DR Feller HT - My Story

[sunnyd]

My story started years ago when I was about 24 years old (now 33) and my hair started to thin. Initially, it was part denial and not admitting to my hair loss as if I was blind to it. Then when I admitted it was thinning, I started to look for ways of stopping it.

 

When I was about 26, I started taking Propecia. Within the year so many people commented that my hair looked fuller and I suppose this was the test for me as it is difficult to assess your own head of hair (or lack of it) without being biased!

 

I then started Regaine Extra Strength - I suppose the only issue here was I wasn't sure if it was the regaine was working or propecia.

 

I then went on to use avodart when it came out and continued on regaine extra strength moving onto the foam when it came out and have used regaine for years and years. My only concern over the last year was that I was certain my hair was looking thinner where I was applying regaine. The true test for me came when (just before my HT) my regaine foam ran out and I didn't use it for 6 weeks. I didn't notice any loss as result of not using the foam for these 6 weeks and strangely enough my hair seems thicker. This made me question the use of regaine. I continue with avodart but I'm not sure after years and years of using regaine whether it actually worked for me. Even after my HT and looking all over the web, I was reluctant to come off regaine as if I was hooked on it and too scared to come off it but I finally did as Dr Feller said he hadn't seen many patients with good results with it.

 

At about 25, I went to see the Transform Medical Group and it's been a while so I can't even remember what was said, etc but just remember not being impressed at all. Then I left it a while.

 

At 30, I visited Fargo Medical in Manchester and spent some time with a guy called Mick. Whilst Mick was a nice chap and knew all about HT, I had to pay ??45 for a consultation and had 5 minutes if that with Dr Fargo. I didn't feel I clicked with him at all, he just got straight in and said he wouldn't touch my crown area and would only create new frontal areas without asking me what I wanted or what my aim was. Again, I wasn't terribly impressed. Interestingly, the Fargo clinic mentioned everyone thinks it's cheaper to go to the US to get HT but when you add the costs up it's not ??“ I presume they are catching on but what any UK clinic most realise is that it's not just cost but quality which is the real issue.

 

Then, I left it for another few years and earlier this year, started to research again on the web. Spent hours and hours reading different articles and forums. I then decided to give Spex a call and met with him in Nottingham. I was at a point where I was fed up of using Nanogen.

 

I'll agree with other posts that he didn't do a selling session for Dr Feller but was helpful for research purposes. I asked him lots of questions and had a look at his scar (as I wanted to go for strip rather than FUE due to what I had read about results) but was concerned about a scar.

 

I soon after decided to go for HT and decided to go for Dr Feller after looking at comments about his work and lots of examples to look at. I had narrowed it down to Dr Feller or Dr Bernstein but couldn't really see any examples of his work anywhere and read that he was conservative with what he did.

 

Spex sent over some photos to Dr Feller who recommended 3500 grafts via strip. I got it all booked for the end of April.

 

First, were the blood tests at the local GUM clinic. No issues there, straight forward and collected my results after a week.

 

I then booked my flights with Virgin Atlantic. The sooner you book, the cheaper the deal you get.

 

I emailed The Andrew Hotel and managed to get a discount. I booked this for 1 night which was the night of arrival. After the HT, I had a hotel booked in Manhattan for a few days. I wouldn't recommend staying any longer in Great Neck as there doesn't seem to be anything to do at all!

 

Arrival to JFK, New York

I had a lot of difficulty in getting a Great Neck cab to pick me up. Every time I called one of the numbers that Marcia from Feller Medical gave me I either couldn't get through or if I did get through I'd be put on hold and then my money would run out! Got so fed up so I went to get a yellow cab but at JFK there's loads of unofficial taxis wanted to take you were you want. I've been to New York before and I find the cabbies are all as bad as each other...the yellow cabs and meters I don't trust with making the meter run with a longer route, etc and the unofficial taxis it's whether you can trust them at all. I find if you're firm with them that you're only going to pay them a fixed amount at your destination they tend to be ok. I paid $55 from JFK to The Andrew in heavy traffic ??“ I reckon a yellow cab would have charged double in the traffic conditions!

 

The Andrew

Not a bad little hotel and good location for Dr Feller's clinic. I took a walk the night before. Just go onto multimap and put in the hotel and clinic zip codes and you get a map. It took me no more than 10 minutes to walk which was pretty relaxing. I would recommend it rather than stressing about a cab getting stuck in traffic, not turning up, etc.

