Two Month Update. Dr Umar 1950 FUE grafts.

[iron_man]

Quick background...

 

I'm now 33 years old, nearing 34. Currently a Norwood 3. Not likely to be any worse than an NW 5, based on family history and opinion of a couple surgeons.

 

Thus far have only had frontal recession. Some very minor thinning in the crown, but it's not very noticeable.

 

Had my first two procedures with Bosley in Chicago when I was 26 and then again at 28. While it was an uninformed decision, I could've ended up worse. I overpaid and the session sizes were too small to justify the procedures (545 first time, 1114 second time), the procedures were a success in that the grafts were transplanted correctly. The FUT scar was not great, but also not awful. The quality of the hairline was not very good, however. I started losing a little more in my frontal third as well.

 

I had Dr. Ron Shapiro fix the additional loss in October 2007. He did a fantastic job on the hairline and placing of the grafts (1885 total and just under 4000 actual hairs). He did a little temple work too, although I will admit it was less than what I expected and would've wanted. The strip scar also ended up wider than I would have liked, and I also have missing hair from where the stitches were placed, presumably because the skin was pulled too tight. This was my third procedure so I suppose this is more likely to happen at that point. Despite my minor disappointment in the temple work and strip scar, I would still highly recommend Dr. Shapiro. He's a top notch surgeon and his staff was great. After Dr. Shapiro's surgery, I was just under 40 cm2 on my frontal third.

 

I contacted Dr. Umar for my latest surgery because I wanted to use nape hair to soften my hairline, and in more particular, fix my temples.

 

Yes, I realize that there is a possibility that nape hair may fall out, but a) if and when it does, that will be many, many years from now; b) the nape hairs were placed in the front two rows of my hairline and temples so if they eventually fall out, it will look like a natural recession anyway; c) I'm not convinced that most of my nape hairs will fall out. I have a tremendous amount of nape hair, as do the other men in my family, even at an old age. In other words, my decision was entirely informed.

 

Dr. Umar struck me as very matter-of-fact, proud of the quality of his work, and kind. He did an excellent job of constructing a softer hairline and temples from what I can see thus far. Assuming the grafts grow in well, I think I will be extremely pleased, and I will not need any further work done in the frontal region. He used 1900 grafts from my scalp and nape. (I'm going to email him to see if I can get hair count from each area, but I know the scalp produced mostly double hairs according to the technician.) He used more hairs from the back of my scalp than I was anticipating. However, he believes I have a good 3500 donor grafts remaining if I need it for crown work. Additionally, I have a very thick beard and lots of thick chest hair if it comes down to it, so I'm not too concerned about the crown.

 

I also had Dr. Umar take 50 FUEs from my beard to run a sample into my strip scar. Assuming those take well, I'll be filling that in with beard hair sometime at the end of this year.

 

To see pics from Day 2 post op, Day 4 post op, and Week 1 post op, click on the link in my profile to go to my hair loss blog.

 

I am going to email Dr. Umar to see if he has any pre-op pics he can send me. I foolishly forgot to take my camera with me to the procedure so I didn't take any photos the day before. The only ones I have are from September 2009, but I didn't have any further loss from that point. (Actually, I had some thickening since I had started taking iron supplements.)

[tootall]

looks like it will turn out well. Pleases keep posting w updates. Im very interested in Dr umar and his techniques and may possibly get a procedure w him in the future.

[aaron1234]

Good luck ironman. Hope it all works out for you. I must say I'm sort of miffed as to why you would do an experimental HT since it appears you still have some good donor left. Either way, keep us posted and I hope you are happy in the long run.

[windjc]

Originally posted by aaron1234:

Good luck ironman. Hope it all works out for you. I must say I'm sort of miffed as to why you would do an experimental HT since it appears you still have some good donor left. Either way, keep us posted and I hope you are happy in the long run.

 

Ummmm. Experimental? Are you referring to the nape hairs? So, worse case scenario they all fall out 20 years from now and he loses the front two lines of hair, maybe a cm?

 

I think "experimental" is a bit harsh, imo. Especially when, even with this worst case scenario, he will have a potentially much more soft and natural hairline for a long long time.

[iron_man]

Hi aaron. My comments to you mirror exactly what windjc said. If I lose the nape hairs in 20-30 years, so be it. I'll take the extra soft hairs in front right now since it's not something I need to worry about anyway. By the time I'm 55, a little more recession won't matter much if they do fall out. Behind those nape hairs are single hairs from the scalp followed by some doubles. And there is plenty of proof that Dr. Umar has been very successful at transplanting nape hair.

 

Anyway, today is Day 10. Tons of scabs came off in the shower today. Most of the transplanted hairs still in tact as well.

 

I'll keep this updated as I progress!

[Abedogg]

Good Luck! I plan on posting my 1 year result from Umar soon. Things have turned out nicely.

