FUE with Dr Tejinder Bhatti

[denominator]

hi fellow HRN members, this is my thread on my HT experience with Dr Bhatti

 

i am currently in Chandigarh, India.

 

My HT is scheduled for tomorrow and i write this in the comfort of my hotel room, waiting anxiously my procedure tomorrow.

 

i will be updating this thread at regular intervals and i intend to follow it thru till the final result.

 

i will be posting pics once i am shaved down and my post op pics as well.

 

Do note that i will be keeping a buzzcut up till at least month 4 post HT as i dont think i can handle the ugly ducking stage and a buzz cut just seems so much easier.

 

Some background about me

 

33 year old doctor of indian descent. i have lived in south east asia for the entirety of my life except for my university years which were spent in australia. i have been losing my hair slowly since the age of 22. i am a diffuse thinner and my dad is a full blown norwood 7, while even my mum is high up the ludwig scale. They are both in their 60s and really started losing their hair in their 40s. My younger brother, who is four years younger than me, is even worse off than me which is really pretty messed up tbh.

 

Anyways, so in May of last year, i made the dreadful decision to have a hair transplant in thailand. It was a classic panic move as 2 people i work with in the months prior told me that i was balding and it triggered a panic response that i am not proud of. frantically searched the internet and basically booked the 1st clinic that replied to me. Textbook.

i hadn't been on any hair loss medication prior to that and as expected i not only had had poor returns on the 2000 grafts by FUE that i had, i suffered massive shock loss. so 11 months down the road i am worse off than when i 1st started this journey.

 

this time around i did my research. i've spoken to dr bhatti's patients and his representatives. i can say that based on my research he seems to be one of the best, if not THE best, FUE surgeon in asia.

 

This time around i have been on finasteride for 10 + months and plan to start minoxidil after the hair transplant.

 

i am hoping for a better result this time around and will be update this thread periodically as a way to give back to this community that has helped me so much.

 

say a prayer for me guys!

 

special thanks to Shera, Dr Bhatti's UK representative, who helped me with transport and hotel bookings as well as answering all my questions personally.

 

Just some advice for anyone planning on coming to dr bhatti, please do yourself a favour and get a flight to chandigarh. the six hour drive from delhi is no joke and i can't imagine having to do that post op.

[itxrd]

Good luck my man. I was in your shoes 7 months ago and am pretty happy now with the results.

 

Damn right on the flights too!

[denominator]

Cheers mate. So happy for u! Hopefully mine turns out stellar too!

[itxrd]

How did it go man?

[denominator]

How did it go man?

 

Hey mate, sorry been a lil bit hectic since i got back. i'll post a longer review in a few days

 

in short it went ok. i did not get the graft count i was hoping for but the surgery and everything else went well. i'm healing well and currently the coverage looks adequate. i'll post pics as soon as i have some time.

 

cheers

[itxrd]

All good pal

 

I wanted more too but got a bit less. Thats okay. I think they weigh it up - if they could give more I'm sure they would as they'd get more $$$. Let us know how many you got though

[denominator]

Ok here goes

 

this is my experience with dr Tejinder bhatti

 

i had my FUE with dr Bhatti on the 2nd of april 2018

as i've previously stated i've been losing my hair since my early 20s

fairly slow progression despite not being on medication

subsequently worsened over the last 3 years since i started working after the my post graduate degree

i'm a diffuse thinner mainly over the mid-scalp and crown with minimal recession of the hairline so far

 

i had a terrible procedure in thailand on the 5th of may 2017 which basically worsened my hair loss due to shock loss and the subsequent poor growth.

 

i've been able to cover up the balding with a combover but have had enough of it and decided to cough up the cash and get another HT with dr Bhatti.

 

i had been emailing Dr Bhatti for atleast 3 months prior to the procedure as well as Shera who is Dr Bhatti's UK rep

during our email correspondence, Dr Bhatti had suggested no more than 2500 grafts but i was quite keen for atleast 3500 grafts

 

On the day of the procedure, Dr Bhatti examined my donor area and suggested that i stick to his initial graft count of 2500 as the donor area seemed overharvested. i was quite keen for more but he insisted that it will be enough. He also suggested that no grafts should be planted in my frontal region as there is a risk of shock loss.

i'll be honest and admit that i was a tad disappointed as i was hoping for maximum grafts this time around but agreed with his assessment.

 

In the end i ended up with 2374 grafts

1888 scalp grafts

236 singles

1271 doubles

381 triples

 

+ 486 beard grafts

 

grand total of 4407 hairs

 

The procedure itself was fairly straight forward

Dr bhatti did the shaving, anaesthesia, graft harvesting and slit making

the technicians placed the grafts

 

the procedure started at about 9am and i left the clinic at about 5pm

there was a break in between for lunch

 

the next day i visited the clinic for a head wash and instructions on how to clean the donor and recipient zone. i also bought medication for the next 6 months which to be frank were ridiculously cheap.

 

i will attach pictures from pre-op, immediately post op, day 3, and day 6 to this post.

