FUT - 18/12/15 - 4030 Grafts - NW6 - Dr Karadeniz - 18/12/15

[chris39]

My story on the HT journey started some 26 years ago . That was the day that someone pointed out to me at the works Christmas party that I was developing a bald spot . Still so vivid it seems like yesterday .

 

I grudgingly accepted my fate , but would periodically check out whatever the latest fad was being marketed to combat hair loss . Nearly all of them seemed to good to be true , and were .

 

Last time I checked out hair transplants was 10 years ago. Spent a good deal of time researching , but the quality of the HT's at that time were variable , and without the options available today were prohibitively expensive .

 

Fast forward 10 years and this is where I'm at . Spent the last 2 months or so endlessly researching the subject - the forums , the blogs , the websites . I spent every spare minute I could to increase my knowledge and understanding of the process .

 

After some deliberation , and following several online consultations , I decided to go with Dr Karadeniz . As Dr K had only assessed my hair loss via submitted photo's , the surgery options were left open pending a physical inspection .

 

I arrived in Istanbul on 16th December and after only 6 hours sleep headed of to the clinic the next morning at 8.45.I met Dr K at 9am whereupon we discussed the options . Dr K's opinion was that 4000 grafts plus would be required , to provide a good camouflage density to the frontal area and mid scalp regions . The crown would be untouched on this occasion , but sufficient grafts remaining should a further procedure be required . In consideration of my level of hair loss and the donor area characteristics , we agreed upon FUSS as the initial choice , with a potential further FUE the following day if the strip alone were to be insufficient for my requirements .

 

The usual pre-op photos were taken and hair design marked out . At around 10am the procedure commenced and I was on the operating table , and the first anaesthetic injections were administered along the strip line . These were pretty much painless , which was good as I was expecting worse . Much less painful that a dentists needle . Didn't take long for the head to be suitably numb and the strip procedure

commenced by Dr K . I was aware of things happening at the back of my head , but that's all it was , a slight sensation .On completion , the strip was passed on to the technicians for dissection .

 

With the strip removed , a lunch break was taken . Upon returning to the surgery, the technicians reported that in excess of 4000 grafts were taken .

 

On to the operating table once again and the recipient area was anaesthetised . Dr K made all the recipient site incisions . Again , I was aware of things happening , but was not painful in the slightest. Whilst the recipient incisions were being made , a team of technicians were dissecting and preparing the grafts .

 

Dr K made the initial graft placements to check for any potential popping ( elevation ) of the grafts . There appeared to be no issues , and the graft placement commenced , undertaken by a team of technicians . Strangely enough , although the time period from commencement of surgery to completion was around 9 hours , it didn't seem to drag at all .

 

The no's details are as below :

 

No. of grafts - 4035

 

1's - 780 grafts - 19.33% , hairs 780

2's - 2350 grafts - 58.24% , hairs 4700

multiples - 905 grafts -22.43% , hairs 2715

 

Grafts Total = 4035 ; Hairs Total = 8195 plus

 

Approximate area covered = 100 cm2

 

Grafts per cm2 = 40.35 average

 

Grafts were more densely placed at the frontal area and taper off to the rear .

 

I left the surgery around 7pm and returned to my hotel. Sleep that night was intermittent , although pain killers and other medication were taken to reduce pain / swelling .

 

I returned to the clinic the next morning for the hair wash and post-op instructions given .

 

Luckily enough , no swelling was suffered and little pain experienced . I am now at 7 days post-op , and the area appears to healing well . The scalp feels slightly tight , and light bruising is apparent to the recipient areas . Other than this , everything appears well .

 

My experience with Dr Karadinez specifically , and the clinic in general was very positive .

 

I will give further detail on the clinic in a separate post . Below are my pre-op and post-op pictures . I'd be glad to answer any questions .

 

I will update post op photos periodically .

[Britanium]

Nice work by Dr K here ! Like the design of the hairline/temples. Just think by the time next Christmas rolls around you will have hair again :-)

[chris39]

Nice work by Dr K here ! Like the design of the hairline/temples. Just think by the time next Christmas rolls around you will have hair again :-)

 

Thanks for the comments Johnboy71 . I'm pleased with the design .Yes , seems a bit weird to have a solid frontal hairline again after all these years . Better make the most of it before the shock loss kicks in .

 

At days 7 now , and back to work on 4th January . No one knows I've had this done , so fingers crossed it's camouflaged enough by then . If not , I'll just have to try and conceal it or just tell people .

[chris39]

Now at 8 days post op . Happy with the way things are going . Inflammation has greatly subsided and the FUSS incision seems to be healing nicely .Itchiness has almost completely disappeared . Scalp still feels a bit tight , but sure that will change when the staples are out .

[Swooping]

Nice . Wish you good growth and merry x-mas!

[chris39]

Cheers Swooping .

 

All the best to you also !

