Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted January 30, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) Hello Everyone, I am a long time lurker and first time poster.... I first wanted to thank everyone who posts on this forum as I found it extremely helpful in my decision to go with what procedure and which Dr. I had my procedure yesterday and would like to take this opporutnity to chronical my journey to a full head of hair. Race: Asian Age: 37 Losing Hair Since early 20's Norwood Scale: 4-5 Procedure Method: FUE Follical Number: 2500 Physcian: Dr. John Diep My Back Ground Since 21, I have been slowly losing my hair but though nothing of it. I was so stubborn at that age that I didn't think of the future. I wish I started rogain as soon as I started to lose my hair. At around the again of 27, I started to use rogain to slow the process. It was working ok, but with the added stress of work in my life, I left like the hair loss process just accellerated. Anyways, I started to find different ways of doing my hair, started using Toppik to cover the less dense spots. Toppik works great but the dark particles get everywhere so that was annoying. Finally at the again of 37, I had enough funds for the procedure and through research on this sight I decided to go through with the procedure... Day of my procedure: I woke up around 5 am that morning and had breakfast. I was told to have breakfast because I was not going to have lunch until 12-1 pm, plus they gave me some pain meds, anti anflamtory meds, and valium. My driver from Dr. Dieps office arrived at my home around 6:15 (complimentary) and drove me to the office (~60 Miles away). He got me to the Los Gatos facitliy at 7:15. I filled out some paperwork and then went in to see Dr. Diep. We sat down and he went through what the procedure entails. WIth that being said, we also started to design my hair line. We decided on a hair line and off we went into the procedure room. I had 4 nurses and Dr. Diep attending to my procedure. I changed in to my scrubs and continued to sit down into the chair. By this time, the valium was kicking in and I was super drowsy. I have never taken it before so I guess it was working very well. With that being said, I dont remember when I fell asleep and I dont remmber Dr. Diep saving my head. With that being said I awoke feeling this punching pressure behind my head. It was Dr Diep using his tool to remove the hair follicals. I dont exactly remember how long this lasted but I would say a SOLID 5-6 hrs just extracting the follicals. To my disappointment, Dr, Diep stated that he was only able to extrac~2000 follicals. I was a bit dissappoint to say the least but at this point , I really had not choice but to deal with this. With that being said, the 4 nurses were under a hood preparing my follicals for insertion. In parallel, Dr. Diep start to design my hairline and slots where the hair follicals will live. Once the follicals were ready for insertion, I had 2-3 nurses working on inserting. They were great to work with, very nice and ensured that I was comfortable. Looking at the clock, 1 hr pasted, 2, hrs, pasted, 3, hrs past.... They started to put insert the hair follicals at around 4 and didn't finish until ~9. To my surprise, Dr. Diep had to come in serveral times because the nurses had started they had hair follicals left and all the holes were taken up. At the end, Dr. Diep stated that he did well over 3000 follicals for me, of which I was sooo excited to hear! He was able to do the front and the rest on my dome. So overall my experience at the office was please. Dr Diep was great, and the nurses were great! One thing I do have to mention, and at no fault of Dr. Diep or his office, my ride home was terrible. And not because of the driver, but because I get severe motion sickness and I was sitting in the back for 60 miles. That was the worst part of my day! I will be posting pictures along the way of my progress. I did not take pictures before my surgery but I know Dr. Diep did so I will ask him for those photos and will post. Stay tuned and please if you have any questons or concerns, do not hesistate to ask! Edited February 6, 2015 by x-tian-230k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted January 30, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 30, 2015 I forgot to mention that I had ACELL shots too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 2, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 2, 2015 Sorry everyone. I have been resting for the past 4 days. Here are my Pre Op Pictures.... As stated in my original post, the plan was to do 2500 grafts FUE. We were going to do the front and leave the crown for another time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 2, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 2, 2015 (edited) Here are pictures of my day 1 Post Op after shampoo at Dr. Diep's Office. Dr. Diep was able to do an extra 500 grafts of which he placed on my crown. It was unexpected but a great surprise. I am in no pain. My right eye started to swell though. Sleeping is a bit uncomfortable due to the fact that I have to sleep at a 45 degree angle and I am so used to sleeping on my side and not my back. Otherwise everything is good! Edit - My hairline looks uneven in this picture but I its the angle of the selfie that I took. Take a look at my Day 4 post op pictures. I think its a better angle. Edited February 2, 2015 by x-tian-230k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUSA Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 maybe its just the pic but the hairline looks really uneven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 2, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 2, 2015 maybe its just the pic but the hairline looks really