Unshaven FUT with Dr Gabel (1221 Grafts)

[Carlton]

I want to share my recent experience with Dr Gabel.

 

About myself:

 

I am aged early 40s, currently living in Australia. I have had a slow receding hairline over the past 6 years and have been taking both minoxidil and finasteride to stabilize my hair loss.

In 2016 I decided to have a procedure to lower my hairline to a point I was comfortable with.  I had the procedure in Canada, it was 2700 grafts (FUT) and it lowered my hairline around 2cm.

 

Why another procedure?

I was delighted with how the hairline looked, but after 12 months I realised the density was not what I was hoping for.  There were parts of the transplant which had excellent density, so I knew it was possible to add more to the areas that looked thin.

As 2 years since the procedure passed, I figured it was a good time to have it done.

I decided I wanted it done as an unshaven transplant.  I keep my hair long, so did not want to have to wait another year before it grew out again.  I also wanted to be able to return to work and not look like anything had happened.

I spoke with 3 doctor’s who offered the no shave procedure.  Dr Gabel personally responded to all my emails quickly answering all my questions.  I had been following his work on this site and knew that going with him would result in a great procedure.

From Australia to Portland it was an easy 16 hour flight with one connection, as opposed to the 22 hour 2 connection flight to Canada.  Dr Gabel surgery is around 10 Km from downtown Portland and there are plenty of hotels around.  I stayed in a self-contained hotel which meant I could cook my own meals, and was in walking distance of the surgery, making life much easier after the transplant.

 

Surgery Day:

 

Arrived at the clinic around 6:30am where one of the techs took blood pressure etc to make sure I was healthy enough for the procedure.

Dr Gabel came in and I instantly felt at ease with him.  He is very positive and personable, almost like meeting an old friend.  We talked again about what I hoped to achieve with the procedure. Dr Gabel estimated I would need around 1200 grafts to get the density I was hoping for.

Once we agreed my donor area was prepared. Dr Gable only shaves the smallest area where the donor will be extracted from. This allows the donor area to be less noticeable after the surgery. I was given a Valium to help relax

 

I was taken to the operating room, 9 techs were already hard at work.   Amazing to think they were all there just for me as Dr Gable only does one procedure per day.

 

The donor strip took around 30 mins to extract, the only pain I felt was the numbing needles. I was sutured up and turned into my back for the placement to begin.

 

Dr Gabel was present during the entire procedure.  He would make the incision and immediately place a graft. The work was so clean. Dr Gable would insert around 50 grafts before he would take a few minutes break. During this time the tech would spray saline over the new grafts, making sure they stayed moist and clean.

There is a tv available if you wish to watch but I found myself talking to Dr Gabel and his staff the whole time. It was a most relaxed procedure, apart from needing to be numbed a few times I needed no pain medication after the initial Valium.

When we stopped for lunch around 700 grafts had been placed.  Lunch was 20 mins, provided by them before we started again for the last 500 grafts.

When the final graft was in place, I was amazed that it took over 8 hours. But Dr Gabel is so thorough, constant checking and repositioning the graft placement. He was never rushing. I found his attention to detail amazing.

Once all the grafts had been placed the tech checked all the grafts to make sure they were placed and sitting ok. Then Dr Gabel rechecked every single graft.

Looking into the mirror the first time I was amazed how clean the work was.  It looked like I had the procedure 5 days ago, not 5 minutes ago. There was hardly any blood and the redness was minimal.  The transplanted hairs were a longer length so straight away you were able to see how denser the hairline was.  This result is going to be so good.

 

The graft count ended up as

Total : 1221

1 Hair: 216

2 Hair: 474

3 Hair: 416

4 Hair: 115

 

Following Days:

The next morning, I went back for my first day clean. Like everything else this was done in great detail. Each graft was check again before I had my first wash.  This first clean took over 2 hours.  Dr Gabel also came in to check the grafts and he was extremely pleased with how it was all looking.

 

I stayed another 2 days and I had my hair washed daily at the clinic.  By the end of the second day I could pretty much go out in public.  The redness was minimal and unlike my first procedure I had almost no swelling.   Back at work 8 days after my procedure no one had any idea what I had done.   

The stitches were removed after 12 days.   

I am now at 12 weeks, around 95% of the hairs did shed, but now I can see new hairs appearing.  Exciting times are ahead.

 

Dr Gabel has an absolute passion in hair restoration, amazing attention to detail and a positive personality that makes you know you made the right choice. I cannot recommend him and his team enough.

