4900 FUE - Dr. Hasson - Jan 2020

[HisHairness]

Hi all,

Just joined the forum to share my experience, but would also like to extend a special thanks to all those who have posted their experiences before me. As we all can relate, this process is brutally daunting and stressful, and I'm not sure I would have been able to pull the trigger without reading about and following along with some of the success stories on this site.

Also a real shoutout to Melvin - you're a legend for maintaining the forum as you do. Seriously thanks for your effort.

Personal Details:

• Age: Early 30's
• Location: US west coast
• Losing Hair since ~25 (diffuse thinning in crown / in front, but hoping to keep patch in middle to not go full NW6/7) - see pics below for pre-op pics
• Father experienced hairloss early and is NW6, but rest of old males in family have generally kept hair till late in life
• I have fine hair, but my donor area is solid. When Dr. Hasson met me his first words when combing through my donor area were "wow you must have had one hell of a head of hair when you were younger". I'm hoping this means I have plenty of donor for future sessions if needed, but am also hopeful this session allows me the "appearance of a full head of hair" for the foreseeable future.

After extensive research and speaking with a few options, I decided H&W made the most sense for me. H&W Doug is a great steward of the office, and I really appreciated my talks with him throughout the process.

HT Details:

• 2-day FUE Jan 8th, 9th 2020
• 4899 grafts (~9623 hairs), split:
• 2544 grafts (~4847 hairs) into front third Day 1
• 2355 grafts (~4776 hairs) into crown Day 2

I feel that there are enough reports of the office conditions and what the surgery days are like, but I'll re-iterate that I was at the office for 2 days for 12-14 hours each day, with breaks for lunch and dinner. 

My pics from pre and post-op are attached here. I have a solid album of pics since then, and will be compiling them and posting in this thread shortly. This week I hit Month 4 and while progress has been minimal, I'm feeling some decent stubble and am hopeful that the next few months will be positive. At the very least, I'm thankful the ugly-duckling phase is over. 

Any feedback / thoughts / questions are encouraged. Thanks!

 

 

Edited May 12, 2020 by HisHairness
re-sized photos

[HTHope]

wow hasson and wong are really upping their FUE game and pushing limits. Thats awesome. The work looks very clean. Did he mention how many grafts you have total? Any pics of the donor after surgery? That must have been cost a pretty penny

[HisHairness]

Thanks HTHope.

Yes, I was pleased to go the FUE route. I had spoke with H&W Doug a few times over the phone and we thought ~4-5k total would make sense. Then meeting with Dr. Hasson we determined ~2500 up front was needed and then another 2-2500 in the crown.

I don't recall ever getting a total # of donor supply grafts available to be honest, but the comments were that I have a good amount. Dr. Hasson may have mentioned a number but I really can't recall. I'll try to email them to see if I can find out.

FWIW, I'm at the 4 month mark now (posting pics soon) and my donor looks / feels totally fine - literally no signs that any hair was taken out and it's still really full. 

Re: cost...yep. Hoping that the results are worth it. Based on the work H&W has churned out in the profiles I've seen on this forum, I felt comfortable paying what I did. 

Here are some donor pics post-surgery:

 

[HisHairness]

Adding a few more pre-op pics below. All were taken in the hotel room the night before the HT.

Wet out of Shower & Styled:

 

Dry & Styled (no toppik here but not I typically add some to crown - that's really all I've ever done though)

 

Wet & positioned to show extent of hairloss:

 

[Gatsby]

That's a fantastic result and one H+W are well renowned for churning out on a consistent basis. You have a very strong donor area and a strong mid section. I think you've really nailed this at the sweet spot for a totally undetectable result. Are you taking finasteride and/or minoxidil?

[83mjs]

Thanks for sharing. I had basically the same amount of grafts as you did in early Feb.  I have/had a pretty similar pattern of hairloss too (2.8k in front third and 2.1k in crown). Will be following your progress with great interest.

How's it looking now?

[Tbcruz]

Which pics are the 4 months post op

[hairlossPA]

I'll be following your progress! I had one scheduled with a similar plan in April but got pushed back due to COVID.

[HTHope]

@HisHairness you have a lot of native hair. Did hasson mention any possibility of shock loss?

