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3525 grafts from Dr. Konior - frontal


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Background

 

I'm currently 35 and started losing hair around 10 years ago. By the time I was 29, it was pretty noticeable. Its funny how things change. When I look at my pictures at 22, my hair looks as big as my head. So, In around 10 years, my hair loss went from a 0 to NW5A. So did my confidence, but towards 0.

 

HT Research

 

A couple of years ago, I checked out a chain clinic, but the price was prohibitive at that time. I was lucky I didn't proceed with them. Last year, I decided to give HT some more serious thought as I was in a better position financially than in the past. I luckily found this forum. After some initial research, I went on to do a couple of consultations locally. I would have made mistakes as I didn't know enough to make a wise decision at that point, like any newbie. I just wanted hair and was very interested in getting something done locally. Luckily some good people in this forum provided the guidance I needed.

 

Forum and people

 

This forum is a life saver and so are a few people who are dedicated to helping others. I particularly want to thank "Spanker" for guiding and mentoring me. Without him, I would definitely have made mistakes. God bless him for being who he is and I hope he gets to keep all his amazing hair forever ;)

 

And without this forum, nothing would have been possible. So thank you to the people who maintain it. For people who think there are advertising/marketing here, yes, you cannot avoid/control it just like in any other forum. There will be good and bad in everything. It is up to you to do the required research, contact people via PM and recognize who is who based on their previous posts/activities. I suggest you spent a lot of hours as this is a life changing decision. I probably have spent 6 months' worth person hours on HT and it was all worth it at the end.

 

Doctor selection

 

I have had 3 in person consultations and numerous online consultations with a lot of well known doctors. With the help of this forum and members, I grew wiser with each experience and had a good idea of what I should expect from HT and what I will need. Now it was down to picking from the very best. One thing, as everyone says, do not let money or travel be a factor in your decision. HT is not a joke. As someone who went through it recently, I can tell you that you better take it very seriously otherwise A) you wont meet your expectations which can be even more depressing B) you could potentially damage yourself C) Its not just getting HT from the best of doctors, Post OP instructions are as important too. So read as much as you can, compare post op instructions from the best doctors and do everything right. Some small things like exposing to sunburns can make or break your HT.

 

Dr. Konior - doubts

 

What can I say. Any patient of his just sounds thrilled, too thrilled. I was skeptical initially. I have come across occasional sub par results from pretty much every surgeon but not him. Initially I was wondering how this is possible. There has to be someone, because if someone gets a bad result, thats when they come online and write about it. I tried and tried to find anything, but found none. Talked to his patients and everyone seemed to be very happy. Of course, it is not possible to talk to everyone of them and most of his patients do not post either. But i'm sure if someone got a bad result, they would post. So I came to this conclusion. Either he meets/sets everyone's expectations correctly, or he takes care of any problems that they may have. After my experience, i believe it is the former. Also initially I was skeptical about someone's ability to place all the grafts by himself. But after seeing him in person, I have no doubts he can probably complete a triathlon pretty easily. :).

 

Dr. Konior - Final opinion

 

One word - Yes, they were right. He is really really good.

 

I didn't go for a consultation in person, went straight for the surgery. After my many consultations, I knew what to expect and after my research, I was comfortable with my decision about him.

 

In my consultation before the surgery, he pretty much said everything the way I wanted it to be done. I really didn't have to change or discuss much. Then I knew I had made the right decision. His surgery was smooth, scalp was extremely clean compared to the pics that I had seen online. I don't know what he does, but it was so clean in a day and scabbing was very minimal. My recipient area was just perfect in placement and coverage based on my permissible donor. Also, I don't believe anyone can match his patience and response time to your questions, both pre and post OP. In fact, i'm amazed that how detail and prompt his responses are. He makes you feel you are his only patient. There is no nonsense about him, very professional.

 

Surgery

 

I'm not going to too much detail as many people have already described this to the T. All HT surgeries go pretty much the same way. You take pain killers/valium and some sleep, some don't. Dr. Konior said he wanted me to be pretty still and I guess I was since he said I was a good patient at the end. I barely remember anything about the surgery as I was half asleep, kind of like in a dream. I only took one break for lunch. Surgery is the easiest part of the HT process, trust me. That should be your least concern and no, it is not painful.

