UK to Ottawa in a few days - Rahal 2000 Grafts FUT

[Slickers]

Hi guys. Well the time has almost arrived. Feels like a long time coming and yet unnervingly close at the same time. On Monday I fly out to Ottawa for my date with Rahal on Wednesday 15th. I'm booked in for 2000 grafts although I'm open to a few more if necessary to address the frontal third.... my *hope is that this will see me good for the next 8 - 10 years. In that time who knows, maybe one of the clever chaps working on histogen or one of the many other potential 'cures' pulls it out of the bag. We'll see.

 

Anyhow I thought I'd finally share some pics. I've spoken to a lot of guys over the years and watched many peoples experiences with a borderline unhealthy interest (according to my better half!). This forum has been an amazing resource, the advice, stories and experiences shared by too many guys to mention has just been invaluable.

 

My story in brief is that I went to Armani back in 2007 for 2000 FUE....... around about the time he started offering FUE only. I wasn't a pioneer by any means, he had a LOT of good looking FUE results even then. I needn't comment on how that turned out but for me it wasn't bad but it wasn't great. I probably got about 60% growth, it made a cosmetic difference but there are gaps behind the hairline and poor growth in areas. Bisanga when I consulted with him wasn't particularly impressed with the work but hey ho, you live and learn and I wasnt butchered.

 

Onwards and upwards, it's taken me a few years to get the opportunity to address things and that's what I intend to do with Rahal in just a few days time. I won't be writing reams and reams about the day, surgery etc, there's plenty of that on here but I will be posting pics.

 

Watch this space :cool:

Edited May 11, 2013 by Slickers

[1978matt]

Cheers for sharing and good luck.

 

2000 FUT will be a walk in the park for Rahal!

 

Interesting that you are going for FUT. Did Bisanga think you were a good FUE candidate?

[Slickers]

Cheers for sharing and good luck.

 

2000 FUT will be a walk in the park for Rahal!

 

Interesting that you are going for FUT. Did Bisanga think you were a good FUE candidate?

 

Thanks matt, hopefully it's a walk in the park for me too!

 

Bisanga strongly recommended I do strip. I know he gets a lot of comments on here about his FUE and being an FUE advocate, I think many would be surprised about how clear he was about its limitations. Anyway not wishing go down that particular road of discussion, I went to see him about FUE but he recommended I don't do anymore FUE so as not to thin out my donor.

[JohnnyDrama]

Hopefully you get the outcome you're looking for this time Slickers. I'm sure you will!

 

Coming from someone who is going to Bisanga for 2,000 FUE soon (on a virgin scalp) and with the research I've done, I'm not surprised at all that he suggested going strip for your case. In fact, I would have almost expected it from him. He looks at each individual from a long-term strategic point of view. If you had gone another 2,000 FUE, you would have been tapped out from a safe FUE point of view, or very close to tapped out. If you had further loss down the line, it would be difficult to go the strip route then because of your thinner donor region, which would likely leave a relatively exposed scar. You'd then be in a bit of a difficult situation.

 

With the route you are going now, the strip should (hopefully )be well concealed with your current donor density. It then gives you the option to go with more strips in the future if needed, again, with a view that they are concealed quite well.

 

Fair play to you for doing your research though (I know what you mean by an unhealthy knowledge of cases by the way - and my missus had made similar comments )......many in your position would have wanted to stick solely with FUE.

[Modenese]

Hi Slickers

 

I seriously thought about Rahal before choosing Bisanga. Ottowa is so far away though.

 

As has been said, you are in good hands and I am sure you'll get a great result. All the best with the journey back.

[Modenese]

Coming from someone who is going to Bisanga for 2,000 FUE soon (on a virgin scalp) and with the research I've done, I'm not surprised at all that he suggested going strip for your case. In fact, I would have almost expected it from him. He looks at each individual from a long-term strategic point of view. If you had gone another 2,000 FUE, you would have been tapped out from a safe FUE point of view, or very close to tapped out. If you had further loss down the line, it would be difficult to go the strip route then because of your thinner donor region, which would likely leave a relatively exposed scar. You'd then be in a bit of a difficult situation.

 

 

Interesting comment, reflecting my experience. Based on my age, hair loss, and goals, Bisanga advised strip/FUE combo. I've had the strip, and am going back in October this year for the final FUE session on the crown.

 

On the whole, this approach at this time feels right.

[greatjob]

Good luck man!! You're in good hands with Rahal, I had a great experience at his clinic.

[Slickers]

Johnny you're pretty much on the money. The thinking was my donor is in decent shape now, should have no problem concealing a good scar (fingers crossed), dont risk thinning it out anymore and reserve FUE for further down the line if required.

 

Modenese I hear you on the travelling! And with more FUT results like yours, Sickboy's amongst others from Bisanga and Feriduni also doing excellent work, I think many guys are thinking twice now about the need to cross the pond for FUT!

 

Spex / Greatjob cheers for the kind words and encouragement... means a lot to hear good things about Rahal from two seasoned vets like you guys

[chrisdav]

Look forward to seeing your post-op write up Slickers.

 

Clearly very well informed and done plenty of researching.

 

Keep us updated with your progress.

[Slickers]

Well I've done it. Pleased to report the day went really well and the staff were excellent, they really were. It wasn't anymore traumatic than the FUE I'd had with Armani, on the contrary in fact, the whole experience was so much better!

 

The worst was when I got back to the guesthouse and the freeze and drugs caught up me but that's to be expected, it's surgery after all and it turned out to be quite a big session.