 

Pre Op:

 

Pre Op

Immediate Post Op

 

Day 2 Post Op

Donor at 2 months

 

[LaserCap]

Dr. Gabel, I believe, is the only one that goes to the extreme when it comes to cleanliness.  He is involved 100% of the time in the procedure. .  His staff is very experienced and amazing as they have been with him and following his techniques for a long time.  He recently moved to a new technologically advanced placed which is in an easy access location in Portland.  His work is impeccable.  I am glad you had a positive experience.  I hope you can post in 4 months when the hair starts growing.

[yesplease]

43 minutes ago, Carlton said:

I want to share my recent experience with Dr Gabel.

 

About myself:

 

I am aged early 40s, currently living in Australia. I have had a slow receding hairline over the past 6 years and have been taking both minoxidil and finasteride to stabilize my hair loss.

In 2016 I decided to have a procedure to lower my hairline to a point I was comfortable with.  I had the procedure in Canada, it was 2700 grafts (FUT) and it lowered my hairline around 2cm.

 

Why another procedure?

I was delighted with how the hairline looked, but after 12 months I realised the density was not what I was hoping for.  There were parts of the transplant which had excellent density, so I knew it was possible to add more to the areas that looked thin.

As 2 years since the procedure passed, I figured it was a good time to have it done.

I decided I wanted it done as an unshaven transplant.  I keep my hair long, so did not want to have to wait another year before it grew out again.  I also wanted to be able to return to work and not look like anything had happened.

I spoke with 3 doctor’s who offered the no shave procedure.  Dr Gabel personally responded to all my emails quickly answering all my questions.  I had been following his work on this site and knew that going with him would result in a great procedure.

From Australia to Portland it was an easy 16 hour flight with one connection, as opposed to the 22 hour 2 connection flight to Canada.  Dr Gabel surgery is around 10 Km from downtown Portland and there are plenty of hotels around.  I stayed in a self-contained hotel which meant I could cook my own meals, and was in walking distance of the surgery, making life much easier after the transplant.

 

Surgery Day:

 

Arrived at the clinic around 6:30am where one of the techs took blood pressure etc to make sure I was healthy enough for the procedure.

Dr Gabel came in and I instantly felt at ease with him.  He is very positive and personable, almost like meeting an old friend.  We talked again about what I hoped to achieve with the procedure. Dr Gabel estimated I would need around 1200 grafts to get the density I was hoping for.

Once we agreed my donor area was prepared. Dr Gable only shaves the smallest area where the donor will be extracted from. This allows the donor area to be less noticeable after the surgery. I was given a Valium to help relax

 

I was taken to the operating room, 9 techs were already hard at work.   Amazing to think they were all there just for me as Dr Gable only does one procedure per day.

 

The donor strip took around 30 mins to extract, the only pain I felt was the numbing needles. I was sutured up and turned into my back for the placement to begin.

 

Dr Gabel was present during the entire procedure.  He would make the incision and immediately place a graft. The work was so clean. Dr Gable would insert around 50 grafts before he would take a few minutes break. During this time the tech would spray saline over the new grafts, making sure they stayed moist and clean.

There is a tv available if you wish to watch but I found myself talking to Dr Gabel and his staff the whole time. It was a most relaxed procedure, apart from needing to be numbed a few times I needed no pain medication after the initial Valium.

When we stopped for lunch around 700 grafts had been placed.  Lunch was 20 mins, provided by them before we started again for the last 500 grafts.

When the final graft was in place, I was amazed that it took over 8 hours. But Dr Gabel is so thorough, constant checking and repositioning the graft placement. He was never rushing. I found his attention to detail amazing.

Once all the grafts had been placed the tech checked all the grafts to make sure they were placed and sitting ok. Then Dr Gabel rechecked every single graft.

Looking into the mirror the first time I was amazed how clean the work was.  It looked like I had the procedure 5 days ago, not 5 minutes ago. There was hardly any blood and the redness was minimal.  The transplanted hairs were a longer length so straight away you were able to see how denser the hairline was.  This result is going to be so good.

 

The graft count ended up as

Total : 1221

1 Hair: 216

2 Hair: 474

3 Hair: 416

4 Hair: 115

 

Following Days:

The next morning, I went back for my first day clean. Like everything else this was done in great detail. Each graft was check again before I had my first wash.  This first clean took over 2 hours.  Dr Gabel also came in to check the grafts and he was extremely pleased with how it was all looking.

 

I stayed another 2 days and I had my hair washed daily at the clinic.  By the end of the second day I could pretty much go out in public.  The redness was minimal and unlike my first procedure I had almost no swelling.   Back at work 8 days after my procedure no one had any idea what I had done.   

