Dr. Panine - 3944 grafts(FUT) - 6/28/15 - 25y/o

[Mirai]

Hi everyone,

 

First time poster longtime lurker. 25y/o male just wanted to share my experience/results 7 months post op.

 

History

Began losing my hair at 18 years old and didn't really do anything about it until age 22 where I started Minoxidil foam. I used Minox for several months and didn't see any changes in my hair's appearance so I dropped it. In April 2015, I started finasteride (~1.25mg/day) and have been on it since. At this point, I'm not sure if it has worked or not but I'm not seeing a scary amount of hair falling out in the shower or on my pillow every morning. I am considering switching to dutasteride since I'm seeing some miniaturization in my temples and nape of my neck.

 

I decided to make the jump and get a HT after seeing so many of you were getting great results. I decided to go with Dr. Panine since he was one of the recommended HT doctors in my area and because traveling to his clinic was more convenient for me as his clinic was only 15 minutes away from my medical school(I'm a med student).

 

Consultation

For the consultation, I met with Stuart, Dr. Panine's surgical coordinator, and he educated me on everything I needed to know about what my options were, FUE vs FUT, my donor availability(was told my donor area was good), and costs. I got to meet Dr. Panine during the consultation and he drew up where the grafts would be placed in my recipient area. He suggested my HT surgery focuses on the frontal 1/3 and a 2nd surgery would be needed for the remaining area on top and crown.

 

Surgery - 6/28/15

Arrived around 9:30am and the surgery began around 10am. I got to watch some TV while Dr. Panine and his assistant were working and before I knew it, the donor grafts(3944 of them) were out and prepped. The surgery overall was more or less painless thanks to the anesthesia. I fell asleep after lunch which was provided and woke up near the end of the surgery at....2am the next day! After the surgery was over, Stuart and my aunt(was staying at her place since she lives 10 mins away) helped me to the car. I came back a couple days later for a quick check up and was told everything look great. I had some swelling in my forehead and around my eyes but I was told that this is normal and it did go away soon. I came back 2 weeks later to get my stitches removed and was told to come back 3 months later for a follow up.

 

3,944 grafts - 2,162 single hair grafts, 1,547 double hair grafts and 235 triple hair grafts

 

Currently 7 months in and hoping for more growth and thickening particularly in the posterior 50% of the frontal 1/3rd, given the amount of grafts that were used. Let me know what you guys think so far. Thanks!

 

 

photo 001/009 = pre op

photo 019/020/022 = post op

photo 032/033/035 = 3 months post op

photo 036 = 7 months post op

[adonix]

I dont see ~3900 grafts in post op pictures.

[thisguy1]

Hi. Thanks for sharing your case. Our pre-op heads were very similar in terms of loss and we had similar size FUT surgery in the same city so interesting to see what you have here.

 

My first comment would be on your hair density - what did Dr. Panine say about that? Reason being you have an astounding 2162 single donor hairs. I don't think I've ever seen that many in a 4K FU case. That means nearly 55% of your FUs were single hair. So that is going to hurt your result. I had 393 (just a bit over 10%) by comparison.

 

Your "2s" are fine but you also had a small # of 3s with only 235.

 

So in total for 3944 grafts you generated 2162+3094+705=5961 hairs. That means on average 1.5 hairs per graft. That is EXTREMELY low. The ave range I see is 1.9-2.2 hairs per graft.

 

Reverse engineering that to a normal head of hair that averages say 2 grafts per grafts your 5961 would be equivalent to 2980 grafts. So you almost need an equivalent of 1000 more grafts than the "average" guy to get the same hair density.

 

Just curious if this was discussed. There is nothing you can do about that - it's just your body but it's an outlier case in that regard.

 

So this might be contributing to your results being somewhat subpar at month 7 IMO. You still have a few more months of time when "new growth" could happen - up to month 11-12 and then after that you usually just count on density improving for 3-4 months.

 

The disparity between your hairline and the area right behind it is also a bit of a concern.

 

I have never heard of a case going to 2 AM as well. You really slept from noon to 2 AM? I was asleep for 85%+ of my surgery as well but woke up maybe every 4-5 hrs. My worry is that by finishing up at 2 AM is the grafts were out of the body for an extended period. Even with my doctor we finished at 7 PM and I worry that everything done after 4 PM will have lesser results because in theory they should only be out of your body for 6-7 hours. So if your extraction was complete by say 11:30 AM that means some hairs were still being put in 12, 13, 14 hrs later. That would be concerning to me.

 

I hope it works out for you - I've seen some nice cases by this doctor but not a lot of volume of results. I am not claiming anything is awry - just stating some concerns I'd have if this was my case. Plus your natural hair density seems to be among the lowest I've seen at 1.5.

 

What has your doctor said about the results? Anything other than to be patient for another 6 months?

[Mirai]

Hi thisguy1, thanks for the reply.

 

In a follow up I had last week, I asked about what they(Dr. Panine and Stuart) thought of the density and was told that I'm 50-60% towards my final result and that all the donor grafts which were obtained had been placed. I was told to come back for a follow up around June. The hairs per graft distribution was not discussed at any point post op.

 

Regarding my sleep, I slept for most of the time from noon to 2am. I'm not sure of the exact time the surgery ended as it was between 1am and 2am but I remember 2am most clearly since I was surprised when I had asked for the time after the surgery was over and was told "2am" by someone. Regardless, it was in the very early am. The only time I was awake was for a bathroom break.

