Hair transplant date fixed : Dr Tejinder Bhatti , Darling buds on 1 March 2019

[Petroholic]

Here is the link to my previous thread

https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/52647-getting-a-hair-transplant-this-monthbut-highly-confused/?tab=comments#comment-487238

 

So here goes my story :

Current scenario : am 29 years old currently. Have a  receding hairline ( not much ). Hair all over the top have thinned but thankfully are still present on the entire top .
Have been taking finasteride 1 mg daily for the past 5 years . Have also been taking biotin/vit&min supplement daily for past 4 years

Past :

20 years : started noticing a receding hairline.

23 years : Hair thinning all over but hairline recede did not progress thankfully

25 years : Was so depressed with thin hair that I decided to shave my head. Started applying minoxidil and taking finax regularly hoping to restore my hair..
Applied and took both these meds for a year.
Shaved my head again: kept on applying and taking meds . Developed severe psoriosis and sabbhoric dermatitis on scalp. Applied meds for psoriosis too.
Essentially lost 2 years of my life . In these 2 years I did nothing fruitful other than to try to get back my hair.All this trial eventually led to a massive depression episode.

27 years : Sense and a new opportunity career vise forced me out of this vicious circle.Left applying minoxidil.Continued taking finasteride and a hair supplement tab .

 

28 year : A job transfer to a place with extremely hard water , developing chronic seborrheic dermatitis , applying various topical medicines for the same caused further loss in year 2017 and 2018 .To the extent that bare scalp was visible in front region of scalp.

So in January 2019 I was suggested by my local dermatologist to consider a hair transplant.

Started doing research. After months of doing the same finally landed in Chandigarh to Dr Bhatti's clinic in may 2018 .He suggested me 2500 grafts for hairline , temple creation and mid scalp.

For months thought over again , major doubts being -

1 Should I go for a hair transplant at all at this stage or wait to go more bald

2 Will I end up even worse after a transplant since I still had hair on my scalp which could get lost due to shockloss.

Consulted two more reputed clinics in Delhi - Eugenix and Medispa ( Dr Suneet Soni )

 

So after thinking and getting fed up of hiding my hair loss I took an appointment with Dr Bhatti for second consultation on 18th September 2018. Met him and cleared some doubts . but then unfortunately I was deputed on site by my office .

Finally decided to take the plunge ,paid the advance on 1 December 2018 and have been confirmed the date on 1 March 2019.
Waiting for the date eagerly ( 69 days to go : Have a tracker on my phone )

Have been suggested 2500 grafts for hairline ,temple creation and mid scalp by the doctor ( this was in may 2018 hence may even go a little higher now )

Attaching pictures of doctors prescription.

Let's see how it goes , will update my journey with you guys on this thread

 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Petroholic

[rohit.dl]

You take the right decision. All the best for your upcoming HT.

[Petroholic]

Some pictures taken in November 2018 before Hair transplant.

[Petroholic]

Update : Date preponed to 14th February 2019.

Hi guys .
So the latest update is that the date for my hair transplant has been preponed to 14th February : that is 10 days from today.

Reason for this is that Dr Bhatti wanted to do my hair transplant on a weekday and see my condition the next day .the previous date given to me was falling on a Friday and the next day being a saturday , doctor is not available at the clinic.
The reason why Dr Bhatti wanted to see me the next day is that I suffer from sabbhoric dermatitis of scalp ( which is nothing but a more severe form of dandruff ). He said that he wanted to see me the next day after my hair transplant due to this.
It is a mild condition in which your scalp is extra oily , sometimes scales are formed . To keep it under control I use ketocanazole shampoo twice a week.
Doctor has said that it is not much of an issue . I had offered to visit my dermatologist for inspection but according to Dr Bhatti it is not required.

So all in all , for preparation
Have booked two rooms at a hotel in Chandigarh from 13th Feb to 16th Feb . My parents will be with me.
Have applied leaves at office from 13th Feb to 24th Feb . So I will have 10 days to look all right and return to office .
Have booked train tickets and will be reaching Chandigarh on 13th Feb around 11pm.
Other than that have bought some caps and bandanas .
So all is set just counting days for the procedure.

[Petroholic]

Big Update Guys - Finally have got the Hair Transpant Done

Currently back to my hotel room.

Attached are the pics yesterday in which Dr Bhatti made the hairline which I gave a go ahead on -

Also pics post hair transplant are attached-

 

Other Details about my Transplant-

1 Started at 8.45 am today . Was over at 2.45pm.

2 Around 2470 grafts

Will Write a detailed post soon .

Replies would be welcome . 

Tagging @Shera

@California

@Melvin-Moderator

@BeHappy

[Melvin- Admin]

Everything looks great, I really like the hairline design.

