My Transplant with Christian Bisanga

[Skye]

This site really helped me when i used to visit in stealth mode looking at people's storys, blogs, experience and helped me make decisions.

 

I dont fit a box really but will try !!

I am a transgendered male to female but what is regarded as non-op.

I have been taking finasteride for nearly 20 years so used to pay very high prices.

I started to recede in my 20's and was determined to hang on to what i had. I did too.

 

I also take estrogen so have a very low level of testosterone, im in the high end female range of 4 nmol/L. As a comparison guys are usually about 21 nmol/L at my age.

So DHT probabilities are reduced.

But honestly i would not recommend this course of action to you guys unless you want boobs .

 

The way i wear my hairline is with a fringe. I could get away with no transplant but i wanted options and of course a feminine hairline. I consulted with the BHR clinic in Belgium and Farjo Clinic in the UK. I opted for Belgium and Dr Bisanga.

 

I will post some pics showing what my hair looked like before the procedure, some during and after with the 'captain Jack Sparrow' bandana !!

I wanted some scar work covered from a different non hair procedure. The thin growth of hairline was shaved before the procedure to really get as close to my thinker hair growth as possible.

I opted for FUT as there was no way my head was being shaved. Dr Bisanga assured me the result is no different whichever way the donor site releases the hair.

 

My treatment

FUT 2647 Grafts

500 1's - 1349 2's - 667 3's and 131 4's.

 

Cost 3 Euro for the first 2000 Grafts and 2 Euro thereafter.

 

I had this booked for six months and would have been a a thousand pounds cheaper if i paid in advance due to the Euro\Brexit crash but at least i paid a good deposit.

[Schiller]

Nice posting. Could you clarify what you mean by in the following? I can see the shaved part, but I don't understand the reason that you give.

 

You Wrote: The thin growth of hairline was shaved before the procedure to really get as close to my thinker hair growth as possible.

 

Thanks.

[Skye]

Hey

 

The first two pictures show my hair before the procedure.

You can see some wispy hair though the pictures are not great and the hair close

to the widows peak.

My hair was shaved to create the thin rectangle you see in the transplanted pictures.

 

This may be standard, to be honest im unsure. I was warned of shock lose but i wanted the transplanted hair to be next to my thicker hair. Does that make sense ?

As i said may be normal for them to do..

[Skye]

Hey HLS2015

 

I know, its such a wait but hopefully a worthwhile one .

 

I did not consider FUE as i did not want my hair shaved. I was prepared to put up with the discomfort of the scar. To be honest, now day 4 the scar looks fine and apart for some sleeping difficulties with one of those neck pillows all is good. Both clinics Farjo and BHR recommended FUT due to my hair and both said results would be the same. It would take 18 months / 2 years to get the hair length back, i was not prepared to do that. I have not had any pain at all, even on the first day too but i am a little swollen today round the eyes.

 

Its an unknown with my hair i guess ! But my dad and brother both lost most of their hair by the time they were forty. I will always take 1mg of fin. The estrogen came in to late really to make a great difference but if the worst happens i still have donor area left.

[Skye]

2 week Update.

 

I had the stitches out on Friday. The nurse said it was really good work and the scar will be very tight and neat.

 

I have been using the Aqua Saline Spray supplied by Dr Bisanga every 2 hours and the iodine and Keratin spray and shampoo's. The scabs are crusting and falling out.

 

I did experiance some swelling between about day 4 and 5 post op. It did not bother me and did not last long.

 

So the first 2 photo's are the swelling after 5 days and the graft area today are the other 2 photo's at 2 weeks.

[rev333]

Great hairline shape!

 

Looks like a winner, Congratulations!

[Skye]

Ok so far i am not expecting so much but i have attached some pictures after one after 1 month and three after 2 months.

 

The hair appears to be growing more but im unsure if this is all new hair or because an area was shaved so the hair is coming back through.

Guess unless you look every day its difficult to access but i also think not all hairs fell out.

Maybe more could still shed, im a little unsure if that happens at 8 weeks. !!

[Spanker]

2 months is generally the low point. It's up hill from here.

[Skye]

Just a quick update at 3 months, at the moment i am happy with what i see.

 

I know, its a time thing

[ndubya]

That's looking really good at just three months. It should really kick into gear now.

Should get better and better from here on out.

Congrats and happy growing

[Skye]

So now i am at about 4 1/2 months and the hairline is starting to look how i would like.

One side is slightly thicker than the other and im not concerned at this time. The hair on one side

seemed to not fall out as much as the other side !!

 

I do have a small lump though that has developed and there is no hair in that area.

I would be interested to hear if others have experienced anything like this ?

I have contacted the clinic and they said they would see me at the six month point but that of course means a trip to Belgium...

[Schiller]

I can't comment on the lump, but the growth for only 4.5 months seems great to me.

[home1212]

i'd go to your general physician to have that checked out, possibly irritation or an infection due to grafts trying to grow through the skin, I experienced occasional pimple activity, which may be similar, and was told to use an antibiotic creme to relieve them, and it did the job, best to get it checked out by a doctor.. good luck

[Skye]

i'd go to your general physician to have that checked out, possibly irritation or an infection due to grafts trying to grow through the skin, I experienced occasional pimple activity, which may be similar, and was told to use an antibiotic creme to relieve them, and it did the job, best to get it checked out by a doctor.. good luck

 

Thanks i think a visit is on the cards and seems like the sensible option.

I was thinking maybe an infection from an ingrowing hair.

[Skye]

I have not updated for a couple of months so i wanted to show you the progress i have made.

 

I am very happy with the work which was done 9 months ago. If i am being critical my left side is fuller and thicker. It is hard to detect where my real hair is and the transplanted hair meet. My right side is less full and there is a slight space (if you examine closely) between the hair and transplant. But this is minimal and cannot be seen unless you actually pull the hair apart.

I did have more problems on my right side with lumps and pimples so this could be a factor. I was warned that due to scar tissue there could be ares where the hair does not fully take due to the lesser blood supply near scar tissue.

 

Nonetheless is my follow up consultation two weeks ago i mentioned this to Dr Bisanga and he offered 300 grafts to complete free. .

That was very kind and not expected. I can take his offer when i like so will wait a year. I simply have to contact him when i am ready.

 

Overall i am very pleased. My hairline has been feminised which was my wish and it has made a great difference to me in my transition process.

 

Very happy.

[home1212]

Looks fantastic! Very happy for you.. picking a top doc always increases the chances you'll have a great result. Congrats and enjoy!

[Hairhope4ever]

Skye,

 

Really great post. Thank you so much for sharing.

 

I've heard nothing but great reviews about Dr. Bisanga, and your results thus far can attest to that.

 

Best of luck going forward, and keep us posted with your developments.

 

 

 

 

About my hair loss journey:

 

 

 

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