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Dr Cooley 4222 FUT - 13th Dec 2018


Merlin

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I am on day 4th from my FUT with Dr. Cooley. My experience on the day of the procedure is similar to the one posted by UKLad81 at 

 

I would like to add some notes about Dr. Cooley and his clinic:

  • I currently live in California, I had the choice of clinics and doctors locally (convenient) or remotely (some cheaper e.g. in Europe) however, I felt that most of them followed the same sales pitch "we are top...you need x grafts...when should we schedule your procedure?" Not with Dr. Cooley's office, I talked to Ailene and she patiently explained the options and why FUT was better for me vs. FUE. I felt it was more fact and solution based than a sales pitch. That combined with all the good things (I liked that he reportedly continuously strives to improve his techniques) posted about Dr. Cooley I was convinced that Dr. Cooley's office was for me and worthed the long flight.
  • I loved that Dr. Cooley was personally involved from the beginning until the very end (the day of the operation) and he gave me his cell phone just in case. Also, despite his status he helped me change into the robe and afterwords change from the robe to my clothes. He also let me use his personal restroom during a short break between the strip harvest and the preparation for transplantation. These and other subtle things made me feel that Dr. Cooley cared for me as a person and for the results.
  • Like I said, Dr. Cooley was almost always there (as far I can tell since he was behind me), I focused to my movies because I didn't want to disrupt his focus/train of thought with Brandi (I could hear them saying things that mostly sounded technical, but wasn't paying attention on what was said).
  • Bonus: the southern hospitality in North Carolina which I missed (I used to live in Virginia for a few years).

My case

  • I had hair loss in the crown and in the front. The back bothered me more, so it had more priority. Hair were added in both areas.
  • I also opted for PRP.
  • Summary: so far everything is going great, the most difficult/challenging part for me was the lack of sleep because of the ATP spray application.

Day of surgery

  • I was scheduled for 3500 grafts, but I told Dr. Cooley that was ok with me if he goes over to strengthen the result. He was able to get to about 4200 grafts. He said that my donor area had good elasticity (I was doing my stretching exercises for two weeks; maybe it helped) and that everything went great.
  • The strip/donor: I only remember laying facing down, Dr. Cooley injecting a needle to my arm, I quickly doze off and then I was waken up and asked to flip face forward and it was done. It only felt like a short snooze, but it was probably a couple of hours long.
  • During the surgery, almost 99.9% of the time, I just felt a dull pressure on my head during the transplantation. 1-2 times I had to receive extra topical anesthetic which I only felt a couple of pinches.
  • After going back to the hotel, I was spaying every hour while awake and every 2 hours during "sleep". I also took Aleve and Ibuprofen for the pain in the donor area, it mostly felt like wearing a very tight cap/band). 

Day 2

  • Went by the office in the morning for the post-op check and wash. Everything looked great, Dr. Cooley was very pleased with the results.
  • I was prescribed valium for better sleeping (for after the spraying nights are over) and pain medication. I haven't taken either.
  • Back to the hotel after lunch, spraying a little bit every 30 - 60 mins.
  • I continued the pain relievers (Aleve, ibuprofen), again the donor area felt tight.
  • During "sleep" I was spraying every 2 hours or less (if I happened to be still awake).
  • No face swelling. The night before I was repeatedly applying pressure using both of my hands at the forehead (on top of the nose) and tracing to the sides (using each hand) and down the temples/near the cheek bones). I read about this somewhere and Dr. Cooley verified that could help with draining any fluids away from the eye area.

Day 3

  • Did the first self wash and I was very nervous. I used a cup to foam the shampoo and poured over. I haven't touched the transplanted area, only gently the donor area. Some dried blood was removed. The front of the transplant area had some crusting which went a way after the shampooing. 
  • Like I said I was very nervous ... partially because of lack of good sleep for 2 nights; that was the hardest part to deal with... as soon I was falling asleep, I had to get up and spray...
  • Being nervous, I called Dr. Cooley after the wash, he answered right away and he reassured me that I was following the right steps and he was confident that everything was alright based on what he has seen the day before. He told me I could use the hair dryer to dry from some distance since I was very nervous touching the transplants.

Day 4

  • Finally, after sleeping more regularly I felt much better and normal again, despite waking up every few hours. I took the opportunity and sprayed at those times. Valium was supposed to help sleep through the night, but I haven't filled the prescription and I don't think it will be real necessary for me.
  • I washed my hair the same way, the back has some crusting but I am not touching it. I only touched the donor area during shampooing and for applying the ointment.
  • I barely felt anything the donor area (unless I touched it) so I haven't taken any pain medication, but I will probably take some before sleeping.
  • Still spraying regularly while at being at the hotel (most of the time anyway) - I will probably get a second bottle. Dr Cooley said at the post-op that he will be happy to provide an extra one as long as I will use it.

