FUE with Dr. Demirsoy, 20/07/2016

[TheGman]

Hello fellow MPB sufferers, my long-awaited procedure is scheduled in exactly one week from now. I've been going back and forth between joyful extasy and the fear of taking the plunge, but now is the time!

 

I'm 30, my hairloss hasn't evolved much since I've been on the meds(fin and minox), and it"s been 6 years on fin and 8 years on minox.

 

Here are a few pictures so you can get an idea of my current situation:

 

Ignore the hairline and corner drawings I was just messing around, even if I do want the corners to be softened above the temple points, because straight, wide and high hairlines don't appeal to me at all:

 

 

 

 

The heart of the problem: the devastated forelock:

 

 

 

wet hair:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And how I like to wear my hair, with a lot of dermmatch and a combover:

 

 

 

 

 

I want to get a dense hairline, and focus on the front. I have high expectations. I have seen some awesome stuff from Dr Demirsoy and I want to become one of his best results. I'll never give up the meds and my hair is naturally quite thick. The crown has thinned a bit but it's still fine and won't prevent me from sporting a natural-looking nice hairline. I want as many grafts as possible.

 

 

Wish me luck brahs!! I'll keep you posted with every single step I'll take towards my desired destination:

 

 

[Ernie]

Good luck to you. Keep us posted on how it goes

[Dolph1969]

Good luck getting there.........or home again.......

[TheGman]

Good luck getting there.........or home again.......

The situation seems to have stabilized. I thought I was cursed... I was honestly ready to go through the 23-hour drive to Istanbul.

[sivy28]

good luck for tomorrow man , hope the journey went well

 

sivy

[bitethebullet]

Very best of luck with your procedure. You seem to have a pretty good head of hair still so hopefully the procedure will set you up for a good few years

[TheGman]

On the day of the operation, I took a couple pictures, to say good bye to my bald temples, and to keep track of where I was before the operation:

 

Dry and how I would normally look during the day if I'm not wearing any concealers:

 

 

 

And wet:

 

 

 

 

 

Muzaffer showed up to drive me to the clinic at 8am. He is as described by everybody here, and as you would expect him to be from his very nice and patient emails: genuinely friendly, honest and dedicated to the patients.

 

I kept asking him questions he probably hears every day and I already knew most of the answers, being a hair loss geek, but you need to be reassured when things are about to get real after years of planning and hopes. He always answered in details, probably aware that I was pretty knowledgeable, but he never seem annnoyed and always went in-depth.

 

The consultation: Dr Demirsoy inspected all of my scalp, and found that my hair was frizzier than on the pictures(I had sent him pics of my wet hair).

We agreed not to touch the crown because the thinning is barely noticeable and to focus on the front.

He first asked me about my hairline wishes. I was very anxious about him wanting me to have a high hairline like many HT patients, it looks weird and I don't see the point. But I had seen some of his hairlines that looked reasonably juvenile which was one of the reasons I picked him.

 

So I drew my ideal hairline with a thin stick, adamant about having narrower corners just below the temples.

 

He took some measures and told me about how low he could go, according to my forehead shape, and measured the distance from the eyebrows.

 

I was extremely pleased with the design, it was almost exactly what I had in mind. It looked slightly uneven but Dr Demirsoy insisted because of the temple points being slightly lower on one side apparently, but it really didn't matter.

 

We then took some pictures with the hairline design, here are a few of them:

 

 

 

 

I was expecting them to wet my hair first, to make better before/after pics, because I had read that about many clinics, but they didn't, I expressed my surprise to Muzaffer who told me they wanted to keep a honesty policy.

 

 

Muzaffer took me to his office and as soon as I signed, things went quickly. I was shaven by the nurses/technicians and we took another set of pictures:

 

 

The black stains are toppik remnants I thought I had washed away with the many shampoos I had since the weekend.

 

 

 

 

The operation was very long, Dr. Demirsoy did the extractions and the incisions and the technicians(3 nurses) placed the grafts.