[Petroholic]

On 2/14/2019 at 9:23 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

Everything looks great, I really like the hairline design.

Thanks Melvin . 

I did not change anything in the hairline suggested by Dr Bhatti as I thought that I should let the expert do his work.

My only criteria was shorter forehead which I thought was met with the hairline suggested by Dr Bhatti

[Petroholic]

So Here goes my detailed report - Will try to keep it in points as I am better in writing that way.

Currently Day 3 post Op and recovering at home .

 

Day -1 -As mentioned above My HT date was 14th Feb . Had reached chandigarh on 13th Feb at 12pm . Chandigarh is 7 hours away from my town and had taken a train. A hotel had already been prebooked .

Dr Bhatti's driver picked me up from the hotel at 1 pm for consultation 1 day prior. Met Dr Bhatti and his assistants Sonam and Shalini. 

Dr Bhatti quickly drew the hairline as shown  above to which I more or less agreed.

 

As usual anxious me had a couple of questions which I asked and Dr Bhatti gave short but clear answers to the same.

( Off Topic - Had already gone to Dr Bhatti 3 times prior to this since I stay just 7 hours drive away , just for asking questions . Still had some more on HT day . I find it really courageous  of you guys to come to India from other countries for having HT done just by online consultation )

Was given some pretty standard medicines to take at night. Filled the forms ,made the payments ,  Got a blood test done  and was dropped back to the hotel by the driver.

So I was back in the hotel by 4pm at the most.

 

Day 0 - was picked up by the driver at 7am .

As soon as I reached the clinic the procedure started.

Dr Bhatti redrew the hairline he had drawn a day prior after this he himself shaved off my head. He mentioned that the hair in front ie midscalp are there and are able to currently cover the area since I keep them long but they will soon fall off anyway.He marked the line on my midscalp till which the transplantation will be done .

 

At 8.45 am the surgery started . Everything was standard as described in other threads.

Anaesthesia was given by doctor in donor area. Didnt pain much . Then Doctor bhatti proceeded to do the punches in donor area .

Here it was painless in some areas of scalp  while it pained a little in others . Dr Bhatti does try to distract you by talking about some other things during the process.

After this Dr Bhatti's team continued to take out the grafts till 11.20 am . 

Was given a light breakfast.

Post this Dr Bhatti anaesthetised the recipient area, again it pained a little during initial 10 minutes. Then the slits were made which feels like someone cutting a piece of paper . It was totally painless.

After this Dr Bhatti's team proceeded to implant the grafts.One positive comment by one of the girls in the team ( couldnt see her face to recognize ) was that results will be good in my case since the number of double haired grafts are more. Felt pretty happy listening to this.

By 2 pm everything was over . 

Was given a pizza and coke for lunch and asked to change to my normal clothes.

Dr Bhatti then did the dressing and explained the care for that day ( which I already knew by heart because of his videos on youtube )

Was back at the hotel by 4 pm .

So pretty standard stuff like mentioned in other threads . Some thoughts from my side -

1 It feels more like a treatment than a surgery 

2 Dr Bhatti and his  team is very disciplined  just like an army man should be. Things happen with such an ease that you sometimes feel unsettling because for you it is a big day for which you have planned for a year so you expect some drama.

3 You can compare the pain to a visit to a dentist maybe .

4 No pain/discomfort at all post surgery .You can literally forget about it if you don't look in the mirror.

 

So took all the care the day of the procedure. The most difficult part is to sit without any work and watch /read something  and to sleep upright late at night. I slept on a chair with a neck pillow at about 3 am.

 

Day +1 - Was picked up by Dr Bhatti's driver at 8 am . Dressing was changed . Everything looked normal in recipient area as per doctor.

Was explained post op care  thoroughly . 

Was explained the graft count Here it is -

total grafts - 2466

single- 217

double-1272

triple - 977

 

In hairline and mid scalp 2050 grafts were implanted. In Left temple 244 grafts were implanted In Right temple 172 grafts were implanted.

As per discharge note it is written that 2200 more grafts can be implanted if needed.When I asked Dr Bhatti also told me that donor quality is fair but density is little less.

Since 2466 grafts were implanted instead of 2500 , I was returned back the payment for remaining grafts . 

By 11 am was again back in the hotel

 

Day +2 - Since I was in Chandigarh this morning too , Dr bhatti's driver picked me up from the hotel at 9 am.

Dressing was removed today from the donor area .

 

Post this I took a cab to my hometown which is a 4 hour drive .

Currently I am On Day +3 . No discomfort at all.  . Following all instructions to the T.Passing time at home is surely difficult.

