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FUE - My Experience to date


Dog

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Hi all,

 

***pics now inserted via links below***

 

I've been following the topics on these forums for a fair while now, but have only just registered since having an FUE transplant in early July 2014. This is my first post, so I hope it is useful to anyone considering the same procedure.

 

I will try and make this as simple and user-friendly as possible, as I found there to be so much contradictory information out there when I was researching the FUE procedure I underwent a week or so ago.

 

I had 2466 grafts taken from donor and transplanted into my hairline and a small amount into a minor bald patch in the crown.

 

In this post I will outline each 'step' I encountered and try to make it as consumable as possible for someone seeking the have an FUE transplant.

 

1.) I selected the Dr based on a lot of research I had done and he was by far and away the most affordable option for a very well reputed surgeon in this field. I paid about $3300 USD.

 

2.) Two days prior to the procedure I began to get pretty nervous and all the usual 'what am I doing?' questions started creeping into my head.

 

3.) I was collected from the airport and taken straight to the clinic where the Dr looked at my head before doing some measurements and drawing on a new hairline which I liked from the minute I saw it. We agreed this was the way to go and I went to my hotel to nervously sleep the night away ahead of a long day surgery the next morning.

 

4.) I was picked up the next morning after a light breakfast and it was straight to the clinic. I had my hair clippered and washed, then had some blood taken and an iv line inserted into my hand for anti-biotics and saline for hydration.

 

5.) The clinic staff were very competent and directed me to the harvesting room where the extraction process began. It was virtually painless (after the area was anaesthetised) and I lay flat on my stomach for the next couple of hours while the Dr used his 1mm punch to extract all the grafts for transplantation later on. Once complete some antiseptic cream and a dressing were applied.

 

6.) After a quick coffee and some biscuits, it was time to implant the grafts into their new home. Once again the area was numbed (this time the front) and it was the Dr who made the slits for the grafts to be planted in. This process is a bit of a weird sensation as you can feel some scratching as he makes 1000's of individual slits into your temples/forehead and crown. Once again virtually no feeling, let alone pain.

 

7.) Once the design had been made into the recipient areas (via slits), it was time to tally up the grafts taken and pay for the procedure.

 

8.) Next I headed to the implantation room and had a nurse and an assistant work on me for the next 4 hours, carefully implanting the individual hairs into their new homes, one by one. This is quite boring, but the anticipation of witnessing the final result gets you through.

 

9.) Once complete, I was taken to a mirror to look at the work and was very satisfied with how it looked.

 

10.) I hung around at the clinic for an hour or so to make sure I was feeling ok and then I was taken back to the hotel with a handful of pills to take that night and some saline spray that needed to be regularly applied for the next few hours to keep the recipient area moist. I slept fine and had no pain at all.

 

11.) The next day I was collected and taken back to the clinic where I was shown how to shampoo, wash and generally care for the recipient and donor areas to help the grafts take and to prevent infection.

 

Post-procedure regime:

 

This requires quite a bit of time and effort, but I've been doing everything by the book and am happy with how it is all coming along.

 

I have taken 6-weeks holiday from work and I'm very glad I did. Having read that some people go back to work a few days later I am very happy I opted to take some significant time off as I would not have felt comfortable going to work so soon after the procedure. I guess if you can wear a hat it would be ok, but even then, there is some mild discomfort etc and a hat would get a bit annoying.

 

My wife has been assisting me with all the rinsing/washing/drying/disinfecting etc. which has made it a lot easier. I'd imagine it would be a bit tricky on your own, but easily doable.

 

I'm now at 7 days post and have got the whole crusting thing going on. I expect these to come off over the next 5 days and then I guess we watch the transplanted hair fall out before the waiting game really begins.

 

All in all I'm very glad I had the procedure, and while it's a pretty full on experience, I'm excited by what the future will bring. I will post some photos tomorrow.

Edited by Dog
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Thanks for the detailed write up. It will certainly be of use to many people using this forum.

What Dr did you opt for? and did you plan for that amount of grafts?

 

Do you have any pics you can share also.

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$3300 for 2400 FUE grafts from a respected US surgeon in a deal that sounds too good to be true. Care to tell us who did your procedure? I also agree that photo documentation would give your post much more credibility.

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$3300 for 2400 FUE grafts from a respected US surgeon in a deal that sounds too good to be true. Care to tell us who did your procedure? I also agree that photo documentation would give your post much more credibility.

 

Hi Hairweare, thanks for the reply!

