3999 With Dr Wong 23 Apr 13

[Airbumps]

Hey guys,

 

Thought I would throw my post into the mix here to provide a bit of an account of my recent surgery with Dr. Wong of the famous Hasson and Wong.

 

I'm 33 now and started loosing my hair when I was 21 or so, and it happened quickly. On a whim, I happened to ask my Doctor if there was anything I could do about it and he prescribed me propecia which I've been on to this day (Proscar now). That was a Godsend and has given me years of continued coverage. If it hadn't been for that, at the rate I was loosing it I would have been a billard ball when I was 25.

 

Due to the Proscar I've been able to maintain decent coverage, mostly because my hairline has held very well. Its been thin behind the hairline for a while but with Toppik and a little bit of styling I've been able to pull it off and most people think I've got a full head of hair.

 

Over the last six months however, it became more and more apparent that if I wanted this facade to continue I'd need some more material to work with - so, after about 10 years of research I booked an appointment with Dr Wong of Hasson and Wong. The goal was to simply add more density to my thinning areas. Being from Australia, it was going to be a long trip. I left Australia on the Tuesday, arrived the same day and went straight up to Vancouver for an initial consult. Dr Wong advised me my density was good and laxity very good. Joe did me a favor and buzzed my hair down to a #2 so I could get a better look at exactly what was going on under there after which it was back to the hotel.

 

The following morning I returned at 0615 to begin. Its quite a day. Unfortunately Dr Wong advised after getting half way through taking the strip that my laxity wasn't as good as he first thought. We only ended up getting the 3999 which was shy of what I was really hoping for.

 

I left at about 1730 h and headed off back to the Hotel. Sleeping the first couple of nights wasn't too bad, I did as instructed and took the pain killers which worked a treat. Went back the following two days for a wash and pimple pop before heading back to Australia again. All told, gone for five days.

 

I've attached below a couple of sample pictures and will then update the thread as progress goes on.

 

The first two pictures are those that I sent to H&W for an online consult. Dr Wong advised that I was looking at between 4000-4500 to fill it in. On the day, he only managed to get 4000 out which was a little disappointing - hopefully it goes a way to fixing the problem though!

 

The third image is a good demonstration of what Toppik and Dermatch can do for a thinning head. I've been using this stuff in moderation for about 8 years. Amazing.

 

The final image in this post is obviously the day of the surgery. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little painful and uncomfortable. That said, the staff there really do know their thing and were amazing!

[Blake Bloxham]

Congratulations! Thank you for sharing.

[Airbumps]

Below are some pictures I took at day 6. I did get a fair bit of swelling around day 2/3 but that was quickly gone and aside from pain when sleeping, havn't had any discomfort at all really. The recipient area is quite numb and the stables are a PITA but asside from that, all good.

 

Below are a couple of photos from around day 6;

[Shampoo]

Airbumps I too am a graduate from Wong University of Hair Restoration.

 

Glad your surgery went well.

 

Keep the faith....the next 4-5 months will seem like slow-motion.

 

But you've done your investigative work and know the routine.

 

Best of luck and happy growing.

[StaggerLee123]

Good luck growing!

[chrisdav]

Welcome Airbumps.

 

Dr Wong is top notch.

 

Keep us posted with your progress.

[tacolinowest]

i can just tell by looking at your pre and post op pics that you are going to have a very very good result, good luck

[Airbumps]

Thanks for the comments guys.

 

Now at about 21 days and am seeing more and more hairs in the shower each day. I was expecting them all to fall out but that doesn't make it any easier to digest or deal with! Its hard to tell as I'm a diffuse thinner how much if any of my native hair has fallen out as a result of shockloss.

 

I've been taking about 6000MG of MSM, 300 MG of Silica and about 3000MCB of Biotin daily since the procedure. Hopefully that heaps getting the old hairs growing a little faster!

 

The staples came out at day 14 and I barely felt a thing. Very easy and painless.

 

The scar has settled quite nicely. Its still a little visible at a #3 guard as the scar line itself is a little red just above the ears. Still, I'm happy with it thus far.

 

I've attached a couple of pics from about 18 days post op. The first is the scar which is visible though about a #3 on the left. The second is the top obviously.

 

Cheers guys.

[SADbutTRUE]

welcome to the forums, heal well and great growth to ya, dr,wong is a great surgen,

[Airbumps]

Just updated with the 1 month photos. All HT hairs have left the nest and I think might have taken some of their native friends with them. Scar is doing good as long as you don't really look at it from the left

[biscuit]

Nice documentation. Looks like you will have good results.