uneven. Sorry... Its the picture... I am essentially taking selfies so its a little difficult. I am happy with the hairline and symmetry of it. I will try to take better pictures today for my 4th day post op pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUSA Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Sorry... Its the picture... I am essentially taking selfies so its a little difficult. I am happy with the hairline and symmetry of it. I will try to take better pictures today for my 4th day post op pictures.the artistic design is great. just seemed crooked but I thought maybe it was the angle of the pic maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 2, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 2, 2015 The swelling is still there but I can feel that its slowly subsiding. I have slight bruising around my eyes also. I am not taking anything for the swelling except for icing around the clock. But the good thing is I am in no pain. I feel some tightness around the base of my neck but I think its due to the swelling around my eyes and cheeks. I feel also that the donor sights are healing well without any infection. I am still on antibiotics 1 pill, 3 times a day, and apply ointment to the donor area 3x a day keeping it clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e30m3DS Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Heal well! What the avg cost per graft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 3, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 3, 2015 Heal well! What the avg cost per graft? Thank you. Its day 5 post op and i still have swelling in my face and eyes. If you send me a personal message, I will answer that for you otherwise you will be looking in the range of 6-7 dollars per graft depending on how many you decide to go with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUSA Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Thank you. Its day 5 post op and i still have swelling in my face and eyes. If you send me a personal message, I will answer that for you otherwise you will be looking in the range of 6-7 dollars per graft depending on how many you decide to go with.wow $17,000 for 2500 grafts. and US doctors wonder why everyone is flocking to Europe. chit, it wud cost me $40,000-$45,000 to hav wat I need done lol maybe its just me but I honestly don't know why someone wud pay $17,000 for 2500 grafts wen one cud fly to Turkey and come back the next day and get it done $7000 with just as good if not better results. I think ppl are just afraid to leave the country for the most part but the funny thing is Europe is usually 5-10 years ahead of the US in medical treatments and advancements. but if money was no option id be lookn here too to save me the flight but dam even if money was no option id hav a hard time swallowing $10,000 just to hav to fly to Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 3, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 3, 2015 Please keep in mind that I had the FUE method performed which is very labor intensive for Dr. Diep. From your statements, you would need multiple procedures if you were going to go FUE. The strip method could yield you better results in less time and less money. Trust me when I tell you that you do not want to be doing any traveling after your procedure. Even though I am in little pain, its mentally taxing and I am very glad that my home is close by where I can rest and heal. As always, good luck with your journey. This is a life changing procedure for me. As most of you know, confidence goes right down the tubes when you start to loose your hair/looks. I am hoping to have a better quality of life moving forward. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUSA Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 FUE is essentially the GOLD standard these days with most reputable clinics. at least in Europe that is. some will argue that FUT is still the GOLD standard cause more ppl opt for it but that one of two reasons. one, they can't afford FUE or two, they are ignorant to FUE and been watching too many Bosley commercials....:rolleyes: sure FUT can still result in great work especially if going with Konior or H&W or the like but FUE has been proven to yield just as good results as FUT with no worry of a poorly healing scar over time which is a risk with ANY great FUT surgeon. but no I disagree that FUT will yield BETTER results. that just isn't the case these days. plus with FUT ur limited to head hair only. FUE allows for BHT which cud result in easily another 3000-4000 viable useable grafts from the beard and chest. other areas of the body will work but due to body hair being in the telogen phase longer they take far longer to grow and ppl get upset over that. yes multiple procedures over a 2-3 day period. and I agree with not wanting to travel immediately after but one can easily stay at a hotel for a week or so like a member who just posted his results from Dr. Erdogan did. he stayed for 10 days after. but yes losing ur hair is like losing a part of urself and u no longer feel complete and ur confidence to meet women goes right down the garbage....:mad: I'm sure ur life will do a 180 wen that starts growing in. the funny thing is a lot of women don't care about a dude with a shaved head but a lot do and no matter wat if it bothers u personally then it really doesn't matter wat others think. Please keep in mind that I had the FUE method performed which is very labor intensive for Dr. Diep. From your statements, you would need multiple procedures if you were going to go FUE. The strip method could yield you better results in less time and less money. Trust me when I tell you that you do not want to be doing any traveling after your procedure. Even though I am in little pain, its mentally taxing and I am very glad that my home is close by where I can rest and heal. As always, good luck with your journey. This is a life changing procedure for me. As most of you know, confidence goes right down the tubes when you start to loose your hair/looks. I am hoping to have a better quality of life moving forward. