Dr. True - 2k graft - 29yr old male

[diamondlight]

Hey everybody, quite a long time member to the forum minus a lot of action/posts. I browse and read a lot and have always appreciated those that share their stores with us all…both good and bad. It allows those of us who haven’t undergone surgery take a look into what lies ahead and allows those that have had HT’s relate and be there to help through the hard times.

 

As I mentioned, I’ve always been thankful to everyone here of course but, especially those that share their journeys. So, I thought what better way to give back than to do so myself.

A quick look in to my background would tell you that I’m a 28yr old male and this would be my second surgery with Dr. True. I had my first HT at an early age with Bosley and they were more than willing to get me in the chair. The doctor who performed the work didn’t do too bad of a job aside from creating an unnatural hairline and cost me an arm and a leg. One thing anyone could learn from reading this is to do your research, find a great doctor and don’t rush into anything. I hope this finds you before those late night Bosley commercials do that just suck you right in. I didn’t know any better at the time?

 

As I learned more about hair loss and that this wasn’t a onetime thing for someone like myself, I started to google around a lot more and stumbled upon this great forum. From there I learned of the certified board members that are recommended for their capabilities and credentials. This forum allowed me to find my way into Dr. True’s office.

 

I have nothing but good things to say about the man and his entire staff but, I’ll try and leave this to the bulk of the matter which would be my recent HT I had just undergone. My first HT with Dr. True was about 1600 grafts to re-establish a natural hairline, rebuild temple structure and add the rest of the grafts to the frontal region just behind the hairline.

 

This allowed me 5years of happiness with a little help from some cosmetics. Sure, life can always be better and we can always be happier or look better but, I’m a firm believer in not only being thankful for what I have, but for also where I’ve come from. The results I achieved weren’t perfect where I could throw in the towel and never need another HT but, they yielded great results and accomplished what we were after. They allowed me to take my social life to a whole new level but, at the same time still restricted me from a lot. You can only do so much at one time right

 

After consulting with Dr. True for my second HT with him, we talked over where I was looking to go with this and he then of course added his thoughts. I’m not in any position to have a HT at will for many reasons but, financial and my personal life being the biggest culprits. I have a very high speed, face to face networking style type of life and I can’t just keep going in to hiding. My point is that I was really looking to make the biggest bang that we could this go around (well I guess we all obviously are). We both agreed upon 2000 grafts and locked it down at that.

 

Their NY office has moved a few months ago and it couldn’t be IN any better of a location for those commuting in from the train. It is right outside penn station on 7th ave and several blocks down. No cabs needed which is always nice and it makes for that much less stress. I was able to arrive nice and early today and I got right to the paper work. Filling out the usual reactions to any medications, this that, amount for the session we agreed upon, how many grafts, what I’d like to eat…etc

 

From there I was able to be taken right in by Peter to have some pre-op pictures taken (for now I’ll provide some quick shots I took with my phone but, when he gets those sent over to me I’ll be sure to include that as well) and then went back out to wait till Dr. True was ready.

 

Fast forward I suited up, took my pain meds and the anesthesiologist got to work. She was very nice and did a great job. I didn’t feel ANY pain the entire procedure so…they did a great job of numbing me up. After my strip was extracted I was stitched up and then got up and stretched a bit. Next was time to numb up the recipient area (or maybe I had lunch first? Lol). Again a great job done here and everything went great. Dr. True then came in to go to work and made all of the incisions or punctures where all of the grafts will be placed. I think that after that is when I ate lunch and had about a 15minute break before it was time for all of the grafts to be planted.

 

I had a team of girls working on me and they were all very nice and helpful. They actually had me laughing a lot of the time just listening to them converse with one another and then when I lol’ed a bit, they were surprised to hear that I was awake and thought I was sleeping the whole time. So I got all of that inside girl talk

It took quite the time to place all of the grafts and they rotated quite a bit it seemed. Fast forward and the procedure thus far went great! I feel no pain, slight swelling (which hopefully goes down quick) and everything looks good. Anyone who is with me here knows this is the part where, oh I hope all of the grafts took, oh I hope they’re all in there, I hope they grow quick, I hope the redness goes away quickly, hope those scabs go fast too, when will I feel normal again, how about look normal again, I hope this turns out to be what I wanted and is money well spent....but this is where going with a Doctor you are comfortable with really pays off. You can almost guarantee that in due time the good will shine through.

 

So yeah…the fun part…the waiting game and the intial stage is a bit harder imo because you have to wait to shed the obvious layer that you had something done from the redness to the scabs and the swelling all before you’re appearance somewhat returns to normal.

