The journey of my 4703 FUT HT with Dr. Bisanga August 2013

[Baldietwo]

I've already posted my HT experience with Dr. Bisanga in the reviews section of the forum. You can read it here if you're interested:

4703 FUT Dr. Bisanga, Brussels (21 August 2013) - Forum By and for Hair Loss Patients

 

That section is primarily for reviewing your Doctor and day at the surgery (or at least that's how i understand it).

 

My 1st HT is now done so I'm shifting to results mode and sharing my ugly-duckling-to-beautiful-swan journey with you all

 

I'm healing well. Most scabs came off today which was the first day I was allowed to gently massage the recipient area.

 

The hair also seems to be growing rapidly!

I really hope it falls out soon as I don't like this look. Since the areas around was shaved it's uneven and the contrasts and transition from bald to hair is too big.

 

I'd also like to grow my hair a bit longer so that the "island" in the back can grow into longer surrounding hair. The way it is now is just unnatural. I asked Dr Bisanga to place some hair at the back to prevent "scalp shine". Once it's longer it should "fall" in to the surrounding areas like a mini comb over. It should tie me over until my 2nd HT which will concentrate on the remaining areas.

 

I know it will look ok in the end, but I would rather it all fell out and then grew back slowly as thin wispy hair which then thickens gradually...

 

Hoping for a shed in the next couple of weeks

 

Attached are my pre-op,post-op and 1 week photos.

All photos are taken without flash, but the light conditions may vary slightly.

 

Some techie specs…

1s x 527

2s x 1974

3s x 1452

4s x 750

Totaling 4703 grafts

11831 hairs

2.5 average hair per follicle

Edited September 8, 2013 by Baldietwo

[1978matt]

Looks super clean already and I'll watch with interest as we had our procedures on the same day.

[irishsailor]

Nice write up, congrats on your ht. As Matt says the work looks clean and refined. Expect nothing less from yr chosen doc:cool:

[Baldietwo]

Time for a photo update!

 

Last week (2 weeks post op) I had my sutures removed. You can read about that story here: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/171965-suture-removal-uk.html

 

It's now been 3 weeks since my procedure and the donor area seems to be healing nicely. Most scabs are gone, there's some tiny ones here and there. It's still very red as you can see on the photos. My hair isn't long enough to cover the scar so I'm still using a hat

I might try some concealer to make it less obvious. Dermmatch might do the trick.

 

The transplanted hair started shedding on day 9 and by day 14 most were gone! The weird thing is that they don't seem to have shed properly. I still have thousands of small black dots on my scalp. The hair has broken off rather than the whole hair fallen off.

 

Does anyone know if that means the hair will be stuck in the hole until the new one grows out in 3-4 months time?

 

The scalp color is more or less back to normal, it's slightly pink, but not really noticeable unless you look very hard.

 

All in all it's progressing well. Photos attached.

[sl]

Hi Baldietwo

 

The hair often breaks at skin surface level, it will grow or shed still. A patient also on here had this but things grew very fast for him so nothing to worry about as such.

[Baldietwo]

Hi Baldietwo

 

The hair often breaks at skin surface level, it will grow or shed still. A patient also on here had this but things grew very fast for him so nothing to worry about as such.

 

That's what my adviser said too. It's good that you are both consistent in your responses

 

Fast regrowth would be nice, but not keeping my hopes up for that.

 

They do seem to have started growing in the last couple of days. I'm guessing their shedding rather than actually growing.

[JohnnyDrama]

Hey BT, how are things at 6 weeks?

[Baldietwo]

Things are good! I've not updated the post since there isn't anything to show

 

Recipient area is back to normal colour, perhaps a slightly pink if you look really close. I've got most of the feeling back but it's still a little bit numb.

 

Donor area is healing well. All the feeling is back to normal, no more tingling sensation. It's still red, but not as bad as a couple of weeks ago. Takes a full year almost to get to normal colour so all is as expected.

 

I decided to not try and cover the donor scar by growing my hair long. It just looked stupid with long hair on the sides and nothing on top. So I'm a grade 2 or 3 with the scar showing and it doesn't bother met that much. Sometimes I wear a hat if I'm going to the shop, but that's only because i can't be bothered to answer questions about it.

 

At work and with my friends I don't wear a hat.

 

Work colleagues are intrigued at the procedure...no "nasty" comments from them as you would expect, otherwise I'd have HR on them!

 

When I told my friends I had a 15 minute session of getting "abuse". I was expecting it so I was well prepared. Interestingly, none of the balding guys in my friendship group contributed to the "abuse". Once they had their 15 minutes they started asking more valid questions about the procedure, did it hurt etc. Interestingly, it was only the guys who hurled abuse, the girls were more like "you're brave, well done"...

 

So now that everyone knows it's business as usual. I look the same as I did before the procedure, just with a red scar visible.

 

I got back to my sports the other day and that felt REALLY good. I had not done anything in 6 weeks and I was out of shape! I'm not doing weights or anything that puts tension on my neck yet, but it felt good to break a sweat.

