kennyuk24 Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Hello everyone To start off my name is Daniel I'm 24 years old I thought I would share my time line of hair loss and transplants and my view of things and what I would do differently if I had the to time to start over. Hopefully helping you make a choice right for you. I started to notice me losing my hair at 14, pictures to follow, I had the dreaded m head at 15 tough I know! As you can probably guess this knocked my confidence for six! Getting a hair transplant was the ruling factor in every choice and every action I took during that period in my life. To the point I took my exams early so I could join the Army as they would give me the most money early on and I would be able to save as food and somewhere to live is quite cheap when in the Army. So after working every extra duty I could I saved enough to get my first transplant at age 18. I picked to go with Dr Alex Santo in Athens because of a patient diary of his written by Andy Hunt showing truly amazing results from day one. I was met by Andy who worked as a patient adviser he told me over the phone it was unlikely they could do anything for me as I was to young. Upon meeting with me and seeing that I was in fact receding quite badly he changed his mind. Also I was in awe of seeing the results in person the clinic had me! He indirectly looked at my hair as we were in public and we just had a nice friendly chat. I booked asap flew out to Athens met the team they were all very friendly. I had the strip method Dr S performed the transplant he had 1x Anaesthetist 2xNurses and himself working on me. Procedure went fine I was overjoyed at the current moment in time not knowing any better. It took about 4 hours in total I was told about 2500 grafts had been placed paid 4000 pounds I was so happy to be getting this problem sorted. So 9 months past the hair grew in my bald spots I was thrilled, I will put pictures up also advised not to go on propecia so I didn't. Nature took its course at age 20 i had my second (also very glad I did join the army at young age as now I am in a very good situation as result of being a person with drive at that early age)so money at this point didn't matter as much, I required another transplant to bulk up the same area and just behind it another 4000 pound for the next transplant same time about 4 hours for approx 2500 grafts.It wasn't Dr S who performed his surgery something I wasn't told would be happening before I arrived Dr S wasn't there I can't remember the name of the surgeon but anyway he performed the transplant something I really do wish I contested but I didn't. However with the scar in the donor area on my left side was a lot thicker and more painful I never regained feeling in the upper left side of the back of my head. I wasn't angry thought I was very happy as over the next 9 month more hair grew but not knowing any better I was thrilled again. Nature continued to take its course this time however I had something I didn't have before I had life experience so I researched Dr Santo and found quite a few bad reviews of him so started investing my time in looking up other Dr's, this is when I began to feel abit hard done by as patients for some doctors would say 1500 grafts and there results would kick the living daylights out of mine in terms of density and how it looked. At this point I contacted Hasson and Wong and BHR. With the intention of getting a transplant by someone who constantly got praise from the reviews. I first contacted Hasson and Wong as I had six weeks off and wanted a transplant soon as, they were unable to fit me in the time frame I wanted so I contact BHR organised a consultation drove all the way to Brussels got completely and! utterly lost due poor prep by myself missed the appt had no signal abroad drove back to England a very angry man. Organised another consultation in the future they were very understanding and friendly even though I had wasted a lot of their time. At this point David contacted me again to see how I was getting along even though I had mess him around a few week previous. I told him nothing had moved forward in terms of getting a transplant. We arranged a consultation in London. At the consultation I met David who had had a hair transplant repair from Hasson and Wong again results were amazing. Now the first difference from last time he then took A LOT of notes and looked at my head under a magnifying glass took lots of pictures at all angles, parted the hair took more pictures then he eventually came to the conclusion that 3000 grafts would be perfect for my frontal third. I enquired about having more to fill out the crown he advised against it as at that point in time we didn't know if propecia would halt the loss he also advised me to get on the drug. I did start taking it. IT stopped my hair loss in its track I also had lots of shedding in the first couple of week of taking it. As soon as I could book time off work I arranged for the transplant to take place on the 11th April 2013 The day before the transplant I had a consultation with Dr H he asked me if i had any question took another good look at my hair told me I had an expensive head as it was a big one ha! This is where he also told me why the previous jobs were poor explaining the reasons why it was bad. Also it may effect blood flow due to the scaring on the top of the head so 3000 may not be possible but we will do as many as we can and ask if I was happy if we went over 3000 I said as many as possible please. I was so angry after that. Not knowing any better I was always happy with my results but now felt quite let down but glad to be having it sorted. Day of transplant!! I had Dr H I think I had 6 nurses 3 cutting my grafts and a group of 3 planting grafts 2 at a time they rotated so they never get to tired which I though was quite a good system. The teams changed though out the day I think. I arrive at 7am met by one of the friendly nurses she preps me for the transplant Dr H arrives soon after the only painful part was when the local was being administered but after that it was pretty much painless, the strip was removed fairly quickly. At this point I had a drink then I was handed a counter and had to count every 100 hole Dr H cut into