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Arocha 2500 grafts FUT with PRP 4/16/19


Steeeve

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22 hours ago, vinzaf19 said:

Looks great so far! A big improvement wouldn’t you say? I’ve seen great results with PRP but I have noticed that they seem much better if the procedure includes ACELL. The results seem to trigger an increase in blood vessel formation which I have heard can activate and stimulate inactive hair follicles. I’ve also heard it’s not THAT painful, but haven’t had it done yet myself. I’ve also heard that the Eclipse system is very good too.

@vinzaf19 thanks for your response! I’m not familiar with the Eclipse system. I couldn’t tell you whether the PRP treatment was painful or not as I slept through that part.

I mean, your whole head is numb from the transplant. Lol I don’t know if a doctor numbs you for PRP only. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt during the transplant but it might if you’re not numb...

I see some improvement, yes. Thank you. The camera doesn’t pick up everything I see but the shedding, especially in the corners, has crept up on me a little. And I do mean “a little”. I fully expect that to come back but it seems to me when I put the pre-op photos side by side with the one month photo that my corners have moved a little higher up. No one in my day to day life is looking at me that closely so no one would ever notice. 

I could be totally off, however, and there’s no difference whatsoever... 

It could just be that my hair is longer now and that it’s laying different so my corner recession is really visible to me.1A3ED5DF-88A4-442D-9BA5-9799458A63BD.thumb.jpeg.6e36eab629f901cbb9e8d06f712aa00b.jpegI don’t know but I do appreciate your response!

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14 hours ago, Mycroft said:

The Acell is a definite benefit based on my experience because it increases the longevity of the treatment as well.

Recipient area looks great so far. I started seeing improvements from PRP alone around the three month mark, and there was still a decent amount of native hair left in your case as well. Based on Steve's one month photos I think he may be on track to see some early improvements.

🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 All the fingers crossed I can get man! LOL

I can definitely see some small improvement in my hair from the PRP. It’s ever so slight but hair in my crown has perked up a bit from it where it didn’t respond to fin or minox. Since the beginning of my medical journey 7 years ago I was told that a strict regiment of fin/minox/biotin would help those hairs bulk back up. The regiment seemed to help everywhere but my crown. Tiny wispy white hairs piped out but never grew beyond that. A camera could not detect them. 

You can 100% see them in my pictures now.

I can also see some hair in my hairline that didn’t want to perk up before but are now. It’s exciting just to see that.

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I wanted to give an update about my one month check up with Dr Arocha. Everything went very well. He said the scar looked good. It’s still healing so there is a lot of pinkness and shock loss going on that will take awhile to get back to normal. I’ll post some pics of where it’s at in the healing process. 

He was quite pleased with my recipient. I’ve dealt with very little shock loss in my recipient zone and the vast majority of my grafts have, indeed, held on strong and are growing. He said I was very ahead of the curve. I’m going to have my wife try and help me get some pics of them when she gets home later this evening, however, since Dr Arocha does a no shave approach it’s rather difficult to try and get a camera to spot them. 

I’m going for my 1st haircut post-op this afternoon and I’ll post some comparative pics of that later this evening, as well.

These pics are one month and one week out. Something to note is that the shock loss evident in the photos is not nearly as bad as I had pictured in my mind and Dr Arocha said while it’s there it’s really not so bad at all. It’s not great but it’s what is to be expected at this stage. He said I could probably cut my hair down to a 3 or 4 without risk of exposing the scar. I don’t think I have the gumption to go that low just yet.

We’ll find out this afternoon.🙂👍🏻

Any questions and I’ll be here.152D3518-4A14-4071-B90B-E6BF78B44227.thumb.jpeg.5b25eed0cc5fc4b60e41f7a84e85ee19.jpegA6E31AF2-D373-4C2A-AF90-90F8D0361F3D.thumb.jpeg.07cfe98d184bd9784aa6f488b066665f.jpeg34A633C9-DB8B-4F55-AFF5-B0502092B0E8.thumb.jpeg.d5a242b87099b73d208f21bb4b10e06e.jpeg85C6B714-3E8E-4AA3-A392-9DAB98E544E1.thumb.jpeg.a1a2189377f0479fe64f3b706f9565fc.jpeg

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So at the moment it looks like the scar is not going to be too bad, although I'm not an expert. Still very fresh but it doesn't look terribly large and even the shock loss isn't too bad. Barring some major change I'd say it looks like it will heal nicely.

