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3rd Time with Dr. Konior


Tao

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Just had my third surgery with Dr. Konior on Monday, March 9.  My first two go arounds were FUT (in 2009 and 2010) but his time I did FUE.  Really had no choice because my scalp is tight after the two FUTs.  I won't get pics from Dr. Konior for a bit as he's understandably busy but when I do get them, I'll update my blog/website.  I have gone from being pretty much nearly bald when I started all this to pretty much having a full head of hair, thanks to Dr. Konior's amazing skill.  When I first started all this, I was pretty uninformed about the hair transplant industry and the multitude of things to consider when thinking about a hair transplant.  I fortunately found this site, which is loaded with extremely helpful information and people who offer genuine and well-informed advice.  Thank you all for that!  And thank you moderators for the great job you do and service you provide to people who are concerned/stressed/depressed/desperate/curious about their hair loss and their options.

My first procedure restored a non-existent hairline with 2800 FUT grafts.  That was a surreal experience as I couldn't really believe I was going to do this HT thing.  To be honest, it seemed like a pretty dicey snake oil industry to me.  But I was kinda desperate and I read a ton on this site - enough to convince me to give it a try.  I was pretty damn poor to be honest so it was a heavy lift to finance my first HT, especially since I found out it was going to cost roughly twice what I originally figured (and that original figure seemed kinda outta reach at first). I'm glad I didn't let money force me to make a poor decision.  I scrimped and saved and used a 0% credit card to get it done. I ended up choosing Dr. Konior because he was recommended on this site and he was fortunately, the closest recommended doctor to where i live.  Man did I get lucky!  The FUT procedure was frankly a bit jarring as you get heavily sedated,  your head gets sliced up like a pumpkin and you get these big silver Frankenstein staples put in your head that had to stay in for about two weeks.  And my head was numb and sore for several months which was a bit concerning.  However, Dr. Konior's work was exceptionally clean and I was back at work in less than two weeks with no one knowing anything.  I kinda forgot about it but four months later, my new hair started coming in like gangbusters and I was getting all kinds of confused comments (your new hairstyle is nice, did you change your wardrobe?, etc).  The framing of my face made a huge positive difference.    Well, I was pretty much hooked after that as i learned that in the right hands, an amazing HT was possible.

About a year later, I went on for a second FUT pass with Dr. Konior to cover up my crown and shore up my hairline.  That one yielded 2400 grafts and when it was all said and done, I had pretty mucb restored all my hair (not really as it is somewhat of an illusion but I have thick hair and it's a good and effective illusion).  When I had this second procedure, Dr. Konior didn't shave my head, instead working around the existing hair (he charges more for this now but didn't back then).  I was back at work in a week with no one being able to tell I had anything done.  Dr. K's work is immaculate and my existing hair covered the staples.  I had those removed later by a doctor in my hometown (who commented he had never seen such a small and neat scar) and then 6 months later, I had a full head of hair and was ecstatic.

I have never taken propecia as I just don't really feel comfortable messing with my natural hormones.  Just a personal choice and maybe had I read more about propecia sooner before losing so much hair, I would have made a different choice.  But I haven't taken it and don't plan to.   I used Rogaine for a while but quit as it was a pain.  I did lose some hair after quitting though but by that time, it was pretty bad anyway. 

My two hair transplants pretty much changed my life.  I have been really happy with the results for the past decade.  In recent years, I started to lose a little more hair from my crown and along my part (propecia likely would have helped that, I admit).  So I pulled the trigger again and went back and talked to Dr. Konior.  He suggested 1500 FUE grafts this time and I think when it was all done, he got around 1600.  I was fortunate in that my wait time was only several months.  I think he must have fit me in a cancellation slot.  Anyway, the FUE procedure was an absolute piece of cake.  After the morning of consult and planning, I took a valium, laid down on the chair, felt a few minor anesthesia pricks (although the valium pretty much sent me into orbit) and then woke a few hours later to take a bathroom break.  Another valium, back in the chair, a few minor pricks, woke around lunchtime to eat a provided sandwich.  Last valium, back in the chair, felt/heard a few of the incisions being made (no pain at all) before snoozing.  Woke at 5 pm and was told everything went very smoothly and I'm all done.  It literally felt like a 5 minute day.  Not to Dr. K and his great staff, I'm sure.  I had no pain afterwards.  None.  Dr. K.'s very nice receptionist, Lisa, drove me to my local hotel and I ate dinner and promptly fell asleep for the night.  Did I mention no pain? (and no pain medicine).  I woke up the next morning and had a little trickle of blood on my head.  I drove into Dr. K's office for my cleaning and they figured I knocked a graft slightly out while sleeping, causing the bleeding.  They put it back in, cleaned me up and off I drove 2.5 hours home feeling great.  The only downside to this procedure was that they had to shave my head down to more easily access my donor grafts and more easily place them where they belong. That was kind of a bummer because damn, my hair was looking pretty good aside from that bald spot in back (which I could easily cover with fibers).  I gotta say, my potato head does not look all that good bald.  Not terrible but not great.  But its the price I have to pay. 

At home, I'm spraying the recipient sites but man, I have almost no scabs and the work is so clean I have a hard time finding it on my head.  Fortunately I can work at home this week and with the CORONA virus stuff going on, that may extend into the next several weeks, at which time, my hair should be grown in a lot more and looking more normal.  I may have to interact with folks though and they'll see my shaved head and my FUT scar so instead of trying to be sneaky and stealth about all this, I may just come clean.  I'm much less concerned about what people think these days and hell, when it grows in, it looks damn good!  So what's to be embarrassed about?

