3000 Grafts by Dr Vories

[PhoenixHair]

I'm a few days out of surgery right now and thought I would share a little bit as I used this website a lot to help me figure out what to do.

 

Background

Im currently 30 years old and have been slowly losing hair since around 20 or so. Always had relatively thin hair my whole life. I started getting really serious about getting this done about 7 or 8 months ago and had a consult with another Dr whom is highly regarded here who is also local. Everything went fine and was recommended 3000 grafts. But then we got to the price and it was a lot more than what I was hoping for. Sometimes I dont see how the prices are justified ($8+ per graft) but thats another topic altogether.

 

Everything was put on hold until about a month and a half ago.

 

I was only considering FUE because I did not want a linear scar as I often have my hair pretty short. I had a few more online consults with other FUE doctors and 3000 grafts were unanimously recommended.

 

I found Dr. Vories and the more I looked into him and his work the more I liked. I like that he was FUE only, did ALL the extracting and implanting himself, was very transparent about pricing (which was very reasonably well priced), and that I couldnt find a single negative thing ever said about him. So I went ahead and booked with him.

 

Operation Day

Flew to Charleston the night before (got to my hotel at 11pm), got a few hours sleep and showed up right a 7am to his office. We went through the game plan and paperwork and got started. He took 750 grafts from each side and 1500 from the back. He has a foot counter so he counts every extraction and each of his two techs that help with the operation also count. There is a counter in plain view so you can see as well. I didnt feel any pain or pinching the entire time. In fact I fell asleep while he was doing the back extractions (I was laying down on my stomach with my face in a massage pillow). He takes breaks every 45 min to an hour to give me a bit of a break and rest his wrists.

 

Extractions were done at around 11:30 and we got about 30 minutes of implanting on my left side before we broke for lunch. We had a nice conversation about the industry, where it is and where it's going. He is currently president of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery. After lunch

 

After lunch we continued on. We watched 2 movies (Ironman and Star Wars Force Awakens). I actually fell asleep during this process as well during the second half of Ironman. We were dont at 4:45 went over post op instructions and I was off. Went to fill out the prescription for pain killers and ambien to help me sleep and went back to the hotel.

 

Post op

The next day I woke up with a swollen forehead which he said I could expect and just to ice it being careful not to touch the follicles. I did that and as the day progressed the swelling got worse and worse. The sides also got quite swollen. I texted Dr Vories around 7:30 pm a picture and he said while a bit severe it was normal for it to happen and itll go down after a day or two and not to worry. Still no pain all day but my head is itchy.

 

I flew back the next day (yesterday). The swelling was getting better and was more spread out. Today (day 3), the swelling is much much better and will hopefully be almost gone tomorrow. Still itchy as hell though. Im resisting the urge to scratch. Any suggestions for dealing with the itchiness?

 

Conclusion

All in all Im very happy with Dr Vories. He and his staff are very kind and friendly while quite focused on the task at hand. I just cant wait to see how it ends up.

 

Day of operation pictures:

Edited April 9, 2016 by PhoenixHair

[PhoenixHair]

Day 2 pictures

[JON86]

Nice write up . I wish you a great result.

[ontop]

Congrats..Dr Vories does some good work im sure you have a nice result in 6/ 12 mths.

thanks for the update it will help others.

[Ernie]

Similar hair loss as me. Just amazing how you literally look 15 years younger already

[TakingThePlunge]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Dr. Vories has shared many impressive results and I'm sure yours will be no exception. I look forward to your continued updates.

[PhoenixHair]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm looking forward to seeing how it grows and fills in. I'll try to keep this thread updated with pictures as much as I can. Seeing threads like this helped me so hopefully I can pay it forward for others.

[SKYLAR]

those grafts look really tight. Hairline a little high it seems but I like how close their placed together. Although from what I've researched it seems like this doctor either does 1500 or 3000 grafts and doesn't seem to vary much from that. Nonetheless it shud look good when it grows out

[densedream]

My question is why isn't the middle part have more transplanted hair like the sides? The hair in the middle is thin and on it's way out soon anyways, I don't see why to skip that area.