Dr Demirsoy was pretty positive because there were many grafts with 2,3 and even 4 hairs. It's one of the variables that are part of the equation that makes the final result.

 

Here's a couple post-op picture:

 

 

 

 

One day post op:

The upper forehead swelling was very extreme and painful. But I could already see I wasn't going to experience much redness and Muzaffer commentated on that.

A nurse did the first shampoo and Muzaffer gave me all of the instructions for the upcoming days.

 

In the next few days, the swelling slowly went down from my forehead to my eyes and cheekbones (I felt better at this point and that's why I stopped wearing the headband I was given). I bumped my head a few times in random places but there was no bleeding so the grafts should be fine.

I had planned to hide in London at a friend's place(only person who knows) until I could be presentable and come back to my hometown in France.

We went to a Turkish restaurant and all of the waiters were balding turkish guys who immediatly asked me about all the details because they were planning on having a HT. It was surprisingly funny to talk in such a casual fashion about this usually embarassing topic.

After 5 days, my appearance became bearable despite the scabs because the swelling went away.

 

Day 5:

Still extra paranoid about bumping my head, but the swelling went away and I no longer look like a circus freak in public places. I can finally appreciate how my hairline was designed and hope for the best possible yield.

 

 

 

 

Day 8,9,10:

 

I was instructed to start removing the scabs at day 8.

 

It took me three attempts to remove nearly all of them. I finally get to see my temporary NW1.5 hairline with a buzzcut.

 

It looks really thinned out, but mostly because the recipient area is considerabely shorter than the rest of the hair. Here's a pic of the hair with the scabs being washed away:

 

 

 

 

 

Day 11: Return to my hometown, and I have almost no visible redness, no one can tell a thing. My best friend told me that it seems that my hairline got better thanks to fin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going for my first jog when the night falls. I can finally wear hats and t-shirts.

Now it's time to wait for the dreaded shedding.

 

I was instructed to avoid concealers for two months, which is a lot longer than most recommendations, I'll start using them very sparingly at 45 days.

 

I still can't believe I finally took the plunge.

 

 

 

 

[Dolph1969]

Looks good. You definitely look better buzzed.

[mosd]

Question 1 : How many grafts/hairs?

 

Question 2 : Is it harmful to have toppik stains for days like that?

[TheGman]

Looks good. You definitely look better buzzed.

Thank you! But with a buzzed NW1! With a buzzed NW3 I looked ten years older! Not looking forward to the shedding... the cap is ready.

[TheGman]

Question 1 : How many grafts/hairs?

 

Question 2 : Is it harmful to have toppik stains for days like that?

 

 

1: 3261 grafts. Dr Demirsoy only charged me 3200 since that's the number he quoted.

 

 

2: It should be but I've been using toppik for two years and I didn't lose hair at all in this period. Straightening products were more harmful to my scalp I reckon.

 

But it's something that could harm the grafts during the first weeks. Most surgeons recommend to wait for two weeks before using those products sparringly, as long as you wash your hair right away. I was told to wait for two months. I have two(even three) jobs and I took a long break from my most important one in order to be back with toppik on, at 45 days.

[mosd]

1: 3261 grafts. Dr Demirsoy only charged me 3200 since that's the number he quoted.

 

 

2: It should be but I've been using toppik for two years and I didn't lose hair at all in this period. Straightening products were more harmful to my scalp I reckon.

 

But it's something that could harm the grafts during the first weeks. Most surgeons recommend to wait for two weeks before using those products sparringly, as long as you wash your hair right away. I was told to wait for two months. I have two(even three) jobs and I took a long break from my most important one in order to be back with toppik on, at 45 days.

 

thx. Do you know how many hairs?

[TheGman]

Knowing how many hairs is impossible I believe, all I know is that many of my grafts had two or more hairs, which is a good sign.

[sivy28]

thanks for taking the time with such a detailed post, excellent pictures too . The buzz cut suits you man cannot wait to see the outcome ..

 

sivy

[TheGman]

I work in a night-club on week-ends and I resumed this activity this weekend.