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 3, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 3, 2015 My Sincerest apologies. It must be the meds or lack there of. I will take the statement that the FUT method will yield better results. What I truly meant was you can get allot more follicles in one procedure and will be cheaper with the FUT method. You would have to have multiple procedures for the FUE method to get the same amount of follicles. Sorry again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUSA Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 no need to apologize ur correct. more grafts can be harvested in one day via FUT and yes it is cheaper I agree. the word multiple gets muddy for some ppl thinking multiple meaning having to fly back to a clinic for subsequent multiple procedures but in reality its still one trip just over a few days time period. I keep my hair relatively short so FUT just isn't an option for me even with a scar that formed properly there will be tell tale signs of it so that doesn't work for me but for many others it works just fine cause their hair is longer and even a poorly healed scar might not be seen. My Sincerest apologies. It must be the meds or lack there of. I will take the statement that the FUT method will yield better results. What I truly meant was you can get allot more follicles in one procedure and will be cheaper with the FUT method. You would have to have multiple procedures for the FUE method to get the same amount of follicles. Sorry again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member wazaam Posted February 4, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted February 4, 2015 I think Dr Diep is as good of FUE surgeon as we have in the US. His rates however for FUE are quite high compared to the other top FUE surgeons. As BUSA mentioned it is tough to justify this additional cost when you can simply coordinate your procedure out of the country and relax at your hotel for a week after the procedure. You are still in a much better place financially with comparable or often better results. My opinion is that Americans are very reluctant to travel abroad (which clinics are aware of) and the US FUE surgeons capitalize on this this by charging rates that are as much as $5-$10/graft. All the top docs in Europe are charging $2.50-$5/graft and have more experience and better or comparable results. The involvement of techs tends to be more prominent in the US as well. On top of paying more for the procedure you have a tech driven experience despite paying top dollar for the surgeon that you have elected to do the procedure with. Diep is also very hands on so he is one of the few that at least can justify the higher rates. Diep is a great surgeon and I think you will have fantastic results and I don't want to detract from your thread. Best of Luck!! Please keep us posted on your results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUSA Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I agree he does great work so yes his results shud be really good and in the end thats the only that really matters. I'm sure we can all name dozens of things we've wasted money on in our lives but if one pays a little more for a HT then he/she wud in Europe I think we can reasonably say money was not wasted if the results are good. I think Dr Diep is as good of FUE surgeon as we have in the US. His rates however for FUE are quite high compared to the other top FUE surgeons. As BUSA mentioned it is tough to justify this additional cost when you can simply coordinate your procedure out of the country and relax at your hotel for a week after the procedure. You are still in a much better place financially with comparable or often better results. My opinion is that Americans are very reluctant to travel abroad (which clinics are aware of) and the US FUE surgeons capitalize on this this by charging rates that are as much as $5-$10/graft. All the top docs in Europe are charging $2.50-$5/graft and have more experience and better or comparable results. The involvement of techs tends to be more prominent in the US as well. On top of paying more for the procedure you have a tech driven experience despite paying top dollar for the surgeon that you have elected to do the procedure with. Diep is also very hands on so he is one of the few that at least can justify the higher rates. Diep is a great surgeon and I think you will have fantastic results and I don't want to detract from your thread. Best of Luck!! Please keep us posted on your results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member KO Posted February 4, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted February 4, 2015 I just don't understand what the US surgeons have been doing for the past decade. While Lorenzo, Bisanga, Feriduni and others were pushing FUE forward and doing more and more ambitious cases. In the US the line was...."Why FUE? FUT is the gold standard!". Dr Wong, "Strip is just so.....efficient" Indeed. 3382 FUE Lupanzula http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/185463-3382-grafts-lupanzula.