FUE 3000-3500grafts with Dr. Bisanga

[GuyFromTheUK]

On 2/5/2019 at 2:54 PM, Raphael84 said:

I echo the same sentiments as the other guys. Would be great to see some photos of your improvement from 6 months onwards. Any particular reason why you didn't continue with your thread? Or simply wanted to get some headspace from the HT world and enjoy the real world with more hair. I get it. 

Are you going back to Dr Bisanga for round 2? Already have a date in mind?

Sorry I've been really busy with work so have had some downtime.

I'm not sure why I didn't put a proper update on here in the end. Overall I was very happy with round 1; but wanted to sort out the crown and also concerns about the right side...

I've just been back with Bisanga for round 2.

Another 3000 grafts in ONE day

I'll update on here shortly.

[paddyirishman]

Best of luck with round 2. If you could show some pictures please of your frontal hairline before round 2 that would be very helpful. 

Thanks and best of luck.

.........Paddy......

[GuyFromTheUK]

As promised.

Here are my photos at a year (march 2018):

Here are my photos pre-op (march 2019); 2 years (not wet/wet):

 

Looking back it appears that my 1 year photos look better than my 2 year photos; maybe that is because I have lost hair from the midzone? not sure, could be the light or the haircut in question too. 

Nevertheless. Still a massive improvement on what I started with!

[munich]

How many grafts did you get in your second procedure? It looks that you have good donor reserves .. do you know how many? 

[GuyFromTheUK]

6 hours ago, munich said:

How many grafts did you get in your second procedure? It looks that you have good donor reserves .. do you know how many? 

1st procedure: 3380

1 hair: 881

2 hair: 1528

3 hair: 890

4 hair: 81

2nd procedure: 3071

1 hair: 543

2 hair: 1542

3 hair: 826

4 hair: 160

Think most of the 3 & 4s went into the front! on the 2nd procedure

[GuyFromTheUK]

Post op:

Yesterday (1 month post-op)

[GuyFromTheUK]

Just worked out:

13,676 hairs in total for 6451 grafts

Average of 2.12 hairs per graft. Not amazing, but I do have really fine hair

And no, I'm not on any meds besides herbal supplements (biotin and vitamins) and I won't take finasteride (I understand the risk, but at the same time don't want to mess with my body's chemistry as had sides when I tried)

[BaldingBogger]

Hey how is everything looking post round 2 now? 

Looks like you were on track for a nice restoration 

[kondofoni]

Any update?

[Fahri]

I'd be over the moon with that mate, wow. Thanks for sharing, its fantastic step forward, looks fab.

[Guy73]

On 4/11/2019 at 7:55 AM, GuyFromTheUK said:

Just worked out:

13,676 hairs in total for 6451 grafts

Average of 2.12 hairs per graft. Not amazing, but I do have really fine hair

And no, I'm not on any meds besides herbal supplements (biotin and vitamins) and I won't take finasteride (I understand the risk, but at the same time don't want to mess with my body's chemistry as had sides when I tried)

Looks like the first procedure had a lower yield. Do you know how many grafts per sq cm that was on the first and second?? It’s amazing to me how many people don’t know this kind of detail but it does relate to how well your results will be. 

[familia]

Update

[Fahri]

On 4/11/2019 at 12:55 PM, GuyFromTheUK said:

Just worked out:

13,676 hairs in total for 6451 grafts

Average of 2.12 hairs per graft. Not amazing, but I do have really fine hair

And no, I'm not on any meds besides herbal supplements (biotin and vitamins) and I won't take finasteride (I understand the risk, but at the same time don't want to mess with my body's chemistry as had sides when I tried)

This is 100% the route I would take also, and for the same reasons. 

I often wonder if after years of using regaine, how my hair would be without it. Also if I had a procedure, is my current hairline my 'real' and truthful hairline, I say this as if I let my regime slip at any point after a procedure I could (in my mind) end up looking rather unusual with parts thinning out and not in keeping with any newly sculpted areas, if that makes any sense.

[Huncholini]

On 4/11/2019 at 12:20 AM, GuyFromTheUK said:

As promised.

Here are my photos at a year (march 2018):

Here are my photos pre-op (march 2019); 2 years (not wet/wet):

 

Looking back it appears that my 1 year photos look better than my 2 year photos; maybe that is because I have lost hair from the midzone? not sure, could be the light or the haircut in question too. 

Nevertheless. Still a massive improvement on what I started with!

Are these considered good results for 3000 grafts in the frontal area? I've seen others get dense coverage with that number. This looks average at best for 3000. I guess it also depends on the hair characteristics of the patient.

[Melvin- Admin]

Would love to see an update mate. Hope all is well 🙏🏼

[mrmane85]

Any updates please @GuyFromTheUK? 

[GuyFromTheUK]

Sorry for the delay! I guess generally there won't be much news from us when we are happy with the result.

No news: good news and all that.

I notice the comment above saying that I didn't have particularly good coverage considering the grafts taken; fair enough but I have naturally very thin hair and also I haven't been taking any supplements (finasteride) or using any products such as Rogaine. I think if you look at the before and after there is still a significant difference. I've also got to the stage where I don't actually mind too much if it looks a bit thinning on top; at least there isn't a massive bald spot now.