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The scar is healing up nicely. I am an avid user of hair fibers. Although I’ve had three procedures. The crown is thin and will always be thin. I can make my hair look amazing with fibers. In fact, I get complimented a lot on my hair lol the irony. I do agree it’s just like makeup for women. Hell I even went to Mexico last week and snorkeled with Nanogen in my hair. Sure it came off a little, but I didn’t really care haha can’t wait to see your results I’m sure they’ be great.

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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

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Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

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On 5/23/2019 at 1:34 PM, Mycroft said:

So at the moment it looks like the scar is not going to be too bad, although I'm not an expert. Still very fresh but it doesn't look terribly large and even the shock loss isn't too bad. Barring some major change I'd say it looks like it will heal nicely.

Thanks @Mycroft! Dr. Arocha said the shockloss makes it look wider than will end up being. I went and got my first haircut yesterday (I’ll post pics in a bit) and I told the barber straight out what I had done. I said that the dr said I could go down to a 3 or 4 grade. The barber didn’t want to risk it cut it down to a 6 and then did comb over scissor. Above the 6 grade. I feel like he could’ve gone lower but I’m still experimenting myself so I let it be. It still looks good. 

I feel like I’m just as anxious to see the scar mature as I am the hair in my recipient. Which is funny because I still feel like I’ll have to have more work done which will result in another scar.

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On 5/23/2019 at 2:27 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

The scar is healing up nicely. I am an avid user of hair fibers. Although I’ve had three procedures. The crown is thin and will always be thin. I can make my hair look amazing with fibers. In fact, I get complimented a lot on my hair lol the irony. I do agree it’s just like makeup for women. Hell I even went to Mexico last week and snorkeled with Nanogen in my hair. Sure it came off a little, but I didn’t really care haha can’t wait to see your results I’m sure they’ be great.

Thanks @Melvin-Moderator!

Yeah, dude. Even before I had the transplant I had settled on needing fibers for the future. Transplant or no,  fibers can turn a pretty decent quaff into an outstanding head of hair. Of course, it would be awesome to never need fibers at all but I don’t think I’ll ever have a full looking crown with a transplant alone. It’s just too barren up there. My hope is that PRP will do the trick and that I can just add fibers along the way. I couple fibers with DermMatch and I find that the results are stellar. Instead of going with a lot of one thing or the other I use a little bit of this and a little bit of that to get the best results. Concealers are a life saver, though.

I could be wrong about my crown. I may be able to add a little something to it one day. Only time will tell.

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First haircut post-op.

As I said in a reply a little further up Dr Arocha said I could go down to a 3 or a 4. I didn’t really want to go that low just yet and my barber agreed. I told him right off the bat that I had had an operation done last month. He was shocked. Upon outward appearance I just looked like I always look before I need a haircut. Then he combed through the back of my head and saw the scar. After his assessment of the scar he decided to play it safe and start with a 6 and then do comb over scissor. I respected his decision. We decided to not touch the top just yet and let it continue to let it grow.

I was really nervous but he was awesome about it. Totally easy going as he just wanted to give me a haircut that suited what I needed at the moment. I think he was nervous about exposing my scar, as well. 

This is generally how I wear my hair.7D9C6BBE-5ED1-4F90-9733-FE51CB6D5B96.thumb.jpeg.e93a8c9c0f08662e29dbdf5f86be2620.jpeg4019A56F-A88D-4754-AD0B-DBC94F9BADE0.thumb.jpeg.c310314f3f924ecf4a25d6b07a8d4395.jpegBB52C16E-87A7-4165-9962-1A4A762E6520.thumb.jpeg.b9b82028ab030f49b6ac9bdb6bf6a766.jpeg5A0AEB1C-72B5-47AB-9D8D-129575C026AA.thumb.jpeg.f17bdba411ea5732274cd20362c64b25.jpeg

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Congrats on your procedure! Arocha did my HT July last year, 2500 grafts. I've been very busy at work and will update my results this week. I'm almost 11 months out and I am very pleased with my results. Month 5-6 was my peak time , and was amazed at all the hair that came in. Next up will be my crown and maybe some more density in the front but for now, I'm so happy I have hair to frame my face.