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member wazaam Posted February 4, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted February 4, 2015 That is a great point KO . It appears that they lacked the foresight that FUE was the future of HT's. All this happens while they tried to continue convincing prospective patients that FUT was the gold standard. Those ambitious FUE cases that you refer supposedly weren't even possible according to the some of the best US FUT docs/reps just a few years ago. Where are they to defend their stances now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 4, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 4, 2015 Thank you for your response. I cannot comment on any other surgeon but what I can say about Dr. Diep is that he is VERY hands on. All his tech did was prep me, clean off the harvested follicals and place them. Dr Diep spent 5-6 hrs harvesting the follicals, and a sigjnifant time designing my hairline along with every single incision point for the follicals. Again thank you for your input. I will absolutely keep everyone update with my progress. I think Dr Diep is as good of FUE surgeon as we have in the US. His rates however for FUE are quite high compared to the other top FUE surgeons. As BUSA mentioned it is tough to justify this additional cost when you can simply coordinate your procedure out of the country and relax at your hotel for a week after the procedure. You are still in a much better place financially with comparable or often better results. My opinion is that Americans are very reluctant to travel abroad (which clinics are aware of) and the US FUE surgeons capitalize on this this by charging rates that are as much as $5-$10/graft. All the top docs in Europe are charging $2.50-$5/graft and have more experience and better or comparable results. The involvement of techs tends to be more prominent in the US as well. On top of paying more for the procedure you have a tech driven experience despite paying top dollar for the surgeon that you have elected to do the procedure with. Diep is also very hands on so he is one of the few that at least can justify the higher rates. Diep is a great surgeon and I think you will have fantastic results and I don't want to detract from your thread. Best of Luck!! Please keep us posted on your results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 6, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 6, 2015 So I am post op day 7. The swelling in my eyes and face have subsided considerably. There is still slight swelling but its MUCH better than days 1-5. According to the paperwork send home with me, starting tomorrow I can go to my regular shower routine using my own shampoo. It also states that I can soak my head in water for 15-20 minutes to loosen the scabs. I am a little iffy about soaking my head in water I don't want the follicles to loosen up and fall out. The top of my head and the back of my head where the majority of the follicles were harvested still feels tight and numb. Otherwise, I feel good, I am in minimal pain, and I am excited for my next 7 days.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member m0dthispny Posted February 6, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted February 6, 2015 looking good, i have my 1 year post op with dr. diep tomorrow and i could not be any happier. your results will be great and dr. diep is a GREAT surgeon. i have been receiving compliments left and right on how good my results look. at around day 10 i started to gently rub the scabs with hot water when i showered and slowly shampooed the scabs away. you definitely want to them start getting them off at the 10 day mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 7, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 7, 2015 Question for you. When did you start to get sensation back on your scalp? At day 8 the top of my scalp and where the majority of my donor follicles were harvested is relatively numb. I'm scarred I won't get the sensation back. :-( looking good, i have my 1 year post op with dr. diep tomorrow and i could not be any happier. your results will be great and dr. diep is a GREAT surgeon. i have been receiving compliments left and right on how good my results look. at around day 10 i started to gently rub the scabs with hot water when i showered and slowly shampooed the scabs away. you definitely want to them start getting them off at the 10 day mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member recedingazn Posted February 8, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted February 8, 2015 hi I started getting it back today i think , still more numb than the rest of my scalp but its getting there, no worries its normal, I beleive you did the procedure almost right next to mine with dr diep (had mine on jan 21st) If you have any questions let me know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member x-tian-230k Posted February 18, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 18, 2015 Hi everyone... For some reason, I have been trying to get on to the forum to post my day 14 Post op but have been having issues... I wonder if it was the website or my internet... Any ways.. The pictures are of day 14... I started on Fin and Rogain I also started to use Vitamin E oil to help with the scarring. I apply a few drops on my fingers, rub my hands together and apply to my scalp. I find that this also helps with the dryness.... Majority of the scabs on the recipient and donor areas are gone. I haven't started to shed nor have I gotten any shock loss. The itchiness in the donor area has started but I heard it is normal. I have used some hydro-cortizone oil to help with that. Also I am starting to get tingling sensation back in my donor area. Its kind of a weird feeling but I am glad that my nerve endings are starting to grow back.... Also in my first picture it may look like my hair line is not even. Its actually pretty symmetrical but i think its the selfie angle I took it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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