 

Dr. Konior was able to do 3525 grafts for me. My donor density is not all that great. He did the best that is possible which I don't think can be bettered. I honestly don't think anywhere else I would have got the same numbers and placement that he did. Again, it is just not about density, it is about what works for me. He put around 3000 grafts in my hairline and frontal third and around 500 towards the crown to make it appear as thinning. I'm happy with what I got, now yield is another story. I can't speak for it yet, but based on what I see so far, i'm happy. I'm also Asian, so my hair caliber is probably different and hence the distribution too.

 

Post Surgery

 

Initially I was very nervous. This was the most worrysome part for me about HT. What if I can't follow post op instructions correctly, what if I make a mistake etc. I have an advice for future HTers. Its really not a big deal. If I did good (i'm very paranoid), so will you. There is not all that much to do to be honest. The least you do, the better. Even if you make a mistake, you will survive. Just be careful with the recipient area. I took two weeks off and only time I wore a hat was one time on the forth day for half an hour. I didn't even wear a hat back to the hotel. If you choose to wear a hat, be careful to wear one thats loose. I didn't understand the concept of icing. I only applied it for like 2 minutes at a time. I don't have much experience with injuries/doctors (thank god) for last 15 years or so. Since I didn't ice correctly, I got some swelling, but it will pass. Donor area was painful for me post op. For some it is, for some it is not. It also doesnt help that I stopped all pain medications after day 4. Also, know that the scar will take at least a month to heal. I'm writing all this for future HTers. If you already have had one, you know. Since my scar was so tender, i was very worried about removing the sutures. I got my staples out the forth day as I had to go back home. That was painful but not too bad. Good thing is it is over in less than 10 minutes. Now back to sutures. I was expecting the worst for it and was really scared. But it was under 10 minutes or so and wasn't as bad as I thought. If you are in the DC area, i recommend going to the Patient First in Sterling, VA. Only cost me $15 and 30 minutes, and a doctor does it. And that place is just too good, for other things too. 5 stars from me and thats difficult to get.

 

Post HT impressions

 

Its been a month at the time of this writing. I'm very happy with my doctor and his office. Also, forgot to mention Lisa and Tom. Both really good in what they do and good human beings who care for you. I'm wearing a hat to work after 2 weeks of staying home. I am not comfortable exposing myself in this condition. Some people are, and some are not. Luckily i can wear a hat to work. I have cut my hair really short to make it even with the ht area. Even though I was an NW5, I was doing a massive comb over to hide all that. You can see that in my first pic. This is from just a couple of weeks before the surgery. Hopefully in a couple of months I see growth and can go without hat. It is safe to wear a hat after 2 weeks.

 

I'm not on prepecia or rogaine. I am just not comfortable with the sides of propecia and not sure if rogaine will help or hurt me. Have read too many conflicting opinions on it. In any case, if the transplanted hairs grow well, i'm much much better off than what I was before. I am not hair greedy, i'm hair needy ;). In a way, i may not be doing 100% justice to Dr. Konior's work as I would probably have gotten a stellar result with them, than without them. But i'm hoping it is still going to be good.

 

Expectations

 

I haven't lost any graft and have been very careful in every aspect post HT. So I hope I get good yield. i'm happy with my placement and will be ecstatic if I get growth for what I got. Keep an eye on my hair journey!

 

Advice

 

HT is not a joke. It is a REAL surgery. For some, it doesn't sink in until you get one, like me. Be prepared to spend a month being uncomfortable, painful (if you take medications, you will be better off) and worried for a while until the growth happens. Do your research. You probably won't go wrong with any of the top 5 doctors. I don't want to name anyone as it varies for people. All I can say is based on my experience, Dr. Konior is top notch and up there. You won't go wrong with him. I don't think he gets enough credit as most of his patients do not post as much. I have no idea why.

 

Just wanted to post a helpful link from Spex. It summarizes things pretty well for newbies.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/145591-hair-transplant-tips-info.html

 

I'll be posting my progress pictures soon. I also want to give back to the community as others have done for me.

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nothing much to report. Scar is getting better though the right side is still more reddish than the left. Takes time.

 

The recipient area pinkness is almost gone. Most of the grafts have shed I believe. Some are still there, seems to have grown too.

