Dr Diep, FUT, 1826 Grafts

[Bazancourt]

Hi, I thought I'd share my experience with the forum since others have done the same and I learned a lot from it.

 

I did my research thoroughly and I decided I wanted to get it done before having to wait I was 30 and half of my hair going missing. I had corners missing and my frontal hair was thinning but nobody knew I was losing hair because I was able to grow my hair 4 inches long, plus the use of hair gel and hair spray to hold my hair in place.

 

Initially I had a negative view on hair transplant and though it wasn’t possible to have a successful or good one. You hear all the negative stories in the news and you see people like Rooney having pretty poor surgery in my opinion. I was initially going to choose a London clinic, after all, it’s London, the best city in the world, right? Wrong, I read this forum and realised I should stay away from the UK as much as possible. Having done my research, I personally came the conclusion that there are 7 or 8 Surgeons I absolutely rated. Diep, Feriduni, Basinga, Lorenzo, Feller, Rahal and Lindsey. Those in my opinions were the ones I felt comfortable with based on my research. Not saying all the others are bad, far from it, just those are the ones I preferred when I had to narrow down my list.

 

Why did I choose Dr Diep? Quite simple, not only was he verified and recommended on this forum, but crucially, I was able to watch hundreds of his videos. Pictures can only go so far, but with his videos, he zooms in and brushes through the hair to reveal the results, on top of the dozens of people who end up revealing their faces and telling their stories and results. The fact that there are so many of his videos and there were so many variety of people in terms of different type of hair loss and ethnicity meant that I was able to compare. If I wanted to see his Asian results, I could. If I wanted to see his Black results, I could. There were also people on here that had successful surgery with him and based on all of that, Dr Diep was my number one choice. I did not choose him based on location (He was the furthest away out of all the others) and I did not choose him based on price. Just good research and evidence.

 

Day before:

I got there late due the US customs taking forever to process. Once I got to the clinic (a nice small area in Los Gatos), I picked up my pre surgery packet to use in the morning and then went to my hotel. Dr Diep’s Clinic was nice enough to arrange the transportation for me. They got me their personal driver to pick me up from the Airport, to the clinic and then to my hotel for $85 (for a 55 minute journey). Had I taken a normal taxi, it would have cost me double. Initially the assistant at Dr Diep’s clinic thought I had missed my flight because the driver had waited 2 hours for me at the aiport. Thankfully he came back for me when I called him and fully understood why I was so late and didn’t blame me at all. He was a very pleasant chap.

 

Day of surgery:

I sat down with Dr Diep and he was very honest with me. He realised that I was going to be a Norwood 5 in the future. He was adamant that I started taking Propecia (I had refused so far because of the scare stories) and I needed to take it so that I would maintain the hair I had and slow down the process. He doesn’t want me to waste more money on surgery and to lose more hair when I could help myself by keeping the hair I already have. He said that if he didn’t care about me or was money hungry, he could very easily use me as a cash cow, knowing that I’d be coming back for more and more and more surgery. But that’s not the kind of doctor he is and he pleaded for my sake and that at my age (turning 24 soon) that I try Propecia since only a small percentage get side effects and I really could help reduce further hair loss.

 

He said that the 1,300 Graft I had paid for wasn’t going to be enough, and said I need more. Since I was already in the states, he asked whether I could pay later on (I said next month, January) to increase it to 1,500 graft and I was more than happy with that. In fact, later on in the surgery, he would give me an extra 300 graft for free because he said I really needed it. Once again proving he wasn’t money hungry. So in total, I had 1,800 grafts.

 

I was then giving some drugs, which were very strong and the surgery began. He drew my hairline based on my face structure and then we went into the surgery room where he removed the strip. He then closed it with Trichophytic Closure and dissolvable sutures. He then punctured the holes in the frontal part of my head. All of this painless.

 

I then had a break, watched some TV and ate a subway and cookies that the clinic ordered for me.

 

Then his wonderful assistants were cutting up my strip and removing the hair. Once that was done, 3 or 4 were working on it while 2 other assistants were inserting the grafts into my head. Just as Dr Diep says in his videos, 1s are puts at the front to make the hairline soft and natural, before increasing it as they go back to give it bulk and volume. He came in half way through to check everything was going well and then the procedure carried on until it was finished.

 

Time flew by and it was largely down to the entertaining assistants that were talking to each other and doing a running commentary on the show that was on the TV. I tried not to laugh, but they definitely had a sense of humour. Once the surgery was over, they explained what I needed to do and they gave me a bag with all the pills I needed to take, shampoo, ointment, neck pillow etc.

