3300 FUT with Dr. Konior 6/22/21

[JDude82]

Hi all,

After years of reading stories here I decided to move some hairs around on my head! I chose Dr. Konior for a number of reasons, one of which is the outstanding reputation he has on this site. I'm sure my experience with him (and his amazing staff) will echo others here.

I am 38 and started losing hair around my late 20's. I've been using Minoxidil foam since then and Finasteride off and on over the last 7 years or so with no side effects. My wife and I decided to have a couple kids so I stopped taking finasteride for a few years and lost quite a bit more hair during that time. I have been back on Finasteride for around 15 months now.

When COVID hit my entire office moved to remote work and I eventually found out I'd be able to work remote permanently, so this seemed like the perfect time to go through with this. I can wear a hat during meetings/calls and when I go out so the ugly duckling phase should not affect me much, if at all. I wore a hat the majority of the time anyway. I emailed him in November and he had an opening in June so I took it.

Now for the surgery!

Arrival

I booked an AirBNB right by Konior's office, around a 2-3 minute drive to get there.

I arrived at 6:30am and met with Karen who was amazing. Went over some basic things, signed some papers, etc. After that I waited for Dr. Konior. His demeanor made the entire experience so comfortable. He was very calm and collected, did not seem in any rush, and was just someone you can shoot the shit with for a while.

My original goal was just to fill in the temples and focus on the crown area. He decided in addition to filling in the temples that he would add a little to the front of the hairline as there was a thinner spot there and the rest would go in the back. I was given my first Valium around this time. He buzzed the top, drew on it with some markers for quite some time and took a bunch of photos. He literally drew and erased a single area 4-5 times to get it just right! 

By this time the valium and my lack of sleep was kicking in, I was led to a bathroom and given another Valium (I think) and we went in for surgery.

Surgery

I really do not remember much except the beginning and the end of the surgery due to the Valium completely knocking me out.

The surgery started around 9am I think and ended at 11:30pm. I remember the numbing shots at the start which weren't too bad. I remember them taking out the strip and doing sutures and staples which I didn't feel at all and dozed off shortly after that. I was woken up a couple of times for bathroom breaks and snacks and had no issue falling right back asleep after. I was in and out of consciousness for the last hour or more and at this point I could hear some of what was going on. 

I heard some of the incisions and the calling for grafts. This didn't bother me at all and was rather interesting to hear.

That's it. They actually laughed out how I was out cold for the entire thing. I don't think I'd have it any other way! At the start Dr. Konior tells you when you hear the hair dryer it's over and I have never been more happy to hear a hair dryer in my life.

Post Surgery

I began following the post op instructions to the letter. I was able to sleep for a solid 6 hours or more the fist night at an incline with a travel pillow. The next day I was moving around like normal and as long as I was on my meds I was functioning completely fine. The following nights I had no trouble sleeping with a travel pillow on top of another pillow, which kept my head elevated. 

I went in for a quick checkup/cleaning for the next 3 days, each time being told my recovery was looking great. They let me go home a day early since everything was looking good. By this time my face was starting to swell and I looked hilarious, that went away after a couple days.

Kudos to him and his crew! I was freaking out leading up to the surgery and they made the whole thing a breeze. 

Back Home

Just a couple note here. Washing the hair/suture line sucks. Having Neosporin in your hair at all time sucks as well. The sutures cause itchiness around the incision. I've had no pain in the recipient area, most of the pain/discomfort was around the incision. I would not say there has been any serious discomfort or pain though. Today is one week out and I did not even need to take ibuprofen today.

 

I could have written MUCH more and tried to keep it brief, so if you have questions be sure to ask. 

 

Now for some pictures! The first are before surgery to see what I was working with. 

 

[JDude82]

Here are some pictures of when I returned back to the AirBNB the day of surgery!

[JDude82]

And here I am at 1 week. I have no pain or discomfort, the incision line is just numb when it touches a pillow. I was able to let the shower hit the grafts today and actually wash them. I am VERY much looking forward to getting the sutures removed at the 2 week mark. I have had very little scabbing and will be applying aloe vera gel and washing tomorrow to attempt to get any scabs off. Anything else I should be doing at this point?

