2,177 FUT from Dr. Konior

[harrylloyd]

Hi Everyone - I've been lurking this super helpful forum of ours for the past 1+ years and I thought it's about time I start contributing back.

Background
After extensive lurking I reached the conclusion that Dr. Konior had the most respect and was regularly being praised as the top doctor in this field so I decided to go with him. I had a few email exchanges with Dr. Konior and after looking at my pictures and hair loss he recommended I needed around 3,000 grafts in the frontal region but if I wanted a more conservative approach I should get 2,000. I liked Dr. Konior's email response time and he answered my questions really well so I went ahead and booked my appointment with his office in June of 2017 as he's booked out a year in advance. I think now it's more like 1.5 years.

Pre-Op Pictures
All pictures in the maroon shirt are a month before the surgery.

Day of Procedure
I flew into Chicago with my brother the day before the procedure and we were at Dr. K's office at 6:30AM the day after. I do believe it's super helpful to have someone that can help you during the first few days. All these people that say that it doesn't hurt, it's not a big deal, and you can be back to work within a few days are full of it. The reality from my standpoint is that yes, the procedure itself doesn't really hurt since you're drugged and numbed up but you know and can feel you had something serious done right after. So expect a certain level of pain and give yourselves a week or two for the initial recovery.

Anyhow, once I got to Dr. K's office I started getting a bit of cold feet because while I was waiting I was flipping through his published book and the pictures can be quite scary. And all those questions whether this is worth it started going through my mind. And when Dr. Konior came in I started asking him some basic questions again and I don't think he really liked that lol. In his mind all of that should've already been answered in our emails and today was not a consultation it was the day of the procedure, which I agree with him on. So after a little bit of light humor (he has a dry sense of humor which I really enjoy) and examples from Dr. K I was a bit more at ease and I said let's do this thing. After his main tech trimmed the front portion of my head and showed me my scalp in a mirror I was in complete shock. I had no idea how bald I truly was. Dr. K actually did say he was surprised how much volume I was getting with my hair. So this also made me feel better that I was making the right decision.

After this, Dr. K asked me where I would want my hairline and I sort of showed him and he said that it would be way too low and require too many grafts. He then drew a hairline which he said wasn't too aggressive and wasn't too conservative either. So I said you're the expert, I'm willing to do whatever you want. So I agreed to the hairline and then he spent around 15 mins or so perfecting the hairline and taking pictures.

Once that was done, I was given a valium and taken to the OR. By the time they started numbing my head I think I had already fallen asleep. I would wake up a few times for bathroom breaks and a granola bar but other than that I believe Dr. K and his tech knocked the procedure out. I do believe Dr. K does all the placement and hard work. I had asked him this before the procedure and he said he does all the placements and I have no reason to doubt that as every time I woke up I could hear him behind me.

Post Op
Dr. K placed 2,177 total grafts. He charged me the initially quoted price for 2,000 grafts so I appreciated that about him. 
Graft numbers: 1's - 675 ; 2's - 1364; 3's - 138 = 2177

I'm gonna quit rambling and start posting some pictures. Let me know if you have any specific questions. 

 

[harrylloyd]

5 Days Post Op

 

[harrylloyd]

8 Days Post Op

My scalp got really dry and it looked like I had really bad dandruff but after talking with Dr. Konior he said I needed to be a little more aggressive when shampooing and soak longer. So after I did that the scabs all started coming out and the dryness went away. Lesson was that it's ok to be a little more aggressive when shampooing around the 7th day mark.

 

[harrylloyd]

15 Days Post Op

 

[harrylloyd]

Haircut at 17 Days Post Op

Today which is 28 Days Post Op

 

[SWdan]

I'm amazed at how fast hair grows on you young guys.

It's going to turn out great.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

I’ve always been a fan of Dr K. That’s gonna be GREAT result. The man has truly gotten better with age. You are gonna be a home run result. 

[Speegs]

Enviable work as always by Dr. Konior.

That scar even looks pretty good and will probably continue to improve.

Edited July 9, 2018 by Speegs

[fortuneplant]

harrylloyd, your ht is going to be very good. (Lots of pre-existing hair mixed with the new grafts.)

[bman3082]

dr konior does all the graft placement? I thought that was the job of techs because it is far too laborious for one person.

 

Can an expert please clarify

[harrylloyd]

16 hours ago, literalno said:

dr konior does all the graft placement? I thought that was the job of techs because it is far too laborious for one person.