 

I've got some minor growth going on but nothing that makes a visible difference. I'll update when I have some more visible growth to show.

[Baldietwo]

No big "news" to report of but I though I'd share some pics anyway.

 

The scar is healing well. It's still red, of course, but not too bad. The feeling in the donor area is back to normal. No tingling sensation, no numbness, no itchiness, it's fully back to normal. I was expecting this to take longer so I'm very pleased with the donor healing.

 

The recipient area is almost back to normal colour. A slight hint of pink maybe but no one would notice. I'm still slightly numb in some areas but I can at least feel it when I touch it! However, I'm spotty as hell....very itchy! I'm spraying a lot of witch hazel on the area and that kills the itching pretty well. I suspect this is where new hair is growing.

 

On the positive side...there is GROWTH! It's not visible on the camera but there's a LOT of new hair breaking through. Another months or so and these should thicken up to show some results!

 

I've attached pictures of the back, both sides and the top. I've got some minor shock loss on the left side, but nothing major.

 

I gave up trying to cover the scar. Long hair on the sides with a bald spot on top is NOT a good look! . I usually have a grade 1, but I think that will make the scar show a bit too much. Grade 3+ makes the hair too long and really shows off my bald top too much. Grade 2 is a happy medium. If the scar keeps healing like this I think I can pull off a grade 2 when the scar is fully healed...Big Bonus! (still early days of course).

 

My hair on the pictures is grade 2 on the sides and a 3-ish on top. By top I really mean the topsides....as my top-top is a barren wasteland

 

Everyone knows about the transplant now and I'm happy to not wear a hat. I just go about my day as normal. I've had the pisstaking from my friends and the intriguing questions from work.

 

All of that which worried me is now in the past and I'm looking towards the future. A future of hair....at least in the frontal half until my second procedure.

 

Pics attached. I just realized they are a bit dark.... The scar also looks a bit more red on the pics than in reality.

[sl]

Many thanks for updating and you are very brave to discuss at work and sure they are intrigued. I can't understand why people would want to give abuse and sorry you suffered that but sadly is a reality of how people see surgery and especially in a group setting.

 

Heal well and thanks for updating.

[Baldietwo]

Many thanks for updating and you are very brave to discuss at work and sure they are intrigued. I can't understand why people would want to give abuse and sorry you suffered that but sadly is a reality of how people see surgery and especially in a group setting.

 

Heal well and thanks for updating.

 

I should probably add here that I have not sufferered at all.

 

These are my friends for many many years and I should probably call it "friendly abuse". I knew it was coming so I just sat and listened and let them talk for 10 min or so. Some of the jokes were actually pretty funny. It's the way our friendship group works and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

After the initial "abuse" I had their full support, but I still get the odd comment here and there.

[sl]

Okay, apologies, I misunderstood.

 

You are certainly an open character as most of my surgeries I worked in an office and never told a soul. I was shaved before and after so actually never looked much different to the untrained eye in many respects so probably far less obvious also.

 

Anyway, many thanks for updating.

[JohnnyDrama]

Looking on course BT. I think you're actually gonna be one of the bigger transformations on here in recent times. Almost 12,000 hairs is something else. Your mates are gonna have to come up with some new jokes in about 9-10 months time!

 

I know what you mean re the p1ss taking though, in that my mates and more have taken the p1ss re my buzzed head but literally after about a minute or two they've just moved on.

[Number47]

Hi and i wish you all goes well. Don't mind the abuse that means that all is good, if it was something horrific or extraordinary weird about what you did they would not say anything about it cause the subject would be sensitive to touch.

 

I also think its good that you came out in the open about it, its the best strategy for me. Most people can tell that something is different so not telling them and try to be secretive about it only means that you are ashamed and that can bring gossip and eventually a bad joke at a time that you might be unprepared for and you might react badly to it.

 

Also Bisanga is a great surgeon so i think you made a great choice there as well. You are a smart man and you handled the journey so far great, good for you.

 

good luck with the growing part now my friend

[delancey]

Hey Baldietwo,

 

 

How many grafts does Dr. Bisanga believe you can get in total via FUT?

[Baldietwo]

I don't know. I didn't ask.

 

I need (well...not need, but want) one more procedure to coverl the midscalp and crown.

 

I'm planning to do that as FUE. Thinking 2000 in midscalp and 500 in crown just for a small "dusting".

 

Considering FUE for a couple of reasons:

 

 

• Although FUT is cheaper the recovery time is quite long. I couldn't do my intensive exercise for 6 weeks! Even now I have to be careful to avoid scar stretching.
  

 

 

 

• 
  My hair is quite coarse. In addition I have above average number of hairs per graft. This makes my sides VERY thick with 80 grafts per sqcm and the top thinner with 40 transplanted hair per sqcm. FUE would even that out slightly.
  

 

 

I don't know when I'll do the next procedure. First this one needs to mature and then I'll see what need to do. I might be happy with it and not feel like filling in the rest. All in due course.

[delancey]

Very cool!

 

What is your total coverage area in cm2 (including your crown)?

 

Are you essentially going to leave the crown? Was this something that Dr. Bisanga recommended or is this a precaution from your side?

