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1500 FUE grafts with Dr. Diep


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I didn't notice a steroid shot in the waiver and have no idea if I got one :) Would've been fine with me either way though. My post HT trauma was pretty much in line with what others see (crusting, pain, redness, numbness, some swelling around forehead/eyes, etc.)

 

IMHO the HT is so traumatic to the head in general, I don't think the steroid shot really is something to worry about. Search the forums though for other opinions.

 

Also they will offer you Acell for $500. I paid for it after doing some research on it. It is not FDA-approved to help, but there is some scientific findings that it can help. I figured given all the time/$/pain involved in a HT, why not pay a little more...

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I didn't notice a steroid shot in the waiver and have no idea if I got one :) Would've been fine with me either way though. My post HT trauma was pretty much in line with what others see (crusting, pain, redness, numbness, some swelling around forehead/eyes, etc.)

 

IMHO the HT is so traumatic to the head in general, I don't think the steroid shot really is something to worry about. Search the forums though for other opinions.

 

Also they will offer you Acell for $500. I paid for it after doing some research on it. It is not FDA-approved to help, but there is some scientific findings that it can help. I figured given all the time/$/pain involved in a HT, why not pay a little more...

 

Thank you for your reply and for mentioning the Acell shot. Im still thinking about it but I'll probably just end up taking it.

Please keep us posted with your progress!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
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hows your twin bros hair? is he on propecia? bald?

 

My twin, identical bro is a lucky son of a gun. He has a full head of hair...absolutely no hair loss :) Also, he has been on propecia they same time I started it. That was some 16 yrs ago when we were around 24 yrs old and we both noticed hair falling out.

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Approx 3 month, Day 97 update

 

Funny what a few weeks can do. 2 weeks ago I was still unhappy with my hair as shock loss was in full effect plus redness in the transplant area was still clearly visible. But in the last few weeks the transplanted hair has started to emerge and it has hidden most of the redness. And I dyed my hair brown again so the new hair is more visible. See attached pics - clipper length is prob around a 2. So now I am happy with where I am given I am 3 months in. The hairline is lower for sure then where it was pre-FUE (see my initial post for the before pic)

 

I resumed Rogaine about a month after the FUE (FYI - never stopped the Propecia) and do it twice a day so maybe that helped, but who knows. Anyhow, now I just wait for more hair to emerge over the next ~9 months. The density right now is not where I want it to be, but hopefully that changes down the road :)

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Edited by johndoe1
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I have been monitoring all your posts because I also went in and got a HT (FUE) from Dr. Diep. Seeing you during the shock loss period worried me but after seeing you now its such an amazing improvement!! I am blown away! And this is only month 3? Wow you are going to look amazing-er!

 

I got about 1600+ graphs (FUE) just to fill my temples and lower the hairline a little. Its been about a month and I have had about 40% shock loss but all the hairs didn't completely fall out. I also did the A-cell so I wonder if that helped keep my hair in place. I am worried all will fall out in the next week bc I read usually it happens in about the 3rd or 4th week. I hope not though... :confused:

 

Seeing you at 3 months and knowing it will start to grow I know I can stick it out for a little longer.

 

Your result is amazing!

Congrats!

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  • 2 months later...
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Ok, here is my 180 day/6 month update. Bottom line is that I am very happy with the procedure. See attached pic with the first being a “before” and the rest being now. My hairline before was 3 inches above my eyebrows and even then the first inch above this was very sparse. Now the hairline starts around 2.25 inches and looks full, knocking 5-10 yrs off my appearance easy. People at work ask if I have done something diff with my hair, my friends know something has changed with my appearance but can’t put a finger on it, and I definitely get more attention from the ladies...which I’m not complaining about :) Also, no lingering numbness or redness.

 

It’s not all perfect though. One con is that the density could be thicker. I would estimate the density in the recipient areas is like 30-50% that of the donor area. Pic 2 is what my hair looks like in very bright light if you are inches from it. But in other lighting and if you are at more of a distance, it looks more like pic 3. Also, I cut my hair at around razor length 1 so this lack of density is not really noticeable, but if I went to razor level 2/3 you would be able to tell the hair in the front is less dense. But to be clear today is still a MAJOR improvement over where I was before. So net-net I am very happy. Now when I see pics of myself I smile at my new/youthful hairline…instead of wincing at my slowly receding hairline!

