Regular Member ptt60 Posted December 13, 2016 Regular Member Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) Hello, For the past 10-15 years I have experienced a gradual hair loss to a point that last year it became very bothersome. I had almost no hair left on the top of my head as well as on the crown area (see pics blow, perhaps Norwood 5a?). So, about 3 months ago and with some encouragement from my wife, I started researching online for some hair restoration options. At the end of my research, I decided that the only option to pursue would be a FUT hair transplant. I have interviewed two of the most reputable hair transplant surgeons out there (one local and one out of state). I visited both clinics in person, and at the end I have selected Dr. Scott Alexander in Phoenix, Arizona to perform my FUT surgery. I scheduled the procedure for Nov. 30th, 2016. A day before that, my wife and I flew to Arizona, rented a car and drove to the Arizona Biltmore Waldorf Astoria Hotel (~ 2 miles away from the clinic). The stay at this particular hotel was arranged by Dr. Alexander's staff. We woke up early on the morning of the surgery, I took a shower, had a breakfast and headed to Dr. Alexander's clinic. My wife dropped me off at 7:30 am and returned to the hotel. Surgery day started with drawing of the hairline (Dr. Alexander redrew it couple of times until we were both satisfied). I have to admit that I was somewhat worried about the procedure basis all prior reading that I have done. In particular, I was worried about the "painful" anesthesia injections that some patients commented about. Obviously, each person's sensitivity and pain tolerance is different. To my pleasant surprise, the shots were not painful to me. There were more like perfectly tolerable stings. The very first round of shots stung a bit more but once those were done, the second one was nothing :-). I felt perfectly fine. There was no pain whatsoever for the rest of the surgery. Dr. Alexander removed the strip from the donor area and informed me that he should be able to get quite a bit of hair/grafts. Later in the afternoon I was informed that they got 3109 grafts (630 1 hair, 2301 2 hairs and 178 3 hairs). I was quite pleased by the amount of grafts that they were able to harvest. Following the painless incisions on the recipient sites done by Dr. Alexander, three technicians started placing my grafts. Somehow, they managed to work on my head simultaneously! About three hours later they were done. The surgery lasted until about 6:00 pm. Following the surgery, we headed back to the hotel. The next morning when we woke up, I switched my pain medication to a single Tylenol pill. By lunch time I felt that we could fly back home. For the next 3 days post surgery I felt fine and just took a single extra strength Tylenol pill now and then to manage discomfort from the donor area. Overall, I am extremely pleased with the procedure and the excellent job that Dr. Alexander and his staff performed! I think they among the very best at their art. I will update this post with pictures as time passes by. Dr. P. T. Edited December 14, 2016 by ptt60 Title edit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ptt60 Posted December 13, 2016 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) Until 7 Days post-op I was very careful with the grafts and during showering. Almost all scabs and crusts still present -see first picture below. On Day 9 and 10 I spent much longer time (15-20 mins) under the shower. While doing so, I gently massaged the grafts with shampoo and under just the flow of water until scabs and crusts were gone. By the 10 day transplanted hairs have grown in length (see second picture). I am aware that they will shortly fall off and that the long wait for re-growth would begin... Edited December 15, 2016 by ptt60 Text edit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Dr. Scott Alexander MD Posted December 15, 2016 Senior Member Share Posted December 15, 2016 Thank you for sharing your experience with my clinic. It was a pleasure to assist you. Kindly keep us all updated on your progress. Dr. Scott Alexander - Please feel free to visit our website : Dr. Scott Alexander website and online consultation form Dr. Alexander is an elite member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member voxman Posted December 15, 2016 Senior Member Share Posted December 15, 2016 ptt60, Dr. Alexander is a great choice! I think you will be pleased - now the roller coaster ride begins! I'm serious. Just look at my face. My Hair Regimen: Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Slush Posted March 2, 2017 Senior Member Share Posted March 2, 2017 OP, can we get an update please? My HT Journey The FUT surgery experience and results Disguising my FUT Scar Medications and Supplements Supplements: Biotin, MSM 5% Minoxidil Foam Regenepure Shampoo (re-starting 1mo after HT) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ptt60 Posted March 5, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 5, 2017 (edited) At 1 month post-op I lost a lot of the transplanted hairs (see picture). I also discovered that finasteride (I was chopping a 5 mg pellet into 4 pieces and was taking 1x 1.25 mg piece each day) killed my desire for sex. I read quite a bit online about similar experience from others. I am not in my first youth and perhaps this contributed to it. I ended up