my head we reached 3300 hole as the yield from the strip I was told could be a lot. I looked into the mirror and I could see the hole were so much smaller than last time and a 1000 time more densely packed I was very pleased already! Turned out my head was fine to transplant Hussar!!! After that a team of nurses began cutting the grafts and implanting them this took a massive 12 hours to implant a total of around 4500 grafts we had to cut more holes as we didn't think that yield would be that high a total of 4300 holes in the end I think although I'm not that sure. I was told at some point my grafts had a large amount of multiple hairs only more good news we had a break for lunch and dinner food was awesome large selection, also constant supply of fruit juices! Towards the end of the day DR H gave me more local then left, after checking I was OK or if I needed anything and the nurses got down to finishing the last couple of hundred grafts. It did become slightly painful as the local wore off but after mentioning it the staff they worked in areas that were still painless. This is at which point I thought it took that long to do that many grafts with two people transplanting non stop but the last two transplants it took a total 8 hours to do slightly more grafts with only one person transplanting and had to have two strips taken so you can understand why I'm slightly concerned I got ripped off. I then got a goody bag full of aftercare drugs and instructions and a few other things to make me comfy during the next few days. Everything was explained to me clearly left the clinic straight to bed! Had a good nights sleep I had alot of bleeding during the night the pillow was about 40% covered in blood and thoughout that day and the next a small part of my cut leaked plasma. I called DR H with my concerns he gave instructions on what to do I applied pressure a lot longer the 20 minutes he said but it did stop. I went into the clinic for my first hair wash it was completely painless. Then headed out to explore Vancouver for my remaining time. The days after the transplant I had a lot of swelling then lasted 3 to 5 days not much pain as the medication helped. Two weeks after the Transplant I had the staples removed today some of them hurt a little some of them felt like they were itching an itch that I couldn't reach. It was simple enough to do said my friend. pictures to follow. What I would do differently if I could start again? Is research research research!!!! picking a good clinic regardless of price should be the main concern as I feel I could of saved 8000 pounds if I had got to Hasson and Wong first I will be documenting my results over the coming months to see if my money is well spent I already get the feeling that it is looking at how dense the grafts were packed. They were very professional it was clear as day everybody knew the roles and had lots of previous experience doing what needed to be done I felt like I was in good hand and not at any point did I feel distressed. Now its just the waiting game. Kind Regards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennyuk24 Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 First picture me at 17. Second picture me after '5000' grafts I don't believe I had that many. With Dr A Santo Next 3 pictures are two weeks after aprox 4500 grafts with Dr Victor Hasson. Confident I got the amount of grafts I was told. Last Picture is my leaky plasma cut last for approx 2 days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member 1978matt Posted April 28, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted April 28, 2013 Nice write up - enjoyed reading it. 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TommyLucchese Posted April 28, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted April 28, 2013 So glad to see H&W at the end of the write up! Always breaks my heart seeing desperate people crippled by this shitty hair loss gene end up mentioning a sub-par/unknown doctor and that their misery has no end. Should be a very positive outcome to your story H&W are top notch! 2,000 grafts FUT Dr. Feller, July 27th 2012. 23 years old at the time. Excellent result. Need crown sorted eventually but concealer works well for now. Propecia and minoxidil since 2010. Fine for 8 years - bad sides after switching to Aindeem in 2018. Switched to topical fin/minox combo from Minoxidil Max in October 2020, along with dermarolling 1x a week. Wrote a book for newbies called Beating Hair Loss, available on Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member greatjob Posted April 28, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted April 28, 2013 I feel for you man, I started loosing my hair at about the same age. Not fun going bald while your in high school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Garageland Posted April 29, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted April 29, 2013 Welcome to the forum Dan, Thanks for the detailed account of your surgery with Dr Hasson, I have posted your photos as you asked me to. I look forward to seeing and hearing about your monthly updates. Good growth to you. Your graft count was 4814 follicular units transplanted 1098 singles, 3378 doubles and 338 3-4 hair grafts. --- Former patient and representative for Hasson & Wong. Dr. Victor Hasson and Dr. Jerry Wong are esteemed members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. My opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hasson & Wong. My Hair Loss Website - Hair Transplant with Dr. Hasson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member chrisdav Posted April 30, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted April 30, 2013 Hi Kenny, Was reading your thread before I was about to watch "Olympus has Fallen" in the cinema-great film. I liked reading your write up and you have really been through it but fortunately it is great you have found a top guy in Garageland, who knows his stuff and represents such a prestigious elite clinic. Keep us posted and I am sure you will have a great result. 2 poor unsatisfactory hair transplants performed in the UK. Based on vast research and meeting patients, I travelled to see Dr Feller in New York to get repaired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now