HT with Dr. Tejinder Bhatti, 848 grafts - 30th october 2016

[Hairhoho]

The problem :

I am 26, Indian male, went through a hair straightening process 6 years ago, and have been losing hair since then, baldness is also in my genes, so can't escape it, hairline had receded an inch and there is some diffused hair loss in the frontal area(visible in photos), rest hair is kind of coarse, coarse enough to cover most of the head, they even cover the receded hairline to the extent such that my baldness is not very recognizable as of now, but i can't style them backward and lately the hair had become quite thin in the front, my baldness would be pretty evident within a few months. I had been really concerned about it, in fact it had been the major worries of my life lately.

Previous experience :

 

I went through an HT in Bangalore at Dr.Venkat Charmalaya's 6 months ago, but it was a complete waste of time and money, it did not yield any growth at all. That decision was taken without much research and i regret it till date, it was a waste of 800 good grafts.

 

Another chance - Search for the surgeon :

 

A month ago i decided to take another shot at it. Like all HT aspirants, my journey till the procedure was filled up with a lot of emotional turbulence, if you have been through the process you would know how difficult it is to choose a surgeon on whom you can trust and get it done, specifically with 1 bad experience in kitty. I shortlisted few doctors in India, having an HT offshore was not an option due to financial reasons, my research was primarily Internet based, and HTN helped a great deal with that.

I decided to visit all shortlisted doctors a month before when i wanted to fix the date, i went to Delhi, Ludhiana and Chandigarh. I met Dr.Bhatti in Chandigarh, and was impressed by the fact that he unlike other doctors specialized only in FUE, did not move around to other Indian cities for procedures, his clinic was not a pitstop for varied cosmetic surgeries, which indicated exclusive focus on HT, i also liked the fact of him having an educational background from AFMC, though this one is not very relevant.

His prominent presence on the Internet, feed backs on this forum and proactive reactions to a few unhappy patients were also instrumental to my decision of choosing him.

 

I also met a few patients at his clinic who just had an HT, they seemed very satisfied and told me how they came to him through references of their friends, which removed any doubt i had, i had narrowed down to the best doctor available in India.

Consultation :

 

During the consultation he drew a hairline and told me 800 grafts would be enough, i did not have many questions as i was well acquainted with the procedure. I though felt a lack of personal connection a doctor should forge with his patient.

 

I did not care much for the part of clinic's intense marketing around transplant's of celebrities, but drew conclusions from the factors mentioned above.

 

Multiple mails were exchanged, mostly about dates and my expectations with the HT, and that was a stressful time, as my previous bad experience resonated in my mind, finally 30th September was fixed for the transplant.

Taking the plunge :

 

After many restless nights thinking about different negative notions around "Shock loss", ending up with lesser hair after HT, trimming down my hair, how would i proceed with my professional life with shaved head and what if "no-growth", i reached chandigarh, a day before the procedure was the counselling day, what i liked is that unlike the consultation day, Dr. Bhatti actually told me "he is no hurry with things" regarding deciding my hairline and explaining the process to me, such communication held a lot of weight in Psyche of a patient, and induces a lot of confidence, he was courteous enough to answer a ton of my questions.

 

I met couple of patients same day, they looked quite satisfied, ended up being friends with few of them.

The HT experience :

 

HT was scheduled at 9 AM next day, a driver was arranged by Dr.bhatti, to pick me up, His team took my case by around at 10, there were clear instructions on everything, they washed my head, Dr. Bhatti personally shaved bit of my head from the back, i would say "no shave technique" would only work if you have really long thick hair at the back. The frontal area was also shaved, rest of the hair were pinned back as they were of decent length, and i am quite sure they would even cover the transplanted area, once i remove the pins in couple of days. As of the back of the head i would go ahead with short cropped hair once there is some growth in the donor hair, getting rid of my longer hair. I intend to wear the bandana they gave me for 3 weeks and finally wear hair, short cropped in sides and back and little longer in front, such that the transplanted area is covered, btw "bandana they gave is awesome", its light and airy, so i have no issues with the heat.

 

The team is quite efficient at what they do and very particular about the details, i was scolded multiple times, as i tried to touch my head after it was shaved. The procedure started, harvesting was done by Dr.Bhatti personally, the part where holes are drilled around the grafts, though they were taken out by his assistants, it took about an hour, took a break consumed biscuits and juice in between, and then Dr. bhatti made the slits, and his assistants put them in, the ownership of the process was exactly as i was told about. We did joke about a few things during the process and it was completely painless. The whole process was done by 2 PM, overall it took 3-4 hours.

 

I had earlier discussed with Dr.Bhatti that i was quite active on HTN, what gave me massive confidence that he asked if i could share my experience on the web, that displayed the degree of confidence he has on his work, i would have anyways loved to do it, i also added that i would love to refer him lot of my friends if i had great results, i joked about being his bangalore representative.