 

Is there any miniaturization in the donor area?

 

How were the grafts allocated (i.e., 70 Fu/cm2 in the hair line, 45-40 Fu/cm2 behind hair line, etc)?

 

Thanks for sharing. It is really cool how you are documenting your case. Very helpful.

[Baldietwo]

Very cool!

 

What is your total coverage area in cm2 (including your crown)?

 

 

No idea....but I've got quite a narrow head, so that counts in my favor on this occasions

 

Are you essentially going to leave the crown? Was this something that Dr. Bisanga recommended or is this a precaution from your side?

 

 

Doctor Bisanga recommended focusing on framing the face and that was my focus too. I'm a norwood 6 and 4.7k grafts will not cover all of it. People see your face when they talk to you, not your crown.

 

Having said that I did ask for small scattering placed in the crown area (see images i've posted). Apparently it's created just around the swirly pattern of my hair so it will fall onto the surrounding areas. I've never seen anyone with this kind of crown transplant before so it will be interesting to see how it turns out.

 

Is there any miniaturization in the donor area?

 

Nope. It was less than >10% which is normal. I do, however, have some retrograde alopecia just above my ears where it's visibly thinner. It doesn't progress into the donor area and Dr Bisanga didn't take the strip from that area (at least I hope he didn't )

 

How were the grafts allocated (i.e., 70 Fu/cm2 in the hair line, 45-40 Fu/cm2 behind hair line, etc)?

 

Don't know for sure but I know Bisanga typically transplants 60/70 in the hair line and 40/50 behind.

 

 

Thanks for sharing. It is really cool how you are documenting your case. Very helpful.

 

You're welcome. It's a long journey and it certainly helps reading other peoples experience.

 

Good luck!

[delancey]

Great, thanks for the update!

 

Keep in mind that the second surgery will be a lot easier, especially considering that the first already framed your face. This means that you can grow your hair longer on the sides to cover the scar from the second procedure (if you decide to go with FUT for the second procedure), without being bald on top. It also maximizes your available donor. And better price. How FUT affects the scar from a second surgery, though, I am not sure.

 

Best of luck to you.

Edited November 15, 2013 by delancey

[Baldietwo]

It's been 3 months now...well 3 months tomorrow.

 

I just took some fresh photos to compare and I'm now back to "normal". Growth seem to have started but it's still very early days.

 

I've decided to move my photos to a blog instead since it's a bit easier to manage.

 

Photo's can be found on the blog by clicking here: My Hair Blog - With Photos

 

There is more growth than the camera can pick up. Lot's of tiny white downy hairs are starting to make their appearance as well as some that have darkened in areas that have not seen hair for many many years!

 

PS! I wanted to remove the pictures in this thread and manage it all on the blog...but it seems like the edit function has disappeared?

[lucldh]

All the best mate. Happy growing hair.

[delancey]

Soon the ugly duckling phase is over. Happy growing

[Baldietwo]

Christmas time! And my hair is starting to make a cosmetic difference. People are noticing the growth and I'm getting comments so I'm in a very happy place

 

Had my hair cut today...did it myself so not a professional job, I'll wait with that until a few months.

 

It really started kicking in at around 3.5 months and now, every day it's getting thicker. Some light conditions are better than others.

 

The scar is still quite pink and I have some (i think) shockloss just under the scar line. I hope that the scar will fade soon and the lost hair under the scarline will reappear.

 

I've added some photos to my blogpost to show progress by month 4. Hair is cut at grade 1 above the ears, increasing to roughly grade 3 on top. This makes the scar much more visible, but I' prefer the closer cut until the hair on top has filled in much more.

 

Click here for to see month 4 photos - BaldieTwo's Photo Blog and as usual, no flishy flashy photos, only natural lighting (in this case indoor)

 

Happy Christmas all fellow baldies and ex-baldies.

[Baldietwo]

5 months ago I had my HT and now it's finally showing some REAL signs of improvement! I'm getting lots of nice comments!

 

Pictures are in my blog. Click this link:

Hair Restoration Journal for BaldieTwo - 5 Months Post Op

These are taken using my phone so it's not the best quality. I'll see if I can add some more pics in the next few days using natural sunlight and my slr camera.

 

I'm very pleased with the hairline which, in my eyes, look very natural.

 

Bisanga also placed a small cluster of grafts at the back of the midscalp (sort of a bridge if you look at my day 1 photos). The gap is now beginning to close, but it needs to be a bit longer. However, I can see that it's going to provide exactly what I asked for, a thin coverage for the midscalp to avoid scalp shine. I desperately wanted to avoid having a thick dense, frontal third and nothing on the midscalp. I just didn't fancy that look.

 

I've currently got a grade 3 on the sides and the scar is slightly visible, but only because it's still slightly pink. Once the pinkness has gone I think I can easily get away with a grade 3 hair cut, maybe even grade 2.

 

I still need another HT to complete the look, but I am a very very customer so far.

 

Pictures on my blog.

[1978matt]

Looks good. Another few thousand grafts on the crown and you're done.