[Airbumps]

Thanks for the replies all!!

 

Updated for the two month mark. Not a great deal to report. Shedding stopped a few weeks ago which was nice. No growth to report as yet but that is to be expected - another couple of months to wait until I see new shoots.

 

I've had a bit of shock loss to the native hair in the recipient area and a small amount along parts of the scar on the left side as well. Still, hopeful that this will all grow back in the coming months.

 

 

I've uploaded a few pics of the scar mostly just to show how different light can make it look more/less obvious. I clipped down to a #3 today for the pictures. All pictures are taken in natural day light and without flash.

 

 

 

Hoping for a bit more scar fading in the next month or so!

[agenteye]

4000 grafts with Dr. Wong.....given your pre-op photos! It's going to be AWESOME buddy! Really will look amazing! Congratulations on your recent procedure. Your 2 month photos are looking right where you should be......and the scar looks really great as well! Looking forward to following your journey. Airbumps!!! Happy and healthy growing to you.........

[Airbumps]

Thanks for all the comments guys - updated today with 3.5 month shots.

 

Out of interest, can anybody recommend a good way to see if/how much is growing? I've still got a bit of coverage on the top which makes it difficult to spot any little sprouts. I've spent a while looking in the mirror (expecting at 3.5 months I should be starting to see some movement) but either nothing is happening, or if it is I cannot for the life of me pick out the new sprouts from the existing hair.

 

Any advice?

 

Hooroo

[greatjob]

Thanks for all the comments guys - updated today with 3.5 month shots.

 

Out of interest, can anybody recommend a good way to see if/how much is growing? I've still got a bit of coverage on the top which makes it difficult to spot any little sprouts. I've spent a while looking in the mirror (expecting at 3.5 months I should be starting to see some movement) but either nothing is happening, or if it is I cannot for the life of me pick out the new sprouts from the existing hair.

 

Any advice?

 

Hooroo

My advice would be to stop analyzing it so closely, you're going to drive yourself crazy. Just take monthly pictures and try to forget about it, if you don't time will go by very slowly and you will start to worry too much about how much growth you're seeing or not seeing.

[Nick153452]

Greatjob is right. I know it's hard, but it's just easier to do. I'm at about 2.5 months post-op and I just don't even pay attention.... Sure I'm excited as hell for month 4-12, but to be honest these days just fly by as I pretend I didn't have the surgery.. I just hope that my body doesn't forget that I had a surgery! Take those monthly pictures and enjoy your life!!

[Cant decide]

Greatjob is right. I know it's hard, but it's just easier to do. I'm at about 2.5 months post-op and I just don't even pay attention.... Sure I'm excited as hell for month 4-12, but to be honest these days just fly by as I pretend I didn't have the surgery.. I just hope that my body doesn't forget that I had a surgery! Take those monthly pictures and enjoy your life!!

 

Great advice Nick!! I am trying to do the same thing.

[Airbumps]

Thanks chaps - you're all correct.

 

To be honest I really don't care that much about it at the moment as I can use Nanogen to give the appearance of a full head and nobody is any the wiser. I guess I was looking for growth just to satisfy myself that I got something for my large amount of money

[Airbumps]

Updated with 4.5 month pics - starting to see a little growth....I think....

[NoTakeBacks]

Definitely some growth! At 4 months it appears your coverage almost matches that of your hair with Toppik/concealer pre-op. There will be no need for those in a few months! :cool:

[irishsailor]

Air bumps,

 

Looking good fella. Definitely some early growth. Now yr entering the fun stage and you will see the magic happen over the next several months.

 

Congrats man.

[Nick153452]

Definitely look like there is growth. And you're only at 4 months.

[Airbumps]

Hey all,

 

Just posted the six month update. It does appear some more growth has happened which is good! Would love a little more, particularly on my left hand side where I was noticeably thinner anyway. Still, fingers crossed.

 

Thanks for all the feedback!

[tacolinowest]

hmm, not much change since the 4.5 month pic, but i know with 4k grafts that in 3 more months you will look totally diff, good luck

[lucldh]

Hey these are nice results at 6 month mark. Knowing these transplanted hair will get better over next 6 months, you should be rejoiced. Happy growing more hair and have a happy hairy future!

I think that I am possibly balding the way you did. Rather than progressing through Norwood levels, I have diffused thinning all over and I am effectively an N5/N6. Your results have encouraged me.