Photos

Day 3 Back - After self wash

Day3 Back.jpg

Day 3 Front - After self wash

Day3 Front.png

Day 4 Front - After self wash

Day 4 front.jpg

Day 4 Back (Top Back - Bottom Front - Sorry hard to get a good picture) - After self wash

Day 4 back.jpg

 

Edited by Merlin
Updated title to the actual number of grafts
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Day 5 After self wash

I feel great and hair look good. I will let the hair be dry for a bit and then start spraying again.

The hair are dry on the pictures, they are more oily than usual probably because of the cling wrap + spray. 

Day 5 Back.jpg

Day 5 Back 2.jpg

Day 5 front.jpg

Edited by Merlin
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25 minutes ago, forgotpassword said:

Congratulations on your procedure. Follow the instructions the clinic has passed on and be patient. This time next year you won't recognize yourself!

Do you have any pre-op pics that you can share?

What was the graft breakdown? 

Thank you. I plan to request these from the clinic and post them once I get them.

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6 minutes ago, jim009 said:

pictures off the scar?

I couldn't really see it because of the hair;  just felt it when washing and applying the ointment.

Will try to take some pictures after tomorrow's wash or the latest after the 7-day cleanup at Dr. Cooley's office. Today already applied the ointment and resumed the spraying.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Looks good Merlin. I had a FUT with Dr Cooley on December 18th, with very similar loss to yours. Like you I was very pleased with the Dr and staff, and am trying to be patient while I wait for the grafts to grow!  I had 4140 grafts spread between the crown and the front. Look forward to seeing how we do, and hopeful we're both pleased 😀

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15 hours ago, GrowingHair said:

Looks good Merlin. I had a FUT with Dr Cooley on December 18th, with very similar loss to yours. Like you I was very pleased with the Dr and staff, and am trying to be patient while I wait for the grafts to grow!  I had 4140 grafts spread between the crown and the front. Look forward to seeing how we do, and hopeful we're both pleased 😀

Thanks! All the best for both of us! 😀 So far things are as expected.

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Hey Merlin, hope your recovery is going well.  I've noticed a lot of shock loss in the recipient area of my native hair over the 3-4 week period. Have you had any of this?  I've read this can happen but is temporary - I'm hoping that's the case and emailed Brandi to get her thoughts. Best of luck, thanks for your feedback. 

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On 1/12/2019 at 4:41 AM, hairlinehelp said:

how much grafts on the crown ?

I don't know. I will ask whenever I correspond with Dr. Cooley or his office next.

35 minutes ago, GrowingHair said:

Hey Merlin, hope your recovery is going well.  I've noticed a lot of shock loss in the recipient area of my native hair over the 3-4 week period. Have you had any of this?  I've read this can happen but is temporary - I'm hoping that's the case and emailed Brandi to get her thoughts. Best of luck, thanks for your feedback. 

I haven't noticed any shock loss. I do find a few hair strands in the shower but they don't appear that they come from a specific spot. The hair from the grafts in the front, are mostly gone. On the crown, I still have quite a few; perhaps they are the native ones.

I am not sure if it is shock loss, there are some hair missing around the end of the scar on my left side. Nevertheless, it seems to get better and there are some hair along the scar line that appear to be growing. Thankfully so far I am able to mask it with the other hair, despite my left side being thinner than the right side (that's probably inherent, not due to the surgery).

Is the shock loss noticeable to others? That would be the only thing to bother me.  Let's us know what Brandi says. Best of luck.

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Thanks Merlin.  I'm glad yours is good and also lost a spot along the scar line.  I'm going in Monday for a followup but suspect this is just "normal" shockloss from the surgery. I found a good post on this site about it and shared it below. I predict more hat wearing in my future for the next few months 😉. Brandi indicated via email this is almost certainly temporary and the native hairs should grow back more quickly than the transplanted hairs. It was alarming to see and did make the crown loss larger, but I feel a bit better now understanding what the likely cause and effect are. I'll update after the visit and hope your recovery keeps going well!

 

 

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On 1/18/2019 at 7:00 PM, GrowingHair said:

Thanks Merlin.  I'm glad yours is good and also lost a spot along the scar line.  I'm going in Monday for a followup but suspect this is just "normal" shockloss from the surgery. I found a good post on this site about it and shared it below. I predict more hat wearing in my future for the next few months 😉. Brandi indicated via email this is almost certainly temporary and the native hairs should grow back more quickly than the transplanted hairs. It was alarming to see and did make the crown loss larger, but I feel a bit better now understanding what the likely cause and effect are. I'll update after the visit and hope your recovery keeps going well!

