Dr. Rahal - 4068 Grafts - Norwood Va

[TheEnd890]

Hey guys,

 

Just signed up after lurking for a long while. A little about me...

 

I've been suffering from hair loss since I went to college, and with the stress and added pressures, I quickly began losing my hair right where I am today, a norwood 5 at the age of 27.

It's extremely stressful, it ruined any confidence I had, and made me basically avoid most social settings. If I ever do go out, it would be with a hat, and I'm honestly sick of being dependent on them. It really does suck and it makes you feel like shit; so I worked my ass off and saved for my first HT. What really inspired me to take the plunge was people like can't_decide and agenteye who had pretty nice results. As of right now, I'm waiting to see how this turns out before I decide on getting more procedures or just giving up. I honestly don't wish anyone my age to experience this, its awful, and despite being super healthy (eating well, consistent gym use, etc. you just can't help looking so malnourished and unhealthy.

 

Anyways, I'm a super private person when it comes to this, but I appreciate any feedback or advice. Now the juicy bits:

 

Did a procedure at Rahal in November, I am currently 3 months post-op.

Grats- 4068 Hairs - 8295

 

Right now, I know its early, but I can definitely see growth, moreso along the hairline and temples which were really sparse previously. So far, it doesn't really have any cosmetic difference, still very bald unfortunately. I may also want to lower the hairline, if I manage to have enough donor, just a tinge.

 

Wider scar on right side, might be that it healed weird or is just a result of shock loss. Still pretty numb. Hair is about a number 2-3. Hair is curly and coarse. Average donor and laxity. Only front work was done.

 

Been using minoxidil 5%, some of it mixed with Finasteride [dissolved].

 

 

Thanks.

[delancey]

Hey guys,

 

Just signed up after lurking for a long while. A little about me...

 

I've been suffering from hair loss since I went to college, and with the stress and added pressures, I quickly began losing my hair right where I am today, a norwood 5 at the age of 27.

It's extremely stressful, it ruined any confidence I had, and made me basically avoid most social settings. If I ever do go out, it would be with a hat, and I'm honestly sick of being dependent on them. It really does suck and it makes you feel like shit; so I worked my ass off and saved for my first HT. What really inspired me to take the plunge was people like can't_decide and agenteye who had pretty nice results. As of right now, I'm waiting to see how this turns out before I decide on getting more procedures or just giving up. I honestly don't wish anyone my age to experience this, its awful, and despite being super healthy (eating well, consistent gym use, etc. you just can't help looking so malnourished and unhealthy.

 

Anyways, I'm a super private person when it comes to this, but I appreciate any feedback or advice. Now the juicy bits:

 

Did a procedure at Rahal in November, I am currently 3 months post-op.

Grats- 4068 Hairs - 8295

 

Right now, I know its early, but I can definitely see growth, moreso along the hairline and temples which were really sparse previously. So far, it doesn't really have any cosmetic difference, still very bald unfortunately. I may also want to lower the hairline, if I manage to have enough donor, just a tinge.

 

Wider scar on right side, might be that it healed weird or is just a result of shock loss. Still pretty numb. Hair is about a number 2-3. Hair is curly and coarse. Average donor and laxity. Only front work was done.

 

Been using minoxidil 5%, some of it mixed with Finasteride [dissolved].

 

 

Thanks.

When did you have your surgery? Your description states that you had it in November.

[TheEnd890]

Sorry about that, I filled out the profile half thinking about my next planned surgery, which I was aiming for November 2017. It was in May 2016.

[Rawkerboi]

Can you please elaborate "Been using minoxidil 5%, some of it mixed with Finasteride [dissolved]"

[TheEnd890]

https://www.minoxidilmax.com/products

[jackclain]

it looks good

[TheEnd890]

Hey guys.

 

I'm almost at 6 months, thought I would update.

 

Hoping it will thicken up as I approach the full year, as it is still very sparse in some areas.

 

I will be happy when I can finish up and address the crown area which is a thinning 'streak' and bulk up the front. Was hoping for 3500 more grafts to achieve this, with 2k ish up front. I guess I'll have to see but one more surgery should satisfy.

 

Its hard to play around with the front, it has some thin spots, so im hoping to address that.

 

What do you guys think? Do you think the crown area will be difficult to take care of?

[TheEnd890]

I would like to add, how much more thickness is expected post month 6?

The reason being is that the transplanted area is still really see-through, and I'm curious how much more I would need to have good coverage on the front, as well as finishing the back with moderate coverage.

 

Under any decent light, it looks really patchy and contrasts heavily with my much thicker sides. I'm not really sure where I should focus my efforts with another procedure.

[jackblack71]

I would like to add, how much more thickness is expected post month 6?

The reason being is that the transplanted area is still really see-through, and I'm curious how much more I would need to have good coverage on the front, as well as finishing the back with moderate coverage.

