3,000 FUT? My Visit This Thursday, April 17 with Dr. Cooley

[KD2020]

Yes, I'm using Mupirocin, 2%. It's really not bad on the suitures as it is elsewhere. The shower and shampoo helped a lot. I'm also feeling a lot better today as I did not wake up every two hours and spray my head last night (that was recommended the first 2 nights).

Edited April 20, 2014 by KD2020
Spelling error

[KD2020]

Any idea how the graft counts compare? Are they typical?

[Since21]

Any idea how the graft counts compare? Are they typical?

 

The graft breakdown looks good. I didn't get any 4s. And your ratio of 1s to 2s looks good. The 1s are for a softer, more natural hairline and the 2s and 3s help with density. You got about 400 more grafts than me. But my doc didn't think I needed more than 3,000 - that was the number also quoted to me by a few other doctors - but I pushed him for more. So he netted around 3,450.

[KD2020]

Awesome. Thanks for the info, good to know.

I'm really excited that a couple of other doctors expected 2,500-2,700, and I was able to get over 1,000 more than that. Now it's "hurry up and wait"

[Since21]

I'm a little over 5 months out and to quote Morgan Freeman from Shawshank Redemption, "After a hair transplant, time can draw out like a blade." I added the hair transplant part.

[KD2020]

FYI, I added my graft count in my signature like some others are doing, and I also added that I am using the Help Hair shake in my morning smoothies. I have been making smoothies with a Vitamix for over a year now, and I was using egg white protein (along with almond milk, a banana, an apple, a pear, some kale, and chia seeds, which I split with my wife), so I have simply swapped the egg white protein with the Help Hair powder. Although it was derived by the now infamous hair Dr. in Fl, it does have good ingredients in it. Anything that might offer extra benefit to getting my grafts off to the best start possible is worth trying given the investment I just made.

 

Anyone else trying it?

[KD2020]

Attached are photos of my scar on day 6 post op. Seems like it's healing well.

I keep applying the cream Dr Cooley's office gave me which can be seen in my hair in the photo, about to run out now. I just confirmed my regular Dr.'s office has agreed they can remove the stitches in a couple of weeks locally.

Edited April 23, 2014 by KD2020

[1978matt]

Great write up. I've not seen too many Cooley patients posting so I'm sure this will be appreciated!

[KD2020]

Thanks Matt. Funny that you wrote as I just read all 100+ pages of your results last night (just kidding, there weren't that many but you did generate a lot of activity!). I'm hopeful to see results half as good as yours!

 

Thanks again -

 

Steve

[Since21]

Really pulling for a stellar result for you, KD! Heal well.

[KD2020]

Thanks Since21! And I for you as well.

 

I have seen the following growth timeline that today's transplant patients average, anyone know if it's standard? I realize everyone is different, but on average, is this what people are experiencing? Except perhaps Matt1978, I think he was way ahead of this

 

• 3 months - 10%
  
• 4 months - 25%
  
• 5 months - 40%
  
• 6 months - 60%
  
• 7 months - 70%
  
• 8 months - 75%
  
• 9 months - 80%
  
• 10 months - 90%
  
• 11 months - 95%
  
• 12 months - 98%
  
• 18 months - 100%
  

[Since21]

Thanks Since21! And I for you as well.

 

I have seen the following growth timeline that today's transplant patients average, anyone know if it's standard? I realize everyone is different, but on average, is this what people are experiencing? Except perhaps Matt1978, I think he was way ahead of this

 

• 3 months - 10%
  
• 4 months - 25%
  
• 5 months - 40%
  
• 6 months - 60%
  
• 7 months - 70%
  
• 8 months - 75%
  
• 9 months - 80%
  
• 10 months - 90%
  
• 11 months - 95%
  
• 12 months - 98%
  
• 18 months - 100%
  

 

I'm between 5-6 months and recently thought I was at 70-80%, but I have been surprised by how much my density improves from one week to the next, so it's really hard to tell.

[KD2020]

I thought I'd also mention my stay at the Hilton Garden Inn that Dr. Cooley's office uses; it's less than a mile and a half away.

 

I usually stay at Marriott because I maintain points with them, so this was a little different for me. The room was very nice, and had a mini fridge which I like to have. It also had a Keurig coffee maker, which worked better than the typical 1 shot coffee makers (with the pancake style coffee containers) in hotels these days.

 

The bigger point to make about the hotel though was the hospitality of the people, including the Assistant General Manager Kevin. As I mentioned, my father, who is sympathetic to the hairloss issue since he's been through it too, didn't have anything else to do and wanted to go with me so I brought him along (he's retired Army and lives by himself).

