Regular Member bobbleboy Posted April 10, 2019 Regular Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 Hi all! Been lurking here for over a decade and finally saved up enough money AND courage to take the step for FUT. First off, thank you all for the wealth of knowledge and encouragement. This network helped me make my decision in going with Dr. Cooley, plus helped to know what to expect. So, I'll keep it brief right now but happy to answer any questions. I just had the procedure yesterday and am already back home with little to no discomfort. Excellent experience at Cooley's office and seriously painless procedure. Below are some pictures before and after, and I'll be updating these every month or so with progress. FYI, I'm 37yo male. I've only taken Rogaine (no finasteride) for about a decade, though not religiously (that's about to change!). I've also decided to try finasteride at Dr Cooley's recommendation, and hoping for no side effects. My crown is thinning more than I realized, though frontal hairline was really all I was ever concerned about. Ok, so here's the pics so far. Love to hear your thoughts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted April 10, 2019 Administrators Share Posted April 10, 2019 You’ve chosen one of the best. Excited to see your progress. Please don’t forget about us once your hair starts to grow. 1 I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey: View my thread Topical dutasteride journey Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member RecessionProof Posted April 10, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 (edited) Looks very promising! I've always really liked Cooley's work and I'm sure you'll be thrilled by how it turns out. Edited April 10, 2019 by RecessionProof 1 https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/53836-2338-grafts-with-konior-hairline-restoration-fut/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member bonkling Posted April 10, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 Great choice, Cooley is a fantastic surgeon. If you don't mind me asking, what prompted you to choose Cooley finally? His results are very consistent, so I can't blame you. I assume the FUT price wasn't anything crazy either? Best of luck on Finasteride, too. Don't think about the sides - I've been on it for years with no sides, as have lots of people I know. Cheers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member bobbleboy Posted April 10, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 @bonkling, mostly Cooley's reputation, and his proximity to my home in Tennessee. His cost was right in the middle. I found cheaper, but from much less reputable surgeons. And I also got quotes from much more expensive surgeons with stellar reps, but it seemed much of their added cost was due to their geography, ie major metropolitan cities like NY or Chicago. So I found Cooley to be the right fit. Thank you for your feedback on Fin! I'll report back on how that goes but I think it's going to be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member mephesto Posted April 10, 2019 Regular Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 Hi @bobbleboy, thanks for the thread. Cooley is one of my top choices for FUT. How does the scar look so far? Do you happen to have any pictures of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Kiwi Guy Posted April 10, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 Hey mate, good luck with the growth! The work looks really clean and that speaks volumes for Dr Cooley's reputation, you chose a good one, any photos of the donor area/ scar? Did Dr Cooley do all the extractions and implantation's himself or does he use X amount of techs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member forgotpassword Posted April 10, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Kiwi Guy said: Hey mate, good luck with the growth! The work looks really clean and that speaks volumes for Dr Cooley's reputation, you chose a good one, any photos of the donor area/ scar? Did Dr Cooley do all the extractions and implantation's himself or does he use X amount of techs? Hi @Kiwi Guy When I did my procedure in July 2017 the implantations were done by Dr Cooley and Brandi. Ref extractions: This was an FUT, not FUE Heal well @bobbleboyDid you spend any extra time in NC or did you immediately return home? 1 July 2017 - Dr Cooley - 2575 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member OliverAtom Posted April 10, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 The post-op looks great, very clean! Why you decided for FUT instead of FUE? Did u consult on FUE options? I´m pretty sure the use of Finas will help you a lot! Good luck ; ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member bobbleboy Posted April 10, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 @mephesto @Kiwi Guy, I'm not sure he took any of the scar, so here's one I tried to take. However, it's nearly impossible because its pretty much INVISIBLE! It's really pretty incredible. Right now it's a little sore, as to be expected, and so in my mind it's much bigger. But I literally can't even find it with the camera. See below. Also, Dr Cooley and Brandi worked side by side the entire time. We had some funny banter than I wasn't sound asleep haha. We didn't spend any extra time in Charlotte unfortunately, bc my wife needed to get back for obligations (cats). So i'm mostly taking it easy at home and trying not to bump my head. @OliverAtom, I decided to got with FUT for several reasons. For one, the price. But also, I'd been advised from many on here that the first procedure is better off FUT because if you do FUE, then you might limit the donor area in the future if you need more. But mostly it was the price. I don't keep my hair too short anyways, so I don't mind the scar. Plus I can always make up some battle story if anyone ever saw it 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member OliverAtom Posted April 10, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 1 minute ago, bobbleboy said: @mephesto @Kiwi Guy, I'm not sure he took any of the scar, so here's one I tried to take. However, it's nearly impossible because its pretty much INVISIBLE! It's really pretty incredible. Right now it's a little sore, as to be expected, and so in my mind it's much bigger. But I literally can't even find it with the camera. See below. Also, Dr Cooley and Brandi worked side by side the entire time. We had some funny banter than I wasn't sound asleep haha. We didn't spend any extra time in Charlotte unfortunately, bc my wife needed to get back for obligations (cats). So i'm mostly taking it easy at home and trying not to bump my head. @OliverAtom, I decided to got with FUT for several reasons. For one, the price. But also, I'd been advised from many on here that the first procedure is better off FUT because if you do FUE, then you might limit the donor area in the future if you need more. But mostly it was the price. I don't keep my hair too short anyways, so I don't mind the scar. Plus I can always make up some