[aaron1234]

hey iron_man. I didn't mean to come across too judgemental. Maybe "experimental" wasn't the best word. I guess I'm just wondering why you choose to do FUE after you had strip done before. You probably had another good strip session in you. I could see why you'd do FUE after your strip donor has been maxed out. Just curious. That said, I'm very intrigued to see how your beard grafts workout in your scar. Beard hair does seem to grow at a more consistent rate than other body hair (i.e. arm, leg, etc).

[iron_man]

Ijust posted 2-week pics.

 

No worries, aaron. I went with FUE because I wanted to use nape hair. Dr Umar is the only doctor I know who uses nape hair and he only does FUE.

[jbbreese]

thanks for the update, have dr. umar very high on my list of potential docs.

on your last two week pic, are those all the hairs or are there some in betweet that we can't see?

[iron_man]

Jon, those are all the hairs. There will likely be some native hairs that return, particularly where you see the gaps between hair transplant and existing native. (I believe I've had some shock loss in these areas.) Also, about 15-20% of the transplanted hairs have fallen out already.

Of the grafts that haven't fallen out, nearly all of them have already shown some growth, so I take that as a positive sign for overall yield when it's all said and done.

 

My only area of concern at present is that the left side looks a little thinner in places than the right. But I trust Dr Umar and his placement of grafts, and it's not a major concern of mine.

[iron_man]

Oh, I should also add that I have a a lot of double hairs, and I've even noticed some triple FUEs. And a couple of doubles even from the nape. That isn't entirely seen in the pics, but certainly will add to thickness.

[Atticus]

Looks good ironman! Here are my nape hair pix.

 

(promotional link removed - feel free to post your photos using this community)

 

 

THE FUE work was done to the hairline with great results. It shaved off about ten years! That coupled with a little botox, and a cut body have me feeling good and WAY more confident! Best damn money I ever spent!

 

You are looking good my friend.

 

Atticus

[iron_man]

Just added one month photos for anyone following.

[jbbreese]

why don't you just buzz your whole head? wouldn't that look better?

[aaron1234]

Your donor region has looked like it has healed up. If you are worried about the scar with your hair at a short length, I highly recommend dabbing some dermmatch back there.

 

Just wondering, is it me or does it look like your density in the transplanted region is on the low end? And are some of the grafts angled in the wrong direction, like to the side?

[aaron1234]

It sort of looks like your native or previously transplanted hair is angled to the side as well. Just curious ...

[iron_man]

Hi Aaron. The pics at one month aren't a good gauge for density. Most of the hairs have fallen out or broken off. I think the density of transplanted hairs was probably around 40cm2. I had a lot of double hair and triple hair FUEs, so I think it will end up fine. But I guess time will be the judge of that.

 

Also, the hairs are placed at an angle. So you're correct. I've always had a wicked cowlick at my hairline and along the temples. I asked Dr Umar (and my previous docs) to keep it, so that's why the hairs are angled.

[aaron1234]

hey iron-man,

 

Thanks for clearing that up. Makes sense to me. Keep us posted as I am very intrigue with your case.

[Bill - Seemiller]

It always concerns me when I see physicians using nape hair. Also, I don't think anyone can predict if and when these hairs will fall out. Some of you are saying you can live with it if it happens 20 to 30 years from now. Maybe, maybe not. However, what if it happens in 10 years?

 

While we have a hairline above our eyebrows, the nape should be considered the hairline in the back of our head. These hairs are typically thinner and finer, which can be seen as good hair to use to create a soft frontal hairline. However, according to Coalition member Dr. Feller, the reason these hairs are thinner is because they've already started to be affected by DHT. That's not to say everyone will lose their nape hair completely, but the risk exists.

 

But as long as iron_man is aware and is ok with the risks, then he's made informed consent. However, I'm not sure why Dr. Umar didn't choose to use "safer" hair for the procedure.

 

Iron_man, I wish you all the best in getting the head of hair you desire and hope you keep it for a long, long time :-).

 

Bill

[tootall]

Would taking hair from the nape area leave fue's trademark "white dot" scarring? How does umar get around this? Im sure you wouldnt want any scarring on the neck where these hairs are being taken from.

[iron_man]

I just posted pictures from two months for anybody following my progress. So far things look pretty good. New hairs are definitely growing in already, although I do have some pretty big empty areas still. Hoping those start to fill in by next month.

[jbbreese]

updates? thanks in advance

[iron_man]

I posted 3-month pictures on my hair blog for anybody following. I've had a lot of new growth in the past month.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Iron_Man,

 

Thanks for sharing your 3 months photos. I bet your glad to see a lot of new growth so early on. I look forward to seeing how it progresses in the next several months.

 

All the Best,

 

Bill

[Megatron]

that looks like some amazing early growing! you must be pleased. best of continued success.