FUT at BHR Clinic with Dr. Bisanga - 3503 grafts

FinMin20 · February 25, 2020

I had an FUT transplant 5 weeks ago in Brussels with Dr. Bisanga. It was to fill in the frontal area.

There were a total of 3503 grafts used. Here is the graft breakdown:

• 1 Follicular Unit : 419 grafts

• 2 Follicular Unit : 2018 grafts

• 3 Follicular Unit : 637 grafts

• 4 Follicular Unit : 429 grafts

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I was in my mid 20s when I initially went to see Dr. Bisanga - 5 years ago (the before pictures I’ve added are from that time, hence the poor quality). He discovered that my donor density was pretty average and as I was quite young at the time, he suggested I wait a few years and get on medication to stabilise my hairloss.

I started using finasteride (switched to dutasteride 2 years ago) and minoxidil, and thankfully they worked really well in halting my hairloss. My hair looked pretty much the same 5 years later, if not slightly more filled in some areas.

I visited Dr. Bisanga once again a few months ago and he was happy to perform the surgery this time.

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During the consultation on the morning of the procedure, I discussed with Dr. Bisanga if it was possible to keep as much of the little area in the front without shaving it (while also transplanting hairs in any thin areas there to add density). He said that as long as the thin areas are filled in it should be okay.

I’m banking on the medication continuing to work so that the area remains strong. It's been the same since I started taking medication, maybe even a little bit thicker. If in the future the medication loses its effect and the area does start to thin and looks odd with the rest of the transplanted hair, I’ll get a second procedure to have it filled in.

I decided to do this as I have a few formal events to attend in 3 months time and I don’t intend to tell anyone about my transplant. For now my hair is covered as I usually wear a hat in the winter anyway, and I’m able to wear a hat to work too. Hopefully, in a few weeks time, when the shaved native hair has grown out a bit, and using the longer unshaven hairs, I’ll be able to style my hair and cover the transplanted area. I’ll use hair fibers too if needed.

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I’ve attached pictures below - starting from how my hair was before and ending with a few pictures taken today. Apologies for the poor quality of the before photos - they’re from 5 years ago. I didn’t have any recent photos of my hairloss.

You can see from the post op pics that Dr. Bisanga has put quite a few grafts in the little unshaven area too (the thin part on one side).

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5 weeks in, I’m currently in the shedding phase - most of the transplanted hair has fallen out.

I’ll be updating this post regularly. If anyone has any questions regarding anything I’d be happy to answer them.

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Photos:

Before

Day 1 Post Op

Day 2

Day 3

Day 6

Day 7

Day 9

Day 11

Day 14

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Day 23

Day 34

Edited February 25, 2020 by FinMin20

Melvin- Admin · February 26, 2020

Thanks for your detailed response, excellent write-up. Dr. Bisanga is one of the very best. Please keep us updated on your progress l.

garethbale · February 26, 2020

Good luck and I hope it goes well.

Incidentally I was in email correspondence with Stephen, the BHR representative, however now all my emails to him are bouncing. Is he still employed by / a representative of the clinic?

I was arranging a potential date for surgery so annoying if I have to start the process with someone new

Melvin- Admin · February 26, 2020

4 minutes ago, garethbale said:

Good luck and I hope it goes well.

Incidentally I was in email correspondence with Stephen, the BHR representative, however now all my emails to him are bouncing. Is he still employed by / a representative of the clinic?

I was arranging a potential date for surgery so annoying if I have to start the process with someone new

@Raphael84 is still an active rep, I will send Stephen a message. I spoke with him just last month, and he was still his rep.

garethbale · February 26, 2020

1 minute ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

@Raphael84 is still an active rep, I will send Stephen a message. I spoke with him just last month, and he was still his rep.

thanks Melvin

i was in email correspondence with him on 5th February. It's only in the last few days my emails are bouncing

FinMin20 · February 26, 2020

5 minutes ago, garethbale said:

Good luck and I hope it goes well.

Incidentally I was in email correspondence with Stephen, the BHR representative, however now all my emails to him are bouncing. Is he still employed by / a representative of the clinic?

I was arranging a potential date for surgery so annoying if I have to start the process with someone new

Ah, apparently they were having some issues with their servers not too long ago. The same thing was happening to me nearing the date of the surgery.

I went on their website and contacted them through their live chat feature as my emails weren't being answered. They phoned me back and informed me that none of my emails had reached them. They were having some IT problems.

