~2200 Graft FUT with Carlos Wesley, NYC, 7/21/21 2nd Surgery 539 grafts, 7/14/22

[washingtondc]

3 minutes ago, RandoBrando517 said:

Not sure if trolling at this point 

Hah yeah looks like you made this while I was already writing my response above. Probably pretty unlikely they'd just skip a patch that big I guess.

[washingtondc]

I have to apologize, both to the forum and to Dr. Wesley's office. I spoke with Dr. Wesley on the phone shortly ago and I no longer have any concerns at all. He showed me a one week/one year result that looks far more questionable than mine at a week and great at the end (he may post it here) and the change is pretty incredible. 

I was wrong to let some of the comments about density get to my head like I did and freak out so early in the process. I suffer from generalized anxiety and let it get the best of me. To be even more frank, I lost the love of my life earlier this year and am admittedly not in a very good mental state right now. I lost a lot of hair during the course of my relationship and am doing this to try to get back closer to where I was while I get ready to get back out into the world, and so I've placed a lot of importance on it, which results in a lot of anxiety. 

I am completely reassured and have full confidence that this will be a great result. I look forward to being someone to send others who are freaking out in the future to and being able to tell them that you can't let post op photos affect your perspective of how the result will look. Like I mentioned in earlier posts, I'm going to take a step back from over-scrutinizing things now and just let time take its course.

Sorry again.

Edited August 4, 2021 by washingtondc

[Dr. Carlos Wesley]

It's not uncommon for patients to feel pretty nervous about the initial appearance of their transplant about a week or two after the procedure.  Stubbly hair shafts - a few of which may have already begun to fall out - don't really give the appearance of an impressive result.  It's important to know that there are many variables that will ultimately allow those to generate the desired look of fullness and to not get too nervous about this early appearance.  The caliber, number of hairs per bundle and placement of the grafts to optimize the aesthetic density all factor in.  

Imagine how pessimistic this patient in the attached images must have felt at the one week postoperative mark!  Well, he ultimately became one of our surgical team's biggest advocates. I spoke with washingtondc and he understands this process a bit better now. The donor, as well, will be all filled in with an FUE session once that heals.  When you sign on with a team, you sign up for a result.  It's our commitment to get him there even if it takes an extra step. 

[washingtondc]

3 hours ago, Dr. Carlos Wesley said:

It's not uncommon for patients to feel pretty nervous about the initial appearance of their transplant about a week or two after the procedure.  Stubbly hair shafts - a few of which may have already begun to fall out - don't really give the appearance of an impressive result.  It's important to know that there are many variables that will ultimately allow those to generate the desired look of fullness and to not get too nervous about this early appearance.  The caliber, number of hairs per bundle and placement of the grafts to optimize the aesthetic density all factor in.  

Imagine how pessimistic this patient in the attached images must have felt at the one week postoperative mark!  Well, he ultimately became one of our surgical team's biggest advocates. I spoke with washingtondc and he understands this process a bit better now. The donor, as well, will be all filled in with an FUE session once that heals.  When you sign on with a team, you sign up for a result.  It's our commitment to get him there even if it takes an extra step. 

Thanks Dr. Wesley. Apologies again for getting too much up in my head about things too early on in the process; lesson learned about waiting for a finished product.

Thanks also for all you've done and the reassurance, I really appreciate it.

[washingtondc]

Just wanted to post an update of how the donor area is doing. 

That gap spot is very minimal now and is healing nicely. There are a couple sutures there that I'll have removed next week and then it'll be all healed.

[jjsrader]

Good to see Dr. Wesley giving context to this thread.  Please update us throughout the next 18 months.  I think your hair will look really good in the longer-term.  Cheers!

[Shaco]

On 8/4/2021 at 10:38 AM, washingtondc said:

I have to apologize, both to the forum and to Dr. Wesley's office. I spoke with Dr. Wesley on the phone shortly ago and I no longer have any concerns at all. He showed me a one week/one year result that looks far more questionable than mine at a week and great at the end (he may post it here) and the change is pretty incredible. 