[chris39]

Things have been going fine . Recipient and donor areas are healing well . The strip incision is looking very good . Have not shed any of the transplanted hairs yet , but unless I'm part of the lucky 10% , this will happen fairly soon.

 

Removed the staples at 14 days - 61 of the suckers in total . Wasn't as painful as I'd feared . I'd say 50 came out with no pain whatsoever , 10 with a slight smart and 1 that I did feel . The soak in a bath for 20 minutes before removal would have helped I'm sure .

 

Only problem is , and was my major concern prior to surgery , both donor and recipient areas are fairly visible .Even to the extent that I've been dreaming about it , so obviously playing with my psyche .

 

I may have been a wee bit optimistic as to how it would look 2 weeks after surgery . Anyway , back to work in 2 days and the panic has set in ! To be fair , it's not really panic , but more a case of what I do now . I have 3 options the way I see it :

 

1) Use cover up at both areas and try to mask the donor scar also with Toppik

2) Get back to work and just tell everyone that I've had a HT done

3) Wear a hat to work for a while

 

I work in an office , so wearing a hat would be a bit strange , but my employers would be fine about it .

 

Any tips or advice gratefully received .

[Britanium]

Can you just be up front and say what you have had done? in my experience people are quite interested..

 

I covered my FUTs but by the time I had FUEs I was open and honest about it,

[chris39]

Can you just be up front and say what you have had done? in my experience people are quite interested..

 

I covered my FUTs but by the time I had FUEs I was open and honest about it,

 

Yes I can johnboy71 . Had hoped to keep it secret but what the hey ! It's only a small office and all my work collegues are good people , so shouldn't really

fret .Why is it that there's still a stigma over getting a HT ? Strange really , but if a colleague was getting breast implants or a facelift not many would bat an eyelid . Then again , I'm sure that will all change in the coming years as HT's become more the norm.

[home1212]

I stayed out of work for 1 month after my first procedure to my front & hairline as my entire head was shaved. I used a combination of vacation and a few weeks working from home. I confided in my immediate supervisor who is also a close friend now, and no one else at work. I was fortunate it worked out well for me. When I went back, my hair was really short, everyone just said "wow you chopped it all off".. you just get used to it just as others in your surrounding environment do... its a bigger deal to us emotionally at first - but in actuality, people have other more important things to worry about in their lives!!

 

by the way, love your doctor's hairline design and work looks really neat and refined. You'll be in for a nice result. My hair loss pattern was similar to yours. My first procedure was to the frontal zone as you have done now, and last Sept. 2015 I went back for a 2nd FUE procedure with Dr. Rahal to address the area right behind it and up to the crown. In a year from now, you may want to reassess if you would do another procedure, it would be a nice touch! Best of luck in your healing and growth.

[chris39]

I stayed out of work for 1 month after my first procedure to my front & hairline as my entire head was shaved. I used a combination of vacation and a few weeks working from home. I confided in my immediate supervisor who is also a close friend now, and no one else at work. I was fortunate it worked out well for me. When I went back, my hair was really short, everyone just said "wow you chopped it all off".. you just get used to it just as others in your surrounding environment do... its a bigger deal to us emotionally at first - but in actuality, people have other more important things to worry about in their lives!!

 

by the way, love your doctor's hairline design and work looks really neat and refined. You'll be in for a nice result. My hair loss pattern was similar to yours. My first procedure was to the frontal zone as you have done now, and last Sept. 2015 I went back for a 2nd FUE procedure with Dr. Rahal to address the area right behind it and up to the crown. In a year from now, you may want to reassess if you would do another procedure, it would be a nice touch! Best of luck in your healing and growth.

 

Thanks for your comments home1212 - much appreciated . Yep , did the maths and always knew I would need at least 2 sessions if I was to get the crown done . I'll have a think about this further next September time .

 

In theory , I could work from home , so will have to ponder this over the next 24 hours .

[Britanium]

hey people are going to notice sooner or later anyway :-) your lovely new hairline in a few months time !

[chris39]

hey people are going to notice sooner or later anyway :-) your lovely new hairline in a few months time !

 

Well , after fretting all weekend , just decided to wear a baseball cap and tell peple what I'd had done . Work colleagues were great actualy .

 

Don't know what I was so worried about !

[Melvin- Admin]

I say wear a hat if you can,if I could wear a hat at work I would, plus you could buy an office appropriate hat like a paper boy hat, they're really great cause they're lose around the scalp. Your hairloss looks very similar to mine, eager to see your growth cheers.

[chris39]

I say wear a hat if you can,if I could wear a hat at work I would, plus you could buy an office appropriate hat like a paper boy hat, they're really great cause they're lose around the scalp. Your hairloss looks very similar to mine, eager to see your growth cheers.

 

Yep , hat it is for a while . Have a few meetings scheduled the next couple of weeks so could be awkward - may just have to put them off for now .

 

Checked your story and your result is looking impressive .

 

Just starting to shed at the moment , so probably not much to report for the next few months .