Have taken 10 days off from office so have 10 days post op to look normal again and return back to office unnoticed. If the scabs /redness  still remains after 10 days , I will wear a baseball cap in office to hide the signs . ( Have already bought 3 caps and a bandana )

At this point I can just thank Dr Bhatti , His team ( Sonam ,Shalini and others who performed the procedure but I do not know their names ) for making the entire process pretty easy , uneventful and without any unnecessary surprises.

Now geared up for the long wait ahead . Best way seems to focus on other aspects of my life and keep HT on a backburner for the next 5 months atleast . Intend to this after the initial 15 days in which post op care is required.

Fill be posting pics in some time.

 

 

[Shera]

Hi Petroholic,

Thank you for sharing with the forum your experience with Dr Bhatti thus far, I hope you have the time and energy to continue to update us all on your future progress.

It's very reassuring that after vigorously exploring all your options in your native India that you decided to proceed with Dr Bhatti.

I personally will be following your journey with interest having spoken to you previously. As always feel free to call me if you need any help and guidance.

Happy growing my friend.

[Raphael84]

Petroholic,

Congratulations on your recent procedure. Now is the next "hard part", but stick with and you should have some awesome results right around the corner. Wishing you all the best! 

Great documentation. Keep us updated!

[Petroholic]

Day 4 Pictures- 

[Petroholic]

10 hours ago, Shera said:

Hi Petroholic,

Thank you for sharing with the forum your experience with Dr Bhatti thus far, I hope you have the time and energy to continue to update us all on your future progress.

It's very reassuring that after vigorously exploring all your options in your native India that you decided to proceed with Dr Bhatti.

I personally will be following your journey with interest having spoken to you previously. As always feel free to call me if you need any help and guidance.

Happy growing my friend.

Thanks Shera  for the help and wishes.

Will definitely share my progress till 1 year mark. 

Also will share this thread to Dr Bhatti as well via email so he is informed periodically of the progress too.

[Petroholic]

10 hours ago, Raphael84 said:

Petroholic,

Congratulations on your recent procedure. Now is the next "hard part", but stick with and you should have some awesome results right around the corner. Wishing you all the best! 

Great documentation. Keep us updated!

Yes definitely

I intend to keep busy and focus on my career (once the initial 15 days period of care  is over )

It will be hard but will put the HT on the backburner for next 4 to 5 months .

 

[Petroholic]

A Doubt on post Op Care -

 

Have a doubt of which couldnt find answer anywhere. It is just advised to sleep with your head elevated above your heart for first 3 days. 

After how many days can I sleep normally i.e since my temple triangles are transplanted while tossing and turning they will surely touch the pillow. This can be prevented by using a neck pillow only.
Hence after how many days can I sleep normally without any fear of recipient area rubbing against the pillow.

@Melvin-Moderator Any ideas ??

Edited February 20, 2019 by Petroholic
Removing photo

[Lennney]

Hi, I had the same concern. I used a combination of 2 pillows and a reclining pillow (similar to that one) for about 10-14 days. After about 7 days did I allow any pressure on my temples, where I also had a transplant, but I still babied it. I also researched this forum about the question, "How long must I wait without fear of recipient area rubbing (I assume LOSING transplanted hair) against the pillow?" The answer is 9 days is pretty much clear of any danger to the transplanted hair. Knowing this, I still held off for a few more days.

Best of luck.

[Petroholic]

On 2/21/2019 at 11:18 AM, Lennney said:

Hi, I had the same concern. I used a combination of 2 pillows and a reclining pillow (similar to that one) for about 10-14 days. After about 7 days did I allow any pressure on my temples, where I also had a transplant, but I still babied it. I also researched this forum about the question, "How long must I wait without fear of recipient area rubbing (I assume LOSING transplanted hair) against the pillow?" The answer is 9 days is pretty much clear of any danger to the transplanted hair. Knowing this, I still held off for a few more days.

Best of luck.

Thanks .

Although I think I did not take much care after 5 days.

Phoned up my clinic and they said no need to take care after 3-4 days.

[Petroholic]

Day 6 photos

[Petroholic]

Day 9 photos-

Mods can you change the thread topic to something like -

Dr Bhatti : 2500 FUE Grafts : 14th Feb 2019

So the off days from office are coming to an end on Day 11 i.e 25th Feb 2019 but the evidence of Hair transplant is still very much present. Will have to extend the offs by 3 days and return office on day 14 instead.

Maybe the condition improves . Anyways will be wearing a cap for some days till the condition is better.( Although I work in hotel industry , cap above formals will sure look funny but have to do what I have to do )

Rest Post op blues and staying free at home has caught up with me since past 3 days . The agonizing wait for the next 6 months and the dreaded ugly duckling phase worries me.

