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3140 Grafts FUT African Curly Hair - NORWOOD 4 - Dr. Arocha


Pozo7

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BACKGROUND

 

I'm in my late 20s and started receding around the age of 18. my scalp is very light compared to my forehead. my natural hairline sat right on the line where the pigmentation changed color. (Pictured) I stalked these forums regularly but never posted until recently. I'm Latino with African/Italian ancestry, my hair grows straight for about .5cm before it curls over. I'm located in NY

 

Moving Forward

I consulted online or in person with various doctors that were recommended on these forums the likes of (Arocha, Bloxham, Diep, Vories, and Frank). after many Q&As with each I felt most comfortable with Dr.Arocha in Texas.

 

I flew to TX on Thursday met him and the staff that same day we went over my loss and future strategies as well as design. He recommended a higher hairline than the one I received based on the rule of thirds which I understood but felt it wasn't near my original hairline. we agreed on a lower line (pictured)

 

The Big Day

 

After medications and local numbing was administer a strip was taken from back of the head – 3140 grafts were harvested. Dr. Arocha mentioned he was aiming for 40 grafts cm2 coverage and that my hair was straight at short length. He did the strip removal, stitching and incisions at recipient site. Technicians did the graft cutting and placement.

The procedure was done on FRIDAY I was very pleased with the service. everyone from medical staff and administration were very welcoming and ensure I had an excellent operation. it was to such extent that Dr. Arocha came in on Saturday to review the post op and ensure things were okay. he even gave me a tour of the city in his personal car. he even had one staff member come in on Saturday - the same day as her son's birthday just in case some work was needed (thanks Michelle). On Sunday (Father’s Day) he called to check up on me. Again, I’m extremely pleased with the service. Has

 

First week post op

I had swelling which is normal which has gone down considerably between days 4-7. I have followed the post op instructions to the T. I have used the shampoo and bacitracin provided by the Doctor as per instructed no harsh touching and trickle water.

 

I feel like the treatment and operation were world class and I’m inclined to use the doctor again

 

Pictures posted include my original hairline, my baldness pattern, hairline design and post op results at day 5/6. Please contact for any questions I will maintain this thread with my progression.

 

 

 

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Update: this is a photo 10days post op. About 90% of scabs have been removed. Around day 8 I was noticing a lot of white "crust" with hairs attached I had a small heart attack I think lol. I thought I was losing the grafts they look almost exactly like the rice grain shaped grafts they transplanted. However after reviewing other results and consultating with the doctor. This is normal. 

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Day 20: I have begun shedding hair and some small pimples appear. I consulted with the doctor to ensure it wasn't any infection. All normal. 

Scar: was closed using the 2 layer technique both with disposal stitches. After the first week many stitches were popping out. I cut the ends. The redness has gone down considerably. And looks like is healing well. Haven't worked out or done any heavy physical activity. 

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MONTH 3 (12 weeks) UPDATE:

Many of the hairs that were transplanted shedded between weeks 2 and 4. I was back to square one. Around week 8-9 hairs started regrowing sporadically and very thin and short. Today (pictured) shows much more hair growth almost as when I was in the end stage of shedding. In my particular case my hair is growing more on my right temple, followed by left temple and slowest growth in the middle. However growth is everywhere looking forward to the following months. I get pimples that last a day and once gone you see new hair growth. I have no pain and have 95% sensation around the scalp.

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Hey Pozo, excellent write up! Everything looks to be on track. Your scar is looking good and it looks like you’ve got quite a lot of hairs sprouting. Looking forward to your final result. Congratulations!??

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  • 4 weeks later...
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Week 16 (Month 4)

Here's another update: since my last post i see much more hair growing in and some more sprouting very thin.

looking forward for the following months.

My hair and transplanted hair were growing long so used the #3 guard to cut down.

Right now my only concern is Density - hoping the areas fill in the following months.

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Edited by Pozo7
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WEEK 19 update.

The hairs were growing long and thin looks like wires therefore decided to trim them down to a 1 GUARD to make them lay flatter. my biggest concern is the density at this point which i believe is a concern for everyone at this point in the growth cycle. however i have seen really thin hairs popping through the scalp and in areas where there is one hair i see a second or even a third hair to start growing from the same follicle. looking forward for these next couple of weeks and months.