 

Wish me luck everyone and I hope you enjoyed my little read J I didn’t want to carry it on for too long because than no one wants to read it lol

 

I will keep weekly updates with pictures as well and let’s get this ball rolling.

 

Who's in for some sexy new hair growth from the one and only Dr. True

[diamondlight]

here are a few shots from my phone that I just took

 

update: here are post op I got a hold of

Edited April 18, 2013 by diamondlight

[TakingThePlunge]

diamondlight,

 

Thank you for sharing your detailed experience and photos. Sounds like you got the royal treatment and the work looks stellar. I look forward to your weekly updates. Happy growing!

[diamondlight]

Thanks for stopping by TakingthePlunge. The day definitely went be easily and I can't believe it's just over like that. I guess the more sessions I have done, the better I am to handle the situation.

 

I remember building up to the date of surgery and every day would eat away at me. Then the day of surgery not knowing anything, feeling totally out of place. I just had a whole new feeling this time around and I'm glad thus far everything went the way it did.

 

Now my fingers are crossed for some excellent growth, nice density up front and even more coverage up top!

[diamondlight]

How bout some more pics guys?

 

These are all after a shower today, pouring water out of a large cup on to my head, adding shampoo to the cup as well as a sponge. Squeezing the sponge over my head and gently blotting with an up and down motion all over. I got out of the shower and applied my first layer of ointment to the donor area.

 

These pics are with wet hair both natural lighting and bathroom lighting and then after I dried my hair with a hair dryer on a cool setting.

[diamondlight]

The pain in the donor area has been more than I remember. I would assume this would have to do with the larger session/larger strip being taken out.

 

Another note to make on Dr. True's performance, my first surgery with Bosley left with a bit of a raised scar in some areas. My second surgery with Dr. True, he to my knowledge followed the scar and took from the same area not making for two scars. Just this Monday for my third surgery, Dr. True dug? out some of the old raised scar tissue to make for a cleaner, better healing smoother scar. There was also something new he used called a Matrix that he put into the scar area? before sealing it back up. This helps speed healing I believe?

 

Anywho, I've been having to double on on my pain meds taking two at once to help alleviate the pain. It has been pretty bad back there, but no where else luckily. I hope he'll be able to give me another script for a refill on the pain meds. I've been layering up the ointment on the scar twice a day looking to achieve some great repair. A problem I've always had was when getting a fresh cut, say down to a 1.5 or 2 in the back reveals the scar pretty bad and I've had to use dermmatch back there to cover it up. Maybe things will be different this time around? No promises there...

 

I woke up to some swelling on my forehead and have been using a bag of frozen veggies to help reduce.

 

Still have some redness in and scabbing in the hairline and temple area, gently been blotting with shampoo/water.

[diamondlight]

Day 5 post op - swelling in forehead has been pronounced since about a day or two ago. I've been using ice to help a bit but, it looks like it's just going to have to take its course. I've started to massage very gently at the scabs and some of the hairline has come off which is good. It's starting to become a bit less noticeable at this point, but my right side temple area still has a lot of redness too it. All of the grafts seem to be anchored in nicely too because while massaging the scabs away, I didn't have a point where a lot of blood came pouring out (which I believe as they said, "you'll know" when you lose a graft) which is related to losing a graft?

 

I had a small bit a blood at one point, but just a tiny amount because that one particular scab could of been slightly fresh still. Other than that I'm not having any major concerns or worries at this point, all seems to be on schedule with no interruptions.

 

My donor area is still very sore and I'm requesting a refill on my pain meds because I feel I'm going to really need them to help me through this next leg of recovery. I've been having to take 2pills 3x a day to help keep me at ease throughout the day.

 

Everything seems great and I'm honestly just praying that this operation yields much growth in the way that I expect it to and that it really helps take my confidence and my ability to function and live life to the next level.

[diamondlight]

updated post op pics in second post

[Raymond2013]

I'm in for the ride! Curious to see how things go for you buddy!

 

I'm right behind you by 5 days and feel like we have somewhat similar hair type. Good luck!

 

What all do you use to prevent further loss?

 

Wishing you the best!

[diamondlight]

Thanks for jumping on board Raymond, maybe we could right this thing out together It looks as if you had 500 more grafts than me? but we both have identical recipient areas it seems.

 

At the moment I am only using finasteride. For a while I was using nizoral 1%? (pretty sure it wasn't 2) and didn't really like it. Albeit it may help with surface dht and maybe I'll give it another run at some point with a different approach but, it just dried my hair out really bad which I wasn't happy with.