Alright, that's long enough.  Hope I haven't bored you to tears.  So grateful for the amazing immaculate work of Dr. Konior and the great interactions with is great staff.  I'm a fan for sure.  Also grateful for all of you who share your stories, experiences, fears and hopes. I wish you all the best on your journeys.  I'll update my blog when I get pre-op, immediate post-op and results photos.  In the meantime, everyone be safe and careful out there.  We're in new territory with this COVID 19 stuff.

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I'd love to see some pics, yea this Coronavirus stuff is crazy.


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.

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Thank you for sharing your experience and looking forward to those pics!

Also I know you mentioned no Propecia or Minoxidil but any other treatments like ketoconazole, etc?

Edited by bismarck
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No other treatments.  I had lost a LOT of hair before I started doing any research and paying attention.  By that time, Propecia and Minoxidil weren't going to grow my hair back.  It was shave myself down or try the HT route.  My first forays into the HT industry felt pretty sketchy as I met some strange characters and it all felt like a scam.  Fortunately, that's not the case if you do your research, choose your Dr. wisely and come up with a reasonable and well-thought out plan.  I didn't realize when i started that I'd have to have more than one procedure but unless you only have minor hair loss, you have to factor in that you'll likely need more than one pass.  I was extremely fortunate to find a good doctor who has maximized my available grafts.  I could have foregone this latest pass and lived happily ever after.  But I have the means right now so I headed back one more pass to shore up my part area and my crown, both of which lost some ground in the last 10 years.  That was a privileged YOLO decision for sure.  

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Thank you.  I stumbled across Dr. Konior after coming to this site many years ago.  Fortunately, he is the closest to me.  He didn't quite have the rock star reputation yet when I started.  I had lucky timing with him all three sessions.  Cheers. 

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  • 2 months later...
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Ok, this is probably overdue.  Been more busier than I thought I would be.  The attached pics are my situation before my last surgery with Dr. Konoir in March 2020.  Approximately 1,600 FUE to address crown and shore up my part areas.  Two pics I took the day before surgery and two pics from day of surgery in Dr. Konior's office.
 

Pre-3rd Surgery_March 2020_2.JPG

Pre-3rd Surgery_March 2020.JPG

Pre-3rd_Konior'sOffice.JPG

Pre-3rd_Konior'sOffice_2.JPG

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These two pics are immediate post-op pics.  Surgery was a breeze.  I experienced no pain at all.  None during and none post-op.  As usual, Dr. Konior's work is ridiculously clean.  Hated the shaved head and it took a lot longer to grow some coverage back than I would have liked but that's the price you pay.  Pandemic hit so I have been working at home since the surgery.  Ideal situation to get through the ugly duckling phase.

FUE.JPG

FUE_2.JPG

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June - 3 Months Post Op.  Crown supposedly takes longer to grow in but now I'm starting to see some real progress already.  With a little hair fiber, I look like I have all my hair back.  Kinda crazy and cool.  Long way to go but I'm really happy with where I am so early.  I can go out now with no fibers in and hair looks fine.  Just starting to thicken now.  I'm a runner and I love that I can now run without a hat on and the wind blowing doesn't expose a bald area.  Next couple of months going to be fun.  If I look back at where I started years ago (see my blog page), its a crazy big difference.  Long journey, more money spent than I ever thought I would spend, but I had one of the best docs in the world and I've been incredibly happy with the results.

3 Month Post Op.JPG

3 Month Post Op_2.JPG

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8 hours ago, Tao said:

Ok, this is probably overdue.  Been more busier than I thought I would be.  The attached pics are my situation before my last surgery with Dr. Konoir in March 2020.  Approximately 1,600 FUE to address crown and shore up my part areas.  Two pics I took the day before surgery and two pics from day of surgery in Dr. Konior's office.
 

Pre-3rd Surgery_March 2020_2.JPG

Pre-3rd Surgery_March 2020.JPG

Pre-3rd_Konior'sOffice.JPG

Pre-3rd_Konior'sOffice_2.JPG

Shredded back dude, looks like your hair is growing back with a vengeance. 


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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That early growth is sure a nice thing to see, especially in the crown.  Good omen for what's to come!

Dr. G: 1,000 grafts (FUT) 2008

Dr. Paul Shapiro: 2,348 grafts (FUT) 2009 ~ 1,999 grafts (FUT) 2011 ~ 300 grafts (Scar Reduction) 2013

Dr. Konior: 771 grafts (FUT) 2015 ~ 558 grafts (FUT) 2017 ~ 1,124 grafts (FUE) 2020

My Hair Transplant Journey with Shapiro Medical Group

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  • 5 weeks later...
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11 hours ago, ndubya said:

How bout ya Tao?

How's the progress coming?

Coming along well!  I'm at 4.5 months out now and I'm already really pleased.  I can go out in the wind now and have my hair blow around and its just fine.  That's fun.  I assume I still have a fair amount of growth coming ahead so that's more fun.  Here are some 4 month shots (first two) and shots from today - 4.5 months out (last two):

4 months out - 3rd pass.JPG

4 months out - 3rd pass_3.JPG

3rd pass_4.5mos.JPG

3rd pass_4.5mos_2.JPG

Edited by Tao
just adding more text
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Excellent, Dr. Konior has been knocking crowns out of the park👏🏼


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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