1700 FUE with Dr. Konior

[Justin77]

Hello everyone,

 

Today is the 2 month anniversary of my 1700 FUE with Dr. Konior on October 19th. I've been a long time lurker of these forums and not much of a participant, but I've been researching hair transplants for years ever since I started to lose my hair back when I was about 20 years old. This year, I finally decided to pull the trigger.

 

Background

 

I first started losing my hair at age 20. This was very stressful and a huge hit to my self confidence, and I started doing everything I could to combat the loss. Unfortunately I had read far too much about negative side effects from Propecia and did not start it right away (huge mistake that I still regret). Instead, I used methods with very low effectiveness such as the laser comb and Nioxin.

 

4 years later, with my hair loss getting worse, I finally decided to see a dermatologist to talk about Propecia and he greatly eased my concerns about the drug. Told me that the vast majority of his patients have zero side effects, and that I should start immediately. I ordered generic finasteride online and started it right away along with Rogaine foam and 2x / week Nizoral. Within just a month, I noticed tons of new hairs coming back. A year later, I recovered more than 50% of what I lost, and at the time I was ecstatic.

 

Since then, my hair loss has remained mostly stable, and I honestly can't tell if I've lost any more hair over the past 10 years. But I was still very much bothered by having a see-through hairline, and because of a bald spot in the front center of my head that never recovered, I always had to comb my hair to the center as a mini combover to cover the loss (pic below).

 

Choosing Dr. Konior

 

Like I said, I've been on this forum for years, and I have not seen a single bad result from Dr. Konior, or any unhappy patients. Also, I had emailed Dr. Konior 4 years ago for a virtual consultation, and he was by far the most communicative and thorough in his responses to me. I had also considered Dr. Erdogan, Dr. Bisanga, Dr. Dorin, and Dr. Wesley.

 

This year, I decided it was time book a procedure. I had the money saved up and I was completely ready to go.

 

Dr. Konior had been concerned about the quality of my donor area in the initial consultation via email. I had taken photos in very bright light and in the photos my donor area looked sparse. To make sure this wasn't an issue, I took a day trip to Chicago just to meet with Dr. Konior and have a proper in-person consultation earlier this summer. I was told that I was a good candidate and that I would need somewhere between 1000-2000 grafts to recreate the hairline and densify the frontal region.

 

During this consultation, my decision to go with Dr. Konior was solidified. He was direct, upfront, extremely knowledgeable, and very detail-oriented. If I had to choose one word to describe him, I would say "perfectionist".

 

I was originally booked for May 2019, but luckily a cancelation came up and I was able to get a spot for much earlier.

 

The Day Of The Operation

 

Long story short, having an operation with Dr. Konior and his staff was honestly the best medical experience I've ever had. Everyone was so professional, meticulous, and kind throughout the whole day - and for the 2 days of follow-up - that I was completely blown away.

 

I won't get into all of the details (unless anybody has specific questions) but one thing that immediately impressed me was that Dr. Konior must have spent an hour just drawing and redesigning my hairline until he thought it was absolutely perfect. Like I said, perfectionist. I sat there still and quiet just letting the master do his work. When I finally got a mirror and was able to see the line he drew, I was thrilled. It was EXACTLY what I wanted, a slightly lower hairline, drawn naturally, with a bit filled in at the temples.

 

It was a very, very long day. I arrived at the office at 6am and I didn't get back to the Comfort Suites hotel until around 10:30pm. It was virtually pain free and even the numbing injections didn't really bother me. The hardest part was having to sit still for long periods of time, as it was tough to find a comfortable position. After some trial and error, I figured out what worked for me and the rest was pretty easy.

 

The First 2 Months

 

Aside from the embarrassment of walking through the airport looking like a mutant, and constantly worrying about hitting my head on something, the first couple weeks of post-op care was pretty easy overall. Dr. Konior's instructions were very well laid out and I didn't really have any issues aside from some general anxiety about losing / damaging grafts.

 

The one thing that is more difficult than I anticipated, even after being a member of this forum for years, is the ugly duckling phase. Most of the grafts shed by Week 3 and I also had some shock loss in the recipient area, leaving me with a very awkward, uneven look which you can see in my photos. I've been in hiding from most of my friends for the last couple months and only now starting to feel more confident going out to social events, even though my hair looks worse than ever.

 

Other than that, I'm patiently waiting for the growth to start. I think I've already seen some sprouts here and there, but nothing substantial at all, and of course it's far too early for that anyway. I'm just happy that at this point, since my native hair is getting longer each week, I'm looking less like a freak and more like a guy with bad frontal loss.

 

Photos

 

This is what I know most people want to see, and I've been taking photos regularly since the operation to keep track of my progress.

 

The photos are presented in the following order:

 

- Pre-op dry

- Pre-op wet

- Pre-op in sunlight

- Pre-op at an angle

- Pre-op combover

- Night of operation

- Day 1

- Day 1 donor area

- Week 1

- Week 2

- Week 3 (notice the shedding!)

