2,500 FUE grafts with Dr. Cooley (11/27/17)

[buzzbee]

Had a great experience with Dr. Cooley. I was in conversation with their office for months and scheduled my 2,500 FUE procedure with PRP/ACell on 11/27/17.

 

Prior to the procedure, Dr. Cooley and I discussed my goals and where I wanted my hairline to be and we were in agreement on that. I was not going for an unrealistic hairline, just a reinforced one that filled in empty spots. He then took a series of photos and then shaved the back and sides of my head to do the extraction. He left the top unshaved which is good as it helps disguise the grafts and then went to work.

 

Post Op Care

The one issue I ran into day 1 post op was I woke up with some blood on my graft area which freaked me out. I've been sleeping with a neck pillow and spent the first few nights sleeping on a chair, with a surgeon's cap on, so not sure what happened. I called Dr. Cooley right away and I was able to come in that morning and his assistant fixed the issue and did a cleaning. He took a look at it as well and saw it was fine, which was a big relief.

 

I stayed 2 more days and they were kind enough to do cleanings each of those days, which was great as I was super nervous about doing that myself. Dr. Cooley took professional photos pre-op, post-op and 3 days later and gave me a CD with them.

 

They gave me a big spray bottle which includes saline and basically helps heal the grafts/scalp and instructed me to spray every hour while awake and every 2 hours while asleep. Today is day 7 and I've been continuing that process although not as frequently. I've noticed for some folks that their grafts crust up in a few days and mine still haven't, which they say is a good thing.

 

I have washed daily with the conditioner they provided which has copper peptides. I read that a lot of people also use baby shampoo which I might do.

 

I also am taking the Help Hair Protein shake his office recommends and continuing propecia.

 

I sent their office some photos from today and they said it looked good.

The one minor thing is the back of my head where all the FUE grafts were extracted started to become pretty uncomfortable on day 3, which was weird that it took so long and was basically throbbing daily and a bit hard to sleep on until day 7. Tylenol helped a bit, but not much. Thankfully I took 2 weeks of vacation so I could deal with all this. I read some folks use aloe vera on the donor area. Not sure if it's worth doing at this point.

 

Final Thoughts

So overall I'm very pleased with my experience with Dr. Cooley and his staff. He's very friendly and professional as is his staff.

 

I've been a regular on this forum for a few years and finally got the procedure done. I did a ton of research before I went with Dr. Cooley and he fit what I was looking for. He has many years of experience and is almost unanimously praised on this forum. His photo and video results are great as well. I like that he's also on the cutting edge of PRP and ACell.

 

I know it's early days, but I'm pretty satisfied. Can't wait until 3-4 months when the hair starts to grow. But just trying to get to the 10 day point where the grafts become secure then I can start to sleep more normally and not wear button shirts every day.

 

Photo link is below. I'm going to try to update monthly until a year. Feel free to ask any questions.

Edited December 6, 2017 by buzzbee
Clarity and length

[mikeyhwk]

keep the updates coming over the months, we don't get to see enough Cooley fue works. Everything looks great so far!

[buzzbee]

Photos are from pre op and 7 days post op. (These photos and more are all on My Hair Loss Website in my signature below)

 

Thoughts? What type of growth should I expect and does the density of the new grafts look like it should create a full hairline?

 

Also, I'm now on day 8 post op and no crusting whatsoever due to the saline spray. When should I expect crusting?

Edited December 6, 2017 by buzzbee

[Pete-from-Farjo]

The work looks really good. Would be useful to see an immediate post op pic to show the exact graft placement, but from the looks of things, you should have a nice new hairline in a few months time.

[buzzbee]

Thanks. I've attached post op photos. Please note these photos are all on My Hair Loss Website which I plan to update regularly.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Buzzbee,

 

Thanks for sharing your hair transplant experience with Dr. Cooley. As usual, his work looks great. I am confident you will end up with a spectacular result. I also encourage you to create a free hair loss patient website which is the best way to document your progress month to month. You can then post a link in your forum signature. Click here for instructions.

 

I look forward to following your progress :-).

 

Bill

[buzzbee]

Thanks Bill! I'm really looking forward to my hair growth. I have created a hair loss website as you mentioned and it's in my signature, which I plan to update regularly.

[Dolph1969]

Lovely, neat work. Going to be good in 7 months time or so. Get ready for the shed and the long wait.....

[buzzbee]

Thanks everyone! It's day 9 post op and still no crusting or scabbing due to my frequent spraying of the grafts. (See attached photos. Whiteness is due to having just shampooed) I have at least 2 weeks worth of spray left and Dr. Cooley said to keep using it until it's gone.

 

Will the scabbing/crusting happen when I'm finished spraying? Also is that when I should expect the grafts to fall out?

[buzzbee]

Day 10. No changes. Still no crusting/scabbing. Thoughts?

[UKLad81]

Hey Buzzbee, hows things going? You recovering well?

[buzzbee]

Hey Buzzbee, hows things going? You recovering well?

 

I'm doing great UKLad81. How are you and how did the procedure go?

