Dr Villnow Trichophytic Scar Revision

[Hassan1]

Hi Chaps,

 

Hi chaps, been lurking on here for some time now but never really got around to saying hi.. so hi guys!

 

A little bit of history before I share my journey with you. Believe it or not I have tried to keep this as short as is possible so not to bore you to much...

 

I started loosing hair approx 10 years ago now, I would probably rate myself as a 2a on the norwood scale. I had my first procedure in the UK a couple of years ago - FUT with 2000 grafts. Currently taking generic Finasteride with no side effects (2 years).

 

Unfortunately due to my desperation I do not believed I researched HT enough to actually make a sound enough decision so I went with the closest HT surgeon with a price I could manage - so happened to be FUT (big mistake). Although I was aware of FUE and even good closure methods, when these were mentioned to the surgeon I was told FUE was way too expensive and required a couple of days (true, well sort of) and also there was no such thing as FUT with no scar (again true). What I wasn’t informed of was the concept of good\minimal suture techniques which I cannot really fault the surgeon for, I should have looked into this more.

Anyhow I went ahead (my desperation took a hold) and although the surgery did definitely help, my existing hair continued to fall (not as fast though maybe due to the Finasteride) so I was back at square one. Just to add I will not mention the surgeon here as I believe he pretty much did highlight everything with me first, so I think the fault lies with me for not researching enough first.

 

Now what came with this was inability to wear my hair short at the back which I really did miss, but furthermore my scar stretched :eek: which just added to my misery . Now I started to use black hair products to cover the scar which worked wonders however what it did not do was cover the baseball cap line when my hair was cut, so I started to cut my hair less

 

So this is where I was at. Due to my scar and further hair loss I was looking to do something about it. This time I needed to research wisely...Que this website! So from that point onwards I armed myself with as much information as possible and learnt\decided my best option for my large scar was Trichophytic scar revision due to the size of the scar and not FUE into the scar. I did contact several surgeons recommended by you guys on here and (an even longer story short) landed with Dr Villnow. His representative is Nick, awesome bloke who really helped me out and put up with my numerous questions and emails – He really sold the Trichophytic scar revision to me as opposed to all other options I was considering with his reply.

Firstly Dr Villnow has performed over 2000 Trichophytic closures over a period of 15 years, and has also taught this procedure to a number of well known surgeons! Exactly what I wanted to hear.

 

I flew out to Dusseldorf the night before and Dr Villnow was waiting for me at the surgery at 21:30. Really nice guy and very well received and did everything to make me feel comfortable. We had a good conversation and then he performed a quick observation of the scar and my hair. He told me I had very good laxity which was really good, and what he would do for me was also remove additional grafts prior to closing the scar so I could get them inserted into my left temple area and a few scattered across the front if possible

 

Before I continue I would also like to mention after initially contacting Hariri the bloke really went out of his way to provide me with as much information as possible to help me when I was in a really confused state and vulnerable, much much appreciated. I think it’s knowing someone is willing to go out of their way just to help you and is there for you even though I barely knew the guy, big thank you...and the rest of the chaps on this forum!

 

Anyway I’ve just reread so far and have realised i’m talking too much so from here onwards i’ll try to stay will bullet points If I have anymore points I believe is of help (unless you want me to elaborate)

 

• my scar was a little bumpy
  
• on both occasions I used Prednisolone (not as much this time) but the first time there was barely any swelling, and this time there was more, although I did start a day late
  
• this time I massaged the face which definitely helped reduce the swelling
  

 

 

Pre surgery pictures, now you will have to bear in mind these are more or less after a shower so does not look as flat...

 

Frontal - You can see the hairs from my first procedure have stuck around and my natural hair jumped ship...

 

Left Side - Now for some reason it doesnt look as bad in this picture but it was worse, baldness was trailing further back. I think some of my natural hair has perhaps 'got in the way' (if that makes sense) a little unfortunately, but you get the picture (no pun intended).

 

And now the scar :eek:

and a side view (stretching seems to have been worse on the sides)

 

Surgery day pictures, wet hair :eek: but this is where you really see my baldness when its

not combed over and wet. To be honest I think I lost alot of my hair when it was comed pre surgery! :rolleyes:

Left side

Left Side

Right Side - I managed a few grafts here too

 

Now i have to apologies that although this thread is really about my scar revision I did not manage to take\have any taken of my scar immediately after surgery but I have a few from day 7 which is not far off what it looked like. The grafts were just a bonus, and I will be having FUE into the frontal area separately early next year sometime. I was truly impressed when I saw the closure, it really is a work of art!!! And to the touch is actually quite hard to detect as its nice and smooth!