[Etownone]

Looks like a great job. I sent him an email with pics yesterday, hoping to hear back from him soon.

[PhoenixHair]

those grafts look really tight. Hairline a little high it seems but I like how close their placed together. Although from what I've researched it seems like this doctor either does 1500 or 3000 grafts and doesn't seem to vary much from that. Nonetheless it shud look good when it grows out

 

Ive seen different amounts. For me 3000 was for a couple reasons. A: it was recommended by a few doctors to get what I was hoping for and B: It was the max for a day (Combination of his and my schedules and timing for getting it done allowed for one day) which worked out. Before the procedure he said that he does ~40 follicles per square cm

 

My question is why isn't the middle part have more transplanted hair like the sides? The hair in the middle is thin and on it's way out soon anyways, I don't see why to skip that area.

 

I had the same concerns and I mentioned it to him during the procedure and essentially it comes down to there is still hair where he didnt touch. He filled in on the sides of the middle, if you will, to bring an even density. In the direct middle there actually is a similar density to the rest of my head. From what Ive researched, transplanting too close to existing hair can damage or kill the existing follicles. For the time being it will be there and I'll probably have to go back to fill it in in idk 5 years as well as other areas as the natural hair loss progresses.

 

Looks like a great job. I sent him an email with pics yesterday, hoping to hear back from him soon.

 

Thanks! I cant wait to see the final results. His staff is great and typically quite responsive. Ive gotten emails back on a weekend within 20 minutes with questions before the procedure.

[PhoenixHair]

Day 7 picture update. Recipient area hasnt bothered me too much. Just the occasional itch. The donor part is better today but the past few days bothered me pretty much non stop. It felt both itch and burning. Taking ibuprofen and putting aloe vera seems to help.

Edited April 13, 2016 by PhoenixHair

[Etownone]

That's 3000 grafts? Very very tight job he did.. I'm expecting you to have impressive results.

[jkm3]

Day picture update. Recipient area hasnt bothered me too much. Just the occasional itch. The donor part is better today but the past few days bothered me pretty much non stop. It felt both itch and burning. Taking ibuprofen and putting aloe vera seems to help.

 

Ideally, you shouldn't be allowing that much crust to form on your recipient area. This update is missing how many days post op you are, but unless you're over 10 days post op, I suggest you deal with the scabbing very gently when you wash. After 10 days, make sure you soak the crusts in warm water, apply shampoo and rub the area in a circular motion.

 

1) keeping your recipient area moist throughout the day and 2) rinsing the area around two times a day after the procedure (and until 10 days after the procedure) prevents excessive crusting. You should be fine though. I let crusts build up after my first procedure and it still turned out great. However, I followed the above procedure after my second transplant and felt that my grafts were much less disturbed. It's just a precaution, but I thought I'd let you know.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/181630-second-fue-hair-transplant-dr-diep-2-220-grafts-improve-density-4-700-grafts-total.html

[PhoenixHair]

Ideally, you shouldn't be allowing that much crust to form on your recipient area. This update is missing how many days post op you are, but unless you're over 10 days post op, I suggest you deal with the scabbing very gently when you wash. After 10 days, make sure you soak the crusts in warm water, apply shampoo and rub the area in a circular motion.

 

1) keeping your recipient area moist throughout the day and 2) rinsing the area around two times a day after the procedure (and until 10 days after the procedure) prevents excessive crusting. You should be fine though. I let crusts build up after my first procedure and it still turned out great. However, I followed the above procedure after my second transplant and felt that my grafts were much less disturbed. It's just a precaution, but I thought I'd let you know.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/181630-second-fue-hair-transplant-dr-diep-2-220-grafts-improve-density-4-700-grafts-total.html

 

Day 7. Dont know how the 7 disappeared...

