Dr Vikram Jayaprakash- FUT Procedure 20th July 2020: 2600 grafts.

[NDAustralia]

Hello all,

I had a problem with my old account which has prevented me from continuing on my previous thread. If you'd like to follow my journey from the start, you can find the thread here:

This is the 5 month update from my 2600 graft FUT procedure with Dr Vikram Jayaprakash at The Knusden Clinic in Mebourne, Australia.

This month I haven't noticed as much change as I did from months 3 to 4, but my hair is getting longer which is allowing me to style it and with hair fibres I can get it looking really good now. 

Finasteride 1mg every other day.
5% Minoxidil foam once, sometimes twice a day.

Some things to note this month:

Crown is improving so much even without many grafts. I attribute this to fin/min.
I found a couple of double grafts in my hairline which was disappointing.
There is still a little bit of shock loss right down the bottom of the LHS at the back of my head.
Redness in recipient area is completely gone this month.
I struggle to find the scar now and can't get a picture of it!
I was shaving the back and sides to a #4 but I've let my hair grow this month and actually really like it a bit longer.

[Steeeve]

It’s really looking good. Excellent progress so far!

[Britanium]

The crown has definitely improved, no easy task ! 

[Rolandas]

Crown is impressive!

I wonder what happened to your old account..

[NDAustralia]

2 hours ago, Rolandas said:

Crown is impressive!

I wonder what happened to your old account..

Not sure mate, it won't let me log in!

[NDAustralia]

3 hours ago, Steeeve said:

It’s really looking good. Excellent progress so far!

Cheers Steve!

[Gatsby]

Nik it's looking really good, especially for only 5 months post op! The scar color matches perfectly with your own scalp skin color and blends very well. It will continue improving over the next couple years also. With your wavy styled hair pattern you can get away with some doubles in the front so don't be too concerned. Stay on the meds and I look forward to further updates!

[NDAustralia]

14 hours ago, Gatsby said:

Nik it's looking really good, especially for only 5 months post op! The scar color matches perfectly with your own scalp skin color and blends very well. It will continue improving over the next couple years also. With your wavy styled hair pattern you can get away with some doubles in the front so don't be too concerned. Stay on the meds and I look forward to further updates!

Thanks for the reassuring words mate, it's much appreciated. 

[Rui]

Looking great mate - so much density already. Just on the double grafts at the hairline - did you ask k for single grafts to be put in and was a mistake, or just a feature of the regrowth?  I'm looking into getting a HT with these guys also, but would prefer FUE - however, doesn't seem to be much FUE cases from teh Knudsen clininc I can review...

Looking forward to the next update!

[NDAustralia]

Ok so I've finally hit the 6 month mark since my FUT procedure with Dr Vikram Jayaprakash at the Knudsen Clinic in Melbourne, Australia!

Things to note in this update:

Density has definitely improved and a big improvement overall.

I still think the hairline should be lower, I'll probably have another procedure eventually for the crown and get some more in the hairline as well.
Also, if I have another procedure I can get single grafts only as I mentioned in my last update there are a couple of doubles I found.

Still using fibres if I go out without a hat on.

Hopefully the hair thickens up even more in months 7-12. At the moment I'd say I'm about 6.5/10 on the happiness scale but perhaps I'm just not managing my expectations well enough!

Edited January 23, 2021 by NDAustralia

[NDAustralia]

On 1/20/2021 at 8:07 AM, Rui said:

Looking great mate - so much density already. Just on the double grafts at the hairline - did you ask k for single grafts to be put in and was a mistake, or just a feature of the regrowth?  I'm looking into getting a HT with these guys also, but would prefer FUE - however, doesn't seem to be much FUE cases from teh Knudsen clininc I can review...

Looking forward to the next update!

Hi mate thanks for your comment!

We discussed hair restoration a fair bit before the procedure so he knew my expectations and a doctor of his level should absolutely know that double grafts don't belong in the hairline, especially for the price per graft. I'm having my 6 month evaluation with him next week and we'll discuss it then.

He is definitely proficient in FUE and FUT, I assume he's more comfortable with FUT but I wouldn't let that put you off.

Cheers!

[Rolandas]

To be honest, nobody would ever see any doubles in the hairline due to your hair characteristics. It's mostly visible with straight/wavy hair styled up, but yours have pretty good kink to it.

6 months is just the beginning and you will be surprised he much better it will get in the end.

[NDAustralia]

20 hours ago, Rolandas said:

To be honest, nobody would ever see any doubles in the hairline due to your hair characteristics. It's mostly visible with straight/wavy hair styled up, but yours have pretty good kink to it.

6 months is just the beginning and you will be surprised he much better it will get in the end.

Cheers Rolandas

[PizzaWolf]

22 hours ago, Rolandas said:

To be honest, nobody would ever see any doubles in the hairline due to your hair characteristics. It's mostly visible with straight/wavy hair styled up, but yours have pretty good kink to it.

6 months is just the beginning and you will be surprised he much better it will get in the end.

I totally agree with this. I've been compulsively looking at hair transplant results for the past year and I wouldn't have noticed.

@NDAustralia I get why you would be annoyed by the doubles, though. It was sloppy and avoidable on the doctor's part. You paid a premium price to go to The Knudsen Clinic, so you had an expectation of a meticulously crafted hairline.

 

[Rui]

Also think your hair looks great.  Such a massive difference compared to what you had before. 

[NDAustralia]

17 hours ago, PizzaWolf said:

I totally agree with this. I've been compulsively looking at hair transplant results for the past year and I wouldn't have noticed.

@NDAustralia I get why you would be annoyed by the doubles, though. It was sloppy and avoidable on the doctor's part. You paid a premium price to go to The Knudsen Clinic, so you had an expectation of a meticulously crafted hairline.

