Dr Demirsoy - FUE 23 Nov 2020 - 3007 grafts

[JST07]

Hi All, 

I had written a previous post explaining the generic stuff about my situation as a pre-amble to my surgery, see link below for the context: 

I had the surgery on 23 November 2020 and the below is my initial feedback /review. 

Organisation:

Muzaffer, Dr Demirsoy's assistant, is the point man for the entire process. I cannot stress enough how much it helps to have a single point of contact for everything from hotel bookings to explaining post op care. He's a great guy and shows a keen interest in your wellbeing. I don't have experience of how other operations are run - but the Armamed process is certainly very smooth and well organised. 

Surgery: 

Dr Demirsoy originally suggested 3500-3800 grafts when I sent in photos a few months ago. However, on closer inspection of the thinning areas and due to selecting a conservative hairline (see pictures below) we landed up with only 3007 grafts. I am happy with the lower number of grafts, there will be plenty left over for another surgery if/when needed. Dr Demirsoy said that I should be good for another 2500/3000 grafts in donor capacity before compromising the donor sight. 🙂 

Local anesthetic injections are not pleasant, but really aren't too bad. I didn't experience any pain during the procedure. 

I didn't get an average hair count per graft, but Dr Demirsoy said that there were mostly doubles and triples, with a few quads.

Dr Demirsoy extracted the grafts himself, using a 0.85mm motorized punch. He also makes off the the incisions for the recipient area. His three nurses then place the grafts after a quick lunch. The whole process took from about 8:30-16:30 (including pre-op planning etc.) 

One thing I hadn't read else where and found quite interesting is how your head actually feels post op. It feels like you are wearing a child size helmet, which is a bit disorientating, but not painful.  

I think what everyone is after, at least initially is the photographic evidence, so please see below some of the pictures taken by the team:

Planning:  

 

Shaved post planning:  

 

Immediately post op:  

Day 1 post op:  

I am happy to answer any questions here or with a PM. 

So far I am really happy with the experience. I will continue to post on a weekly/ monthly basis. 

Cheers. 

 

[Abi28]

Looks great good luck on your journey!

Edited November 26, 2020 by Abi28

[BjornBorg]

Good luck, following. Perfect planning of hairline.

[JST07]

Hi Everyone, 

Thought I would add some update pictures. 

These are from Day 6. 

 

 

I will add more pictures once I have removed the scabs in the recipient area. 

Cheers, 

[Britanium]

Looks very clean and healing well! Thanks for the update 🙏

[HairFunk]

Work looks very good. Keep us updated on the months ahead!

[TommyLucchese]

Looks good! Really jealous of that crown work too I wish I could get something very similar to yours right now.

Good luck.

[JST07]

Hi All, 

Thanks for the comments, good wishes. 

Below are the Day 8 pictures.

I took the scabs off today after several layers of lotion and placing a wet cloth on my head and leaving it there for about 20m. Scabs just rolled of, much easier than the donor site where I had to apply a bit of force to get the scabs off. 

Holding thumbs for as minimal a shed as possible now. 😅

Cheers, 

[Hoohair]

Nice. Im a few weeks ahead of you with Dr Demirsoy. All the best with your new Journey. Work looks great so far.

[JST07]

Hi All, 

Updated pictures from Day 13. (c. 2 weeks) 

The shedding has begun, hopefully the new growth will kick in fast. 🙄

Donor site looking as good as I could expect. 

 

 

Cheers, 

[Britanium]

Your healing very well. Your recipient area looks very clean. Donor area looks good. Although is that a slight bit of shock loss i can see? 

[JST07]

I think there may be a bit of shock loss on the left side of my donor. But it might also just be the lighting. I have very fine hair, so lighting makes a big difference. I'll be able to tell in another two weeks, once the hair is a bit longer, if there has actually been any shock loss. I can't say that I noticed any hair shedding during the first week at all. 

 

[JST07]

Below is the 4 week (28 days) update. 

The shedding / shock loss appears to be in full force now... No longer getting any hairs on my hands when washing my hair. 

Left side of the donor clearly does appear thinner than the right, so maybe some shock loss here, but it's not too bad it's only when wet / direct sunlight that it looks thin. 

I'll be honest, I have read about this phase hundreds of times, but I am still pretty nervous about how this will turn out. 😅

Unless there are any specific questions, I'll probably only update next at 3 months / when there has been some growth. 