 

I had the procedure done in India (Dr Tejinder Bhatti) and it equated to $3300 USD. Well worth the travel out there (I'm from Australia) to a state of the art clinic for a very affordable price. I see there are some surgeons in Europe who do it a bit cheaper, but this worked for me. Australian prices are extortionate and our surgeons don't seem to have good reputations. I have tonnes of photo, they are all on my phone, but I'm not a tech-savvy person so need to work out how to get them from there on to here! :)

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Hi Johnboy71,

 

I went with Dr Tejinder Bhatti in India. I have heaps of photos so far, but need to work out how to get them off phone and on to laptop/this site.

 

The Dr originally saod between 2500-3000, but once he saw me face to face, he decided i needed a little less than that. Very happy thus far. It will look great in a few months.

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Hi, all looks just fine, great hairline design imo. Now sit back and relax for at least 5 months ;)

 

Thanks Questionmark, nice to hear an independent view. My wife tells me it looks great also, but she's got no choice! ha. I'm prepared to be patient. Short-term pain for long-term gain and all that.. glad I have 5.5 week between procedure and going back to work though... wouldn't be too enjoyable going back now.

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So happy to hear about another great Dr Bhatti story, why on earth any one would say a bad word about the guy is beyond me. From the moment you step outside the airport doors until the time the driver drops you back at the airport 3 days later is all clock work and you nothing to worry about. Nice read, take care and try not to over look in the mirror, and try to avoid the J&J tonic until about week 4

June 2013 - 3000 FUE Dr Bhatti

Oct 2013 - 1000 FUE Dr Bhatti

Oct 2015 - 785 FUE Dr Bhatti

 

Dr. Bhatti's Recommendation Profile on the Hair Transplant Network

My story and photos can be seen here

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/Sethticles/

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So happy to hear about another great Dr Bhatti story, why on earth any one would say a bad word about the guy is beyond me. From the moment you step outside the airport doors until the time the driver drops you back at the airport 3 days later is all clock work and you nothing to worry about. Nice read, take care and try not to over look in the mirror, and try to avoid the J&J tonic until about week 4

 

You're right Sethticles, Dr Bhatti's team move like clockwork. He is a very cool customer and has time for every question and keeps you up to speed the whole way through. The idea of travelling to a far away place like India would scare plenty of people off, but it is well worth the trip, not only for the price, but the whole experience. All I had to do was worry about what I ate for dinner from the hotel restaurant, the rest was taken care of. You need a big pair of you-know-what's to take the plunge, but it is all worth it when you leave a couple of days later.

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Here I am at Day 9 (can't work out how to embed them into my posts - sorry!)

 

Hair Restoration Social Network ? Community for and by Hair Loss Patients

 

Hi Dog,

 

Thanks for sharing. Looks really good. Please keep us posted.

 

Thanks,

California

 

DarlingBuds FUE's profile photo 
 
North America Representative and Patient Advisor for:
Dr. Tejinder Bhatti, Darling Buds Hair Transplant Center, Chandigarh, India.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own.

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I see you didnt have to get the rest of your head shaved which appeals to me. Is this standard or do you have to ask for it and pay more?

 

Hi madmaxwell, Dr Bhatti gives you the choice, so I opted to just have the back and sides shaved. In hindsight though, I probably would have opted to shave the whole head for consistency, but the advantage I have from not getting full shave is that when the transplanted hair falls out I will basically look exactly the same as I did before the procedure - which was my aim. I've never had a fully clippered head, so I wasn't all that keen for the whole head to be shaved. It certainly should not cost extra!!

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Here I am at Day 10 - minus virtually all crusting! Coming along great I think ... and as an added bonus I have worked out how to drop photos into my posts - not just links to an album.:):)

nick_7.jpg.a2beefc69d4876371cd6a47f4def880a.jpg

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Does anyone know if dr bhatti has a uk representative

 

Ask 'California' above, he's his US rep... Dr Bhatti's clinic is called darling buds - google it and send him an email. He will reply quickly. Good luck.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
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So, I'm at the 2 month mark and am really happy. I'm still a bit red through the recipient area, but am also experiencing a lot of growth. I managed to retain about 20% of the transplanted hairs and have noticed over the past few weeks that 30-40% of the new hairs are starting to poke through out of their slits. My hair has always grown really quickly so I reckon I'll be in a great position come month 4 (early November), hopefully!

 

Will post photos in the next few days.

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  • 7 months later...
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So, I haven't posted for ages (31 August 2014 to be precise) but here I am at 9 months and I could not be happier. I will post pics in the next day or so if anyone is interested. If not, I'll just keep loving life with my new head of hair. Let me know and I'll take the time to get photos taken and uploaded.

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