[Melvin- Admin]

Thank you for posting this excellent review, you sort of remind me of a legendary patient @Aftermath he also went to Dr. Hasson, I think you will be very satisfied in 12 months time. Please keep us updated on your progress.

[giegnosiganoe]

12 hours ago, HisHairness said:

Thanks HTHope.

Yes, I was pleased to go the FUE route. I had spoke with H&W Doug a few times over the phone and we thought ~4-5k total would make sense. Then meeting with Dr. Hasson we determined ~2500 up front was needed and then another 2-2500 in the crown.

I don't recall ever getting a total # of donor supply grafts available to be honest, but the comments were that I have a good amount. Dr. Hasson may have mentioned a number but I really can't recall. I'll try to email them to see if I can find out.

FWIW, I'm at the 4 month mark now (posting pics soon) and my donor looks / feels totally fine - literally no signs that any hair was taken out and it's still really full. 

Re: cost...yep. Hoping that the results are worth it. Based on the work H&W has churned out in the profiles I've seen on this forum, I felt comfortable paying what I did. 

Here are some donor pics post-surgery:

 

I'm not sure what it is but the extractions look quite different in these two pics? In the first pic, they seem to go a lot higher and I can't really see the separation between crown, but in the second pic I can clearly see it.

[HisHairness]

13 hours ago, Gatsby said:

That's a fantastic result and one H+W are well renowned for churning out on a consistent basis. You have a very strong donor area and a strong mid section. I think you've really nailed this at the sweet spot for a totally undetectable result. Are you taking finasteride and/or minoxidil?

Thanks Gatsby. 

I took Minoxidil for ~ 3 years nearly every day. I'd actually use the foam to style my hair a bit. In speaking with Dr. Hasson, his office actually suggests you stop Min before surgery and it seemed like they are generally averse towards using Min longterm. So, for now I've stopped entirely.

I've gone back and forth with fin (did experience sides when I was using proscar cut into 1/4ths), but seem to have a good thing going right now where I'm using a slightly lesser dose (0.5mg) a few times a week and am seemingly stabilizing what I have left. I'd personally love to try the topical fin but it's not available in the US to my knowledge.

[HisHairness]

12 hours ago, 83mjs said:

Thanks for sharing. I had basically the same amount of grafts as you did in early Feb.  I have/had a pretty similar pattern of hairloss too (2.8k in front third and 2.1k in crown). Will be following your progress with great interest.

How's it looking now?

Awesome. I'll definitely follow your journey as well then. 

I'll be posting current pics today (got tied up last night when I did the original post).

[HisHairness]

1 hour ago, HTHope said:

@HisHairness you have a lot of native hair. Did hasson mention any possibility of shock loss?

@HTHope I don't recall if Hasson explicitly mentioned shock loss. We spoke a bit about the importance of fin in maintaining future hair, but I dont remember shock loss being a big discussion.

FWIW - you'll see in my 4 month pics (I'm gathering them now and will be posting today) that most of my native hair seems to have returned fine (but might have experienced some shock loss in the front a bit).

[HisHairness]

42 minutes ago, giegnosiganoe said:

I'm not sure what it is but the extractions look quite different in these two pics? In the first pic, they seem to go a lot higher and I can't really see the separation between crown, but in the second pic I can clearly see it.

@giegnosiganoe the first pic is just my left side after day 1. The 2nd pic is a different angle and includes the extractions from the right side. I think it's just a bit of an optical angle issue and unfortunately I don't have too many pictures of the donor area post-op but I think that first pic is pretty indicative of how the other side looked as well.

[HisHairness]

1 hour ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Thank you for posting this excellent review, you sort of remind me of a legendary patient @Aftermath he also went to Dr. Hasson, I think you will be very satisfied in 12 months time. Please keep us updated on your progress.

thanks @Melvin-Moderator 

I'm aware of @Aftermath's progress and have viewed his thread as well. Anything close to his success would be thrilling.

[HisHairness]

Hi all -

Sorry for not including follow up pics in my original post, but here are some pics from the 4 month mark. I also have a personal folder of pics that include some key milestone dates (the first week, month 1, month 2, etc) and can add those if others are curious.