 

Can an expert please clarify

I was pretty much out the entire procedure but from what I could tell he uses one main tech and sometimes two but I'm almost sure he was behind me the entire time.

[Spanker]

Only he and his main tech place grafts. Looking good. Keep updating. 

[Melvin- Admin]

Everything looks great, thanks for the update. 

[Haircali1]

Any more updates?  ?

[vinzaf19]

Looks to be a great result so far! Dr. Konior is truly a one of the best in the business from what I have seen, and you’ll most assuredly have final results that are stellar! Looking forward to more photos!

[harrylloyd]

Hi All - Been traveling for work. Not much to show at this point. I'll try to post pics when I get home but just more of the same. Full on ugly duckling phase.

[RecessionProof]

Thanks for the pics and documentation Harry! Do you know what razor # your barber used for the haircut in your most recent pics? I'm scheduled for a similar FUT procedure with Konior and am curious to see how short I'll be able to cut mine in back.

[harrylloyd]

@RecessionProof I told him 3. Good luck! The first month is a complete drag but it gets a bit easier after that. The part I hate the most is that whenever I move my neck up, down, sideways I feel like i'm stretching the scar as it feels really tight but I guess that's expected and should hopefully go away in the coming months.

[Johanss]

Gud Result

[bman3082]

any updates on this?

[harrylloyd]

Hi All,

Below are pictures at around the 2-3 month mark I think, can't really remember when I took those pics. And then followed up with pictures I took today. In all, I'm at 5 and a half months and the progress looks decent. I'm definitely hoping for some more thickness in the front and a better haircut will make things look better as well.

 

[B4LD3Y]

That's nice. Good result!

[PeloDinero]

seems like a low number of grafts for the amount of hair loss. What was the reason for that?

[HarryHonolulu]

1 hour ago, PeloDinero said:

seems like a low number of grafts for the amount of hair loss. What was the reason for that?

I was waiting for this guy! I knew it was coming the moment I saw he had  commented... 

It’s probably an exercise in futility but I’ll try anyway:

1) not all grafts are created equal.

2) different doctors = different results with same amount of grafts. 

3) everybody has different goals and expectations.

4) head size is different from person to person

sometimes it really does feel like you just plant the seed of doubt in people’s minds just to mess with them. I hope I’m wrong.

 

[JayLDD]

8 minutes ago, HarryHonolulu said:

I was waiting for this guy! I knew it was coming the moment I saw he had  commented... 

It’s probably an exercise in futility but I’ll try anyway:

1) not all grafts are created equal.

2) different doctors = different results with same amount of grafts. 

3) everybody has different goals and expectations.

4) head size is different from person to person

sometimes it really does feel like you just plant the seed of doubt in people’s minds just to mess with them. I hope I’m wrong.

 

lol from a guy who literally starts *explicitly* negative threads about other doctors and then spreads negative comments across various other threads that's a little rich. I think a lot of people would have considered this question, and not just to be negative.

OP is obviously very early in the process and I haven't seen a poor case from Konior, but the reality is that its a fair question to ask if a 2000 graft FUT and spread across a larger than average area for the number is an optimal approach because its no doubt different to what we usually see. Saying this as someone who would consider Konior for a future procedure too.  

Some people definitely feel pressured into having lower graft numbers or being conservative due to believing they have no other options, when the reality is that via FUT or FUE there are most certainly surgeons who could have with zero issues covered a larger area and with more density, I suspect Konior could have too. Based on Konior's typical work probably 95%+ grafts will grow, but realistically a larger cosmetic improvement from a single procedure would have been possible with higher graft numbers, there's no question of it. I'm sure many surgeons would have different opinions on FUE/FUT due to linear scar risks even for a small graft number, not to mention I've seen some suggest a first strip procedure should be as large as possible for maximising long term graft numbers. Its no secret that outside of the US surgeons tend to be less conservative, but no less successful, so people shouldn't feel they have to go one method or another.

Its fair to have discussion on the issue, if OP or any other poster made the decision to go this route then I don't really see how they can be offended, quite frankly its ridiculous to pretend that's anything remotely offensive. Presumably there is good reason behind it and if they're doing long term research like OP then they'd easily be able to give insight into their choice. Basic questions like this help people make informed judgements, especially when perspectives differ so drastically from surgeon to surgeon.