Ready for 2nd HT

[agentHarley]

Hi All - been 6yrs since my first HT with Dr. Bernstein. 2400 grafts in a FUT surgery. I remember the massive pain those 20 staples caused me! But the results were and have been beautiful.

 

I'm 40 this year. I've not been consistent with the finasteride. I gave up on rogaine after too many episodes of itchy, irritated scalp. My hairline is starting to thin and so is a bit of my frontal crown.

 

I'd like to ask the experts:

1) how much hair can be harvested with FUE nowadays?

2) do you need much time to recover? What about returning to work?

3) if I do strip method again, my first two choices would be Bernstein or Feller -- but what about others like Lindsey in Virginia? (I've relocated to DC).

4) What about top FUE? So many more surgeons in NY now. Would prefer a quicker recovery - less time away from work on "vacation".

5) costs - what's fair market value these days? My 2400 with Dr. B cost me 13K in 2008. Have rates dropped?

 

Thanks so much. 2015 is the year for HT2!

[lifeisbeautiful]

could you post some pictures my friend?

[agentHarley]

I've had a blog here before. Maybe it's still up. Not that important. Just looking for some insights from those who are active/have experience with the procedures. Thanks

[TakingThePlunge]

Hi All - been 6yrs since my first HT with Dr. Bernstein. 2400 grafts in a FUT surgery. I remember the massive pain those 20 staples caused me! But the results were and have been beautiful.

 

I'm 40 this year. I've not been consistent with the finasteride. I gave up on rogaine after too many episodes of itchy, irritated scalp. My hairline is starting to thin and so is a bit of my frontal crown.

 

I'd like to ask the experts:

1) how much hair can be harvested with FUE nowadays?

2) do you need much time to recover? What about returning to work?

3) if I do strip method again, my first two choices would be Bernstein or Feller -- but what about others like Lindsey in Virginia? (I've relocated to DC).

4) What about top FUE? So many more surgeons in NY now. Would prefer a quicker recovery - less time away from work on "vacation".

5) costs - what's fair market value these days? My 2400 with Dr. B cost me 13K in 2008. Have rates dropped?

 

Thanks so much. 2015 is the year for HT2!

 

Welcome back Agent!

 

Congrats on deciding to pursue your second hair transplant!

 

1) how much hair can be harvested with FUE nowadays?

This, of course, depends upon the characteristics of your donor hair. However, 1,500 to 2,000 per day is not unusual. Some FUE experts are pushing those numbers much higher.

 

2) do you need much time to recover? What about returning to work?

Unlike strip, FUE requires shaving of the donor area. Depending upon the clinic, you may need to shave the entire head. FUE extracts heel much quicker and become fairly invisible even with very short hair.

 

As you know, you'll also need to content with redness in the recipient area. Depending upon your individual healing characteristics, this can last from a few weeks to a few months. Mine lasted a long time.

 

3) if I do strip method again, my first two choices would be Bernstein or Feller -- but what about others like Lindsey in Virginia? (I've relocated to DC).

 

Dr. Lindsey is an excellent choice. Along with Dr. Feller and Dr. Bernstein, hi is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. You may also wish to review our interactive map for other recommending physicians in your area of interest.

 

5) costs - what's fair market value these days? My 2400 with Dr. B cost me 13K in 2008. Have rates dropped?

 

Prices vary greatly from clinic to clinic. Some have a sliding scale based on the number of grafts while others use a flat rate. The price range for strip in the US is still between $4 and $6 per graft. The price for FUE is between $6 and $10.

[agentHarley]

David -- great responses, thanks so much. Ya, it's been 6yrs and I've been thinking about the 2nd one for a while. Shaving my head is not an option for work, so I'd have to figure out some creative options for strip. The map link you shared seems very useful. I'll drill down on that over the next couple of months.

[gillenator]

agentHarley,

 

Congrats on your second procedure and I know the feeling well as I had four separate procedures myself...

[agentHarley]

gillenator- wow man, 4 sessions sounds like you have a lot of experience. You very satisfied? Any lessons or insights? How'd you work out the time off from work? Are you an office type?

[gillenator]

gillenator- wow man, 4 sessions sounds like you have a lot of experience. You very satisfied? Any lessons or insights? How'd you work out the time off from work? Are you an office type?

 

Yeah, you could say that I am a real hair junkie...

 

And yes with roughly 6900 grafts total, I am a happy camper. My crown is still a tad bit thin but was not as concerned with crown loss as much as the frontal zone where most of the grafts went.