Here is an update of how my hair looks at the moment; obviously waiting for a haircut once the hairdressers all open!

I'm very happy with the results considering. I think I've exhausted all my donor areas now unfortunately so just need to wait until cloning of hairs can occur for touch ups haha.

I also want to add that these experiences with Dr. Bisanga were top class as well as with Hilde!

[Helios]

Great results, huge improvement compared to the beginning. How many grafts were taken total for the two procedures? 

[Huncholini]

Is this a result for 3000 at the front and 3000 in the crown? IMO that result for 3000 grafts in the front is pretty poor, can someone explain why this is a "great result"? There are so many other examples of incredible density and coverage after getting 3000 grafts in the front and middle unlike this one.

Edited April 10, 2021 by Huncholini

[Curious25]

1 hour ago, Huncholini said:

Is this a result for 3000 at the front and 3000 in the crown? IMO that result for 3000 grafts in the front is pretty poor, can someone explain why this is a "great result"? There are so many other examples of incredible density and coverage after getting 3000 grafts in the front and middle unlike this one.

I have to agree here . . And would put this down as a pretty average at best result from Bisanga. 
 

I appreciate the hair characteristics aren’t the strongest, but still would expect to see >6000 grafts do a lot more, especially considering the higher hairline design. A comparative frontal case that comes to mind is @Rolandas. Maybe @Raphael84 could chip in and provide some further perspective? 
 

Anyway, I’m thrilled OP is satisfied as this is ultimately what counts, and I also think he should be able to stretch his donor out further which could get him some nice extra coverage through the thinner vertex areas and thicken up the frontal third a little bit, if ever he chooses to. 
 

Enjoy the longer hairstyle 😊 

[SLA]

Big improvement!

[Raphael84]

Thanks for the tag. It took me a few days to respond as I am not familiar with the patient or the case personally.

I would like to say a big thank you to @GuyFromTheUKfor sharing his photos and his case. You have come a long way from your starting position and it is great to read your posts and to hear that you are happy and you have made quite a transformation. 

From what I understand from this thread, @GuyFromTheUKposted his recent photos and update based on requests from forum users and may not have been inclined to do so otherwise, so thank you for sharing and responding.

This is a real example of how important education is for each patient. Not only in terms of general hair restoration and FUE procedures, but specific empirical data of each patient.
As this is not a thread created by the clinic, I do not want to hijack or takeover the patient´s thread so will try and summarise as efficiently as possible.

A graft count is one data point. It tends to be the "go to" in terms of what may be required to achieve x and this is necessary to be able to provide recommendations, but the reality is that a graft count is only one detail of many influential factors.

By the patients own comments, his "hair is quite thin and head is quite large". Photos do not present scale and grafts are distributed/placed based on hair groupings, density and surface area. 
Hair calibre in terms of thickness can be very influential. If we double the diameter, we quadruple the volume. The illusion of density is achieved by such "volume". This means 3000 grafts from a patient with finer/thinner hair, will achieve a different result than a patient with thicker hair. This is the concern with direct comparisons.

The patient´s first surgery harvested a high count of double hair grafts which contributed towards a lower than average hair count of 2.05 hairs per graft.
An average that we often see detailed with frontal restorations that require a significant amount of single hairs is generally around 2.2 hairs per graft. Based on the 3380 graft count, this represents over 500 hairs less than the average frontal restoration. 500 hairs is a significant difference and this will be relative with the result.

Pre operative photos from 2017 show some finer hairs had been retained, but with a general progressive pattern of a NW 5. Without any regimen of medication being utilised throughout this period, much of this native hair has likely been lost, as the patient mentioned, which would leave essentially only transplanted hair.

Comparing post surgery photos from each session allows us to see the large surface area that was restored. You can see the width of the frontal placement due to having to rebuild and reinforce the lateral humps to ensure that transplanted hair on top remains appropriately connected to that at the sides. This will have utilised several hundred grafts but would not be appreciated or taken into account when looking at the final result in relation to density on top. Many and most frontal restorations do not require placing at such width, and due to having a thinner area, a similar graft count is able to achieve more density.
The distance from hairline to the back of the crown (which can not be completely seen in the photo) is quite a long distance. 

In summary, considering the surface area restored, the calibre of hair and lower hair groupings, growth and the result is inline with the patients hair characteristics. Less grafts would have meant a lower density, and this would have been apparent in the result. 
This really shows the importance of realistic expectations that are aligned with each patient´s donor characteristics and what they bring to the table.

[Britanium]

@Raphael84thanks for the very detailed response. 🙏

[Melvin- Admin]

IMO I think @GuyFromTheUKgot an excellent result. All things considered coverage, density, refinement, all points were addressed well. 

I don’t think it’s fair to compare two different people who have perceived similarities.

Truth be told @GuyFromTheUKwas a Norwood 6. 6,000 grafts is never going to bring back a full head of hair on. Norwood 6. No matter what. 

 

[SLA]

I think these results are quite good considering everything- thin-straight hair, no meds and large head. Scalp is appropriately covered, slight see through in places although light hair on light scalp makes less noticeable.

A dash of fibers, a little SMP and would look super dense!

Also remember that in 'real life' no one is inspecting a head with chin down to chest. To someone not in the HT community, this would appear to be a full head of hair...I think.