 

I was given clear post op instructions, well explained and well documented, everything was very structured, and kudos to his staff for being courteous, supportive and concerned.

 

Today is the third day after operation, there is minor swelling on the forehead, donor hair has some redness and clotted patches, recipient area has blackish reddish bulbs as hair grafts, with little hair sprouting of those, please find all photos attached. I will keep posting my progress and would love to have feedback from you guys.

 

As of now feeling great about the overall experience.

 

Graft count : 848 total, 293 singles, 358 doubles, 197 triples.

Edited October 2, 2016 by Hairhoho

[Shera]

Hi Hairhoho,

 

Great detailed write-up. It certainly looks like you learnt from your first procedure and left no stone unturned this time around.

 

Again, congratulations on your hair transplant with Dr Bhatti, I am personally looking forward to seeing you progress.

 

I'm glad you feel great about the overall experience, I know the feeling only too well.

[TakingThePlunge]

Thanks for sharing your hair transplant experience! I know from experience that Dr. Bhatti does excellent work and yours appears to be no exception. I'm sure you'll be very happy when it matures.

 

Keep us posted on your progress.

[Hairhoho]

Hi,

 

Week 1 update

 

Donor area : Little pain and irritation, minimal. When in contact with pillow, no redness. Applying aloe vera daily.

 

Recipient : No shedding no scabs yet. Quite numb with little pain. Daily cleaning this gently.

 

Started Finasteride again 1 mg, and follihair, which contains 10 mg biotin, vitamins and other essential hair nutrients. Also included flaxseed and fish oil capsules(omega 3 fatty acids) in diet, planning on restarting on gyming regime in couple of days.

 

Comments, queries and feedback are welcome.

 

Regards,

[Vainism]

Don't you think that 800 grafts isn't enough to cover a good density? or did u want it to be thin, and natural look for your hairline? The spacing is quite far apart, but has bhatti done that for a reason? Or was it a money issue as to why you didn't go ahead with more?

[Hairhoho]

Money was never a problem, i told him to pack as densely as possible, frankly the spacing looks a bit apart, and density does not seem great, specially in the front part.

 

I am not sure why grafts were not placed more closely if it was possible ?

 

Bill/Gill/Shera - Any comments on density ?

[Vainism]

You have beautiful and thick hair originally, i don't see why he wouldn't compact your hairline?

 

To be quite honest, i think you may have to fill it in in the future....

 

David is there a reason as to why he went so conservative with this patients hairline?

[akdjrd]

I know Dr Bhatti get's you good results but I have questions on the density too? Any specific reason why grafts are not as densely packed as some of the other coalition member doctor does?

 

Also, I have seen at the hairline is generally not that soft? But overall, his transaction rate is good.

 

Any senior memners would like to comment on this?

 

Thank you!

[vik757]

Money was never a problem, i told him to pack as densely as possible, frankly the spacing looks a bit apart, and density does not seem great, specially in the front part.

 

I am not sure why grafts were not placed more closely if it was possible ?

 

Bill/Gill/Shera - Any comments on density ?

 

Hi Hairhoho,

 

Did you check with Dr. how many grafts are implanted per/sqcm.

 

Cheers

V

[akdjrd]

Could you post updated picture? Would like to see your progress.

[Dr Tejinder Bhatti]

Thank you everyone for your comments. Unfortunately the photos do not tell the entire story. The patient had existing hair so the new hair placed is supposed to add to the existing hair, not supplant it.

 

To clarify what was discussed, we talked about placing as many grafts as the recipient zone would permit, not as many as I could place. Those are two separate issues. In fact, the patient suggested the 800 graft estimate to which I agreed was sufficient to meet the final goal. In addition, the donor zone was surprisingly thin due to the previous procedure so there was a question of balance considered with the approach.

 

Mr. Hairhoho,

 

You have my contact information so I encourage you to contact me when you have concerns. You know I have an open door policy for all of my patients:)

[Hairhoho]

Hi all,

 

Sorry for delayed update.

 

Donor area is completely healthy.

 

30-40% hair have continued to grow (estimation), as you guys have also expressed concerns regarding density, i can feel the recipient area does have quite low density(as of now, which is understandable), not sure whether hair in that area have shed as they are supposed to or (if yes, it should be dense in case of full growth), most have been growing(in that case it would give me low density, if what i see now would be what i get).

 

Also posted a recent pic of my normal hairstyle, which is able to cover the recipient area completely. Keeping fingers crossed, even average density should be able to give me good coverage for now.

 

Also posted a 25 day pic, density looks better in that, right ?

 

Thanks Dr.Bhatti !! your reply means a lot to me, would only judge this post 7-9 months.

 

Also it is great to have prompt replies from you on all matters over email.

Edited November 26, 2016 by Hairhoho

[BennyB]

Any update to this hairhoho ?