It's possible a similar thing is happening with you. You should contact them through their site. They should get in touch quickly.

Melvin- Admin · February 26, 2020

Guys,

I’ve sent Stephen a message and the link to this thread, he should he responding soon.

garethbale · February 26, 2020

FinMin

Thanks mate. I have done that

Thanks melvin

Edited February 26, 2020 by garethbale

**Raphael84** · February 26, 2020

Thanks Melvin

@garethbale

Sure Stephen is still with us. Not sure why your emails may be bouncing but I will ask him to contact you as soon as possible.

We have had issues with our servers somewhat recently.

Edited February 26, 2020 by Raphael84

garethbale · February 26, 2020

6 minutes ago, Raphael84 said:

Thanks Melvin

@garethbale

Sure Stephen is still with us. Not sure why your emails may be bouncing but I will ask him to contact you as soon as possible.

We have had issues with our servers somewhat recently.

great, thank you

FinMin20 · February 27, 2020

4 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Thanks for your detailed response, excellent write-up. Dr. Bisanga is one of the very best. Please keep us updated on your progress l.

Thank you. Looking forward to finally being able to style my hair again instead of just hiding the gaps!

sl · February 27, 2020

Thank you to Melvin and Raphael for whatsapp. Gareth Bale sorry you are having issues. I am getting emails from patients but not sure why your one is bouncing. Can you PM me your email address so our IT can check and also we can communicate via that or my WhatsApp in the meantime.

Wishing the patient here a great outcome and thanks for posting.

Edited February 27, 2020 by sl

Masato · March 6, 2020

Hi FinMin, thank you for posting your case and pictures. Wishing you all the best and a great outcome! Any chance you could post some pictures of your strip scar and how it’s healing? Thanks!

FinMin20 · March 7, 2020

On 3/6/2020 at 4:02 PM, Masato said:

Hi FinMin, thank you for posting your case and pictures. Wishing you all the best and a great outcome! Any chance you could post some pictures of your strip scar and how it’s healing? Thanks!

Thanks!

Sure. It's a bit difficult as the small hairs around the strip are a bit tricky to pull apart to expose the strip completely (especially as I'm applying vaseline on the strip every day, and so the hair around it has become slightly sticky). It'll be easier when the shaved hair becomes a bit longer.

I've managed to take a few photos - the strip isn't fully exposed though. I can get someone's help in taking better photos if required. Let me know.

I also took a picture of a small part of the strip on the second day, when the sutures were still in. Here it is:

20200121_163622_capture(0).jpg.b493e2579c0fe0a2173ca3829a69fe87.jpg

FinMin20 · March 8, 2020

Here's a 7 week update of the front.

LonelyGraft · March 8, 2020

Haven’t seen a bisanga strip case in a while. Will be following. Did the doctor mention anything regarding the yellow fibrin in the first set of pics?

FinMin20 · March 8, 2020

19 minutes ago, LonelyGraft said:

Haven’t seen a bisanga strip case in a while. Will be following. Did the doctor mention anything regarding the yellow fibrin in the first set of pics?

I had asked them about it and they told me it's nothing to worry about. I don't quite remember what they'd said it was and what had caused it. Sorry.

Huncholini · May 28, 2020

Any updates on this?

On 3/8/2020 at 3:03 AM, FinMin20 said:

I had asked them about it and they told me it's nothing to worry about. I don't quite remember what they'd said it was and what had caused it. Sorry.

Silent1234 · May 28, 2020

Good progress photos. Keep us updated FinMin20!

Tbcruz · June 16, 2020

Update?

rhstoned · August 29, 2020

Hey @FinMin20 any update?

Melvin- Admin · September 1, 2020

Would love to see an update as well.

FinMin20 · September 1, 2020

Apologies everyone! The pandemic threw any routine out of the window.

In the early days of lockdown updating this thread had completely slipped my mind, and so I didn't manage to take any photos either.

The replies to this thread on 28th May reminded of this - so I started taking pictures from then on (so 4 months post op), and have since been taking them on a somewhat monthly basis. Had intended to upload them here a while ago, but just didn't get around to sorting and editing them.

Will be doing this tonight and so should hopefully have some photos up soon. The growth is thankfully going well, and is right on track I feel. Will be good to hear how you all feel it's going. Apologies again for not updating this regularly.