 

I met with Dr Rahal in the morning and talked through what I wanted to achieve. After the photos it was clear that I have quite a few weak areas into the midscalp. The gaps had always really bugged me and how my 'hairline' never quite felt like one since it didnt join up with the sides at all, that I had a kinda combover effect to camouflage the recession at the sides etc.

 

After drawing out the areas and measuring, it turned out that I would need circa 3000 and that's what we aimed for. My density seemed to have other ideas though and delivered up 3,490, a nice surprise! :eek:

 

Let me know what you think.

[Cant decide]

Congrats and looks great. You are going to be one happy man.

 

Heal and grow well...

[TakingThePlunge]

Congrats Slickers! I've got no doubt this will be a home run. Can't wait to watch it progress.

[irishsailor]

Congrats on yr ht fella. You chose a great surgeon. Hope you keep us posted with your progress

[mattj]

Hi Slickers,

 

So the day has come and gone! I know you've been looking into this for a while and I look forward to seeing your progress.

 

Those additional grafts are going to lead to a superb result and I'll follow up in the future to see how it's coming along.

[Slickers]

cheers guys I hope you're right. I've watched many Rahal patients on here posting from pre op to knock out results, here's hoping I'll join the club very soon!

 

Some pics taken today below. I'm not one to wax lyrical about these things, I know the drill, it's early days yet and a waiting game from here. But I have to say the work looks every bit as good as I hoped it would at this stage. It's impeccable, it blends perfectly with my existing hair and I'm really pleased so far. Rahal and his team were ultra professional which gives me a lot of confidence and hope for a good result.

 

Oh and I got it wrong (blaming the drugs!) my strip had a bit more density than I thought, I ended up with 3,800. Must get round to editing the title of the thread !

[tacolinowest]

you gotta be kiddigng me,, you wanted 2000 and ended up with 3800? you lucky mofo, u realise that when this grows out your hair will be super thick, like elvis hahaha, good luck!! your density must be above average

[hairshopeing]

Work looks great mate!! Very neat and dense looking!! Sure it will be ace!!! Heal well!!

[SamSpade]

This is fantastic Slickers, i'm glad you and the Doc upped the grafts and were able to make that call for an upgrade on the fly. That's going to look really really good when it's all grown in.

 

I can appreciate your comment on how your better half thought you had a "borderline unhealthy interest" in this. I can relate as can my wife. The problem is now that you new hair growing on your head and can be even MORE distracting than planning an HT. If I had to do it over again I would have played it a little more cool during the regrowth process; brought it up less (4 times a day is too much =), and kept from constantly checking in the mirror, etc. Hah, my response, "But babe, i look so much better now. This is all for you!"

 

It's such an exciting transformation, but wasn't worth making my better half resent my attention to it. That's what I've learned and is probably not a foreign lesson for other guys.

 

Congrats bud.

[agenteye]

Slickers,

 

I'm SO happy for you buddy that your big day finally came and went. I knew it was coming up and wanted to send you a PM, but things in my life have been so crazy to say the least!! I just hit my 6 month post-op date, ironically the same day as your procedure!!! Looking at your pictures, the work looks INCREDIBLE....super clean as is always the case with Rahal!! You can forget the 60% yield you got out of your first transplant, as this time around is going to exceed all of your expectations. I am looking forward to following you throughout your entire journey!! I have a feeling I'm going to experience some hair envy when I see your final result!! Congrats again buddy, you deserve it!

 

Best,

 

Mike

[Theluckyllama]

Dude! That hairline of yours is going to be epic! As promised I will be visiting London in the near future for some pints & football, with our new hairlines of course!

[Slickers]

Sam thanks for comments mate. As you've posted before this is the hardest bit. The waiting..... patiently...... (allegedly!). Ha. Good heads up in terms of dealing with the GF side of things, she seems cool with it now but another 5/6 months of this and I can see how it coud start to enter 'rolling the eyes' territory! Hope your good lady is appreciative of it now though.... she must be digging the new look! :cool:

 

Mike was going to PM you buddy. Can't wait to see that 6 month update! Your 4 and 5 months came at a great time, just as I was going through the usual pre op doubts.... you def seem to take everything your stride and the glass is always half full. If I am where you are at 6 months I'll be a very happy man! Will def keep you updated.

[Slickers]

Dude! That hairline of yours is going to be epic! As promised I will be visiting London in the near future for some pints & football, with our new hairlines of course!

 

Look forward to it mate! Be great to enjoy a beer with ya, swapping the vitamin E and surgical hats for a full head of hair and some footy on the big screen! Counting down the day.

[canuhairme]

Looks great! I'm jealous you got your temporal pints built out nicely!!

[Slickers]

Well guys, it has been a long 3 months and a bit of an emotional roller coaster.

 

I've found it really hard dodging friends and family and going back to work at 2 months was particularly traumatic.

 

The positives are that everything seems to be on track and hopefully I'm coming out the other side. I've seen huge improvements on each month, even weekly, I was looking at pics I took two weeks ago and I can see noticeable change even in the 3 month ones I took yesterday.

 

Most of the progress is just my existing hair growing out but things are definitely happening as well. My scalp is often tingly and I see lots of little hairs popping through. Anyway pics are what people want..... let me know what you think.

 

First two are 1 month, next three are 2 months and the last three, 3 months.

[chrisdav]

Coming along nicely Slickers.

 

The first 3 months are a killer.