- Week 4

- Week 4 donor (very happy with how undetectable this looks at this length)

- Month 2

 

In my last pic, the one from today, the whole top of my head was trimmed by my barber to try to even it out and match it with the thinness in the front of my head. Normally that area looks a lot thicker.

 

Well, that's all for now! Special thanks to everyone on this forum, but particularly guys like Spanker, 1978matt, and Reyes1 who posted extensively about their experiences with Dr. Konior. I'm sure I am missing other Dr. Konior patients who have posted on here, and thanks to you as well, but I can't remember all the usernames.

 

Will try to keep this thread regularly updated, and also happy to answer any questions if you have them.

[UKLad81]

You picked one of the best guys in the business buddy!! Things can only get better from now onwards. In a few months I'm certain the hair is going to look awesome. In the interim, try a bit of toppik, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

All the best and i look forward to seeing your progress!

[Pete-from-Farjo]

Congrats. I'm sure you're going to be smiling in a few months time. The down time after a transplant can be tough going, but you're two months post op now, so you're almost through the worst of it.

[Justin77]

Thanks guys. Ya I'm looking worse than I thought I would, but I'm very optimistic about the final result. Can't wait for my post-op hairline to return!

[forgotpassword]

Good luck; hopefully you're not obsessing too much!

[BrightIdea]

I'm not too far out from taking the same plunge with Konior. My biggest worry is facing the phase you're going through. Apparently, it's totally normal though and you just have to weather it.

 

Keep us posted with updates. Your post will help a lot of other people. Thanks for sharing.

[Justin77]

Keep us posted with updates. Your post will help a lot of other people. Thanks for sharing.

 

Will do! You made a great decision by choosing Dr. Konior. Part of the reason I haven't been obsessing too much at this point is because I'm very confident in Dr. Konior's work, and I could tell that he was extremely meticulous when conducting the surgery.

 

Also, because my hair is longer now, I'm not looking as lopsided as I did in the Month 2 photo, so I look a lot more normal and nobody would ever suspect I had anything done. Just a guy with a weak hairline, which I'm used to haha, although it's thinner at this point than it was prior to the surgery.

 

Very much looking forward to when the real growth starts. Will definitely keep this thread updated as I'm using it as a journal to keep track of my progress. It always frustrated me when people disappeared without continuing to post their results, so I plan on keeping this going until I reach the final result. I'll be back with a new photo at the Month 3 mark.

[jimbrann]

Keep us posted. Seems you didn't get much scabs forming post OP?

[Justin77]

I did get some scabbing but it was minimal. Hard to see in the photos, and they all washed out completely by the end of the second week when I was able to start shampooing my hair normally.

[BrightIdea]

Will do! You made a great decision by choosing Dr. Konior. Part of the reason I haven't been obsessing too much at this point is because I'm very confident in Dr. Konior's work, and I could tell that he was extremely meticulous when conducting the surgery.

 

Also, because my hair is longer now, I'm not looking as lopsided as I did in the Month 2 photo, so I look a lot more normal and nobody would ever suspect I had anything done. Just a guy with a weak hairline, which I'm used to haha, although it's thinner at this point than it was prior to the surgery.

 

Very much looking forward to when the real growth starts. Will definitely keep this thread updated as I'm using it as a journal to keep track of my progress. It always frustrated me when people disappeared without continuing to post their results, so I plan on keeping this going until I reach the final result. I'll be back with a new photo at the Month 3 mark.

 

 

When is your 3 month mark?

 

Yeah, I heard he's extremely meticulous and detail-oriented. Another reason I chose him is because he executes the entire procedure. Many HT doctors only harvest the grafts, and have the technicians/staff finish implant to the recipient site. I'm not too far out!

[Justin77]

I'll hit 3 months on January 19, so just over a week away. I'm starting to notice a bunch of little sprouts along the hairline, particularly on the right side. Not doing anything for me visually yet, but nice to know something is happening.

 

I had a bit of a scare on Sunday morning when I woke up to a line of red blood on my scalp in the recipient area. It looked like a cut or a scratch, but I have absolutely no idea how it happened, and it wasn't there when I went to bed. I sent pics to Dr. Konior and he suspected it was a fingernail scratch, and that the follicles are likely OK. By Sunday night it was much less visible and today it seems almost fully healed, so I think it was a superficial surface injury and hopefully I didn't do any damage to the transplant.

 

Still very curious about how it happened as I've never scratched myself in my sleep before. I did have some pimples popping up right where the scratch was so I think they may have been irritating the skin and maybe it caused me to scratch my head in my sleep.

[BrightIdea]

I'll hit 3 months on January 19, so just over a week away. I'm starting to notice a bunch of little sprouts along the hairline, particularly on the right side. Not doing anything for me visually yet, but nice to know something is happening.