completely stopping it and instead going to more natural DHT blockers. At the end of the first month, I switched from baby shampoo to Christina Moss Naturals organic shampoo and PuraD'or gold also organic shampoo (it has ~ 15 different DHT blockers and hair stimulating components). In addition, I use 2 times a week Regenepure DR shampoo (which has a low concentration of ketoconazole+caffeine). I also, gradually found a very nice organic conditioner which also has quite few DHT blockers - Laritelle Organic Conditioner "Strong Roots". I also started taking omega 3 + multivitamins specifically geared towards hair loss - "Toji pure density"+ daily doses of zinc picolinate + selenium and other minerals. For the duration of the next month, I started to feel much better, I also begun to see new hairs popping out from where they previously have fallen out and my side effects of finasteride subsided. I must say that I started to feel more optimistic about the outcome of my hair transplant surgery. Edited March 5, 2017 by ptt60 Text edit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ptt60 Posted March 5, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 5, 2017 (edited) At the 3rd month mark post-op I have a lot of new hairs growth at places that I had no hair prior to my HT (see picture). These hairs are mainly in the transplanted front area. I think that my choice of supplementation + hair washing regime might have contributed to rather quick growth. I see a lot of small thin hairs that I think will thicken during the following few months. I am now pretty confident that I will have enough hair in the front 1/2 of the top of my head that will change quite a bit my appearance. Amazingly, I am also seeing small hairs coming out under the transplanted hair line!?! I don't think these hairs were there before. I think perhaps this could be a result of my (quite complex ) daily supplementation regime. I can't wait to see the results after another 1-2 months. In general, I am happy/very optimistic about the outcome. I will report back in the next 1-2 months. Cheers! Edited March 5, 2017 by ptt60 Text edit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ptt60 Posted March 5, 2017 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 5, 2017 Here is the difference between 1 and 3 months post-op Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Slush Posted March 7, 2017 Senior Member Share Posted March 7, 2017 Thank you for the update. Keep growing! My HT Journey The FUT surgery experience and results Disguising my FUT Scar Medications and Supplements Supplements: Biotin, MSM 5% Minoxidil Foam Regenepure Shampoo (re-starting 1mo after HT) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ptt60 Posted September 1, 2018 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 1, 2018 (edited) Hello Forum Members! Long overdue update! Apologies for the very long silence. I have been very busy, but very happy with the outcome of my first 3109 grafts FUT w Dr. Alexander (11/2016). Pictures below are before, 1 month post op (for side-by-side comparison) and after 1 year and 8 months post surgery. I am going back to Dr. Alexander during 3rd week of 9/18 for Part 2 ?: another (hopefully mega) session FUT to cover the crown area. I am hoping that my donor will allow/he will be able to get higher or at least similar number of (mostly 2 hair) grafts to cover the (relatively large) crown area. As you can see, he does a great work. Cheers, Dr. P Edited September 1, 2018 by ptt60 Added picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Steeeve Posted September 1, 2018 Valued Contributor Share Posted September 1, 2018 Wow. Very natural. Excellent coverage! That hairline looks great, too. Dr Alexander’s work never disappoints. Congrats on a successful first HT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member delancey Posted September 1, 2018 Senior Member Share Posted September 1, 2018 This is what it is all about! I am very happy for you. Do you have any photos of the crown (from the back)? I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ptt60 Posted September 1, 2018 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 1, 2018 3 hours ago, delancey said: This is what it is all about! I am very happy for you. Do you have any photos of the crown (from the back)? Thanks very much! Requested picture of crown from the back added to the post above (w the pics). Thanks again! Dr. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member delancey Posted September 1, 2018 Senior Member Share Posted September 1, 2018 Thanks for sharing the additional photo. Best of luck with the second procedure and please do keep us updated. Cheers. I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member whathaveidone Posted September 2, 2018 Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2018 Very nice results so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ptt60 Posted September 30, 2018 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 30, 2018 On 9/1/2018 at 1:47 PM, delancey said: Results from my recent (9/19/2018) 2nd 2520 grafts FUT Transplant w Dr. Alexander can be found here: https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/52275-my-2nd-fut-2520-grafts-transplant-w-dr-scott-alexander-of-arizona/?tab=comments Cheers, Dr. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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