 

Day: 1

I slept fine, no pain and went to the clinic to get my bandage removed and my hair washed. The wonderful assistance one again explained how it should be done and answered any questions I had.

 

Day : 2

Same thing again, slept fine and got my hair washed:

 

 

Day: 3

It was a Sunday and I was leaving. I got my final hairwash and spoke to Dr Diep. He checked my donor area and said that my scar should heal well and it was healing well. He answered all my questions and I thanked him. The private driver of the clinic took me to the airport. I can’t emphasise enough how much I saved on taxi fare thanks to the transportation of Dr Diep’s clinic. The personal drivers were extremely nice men who you could have an easy conversation with and time flew by on the motorway

 

I'm now back in the UK and should post my 1 week post op pic on Thursday. Overall my experience with Dr Diep was wonderful and I can only speak highly of him and his staff at his clinics. Communicating with them either face to face, skype or via Email was extremely easy. The clinic was small, personable and felt warm and homely and it didn't feel or seem like those high tech, state of the art modern hair factory clinics that you get where you have 2 or 3 surgeries being performed on the day.

 

If anyone has any questions to ask about my experience, go ahead

 

I made a thread many months ago about how I didn't want to take Propecia. Well, since Dr Diep insisted that I do if I wanted to have surgery I decided I will. I’ve been taking it for a couple of days now and everything seems to be fine. Plus, taking a pill every day isn’t so bad, after all, we all have to do certain things every day to maintain hygiene , for example brushing our teeth twice daily. So why not take a pill (which only takes 2 seconds) to keep my hair. That's how I looked at it.

 

Here are the pics myself:

 

Before Surgery:

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54184&stc=1&d=1387920364

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54186&stc=1&d=1387920404

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54185&stc=1&d=1387920436

 

Couple of hours after Surgery

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54187&stc=1&d=1387920513

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54188&stc=1&d=1387920538

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54189&stc=1&d=1387920575

 

 

1 Day after Surgery

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54190&stc=1&d=1387920605

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54191&stc=1&d=1387920630

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54192&stc=1&d=1387920652

 

Pictures of the Donor Area 1 day after surgery

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54193&stc=1&d=1387920678

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54194&stc=1&d=1387920705

Edited December 24, 2013 by Bazancourt

[asiandude]

none of your attachment work

[Bazancourt]

none of your attachment work

 

Fixed. Seems like I made a mistake with the attachment

[Bazancourt]

As promised, I've posted pics 1 week after the surgery.

 

Overall, it's been an easier week than I thought. I think I've been overly cautious when it comes to washing my hair as I'm petrified I might damage the graft. Now that it's been a week, I can now go back to my regular showering routine, however this time I'll be showering twice a day and gently rubbing the graft in a circular fashion in order to remove the scabs. I'm more confident in doing that now since a week has passed.

 

In terms of the donor, its healing well I think. I was told to expect numbness and tightness in that area and although it has felt tight sometimes, especially when coughing and laughing, it's been fine. Oddly enough, the feeling has returned in that area. I was expecting at least a month or two (maybe more) of numbness and not being able to feel the skin/scalp around the strip.

 

The recipient area however has been much tighter and still feels a little tight. Whether that's due to the dryness in the area and the scabs, who knows. Hopefully within a week or two, the tightness will go away along with the scabs.

 

Sleeping is still a bitch. The dissolvable sutures are annoying when lying on the back of my head as it really itches, especially at either side of the ends of the sutures. I'm supposed to leave it for 2 weeks and let it dissolve and if there's still any left after that period, I should get it removed. Can't wait till it's all gone and I can sleep properly and roll about without worrying about the graft and donor area.

 

I'll probably post another set of pics after a month.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54210&stc=1&d=1388052337

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54211&stc=1&d=1388052371

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54212&stc=1&d=1388052394

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54213&stc=1&d=1388052417

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54214&stc=1&d=1388052436

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=54215&stc=1&d=1388052490

[Bazancourt]

Sorry for the late update, been busy and completely forgot. It's almost 3 months since the surgery and these are the pictures.

 

In regards to how my head is healing, it's pretty much healed fine after a month. The numbness has completely gone and it doesn't feel like I've had any surgery done. I was able to return to the Gym at the start of February and I've not held back. Been doing weight training, sit ups, running on the treadmill and no reaction, no scar stretching.

 

Propecia seems to be working and there's been no reaction.