battle story if anyone ever saw it 🙂 @bobbleboy ha ha, love the idea about the battle story!!! Great, thanks for sharing the info : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Kiwi Guy Posted April 10, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 2 hours ago, bobbleboy said: @mephesto @Kiwi Guy, I'm not sure he took any of the scar, so here's one I tried to take. However, it's nearly impossible because its pretty much INVISIBLE! It's really pretty incredible. Right now it's a little sore, as to be expected, and so in my mind it's much bigger. But I literally can't even find it with the camera. See below. Also, Dr Cooley and Brandi worked side by side the entire time. We had some funny banter than I wasn't sound asleep haha. We didn't spend any extra time in Charlotte unfortunately, bc my wife needed to get back for obligations (cats). So i'm mostly taking it easy at home and trying not to bump my head. @OliverAtom, I decided to got with FUT for several reasons. For one, the price. But also, I'd been advised from many on here that the first procedure is better off FUT because if you do FUE, then you might limit the donor area in the future if you need more. But mostly it was the price. I don't keep my hair too short anyways, so I don't mind the scar. Plus I can always make up some battle story if anyone ever saw it 🙂 Oh so you had an unshaven FUT... did this cost more? Thank you answering the questions by the way, I really appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member bobbleboy Posted April 10, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 @Kiwi Guy yes they actually recommended unshaven so as to hide the scar. Not sure if there was a cost difference though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Kiwi Guy Posted April 10, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 6 minutes ago, bobbleboy said: @Kiwi Guy yes they actually recommended unshaven so as to hide the scar. Not sure if there was a cost difference though. Oh ok, very well hidden... usually clinics charge more for unshaven procedures... how much was it per graft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member bobbleboy Posted April 10, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 10, 2019 @Kiwi Guy I'm not sure if his office is ok with disclosing the costs. Anyone know? If so, I'm happy to share 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Kiwi Guy Posted April 11, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted April 11, 2019 1 hour ago, bobbleboy said: @Kiwi Guy I'm not sure if his office is ok with disclosing the costs. Anyone know? If so, I'm happy to share 🙂 No that's fair bobble, you don't have to risk doing that, at the end of the day he's on my list of surgeons so when I send my emails I'll get to know the cost at that point, thank you for the info. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member bobbleboy Posted April 13, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 13, 2019 Here's a Day 5 update! Looking less bloody and more like a hairline! Of course I'm not getting too attached to these little guys as I know they're soon to fall out, but I at least get a vision of the future and am very excited! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member bobbleboy Posted April 15, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 15, 2019 On 4/10/2019 at 7:02 PM, Kiwi Guy said: No that's fair bobble, you don't have to risk doing that, at the end of the day he's on my list of surgeons so when I send my emails I'll get to know the cost at that point, thank you for the info. right on. Let's just say it's a fair price and you will NOT regret a penny of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member RecessionProof Posted April 15, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted April 15, 2019 Very clean! What's Cooley have you doing for graft zone care? Looks like you have minimal redness/scabbing https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/53836-2338-grafts-with-konior-hairline-restoration-fut/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member bobbleboy Posted April 15, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 15, 2019 55 minutes ago, RecessionProof said: Very clean! What's Cooley have you doing for graft zone care? Looks like you have minimal redness/scabbing @RecessionProof yea I've been SUPER anal retentive about spraying the nutrient spray he provided, keeping it saran wrapped, washing hair every day, taking antiobiotic pills, and drinking 1 Help Hair protein shake a day. Guess that's the ticket! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member RecessionProof Posted April 15, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted April 15, 2019 8 minutes ago, bobbleboy said: @RecessionProof yea I've been SUPER anal retentive about spraying the nutrient spray he provided, keeping it saran wrapped, washing hair every day, taking antiobiotic pills, and drinking 1 Help Hair protein shake a day. Guess that's the ticket! Didn't know about those protein shakes, might as well give them a shot as well! I think we both had FUT procedures on the same day, happy growing https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/53836-2338-grafts-with-konior-hairline-restoration-fut/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member bobbleboy Posted April 21, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 21, 2019 On 4/14/2019 at 10:49 PM, RecessionProof said: Didn't know about those protein shakes, might as well give them a shot as well! I think we both had FUT procedures on the same day, happy growing @RecessionProof very cool! How many grafts did you get and with which doc? Be curious to see photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member RecessionProof Posted April 21, 2019 Senior Member Share Posted April 21, 2019 17 minutes ago, bobbleboy said: @RecessionProof very cool! How many grafts did you get and with which doc? Be curious to see photos. Around 2300 with Konior. Feel free to check out my thread for pics: https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/53836-2338-grafts-with-konior-hairline-restoration-fut/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member bobbleboy Posted May 5, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 5, 2019 4 Week Update! So all has healed up well. The stitches are out and the donor strip no longer feels tight. As you can see, shedding has begun as expected. Gotta say I got kinda attached to those transplanted follicles haha. But excited for new growth! Gonna be wearing a hat for a while longer, as it's in the awkward adolescence stage. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member bobbleboy Posted July 11, 2019 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 11, 2019 Here's a 3 month update! STARTING to see little follicles and if I squint I can imagine the impending hairline. Started using Hairgenics shampoo, biotin supplement, and cologen. Anything to support the cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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