 

That's basically it. Whilst I don't think it will make a massive difference to the overall result, the fact that either the techs have sorted some of the grafts incorrectly or the doctor made the mistake it's one that shouldn't happen with an almost $15k procedure where you should expect world class work to be done.

[NDAustralia]

16 hours ago, Rui said:

Also think your hair looks great.  Such a massive difference compared to what you had before. 

Much apprecciated Rui, it's definitely a huge improvement!

[Gatsby]

Hey Nik. For six months it's looking great. Personally (just going by the photo's you've posted) I wouldn't want a hairline any lower as you will grow into this one over the many years ahead of you and those finite grafts can be used in other areas in the future. Dr Vik should be able to prevent doubles in the hairline but he just doesn't have the skill set. You have excellent curly hair that negates this. If you plan on anymore work in the future my honest opinion is don't go back to Dr Vik. It's well known that in New Zealand he was convicted by the New Zealand Medical Council for falsely claiming that he had passed the Royal College of Physicians membership exams. He was also convicted of lying to his anesthesia training supervisor and used a forged letter. He was banned for six months and was fined and ordered to pay costs of over $10K in total. On pure ethical grounds I cannot recommend him at all. For the money that these lying/amateur surgeons charge here in Australia you may as well go to the best surgeons overseas as it will cost the same or even less. Don't let that YouTube channel that he and Dr Knudsen run fool you or anyone. That aside I look forward to your updates. All the best!   

[NDAustralia]

18 hours ago, Gatsby said:

Hey Nik. For six months it's looking great. Personally (just going by the photo's you've posted) I wouldn't want a hairline any lower as you will grow into this one over the many years ahead of you and those finite grafts can be used in other areas in the future. Dr Vik should be able to prevent doubles in the hairline but he just doesn't have the skill set. You have excellent curly hair that negates this. If you plan on anymore work in the future my honest opinion is don't go back to Dr Vik. It's well known that in New Zealand he was convicted by the New Zealand Medical Council for falsely claiming that he had passed the Royal College of Physicians membership exams. He was also convicted of lying to his anesthesia training supervisor and used a forged letter. He was banned for six months and was fined and ordered to pay costs of over $10K in total. On pure ethical grounds I cannot recommend him at all. For the money that these lying/amateur surgeons charge here in Australia you may as well go to the best surgeons overseas as it will cost the same or even less. Don't let that YouTube channel that he and Dr Knudsen run fool you or anyone. That aside I look forward to your updates. All the best!   

I wasn't aware of any of that pre-surgery but did read about it a few months ago. In saying that, I don't think it's worth me worrying about as what is done is done and you can get yourself into a negative mindset if you dwell on such things.

As for his skill as a surgeon, I wouldn't call him amateur. I think he's a decent surgeon with a good knowledge base and so when I see him in a week I'll be discussing all of the things I mentioned in my above comments as he is priced as a top surgeon and should be producing that level of work.

[Britanium]

Definitely improving nicely as the months progress! The next few months should be the best in terms of growth/maturing. 👏

[Gatsby]

9 hours ago, NDAustralia said:

I wasn't aware of any of that pre-surgery but did read about it a few months ago. In saying that, I don't think it's worth me worrying about as what is done is done and you can get yourself into a negative mindset if you dwell on such things.

As for his skill as a surgeon, I wouldn't call him amateur. I think he's a decent surgeon with a good knowledge base and so when I see him in a week I'll be discussing all of the things I mentioned in my above comments as he is priced as a top surgeon and should be producing that level of work.

Nik I apologize for going off topic from your results post re: Dr Vik. As I stated in my reply it is looking great for six months! You're curly hair type is also excellent and I look forward to your further growth updates.

[PizzaWolf]

13 hours ago, NDAustralia said:

I wasn't aware of any of that pre-surgery but did read about it a few months ago. In saying that, I don't think it's worth me worrying about as what is done is done and you can get yourself into a negative mindset if you dwell on such things.

As for his skill as a surgeon, I wouldn't call him amateur. I think he's a decent surgeon with a good knowledge base and so when I see him in a week I'll be discussing all of the things I mentioned in my above comments as he is priced as a top surgeon and should be producing that level of work.

I have a lot of respect for your mindset. Something tells me you'll end up with the results you want.

[NDAustralia]

15 hours ago, Gatsby said:

Nik I apologize for going off topic from your results post re: Dr Vik. As I stated in my reply it is looking great for six months! You're curly hair type is also excellent and I look forward to your further growth updates.

All good mate, we're here to discuss everything! I'm thankful you're showing interest in my prrocedure

[NDAustralia]

11 hours ago, PizzaWolf said:

I have a lot of respect for your mindset. Something tells me you'll end up with the results you want.

The older I get, the more I try and remind myself just control the things you can control and don't worry about the things you can't

[NDAustralia]

Ok here we are with my 7 month update!

I can't believe how fast this time has gone and it has definitely been one of the best things I've done for my self confidence and self worth in my entire life so far!

Things to note this month:

Individual hairs are now thickening more each week. Also changing colour to make them more like my native hair.
Crown seems to be improving more each month as well. Still attribute most of this to finasteride and minoxidil.
Although my hair characteristics are excellent for the illusion of density, I can see that the hairline especially could have been packed more densely. This seems to be pretty common with Dr Vikram's patients going through other people's results online. I'm lucky that it isn't as big a deal for me.
I'm convinced the hairline should be just a touch lower. I don't want my 19 year old hairline back but I still can't quite style my hair the way I'd like to appropriate to my age.

Overall  massive improvement and overall I am happy with the results.
Feel free to give your critiques or comments!