 

Hopefully within the next few months by hair grafts should start growing. Weirdly enough, quite a number have remained in place. Prior to the surgery, the corners were clean bald, but now, there's baby hair and hair that's been growing naturally in that area. I was anticipating all my transplanted hair would fall out after a month or so, but that's not been the case, which was a pleasant surprise.

 

I'll post another update in a couple of months time

[hairshopeing]

Looking forward to watching your progress!

[Bazancourt]

Hi, these are the photos I took 6 months ago. They were taken on the 28th of June, but it seems like I forgot to post an update. Anyway, my 12 month update will be in the next post.

[Bazancourt]

Hi, this is my final update.

 

This time last year, I was in a hotel recovering from a hair transplant surgery. Today, I've just had my final consultation with Dr Diep on Skype and now I'm just relaxing at home during the Christmas break.

 

From the photos I've posted, it should demonstrate that the hair transplant has been a success.My biggest fear last year was that I was going to be one of those unlucky folks whose head wouldn't react well to hair surgery. Meaning that the transplanted hair wouldn't grow. Thankfully, that was not the case. In the photos, the first 8 photos are taken before I had my surgery. This is to show how bad my hair loss was. The last 3 photos at the end are the ones that were sent to me by Dr Diep, they were taken an hour before the surgery. The rest of the photos in between were taken 2 days ago and are the final results of my hair transplant. I've provided pics from left, right, front and back.

 

The biggest change came between month 5 and 7. Pretty much all my transplanted grew in that period and the sheer speed that it grew meant that it honestly felt as though my hair grew overnight. It was the kind of results I was expecting to get in September/October, not in May or June. The fact that it all grew meant that I had no bald spots or hair missing in the corners and so I could get a hair cut and go about my business as if my hair transplant was complete, when in reality I still had 6 more months left until the final results. I honestly can't say why my hair grew so fast and so successfully. I didn't do anything special, I only took Propecia and in fact I had stopped taking the Vitamin pills recommend to boost hair growth, back in February. From July onward, it was more or less about how thick my transplanted hair would get. Nothing really happened in July or August but from September to December, that's when my transplanted hair began to get thicker and now my transplanted hair and the rest of my original hair feel and look the same.

 

In regards to Propecia, I take one every other day (instead of one ever single day) for cost reasons and it's done me no harm. My biggest regret was not taking it much much earlier. As I said last year, I only decided to take Propecia after Dr Diep told me on the morning of the surgery that taking Propecia was extremely important and that if I didn't, the surgery would be pointless as I would continue to lose more hair. Without his stark warning, I probably wouldn't have taken it. I just wish I hadn't read all the horror stories that put me off taking it 2 years ago.

 

So overall, I can say that the surgery worked. All my transplanted hair grew and I don't have any issue with hair loss. The only worry I have is what kind of hairstyle to have and that's a dilemma I've not had since 2010. One of the great feelings to have after your hair has grown is that feeling of going outside and not caring in the slightest when the wind blows against my face. It may seem insignificant, but trust me, it's one of those fantastic feelings knowing that you don't have to worry about the wind messing up your hair, the hair that you spent 30 mins styling and applying hair spray on so it could keep your hair in one place in order to hide the receding hair-line and bald spot in the corners. Another great feeling is being able to rub your hair back and forth and just in general run your hands through hair. Again, it may not seem much but it was something I wouldn't do outside my house, otherwise it would simply expose my hair loss.

 

I will be going back to Dr Diep for more surgery in a year or two, but it won't be for the top of my head but for my temple points. As you can see from my photos, my temple points isn't that great. It's not a real issue, but once you know that hair transplant works and works so well, you want the perfect hairline and the temple point is part of that.

 

So that's all. I'm genuinely amazed to think that 18 months ago, I was depressed and resigned to hair loss in my early 20s and that the idea of hair transplant was either a load of nonsense or something only the wealthy could get done. I still come across people who hold those views and they point to celebrities like Rooney getting it done to highlight that not only is it expensive (it's not) but hair transplant doesn't really work as it makes you look worse, as if you have a wig on. I always direct people to this forum and Dr Diep's youtube channel to show them that it's simply not the case. You just need to do your research and find a good surgeon.

Edited December 20, 2014 by Bazancourt

[jonkee]

great results! I've been watching his videos on youtube for quite some while now but only reason why I'm having second thoughts is because I am based in the UK too and flying to LA would seem quite pricey for me atm. Do you mind telling me how much you spent on the whole expenses for your HT?

 

Many thanks.

[Questionmark]

It looks awesome to me, very natural. Great approach from Dr. Diep!

[hadenough2014]

Good decision and great result. Congratulations, and thanks for returning to post your photos.