 

Scalp is a little dry and is getting some pimples. Based on Dr. Konior's recommendation, about to aggressively shampoo and exfoliate. Going to use a shampoo daily that contains salicylic acid for exfoliation.

 

This is where i'm at currently. will post more at 2, 3 months.

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Thanks so much for this write up. I'm sure you will get an awesome result.

4,312 FUT grafts (7,676 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - August 2013

1,145 FUE grafts (3,152 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - August 2018

763 FUE grafts (2,094 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - January 2020

Proscar 1.25mg every 3rd day

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HairNeeded,

 

Thanks for taking the time to present such a detailed write-up of your thoughts, feelings and experience before, during and after hair transplant surgery. As I've previously stated, you've selected an excellent hair transplant surgeon. Frankly, Dr. Konior is one of the most thorough and caring surgeons and people I've ever met. He cares deeply about his patients and is heavily involved in the procedure (as you know).

 

Your postoperative photos look great and I am confident that you will be satisfied with the end result.

 

I encourage you to keep us posted on your progress and even create a patient website documenting your progress and results.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

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  • Senior Member
You're an excellent candidate, that's for sure.

 

May the follicle gods be with you.

 

 

I would probably disagree with this statement. This patient may be a decent patient in terms of an established pattern and reasonable expectations (which are very important), but he does have some challenging factors. His density is not the best, the doctor was only able to harvest 3500 grafts and it covered a fairly large area, and his FU ratio should be taken into consideration. He is also not on medication.

 

He does have the Asian advantage, meaning it seems like a person who is Asian may take less grafts to look good because of hair characteristics. He also chose one of the best HT doctors in the world, so that is not going to hurt him either.

 

My point is, I would put him in the category of being a candidate for HT, but not an excellent candidate by any means. I don't think a newbie should come in and see this thread with similar characteristics and say, "Hey, I'm an excellent candidate too!"

 

 

He seems to have been a very good patient in terms of post-op (except for icing) and did diligent research before his HT. I do believe he will have very good transformation though and am really looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

I am an online representative for Dr. Raymond Konior who is an elite member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

View Dr. Konior's Website

View Spanker's Website

I am not a medical professional and my opinions should not be taken as medical advice.

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Why do you feel his density is not great? I feel he's a strong candidate because his hair caliber appears to be pretty thick, and his sides are high, while crown loss doesn't extend very far down. A successful procedure over the frontal zone would IMO yield a dramatic improvement.

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It agree with Spanker. He is not saying Hairneeded isn't going to end up with a nice result, especially in Dr. Konior's hands. The fact that he has diffused thinning and is not on meds takes him out of the "excellent candidate" category. There's more potential for losing more native hairs as he waits for new growth or soon after.

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  • 1 month later...
  • Regular Member

ok, technically the pictures are from two months 2 days, for the purists. Not much growth as expected at this stage, though I see hairs sprouting in many places. Horseshoe look continues for now.

 

One of the issues I'm experiencing is the attack of the pimples/pustules. General consensus is that it doesn't affect the growth. I think this period (two months post op) is one's lowest point in the whole HT saga, and mine is compounded by the unnecessary tension from the pimples. I'm on antibiotics to possibly control them but they keep coming out (so far) only to be decapitated by me.

 

Now when I look at my pictures, the sides kind of scare me. I hadn't realized how much less hair I have in that area. I have to applaud Dr. Konior for extracting 3500 grafts for me. I hope the sides grow more and hide the scar well. It is still a bit reddish for me in the recipient and scar areas. My body hasn't had a very kind reaction to all this.

 

I will create a site to report my progress, but I need something to cheer me up first, may be some growth. we'll see.

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It all looks pretty normal and seems to have healed well.

 

You may want to consider Rogaine to kick start growth.

4,312 FUT grafts (7,676 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - August 2013

1,145 FUE grafts (3,152 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - August 2018

763 FUE grafts (2,094 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - January 2020

Proscar 1.25mg every 3rd day

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Hi Matt,

 

Thank you for your comments. Yes, everything is healing well. I see that you have a procedure scheduled with Dr. Konior. Congrats. I'm sure you will get the best result possible for you. Good luck.

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HairNeeded,

 

As a Konior patient I'm super thrilled to see your pics of your recipient zone. It all looks so familiar, it's nostalgic for me. You did your homework and you will have the best results possible with Dr. Konior.