[chris39]

Just past 9 weeks post op so a quick update on how things are going.

 

Just to point out , my HT was to the frontal and mid scalp areas - the crown was untouched in this session .

 

Happy with the way things are going generally . Very light redness still in the recipient area .Recipient area is still very slightly numb but improving by the week .Still a bit numb above the strip area , but again this is getting better almost by the

day . Also mindful that I'm not out of the woods yet as far as scar stretch , so doing all I can to keep tension from the area . Can't wait to hit the gym again , but not going to do anything at the moment that may compromise scar healing / stretch. Doctor recommends to leave any heavy lifting until the 3 month mark .

 

The scar is not visible at this point , so I'm happy on that score.

 

Unfortunately , had some shock loss below the donor incision ( may be an inch long or so) , so fingers crossed that will resolve itself over the next few months . On the photo below I have applied a small amount of Toppik to the shock loss area.

 

Although I shed as everyone does , have had some growth to the recipient area. Not any real great density at the moment , more fine , light and wispy , but more than I expected anyway.

 

At just over 2 weeks post op , I was hoping to return to work without wearing a cap. 9 weeks later I'm still wearing it ! That's probably more paranoia on my part , as my wife thinks that no one would guess now that I've had the procedure.

 

The first photo was taken at 3 days post op , the rest are 9 weeks post op.

 

Any comments / questions - fire away !

[chris39]

Posted this a couple of days ago but didn't show up on the front board as it was flagged for moderation .

 

Just posting again if in case anyone is interested .

[TakingThePlunge]

Hey Chris! All appears normal for this stage. I'm sure the shock loss will resolve itself in time. Please keep us posted on your progress. Best of luck!

[wibbles180]

Look forward to seeing more of dr k's work ! Happy growing

[chris39]

Thanks David and Wibbles .

 

First day in work today that I have left the cap off and no one has batted an eyelid , which suggests it's at least back to pre op stage .

[thisguy1]

Hola. You had yours about 2 weeks before mine so I'll keep track of how you are doing. Are you putting minoxidil on the recipient area by chance? Supposed to help promote quicker growth.

 

I was going to say from your photos a few days ago no reason to wear a hat anymore as it looks like a normal head but sounds like you did make that change. For a typical FUT I think it probably takes 5-6 weeks to get back to a "normal" look - your scar will still be pretty red until week 4-5, your shedding will be in its last stages, etc.

 

I had the same shock loss about an inch under the donor incision - I had thought before doing the HT shock loss was just in the recipient areas but it makes sense it happens at incision area as well as there is even more skin trauma there.

 

Dr. K seems like a really good value for those in Europe and seems to be a "hair nerd" who is really invested in the process so i like to keep track of his cases. Just curious - do you know if Dr. K does 2 surgeries a day? I ask that because the technicians did your placement so I was wondering what he does during that time. Thx.

[chris39]

Hola thisguy !

 

Not putting Min on at the moment - may give it a go but not sure how much benefit I'd actually get from it .

 

The main reasons I waited the 9 weeks before discarding with the hat was the recipient redness and the shock loss .Otherwise , probably would have done it sooner . Researched the shockloss to the donor after it became apparent what it was , and the more you dig , the more common you find that it actually is - with both FUE and FUSS .

 

Dr K is a great choice for those of us in the EU - he really is a hair geek and this passion really comes across when you discuss the subject with him . I had a really interesting discussion with him which could have carried on for hours , but he had to get back to the procedure in hand - ie. me !

 

Dr K only ever does one surgery a day . He started the placement process but then handed over to the tehnicians .I'm not quite sure what he does while the technicians do the placements - probably further research . To be fair , as he is pretty much a 1 man band at the moment , he is probably handling the admin side of the business - email enquiries , post op queries etc . He did frequently return to the room during the placement period to monitor progress .

 

I see you had your procedure with Dr Konior - top doc so I'm sure you'll get a great result . You'll be pushing about 8 weeks now , so hope everything is going well .

 

Cheers !

[chris39]

Just past the 3 month mark . Been going out without a cap for a good few weeks now , but still have moments of paranoia where I think people are looking at at me and knowing I've had a HT - Ha !

 

Anyway , there's been some growth , definately more hair than pre-op , so pleased with the way things are going at present .

 

My shock loss seems to be resolving itself , but still wary of getting a haircut at the moment . Also pimples are still popping up every day or so - once one disappears another one's ready to take its place .

[Mick50]

Good sign getting early growth, 3 months as you know is just the beginning

[chris39]

So , just hit the 4 month mark . I'm fairly pleased with thr progress to date . Was a bit concerned for a while wasn't were it should be , but seems like many of us feel this way . Still new hairs sprouting and fingers crossed things thicken up over the coming months.

 

I've attached a few photo's under different lighting conditions which hopefully shows a fair representation .

 

The feeling has pretty much returned to both donor and recipient , and the scar is healing very well .

 

Any comments or questions welcome .