I feel a ton of stubble when i run my hand through my hairline / crown, and can see tiny little black hairs just beginning to sprout, but I definitely haven't had an insane early-grower response like some others have had. At this point, I feel like I'm back to baseline.

One thing that's tough in my case, is the fact that most of my transplanted hair is going into an area that already has hair. So, while the existing hair has laregely grown back, I find myself trying to look through existing hairs for small stubble and it's tough to see (versus in some HT's when an entirely new hairline is created or a fully bald spot is filled, it's very easy to notice progress no matter how minimal...).

I'm still quite hopeful that the forthcoming months can bring some drastic changes. Anyone who's been here before can likely relate to the daily checking of your hairline / crown and it's tough to really notice progress in 24 hour increments...

Pics are taken showing the front / crown under strong vs. normal light while wet / dry. Please note that the "strong light" pics are literally taken directly under a really bright light - in other words these pics are taken in light that is stronger than the pre-op pics i posted before but I feel it's helpful to show the extent of my loss.

 

 

 

[Tbcruz]

I can relate 💯 .. I’m almost at 4 months and I had existing hair before hand so it is very difficult to notice any new hairs.  I was checking everyday and realized that it was driving me crazy lol so I’m trying not to look so often.  im sure things will start to change soon enough good luck ! 

[Gatsby]

We are truly our own worst enemies when it comes to MPB and a mirror. Multiply that by 100 if you have just had a hair transplant. All I can say is WOW HisHairness. Still really early for growth and it's looking great. Imagine when aanother four months passes and another,... Looking forward to keeping us all posted!

[HisHairness]

23 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

We are truly our own worst enemies when it comes to MPB and a mirror. Multiply that by 100 if you have just had a hair transplant. All I can say is WOW HisHairness. Still really early for growth and it's looking great. Imagine when aanother four months passes and another,... Looking forward to keeping us all posted!

@Gatsby very well said. Looking forward to the next few months of growth!

[ndubya]

Op, I would bet you have a good result.  Dr Hasson is one of the very best in this business.

[OliverAtom]

On 5/12/2020 at 11:51 PM, HisHairness said:

Hi all -

Sorry for not including follow up pics in my original post, but here are some pics from the 4 month mark. I also have a personal folder of pics that include some key milestone dates (the first week, month 1, month 2, etc) and can add those if others are curious.

I feel a ton of stubble when i run my hand through my hairline / crown, and can see tiny little black hairs just beginning to sprout, but I definitely haven't had an insane early-grower response like some others have had. At this point, I feel like I'm back to baseline.

One thing that's tough in my case, is the fact that most of my transplanted hair is going into an area that already has hair. So, while the existing hair has laregely grown back, I find myself trying to look through existing hairs for small stubble and it's tough to see (versus in some HT's when an entirely new hairline is created or a fully bald spot is filled, it's very easy to notice progress no matter how minimal...).

I'm still quite hopeful that the forthcoming months can bring some drastic changes. Anyone who's been here before can likely relate to the daily checking of your hairline / crown and it's tough to really notice progress in 24 hour increments...

Pics are taken showing the front / crown under strong vs. normal light while wet / dry. Please note that the "strong light" pics are literally taken directly under a really bright light - in other words these pics are taken in light that is stronger than the pre-op pics i posted before but I feel it's helpful to show the extent of my loss.

 

 

 

You are almost ready for the great stuff, keep posting the evolution since it seems this will be a great final result : )

Thanks for sharing!

[83mjs]

Agree with you 100% about it being harder to track progress in areas where there is already hair. I even contemplated a much shorter haircut than I would normally have, just to be able to see the growth around the crown and hairline better!

Since you’re at 4 months you should be seeing some improvements over the coming weeks. Happy growing!

[HisHairness]

@83mjs I have considered the exact same thing. It's honestly a daily battle on whether i cut things short to track progress / have better visibility, or whether i just hold steady.

I'm feeling more and more stubbles each day (moreso in my crown then up front oddly). At the 4 month 1 week mark now. Will post another update a the 5-month mark or if things materially change before then.

[Der3k7]

I am interested to see how this goes please continue to update! I am planning to go to Hasson later this year as well.