 

i will update this post at regular intervals

mainly at 2 weeks, 1 month and then monthly

 

In general i was satisfied with the experience.

the only real disappointment was the graft count but hopefully it works out well.

 

regards

Edited April 8, 2018 by denominator

[denominator]

Some Pre-op photos before the head shave

.

 

I'll be honest, i don't have high expectations. i'm actually rather pessimistic about the whole thing, but lets hope for the best!

 

i've been on finasteride 10 months and will continue to take it for as long as i can

also starting on minoxidil (for life) and biotin

 

hopefully the meds kick in and i get a terrific result.

 

cheers boys

[denominator]

2 weeks post op.

most scabs are off

will be starting minoxidil soon to thicken up the native area(hopefully)

the dreaded shed should be upon me soon

[denominator]

quick one month update

i am dead centre in ugly duckling territory.

i honestly havent shed all my hair, maybe 30-40 percent i think but i'm not sure

 

already on minoxidil 2% for 2 weeks so will be moving on to 5% shortly

 

will update monthly from now on

[Melvin- Admin]

Your hair in all honesty looked quite good before the hair transplant. I’m sure you will be happy with the final outcome, it should really improve the density. But congrats to already having a good hairline to start with.

[denominator]

hi guys, just a quick update on my progress. 

currently just a bit more than 3 months in. 

my native hairs have grown in

still looks very raw and obviously balding but i'm not expecting any visible growth at this time.

the only concern is i seem to be shedding alot. smaller thinner hairs. sometimes the longer ones. especially over the last 2 weeks. i have been on minoxidil for about 2 months now and maybe on the 5% for about 6-7 weeks. i really hope its the dread shed of minoxidil rather than the worsening of my mpb.

 

anyways currently im on both minoxidil twice daily 5%, finasteride 1mg daily and biotin tab once a day

i do use nizoral 1% about 2-3x per week

i will attach my 2 month 3 month pics here.

do let me know what you think especially about the increased shedding

[Shera]

Hi Denominator,

Congratulations on reaching the 3 month milestone. You are likely just at the beginning of your growth and now should start seeing your hair gradually thickening over the coming months as more and more of the implanted grafts start to grow the new hairs.

It actually already looks somewhat thicker than your pre-op photos.

Stay positive and carry on with the regime. As always contact me direct whenever you wish to do so.

Happy growing, exciting times ahead..........................

 

[itxrd]

Looks great denom. 3 months is nothing. For me was after 4 I started to see growth. I'll post pics when back from hol but I'm on 10 months now and every month it's got better. Pleasantly surprising! You've done the hard bit. Now just be patient

[denominator]

14 hours ago, Shera said:

Hi Denominator,

Congratulations on reaching the 3 month milestone. You are likely just at the beginning of your growth and now should start seeing your hair gradually thickening over the coming months as more and more of the implanted grafts start to grow the new hairs.

It actually already looks somewhat thicker than your pre-op photos.

Stay positive and carry on with the regime. As always contact me direct whenever you wish to do so.

Happy growing, exciting times ahead..........................

 

 

2 hours ago, itxrd said:

Looks great denom. 3 months is nothing. For me was after 4 I started to see growth. I'll post pics when back from hol but I'm on 10 months now and every month it's got better. Pleasantly surprising! You've done the hard bit. Now just be patient

Cheers boys,

i'll keep you all posted monthly from now

[denominator]

4 months post op.

i wouldnt say its been fantastic but so far its been ok. no real improvement visually but i do feel some stubble within the transplanted zones. at four months its still early so i'm being patient. 

these photos were taken in good natural light after i showered and blow dried my hair. i will take one with some toppik and dermatch in to show u guys how it looks with some concealer.

been using alot less concealer now tbh

 

[itxrd]

Nice looks on track. Don't bother putting photos with concealer/toppik. Thats exactly what we don't want to see ;-)

Keep being patient

[elduterino]

@denominator

what was the clinic in Thailand ?

PM me if you prefer

[denominator]

Hi guys, 5 month update

hair is a little longer. not much growth in terms of transplanted hair as far as i can tell. i do feel stubble when i am massaging in my minoixidil so fingers crossed that these r transplanted hairs coming through.

i'll be honest i'm a little disappointed i wasn't one of those with a glorious head of hair at 5 months but as i gather, not really much to see at 5 months for the average joe so still long way to go. 

what really does concern me is the amount of hair i shed per day. i mean its not in the hundreds by any means but as i wait for the new hairs it almost sickens me when i see hair in my towel after a shower or even during a shower when i was my hair. i know hair fall is a normal thing even when not being destroyed my mpb but it really ruins my day.  ok rant over. 

 

here are some of my pics.

do note that i get decent coverage from the native hairs on my front and mid scalp but its the crown that gives the game away.

 

[itxrd]

Long way to go like you say. Stay patient

[Shera]

Hi D,

As itxrd says, it's a long way to go yet. The crown will always take longer to fill out but at 5 months the rest should all be busy sprouting right now. Whatsapp me if you have any concerns.

[LonelyGraft]

Based on my experience with an online consult with Dr. Bhatti he seems like a very ethical and stand up guy. I think you’re in great hands. Good luck with the growing