Keep us posted !

Here are a few pics from a couple of months ago.Last pic was 13 weeks out.

13 weeks post op 014.JPG

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Hey @made2care, thanks for checking out my thread! I’ve been following your thread since the beginning of your journey with Dr Arocha. Congratulations back to you, man! You’ve made some excellent gains! I’m looking forward to your next update.👍🏻

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8 hours ago, Steeeve said:

Hey @made2care, thanks for checking out my thread! I’ve been following your thread since the beginning of your journey with Dr Arocha. Congratulations back to you, man! You’ve made some excellent gains! I’m looking forward to your next update.👍🏻

Thank you. I would like to plan a trip back to Arocha and have him assess my crown. I also have some stubble on the right section only. This has not grown and I called him a few months ago to relate that to him.He assured me it would eventually grow. My concern is that my left side is more dense than my right and he obviously needs to see it in person to see what the deal is. Other than that I am very pleased so far. I also have to remember that the final result can only be assessed at 18 months. 

Current pics coming soon.

Again congrats !!

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On 5/27/2019 at 10:17 AM, made2care said:

Thank you. I would like to plan a trip back to Arocha and have him assess my crown. I also have some stubble on the right section only. This has not grown and I called him a few months ago to relate that to him.He assured me it would eventually grow. My concern is that my left side is more dense than my right and he obviously needs to see it in person to see what the deal is. Other than that I am very pleased so far. I also have to remember that the final result can only be assessed at 18 months. 

Current pics coming soon.

Again congrats !!

Thank you @made2care.

I’ve never seen stubble just not grow. I’m sure there’s an explanation and that Dr Arocha would be able to answer it upon inspection. Good luck!

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I tried to post these yesterday, at my 6 weeks post-op mark, but life happened. 

If you tap/click and zoom in on the photos you can see the grafts that clung on. 

The hairs don’t feel so bristly anymore. They’re much softer now which I’m taking as a sign that they’re growing.

I don’t know why they wouldn’t...

I mean, they’re definitely still a little bristly but nearly as much as they were. 

Life is beginning anew up there. Hopefully this trend continues.DFE3CB78-87CE-49FD-B053-E530608DADE9.thumb.jpeg.4f90c379fcaee80f9a46ac555c4c8bb9.jpeg5901202F-3AA7-4533-BDBB-BDBE86CE96A6.thumb.jpeg.5103e875fd5fecb967348a6ddf3c1a41.jpeg84AB4BD5-86B4-4526-B70B-5BC1B81C24DD.thumb.jpeg.817d8fba07a629e59c5f64ecd24e826a.jpeg7CEFBDA6-1CF3-41DB-9145-EB35DC693FA0.thumb.jpeg.82dd668916956c5edc94cc9c4c5965cb.jpegDB4D792B-5D84-4139-AE40-BB3C8223CE33.thumb.jpeg.2d3a33303b6367d6683a0ff906ae92c5.jpeg96F3D95F-BEAE-40A4-906B-AAAFA2B9DC2E.thumb.jpeg.1d77380e36bffc93454e742353730401.jpeg

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Wow inspiring results @made2care Dr. Arocha is one of the best.


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.

 

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Sunday was my two month mark. I’ve been very under the weather and really haven’t felt like putting any photos together. The photos I grabbed this evening are in extremely unflattering light and the quality isn’t the best in my opinion. When I feel a little better I’ll get some better quality pictures.

Not much to report at the moment. I look as if I haven’t done anything to my hair which is pretty great for 2 months as far as i’m concerned.

Everything seems to be going/growing well. Sensation is slowly coming back to my scalp. The grafts that didn’t shed, which was the majority of them I believe, have continued to grow though they’re still not quite long enough to have made a huge cosmetic difference yet with it only being 2 months. I see little black dots of stubble in between my native hair which I guess is the hairs that shed already starting to make an appearance.

