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Dr. Diep 2,043 Grafts - 35 yr old Asian Male


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I got my hairline reconstructed by Dr. Diep 13 days ago, tomorrow will be the two week mark!  My hair has been thinning and hairline receding since I was about 22 years old and started to take Propecia when I was 25, which slowed it down considerably.   Around age 28 I added Rogaine to the mix, which pretty much halted the recession. 

The hairline wasn't too bad, but is slightly thin and I had been waiting for the "next miracle" for the past 5 years (Histogen, Replicel, Tsuji) and finally...a couple months ago came to the conclusion that they weren't anywhere near close despite all the time has lapsed and decided to just go ahead and move on with the transplant.  I selected Dr. Diep because I heard he was good with Asian males and a hairline pro.  

Pardon my poor pictures, I never intended to create a thread until I got on here a few days ago, so didn't take too in depth of pictures.

Attached is my hairline drawing and one day post op pictures.  As you can see my donor area looks pretty beat up...which was a disappointment because I did not expect this much surface area used for approximately 2,000 grafts.  1725445315_Day1.thumb.jpg.98f8d6d0471b3c636dcec892788b2283.jpg

Day 0.jpg

Day 1 Back.jpg

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Here is Day 5, which you can see a crack is forming in the crust of the recipient area.  The doctor recommends a dry approach until Day 4.  From Day 4 to Day 8, you can lightly sprinkle shampoo (Graftcyte) and rinse with lukewarm or cold water, but you cannot touch the recipient at all.  During this period a lot of crust began to form and by Day 8, the crack was huge, which was scary.

Also you can see my right and left side.  As per other peoples' experiences, he went right to left so there's barely any harvested on my left side....hopefully it doesn't create an imbalance.

Day 5 rear.jpg

Day 5 left.jpg

Day 5 right.jpg

Day 5 Top.jpg

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By Day 8 the crack was huge and I was getting worried.  I still am slightly worried I lost some grafts because this occurred on Day 5  and supposedly they are secure until Day 8 (Day 10 for full reassurance).  I guess we will find out a year from now.

Day 8 Front.jpg

Day 8 Zoom.jpg

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I started showering for 20 minutes in warm water then shampooing and rubbing in circular motions on Day 8, per the instructions.  This got a good amount of crusting and scabs off (about 1/3).  I continued this through Day 10 and by then all crusting and scabs were gone.

Below are Day 11 pictures.   The hairline looks a lot less crusty, although I think I shed a good amount of hairs so the density isn't the greatest in the picture.  The right side looks pretty thin and I am concerned it is over harvested.982442049_Day11Back.thumb.jpg.0a3ea7b5c647c18b700399a24b13c16e.jpg633464888_Day11Right.thumb.jpg.fe5ee2505c501160325887823d504e11.jpg

Day 11 Top.jpg

Day 11 Left.jpg

Edited by Jiveturkey82
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I will say though that I am a little less worried about the loss of grafts during the crust rinse out period....I did lose one..and it was more like pulled out and started to bleed...definitely felt it and could tell.  Leading me to believe that the others just shed.

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Great post man and from I have been researching i do believe its just the crack where there is no hair there have just been shed and you cant see them. However, how did you end up losing the 1 graft that started to bleed if i may ask?

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Just now, shookwon33 said:

Great post man and from I have been researching i do believe its just the crack where there is no hair there have just been shed and you cant see them. However, how did you end up losing the 1 graft that started to bleed if i may ask?

There was one single in the front with a stubborn crust, I think I rubbed it too hard and the crust stuck to my finger and created too much friction and pulled the graft out.

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I see, but the blood could have just been from the crust coming out itself, not necessarily meaning a graft had pulled out. i think its really hard to pull a graft out at this point in time, as in you would need tools to remove them from what I've seen.

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4 minutes ago, shookwon33 said:

I see, but the blood could have just been from the crust coming out itself, not necessarily meaning a graft had pulled out. i think its really hard to pull a graft out at this point in time, as in you would need tools to remove them from what I've seen.