The stitches were removed after 12 days.   

I am now at 12 weeks, around 95% of the hairs did shed, but now I can see new hairs appearing.  Exciting times are ahead.

 

Dr Gabel has an absolute passion in hair restoration, amazing attention to detail and a positive personality that makes you know you made the right choice. I cannot recommend him and his team enough.

 

Pre Op:

 

Pre Op

Immediate Post Op

 

Day 2 Post Op

Donor at 2 months

 

This looks like it’ll turn a great hairline into an amazing one. Best of luck. 

 

Out of curiosity, do you have any pre-op and progress pics from your first HT?  

[Spanker]

Man, that is a killer hairline pre op. Your top looks super solid it looks like you can afford the grafts. 

[Carlton]

thanks for the replies guys.

 

Spanker- Luckily my hair loss outside my hairline has been minimal so I felt confident I could use more grafts.  I know if I was in my 20's I would not be doing a second procedure like this.   

 

Yesplease- here are my pre and post op photos for my first procedure in 2016. 

 

 

 

[LonelyGraft]

this is going to look amazing. who was your first surgeon? rahal?

[Carlton]

Yes it was Dr Rahal. 

He was a quality surgeon too, though I rate Dr Gabel higher for they way he runs his procedure and after care.

[Viru.K]

Is this real?

[Carlton]

On 2/27/2019 at 5:08 PM, Viru.K said:

Is this real?

Hi Viru.K

Not sure why you would question this as not real?

I posted to show the high quality and refined work Dr Gabel does. 

 

[Carlton]

Just passed 3 month mark and all is proceeding as expected.

A few new hairs have started to sprout which is exciting, looking forward to the months ahead.  My donor area is fantastic.  I have no numbness and no tightness at all.

The nice thing with going unshaven is by week 4,  I basically looked the same as I did before my procedure.  And having gone through the ugly duckling stage before with my first procedure it was very welcomed.

 

Here are some 3 month photos

 

 

[Bill - Seemiller]

On 2/18/2019 at 2:51 AM, vikasgupta123 said:

Very Informative!! Is anyone has confusion on  Choosing hair transplant method then follow this link.  (Promotional link removed)

@vikasgupta123,

thanks for posting but our forum is not a venue to freely promote yourself or your clinic. This your link has been removed.  

Please adhere to the rules of this forum or your listing privileges will be revoked. 

Regards,

Bill

[narayan21]

great

[brickellmoto]

any update on this? i just had my consultation with dr gabel over the phone this past weekend and we're planning on going the same unshaven route. he was super friendly and informative and patient enough to wait for me to send photos back and forth so he could draw a hairline.

[Carlton]

Hey Brickellmoto

 

I think you would be making a great choice with Dr Gabel.  He is a terrific doctor and person.  He took extreme care during my procedure, constantly checking and rechecking.

It was great that after 3 days I could walk around and no one would have any idea I had a transplant.  After a week I was able to resume a normal life, going back to work (just avoiding exercise and sun).

[Carlton]

I am around 10 days short of 6 months and am very happy with how things are processing.  New hairs started to appear around the 3 month mark and combined with regrowth of hair after some minor shock loss, the density improved greatly.

 

Even if this was the final result, I would be more than satisfied, but I know once the transplanted hair mature and thicken, it will turn into an amazing result.

[brickellmoto]

On 5/15/2019 at 5:16 AM, Carlton said:

I am around 10 days short of 6 months and am very happy with how things are processing.  New hairs started to appear around the 3 month mark and combined with regrowth of hair after some minor shock loss, the density improved greatly.

 

Even if this was the final result, I would be more than satisfied, but I know once the transplanted hair mature and thicken, it will turn into an amazing result.

looking good sir

[Steeeve]

Man, this is already looking so good. Congratulations! We should all be so lucky...

[brickellmoto]

any updates on this?

[brickellmoto]

On 5/15/2019 at 5:16 AM, Carlton said:

I am around 10 days short of 6 months and am very happy with how things are processing.  New hairs started to appear around the 3 month mark and combined with regrowth of hair after some minor shock loss, the density improved greatly.

 

Even if this was the final result, I would be more than satisfied, but I know once the transplanted hair mature and thicken, it will turn into an amazing result.

hows this looking?

[Tbcruz]

I’m sure he got such a good result (based on his 6 month update) he doesn’t even care for this forum anymore lol. Would be nice if he updated tho 

[brickellmoto]

any updates on this?