 

HT Day

I arrived at the clinic extra early at 7.25pm to find no one there! Dr Feller arrived at 7.45pm and opened up. He greeted me and then I waited in reception whilst he ran around doing stuff and various staff walked in, said hi and continued doing their thing. I did initially feel at some unease/unfriendliness but on consideration, everyone was running around getting set up.

 

I then went to sit down with Dr Feller in his office where he asked me what I wanted and what my aim was. I said I wasn't too bothered about the temple areas and I was more concerned with the crown coming forward. Dr Feller said this wasn't common and most people started from front to back and not back to front. He then looked at my hair, drew on my scalp and took photos and said he actually agreed with me. I would recommend to anyone don't be afraid to say what you want otherwise you'll be disappointed with the end result as it won't be what you ultimately want!

 

It was then time to go to another room and get my hair buzzed down. Dr Feller said he agreed even more that the best way for me was back to front when my hair was buzzed down. I then had some injections to numb the scalp. I was told that this was the most painful part. Each to their own but I didn't even flinch at all and thought nothing of it! The key for anyone who doesn't like pain is don't look at the injections and take a deep breath in and release over 10 seconds. This makes the body naturally relax!

 

From then on, you can't really feel much apart from Dr Feller and the team doing their bit. The only thing I would add is don't be surprised that the team of technicians are with you a lot of the time putting the grafts in place rather than Dr Feller himself. The team is very friendly!

 

I was asked throughout the latter part of the day if I was ok and if I needed more painkiller injections and I didn't. The only hard part for me is being sat in the same place all day from 8am to 4pm. I like the gym and I am very active throughout the day so it was very hard to sit still!

 

At the end of the day, Anna (Dr Feller's assistant) gave me some painkillers to take away and Marcia ordered me a cab to Manhattan. Marcia thought it would be approx $40 but as soon as I sat in the cab the guy was saying it's $75. Argued a bit with him but then just couldn't be bothered after a long day and said fine. Just be aware!

 

My biggest concern after surgery was damaging the grafts in any way and being paranoid and over cautious. Emailed the clinic but didn't get a reply (resolved ??“ see After Care comments) so emailed Spex and he reassured me it was normal to be like that!

 

I took the painkillers provided to me every 2 hours and on day 2 felt pretty aggressive (which is not like me) and a bit dizzy. Decided to stop using those painkillers as it seemed I didn't need them anyway but was just taking them as a precaution. As soon as I stopped using them, I was back to normal me so just be aware of any side effects of the painkillers!

 

Dr Feller Honesty

I had a chat with Dr Feller at the end of the day and he took some photographs. He said he has packed my crown area and it all looked very well. He then told me that the clinic owned me some money back as I had paid for 3500 grafts but they only placed 3000 grafts. In my opinion, this type of honesty and trust is essential as it would be so easy for any Dr to say you received the full amount of grafts paid for ??“ if I hadn't had been told, I wouldn't have known I had 3000 grafts as opposed to 3000 grafts.

 

Going back to the UK

My big worry was if the guys at JFK would say take your cap off and be idiots and how I'd have to ask about having a private room. It went amazingly well and I wasn't asked to take my cap off at all and I was very relieved!

 

Once back in the UK and at passport control, I did get a jobsworth who seemed to be giving everyone a hard time. He told me to remove my cap and I politely told him I would be willing to do so but in a private room as I had surgery. I think he was a bit surprised and just told me to lift the front part of the cap as it was creating a shadow on my face and that was it and all done and dusted!

 

After care

I emailed the clinic several times about various questions which any one who hasn't had HT before will have but didn't get any response to my emails. I was pretty annoyed as I think after care is essential. I let Spex know and Dr Feller sent me emails answering my concerns and apologised for some confusion. It seemed the clinic thought Spex had answered any questions I had. I am very glad this was resolved as after care is so important.

 

I must add all my post-HT concerns have always been answered by Dr Feller since the initial issues which we subsequently cleared up

 

I started to use Bio-Oil when I got back for scar reduction but Dr Feller said it is better not to touch the scar or apply products for a month so I've stopped using anything for now.

 

What helped the graft insertion area and to avoid scabs was aloe vera gel. I didn't have many scabs at all and the whole area healed very well with aloe vera.