I'm very satisfied of the procedure and results thus far.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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Looking good from what I can tell.  Can you tell what direction and angle your hairs were implanted.  I believe the degrees of which African American hair grows and other races are different. It would be interesting to see if your doc took that into consideration. But keep us updated! Can't wait to see the final result.

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23 minutes ago, Sociallyakward said:

Looking good from what I can tell.  Can you tell what direction and angle your hairs were implanted.  I believe the degrees of which African American hair grows and other races are different. It would be interesting to see if your doc took that into consideration. But keep us updated! Can't wait to see the final result.

Thank you, according to the doctor my hair is very straight at short left I'll say between 1 and 2 guard then curls alot after that length. The implants were done by 2 technians who had been doing HT for at least 5years each. From my experience only very few doctors do the full surgery. I didn't ask the technians in regards to the direction they were placing the grafts but so far I feel they were place in a way similar to my natural hair growth.  

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Thanks so much for the pictures. Since you are not even at 6 months so far it appears to be improving...im anxious to see how much density you will get from Arochas work. Ive held off on booking with Dr Diep snd I consulted with Dr. Arocha last week as well. Im Black with a similar hair texture to yours so your thread is very helpful

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5 hours ago, CannonScott said:

Thanks so much for the pictures. Since you are not even at 6 months so far it appears to be improving...im anxious to see how much density you will get from Arochas work. Ive held off on booking with Dr Diep snd I consulted with Dr. Arocha last week as well. Im Black with a similar hair texture to yours so your thread is very helpful

I'm very happy with the results thus far and yes density is my biggest uncertainty at the moment however it is important to note that the hairs may have not all grown yet and also not at their full thickness. Furthermore the new hairs are growing straight up and not laying flat as my natural hair. Over the course of the next 6 to 12 months I'm sure these three aspects (growth, thickness and texture) will continue to improve thus generating more density. 

Dr. Arocha had many good examples of before and aftee to show me when I visited. Way more than what you'll find on his site. All had great coverage and density to the point you wouldn't think there was surgery. The one that sealed the deal with me was patient 55 on the site who had similar baldness to me and received ~2000 grafts. His results are phenomenal. In my case I received 3140 grafts so I'm expecting similar results. 

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1 hour ago, Pozo7 said:

I'm very happy with the results thus far and yes density is my biggest uncertainty at the moment however it is important to note that the hairs may have not all grown yet and also not at their full thickness. Furthermore the new hairs are growing straight up and not laying flat as my natural hair. Over the course of the next 6 to 12 months I'm sure these three aspects (growth, thickness and texture) will continue to improve thus generating more density. 

Dr. Arocha had many good examples of before and aftee to show me when I visited. Way more than what you'll find on his site. All had great coverage and density to the point you wouldn't think there was surgery. The one that sealed the deal with me was patient 55 on the site who had similar baldness to me and received ~2000 grafts. His results are phenomenal. In my case I received 3140 grafts so I'm expecting similar results. 

Its looking very good man!!! By the way did you do FUT or FUE with Arocha?

Edited by CannonScott
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1 minute ago, CannonScott said:

Its looking very good man!!! By the way did you do FUT or FUE with Arocha?

Thank you, I went with FUT. From my understanding Arocha likes to limit FUT surgery to 2000 grafts to avoid larger scars. In my case I was okay with a  Larger scar as I didn't want to damage my entire back of the head with FUE as I may need another surgery in the future on the back of my head (starting to bald there  too) atwhich point I will do a fue instead. 

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1 minute ago, CannonScott said:

Nice!!! Im looking to do a second FUT as well. How soon were you able to go back to work after the surgery?

I was in Houston for the first time so the day after and next I was visiting different locations .even went to an Astros game. But my face was swollen looked like I just left a boxing match. I. Regards to work itself I went back to work as soon as the swelling went down and scabbing went away so apox. 10 days after surgery. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
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Fun times. That's when mine really started to fill in, around the 6 month mark. By the 7th month, I was thrilled, and it continued to thicken until the 9th month, when it pretty much peaked. 

3,425 FUT grafts with Dr Raymond Konior - Nov 2013

1,600 FUE grafts with Dr Raymond Konior - Dec 2018

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Congratulations Pozo7,

Your hair is looking great already, but I am sure that it will continue to improve! Happy New Year to all, and may 2019 bring everybody health and peace!!

Representative and Patient Educator for: Dr. Bernardino A. Arocha, Coalition Member. I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are mine.

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