, most will fall away. Unfortunately taking many of your grafted hair with them, but all part of the process. Your looking good! Patients!

[agenteye]

Thanks Raphael!! I CAN NOT WAIT to be able to shower next weekend! I think I'm looking more forward to that than I am for the new hair to start coming in! ;-)

[theportchesterpirate]

Congratulations on getting the HT done agenteye it's a long wait now, you will get impatient believe me. But hang in there focus on 16-20 weeks you should have some descent coverage by then. And then from around 7-8 month the hair will start to thicken, generally takes around 18 months to fully grow out so long way to go, but it's positive all the way now dude.

[agenteye]

Hi everyone-

 

 

Thanks to everyone in these forums for the support so far. Just a quick update with some photos. Just hit the 16 day mark since my restoration. I had my sutures out Friday (14 days) and took some photos of the recipient and donor area after my first "normal" shower yesterday! I haven't really shed many transplanted hairs yet, but I'm sure it's coming really soon!

 

The recipient area is obviously very pink still, and my scar is somewhat irritated because my GP had a difficult time removing the sutures. He said that he was somewhat unfamiliar with the closure technique used, so there was a little bit of extra tugging/pain involved until he finally figured it out!! I think I'm starting to have a bit of shock-loss also where the incision for the donor removal was....but I was expecting this would potentially happen!

 

Alas, nothing to do but wait and grow now!!

 

I'll update again at the one-month mark! Pictures at the link directly below:

 

Photos 15 Days Post-Op

 

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend! :cool:

 

 

 

Mike

[Cant decide]

Congrats bud. Dont worry about the donor shock loss. I had it pretty bad and it all grew back by 4 months if not sooner.

[agenteye]

Holy Crap, do I ever feel ugly!! You guys WERE NOT joking about the "ugly-duckling" thing! I fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down!! :eek: I totally didn't realize that I would lose so much of my hair.....as I assumed the shock loss would be around my scar only. But it appears that I lost a lot of my native hair as well? Either that, or I'm a lot more bald than I thought I was....and I am just being made aware of it because my hair is so short?! At any rate, it is pretty depressing to see, even though I know it is part of the process.....and sorry to subject everyone here to the photos. I should just skip straight to the ones where I actually (hopefully) start growing in a few months from now!! :rolleyes:

 

Also, I definitely seem to be experiencing A LOT of itching. I don't think it's anything abnormal, as much as it is my scalp healing! With that said, can anyone tell me if it is okay to be rubbing my head now that I am one month out from my procedure. I have been rubbing the recipient area like crazy when it itches (just finger tips and palms of hands....no nails or scratching at all), and am hoping that I can assume I am doing no harm? I don't want to do anything that may hinder or hurt the growth, and I figured since I was a month out, it didn't matter how aggressive I was with the rubbing? :confused:

 

Anyhow, below is the link to my photos....exactly one month post-op!! I will either post again at the 6 week mark, or will wait 'til 8 weeks (2 months) if there is zero change!

 

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas...and a great start to 2013 as well!!

 

Best,

 

Mike

 

 

Photos One Month Post-Op

[SADbutTRUE]

hang in there ,around spring time , you will be sporting a new headof hair,

[agenteye]

Thanks SADbutTRUE-

 

April showers help new hairs flower??? Hopefully!!! =) Given the timeline, I should be sporting a pretty decent new mop come Summer at least!! Can't wait!

[Raphael84]

Right where you should be. I know its tough looking at some of the photos, especially when the shock loss kicks in and the scar is still visible. Its funny, from me reading your write ups from immediately post HT, until these more recent posts (1 month), the time seems to have flown by, in terms of you. But the last month for me has gone pretty damn slow. Bizarre, hope that makes sense.

Judging by your 15 day photos, you are going to be in for one hell of a transformation, and I really appreciate your "activeness" and the photos. Stay positive and have a great Christmas and holiday season!!!

[agenteye]

Hahaha thanks pal.....not bizarre; it makes total sense!! Thanks for the nice Christmas wish. Wishing the same for you and your family as well, and here's hoping we are both looking terrific in 2013!!! Always look forward to seeing your updates and posts. This has been a long month for me on my side, but know that it will be worth it in the end! The 15 day photos are actually the only thing that give me some hope.....

 

Anyway, I'm off to dinner! Glad you posted, and hope to catch up soon! =)

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Thanks SADbutTRUE-

 

April showers help new hairs flower??? Hopefully!!! =) Given the timeline, I should be sporting a pretty decent new mop come Summer at least!! Can't wait!

 

HUGE difference for me was between 3.5 months and then just 2 weeks later at 4 months!!! You are in for BIG surprises!!!

[Cant decide]

Oh yes, the dreaded ugly duckling phase...I remember it well.. The next 2 months will be a bit better and then month 3-6 will take off like a rocket. Brighter days are ahead and I very much look forward to your progress.

[Levrais]

The shedding of native hair is definitely not a good feeling but its apparently normal. The itching will gradually go away. I found that trying to ignore the itch is better than rubbing the scalp. In my case the itching seemed to increase after touching my scalp. As others have said, things will turn around in the next weeks. For me, I turned the corner around week 15. Hang in there.