 

 

Thanks for the link GrowingHair. It doesn't hurt to go for a follow since apparently you are close enough. I hope it did go well.

Things are still going well: treating the scar and hiding the missing hair until they grow back. I don't like seeing the shockloss I mentioned at the scar, but I know it's temporary.

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This looks like some really excellent work. It's very clean with very small incisions causing only minor scabbing. Very nice. I hope it grows well.

 

Al

Forum Moderator

(formerly BeHappy)

I am a forum moderator for hairrestorationnetwork.com. I am not a Dr. and I do not work for any particular Dr. My opinions are my own and may not reflect the opinions of other moderators or the owner of this site. I am also a hair transplant patient and repair patient. You can view some of my repair journey here.

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Glad to hear you're progressing well Merlin. I met with Dr Cooley and Brandi yesterday and they confirmed everything looks good, and I have "minor" shockloss. The lost native hair from both the recipient and donor areas will start to regrow soon, and then be followed by the transplanted hair. It was alarming to have a bare spot along the incision as you've indicated but was assured this will all grow back. I'll start a thread with some photos to track my experience, and look forward to seeing our progress - doing my best to be patient. To be honest even the small impact the tiny transplanted hairs have created to my hairline is very exciting, and I can't even imagine how we'll look once the hair comes in and grows up!  Thanks again for your feedback and good wishes!

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On 1/12/2019 at 4:41 AM, hairlinehelp said:

how much grafts on the crown ?

About 1500 on the crown, 1500 on the hairline, and 1200 behind the hairline. The crown had many of the 3 & 4 hair grafts and as result the crown has about the same amount of hair as the front.

On 1/22/2019 at 10:00 AM, GrowingHair said:

Glad to hear you're progressing well Merlin. I met with Dr Cooley and Brandi yesterday and they confirmed everything looks good, and I have "minor" shockloss. The lost native hair from both the recipient and donor areas will start to regrow soon, and then be followed by the transplanted hair. It was alarming to have a bare spot along the incision as you've indicated but was assured this will all grow back. I'll start a thread with some photos to track my experience, and look forward to seeing our progress - doing my best to be patient. To be honest even the small impact the tiny transplanted hairs have created to my hairline is very exciting, and I can't even imagine how we'll look once the hair comes in and grows up!  Thanks again for your feedback and good wishes!

Thanks for the update. It sounds like shockloss is a common thing from what people are reporting. When I updated Dr. Cooley on my  progress (including the shockloss), he also said to me that everything sounded normal to him. Nevertheless, I am doing my best to ignore the missing hair and only pay the requisite attention for the scar care.

Looking forward to seeing your results! You are welcome, and all the best again! In a few months things will be becoming awesome!

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3 hours ago, GrowingHair said:

How are you doing Merlin?  You should be only a few months away from some sprouts!  I wanted to ask if your bare spot along the incision had started filling in any?  My wife said mine still looks bare. Hope you are doing well! 

I am doing well. On the top of the head, everything is the same. About the incision, after a closer inspection I noticed I had some shock loss in other parts along the incision consistent with ofter FUT reports in the forums. I haven't noticed it initially because other than my left side, everywhere else is very well covered with surrounding hair. There are some very short hair along the incision like I previously mentioned (I am not sure if they are growing or they are just trapped/stuck there or if they will grow at some point), and I don't think anything grew at the shock loss area surrounding the incision. Probably it will take at least a few weeks or a couple of months before something will be noticeable.

The last few days my whole head itches everywhere I have hair (I can easily ignore it; is not very strong), from the bottom of the neck to the top of the head. Maybe is due to the incision nerves healing/reconstructing (it is significantly less red than it used to).

I hope that you are doing well too and that we will see some growth soon!!!

 

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3 minutes ago, Merlin said:

The last few days my whole head itches everywhere I have hair (I can easily ignore it; is not very strong), from the bottom of the neck to the top of the head. Maybe is due to the incision nerves healing/reconstructing (it is significantly less red than it used to).

Yeah. I get a lot of light itchiness all over the donor and recipient area for months after that hair transplant. It's just a part of the healing process.

 

 

Al

Forum Moderator

(formerly BeHappy)

I am a forum moderator for hairrestorationnetwork.com. I am not a Dr. and I do not work for any particular Dr. My opinions are my own and may not reflect the opinions of other moderators or the owner of this site. I am also a hair transplant patient and repair patient. You can view some of my repair journey here.

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