Dr. Rahal 3340 grafts FUT

[greatjob]

So I'm a pretty private person and sharing isn't really my style, however after the great experience I had at Dr. Rahal's clinic, coupled with the fact that he's getting screwed by the laws in Ontario preventing him from posting on these forums I thought I would share my experience.

 

So first a little background on my hairloss, I started losing my hair very early, like junior high early and it has always been a major issue for me. I had a transplant of about 900 grafts with a respected surgeon (who I'm not going to name, I'm over it and see no point in getting into it) maybe 6 years ago. Promises were made about what I could expect in terms of results for that procedure and I believed them because I was uneducated. I now know the promises made were impossible to achieve. I decided to cut ties with that surgeon and move on. After doing a lot of research and finding this site I had a few consults with my short list of doctors and I chose to have my procedure with Dr. Rahal. Much of that decision had to do with my interaction with Mattj, I'm not sure if he's on here still since they were stopped from posting, but if he is I have to say thanks. He was super patient with me and not pushy at all, he's a great guy.

 

Anyways, I'm not going to go into a crazy detailed right up of everyday I spent in Ottawa, but my experience with Dr. Rahal was fantastic. It was a complete night and day difference from my first procedure even though I went to a highly respected clinic. Dr. Rahal's clinic is like a well-oiled machine, the attention to detail pre-op, intra-op, and post-op is pretty incredible. Everyone I dealt with during my stay was absolutely top notch from Dr. Rahal, Mike, April and the receptionist (I believe her name was Michelle, I'm horrible with names)

 

I was a little apprehensive going into this procedure as I experienced a lot of pain in my donor area with my first procedure; I had to get a refill of pain meds which I took for almost two weeks. This time however I only took the pain pills the first night and experienced very little discomfort which I think speaks to Dr. Rahal's surgical skills.

 

I ended up getting 3340 grafts and 6939 hairs with the following breakdown:

578 singles

1926 doubles

836 triples

 

The procedure was focused on the front half of the scalp. My hairline was kept conservative as I don't have great donor density, which is fine by me as I've always had a fairly high hairline and I really just want as much density as I can get within my existing hairline. I do have very good laxity so I have more left in the bank. So I'll leave it at that for now, I'm not big on pics but I know how much everyone loves them so I have posted pre-op, day 1, week 1 and week 2 pictures. I will keep this thread updated as things progress.

[StaggerLee123]

Congrats greatjob I'm sure that's going to make a huge difference for you. Good luck growing.

[tacolinowest]

fantastic, love reading these,, i wish you well and hope it changes your life for the better

[bnash79]

nice, densely packed. i will probalby go to dr rahal for my second procedure. so far im not happy with how densely mine was packed for 3400 grafts.

[Cant decide]

Looks great. Congratulations and I am sure it will be life changing for you as it was for me.

 

Happy growing and thanks for sharing.

[greatjob]

Thanks for the kind words guys!

 

Bnash79, you can't go wrong if you do decide to go see Rahal. If you have any questions about anything feel free to shoot me a message.

 

Can't decide, your procedure was one of the ones that turned me on to Dr. Rahal in the first place, so thanks for that! You look awesome! I only wish I would have went to him the first go around, but you live and you learn i guess.

[Cant decide]

Thanks for the kind words guys!

 

Bnash79, you can't go wrong if you do decide to go see Rahal. If you have any questions about anything feel free to shoot me a message.

 

Can't decide, your procedure was one of the ones that turned me on to Dr. Rahal in the first place, so thanks for that! You look awesome! I only wish I would have went to him the first go around, but you live and you learn i guess.

 

Great!! I am sure you will be thrilled. What was your average density planted at in grafts per sq cm?

 

I am going back for round 2 in August.

[greatjob]

Great!! I am sure you will be thrilled. What was your average density planted at in grafts per sq cm?

 

I am going back for round 2 in August.

 

I'm not 100% sure about the average density, I didn't ask what density he planted. It is pretty densely packed at the hairline and then tapers off as it goes back. I could measure the area planted and figure it out, but I'm trying not to be ocd right now just trying to avoid mirrors and not think to much about it for the next couple months, lol.

 

Man you are going to look awesome after the second round!! Good luck!!

[Blake Bloxham]

Looks great! Thanks for sharing.

[kred2]

That's a great work......happy growing!!

[KO]

Yay!. Good luck, and keep us posted!

[TakingThePlunge]

Congratulations! Please keep us updated on your progress.

[JohnnyDrama]

Very promising! How's the donor area?

[greatjob]

Very promising! How's the donor area?

 

Its healing up pretty nicely. I'm at 1 month post op and I'm going to take more pics, so I'll take pics of the donor area as well. I have a little shock loss but not too bad. I was really impressed with how little tension there was on the strip closure. With my first procedure there was a lot of tension on the closure from day 1 and a lot of pain, however this round there was almost zero tension in the donor and very little pain.

 

I did however opt to have Dr. Rahal take as much hair as possible as apposed to extracting all of my first scar, so there is still portions of my first scar. I did this because I have had a lot of surgeries and my scars always heal almost to the point of disappearing and my main goal was to get the most hair as possible. I have also accepted that I will probably want to opt for another procedure in the future at which point I will have all the scars excised. I am rather curious to see how the coverage will be though, I could previously cut my donor hair down to #3 guard with no signs of my scar so we will see how it turns out.