 

I'm exactly 14 days Post Op, which is amazing how time flies and the first 7 days were the toughest. Definitely be vigilant during those days and by day 10 the grafts are supposed to be anchored in, so you can relax a bit. I'm still using the post op spray, but not as frequently. I would strongly recommend spraying it hourly (as Cooley recommends) as I never had any scabs or crusting.

[UKLad81]

That's great to hear mate!! Like yours the procedure went very well, Cooley and his team did a fantastic job and worked meticulously through the 13.5 hrs i was there. Really impressed with how things are already healing and how pain free things are! I should have some photos and my thread (which is awaiting publishing) up in the forthcoming days!!

 

I've been religiously spraying the ATP solution at the required times. I'd rather lose sleep then not follow the post op instructions! Overall a great experience!!

[buzzbee]

Sounds great! Yeah I hear you. I had 24 hourly alarms on my phone and although I'll admit it was tiresome to get up every hour to spray (every 2 when I was sleeping) based on my results I think the ATP spray works wonders. I also had PRP + ACell and have been taking the Help Hair protein every day as well as propecia, so I'm sure all of that contributes to a nice outcome.

 

Looking forward to seeing your pics!

[JoFu]

Looks good

[buzzbee]

Thanks!

[UKLad81]

Buzzbee this looks great!! I wouldn't even shave it if i were you. Kind of looks pretty 'artistic'.

 

Question for you, when you did your own washes did you have any white'ish areas?

And how long after your procedure were you able to stand under a shower and shampoo as you would've done prior to the procedure!

[buzzbee]

Thanks UKLad81! Yeah I'm going to wait at least another month if not 2-3+ months before shaving my head (if I even decide to) and even then with a 3-5 guard, so nothing skin deep. Basically I'm taking a super conservative approach to everything.

 

I do get the white look on the grafted areas after a shampoo. I was thrown off by that at first but read it is normal. Once my scalp dries it goes away.

 

As far as showering, I was told by Cooley that after 7 days I could go back to the normal showering of my hair, but in being super conservative, I'm still using a cup to wash my hair and I'm 18 days post-op. I really don't mind it as it only adds a few minutes.

 

Also still spraying but now only 4-6x a day. I'm still even wearing button shirts every day, although with it being winter I want to start wearing sweaters, etc. I know my grafts are safely anchored in at this point, but after years of waiting for this dream procedure, heck I can wait it out:)

 

How's everything going on your end? Any pictures?

Edited December 17, 2017 by buzzbee
Clarity and length

[UKLad81]

Thanks UKLad81! Yeah I'm going to wait at least another month if not 2-3+ months before shaving my head (if I even decide to) and even then with a 3-5 guard, so nothing skin deep. Basically I'm taking a super conservative approach to everything.

 

I do get the white look on the grafted areas after a shampoo. I was thrown off by that at first but read it is normal. Once my scalp dries it goes away.

 

As far as showering, I was told by Cooley that after 7 days I could go back to the normal showering of my hair, but in being super conservative, I'm still using a cup to wash my hair and I'm 18 days post-op. I really don't mind it as it only adds a few minutes.

 

Also still spraying but now only 4-6x a day. I'm still even wearing button shirts every day, although with it being winter I want to start wearing sweaters, etc. I know my grafts are safely anchored in at this point, but after years of waiting for this dream procedure, heck I can wait it out:)

 

How's everything going on your end? Any pictures?

 

That's right i did my first hair wash myself today (last week has been done by the clinic) and noticed the white areas. They did disappear once the scalp dried. Just to be sure I shot an email to Cooley and immediately replied saying 'nothing to worry about'. What a legend!

 

Wow you are being very careful and good for you! I'm probably going to do the same as well, well at least for another week or so. I'd rather be safer than sorry.

 

I'm healing pretty well. Heading back to cold London tomorrow after a week in Charlotte.

You can see my thread in my signature. Appreciate any comments / feedback!

[buzzbee]

Checked out your thread and left a comment. Looking good! Can't wait to see our respective results in the coming months!

 

BTW, I noticed you didn't have any crusting/scabbing in your graft area in your photos. Is that right?

[UKLad81]

Nope no crusting or scabbing whatsoever. The only thing i did have was some white'ish areas after washing which Cooley advised was dead skin. He's asked me to rub these a little harder while in the shower. I did that today and needless to say I was so nervous i might lose some grafts but nothing. I guess being Day 9 post op they probably are in place now.

[buzzbee]

Not much changed. Still being very conservative with post op care. Hoping to cut my hair soon, but probably will wait a little while.

[HTREGRETS]

Looks amazing buzzbee! I'm about a month after you with Dr. Cooley. Unfortunately, I had to do FUT due to repairing a previous strip procedure from years ago. I'm definitely interested in seeing larger FUE cases from Cooley has that is what I plan to do moving forward.

 

With the amount of grafts and your level of hair loss, you should be in for a home run result! All the best with healing and growth!

[buzzbee]

Thanks HTREGRETS! Year Dr. Cooley is great. Best of luck with your healing and growth as well!

[buzzbee]

Looks like I'm starting to shed in patches. I've been sleeping with a cloth surgical cap every night to protect from scratching, etc and wearing a neck pillow to prevent from rolling over. Still spraying my grafts daily and taking Help Hair protein and Fin daily, so I'm pretty satisfied with my post op care.

 

Thoughts on photos/progress?