 

My staples came out on day 11 at home. A friend did it for me and took 5 minutes! (The clinic give you a special staple remover). Little bit uncomfortable but not really painful!

 

 

The best advice I can give is relax and take it easy for as long as you can. Wash your head daily to avoid any infection and then let time take its course!

[DDD03]

Good luck on your recent transplant sunnyd! I recently had my procedure there and showed up at 6:45! Needless to say I had some waiting around to do!

 

Do you plan on posting pictures? It's a great way to track your progress!

[Acrobaz]

sunnyd

 

Thanks for a great write-up. I had my HT done in February with Dr Feller and you've really caught the mood of the day - it felt like I was back there again.

 

Re getting some of your money back ... of course, we have every right to expect to be treated ethically and honestly, but it's still nice to know it happens.

 

For anyone else reading who has an upcoming HT with Dr Feller, especially those coming in from the UK, I would recommend public transport. The JFK Airport Airtrain and then the Long Island Rail Road out to Great Neck: it's quick, easy and cheap.

 

Also, if you struggle to contact the clinic via email, you can always send Dr Feller a private message through this site. And of course there's always Spex.

 

As DDD03 says, it would be good for others if you post pictures of your progress.

 

Well done and thanks again.

[Lastchance]

Good luck Sunnyd, nice write up too, scar looking great for 12 days, allows you to pull off the DeNiro Taxi driver look

[hair_care]

looks good. 3000 however, over such a large area won't give you much density though.

[Rachmunas4life]

That's one razor thin scar!

[sunnyd]

Thanks for all the comments.

 

3,000 grafts were placed mainly in the crown and part of the frontal area - not all as Dr Feller siad there was an area where the hair was good so hopefully 3,000 should give me some good density.

 

All the team at Feller Medical commented a few times that the way the grafts were placed, I should have a thick head of hair!

 

...I'll just wait and see now!

 

The scar still concerns me a little but I know time will allow it to heal more. I started using Bio-oil on it as I've heard so many good things about it and scar reduction but Dr Feller said to leave the area alone for a month or so. It is now about 6 weeks so I'll probably start using Bio-oil to try to reduce the scar further.

 

Have been taking MSM - not sure if it really does anything?

 

I also appear to have some hair shock in the scar area which doesn't seem to be growing back that quickly but again will let time take it course.

[1973kop]

wow!!! the scar looks amazing

 

why would you be concerned about that?

[1973kop]

sunny

 

I had shockloss to my scar area as well

 

It did grow back and i can still feel stubble growing in the scar area even now at 7 months

[scar5]

In case anyone is impressed with this 'thin scar' - BE AWARE - know fully well that the scar never looks as good as it does just after staple removal. Not to be a killjoy, b/c I'm sure a Dr. Feller patient has reasons to be optimistic about recipient area results, but a novice reading this might think that those scars are permantly going to be that thin - tey might but not likely. All my scares looked thin and perfect for at least 4 weeks after surgery, including the one that opened up to 12mm.

[sunnyd]

Thanks for the reassurance about the scar, etc.

On reflection, I don't think the scar is too bad as time goes on and Dr Feller did say that it can stretch so I'm under no illusions!

 

I suppose anyone who thinks they will be scar free is not being realistic but I'm sure we'll all agree that we all aim for a less visible scar as possible and anything that aids that!

[sunnyd]

Update:

 

Just over 4 months now and over last month everything is taking ages and ages! The growth on the transplanted area is very slow and I have to use more nanogen than what I use to before HT.

 

Not disappointed (yet)! Reading through these forums I know patience is a key and growth is dependent on each individual.

 

I take MSM and Vit E daily with avodart to assist!

 

If the growth is rubbish after another 3 months, I'll in all honestly be disappointed but time will tell!

[Bill - Seemiller]

sunnyd,

 

I know what it's like to feel like each month takes an age when waiting for signs of new growth. But don't be discouraged. Many patients don't start seeing any signs of hair growth until between 3 and 5 months. I'm a little over 5 months from my fourth procedure and don't see a lot of new growth yet either.

 

Hair restoration surgery only starts at the procedure and takes approximately a year or a little more to fully grow out and mature.

 

Hang in there!

 

Bill

[Petchski]

I didn't start to relax until after month 5, slow as hell, but plain sailing now. Keep the faith dude

[HTInitiate]

SunnyD, could yo please post yr pics ?