 

Lessons? I always encourage any individual considering HT surgery to do their research and homework before ever scheduling a procedure. We all must fully understand both the "benefits as well as the risks" of any procedure.

 

And it is only through adequate research that any individual is going to determine their own candidacy for this type of cosmetic surgery and what type of questions to ask. Not everyone is a candidate for this and some can be marginal candidates at best. That's the first phase of homework.

 

Once we understand the risks and benefits and also decide to move forward, then the journey of choosing the right surgeon becomes the challenge especially when there are many to choose from.

 

Eventually, things come together and one's confidence to make that "informed decision" becomes apparent. But this is an elective decision including the choice of using proven hair loss meds.

 

I never took any time off work except the day after in the first procedure and the last one in 2006. I was working inside the clinic for number 2 and 3 procedures so in those cases, I went back to work the following day. Most guys take at least a week off post-op however and many guys use vacation time or personal time off.

 

 

agentHarley,

 

Do you have challenges in getting time off your job? What do you do and how much time do you plan taking off?

[agentHarley]

When I had my first surgery I was working mostly from home, so time off wasn't a problem nor did I have to be in client-facing roles.

 

Now that has changed, and I am very much Ina client facing role. One week vacation time might not be enough. But also recipient area redness is a concern. Additionally, trimming the hair in the back to create the donor strip, and the general discomfort related to all the staples are additional barriers.

[gillenator]

When I had my first surgery I was working mostly from home, so time off wasn't a problem nor did I have to be in client-facing roles.

 

Now that has changed, and I am very much Ina client facing role. One week vacation time might not be enough. But also recipient area redness is a concern. Additionally, trimming the hair in the back to create the donor strip, and the general discomfort related to all the staples are additional barriers.

 

 

As long as you have 2-3 inches of hair length in your donor zone, the stitches/staples should not show. Is your present hair length shorter than that?

 

Did you have lingering redness in the recipient area on your first procedure?

 

Were you told that staples would be needed? If not, I would not recommend using staples unless your laxity is not accommodating the size/width of the strip specimen that would be excised. Yet we cannot make that determination since we are not the surgeon.

 

I had staple closure on my last procedure and would never have them again...:confused:

[agentHarley]

I have a short cut in the occiput area, longer on top. I'd have to plan for a cut that is at least 2-3"

 

I've mostly forgotten about the redness in the recipient site. I remember the crusts, etc. though.

 

 

Ya - Dr.B recommended the staples. He took half of them out 10 days post-op. The rest came out 20 days post-op. I was doing scalp massages for a few weeks prior, so I think my laxity was good. If you had sutures before, was the closure trichophytic?

[gillenator]

Yes I had one tryclosure yet don't think that was fair to judge the result as my strip scar still came out very thin and it was difficult to tell if much hair was growing through the thin scar.

 

My staples were left in for roughly three weeks and as a result, several of them got buried under scalp tissue as the scar healed. It was very painful having them removed and one got buried and broke when my PCP was trying to remove them. She did not have any local anesthesia to numb the area either...:confused:

 

I would have rather had a double closure technique but not sure if that was possible due to my laxity at the time.

 

So although the staples were a pain, it was better than having a wider than desired scar in the end result.

[agentHarley]

Holy shit - three weeks is a long time. Did the surgeon recommend this? I hear you about the wider scar. I definitely have a pencil thin one now. Having thought the FUE vs FUT donor area dilemma, I definitely think the strip is still the best solution. Well, cloning would be the BEST OF ALL solutions, but that doesn't look like its happening anytime soon.

[gillenator]

Yeah it was longer than I wanted however my surgeon advised this because again, my laxity was barely adequate for the 2500 graft strip that was taken.

 

So IMHO, it was better that I endured the three weeks and the discomfort of having them removed so i did not have the scar stretch.

[agentHarley]

G - thanks for all the posts man. Sounds like staples and tons of pain meds is still the way to go. I have to figure out how I'll accommodate a 20+ day vacation, but it would be ideal to take this much time off from work -- never mind the hairstyle I'll have to adopt. Thanks again!

[gillenator]

You're welcome my friend. I don't think you'll need that much time off but certainly do what you feel is best for you.

 

When they take the strip, there will be enough hair above the staples/sutures to hide them if you have at least 2 inches of length. And we are not viewed from the back side of our scalps so again, most people won't know unless you tell them.

 

Wishing you the best in your journey agentharley, you'll be fine...