2967 Grafts with Dr Konior

[phantom777]

I just had the transplant done with Dr Konior like an hour back (Thursday). It was such a breezy affair today. I am just 30 years old but my hair doesnt look 30ish so I decided to match it up with my age . I had a consultation with Dr initially 4 months back and he had recommended around 2000 grafts since I was kinda young for a transplant and he wanted it to be conservative. I had loss at my crown too which I hoped would be covered but he told me the importance of conserving hair for the future and placing hair where it factors the most and I did agree with that.

 

I reached the hotel ( Comfort Inn), half a mile from his office on Wednesday evening. Since I live in Indianapolis, I just traveled after work. Since I reached around 6 in the evening, i asked Tom , the manager if he was free and he asked me to come over and we did some paper work and he told he about a place just walkable from the office i could buy food. It was called Pete Market I guess. I went and grabbed some food and headed back to the motel. There's a walgreens and a bank of America too. I just withdrew some cash to pay for my toll . I then washed my head,face and neck with the antibacterial soap , had a medicine, and headed to sleep after a while .

 

I was picked up early in the morning around 6:15 and by the time I reached, Dr Konior was already present. I spend a few minutes with a nurse over there and Dr Konior came over. We talked about the hairline and since we had already agreed with the hairline, we did not have to deviate much with what we thought would be best for us.

 

Dr Konior then asked me to draw the hairline I wanted and I did so and he said " hmm so you want a GQ magazine's cover guy's hairline' . I laughed and said...umm maybe He then drew the hair line and I said that was fine with me. But he started taking pics over and over again and started perfecting the hairline until he felt it was all good. He might have taken over 10 pics and modified the hairline to make sure it's perfect.

 

They then gave me some me medicines and took me to the surgical room. I could see the doctor going over the pics again and again which I was guess was his planning what was best for me.

 

They asked me to lie down to take the donor.it might be 8am or earlier by then. And I did not see what was done but i felt small prickings which was to numb me i guess.I had made sure that I slept late the previous night and woke up early today so that I would for sure be sleepy even if the valium did not work on me;) the next thing i knew was the clipping which I guess was the donor being stiched. It might have taken over an hour. And then I was turned back facing my head upwards for the transplant to start. And all i knew was I waking up at around 12:30 and asking if I could go to the restroom. It was over in 2 mins and I was back to my baby sleep. And the next thing I remember was them saying its all over. and i was like wow. Did everything just happen in 30 mins?. But it was 5pm by then. And the doctors said I was a very very good patient as I did not disturb them the least. And another good news he told me was instead of the initial 2000 -2400 grafts we had planned, he went to 2960 ish and I was like wow, thats a bonus. And he was very kind enough to not charge me for it. He only charged me for 2600. I dont' know how many doctor's do that. First of all he tell me we can do with very less grafts. Then he does more grafts and on top of that he dont charge for the extra grafts. That speaks volumes of how professional he is and how much he thinks about the welfare of his patients.

 

So now am back to my motel with the ice pack and ready to take the meds and will head back to his office tomorrow for some cleanup again.And I have not still seen my donor area as I had grown my hair long like 4-5 months and its covering all of my donor.If someone looks at my head, they would have no clue as to where the donor hair came from . I will be posting my pictures soon as I currently don't feel like walking around with my camera and taking pics. But I promise I'll do it this week. And here's a link to my blog I had created a few months back

Hair Restoration Social Network - Hair Loss Patient Blogs.

 

So I guess my wait begins with the work of my magician Dr Konior.

Edited July 22, 2014 by phantom777

[NM156]

That sounds awesome, man. Can't wait to see your pics and follow your progress.

[Mickey85]

Can't wait to the the prestine post-operative recipient shots. Konior, Gabel and Feriduni have the most immaculate recipient area work I have seen.

[Paulygon]

I'm excited for ya! can't wait to see your progress! keep us posted friend!