[JDude82]

One question. My wife swears the incision line on the back of the head looked better on day 4 (below). I have not been as diligent on keeping the chin up as when I first came out of surgery. Do you guys think everything looks normal?

[makehairgreatagain]

Excellent write up! Everything does look clean and normal. Have you been going for follow-ups? Please keep us updated as this is going to be a really Excellent result.

[aaron1234]

I think FUT was the right choice for your case, even if the sutures get super irritating this next week.  It looks like you have a really strong donor region.  Did Dr. K mention anything about that?  Everything is looking great, make sure to keep us posted with your progress!

 

 

[Melvin- Admin]

Very reminiscent of @1978mattI believe you're in for one hell of a result. Dr. Konior is one of the very best in the entire world. Thanks for sharing, and I can't wait to see your updates. Just don't forget about us when you look like Fabio haha.

[JP28]

Hi @aaron1234 

One question for you, with that kind of length would the fut scar be visible on wet hair? 
 

thanks 

[aaron1234]

Just now, JP28 said:

One question for you, with that kind of length would the fut scar be visible on wet hair? 

If you have great donor density it might not be visible at all when wet.  On the flip side, if you have average or low donor density the scar can still be seen when the hair is wet, even with longer hair styles.  Totally depends on the patient.  For me I do avoid swimming in broad daylight. 

[JP28]

1 minute ago, aaron1234 said:

If you have great donor density it might not be visible at all when wet.  On the flip side, if you have average or low donor density the scar can still be seen when the hair is wet, even with longer hair styles.  Totally depends on the patient.  For me I do avoid swimming in broad daylight. 

Thanks for the answer @aaron1234

[JDude82]

2 hours ago, makehairgreatagain said:

Excellent write up! Everything does look clean and normal. Have you been going for follow-ups? Please keep us updated as this is going to be a really Excellent result.

Thanks! I did 3 days of follow up and was scheduled for a 4th. I requested to leave a day early and they had no issue with that at all. 

 

2 hours ago, aaron1234 said:

I think FUT was the right choice for your case, even if the sutures get super irritating this next week.  It looks like you have a really strong donor region.  Did Dr. K mention anything about that?  Everything is looking great, make sure to keep us posted with your progress!

 

 

I am very happy with going the FUT route to maximize grafts if needed further down the road. Dr. K did mention in an email that my donor hair looked "fantastic". 

[TorontoMan]

Insane coverage. Can't wait to see your result

[JDude82]

1 hour ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Very reminiscent of @1978mattI believe you're in for one hell of a result. Dr. Konior is one of the very best in the entire world. Thanks for sharing, and I can't wait to see your updates. Just don't forget about us when you look like Fabio haha.

If I end up with results anything close @1978matt I will be ecstatic! I will certainly stick around, this place gave me all the information I needed and guided me to an amazing Doc.

[JDude82]

17 minutes ago, JP28 said:

Hi @aaron1234 

One question for you, with that kind of length would the fut scar be visible on wet hair? 
 

thanks 

 

13 minutes ago, aaron1234 said:

If you have great donor density it might not be visible at all when wet.  On the flip side, if you have average or low donor density the scar can still be seen when the hair is wet, even with longer hair styles.  Totally depends on the patient.  For me I do avoid swimming in broad daylight. 

Right now when the hair is wet it is visible, but I believe that is only due to the donor area being shaved. Once that fills back in and with the length I wear my hair I do not think it will be visible when wet, but only time will tell.

[JDude82]

4 minutes ago, TorontoMan said:

Insane coverage. Can't wait to see your result

Thanks! Next update will be posted shortly after suture removal at 2 weeks.

[JP28]

Just now, JDude82 said:

 

Right now when the hair is wet it is visible, but I believe that is only due to the donor area being shaved. Once that fills back in and with the length I wear my hair I do not think it will be visible when wet, but only time will tell.