 

I sprayed it with a saline solution he gave me for the first idk 5 days to help keep it moist.

 

Next shower Im going to start massaging the recipient area so that should help.

 

Thanks for the info!

[jkm3]

Many doctors don't recommend massaging the grafts until day 10 because studies show that it's impossible to dislodge them after that point. So keep that in mind. I didn't massage the recipient area until after 10 days and everything worked out. Rinsing and keeping the area moist as often as you can from now until 10 days will make it easier for you to remove most of the scabs at day 10.

 

I think your frontal third will look pretty dense once it grows out. Good luck!

[PhoenixHair]

Thanks for the info. Ill definitely keep it in mind.

[PhoenixHair]

Day 15 update. My last scab fell off the night of day 13. I havent had much of any shedding yet. hopefully it will stay that way but we will see. Donor area is slightly sensitive but really only if I touch it. Beyond that it feels normal. Itchiness is gone, thank God. Ive gone running (with a hat) and to the gym a few times without problem. Redness is there but not too bad. I have developed a couple pimples in the recipient area. Not sure if I should pop them or leave them be.

 

The recipient area is raise a tiny bit compared to the rest of my head. Im assuming that will go down as it heals. Its also still a bit numb to the touch.

 

It was strange looking at myself for the first few days when the scabs were nearly gone. Strange when you dont entirely recognize yourself!

 

One concern a couple people have had is the gap on the temples where the grafts meet the natural hair. I'm hoping that in time (and hair length) it will fill in.

 

I dont have the exact breakdown but it was an average of 2.16 hairs per follicle.

 

I just cant wait for the hair to be full and growing. Can I just skip the next 9 months?

[PhoenixHair]

Week 4 update. Started shedding pretty bad a few days ago. Still have idk 1/3 of the grafts? Its getting thinner by the day. I know it's part off the process but still sucks losing it after getting used to it. Oh well.

 

I have noticed some little sprouts already. I'm hoping its the new hair already growing in but idk.

 

I got some natural shampoo that is infused with biotin about a week ago and have been using it. Maybe it will help some.

[ontop]

Any updates on your progress buddy?

[bdu981]

Would definitely like to see an update.

[PhoenixHair]

I have house guests over so won't be able to get pictures for another week but the progress is really incredible. It actually looks like I have a relatively decent amount of hair. My right side is coming in stronger than the left though. I actually have an inch wide stripe of hair along my hairline on the right side that is thicker than the rest of the transplant area. Kinda weird that grew like that stronger than other places but oh well. I still have several months until I can really judge how it will be.

 

In bright daylight it still looks pretty thin but most other times its looking pretty good.

 

I have pictures at 10 weeks (about a month ago that I never got around to posting).once my house guests leave I'll post those and some current pictures. Hope this helps until then.

[PhoenixHair]

Here it was at 10 weeks (almost 2 months ago...)

[PhoenixHair]

At 4 months now. It started to really come in like crazy right at 3 months. I also got a haircut at 3 months which evened everything out. After that I stopped wearing hats constantly. It's been coming in strong ever since. Its amazing seeing the difference the past month and a half has had. There is a half inch band along my right hairline which is about twice as thick as everywhere else. Im hoping the rest will follow that soon enough. My temples are growing straight out, perpendicular to my scalp instead of angling back like the surrounding hair does. a little bit worried about that but Im hoping as that fills in i can do something more about it stylewise. The right temple is thicker than my left. Beyond that small gripe about my temples my results have blown my mind. I hardly recognize myself anymore haha. My girlfriend loves it too.

 

Ive been taking 10,000mcg of biotin every night and also using this shampoo which is infused with biotin: http://amzn.to/2bdjfnh I leave it on my hair for 5-10 minutes while I shower. I honestly thing the combination of those two things has helped how quickly it has come in.

[Dr.Ahmad Chaudhry1530041157]

Hi, it seems on your left Temporal peak un natural angle of hair.