What I know is that your head will literally transform from these photos to what it will look like at month 7, and beyond. Front and sides included. I'd say to enjoy each month, even when it all sheds out and your bald again breifly. Take it all in while allow for days that you don't even examine your scalp. That seemed to help me in the long wait.

 

I had some fall out from the donor area but it grew back and the scar disappeared. I got my haircut today with the sides short and there's no sign of the scar.

 

 

In my opinion I'd recommend even a slight dosage of propecia or finasteride for the bigger picture. That's a decision everyone's gotta make on their own of course. But Dr. K is a believer in it's power to keep the DHT at bay and has prescibed it at various dosages based on if side effects took place or not.

 

Enjoy every month, it's going to look great.

Sam Spade

View my HT photo album

 

Very satisfied customer of Dr. Konior, Chicago

FUT, 3950 grafts, June 2012

Message me if you have any questions regarding my experience or Dr. K.

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In my opinion I'd recommend even a slight dosage of propecia or finasteride for the bigger picture. That's a decision everyone's gotta make on their own of course. But Dr. K is a believer in it's power to keep the DHT at bay and has prescibed it at various dosages based on if side effects took place or not.

 

 

I've done 12 weeks on the small dose below and I definately think my mid section has improved.

4,312 FUT grafts (7,676 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - August 2013

1,145 FUE grafts (3,152 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - August 2018

763 FUE grafts (2,094 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - January 2020

Proscar 1.25mg every 3rd day

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@samspade,

 

Thank you for the reassurance. I'm hoping I can say the same things to someone in future as well. In my case, the only thing is my scalp seems to be very thick and hair is having a tough time coming out.. I seem to have a predisposition to scalp pimples and there are a lot of pustules. Its not very clear in the pictures but I get a few daily. I really really hope it won't have any impact on the final growth.

 

As for propecia, the cost-benefit ratio (not the money) is not good for me considering the potential sides. I have lost 80% of the hair in the area where it would have made a difference. May be 5 years ago it was a good option for me, but not at this point. In any case, i'm not considering messing with my hormones right now. With my luck, it is probably not going to work out very well. We'll see what the future holds.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Senior Member

From what I've seen from Dr Konior's results is that they are all fantastic. I'm sure your pictures will be fantastic!

My Hair Loss Website

 

Surgical Treatments:

 

Hair transplant 5-22-2013 with Dr. Paul Shapiro at Shapiro Medical Group

Total grafts transplanted: 3222

*536 singles *1651 doubles * 961 triples,

*74 quadruples.

Total hairs transplanted: 7017

 

 

Non-Surgical Treatments:

 

*1.25 mg finasteride daily

*Generic minoxidil foam 2x daily

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Looking forward to an update man. Konior brethren assemble! Also, I reread what you wrote about pimples on your head and was wondering if you're still seeing them? For me, I saw a bunch of tiny ones pop up for months. It gave me no problems for growth, and my understanding is that it usually is because of growth spurts so it's completely positive. They always seemed to happen right before I saw some major change.

 

Also, your sides look thinner in those photos because you have a flash on in your camera settings. That kind of flash held that close to anything with hair will always look much thinner than it is. The light power on that split second strobe flash is hotter than being in a baseball stadium. For my photos I took photos in my bathroom with top-light and no flash. It showed all of the detail in a realistic setting.

 

Keep growin' and showin.

Sam Spade

View my HT photo album

 

Very satisfied customer of Dr. Konior, Chicago

FUT, 3950 grafts, June 2012

Message me if you have any questions regarding my experience or Dr. K.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • Regular Member

Hi Sam, thank you for your kind words. The pimples are now very less. I'm glad that battle is over. About the flash, you could be right. I don't think it is that bad in a realistic setting. I will just have to avoid flash going forward. ;)

 

Anyway, i'm not uploading any 3 month pics as there is not much to report. Everything is healing well. I don't have any numbness anywhere. I can say i'm back to 95% of preop. There is definitely some growth but nothing that a camera can show well. Lets see how 4 months will look. i'll upload the journal in the end when I have a good perspective of things.

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You had a lot of small grafts and covered a large area . Dr Konior is one of the best in the world but this is not going to be a high density result in my opinion . It is lucky that you went to Dr. Konior because his results are so natural .

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