My FUE Procedure With Dr Rahal

[mattj]

Hey guys,

 

I’m probably familiar to many of you as Dr Rahal’s forum representative and patient advisor, a position I’ve held for a number of years now. Well, as the title suggests, now I am posting as a patient!

 

I first discovered Dr Rahal when early onset male pattern baldness propelled me into the online hair loss community. The results he created always looked more natural, higher in density and simply more appealing that those being produced by other doctors. I had no idea that this sort of work was even possible! After talking with him at length, my decision was made - it would be Dr Rahal who would perform my hair transplant.

 

Then he asked me to work for him. Why? Well, I’m never one to jump into a decision, so in the lead up to choosing Dr Rahal I had done a heck of a lot of research and accumulated a fair bit of knowledge. Dr Rahal felt that this knowledge, together with my desire to help people, would make me a good addition to his team.

 

So if I’m working for Dr Rahal, why didn’t I have my procedure immediately? Personal reasons. Life. Things got in the way. Fast-forward to 2013 and the time was right, a date was set and here I am wearing the blue protective cap.

 

I underwent an FUE procedure totaling 2502 grafts.

 

Waiting Days

 

I arrived in Ottawa a few days before the procedure and this allowed me time to drop into the office and finally meet some of the staff who, until that moment, had existed to me as voices on the phone. A surreal experience, to say the least. Everyone at the office is extremely nice and friendly and it was a pleasure to spend some days in their company.

 

There was only one place to stay and that was Brookline Guesthouse. As many of you know, this B&B-style house is for exclusive use by Dr Rahal’s patients, is very convenient and we do encourage out-of-town patients to stay here. As expected, I really loved Brookline and was glad to see some familiar faces belonging to patients who had consulted with me. It deserves a separate write-up, which is coming soon.

 

Procedure Day

 

On the morning of the procedure, I turned up for my pre-op photos and consult with Dr Rahal, during which he drew the hairline position onto my head. A few strokes of the pen and it was done. I’m used to seeing pre-op photos so I could easily picture how the result would look once the pen line becomes a hairline.

 

After this I donned the surgical gown and Mike (the head technician) shaved my head. Patients always speak very highly of Mike. He’s a very nice guy who is highly skilled and has a sort of calming presence. You’re always glad when he’s in the room.

 

 

The extractions begin! I'm under there somewhere.

 

 

 

The procedure itself is broken into three key stages: extractions, incisions and implantation.

 

For the extractions, I was lying on my front, facing down and then to either side, allowing access to the full width of my donor area. I fell asleep. I drooled.

 

For the incisions, I was seated at around 45 degrees. Dr Rahal didn’t seem to mind me yapping, which surprised me as I thought talking would cause me to move and I’d be politely told to shut up.

 

 

Incisions being made

 

 

 

 

 

This is going on in another room. So many people involved!

 

 

 

 

For the planting of the grafts, I was seated at the same angle as the technicians efficiently placed the grafts into the incisions. The movie I chose to watch couldn’t hold my attention and I think I fell asleep a few times.

Duration - This was quite a lengthy procedure. The day was undeniably a long one, but I’ve had many ordinary days in my life that were more grueling than this one. The majority of the day was spent in quite a relaxed state as I was immobile, numb to the work being carried out and tired due to lack of a proper nights rest.

 

Pain and discomfort – as many HT patients before me have mentioned, the most painful part is the numbing injections. How painful will depend on your threshold. However, they’re over quickly and from then on I felt only the sensation of scalp contact – prodding and pushing – rather than pain. Later in the evening I had a bit of a headache, but in the days which followed, the only discomfort was some tenderness in the donor area when scrubbing it clean.

 

On the second day after the procedure, I no longer had any excuse not to go to work. Some of the other patients coming and going must have wondered why a fellow patient is sat at a computer terminal in the office! The ones who were staying at Brookline knew the answer.

 

I will be updating frequently over the next 12 months and beyond and hope you’ll follow with interest. I can tell you that I’m looking forward to finally having a Rahal hairline to call my own! Although it’s still early days and I’m wearing a hat, I actually feel a new sense of confidence just knowing what is beneath the hat and what it will become.

 

 

 

 

Mike removes the bandages

 

 

Edited February 20, 2013 by mattj

[chrisdav]

Congratulations Mattj.