 

For a few months a while back I also used Rogaine Foam and just found it to be too much a hassle and messy for me. I have a good amount of hair in my crown area and was looking to regrow a small bald spot and help with further loss but, at my stage of loss in that area, it was just too messy being that I still have a good amount of hair back there. I thought about the minox liquid drips and actually asked you about them in your thread. It may be easier for me? <shrugs>

[diamondlight]

Quick update here - everything is going good in my recipient area, no pain except I can still feel my scalp is a bit numb still, no pimples (I know it's early), no redness really either so the addition of dermmatch makes it look as if I haven't even had a transplant which is good. I'm able to patiently wait without suffering too much now that the redness is all just about gone and all of the scabs are off.

 

No bleeding or anything throughout the past few days while I was massaging off the scabs, a lot of grafts came with the scabs and it seems a lot have also stayed. When I run my finger tips over my scalp I can feel all over some of the small hairs still intact.

 

My donor area is still a bit sore and slightly uncomfortable. I went in Friday to have my sutures removed and was told that the Doctor wasn't overly happy with the way my scar has healed because in some spots the scabs were a bit patchy. This may be because I took it very easy on the scar and didn't want to scrub away or massage away at the scabs and disrupt anything.

 

Unfortunately either the way the sutures were removed (meaning some of my hair around the scar was cut down) or being that the sutures were holding that area a little tighter and when they were taken out it gave a little slack? (if to say that) and that area dropped a tad or I'm just now experiencing shock loss but, there is a decent drop off in the donor area which takes some skill to cover up.

[Raymond2013]

I'm not sure on the exact number I received yet, but i'll update my log when I get them.

 

The nizoral is a lot cheaper then other shampoos, but they say to use the 2% and good luck finding it. I didn't like the way it left my hair feeling either.

 

I have the same small little bald spot in the crown which is why I am going to use it. I think that the dropper would be much less of a hassle.

 

Check this guy out. He does some really good reviews of hairloss products and using them.

 

Recommended Products

 

 

*Edit* I just seen your last post about the scar, how often did you use the ointment and clean the area? If you get the chance, i'd like to see a pic of what you're donor area looks like. They cut a good bit of hair back there so i'm sure that it'll be effortless to hide once it grows back in.

 

Take care.

Edited April 21, 2013 by Raymond2013

[diamondlight]

I apologize Raymond, something with me is that...my hairloss problem that I am faced with I...try and put so far behind me that I almost allow myself to forget there is a problem I am dealing with. Problem may be the wrong word to choose but, it is what it is.

 

However...a month and a week post op, I don't have too much to really touch on (hence why I also haven't kept a weekly update). I have shockloss to my front right (mostly) temple area and what I hope (is shockloss) throughout the donor area. There is maybe at an area or two about a half inch of loss just before the ears. This is somewhat able to be covered up through dermmatch but I have to be careful and not just "assume" everything is good back there.

 

In terms of shockloss and dealing with the "wait period" or "ugly duckling" phase, with the amount of native hair I have alongside dermmatch and toppik, I am managing to get through this period without much angst. Albeit I am dealing with the donor scar and making sure that is all well.

 

To touch on that for a second, I am fearing getting a normal haircut at this point like I normally would. I would get a number 2 and need a little dermmatch to assure the scar was covered up for a week or so. From there out, I was good to go...however...at this time I just feel there is a lot of loss (fingers crossed it's shockloss) in that area that I "Will Not" shave down that low. I actually have clippers and decided to take some of the bulk out earlier that has built up around the sides and back. It looks good

 

Pictures are on the way...

[diamondlight]

My hair "literally" stays in this position 24/7 because that's what seems to "work" with what I have without making it too apparent. I hope that the added grafts will improve coverage/thickness and allow me to lay my hair flat say...after a shower or whatever and not worry about always having it up "touched up perfectly".

 

You can see I've been able to sit pretty well while I "wait". I of course am in no way trying to boast because I share the same problems or what have you that the rest of us do but, (should I shout?) MAN I CAN'T WAIT SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.

 

Yes I know it's the months there after and then some that really show the true results but, given my profile, I feel just some slight growth will actually make a nice improvement on what I already have.

 

Raymond...my next shower when my donor area is squeaky clean, I'll snap some shots for ya brotha! I took a few but...after looking at them it really doesn't do any justice with the dermmatch thickening things up and all.

 

These pics are with dermmatch and toppik about 1month 1 week post op

[diamondlight]

I forgot to add that scar is still a bit red and I have to continue to use concealer in the donor area for now to add a bit of thickness to help with covering up the shockloss.

