How long should I wait until I begin the repair process?

[Westview]

12 hours ago, Gatsby said:

I know it's incredibly frustrating but you are not even at the half way mark of your journey from this surgery. Patience is a difficult thing to maintain but as others have said you can only make an informed judgement once you've reached 12 months. All the best

And sometimes even 18 months

[Sean]

Hang in there.  Rooting for you.  Hope you get what you desire when it is all grown out.  

[JeffHanrick]

Update at 7 months and 1 week.  

It seems to be a tale of two techs.  Im extremely happy with the right side, the grafts look to be placed very well.  They are not noticeable at all and were not placed in rows.  The growth is coming along very well and I would be ecstatic if both sides of the transplant looked like this.  However....

The left side is a different story.  It is not growing in at the same rate as the right, which is understandable and not a concern to me at all.  The concern is that the grafts are so obviously placed in a cornrow formation that it is extremely evident when looking up close. It is very unnatural looking.  They were also placed too deep and they are very noticeable, even as more hair grows in.  The tech that did the left side did an extremely poor job and Im very disappointed with the result on that side thus far.

The pictures were taken with my phone camera, so the resolution isnt great.  They don't clearly show the obvious grafts and the visible cornrow formation.  I tried my best to get some decent shots but they arent representative of how obvious the grafts look under light.  I know people will advise to wait and that there will be more growth to camouflage the cornrows and the deep graft placement.  Regardless of how much hair grows in to camouflage, the cornrow formation will remain and the grafts will remain placed too deep.  This will prevent me from ever wearing my hair short in the future and will be a serious issue once I start losing the transplanted hair. 

I will wait the full 12 months to see how it looks but regardless I will need some repair work done for the cornrows/deep grafts all throughout the left side.

I will update in the next month or two again.

 

 

Edited March 25, 2021 by JeffHanrick

[Britanium]

Thanks for the update 🙏 disappointing that the techs were not in sync... usually one side will lag behind the other, but it’s the grafting pattern that is evidently different here. 

[Melvin- Admin]

It’s a big improvement from the last update. At 7 months there’s still a chance it could grow and turn out just as good as the other side. Don’t lose hope. Slow and steady wins the race.

[JeffHanrick]

33 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

It’s a big improvement from the last update. At 7 months there’s still a chance it could grow and turn out just as good as the other side. Don’t lose hope. Slow and steady wins the race.

It could grow, but the corn row formation and deep obvious pitted grafts will remain.  As I mentioned, Im not as concerned with the growth...its the cornrows and deep grafts that are the problem.  Regardless of the amount of camouflage, those problems will remain.

Edited March 25, 2021 by JeffHanrick

[Al - Moderator]

I don't know where you had it done. Did the tech makes the incisions or was it the Dr who made the incisions? If the Dr made the incision holes then the tech can only place grafts into the holes the Dr made, so you can't blame the tech for what may be poor graft layout if the tech didn't do that part. It also may look fine in a few more months once it matures. You just have to wait and see. It doesn't look bad in the pictures, but I know that doesn't always show everything.

 

[JeffHanrick]

Here are a few more pics that really show the dramatic difference in sides.  Does this appear to be something that can be easily repaired?  The left side looks very bad at the moment and I am deeply regretting not finding this forum before the transplant.  I was willing to pay for the highest quality work and thought I found a skilled and ethical surgeon.  I'm very disappointed.

 

 

[JeffHanrick]

On 3/25/2021 at 9:56 PM, BeHappy said:

I don't know where you had it done. Did the tech makes the incisions or was it the Dr who made the incisions? If the Dr made the incision holes then the tech can only place grafts into the holes the Dr made, so you can't blame the tech for what may be poor graft layout if the tech didn't do that part. It also may look fine in a few more months once it matures. You just have to wait and see. It doesn't look bad in the pictures, but I know that doesn't always show everything.

 

Dr made the incisions so yes you are correct that he is to blame for the graft cornrows placement.  I will be naming him after 12 months so everyone can see the work for themselves and make their own personal judgment. 

I will be using an elite surgeon like Konior to try and repair this work.

Edited March 28, 2021 by JeffHanrick

[ITA]

3 hours ago, JeffHanrick said:

I will be naming him after 12 months so everyone can see the work for themselves and make their own personal judgment. 

I think you would do a good and right thing if you mentioned him before 12 months, as opposed to what you decided to do, in the meantime someone else, reading your thread could look better at this clinic, and not take the same risk as you did.  you.

[giegnosiganoe]

I don't see any cornrows or pitting. To me it looks like potentially badly angled grafts, but I don't know that's just how you've styled the hair. The density seems like it could be better, but it's not bad. You've covered the hairline on the other side so it's impossible to compare.

[JeffHanrick]

13 hours ago, giegnosiganoe said:

I don't see any cornrows or pitting. To me it looks like potentially badly angled grafts, but I don't know that's just how you've styled the hair. The density seems like it could be better, but it's not bad. You've covered the hairline on the other side so it's impossible to compare.

Hairline on right side and front view to compare.

 

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by JeffHanrick

[RandoBrando517]

On 3/28/2021 at 1:50 PM, JeffHanrick said:

Hairline on right side and front view to compare.

 

 

I’m no expert but I don’t see anything wrong with your hair. My only complaint would be that it looks too receded. But other than that it looks normal. If you go get another HT you should probably lower it. 

[giegnosiganoe]

On 3/28/2021 at 1:50 PM, JeffHanrick said:

Hairline on right side and front view to compare.

 

 

Yeah I still stand by my previous comment. Still difficult to see the other side. If you have any immediate post-op pics then it would be easy to tell if it was implanted in a "cornrow" fashion, but I don't notice it from these pics.