[SADbutTRUE]

welcome to the forums, congrats on your recent surgery, heal well and heres to great growth, looking forward to follow your progress

[phantom777]

These are the pics I took before my surgery, the night before.

Added one more pic which was taken 3 months before the surgery (the last one)

Edited July 22, 2014 by phantom777

[phantom777]

So day 1 is almost getting over. The night after the surgery, I slept like a baby:D but had to get up every 2 hours for the medicines. I decided to stay one more day in the motel to be safe as I came alone and have to drive back alone. I am still taking advil every 4 hours. Today morning they picked me up from the motel and cleaned up everything. And around 12 they again picked me up and cleaned. I went and got some sandwiches on the way as I was eating very light food till now ( just fruits and bread). Feeling fine now but for a very minor pain on my donor area. They removed the staples today. Every time i touch my hair around the donor, i feel it very hard. I never saw my suture line as i have long hair and they covered it with my hair.

 

I think my forehead is swelling. Am planning to put some ice on it and keep rubbing it like a viper on the car, So other than taking meds and sleeping and wriitng this up, my day has been stuck pretty much like this. Please do let me know if there's more I can do to avoid this swelling. Am also lying down on an inclined positon with 3 pillow behind my back.

 

Tom the manager has told me he would be giving the pics he took by next week along with the number of single, double ... hairs.

[Mickey85]

I can't believe how good it looks for day 1... So clean, no redness, no blood or scabbing. I'm very partial to FUE as you all know but Konior's work is like HT porn(in a good way I mean hehe).

[phantom777]

Yes Mickey, his work is like a porn, coz my head looks so naked right now and am getting a sudden urge to get back my hair jk

[StaggerLee123]

Nice write up and good luck. You have that solid base in the middle of your head to work off of and I am sure you will be happy with the result. Are you on Finasteride?

[phantom777]

DAY 2:

 

I have hair in the middle of my head,but I think they are very brittle, as in they might commit suicide very soon I am not taking Fin as I haven't married yet and don't want to take a chance. Fin could have helped my crown a lot, but still the risk of Fin always turns me off.

 

Also I asked my Doctor if I need to start spraying on my head, but he though I can, its not really necessary as yesterday when he checked my head, it was very clean. So I might use it once in a while. So far i am not feeling any pain and so I might reduce the intake of advil. Moreover since I am going to drive back home ( 3 hr drive) I dont want any medication that would kick in a sleep within me.

 

I plan to start using Rogaine foam maybe in a week or 2 when the grafts have rooted deeply.I will be starting my shampooing tomorrow. So far am feeling good. Actually I dont mind going through this procedure again coz I actually enjoyed it ( the doctors and his staff treated me very royally.

 

Yesterday I was supposed to drive back home, but then I took another medicine which was to put me to sleep by mistake. I was told not to take it, but I got confused and took it.When i went to see the doc for the last time before heading back home, I started getting drowsy and cold, 3 of the staff came and turned on the small fan towards me and gave me water and something to eat. Even Tom, the manager came inside to hold the fan and he was with me until he made sure I was back to normal.So I decided to stay one more day at the motel and i'll head back home today. Everyone in Dr Konor's offce are so professional in what they do and makes sure the patient is comfortable at any given time.Atleast till now, everything was so smooth and felt like I was just having a vacation out here in chicago

Edited July 19, 2014 by phantom777

[1978matt]

Congratulations, nice write up and I enjoyed the GQ comment!

[phantom777]

For some reason , I could not sleep with my donor side on the pillow. Had to sleep sideways where the donor was not present. Started shampooing my hair today and let the shampoo flow from the non recipient area to the recipient area. Dried it a bit and then applied the antibiotic ointment on it.As of today , am not taking any medicine, except for the ointment on my donor.

 

I have tried to take a few pics of my donor. It might not be very clear and might not show the full stretch of the donor, but just to get a glimpse of it, i took it.