 

Fresh out of the shower you couldn't notice the scar there but, when I run my hands through my hair back there you can notice the shockloss. The hair drops off a bit below the scar and that's where I need to add coverage for now because when I sweat a lot say due to an intense session of cardio, the scar starts to become visible through my wet hair.

 

This has actually kept me from getting a hair cut because I'm afraid that at this point in the game, if I cut it too short in the donor area, no coverage will help. I did however take a clipper to the sides and back at a inch and a half and it seems to be just right for now. Not too short and revealing and not too long and sloppy. I'll keep at this pace till the loss in the donor area grows back. My hair was just starting to get too long so I had to do something about it.

 

On another note, I spent some time looking at my photos yesterday that are posted on page one and just wow. Talk about a HUGE reminder of the great things to come. I can't wait to see the results start peeking through and growing in to what I already have.

 

Very excited!!!

[Raymond2013]

Dang bro, your hair looks good! I got to get some of those products I'm just roughing this ugly duck phase and feel like crap! I didn't start using minox because I want to see the results of the ht first. I'm. right there with you hangin in there! Nothing changed here either other then watching shockloss kick my ass! *sigh*

[diamondlight]

Darn Raymond, I just noticed I didn't upload the pics of my scar. I took them and have them on my phone and could of sworn I added them to my log. I'll get them up tomorrow.

 

As for the pictures of my hair, yeah it's not too bad, but it takes a lot of work to get it where I want and it basically doesn't ever leave that style lol I'm really hoping that with the growth of this HT it will allow me to:

 

-Do without much concealer if any at all in the front

-Allow me to use different hair styles and maybe just (not to sound like a girl) wear my hair down...unstyled, no product just kind of pushed forward or whatever it be.

-Gain a good amount of thickness to about the top half and forward portion all where I have hair obviously.

 

If I gain what we were shooting for, this should allow me to do all of the above. In turn that will allow me to shampoo my hair more often. Go swimming, waterparks etc and just live free. I'm bound to what my hair allows me to do and it goes quite deeper than I could explain.

 

As I'm coming up on the 2month post-op mark, all of these things are going through my head. How much and how good of growth in relation to my expectations will come of this? Should I really be as excited as I am looking towards all of the possibilities?

[diamondlight]

One pic is with my hair wet and the other is with it dry - this was 2 weeks ago I got these pictures and had thought I posted them up. Some of the redness still remains as does the shockloss to the area.

[Gascoigne]

Not bad.

[diamondlight]

Ok so...here we are about a week after 4months post op. I haven't updated much because there really hasn't been much to make mention of.

 

However...

 

Where am I at this point?

 

Scar

Fully healed and still the slightest bit red. Where shock-loss occurred in the donor area (basically along the scar and just above it) has grown back maybe a little less than half of what was lost. Still about 3/8 of the scar length on the left side drops off a bit and is a tad patchy and very noticeable so, I can't cut my hair short in the back without fully exposing the scar. The rest of the scar/hair growing back in seems to be coming along slowly but surely. The right side of my head where to scar starts to where it goes a little past and to the back of my head is coming in the fasted and concealing the scar, it starts to dwindle as you make your way around to my left ear.

 

Recipient area

Temple region had some grafts put in to add some density to the part where is just about half way down from hairline and forms a point. Great outline and structure, I can absolutely notice growth there and can see both sides have taken nicely and look strong. I used to add a little touch of dermmatch there just to fill it in and make it look more natural. That is no longer as it looks great on its own. So that is my sure tell sign.

 

Hairline and behind where the most work was done to add density I can't really comment on just yet. What I can say is that the area is healed fine, no redness, no redness at all anywhere except just the scar a bit like I mentioned above, no scabbing or anything, looks clean and healthy, but still see through. I "think" I'm starting to see it fill in but, it could be either or. I know this is where I'll have to wait it out to truly see results.

 

Say for instance I have 1/2 density and am looking to achieve 3/4 density, being that the 1/2 I already have I would say is at max thickness of the hair shaft, I feel that the 1/4 that was transplanted won't shine until it really starts to thicken up in several months. I think I'm noticing less skin tone on my scalp as more could be sprouting and fill any gaps but, to have the see through style thicken up, that will take some time I'm sure : /

 

Mood

I'm just trying to stay positive and optimistic that this is going to exceed my expectations and really help take my confidence to the next level as well my social capabilities.