5b32e121a0cce_21before.jpg.fdc5a1ce3d626ed93ce9fa0c6dc06752.jpg

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5b32e121f1dac_25Day180back.jpg.4b53d805744b3eb11dfd21d68385460b.jpg

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Looking good! I can relate. I had over 5,000 grafts done two years ago, crown and front. Hang in there, the first 30 days are huge!!

I am an online representative for Carolina Hair Surgery & Dr. Mike Vories (Recommended on the Hair Transplant Network).

View John's before/after photos and videos:  http://www.MyFUEhairtransplant.com

You can email me at johncasper99@gmail.com

I am not a medical professional and my opinions should not be taken as medical advice.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 year later...
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Sorry too busy over the next few weeks to take/upload new pics, but my 6-month post further above pretty much syncs up with this 2-yr assessment.

 

Pros

- My hairline is low and looks youthful

- No one has any idea I had a HT. That includes the donor area.

 

Cons

- Density IMHO really should be 2x. I shave my hair short so it hides the density issue. But if I had longer hair I think one could definitely tell where the balding area is.

 

 

Overall still very happy though. When I look back at pre-HT pics, I wince at my high hairline in em ;)

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 years later...
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On 3/2/2014 at 6:07 PM, johndoe1 said:

After about a year of mostly lurking on this forum, I have finally done a FUE procedure and am happy to share it with all of you to give back to this very helpful community here.

 

Background is I am 39 and have had gradual hair loss in the front only since around 24 years old. I started taking Rogaine + propecia back then and it slowed things down, but now I’m tired of my high hairline (Norwood 2-3) so decided to get FUE. I cut my hair short so FUE made sense. I live in San Francisco so Diep was the best of the 3 or so local FUE docs I looked at. I called 2 of the more established LA-based doctors, but Diep seemed in the same league (he trained with Rassman, one of the pioneers of FUE) plus the idea of flying to/from the procedure was not ideal. Also my hair is slightly kinky (I am half latin, half white) and Diep specializes in this sort of kinky/curly hair. For peace of mind, I did explain to Diep beforehand not to take hair from high up on the back of my head, to angle it correctly in the front in a natural way, etc. Basically to avoid the "nightmare" scenarios you read about on forums from time to time :)

So on Friday I got the FUE done with 1500 grafts and also the optional A-cell treatment (research on A-Cell is not clear, but it anecdotally does seem to help). Procedure went smooth and ran like 10am-4pm. Not much pain at all and frankly I was in a bit of a haze the whole time given the meds.

BTW, Diep does zig zag the hairline a bit so it is more natural (straight hairline is not natural) and also he does put hair in the front into areas that already do have existing hair to create a more natural look. Hair from the back is diff than hair in the front so blending back of the head hair into front of the head hair is key. And if you are wondering why all the donor hairs are from the back right, it is because he works right-to-left and also each extraction traumatizes the hairs around it, hence better to leave a fresh untouched donor area on the left that I can come back to years from now if I need another FUE.

Attached first 2 pics are right before the procedure (in reality my hair actually looks *worse* than in these pre pics). Next 2 are right after it. Next two are day 1. Next 2 are day 2, where I am right now. I am happy with the results and healing is going well. I am following all the post-op steps including 2 showers a day with GraftCyte shampoo (free from the doctor) with no direct water to the donor or recipient areas. And then after the showers, bacitracin ointment to the donor areas. Also I have been taking Vitamin C every day since about a week prior to the procedure. Lastly, I am using saline every few hours to keep things moist. The saline spray can from Walgreens sprays too hard, so I spray it into a smaller plastic spray bottle (also from Walgreens) so the saline comes out in a fine mist and will not harm the hairs.

 

Also, Diep is doing well these days with many patients. Diep got me a free driver to/from his clinic. I asked the driver about out-of-state patients and the driver told me he does a lot of airport pickups/drop-offs for out-of-state patients for Diep. And while I was at the clinic, Diep had finished a non-fue (flap) procedure earlier and the patient was there. On the way out, 2 patients from the day before came in for their post-op shampoos. And the Dr told me is moving to a larger facility down the street. All of this evidence of course is non-scientific, but it points to a competent doctor. Lousy docs get bad reps fast and business tends to dry up.

Anyhow please reply with any questions/comments!

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5b32dd8ea22bb_6Day1side.jpg.fcba1b2c6d6219969de7b385f269e2ce.jpg

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Congrats on your procedure John.

Did Dr. Diep only extract on your back and right side (i.e., no extractions on left side of your head)?

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