This happened on the 8th day.  I saw the graft itself come out...looked like a root or something lol and then blood started gushing.  It was one of those frontal singles that he uses to zig  zag with.  I'm not too bummed over the loss as it was kind of just hanging out there in its own island in the front.

Edited by Jiveturkey82
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10 hours ago, Jiveturkey82 said:

Going back to work tomorrow and the redness is still there.  Left the top long, so I can do some weird comb forward thing to cover it up, however I think I am going to have to just be open about it.

😂😂 cracked me up that comment.  I had the same problem and unfortunately my head was red for 2/3 months, I was lucky I could wear a hat due to outside work to cover the redness but in meetings I had to tell people so in the end I just told everyone. Just get it out the way and after 1 week no one will be bothered, happy growing. 

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On 6/6/2019 at 9:02 AM, MarshallUK said:

😂😂 cracked me up that comment.  I had the same problem and unfortunately my head was red for 2/3 months, I was lucky I could wear a hat due to outside work to cover the redness but in meetings I had to tell people so in the end I just told everyone. Just get it out the way and after 1 week no one will be bothered, happy growing. 

LOL - first thing that happened when I walked in the office was someone commenting loudly on my "new hairstyle."  Someone asked if I was going for the kpop boy band look....LOL - I ended having to directly tell most folks by the end of the first week.  I felt insecure during client/prospect meetings as well. 

Reactions weren't that bad (at least to my face).

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Wow just saw your thread. Great write-up, don’t be concerned about the crusts that’s normal I had them. I do see the small bald patch. Doesn’t look like you had grafts taken there. Could be a minor case of alopecia areata. If It gets worse contact Dr. Diep, he can give you a steroid injection that will help.

Please consider creating a patient website, it’s a free way to blog your progress. https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/


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1 minute ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Wow just saw your thread. Great write-up, don’t be concerned about the crusts that’s normal I had them. I do see the small bald patch. Doesn’t look like you had grafts taken there. Could be a minor case of alopecia areata. If It gets worse contact Dr. Diep, he can give you a steroid injection that will help.

Please consider creating a patient website, it’s a free way to blog your progress. https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/

Oh wow could it really be alopecia areata though? How would that differ from what shock loss would look like I'm curious. Also, if one were to experience shock loss in the donor area, when is the time table that it typically occurs after an FUE procedure? For example if I am 2 weeks post op from FUE and don't have any noticeable shock loss now, does that mean I am in the clear? @Melvin-Moderator. Also from what I understand, alopecia areata is typically caused from a lot of stress. So if you are having stress just try to relax as much as possible during recovery.

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6 hours ago, Jiveturkey82 said:

Here's how I am hiding it right now at the office (everyone already knows...it's more so for clients and just not looking too weird).

Day 21 Hide.jpg

Lol it's a good side swept hairstyle. I literally cant tell anything was done from this view xD. Do you plan to grow out your top and sides even more to conceal everything? Thats what i plan on doing at least

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On 6/14/2019 at 3:59 AM, shookwon33 said:

Lol it's a good side swept hairstyle. I literally cant tell anything was done from this view xD. Do you plan to grow out your top and sides even more to conceal everything? Thats what i plan on doing at least

It's still a bit short so looks goofy.  yeah I plan to grow out everything a lot more.  Hopefully that helps.

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@Melvin-Moderator

The bald spot is right at the border of the donor area (moreso on the donor side).  Do you think it could be alopecia areata or just normal shock loss?  My donor area in general is looking pretty rough.  Attached is a close up and slightly more zoomed out picture of the back of my head.  

Back Hole.jpg

Back Head.jpg

Edited by Jiveturkey82
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@Jiveturkey82 I personally think it is just shock loss which is very temporary from what I hear. Here is what my donor looks like 18 days post op. I’m personally still unsure of when shock loss actually occurs after a procedure. I was under the impression that it’s immediately after but perhaps not. I’ve heard it can happen a couple weeks after? I don’t think I’m experiencing any shock loss yet (fingers crossed). I also wonder if the acell and amniofill injection that I did may have helped with healing? Who knows..

976A960B-4466-40B7-BEB4-1D55FA60EEE5.jpeg

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