[OtherSyde]

Hey! I just saw this thread for the first time! I bet you'll look great in no time, man - don't stress! The fun part is just starting! I am about 2 weeks ahead of you, and just hit my 4 month mark roughly 2 weeks ago or so. Here's my update if you're interested - I had some work done on my temples/hairline as well, so you can use my updates for rough predictions ofwhere you may be in the immediate future. Cheers, and here's to the quest for great hair!

[diamondlight]

Hey! I just saw this thread for the first time! I bet you'll look great in no time, man - don't stress! The fun part is just starting! I am about 2 weeks ahead of you, and just hit my 4 month mark roughly 2 weeks ago or so. Here's my update if you're interested - I had some work done on my temples/hairline as well, so you can use my updates for rough predictions ofwhere you may be in the immediate future. Cheers, and here's to the quest for great hair!

 

Better late than never Maybe now you'll be in for the ride over the course of the next several months where it should start to really get good.

 

I appreciate the reassuring words and will be following your journey as well now.

[diamondlight]

 

Just under 5 months post op

 

 

 

 

So where am I at this point? Not too long ago with my previous update, you can see things weren't picking up too much and was still in the waiting phase.

 

 

 

 

At this point post op, things are now starting to pick up. I'm starting to see good coverage throughout my entire frontal portion of where I had work done. This includes the hairline and about 2-3inches back I'm not seeing anymore patches of scalp. This is great and shows much promise as to what is to come for this portion of my recipient area.

 

 

 

 

With my hair up, there is still the see through effect when looking at my hairline, but this should change drastically once the new transplanted hairs start to thicken up and some shock loss grows back.

 

 

 

 

When viewed from above, you can still see this portion is quite thin and is going to take time to fill in before I can start to smile about that.

 

 

 

 

My scar area still has a hint of redness to it but on the bright side a good amount of hair I lost to shockloss is starting to fill back in and hide my scar. I actually can't wait for this to be back to full health again with all my hair grown back so I can start to get tighter hair cuts. I've been clipping my back and sides with a 6 to keep decent coverage while that area grows back in.

 

 

[diamondlight]

 

6 Months Post op (the 6th of October)

 

 

 

 

Ok, so where am I at this point. I have to say since my last update, nothing has really happened. I haven't noticed any additional growth or any noticeable difference in the way my hair looked.

 

 

 

 

Yesterday I got a fresh cut, well...given what I am allowed to get with what my scar in the back now holds me too. I'm still waiting on my hair to grow back into my donor area where the scar is. Even at one spot, there is an actual patch of loss. Six months later and I've seen it fill in some but, it is still very noticeable if I sweat a lot and the hair gets wet or if I were to cut my hair to low. You can just see a strip of almost...no hair. This is "not good" and I really hope this turns around for the better over the next course.

 

 

 

 

At this point, I am praying that the months from here on out take a turn for the way better. I'm expecting to see more density behind the hairline and back (where is marked off in red) to where I can back off of dermmatch which was our plan of action. We aimed to further increase a polished and natural look while adding density to areas marked out, but also to finally get me away from using dermmatch.

 

 

 

 

I can say however that there is an obvious change at this point because when I use dermmatch now, I can apply it so much quicker, I can use less and my hair looks thicker than it did using dermmatch previous to my recent hair transplant this past April.

 

 

 

 

If no more growth is to come from here out though, I would have to say I would end up very disappointed. If all that is to come from here out is what I have just thickening up (and no more growth), unless the thickening up is to make a drastic difference in scalp coverage, I can't see how I could be content with everything I just went through.

 

 

 

 

BUT, I am not quick to judge and will try to remain staying positive as I know it's no where near the time to judge the outcome. I have plenty of time left before I can properly assess the good and the bad or what I did or didn't achieve.

 

 

 

 

I've attached some pictures below showing my current look:

 

 

 

 

The first 5 pictures are after my hair has been blow dried. The view from the top can be a bit misleading because of the camera not being capable of capturing a crisp image. In the middle how it looks thin and a bit patchy if to say that, that's how it looks closer up to the hairline as well.

 

 

 

 

I also outlined where we added 2000grafts for my second transplant with Dr. True.

 

 

 

 

The last two pictures are with dermmatch in, still a bit wet and the hair spiked up.

 

 

[OtherSyde]

Looking good! With DermMatch in it's pretty much undetectable, and once you hit the 9-10 months marks you probably won't even need that anymore!

 

I'll throw up some new pics soon too, since I hit my 6-month mark on Sep 27th!

 

Honestly, my first HT didn't really "mature" unti the 8-month mark at minimum, so we've still both got some more growth/density to look forward to...