[phantom777]

So on day 4, I started seeing swelling on my eyes. I knew it was bound to come as I started working with my laptop (IT guy). Its hard to sit at 45 angle and code . But since I am working from home for a few days, I did not mind it as physically it did not disturb me. By evening the swelling disappeared.

 

But evening when i went to check the grafts, I noticed a panama canal forming on my recipient area. I immediately took a pic and mailed Dr Konior asking him if the crack is something to worry about or if I am not doing something right. I mailed him and put back my camera in the bag and came back to the laptop and his reply was already there.That was an ultra fast reply and I knew I can count on him post my surgery too.

 

He told me that I will see more cracks in the next few days and that these are from the dry crust starting to shrink, similar to the cracks in dry earth. They should disappear as I shed the crusts and is nothing to worry about. So I guess I am on the right track till now.

 

As usual, suggestions/questions are always welcome.

[Paulygon]

Nice write up and good luck. You have that solid base in the middle of your head to work off of and I am sure you will be happy with the result.

 

Looking at your before pics, I predict that you can have a great hairstyle once these grafts grow out. It wouldn't be a bad idea to find a good mens hair stylist that you go to every so often to maintain a trendy cut. A good men's stylist can do wonders to augment the work your surgeon has done.

 

I had also noticed a "crack" in the recipient area and was concerned that I lost some grafts, but since it was already after day 5 I was assured that I the grafts already were in place and I shouldn't worry. if I'm not mistaken, after day 3 you shouldn't be concerned.

Specifically, I noticed the "crack" in the place where a crust of skin containing about 3 hairs was shed.. and it was a bit alarming to me.. so I've been there.

At this point, a couple years down, I don't notice any significant gap or emptiness where I had seen that "crack" so I agree with your doctor, that you should be A-OK.

[phantom777]

@Paulygon.

 

Dr Konior had told I have good hair and so I guess once my hair grows out, I can start styling it the way I want to But my crown is also bald, so I might try to grow my hair long enough to cover the crown. And since i am just 30, I might lose the hair which I have in the middle in a few years too. So for now taking one step at a time.

 

Also I plan to go back to work on Wednesday/Thursday (ie 5-6 days after surgery). Will it be a problem for the grafts if I put in the cap firmly on my head rather than just dropping the cap on the head?

[Paulygon]

@Paulygon.

 

Dr Konior had told I have good hair and so I guess once my hair grows out, I can start styling it the way I want to But my crown is also bald, so I might try to grow my hair long enough to cover the crown. And since i am just 30, I might lose the hair which I have in the middle in a few years too. So for now taking one step at a time.

This is like my situation.. not sure if you've read my earlier posts, but I've had no work done on my crown and my stylist does an excellent job of doing what I call a "flappy combover" or what she calls "a strategic cut" in the crown region. It works quite well and others in this forum have complimented me on how it looks. It has allowed me to delay getting any work done on the crown, as I've heard that the crown is like a black hole that just sucks in alot of donor grafts. My doc has also said I have great quality donor hair, and a good number of them at that.. so it looks like we are in similar shoes in that sense.

 

Also I plan to go back to work on Wednesday/Thursday (ie 5-6 days after surgery). Will it be a problem for the grafts if I put in the cap firmly on my head rather than just dropping the cap on the head?

 

I'm not sure how to answer this. On one hand, I was very delicate with my hair until I get my staples removed (Day 10). What day # did the doc say you can start shampooing your hair more aggressively (ie. as normal)? I would think that would coincide with when you can put your hat on securely.

 

Maybe others can give you a more definitive answer.

[phantom777]

Dr had told me after the 1st week, I can start shampooing a bit more freely. The staples were removed on the 1st day itself. The sutures might be removed on day 9 (Saturday). Did not confirm it yet.

 

I think I'll ask my Dr the same about the cap. Since I work as a contractor, I am not in a position to take days off at will, but if its risky wearing a cap during the first week, i'll reconsider it and will depend if they allow me to work from home the whole week.