[hairz]

Its healing up pretty nicely. I'm at 1 month post op and I'm going to take more pics, so I'll take pics of the donor area as well. I have a little shock loss but not too bad. I was really impressed with how little tension there was on the strip closure. With my first procedure there was a lot of tension on the closure from day 1 and a lot of pain, however this round there was almost zero tension in the donor and very little pain.

 

I did however opt to have Dr. Rahal take as much hair as possible as apposed to extracting all of my first scar, so there is still portions of my first scar. I did this because I have had a lot of surgeries and my scars always heal almost to the point of disappearing and my main goal was to get the most hair as possible. I have also accepted that I will probably want to opt for another procedure in the future at which point I will have all the scars excised. I am rather curious to see how the coverage will be though, I could previously cut my donor hair down to #3 guard with no signs of my scar so we will see how it turns out.

 

Any updates pics? Would like to see. thank you

[greatjob]

Not a whole lot to report as its only about 2 months post op. Just trying to forget about it as much as possible and hoping time goes by as quick as possible. Photos are 1 month and 2 months post op.

[hairz]

Not a whole lot to report as its only about 2 months post op. Just trying to forget about it as much as possible and hoping time goes by as quick as possible. Photos are 1 month and 2 months post op.

 

Thanks for the update. It is looking good for 2 months. How are you feeling about your HT so far?

[greatjob]

Thanks for the update. It is looking good for 2 months. How are you feeling about your HT so far?

I feel fine. I'm still in the ugly duckling stage so there's not a whole lot of progress as should be expected. This isn't my first rodeo so I was pretty well prepared for the process and everything is going just as I expected so far. If I remember right your procedure is coming up soon right? If you have any questions feel free to shoot me a message.

[hairz]

I feel fine. I'm still in the ugly duckling stage so there's not a whole lot of progress as should be expected. This isn't my first rodeo so I was pretty well prepared for the process and everything is going just as I expected so far. If I remember right your procedure is coming up soon right? If you have any questions feel free to shoot me a message.

 

 

Yes, just 4 more days to go and I will be in Ottawa. I can't say that I am not nerves. MY biggest fears are the outcome and the future hair loss. I am guessing that this feeling wont go away for awhile.

[greatjob]

So it's been 6 months now since my 3340 graft procedure, and I thought I would post an update. I am pretty happy with where I am right now. I haven't been looking at the pictures that I have been taking, I have just been trying not to think about it and let time pass, but posting these pics I am even more impressed with my progress. The only down fall is now the areas that we didn't touch are becoming more obvious to me, I think I might have to start casing banks to pay for round two . Just for full disclosure, all my pics, including pre-op, are taken in the same room, in the bathroom with fairly harsh lighting and after a shower with dry hair and no product.

Edited July 1, 2013 by greatjob

[KO]

This is really good even for a final result, much less 6mos. 3.5k grafts is not that much for a large areas....more angles please?

 

May the hair be with you!

[hairz]

Greatjob, wow for 3,340 grafts in a larger area this is looking amazing and to think you still have more growth to come

[agenteye]

Greatjob-

 

GREAT JOB INDEED! Congrats buddy! Look at all that new hair. Month 4-6 alone was a huge transformation for you....and seeing where you started pre-op is really terrific. Dr. Rahal works magic.......and you should be thrilled.

 

I too am considering round two very shortly.....as I have the same "downfall" as you do!! haha.

 

Congrats again though......you should definitely be happy with that result!!

[Slickers]

What a thatch that is! Wow.... looks awesome Greatjob, that's some serious density!! I'm so pleased for you.

 

And so pleased to see this update, my recipient looks very similar to yours at each stage so far, very little scabbing at week 1, very similar to your week 2 and again at one month. I was worrying a little that most Rahal patients I'd seen have quite a bit of scabbing and I didnt get much at all (as odd as that sounds as something to be worried about! )... I know we all heal differently etc, I guess it's just reassuring to see similarities with success stories especially in the early stages whilst your waiting for things to happen. Anyways looking great mate!

 

As an aside did you ever use any concealers in the early months? I go back to work in 2 weeks, exactly 2 months post op and gonna have to do something to camouflage the gaps....

[greatjob]

Thanks a lot for the support guys!! pretty happy so far, it's a strange ride because even if you do your homework and know what to expect, the first 4-5 months are still stressful wondering if things will grow or not.

 

What a thatch that is! Wow.... looks awesome Greatjob, that's some serious density!! I'm so pleased for you.

 

And so pleased to see this update, my recipient looks very similar to yours at each stage so far, very little scabbing at week 1, very similar to your week 2 and again at one month. I was worrying a little that most Rahal patients I'd seen have quite a bit of scabbing and I didnt get much at all (as odd as that sounds as something to be worried about! )... I know we all heal differently etc, I guess it's just reassuring to see similarities with success stories especially in the early stages whilst your waiting for things to happen. Anyways looking great mate!

 

As an aside did you ever use any concealers in the early months? I go back to work in 2 weeks, exactly 2 months post op and gonna have to do something to camouflage the gaps....

 

Yeah I didn't use concealers because I was in a pretty good situation, I work in a lab that requires head gear anyways, and the only other thing I do is school so wearing a hat at all times wasn't a problem for me. Not knowing your loss I would buy some dermmatch and some toppik and experiment a little, see if you can make it look better.