 

I had a bit of a scare on Sunday morning when I woke up to a line of red blood on my scalp in the recipient area. It looked like a cut or a scratch, but I have absolutely no idea how it happened, and it wasn't there when I went to bed. I sent pics to Dr. Konior and he suspected it was a fingernail scratch, and that the follicles are likely OK. By Sunday night it was much less visible and today it seems almost fully healed, so I think it was a superficial surface injury and hopefully I didn't do any damage to the transplant.

 

Still very curious about how it happened as I've never scratched myself in my sleep before. I did have some pimples popping up right where the scratch was so I think they may have been irritating the skin and maybe it caused me to scratch my head in my sleep.

 

 

 

I can imagine it can be quite itchy after the procedure. It's plausible it happened in your sleep. I can see myself doing something like this because I've woke up with minor scratches occasionally with no idea how they got there. For what it's worth, from all the posts I've seen, the grafts are most vulnerable up until the 2 week mark.

 

Must be encouraging to observe evidence of growth. Congratulations on the sprouting.

[Justin77]

3 Month Update

 

Today is the 3 month anniversary of my transplant and I'm excited to report that I'm definitely starting to see some growth! It's sparse right now and doesn't make a big difference in terms of my actual appearance yet, but it's nice to finally feel like I'm out of the ugly duckling stage and moving into the fun part of the transplant experience: watching it grow.

 

In the photo it might look like I'm still in the ugly duckling phase because I still have the stronger area on my right side, but head-on this now mostly unnoticeable and it just looks like I have a thin frontal hairline.

 

The pinkness is now mostly gone, and numbness is only noticeable in the front center where I had the most grafts placed, and even in that area it's declining.

 

Starting to see more and more new little hairs pop up in various areas and hoping to see more noticeable growth over the next month.

[Dolph1969]

That's the start of it. Good times ahead!

[matt3480]

90 days....you will look great. My HT's with Dr. K always started growing right at 3 months....which a lot of people say is early. They looked real good at 6 months and as the hair grows longer the few months after that....even better.

[Justin77]

90 days....you will look great. My HT's with Dr. K always started growing right at 3 months....which a lot of people say is early. They looked real good at 6 months and as the hair grows longer the few months after that....even better.

 

Thanks for the encouraging words Matt! I forgot to include you in my initial post but your thread was actually part of the reason I felt confident choosing Dr. Konior for FUE, your results were amazing.

[matt3480]

Glad I could be of service!

[fortuneplant]

Hi Justin77. Looking forward to your progress. We have similar timelines, front ht and graft - I did 1600 Fut.

[Justin77]

4 Month Update

 

I'm nearly at the 4 month mark now, and over the past month I've seen significant growth! My new hairline is once again starting to become noticeable which is great because I was very sad to see it disappear after the initial shed haha.

 

Not much to report other than that I'm very happy with the progress at this point. Although I do have to say I'm being more impatient than I thought I would be and I find myself investigating my scalp in the mirror on a regular basis to search for new signs of growth.

 

It's a strange phenomenon actually, watching the transplant grow, because I had expected it to be similar to when I started finasteride. After 1-2 months of being on fin, I noticed all of these follicles "waking up" simultaneously, and the growth came in quickly. I know this is far from everyone's experience on fin, but I responded really well to it.

 

With the transplant, though, I'll search for signs of growth in the mirror every day, but aside from seeing some very thin hairs popping through, it's hard to notice progress this way. Instead, there were just a couple of moments in the past month when I looked at myself and was like, "Oh wow, where did that come from?" It took me by surprise, like all of a sudden the hair just looked thicker and I didn't see it happening despite my regular check-ups in the mirror.

Edited February 14, 2018 by Justin77

[fortuneplant]

Hi Justin77. Looks like your hair is coming along well.

 

Did you find yourself looking at the mirror a lot during your fourth month? I'll be on my fourth month also next week and will post my progress. While I hardly glanced at my hair during the first three months, I find myself looking at the mirror a lot this month. =)

[Justin77]

Hi Justin77. Looks like your hair is coming along well.

 

Did you find yourself looking at the mirror a lot during your fourth month? I'll be on my fourth month also next week and will post my progress. While I hardly glanced at my hair during the first three months, I find myself looking at the mirror a lot this month. =)

 

Haha yes I definitely did, fortuneplant, and I don't see the habit dying anytime soon! It's OK though, I'm going to let myself indulge in some mirror obsession at this point because it's the most fun phase of this whole ordeal and watching my own hair transplant grow is what I've been looking forward to for years now.

[razzy]

Justin,

 

Looking great for 4 months. Big difference from the previous month!

[Justin77]

Thanks razzy! Ya I'm very excited, I didn't even realize just how much more growth there was until I looked at the pics side by side. That's why I'm going to continue taking regular photos because otherwise it's hard to notice the changes when you're checking day to day.

[lukeyb1687]

Looking great! Can't wait to see over the next few months your progress! Already looks great!

[Justin77]

Thanks lukeyb! Hoping for more density of course, but still early in the game. Looking forward to taking my 5 month result pics in a week to compare them to last month's.