[JeffHanrick]

On 3/29/2021 at 6:58 PM, giegnosiganoe said:

Yeah I still stand by my previous comment. Still difficult to see the other side. If you have any immediate post-op pics then it would be easy to tell if it was implanted in a "cornrow" fashion, but I don't notice it from these pics.

Like I said, it's difficult to see with the pics but up close under lighting the cornrows are very clear.  I highlighted where they are most visible. The graft placement on my right and left side are drasticly different.

On 3/29/2021 at 6:32 PM, RandoBrando517 said:

I’m no expert but I don’t see anything wrong with your hair. My only complaint would be that it looks too receded. But other than that it looks normal. If you go get another HT you should probably lower it. 

I'm actually relatively happy with the placement of the hairline in general.  I wanted something age appropriate.  I might lower the hairline a touch but likely will just try and camouflage the cornrows and add some density to both sides.

Edited March 31, 2021 by JeffHanrick

[RandoBrando517]

2 minutes ago, JeffHanrick said:

Like I said, it's difficult to see with the pics but up close under lighting the cornrows are very clear.  I highlighted where the cornrows are most visible. The graft placement on my right and left side are drasticly different.

I'm actually relatively happy with the placement of the hairline in general.  I wanted something age appropriate.  I might lower the hairline a touch but likely will just try and camouflage the cornrows and add some density to both sides.

I don’t see anything wrong with your hair now other than it’s placed way far back 

If you’re happy with that hairline, to each his own. I’d be complaining that it looks way too receded might as well not do anything. Was this agreed on before surgery?

[JeffHanrick]

1 minute ago, RandoBrando517 said:

I don’t see anything wrong with your hair now other than it’s placed way far back 

If you’re happy with that hairline, to each his own. I’d be complaining that it looks way too receded might as well not do anything. Was this agreed on before surgery?

lol.  Look at the before and afters.

[RandoBrando517]

Just now, JeffHanrick said:

lol.  Look at the before and afters.

Sorry not trying to be a jerk, looks like the same hairline with a little more hair the appearance is fine but the placement sucks

[JeffHanrick]

1 minute ago, RandoBrando517 said:

Sorry not trying to be a jerk, looks like the same hairline with a little more hair the appearance is fine but the placement sucks

Thank you for your opinion.

[Melvin- Admin]

@JeffHanrick

I disagree completely with @RandoBrando517 I think the hairline looks natural and the design is good. I do see the area of concern. But my guess is it will be less and less noticeable as the hair grows more. Refinement does occur past 8 months. 

Lastly, if you’re unhappy always bring it up to the surgeons attention. Voice your dissatisfaction at this point. After all, they should be standing by their work. Glad you found our forum. I will say we are our own worst critics, and while it sucks your expectations haven’t been met. The improvement is pretty drastic in my opinion. Pulling for you 🙏🏼

[JeffHanrick]

11 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

@JeffHanrick

I disagree completely with @RandoBrando517 I think the hairline looks natural and the design is good. I do see the area of concern. But my guess is it will be less and less noticeable as the hair grows more. Refinement does occur past 8 months. 

Lastly, if you’re unhappy always bring it up to the surgeons attention. Voice your dissatisfaction at this point. After all, they should be standing by their work. Glad you found our forum. I will say we are our own worst critics, and while it sucks your expectations haven’t been met. The improvement is pretty drastic in my opinion. Pulling for you 🙏🏼

Yea, I'm happy w the hairline placement.  It looks natural and age appropriate, which is exactly what I wanted.  Its a big improvement from where I started (I guess I didn't post any pre surgery pics so I'll add one).

I won't be returning to this surgeon regardless, so I don't see the benefit in discussing the areas of concern w him.  My plan for now is to let it grow to 12 months and then discuss repair/density increase w Konior or another top surgeon.

I do think density will increase on the left side, but the cornrows and pitted grafts are going to remain.  My concern is when I want to wear my hair short in the future or when the implanted hairs fall out, these grafts/rows are going to be very noticeable.  

 

 

Edited March 31, 2021 by JeffHanrick

[Al - Moderator]

It looks like it could be (at least partially) an issue of the hair being very wiry and curly and not blending in right with the rest of your hair. That is normal and it will soften up and blend better with time.

 

[JeffHanrick]

Better view of the pitting.  I will definitely be naming my surgeon so everyone can avoid him in the future.  He seemed very ethical to me and had excellent reviews/was expensive.  We even explicitly talked about how to avoid pitting in the initial consultation.

I'm just disappointed at this point.

[Al - Moderator]

If I look closely I can see what you are talking about with the lines. It's much more evident in the early pictures before the hair started growing in. It doesn't look bad at all now. When you know it's there and you keep looking at it every day in the mirror it can seem so bad to you while nobody else may even notice it. If I calculated correctly you should be at around 7 months now. That means you still have a few months of healing and maturing. Try to not think about it too much for the next few weeks. Then in a month from now take some pictures again and see if there is any improvement and let us know. I do think the lines on the scalp will heal a bit more and smooth out over the next few months. I don't know if they will be completely gone in the next few months, but it may improve at least some. Keep us posted.

 

[Melvin- Admin]

9 hours ago, BeHappy said:

If I look closely I can see what you are talking about with the lines. It's much more evident in the early pictures before the hair started growing in. It doesn't look bad at all now. When you know it's there and you keep looking at it every day in the mirror it can seem so bad to you while nobody else may even notice it. If I calculated correctly you should be at around 7 months now. That means you still have a few months of healing and maturing. Try to not think about it too much for the next few weeks. Then in a month from now take some pictures again and see if there is any improvement and let us know. I do think the lines on the scalp will heal a bit more and smooth out over the next few months. I don't know if they will be completely gone in the next few months, but it may improve at least some. Keep us posted.

 

Sound and reasonable advice 🙌🏼