 

Under any decent light, it looks really patchy and contrasts heavily with my much thicker sides. I'm not really sure where I should focus my efforts with another procedure.

 

Dr. Rahal will be able to tell you how many grafts you have left and where to place them. Like me you're a N5 and there is no way we're going to get density with only 4k grafts.

[TheEnd890]

I'm just worried a ton, jackblack.

 

4k grafts on the front with 8k plus hairs, well, I've seen much much better results on other patients. I know it varies, but pound for pound, I should be at an advantage with my hair type.

I see some people get 4k across their entire balding area and have decent coverage with haircounts very similar as well.

 

I'm honestly not sure what to do. I see marginal improvement 6 months and beyond in most, so I'm worried about the future. I don't know if I can accomplish my goals with these kind of results, even with this higher hairline and being a norwood 5a with an established pattern.

 

I do still want coverage and good density in the back, while improving the front, and this was to be my baseline. I'm just extremely anxious and unsure atm and I wouldn't mind maybe some input.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

You are still wayyyy early at 6 months! No need to panic whatsoever at this point.

[TheEnd890]

Just an update.

 

I'm now over a year post-op, and I'm pretty satisfied with what was accomplished. I know I am still not at my goal, but I am looking forward to reaching it. My hair is messy in the pictures, sorry about that.

 

I have scheduled another surgery for January to address mainly the crown and the posterior midscalp, with some touch ups on Zone 1 (hairline area)

 

Rahal post op care was excellent, and I went to talk to him a while back. It was nice having a discussion with him about the current results and what needs work. I have already recommended him to many people who are curious in performing the surgery.

 

I think I pose as a good example on Rahal's work dealing with a high norwood case, as I feel there aren't too many examples on his site. I was pretty much completely bald prior, but fortunate enough to have high caliber hair, a rare hairloss pattern (5A), and a great surgeon. I will keep you guys updated.

[mattj]

Looking good! Definitely an example of how the 6 month mark is too soon to judge the final result.

 

I agree that if you're going to progress past a NW4, the NW5A is a more fortunate pattern. The fact that the crown loss doesn't extend down towards the donor (as it does in a typical NW5 or 6) means that there is more potential to cover the balding area.

 

I hope you keep us updated on round 2.

[TheEnd890]

Thanks Matt.

 

I did kind of rush into the decision to meet a date, so I guess my expectations on growth timings were a bit skewed. 5A doesn't even dip which is nice, it just looks weirder having full coverage in the front and an odd "streak" down the back, which is why I want to deal with it.

 

I don't know if this is common, but I had trouble finding people who are actually 5A patients. A lot of people have midscalp hair and much wider, regular Norwood 5 crowns and are designated as 5A. It's pretty hard to get ideas on procedures with this pattern when I feel its often mislabeled. I think those of us that lose hair in the "A" pattern are pretty rare overall. I can only find maybe a handful of examples of patients with similar hair loss.

[mattj]

The 'A' pattern is definitely less common and seems to advance in a distinct way. I found this diagram below which I found interesting as it shows the pattern as a specific variant.

 

The important thing is that it terminates at a 5A and doesn't seem to go any further.

[PSJohnny]

Wow! TheEnd890, these results look great! I just read the beginning of your story and I too share the exact same problem. I am 29 and am a norwood 5A as well; I also agree that it was the stress of school and life. I am contemplating Dr. Wong to do my first procedure; I dont have a date set though. I'm looking forward to your next ht ! Looks amazing so far.

[TheEnd890]

My next procedure is scheduled for the crown area on January 8th.

 

Will post pictures when I can.

[Goldenboy]

Good luck on the 8th, I'll be right behind you on the 30th!

[mattj]

All the best for your scheduled procedure!

[jcs87]

Hey man congrats on the results so far. Do you have any immediate post-op photos you can share with us so we can see the area that was worked on?

 

Also, would be helpful if we could see the hairline in better lighting. It's pretty dim.

[TheEnd890]

Hey man congrats on the results so far. Do you have any immediate post-op photos you can share with us so we can see the area that was worked on?

 

Also, would be helpful if we could see the hairline in better lighting. It's pretty dim.

 

No, I don't, but it was the frontal 2/3rds. There's still an area of thinness from the crown going to the front half, so it wasn't "finished" and I believe not many grafts were placed there. It's not a big area however, and I believe grafts were placed in the surrounding area.

 

I do plan a second pass in the frontal third in the future.

 

I'm going back to work on my crown and hairline in a week (November 8th). I will try to get better photos for immediate post OP and results (since I will have a much better camera then). As far as the hairline goes, it's medium density and you really don't notice its thin unless you inspect it closely; fully exposed it looks normal from a distance and thinning when face to face. This surgery will bring my density to the 50% mark in the hairline area, so pending those results, I will be sure to get some good shots.

 

Thanks.

[jcs87]

Sounds good man, good luck!