I’m sure you’re right, please keep us updated. 

[champybaby]

10 hours ago, JP28 said:

Hi @aaron1234 

One question for you, with that kind of length would the fut scar be visible on wet hair? 
 

thanks 

I had 2 FUTs w/ Dr. K. I want to say I often went with a 4 to play it safe. Never had an issue with scar showing when wet, even after second FUT. fwiw.

edit: here's a link. This is after my second FUT, maybe month 4 or 5?

Edited July 1, 2021 by champybaby

[JP28]

6 minutes ago, champybaby said:

I had 2 FUTs w/ Dr. K. I want to say I often went with a 4 to play it safe. Never had an issue with scar showing when wet, even after second FUT. fwiw.

edit: here's a link. This is after my second FUT, maybe month 4 or 5?

Thank you @champybaby! 

[JP28]

Konior’s fut scars are so thin and nicely done that you can barely notice anything, it makes me consider having a FUT next time.

[JDude82]

Hi all,

16 days post op update!

I started shedding around day 10 and have been shedding since. Definitely shed a bit in the temples. I had barely any scabbing/crusting so I'm guessing this is why I'm shedding earlier than 3 weeks.

Sutures came out a couple days before this and I am now able to ditch the Neosporin along the donor line. Konior recommends applying this along the donor until the sutures have been out for two days to keep the wound moist. I also jumped back on Rogaine foam day 14, twice a day. Their instructions say once a day to the grafts, is twice a day too much?

I'm experiencing a throbbing pain after the removal of the sutures (similar to a headache, but in a single spot) off the sides of the crown and above the donor line in the exact same spot on each side of the head. Ibuprofen does nothing for this, but it's not that bad and doesn't disrupt work or daily activities. This did not happen until the sutures were removed and comes and goes throughout the day.

Sleeping hasn't been an issue at all, but it is awkward. Numbness along the donor line makes it uncomfortable to rest my head on a pillow so I'm still using a travel pillow as I find it more comfortable.

Other than that everything seems normal and downhill from here, I hope!

[champybaby]

21 hours ago, JDude82 said:

I'm experiencing a throbbing pain after the removal of the sutures (similar to a headache, but in a single spot) off the sides of the crown and above the donor line in the exact same spot on each side of the head.

I ate edibles after my procedures. Way more effective than any pain killer. fwiw.

[Egott92]

Looking totally normal! I continued using raw aloe vera leaf on my suture line after 2 weeks up until around ~1.5 months and it really helped with soothing. I'm not sure if that'll help with the headache though  Dr. Konior even said I could put it on the recipient area, but I didn't feel like I needed to. 

[JDude82]

Quick 3 month update.

Hard to get good pictures of progress, but thought I'd throw some up anyway. Used a #5 on the sides and back about 3-4 weeks ago.

Seem to be noticing new hairs popping out every day, things are very itchy. Lot of growth in the temples already, considering there was almost nothing there before. It's much easier to notice then the crown.

Definitely experienced some shock loss, still a bit thin on the left side. Also think there's a bit on the back of the head as well towards the top, but maybe my hair was so long before it's just more noticeable now.

I'm super excited for the next 3 months!

[Melvin- Admin]

12 minutes ago, JDude82 said:

Quick 3 month update.

Hard to get good pictures of progress, but thought I'd throw some up anyway. Used a #5 on the sides and back about 3-4 weeks ago.

Seem to be noticing new hairs popping out every day, things are very itchy. Lot of growth in the temples already, considering there was almost nothing there before. It's much easier to notice then the crown.

Definitely experienced some shock loss, still a bit thin on the left side. Also think there's a bit on the back of the head as well towards the top, but maybe my hair was so long before it's just more noticeable now.

I'm super excited for the next 3 months!

It’s blending in very nicely 👍🏼

[JDude82]

Also here's some pics from 6 weeks post op to see the growth since then. Sorry I'm putting these up out of order!

Edited September 23, 2021 by JDude82
Wrong dates