I still take comfort in the fact that I have already faced depressing times since past 5 years due to hair loss alone so just 6 months shouldn't be an issue to me.

 

Rest everything is OK . Following the cleaning procedure  to the T which will last till day 15. .

Have restarted Finasteride 1 mg , Biotin 10 mg with other vitamins and minerals ( (Folli Hair ) . Was taking them pre op too so that is not a big thing for me.

 

Rest waiting to look a little normal again which I think should be till Day 14. Otherwise will use caps till whenever possible.

 

 

[Petroholic]

Day 21 post op

 

Slight pain in donor area on touching. Little loss of sensation in recipient area. 

Lot of hair come out with scabs/ clots from recipient area on shampoo  . But Dr Bhatti has mentioned in post op booklet that this is completely normal.

 

Some questions that I want answers to-

1 Is it OK to use some hair fibres like toppic if required on recipient area .This is to hide balding region in shedding phase.

2 As you can see in the attached photos, some scabs are still stuck to hair in the recipient area .I am very gentle while shampooing. Is there any issue or I should let them come out in their own course ?

 

@Melvin-Moderator

Mods can you change the thread topic to something like -

Dr Bhatti : 2500 FUE Grafts : 14th Feb 2019

 

[HLPToronto]

Hi Petroholic,

Thanks for sharing your story, I am also going to see Dr. Bhatti next week for my surgery.

Any updates on your road to recovery, new pics ?  if you don't mind sharing please.  Here's my post :

https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/53594-3500-fue-grafts-–-scheduled-with-dr-bhatti-darling-buds-on-18th-march-2019/?tab=comments#comment-498155

[Petroholic]

Week 6 Update-

So update after 6 weeks /1.5 month

Most of the transplanted hair have shed as you can see in the pics.

I am in the shedding phase now or the dreaded ugly duckling phase. But I am holding through

Quite a lot of hair came out with the clots only between day 15 - day 25 on shampooing only.Whatever were left had shed between day 25 and 1 month . Now cannot see any shedding

Followed the post op to the T.

 

But the transplant did not go undetected . Returned office after 2 weeks with a bandana . Removed the bandana after 5 more days . But even after 20 days co-workers were able to notice the straight hairline and tiny scabs . Many commented whether I had got a Hair transplant . Had to deny and blame it on an allergy.

 

So my next update will be at 3 month I think.

 

 

[HLPToronto]

Thanks for the update. Looks good so far , 3 -4 month mark should be when things switch around . good luck to you  

[Petroholic]

On 3/14/2019 at 11:38 PM, HLPToronto said:

Hi Petroholic,

Thanks for sharing your story, I am also going to see Dr. Bhatti next week for my surgery.

Any updates on your road to recovery, new pics ?  if you don't mind sharing please.  Here's my post :

https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/53594-3500-fue-grafts-–-scheduled-with-dr-bhatti-darling-buds-on-18th-march-2019/?tab=comments#comment-498155

Hi HLPToronto.

You and me will be co-passengers in this journey I guess . You being a month late .

Have almost gone through your thread . As in all other threads experience with Dr bhatti is awesome. 

Surgery day goes like a visit to a saloon. Real pain is the wait post HT.

And the test lies in the result post 1 year

[HLPToronto]

2 minutes ago, Petroholic said:

Hi HLPToronto.

You and me will be co-passengers in this journey I guess . You being a month late .

Have almost gone through your thread . As in all other threads experience with Dr bhatti is awesome. 

Surgery day goes like a visit to a saloon. Real pain is the wait post HT.

And the test lies in the result post 1 year

Agreed about the saloon comment   and yes results will talk.

For now, I think we are just overwhelmed by smooth operating style and expertise of Dr Bhatti's clinic as first timers. 

Add @Lennney  as 3rd reviewer, another 2019 Jan patient as a co - passenger.  Good luck to all of us : 

[Lennney]

4 hours ago, HLPToronto said:

Agreed about the saloon comment   and yes results will talk.

For now, I think we are just overwhelmed by smooth operating style and expertise of Dr Bhatti's clinic as first timers. 

Add @Lennney  as 3rd reviewer, another 2019 Jan patient as a co - passenger.  Good luck to all of us : 

Yeah, all aboard the Bhatti-bus! 

Petro: it looks like everything is going well for your timetable. My worst "look" was between days 30-70. I had that burn victim look. Prior, I kept much of the transplanted hair. Post, new hair comes in and grows out. But during that 30-70 day period, it's a no man's land! Remember this: it's not painful to wait out the HT. It's exciting. I haven't had hair on my temple in YEARS! With every sprout, I'm in new territory. Every sprout is an improvement. Should my growth stop now, it's still better than what it was! 

I wish you the best of luck!