 

The hotel was sold out, so it was a good thing I had made an extra reservation in advance. Anyhow, Kevin gave both my Dad and me free breakfast coupons ($9.95 value each) for both days we stayed (Dr. Cooley's office paid for my room, and I paid for my Dad's). Breakfast was good, in addition to having sausage gravy and biscuits, bacon, fruit, cereal, etc., they will also cook eggs however you like. And their dining areas have a couple of TVs going, and the waitress gave me the remote to find whatever we wanted to watch.

 

After I had my surgery, Dr. Cooley's office had given me a number of covers that slip over pillows to protect them. They also gave me 3 or 4 surgeon caps to wear while sleeping (with Saran wrap over your hair to help the grafts stay wet with a spray they give you). Somehow, I had a couple of drops of blood from my suture get on an adjacent pillow and the floor, so I called Kevin at the front desk and told him I'd buy the pillow. He said don't worry about it at all - they would take care of everything.

 

I received a survey about our experience after getting home, and I took a minute and filled it out, leaving great feedback about our stay (although I did comment that their internet log in process is a bit cumbersome, and their one piece comforters are a bit hot). Typically when you do these, you never hear back. However, I received a personal email from Kevin:

 

Dear ___:

I wanted to personally “Thank you” for taking the time out of your busy schedule to fill out our online survey for your recent stay. Your satisfaction is always the key to accomplishing our goal of ultimate service and clean guest rooms. Your response gives us the proper amount of feedback we need to ensure all of our guest’s have a similar experience. I do want to apologize about the internet and comforters. I will definitely pass this information on to my GM and Hilton.

 

If there is anything else you feel we could do to improve your future stays, please do not hesitate to contact me. Once again, thank you for your response and comments about me. You were a pleasure to have at our hotel.

Sincerely,

Kevin Dillon

Assistant General Manager

Hilton Garden Inn Pineville

 

All in all, it was a very good experience. And they have a good relationship with Dr. Cooley's office, even offering transportation to and from his location for the surgery if you need it. There are other hotels in the area, but Dr. Cooley's office has picked a good one, I can definitely recommend it.

[KD2020]

I'm between 5-6 months and recently thought I was at 70-80%, but I have been surprised by how much my density improves from one week to the next, so it's really hard to tell.

 

That's awesome!!! Congratulations!

[KD2020]

Yesterday was my last weekday off from work, I start back on Monday. Before the surgery, I was concerned as to how noticeable the work would be. When I had it done back in the 1990's, I had scabs for many days post op, and it took a very long time for them to come off. They were also very irritating.

 

I'm happy to say that I have NO RESERVATIONS about going in on Monday and anybody noticing anything. It's truly amazing what today's technology can do in the right hands.

 

I took some photos this morning of both my hairline and my incision to show others who may have similar concerns.

 

Also, my wife and I had friends over last night for pizza night, and I did not wear a hat, and no one noticed I had any work done! Here's a few photos of the pizzas as well for fun - I enjoy making gourmet pizzas.

[Moki87]

Thank you for the detailed accounting of your experience! It looks great. I am considering Dr. Cooley also. I am debating between Keene and Cooley. This is not as important of an issue, but curious how long do you have to keep the sutures in and how was the shot for anesthesia? I heard that can be quite painful. I'm new to this site so I realize my questions are so basic! The suture time is a bit important for me because I will only be in the U.S. a limited amount of time. Thank you.

[KD2020]

You're welcome. I have received tremendous benefit from this forum, so I'm glad my post has helped someone else, even if just a little.

 

Dr. Cooley recommended the sutures stay in for 3 weeks. I'm having them removed by my local Dr.'s nurse this Wednesday (not making the 5.5 hour drive back to Dr. Cooley's office as I can have that done locally), which will be one day short of 3 weeks.

 

I was told to have breakfast first and be at Dr. Cooley's office by 7am, which I did. We then went over my goals and objectives, and Dr. Cooley drew a hairline and explained the approach he recommended to meet my goals. While we were doing that, there was a cup with a Valium and one other pill in it which I took. Then we went back to the room for the surgery, and I thumbed through a 3 ring binder of movies, picking out what I wanted to watch. I got a shot in the arm of something which basically had me drift off to sleep, and before I knew it the strip was out and they were just about finished sewing the strip area up. You then get a few minor numbing shots in the graft area, which were nothing.

 

Another forum member has documented his experience with Dr. Cooley as well, you might find it of interest too to ease your concern. Here's what he said: "I have a pretty high threshold for pain, but the idea of having a chunk of your scalp cut out is going to give anyone the willies. However, I literally felt nothing; absolutely nothing."

 

You can find his post here: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/174448-2-800-grafts-dr-cooley.html

 

It's entirely worth it. I'm extremely happy with the everything before, during, and after the surgery, and I have expectations that I will be equally happy with the results, but it's going to be many months before I'll know for sure.