I was wrong to let some of the comments about density get to my head like I did and freak out so early in the process. I suffer from generalized anxiety and let it get the best of me. To be even more frank, I lost the love of my life earlier this year and am admittedly not in a very good mental state right now. I lost a lot of hair during the course of my relationship and am doing this to try to get back closer to where I was while I get ready to get back out into the world, and so I've placed a lot of importance on it, which results in a lot of anxiety. 

I am completely reassured and have full confidence that this will be a great result. I look forward to being someone to send others who are freaking out in the future to and being able to tell them that you can't let post op photos affect your perspective of how the result will look. Like I mentioned in earlier posts, I'm going to take a step back from over-scrutinizing things now and just let time take its course.

Sorry again.

Sorry to hear that dude. Do your hair and mind a favor and refrain from drinking and smoking. At least through the growing process.

[amadeus]

good luck

[washingtondc]

Got the sutures in the gap area out today, here is what it looks like a little over 3 weeks post-op:

[Britanium]

Healing very nicely 👍🏽

[washingtondc]

One twelfth of the way there.

This is one month post-op. Most grafts have shed, there's still a tiny, tiny amount of lingering redness that the camera doesn't pick up.

Nothing really going on growth-wise obviously as to be expected at this point.

I think I've lost some existing hair compared to pre-op. Really really hoping I don't get hit hard with shock loss. That would probably happen in the next month or two I think?

 

[washingtondc]

So it seems like the redness is actually now starting to increase rather than go away? First picture from less than a week ago, second picture from last night (taken at same time/skin condition, it's also actually more red than the camera indicates): 

Is that normal? Not sure I've read about redness reversing and starting to increase for people before. The clinic mentioned I might see an ingrown hair or two at this stage but I don't remember anything about general skin redness regressing.

Edit: Also, damn, just realizing that it looks like that frontmost middle portion of existing hair may have been hit significantly in the 4 days between with shock loss...

Wondering about the redness increase though.

Edited August 27, 2021 by washingtondc

[washingtondc]

One sixth of the way there.

This is just about two months post-op.

Some of the grafts that haven't shed yet are starting to get a little bit of length, it would be cool if those wound up not falling out and starting over, but who knows I guess.

Still a tiny bit of redness, hoping that finishes fading sometime soon.

[Gokuhairline]

wtf did i just read ? lmao dude are you ok ? i've read of buyers remorse but try to relax and have faith in the Dr....i wonder how much that cost tho ? pretty penny huh 

[TEXAN35]

Skin color takes a while to go back to normal , it may be a couple of more months . Hang in there. Everything seems to be good. 

[washingtondc]

One quarter of the way there, three months.

Still not much going on really, as expected. A couple grafts that have hung around are getting longer.

[hairlossPA]

following

[washingtondc]

At what point on the timeline is shock loss usually complete?

[RandoBrando517]

21 hours ago, washingtondc said:

At what point on the timeline is shock loss usually complete?

I’ve read 4-5 months 

[SeanT1]

Progress is going well, looking forward to the 4 month mark.
Definitely thickening up.  But you'll notice a big difference when the missing hairs begin to come out of their resting phase.

[washingtondc]

On 11/19/2021 at 9:35 AM, RandoBrando517 said:

I’ve read 4-5 months 

 

On 11/19/2021 at 5:55 PM, SeanToman said:

Progress is going well, looking forward to the 4 month mark.
Definitely thickening up.  But you'll notice a big difference when the missing hairs begin to come out of their resting phase.

Thanks for the responses you guys, I appreciate it.

[washingtondc]

One third of the way there. Four months.

Recipient hairs are getting a little longer and more numerous. Obviously nowhere close to the density they'd need to be to look natural, but that's why this takes time I guess.

I feel like shock loss in the recipient zone has continued to this point; portions of pre-existing hair definitely seem more transparent, but again, this is just the four month mark.

[washingtondc]

Five months.

Continued growth. In super-low light situations, I can almost envision what it will look like aesthetically when complete.

Still a long way to go density-wise obviously, but getting better little by little.

[washingtondc]

Here's where things are in standard overhead lighting found in an office/home/etc. at this point:

[Rolo]

Any undates?