Happy holidays everyone, and let's hope that 2021 will bring the world something better than 2020, and bring me more hair. 😋

Cheers 

[JST07]

[Edit - seemed to double post the last update] 

Edited December 22, 2020 by JST07

[rob7331]

Happy holidays my friend! I'm so excited for you. I don't want to get ahead of myself but I think your result is going to be absolutely amazing. Great work by Dr. Demirsoy and his team. Do you mind if I ask where you're from?

[JST07]

@rob7331 - South Africa  I think Dr Demirsoy's first South African patient  

[GLHF]

Looking good so far mate.

From what I've seen from patient reviews (and my own), Demirsoy does a solid job almost all the time. He maybe doesn't produce 10/10 results, but I think he's a safe bet for a good result.

Looking forward to your progress.

 

You had a very similar amount of grafts to me and similar hair loss. 👌

[JST07]

Hi All, 

Today is exactly 8 weeks post op. So I thought I would add a few more pictures with a few comments: 

1. No new growth yet - but this is to be expected. 

2. Shockloss of native hair in the recipient area  and left donor side (see forth picture below) 

3. My hair grows very slowly at 1 cm every 4 weeks...  

I'll update next at 3/4 months. 

[Britanium]

Donor/shock loss recovering well! Yes this is the worst part, but give it a couple of months (maybe before) and the growth stage will be taking off ! Have faith in the process 🙏

[rob7331]

Following your topic, thanks for the update! You're smack dab in the middle of the ugly duckling stage, so don't sweat it if you ever have days where you feel like things "aren't working". I can 100% guarantee you they are, and in a few more months you'll look back and won't remember these days at all.

Super excited for you, keep us posted! Demirsoy is on my shortlist once travel re-opens in Canada, so I'm interested in your progress.

[JST07]

Hi Everyone, 

I thought I would add this observation as I haven't seen anyone mention this. 

Below is a picture of one of my hairs. (I have sacrificed to give back to this forum. 😭)

Interestingly the tip (oldest part of the hair) is really thick, it then thins out, and thickens back towards the end (newest part). 

Visually I can see this on a few of the hairs on my head, but not all. I assume that the non-uniform thickness implies that this is a graft that never shed. (which is why not all of my hair is like this) 

I assume the thinness in the middle of the hair is due to the follicle having gone through some stress over the first few weeks post op. 

 

Has anyone else seen this before? 

 

[JST07]

Anyone have a similar experience to the above? I am really curious to know. 

[justinthomas456]

Unfortunately I traveled to Dr. Demirsoy in 2016 from the U.S. He caused massive damage to my scalp. I had what they call pitting which is a deep scar. I can't even shave my head because of it and I get headaches and pain in the area even after all these years. Worst mistake of my life. 

[CosmoKramer]

On 1/25/2021 at 2:21 PM, JST07 said:

Hi Everyone, 

I thought I would add this observation as I haven't seen anyone mention this. 

Below is a picture of one of my hairs. (I have sacrificed to give back to this forum. 😭)

Interestingly the tip (oldest part of the hair) is really thick, it then thins out, and thickens back towards the end (newest part). 

Visually I can see this on a few of the hairs on my head, but not all. I assume that the non-uniform thickness implies that this is a graft that never shed. (which is why not all of my hair is like this) 

I assume the thinness in the middle of the hair is due to the follicle having gone through some stress over the first few weeks post op. 

 

Has anyone else seen this before? 

 

It’s likely due to the strength of the blood supply and time it took for vessels to form surrounding the graft as it grew...but im sure a professional HT doc would know for sure.

[JST07]

Hi All, 

Today is 12 weeks - I thought I would give an update. 

Haven't seen much growth of the transplanted hairs yet, if any. I am hoping that it will start to take off soon. 😅

I had a haircut over the weekend - asked the barber to shave a Number 5 of the sides and back, and we didn't touch the top. 

My hair has always grown really slowly! It's currently 3cm on the top - so c. 1cm every four weeks - which isn't as slow as it feels. 

The donor area looks great. The left side of of my head appears thinner than the right, but looking back on photo's from before the transplant it looks like this was always the case. 

Again these photos are right after a shower in direct sunlight - so this is as exposed as it will ever be... 

I think I will only post next at 24 weeks / 6 months.

Cheers,