Jump to content

My Hair Transplant History


gmax

Recommended Posts

I'm new to the forum and haven't read every post but wanted to get something out there about my experience, which I think will be unique to other posts. First, the reason I've decided to post at this time is that I went to Dr. Jerry Cooley in Charlotte NC, Monday 11/12/18 for a hairline extraction with the extracted hair being transplanted to the top of my head. Today is 11/15/18, the 4th day since my procedure, and I am happy with the results and have a lot of praise for Dr. Cooley and his staff. I have found there is more to this than just transplanting the hair. Dr. Cooley uses various methods to ensure maximum graft survival such as PRP + ACell and other "after procedure" protocols that I have not experienced. To complete my hair transplant plan, I will wait a few months and go back to Dr. Cooley to have my hairline refined using the FUT method from the sides of my head. 

I am sure a lot of you have questions about the procedure I had done and why I'm having an FUT instead of FUE for my next procedure. To explain further, let me give you a little history of how and why I got to where I am today.

In the late 1980s I had developed a receding hairline and for the first time, I saw some newspaper advertisements for hair transplants. Remember, the internet wasn't around at that time so there were no pictures to see or patients to discuss this with. Convinced that everything would be okay, I contacted the surgeon and scheduled a "consultation", which really turned out to be just me scheduling my appointments (yes, that is plural with an "s"). I scheduled 4 appointments, 3 months apart, where numerous rather large plugs would be taken from the back of my head to create a new hairline. I underwent 3 of these procedures until I finally had enough. Every time new hair started to grow, I had to go back for more work, not to mention the combover hairstyle I had to use to cover everything up. I didn't want anyone to know what I was doing but I think they knew anyway. Fortunately for me, what I had done eventually grew in and with my existing hair, I was able to wear a fairly long natural looking Beatles type hairstyle for about 30 years. Even with that, I was always conscious of my "plugged" hairline and never let anyone touch it. And I always turned away when the wind blew in my face. Unfortunately, as I got older, my hairline kept retreating, and the hair on top of my head gradually got thinner. To help with the thinning, I got a prescription for Rogaine, which was required when I started. Later, I just bought minoxidil over the counter much cheaper. I also got a fill in procedure from another doctor 3 to 4 years ago that didn't go as wall as anticipated.

That's all I have for not but if enough of you show interest, I will continue with more details about my 30 year hair transplant history and my current experience with Dr. Cooley in future posts. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member

Congratulations on choosing a great doctor. Living with a crappy result for multiple years is way worse than being bald. I experienced it and it’s very hard to deal with the constant stress and worry. Dr. Cooley does top notch work and you will look much better in the future. Good luck with everything and thanks for posting your story.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member

You picked a great doc. Pics along with your story would be helpful to others suffering a similar fate. Glad you found Dr Cooley 

I am an online representative for Dr. Raymond Konior who is an elite member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

View Dr. Konior's Website

View Spanker's Website

I am not a medical professional and my opinions should not be taken as medical advice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Best of luck with your repair. You'll be amazed at the difference a state of the art transplant can make. It would be good to see some pics/graft numbers etc if you're able to.

I am an online representative for Farjo Hair Institute

 

Dr. Bessam Farjo is an esteemed member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians

 

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions shared are my own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

It has been a little over two weeks since my first post to give some time for things to happen since this is a long process. For those that haven't read my first post, my procedure was different from the typical one. I had an FUT transplant from my hairline where an old plug procedure left me with what Dr. Cooley called a "wall of hair" that was never going to look natural. The hair removed from my hairline was used for grafts on the top of my head where my hair is thinning. After the forehead scar has healed sufficiently, Dr. Cooley will create a new more natural hairline using the FUT method from the sides of my head. As I wrote earlier, the old plug method plus other strip procedures left the back of my head pretty much harvested out.

I was having no issues with the sutures or the transplanted hair and was following Dr. Cooley's protocol of spraying to keep the grafts moist every hour the first 24 hours and every two hours the next 48 hours. I didn't get much sleep for the first 3 days. I also applied antiseptic cream on the sutured area twice a day. I kept this up for the first week with longer intervals between spraying. Things were going very well. Allowing for the scar and scabbing, my new hairline looked pretty good and thick. Most of the transplanted hairs on the top of my head are still there and haven't shed.

I went to Dr. Cooley's office Monday 11/26 to have the sutures removed from my forehead. About this time, I began losing hair at the front of my hairline in an area about 3 inches wide and an inch deep. These were not thinning terminal hairs but thick hairs previously transplanted. This is the only shock loss I have noticed so far but I'm concerned it will continue to spread.

I have pictures on my phone I will try to upload so everyone can see and possibly comment.

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just wanted to update my post to state that although I have experienced some shock loss, I am not negative. Dr. Cooley made me aware of the chance of this in advance of the procedure so I was prepared. I have seen posts on other sites where people act like something must have gone wrong for this to happen. I am not saying this, nothing went wrong. It's just the nature of the procedure and could happen to anyone. 

There has been no further hair loss and I feel this is a temporary situation that will correct itself in time. I don't know exactly how all this works but as amazing as it may seem, I can already see and feel stubble in this area like it's been newly shaved. I expect this hair will continue to grow longer and soon, none of this will be noticeable.

I entered into this knowing it is a journey and that there will be roadblocks to overcome. I am still positive and pleased with the overall result of this procedure. Dr. Cooley did a great job and my scar is hardly noticeable with my hair combed normally. Like the Jimmy Buffett song says "Yesterday's over my shoulder so I can't look back for too long. There's just too much to see waiting in front of me and know that I just can't go wrong". I 'm not dwelling on the past, I am looking forward to my next procedure with Dr. Cooley to complete my new hairline journey.  

Edited by gmax
Did not want to appear negative
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...