 

Great write up and looking forward to your pictures.

[nativeremdies]

"they’re over quickly and from then on I felt only the sensation of scalp contact – prodding and pushing – rather than pain. Later in the evening I had a bit of a headache, but in the days which followed, the only discomfort was some tenderness in the donor area when scrubbing it clean. "

 

Reads like 50 shads of Grey

[SADbutTRUE]

congrats ,heal well and great growth to you

[Cant decide]

Congratulations! I am really looking forward to your updates and progress.

 

Nice to see you on the forum again

[greatjob]

Congrats Matt! Glad to see you on here again, you were a big reason why I chose to go with Dr. Rahal! Heal and grow well!!

[Raphael84]

Congrats Matt!

Great documentation, heal and grow well my friend!

[TakingThePlunge]

Right on Matt! Congratulations!

[james84]

Dont need to see the pics...already know the result is gonna be great.

 

 

However, looking forward to the pics!

[HARIRI]

This is great Matt, Which type of tool was used on you? Was it the old SAFE system or the new ARTAS Robot? Please share us some pics. Wish you all the growth :-)

[Eman]

Conrats mattj!

 

Looking forward to the pics and like Hariri asked, which system of FUE did you have done?

 

What level of NW were you?

FUE vs. FUT--what made you go the FUE route

 

Questions you probably have answered somewhere else, so I apologize, but would love to know more about your decision making process.

 

Thanks and looking forward to following your journey!

[alexiodg]

Hi Matt

I'm Alex from Italy, we met at brookline guest house in ottawa before u had your surgery.

I wish you all the best. We will keep update in this site.

Ciaooo

[mattj]

Hey guys. Sorry for the delay, I know you all want to see the photos. I guess I just had to get over my shyness. I'm documenting this thoroughly and most photos are on the website under "success stories". I don't think I can link to it here but you will find it easy enough.

 

I won't post every photo here as it will quickly clog up bandwidth (like I said, this documentation is thorough!) but here are some pre-op photos.

 

It was a shock to see myself from above. My temple recession was deeper than I thought.

 

 

 

 

 

[mattj]

Here I am the following day. I really like the hairline shape. It's not too low and blends well at the temples.

 

I actually don't mind the buzz cut at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mattj]

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and show of support! I see a few questions:

 

The handheld extraction tool was used for my procedure, as it is for all patients who choose FUE, unless they specify ARTAS.

 

Eman: You can now be the judge of my Norwood level. About a 3 I suppose. I choose FUE as I like to keep my hair short. It was always my personal preference.

 

Hi Matt

I'm Alex from Italy, we met at brookline guest house in ottawa before u had your surgery.

I wish you all the best. We will keep update in this site.

Ciaooo

 

Hey Alex. Nice to hear from you! All the guys at Brookline were great. We actually had another Alex from Italy turn up the Thursday I was there. Will you be sharing photos? Edit: I see you have. I had forgotten that your procedure was so long before mine and you spent a couple of weeks at Brookline. You should have a really great result.

Edited February 21, 2013 by mattj

[Eman]

Thanks for the update and the pics!! Looking good. I can definitely understand why you went FUE. Shaving down definitely works for you and you will always have that option.

 

Let the fun begin!

[mattj]

Thanks Eman!

 

Here are a few from day 4. We all have broadband internet, right?

 

I had some minor swelling this day - just on my forehead and between my eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

[Cant decide]

Looks great Matt. You are going to have a killer hairline!!

[chrisdav]

Pictures are really clear Mattj which I like.

 

I am sure you will have a trademark "Rahal hairline" in the next 12 months.

[mattj]

I thought I'd post a few shots from day 14. The scabs came away with ease, even while being extra careful.

 

[BrianR]

That's Impressive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you have any before pcs?

[mattj]

Thanks Brian. Before pics are on page 2. Post #14.

[Janna]

Great documentation. Looks like you're healing up well. I'm sure you'll keep us posted of your progress.

[mattj]

Thanks Janna. I'll definitely be keeping you posted.

[stinger99]

wow, only 14 days and it barely looks like you had a procedure done.

 

question: dr rahal used the handheld motorized punch right? who did the extractions? dr rahal himself, mike, or both. i heard some other rahal fue patients say that mike did all the extractions himself which i found odd.