 

Here you can see the dried blood (sorry) - now I do believe this is due to my movement in my sleep disturbing the suture, think it's just superficial tbh..

 

Close up, you can really see the craftsman's work here, superb

 

 

Dreading sleeping at the moment :eek::eek::eek: so i dont make it any worse

Guys i'm sorry if some of these pictures are too gory or untidy, hope you understand

Edited September 27, 2013 by Hassan1

[Mickey85]

Pics would be awesome

[HARIRI]

Good luck, If scar revision didn't meet your expectation you can always FUE some grafts into it from beard or chest if you want to save what remained in your donor.

[Garageland]

Hassan,

 

I wish you all the best with the revision, you have a nasty scar indeed, fingers crossed for you for a good outcome.

[Mickey85]

Oh damn... That is not a good scar at all.. The donor hair looks like it has excellent density though. I'm very interested to see how this turns out.

[Hassan1]

Was going to add more pictures of surgery and the swelling which followed but i've had some bleeding from the scar today, not much but more like 'leaking'' from the left back following a shower. Had significant bleeding 3 days ago from the exact same location which was really worrying but that stopped after 15 minutes. Think the first occurrence was maybe because I agitated it whilst asleep. The bleeding today was only really apparent when I padded it with a tissue (so nothin major) but it was more 'watery' as opposed to the thicker more normal like blood. Not too sure if it might be slightly infected although it certainly doesn't look like it. It's been bleeding like this for over 5 hours now :confused:

 

Im on day 10 now and was expected to have the sutures removed on day 14. Although most of the scar is healing really well, the left back and right back occsionally still bleed. I'm telling myself I should not panic but not sure... i'll get pictures up so you can have a look :eek:

[Mickey85]

Really interested to see how your scar turns out. Haven't seen a good scar revision case for a while, this one looks very refined. Please keep us updated.

[Hassan1]

Thanks Mickey, I'll keep you all updated

 

Was a little concerned yesterday regarding the left side of the scar and the little blood I was still getting on a tissue when touched, rang Dr Villnow who informed me it was nothing to be worried about and to leave the stitches in a couple of days longer, really put my mind at easy when he said that. Sleeping is getting better now and no bleeding

 

Just had a shower and the scar seems to be healing well without any bleeding (very very minimal) so thing are looking good

[HARIRI]

Mickey85, have you decided whether you will go for a FUE into scar or a scar revision? Its really been a while :)

[HARIRI]

Thanks Mickey, I'll keep you all updated

 

Was a little concerned yesterday regarding the left side of the scar and the little blood I was still getting on a tissue when touched, rang Dr Villnow who informed me it was nothing to be worried about and to leave the stitches in a couple of days longer, really put my mind at easy when he said that. Sleeping is getting better now and no bleeding

 

Just had a shower and the scar seems to be healing well without any bleeding (very very minimal) so thing are looking good

 

How wide was your scar before the scar revision? How many cm? :confused:

[Mickey85]

No revision for me, I don't want any linear scar. FUE grafting into it will disguise it well enough so I can shave down to a grade 3 which I will be content with.

[Hassan1]

Not commented for a good few days, unfortunately a small amount of infection had set into the scar. I had not realised myself, it was only when I visited a doctor to have a look at my suture which had come a little loose after having a shower did he notice a small amount of infection - antibodies prescribed and thankfully all clear after a couple of days and sutures removed (15 days)

 

Mickey, as for FUE into scar or scar revision I really cannot comment as I have not experienced both, i'm rather content with my scar revision (especially considering what it was like previously :eek:) Either way, whatever you opt for I wish you all the best

 

I will have a better idea once the scar has had time heal, and if need be I will most probably have FUE into any lesser dense areas. Initial thoughts very impressed, the scar is no longer raised or bumpy and even now I find it a little difficult to find the scar with my fingers! Hope it stays that way, but time will tell. One thing to mention, the upper part of my scalp between the scar and my crown is still numb but my understanding is this will recover from anywhere between 6- 12 months. Only a minor inconvenience considering

 

PS I can already feel the hair coming through the scar .... I'll upload a few more pictures

[RustyShackleford]

Hassan1, Did the scar revision work in the long term or has it stretched back at all? Considering going the revision route myself but having a hard time finding cases where people share photos long after the procedure.

[Hassan1]

Hi, it has stretched slightly from the sides which is not good unfortunately... from my experience I believe its down to how elastic the skin is after revision, besides I went back to gym which I think is the main culprit for it stretching although I did wait 6/7 months. Will try to get some pics up for you .. if I forget or dont get around to it feel free to remind me