Thinking of getting FUT -- Looking for Advice please

[bbreal]

Hi,

 

I recently consulted Dr Arocha in Houston Texas. Last year I noticed one of my temples was thinning and I immediately started Propecia. I believe that it has stabilized my hair loss. However one of my temples still needs filling and the front of my hair is slightly thin too. I'm not even sure I would be called a NW1 yet, my other temple is pretty perfect. My full hairline has probably receded half an inch since my tennage years, however it is enough to bother me. Dr Arocha suggested 1000 grafts to bring the hair line down and also thicken up what I have. He assured me that a week off from work would be enough for me to heal and for no one to notice. Does that sound plausible? I will be doing an FUT procedure. He also recommended I do PCP at the same time to speed up the regrowth. Is that a good idea? Also what is everyone's opinion of Dr Arocha, I have a really hard time finding anything negative said about him, and he actually made a really good impression on me. He told me if I go in on a Friday, then have the following week off of work, by the next Monday it would not be noticeable, also I would not have to shave my head which was what was bothering me with FUE. Is 10 days really enough for the surgery to not be noticeable AT ALL???

 

Thanks a lot

Any Feedback would be amazing!

[home1212]

you need to consider several things if you are going the FUT route. If you are not shaving the recipient area, and the doctor will be creating slits for recipient grafts in between existing hairs, that existing hair & surrounding area may be subject to shock loss. In addition, your donor area in the back may be subject to shock loss around the incision site, in other words above and below the suture line. You will need to camouflage your FUT scar well enough with existing hair on the back of your head, therefore you would need to let it grow out before your procedure. Depending on the type of sutures the doctor uses (ie. staples sometimes) - those don't come out for 10 days! therefore I can't see how you could be back to work as if you've had nothing done in a week.

 

I had FUE surgery and had my entire head shaved, I took 2 weeks vacation and 2 weeks work from home - and even after 4 weeks, when I went back to work it was noticeable that I did something to my head! shortness of hair, redness both in recipient & donor sites, etc.

 

Good luck to you.

[bbreal]

Thank you so much for your response. The doctor assured me that after 10 days it would not be noticeable any more. I might try to take 2 weeks off to be on the safe side. What do you guys think of PCP to accelerate regrowth? Also how common is shock loss? And what is everyone's experience with FUT without shaving? And are there any of Arocha's patients out there who could give me some advice?

 

Thanks so much!

[ArochaHair]

Hello BBReal,

 

Dr. Arocha is taking a very small strip to obtain the grafts you and he discussed so any issues regarding shock loss in the donor zone is extremely unlikely. Donor shock occurs for two main reasons:

 

1. The donor strip is taken too wide. Normally, cases you see online of donor shock from FUT involve donor strips that have tissue removed that is 2cm or more in width and in many of these shock cases the loss is around the back and slightly to either side of the donor zone. This area is typically the tightest and if the strip is not narrowed properly to compensate then the tension created will temporarily reduce the blood flow to this region.

 

2. Peripheral transection from sloppy strip excision. If the doctor is not careful he or she will transect the hairs along the incision line and these hairs can be temporarily, or even permanently shocked.

 

Recipient shock is also a potential issue but, again, this is a small procedure so the potential for shock loss is quite low. If you do experience shock it would be minor but it would not make it look like you had a procedure. It would, at worst, just look thinner but only temporarily. Dr. Arocha is extremely experienced with performing procedures in areas of existing native hair and he does so without having bad cases of shock loss. Your donor hair will be long enough to cover the sutures until they come out and your recipient area will back relatively back to normal quickly because of your native hair hiding the work. Any areas that are more visible will have, at worst, a pinkish hue a week after your procedure. In other words, in one week your overall appearance will only be slightly different and that is if someone were to be overly critical. You can take two weeks off if you wish to be thorough but we do not feel it is necessary for you. It's your choice however so if that makes you feel better, and you can swing it with your work, then there's nothing wrong with it.

 

You are also welcome to call the clinic on Monday. We might be able to put you in touch with some past patients and they can tell you about their own experiences.