 

I wish you the best of luck with whomever you choose, and I hope your visit to the US is great!

 

PS -I don't represent any Dr., I simply share my experience in hopes that someone else will benefit as much as I have from others here.

[Moki87]

KD2020 thank you for the response. It is very reassuring and great to get insight from someone with personal experience. I'm already pleased I joined this network. I thought the procedure would not be bad as far as pain overall but it is certainly good to know that you were not even aware of the injection of medication for pain management or the strip removal itself. I look forward to seeing your progress and I have no doubt we will be hearing more good news from you. Thank you!

[KD2020]

Today marks another short milestone. Dr. Cooley said I should wait three weeks before taking the stitches out, and I'm 20 days post op so I had them taken out today (my family Dr.'s nurse was not available tomorrow but was today). The nurse said it was the best stitch work she's seen in her 40 years of being a nurse, and commented how great everything is healing which made me feel good / hopeful there won't be much of a scar noticeable. My family Dr. also came in and took a look and then commented how you can't even tell I had any surgery (he's thinking about having a HT plant this fall, so he has personal interest in what's happening).

 

The first photo has them removed, the second has half in half out. The next to last photo is my current hairline, and the last photo shows the amount of work that was being done April 17 (3 weeks ago).

[KeithJagger]

Looking good! Congratulations on getting the sutures out. Scar looks super clean, just like mine did. I finally went in for a hair cut the other day. I let my hair grow ridiculously long, not because I had to cover anything, but because my boss's were out of town for a long time and I had always wanted to see what my hair looked like long. By long, I mean Owen Wilson -- not Motley Crew. Anyway, because my hair was so long, I thought that it might have camouflaged any scars/redness. However, after getting a proper hair cut, I was even more pleased with Dr. Cooley's work as now I could better see the donor scar. Or more accurately, I could better see how there was barely a donor scar. So looking at where you are at one month and being that I am one month ahead of you, I think you are going to be really, really pleased with how your donor scar turns out.

[KD2020]

Thanks! Glad to get them out. I had my hair cut the week prior to the surgery, knowing that I usually wait about 4 months before getting it cut again, so I can wait a while for that.

 

Owen Wilson - he's a riot, funny you mentioned him. I remember the 80's days of Motley Crue, and I still listen to them and others on XM Satellite.

 

Really glad to hear how well your donor scar has turned out, and I do believe ACell has helped in that as well (that's in addition to Dr. Cooley's skills). While I don't wear a buzz cut and you can't see the two scars from my 500 ea HT back in the 1990's, you can see the lines that are there when my hair is moved as shown in the image below. It's impressive how much better Dr. Cooley's work is, even though I had a good surgeon before. It's night and day better.

 

Keep your posts coming, as I mentioned, I enjoy reading them and seeing what's ahead.

[KD2020]

Interesting, I ran across an old 1996 passport photo yesterday that was before my first 500 graft FUT HT (had that done twice back then, so 1,000 total, which was a lot then). Anyhow, I compared that to my hairline back in February of this year, and then again just last week after my FUT HT this year (April 17). You can see the shock loss in the last photo. I'm hopeful that this is only temporary and that they are simply dormant and will be back soon!

 

Unfortunately, the site has added their watermark over my notes on the photos. The first one is 1996 pre 1st HT, the second is Feb2014 preHT, and the 3rd is June2014 postHT.

[Since21]

Interesting, I ran across an old 1996 passport photo yesterday that was before my first 500 graft FUT HT (had that done twice back then, so 1,000 total, which was a lot then). Anyhow, I compared that to my hairline back in February of this year, and then again just last week after my FUT HT this year (April 17). You can see the shock loss in the last photo. I'm hopeful that this is only temporary and that they are simply dormant and will be back soon!

 

In my case, I don't know whether it is shock loss or that the HT has hastened the demise of already miniaturizing/weak hairs, but I've experienced the same thing in my mid-scalp and crown behind my graft area. It is noticeably thinner than pre-HT. It's been discussed on here that HTs can accelerate hair loss in areas predisposed to MPB. It's a bit of a paradox of the game. I wish I could find the thread for you, but gillenator talked about it in detail when I asked him about it.

[KeithJagger]

Thanks for posting those. As you know, I suffered a decent bit of shockloss myself. It started around 3 weeks after surgery and continued for a month or two. I was looking at my before and after as well, and there was a cognizable difference. However, in the past two weeks I have noticed a lot of them growing back. I hope this pattern continues.

[KD2020]

Thanks Since21.

 

KeithJagger- That's great to hear! According to the shock loss video from Dr. Lindsey posted here on the forum last week, the shock loss hair that will re-grow happens at about 2.5 months, while the transplanted hair takes an extra couple of weeks to start showing. And since you're about a month ahead of me, I'm hopeful my results will track similarly. Thanks for the update.