My scar is a little sensitive and a little itchy but I can’t really complain about it. It’s more of an observation. It’s still pink but the hairs that fell out around it have already started growing back. 

The PRP is really doing its job. Those preexisting hairs are really thickening up. When I tilt my head down you can see that my hair is still thin but it’s getting harder to see my scalp. It’s really exciting!

As I said I’ll grab some better quality pics when I feel a little better. 

Grow well everyone and be good people.✌🏻

479AAD46-A5EE-4F9D-AE47-45B3BC8A08DE.thumb.jpeg.a09ed0380b0a3f9f72133c1951506a84.jpeg1FD6B221-81FD-41BC-BAD3-98011846ADC9.jpeg.c79cde2870b6e3d299900146ef14232a.jpegAD4991C6-2C9D-469D-9807-98BD294133BF.thumb.jpeg.037561b5cac4e2db67949d127535e2e0.jpegC3434954-C57D-4CA7-AE38-ED248D87F9F1.thumb.jpeg.62c5a8d37ee95ed9b5887ea6c75533c2.jpeg388F98CE-371C-4232-8F46-E48B6D80B5DD.thumb.jpeg.5027bf0a83ec85fcadb02f411178b93b.jpeg9B370FD2-6011-493C-99AF-D2E31BE23EA2.thumb.jpeg.8fb9db791b146ed6d44ebe6d3ee968a9.jpegE6F23AA2-1BEB-4CE5-AA01-90FEADDF36AC.thumb.jpeg.9bac2fec9a55f8f168e3a12ffe866301.jpeg

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@Steeeve Any pictures of the scar now? I am about to get a procedure done from Dr. Arocha and I am a bit worried about donor shock loss.

Do you think you could have done anything to prevent the donor shock loss?

Thanks, brother, I am envious that you are 2 months post op! I am -1 month post op LOL!

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10 hours ago, LeonSlack said:

@Steeeve Any pictures of the scar now? I am about to get a procedure done from Dr. Arocha and I am a bit worried about donor shock loss.

Do you think you could have done anything to prevent the donor shock loss?

Thanks, brother, I am envious that you are 2 months post op! I am -1 month post op LOL!

I had some donor shock loss and the hair grows back. Not a concern.

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Hey @LeonSlack, thanks for reaching out!

No, I don’t think there was anything I could do. I’ve been on Fin since 2012 and I honestly think that my shockloss would’ve been worse had I not been on it for so long. Finasteride is your best deterrent against shockloss from what I understand. I definitely could’ve done a better job cleaning around my sutures. I had a little infection on my right side and I believe that might’ve contributed to my right side being a little wider than the rest of the scar.

I took these this morning which would be 10 weeks post-op today. The pictures don’t show it but there’s stubble all in those baron looking areas around the scar.704C0D85-7783-4211-8565-B73642EA1466.thumb.jpeg.d7983d01a225da9f623bf5004395753b.jpeg0EE166CB-DF9E-45DD-B840-66B2A7015399.thumb.jpeg.45955ea6fd8654b8833550ec3b8f9845.jpegEB828E62-8ED7-44E5-AE00-F9C05ED478C3.thumb.jpeg.a008ce302e484ac1da9313a06278f490.jpeg

Good luck on your procedure, Leon. You won’t regret it! I hope that you post your progress on the forum.

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24 minutes ago, LeonSlack said:

@made2care Any idea how long it took for the shock loss to grow back?

It typically takes 3 to 6 months. Worst case scenario up to a year. 

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I like your story , thanks for sharing with all of us. 

Dr arocha seems to be a solid name in HT industry, one of the best in north america i guess

i wish you all the best with your results. some baby hairs are already coming out, it looks like its going to be a good result for you.

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@Steeeve Thanks for the reply man! Another question I had was when you got your sutures out after 2 weeks, did it still hurt to comb your hair around the suture line? 

Also, it doesn’t seem like you need a lot of hair to cover the red area you have at your donor, huh? Maybe an inch or so would be enough? 

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Thanks for checking out my thread@HLPToronto! I’ve been following your progress with Dr. Bhatti, as well.

I absolutely consider Dr Arocha to be a top doc. 

All the best with your continued progress, buddy! I’m looking forward to your final result.👍🏻🙂

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