2500 Grafts with Dr. Feller - My experience

[HTInitiate]

I started losing hair in my 30's, and wanted to do something about it. I was using Rogaine 5%, but it did not seem to help a lot. I finally decided on an HT and had been quietly lurking on several hair loss forums since the last two years. Finally, I made a decision to go with Dr. Feller because of the excellent work and numerous happy patients on this and other forums. I decided to make an appointment and met him in May, 09.

During my initial consultation, he asked me as to what I wanted. I asked him to put a few grafts in my crown and some in front. Dr. Feller asked me to choose between the two, since he wanted me to do it in phases. I chose the latter. I booked my HT date on the 2nd July to take advantage of the holidays to recuperate.

I did a little bit of scalp exercises and followed the pre-op instructions. In addition to this, I started drinking fresh kale juice everyday for vitamin K.

July 1st (Day before Surgery). I went to my yoga class in the afternoon and then I got a deep tissue massage. It felt great. I also ensured that all things were in the right place, so that I would not be rushed in the morning. I had a long hot bath and cleaned my scalp very well, before going to bed.

 

July 2nd (Surgery Day). I woke up early at 5 A.M, showered and dressed up and did a little bit of stretching. I had asked a cab to pick me up at 6 A.M. from home (New Jersey). It took me approx. 45 minutes to reach Dr. Fellers office. Boy wasn't that early. I walked around the area for about 30 minutes, before being allowed to enter by another building occupant.

Dr. Feller walked in at 7:30 A.M and asked me how I was doing, and went to change clothes, while I waited. He then called me into his office and drew some lines and then asked me for my opinion. I and he finally settled on an approach that would allow me to comb my hair backwards. The technicians were all in, by this time.

I was then led to the office, and made to sit in a chair, while they shaved the hair from the donor and recipient. I was offered a valium and I agreed to use it. I was then led to another room, so that he could inject me with epinephrine and other drugs. I was asked to lie face down on a table (more like a massage table) and he started. I deeply exhaled whenever I was poked and did not feel any discomfort at all. I was then led back to the operation room and Dr. Feller cut the flap from the donor area. We were talking during this time and before I knew it, it was over. I must say that I bled very little (kale?) and Dr. Feller was pretty happy with everything.

Now, Dr. Feller wanted to work on creating the slits and asked me to not talk at all. He was in a Zen mode for about 45 minutes, while I was busy trying to fall asleep. After 45 minutes, he asked me take a walk to the rest room and have a look in the mirror. It seemed like a faint hair line, was created.

Back in the operation room, the technicians now started working on putting the grafts. This was the hardest part. Sitting still for hours '

I felt some level of discomfort in the donor area and subsequently was poked a few more times to numb it. I was asked for lunch preferences, and I ordered a sandwich. I was asked if I wanted to take a lunch break. I preferred to wait for another few hours, and by the time I knew it, it was over.

Anna ( A very nice lady), cleaned me up, cut my t-shirt and helped me with a button-down shirt. I walked to the rest-room and had a look. It seemed to look okay. Dr. Feller thought it was a 10/10. I was glad it was over.

I was given post-op instructions and send home. I had a cap put on my head by Dr. Feller, since I was too scared to touch anything.

When I reached home and took the cap off, I saw bleeding on my scalp. I freaked out and called Dr. Feller, but could not get in touch with anyone since it was late. I did not do anything and the bleeding stopped in about 10 minutes.

I took my meds (Vicodin) and slept on my couch (45 degree). Sleeping was tough.

 

July 3rd I woke up early next morning and cleaned my scalp with water using a cup. It felt good. I took 4 showers during the day. Had my cousins over and they were too excited to look at what I had undergone in the name of vanity.

 

July 4th and 5th Nothing major. Kept showering from a cup with baby shampoo. Stopped taking Vicodin.

 

July 6th onwards I was now a bit bolder and was massaging my recipient area. It was healing pretty well and the scabs were mostly gone. I must say that 80 % of my recipient area had no scabs from day 1. It might have been due to the small size of the slits created by Dr. Feller. Also I was encouraged to not be TIMID at all from day 3, while showering. It is important to ask the doctor about the size of the slit they use, since it can drastically reduce the scab formation. I did not use anything on my head other than baby shampoo while showering and was scab free on Day 5.

I must say that the toughest part of this entire ordeal was sleeping at night with the staples on. It was not comfortable. I did have a little bit of swelling around my eyes, since I stopped sleeping on the couch from day 3. It went away in a day.

 

July 10th Time for staples to come out: - I drove to Dr. Feller's office and now I have something interesting to tell about Dr. Feller that you all might not have known about. Being a computer geek myself, it was quite a humbling experience to find out that Dr. Feller had patents (worth millions probably) in computer science. I looked at his patent files and was amazed. Now, why he decided to be a doctor is something I could not figure out.

 

Anyway, the staples were out in 10 minutes. Then it was time for some pictures and I was free to go. It felt good after the damn staples were out, and I slept better at night.

 

On the overall, I found Dr. Feller to be deeply passionate about his work and he takes immense pride in what he does. He is more of a perfectionist, and if you have him ??“ you are in good hands.

This forum has been great, and even though I just registered, I have been a silent visitor for over an year. I hope the results are as good as this experience.

[HTInitiate]

More Pics ! Have to put this on the weblog soon !

[Bill - Seemiller]

HTInitiate,

 

Congratulations on your recent hair transplant. Did you already create a patient website at www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog? If so, I can't find it under the name "HTInitiate".

 

It looks like you're going to have a very nice result when it all grows in.

 

Keep us posted.

 

Bill

[HTInitiate]

Thanks Bill ! A crate of beer is on its way next summer

[aaron1234]

Those are some good, clean looking post-ops. Put up a blog so we can follow your progress.

[hair_care]

Your post op shots look great. I had my HT with Dr feller on the 24th of june, and everything went as smoothly as possible. Check out my blog. Happy healing!!!