 

It's impossible to tell I had a HT and everyone is surprised to see me with a buzzcut.

 

People want to touch my hair and try my cap it's driving me MAD.

 

A girl rubbed my left temple in my donor area quite hard and it's been worrying me ever since.

 

The shed hasn't started yet (day 18).

[TheGman]

Day 19: my scalp is peeling, flakes all over. Hopefully it's not the baby shampoo I picked.

 

[sivy28]

Looks great gman I hope I'm a as lucky as you with so Little redness must be easy to hide that you've had a ht

Sivy

[TheGman]

Looks great gman I hope I'm a as lucky as you with so Little redness must be easy to hide that you've had a ht

Sivy

 

No trace of redness at all I'm very lucky indeed, if your skin is dark and oily you could enjoy the same thing.

 

The inside of the temples already looks quite sparse I hope it won't show when it grows out and I can't afford to lose many grafts as they regrow. Hopefully the fact that the doctor picked mostly doubles and triples will make it look dense.

[TheGman]

3 weeks update:

 

 

The shedding has started, slowly, but undeniably, and it seems that the inside of the temples is much more sparse than the rest, on both sides.

 

I'm looking at my early pictures and they already look sparse, I hope I had already lost some hairs with the scabs, or that the double and triples will make it look fine as it grows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The crown area. I will most likely get a SMP next summer, seems like the best idea. Worried about having to stop minox again I might hop on the oral minox bandwagon for a month when I have to stop for the SMP!

 

 

What do you reckon?

[sivy28]

Hey gman we all know and expect this phase, and that's all it is, but it don't make it any easier just see it through I'm sure the results will be great

 

Sivy

Ps great pictures again thanks for the update

[TheGman]

Shedding has accellerated, big time. It reminds me of when I started minoxidil 8 years ago, and it obviously started when I resumed minox.

 

 

 

 

My wrestling headgear. I have started training very lightly, doing drills only, trying not to use my head even if it should be fine.

 

 

 

After having rubbed the hair a little, the peeling is surprising me and I wasn't expecting that.

[Fueforthought]

Looks like it will be a really good result. You are at the most difficult stage right now, you will over analysing and rethinking every look in the mirror- my shedding was similar to yours after my operation with Demirsoy. Just got to hold tight and wait for the growing to start!

[TheGman]

Looks like it will be a really good result. You are at the most difficult stage right now, you will over analysing and rethinking every look in the mirror- my shedding was similar to yours after my operation with Demirsoy. Just got to hold tight and wait for the growing to start!

 

I have almost nothing left to shed now, at day 25, and the hair looks worst than ever. I wish I could shave it down to even it out but Muzaffer told me to avoid using a blade or a trimmer for 3 months, and I've seen even longer recommendations.

 

Your results are already satisfying to me at 5.5 months, I asked for a dense packing too, I was told that it could be risky and that the Doctor would try to make it as dense as possible, using mostly triples. He then told me I had many doubles triples and some 4's but I don't know if what I received is a dense packing.

 

 

 

 

 

[sivy28]

this is where im confused gman the donor site should be well healed , I cant see why you would not be able to gentley get te rest of your hair down to even thing out ?

anyway stay with it , were you happy with the density he transplanted with , or cant you tell yet

 

hope things are well with you

 

sivy

[TheGman]

this is where im confused gman the donor site should be well healed , I cant see why you would not be able to gentley get te rest of your hair down to even thing out ?

anyway stay with it , were you happy with the density he transplanted with , or cant you tell yet

 

hope things are well with you

 

sivy

Well, I was instructed not to use a trimmer or a blade for 3 months and I'm afraid about using it on the zone where the transplanted hair and the rest of the scalp merge. I'll see about that in two weeks when I'm back at work.

 

 

Hard to tell about the density because even on te day 11 pics I may have lost a few hairs while removing the scabs, I saw a few fell down the sink, which is fine as long as there's no blood apparently! But the inside of the temples looks a bit sparse yes. We will see!

 

It's been 5 weeks today and it doesn't look like there's much left to shed.