[thisguy1]

Hi thisguy1, thanks for the reply.

 

In a follow up I had last week, I asked about what they(Dr. Panine and Stuart) thought of the density and was told that I'm 50-60% towards my final result and that all the donor grafts which were obtained had been placed. I was told to come back for a follow up around June. The hairs per graft distribution was not discussed at any point post op.

 

 

 

Yes not doubting they were not all placed - they are recommended here and I dont see why they'd keep you til 2 AM not to place grafts.

 

Yes you could be a late grower for all we know - I'd just assume it would be more uniform if the case i.e. you'd see similar (not exact) density in your entire recipient area since it was all on the front scalp. If you had a crown surgery I'd understand if it was lagging because crown is notorious for being slower growth. So it could be a quirk that area behind hairline is so sparse but in your shoes I'd be lying if I were to say I was not concerned. Considering your massive amount of 1s, I think the hairline itself is very reasonable for month 7, like mine it is a total rebuild; still a few more months for more to grow out and nearly a year for it all to get dense.

 

Well keep us updated and hope it works out for you.

[windyday]

im not an expert but that does not look like 4k grafts to me. look at other procedures with similar graft count to get a good comparison

[Mirai]

im not an expert but that does not look like 4k grafts to me. look at other procedures with similar graft count to get a good comparison

 

Yeah comparing myself to others with similar graft numbers and extent of hairless has gotten me worried. Hoping I'm just a slow grower right now

Edited February 29, 2016 by Mirai

[windyday]

was the doctor that carried out your procedure recommended here?

[mamzuka]

Hi everyone,

 

First time poster longtime lurker. 25y/o male just wanted to share my experience/results 7 months post op.

 

History

Began losing my hair at 18 years old and didn't really do anything about it until age 22 where I started Minoxidil foam. I used Minox for several months and didn't see any changes in my hair's appearance so I dropped it. In April 2015, I started finasteride (~1.25mg/day) and have been on it since. At this point, I'm not sure if it has worked or not but I'm not seeing a scary amount of hair falling out in the shower or on my pillow every morning. I am considering switching to dutasteride since I'm seeing some miniaturization in my temples and nape of my neck.

 

I decided to make the jump and get a HT after seeing so many of you were getting great results. I decided to go with Dr. Panine since he was one of the recommended HT doctors in my area and because traveling to his clinic was more convenient for me as his clinic was only 15 minutes away from my medical school(I'm a med student).

 

Consultation

For the consultation, I met with Stuart, Dr. Panine's surgical coordinator, and he educated me on everything I needed to know about what my options were, FUE vs FUT, my donor availability(was told my donor area was good), and costs. I got to meet Dr. Panine during the consultation and he drew up where the grafts would be placed in my recipient area. He suggested my HT surgery focuses on the frontal 1/3 and a 2nd surgery would be needed for the remaining area on top and crown.

 

Surgery - 6/28/15

Arrived around 9:30am and the surgery began around 10am. I got to watch some TV while Dr. Panine and his assistant were working and before I knew it, the donor grafts(3944 of them) were out and prepped. The surgery overall was more or less painless thanks to the anesthesia. I fell asleep after lunch which was provided and woke up near the end of the surgery at....2am the next day! After the surgery was over, Stuart and my aunt(was staying at her place since she lives 10 mins away) helped me to the car. I came back a couple days later for a quick check up and was told everything look great. I had some swelling in my forehead and around my eyes but I was told that this is normal and it did go away soon. I came back 2 weeks later to get my stitches removed and was told to come back 3 months later for a follow up.

 

3,944 grafts - 2,162 single hair grafts, 1,547 double hair grafts and 235 triple hair grafts

 

Currently 7 months in and hoping for more growth and thickening particularly in the posterior 50% of the frontal 1/3rd, given the amount of grafts that were used. Let me know what you guys think so far. Thanks!

 

 

photo 001/009 = pre op

photo 019/020/022 = post op

photo 032/033/035 = 3 months post op

photo 036 = 7 months post op

 

It does look like you are getting some growth but can't see near 4000 grafts on your head. I'm not saying that they aren't there, but it looks less than that to me. If you are only at 7 months then you have more to grow for sure.

[Mirai]

was the doctor that carried out your procedure recommended here?

 

He's one of the "Prescreened Hair Restoration Physicians" in my area. If you're asking me if someone here specifically recommended him to me then no.

[windyday]

i was hoping some senior members would have given you some advice by now but that doesn't look likely. To me it seems quite clear that you have paid for work that has not been carried out. if i was in your position i would try to get a refund. hope it works out for you, gl

[harryforreal]

I can't comment on what 4k grafts implanted "should" look like, but I will say that most will tell you it's still to early to asses the outcome. What I do find strange, however, is the extensive bald spot behind the transplanted area. What was the reasoning for this design? At least if you have the donor supply you can add to it - and maybe the doctor felt 4k was enough for one day of surgery and better to come back at a later date for more?

[CaliHairGuy]

In my opinion, that is nowhere near 4k in grafts. And they left a big section out in the middle. I don't know what to say except that if you go to get a HT in Chicago, you should probably only visit Dr. Konior.