[phantom777]

The only difference seen today is more cracks on my head. Dr had told its expected.

I will be going to work tomorrow wearing a cap. Got an ultra big cap which did not look so weird when i wore it (without touching the grafts).

 

I told one of my friend who came over to my house that I did a hair transplant ( he made a surprise visit and there was no way to hide it from him ). Eventually he asked me the cost of the transplant and he went wow, you could have got a good second hand car with that price. And I was like umm but I've already got a car, what I don't have is hair :confused: .

 

So tomorrow would be the day i might be telling my colleagues that I had a transplant. Am curious to know what their reaction would be .

[phantom777]

Again more cracks on my head.

 

Today when I went to work, I told I had a transplant to the first colleague who asked me and he told he that he too had actually asked a doc for a transplant and the doc told he already had too much of hair for a transplant .As the day progressed, almost 5-6 of them inquired about the transplant which they had intended to do or want to do in future. One of them messaged me and asked. I guess he did not want others to know he secretly wanted to do a transplant.

 

By the end of the day I came to know at least in my company,almost half of the guys wished to do a transplant but never spoke about it in open. They were lifting their hair and showing me, see, even I have baldness. We all were having a good laugh when we all opened up. I seemed kind of a celebrity today

[therambler]

Hey phantom,

 

Just keeping an eye on your progress as you were in with Dr. K just before me. I've nearly identical cracks as well after mine and the doc and nurses said the exact same thing to me nothing to worry about so hopefully that'll put both of us at ease

[phantom777]

SHOWER DAY !!

 

So the cracks on my head has been growing from small creek like to lakes,rivers and you can see how it is now. Sometimes I see no hair on the portion where the crack is seen. Maybe the hair is there and I cant see it with my naked eye or maybe the hair just fell off leaving the root intact. The scabs looked like tattoos on my head today :rolleyes:

 

Just an hour before I sleep every night I shampoo my head and sleep. I sleep sideways with the side of my face on the pillow as that's one area where no donor/recipient part of the head is. Everyday morning when i get up, i see more cracks formed/more scabs gone. I hope it fell by itself and not by me rubbing it unknowingly against the pillow by sleeping.

 

I also have not poured water directly onto my recipient area till now. Just mixing water and shampoo in a mug and pouring it over my head and letting it flow over my head.

 

So today i sent my pics to Dr K and he told I can start taking regular showers with full force shower stream and that I can also begin direct gentle scalp massage with shampoo to speed loosening of the crusts. He also told me to keep the shower stream on my scalp for a good amount of time to encourage softening of the crust. So that's what I will be doing today.

 

Also, he told me I can wear my hat now without worrying about the grafts. So from tomorrow I can stop wearing the jumbo sized baseball cap to a more natural looking one.

 

I am just going to prepare a bed under the shower and lay there for the rest of the day with the shower on. Have been dreaming of a proper head shower since the age of dinosours.

[phantom777]

Hey phantom,

 

Just keeping an eye on your progress as you were in with Dr. K just before me. I've nearly identical cracks as well after mine and the doc and nurses said the exact same thing to me nothing to worry about so hopefully that'll put both of us at ease

 

One way you are lucky to see how my progress goes as you might expect kind of the same for the first few days/weeks . I did not find any immediate patient of Dr K which I can follow.So I guess i'll just do the wait and watch game

[Shacked]

i was advised to spray my head with saline (sterilized salty water) every thirty mins after the proceedure. Hardly any scabbing and all were gone in a week

[phantom777]

i was advised to spray my head with saline (sterilized salty water) every thirty mins after the proceedure. Hardly any scabbing and all were gone in a week

 

I was also advised to spray with saline water, but I think I did it only like 4-5 times a day. Maybe I confused the count with the number of times to shampoo head . I have my suture removal scheduled on Tuesday ( day 12). Hoping all scabs would be gone by then.