Dr Bruno Ferreira-3217 Grafts October 21'

[Shart19]

I finally had my hair transplant with Dr Bruno Ferreira done on the 7^th October 2021 as a two day surgery after having had my original surgery postponed from March due to Covid-19. I’d been extremely paranoid about my hairloss for the past 10 years and now that I’m nearly hitting 30 I decided to do something about it, I had a instant feel of relief when I left after the second day that I’d finally had it done 😊

My case:

I was a NW 3A and I had a total of 3217 grafts Implanted to reconstruct my hairline, frontal third and 100 grafts in each temple peak to reinforce them. I think the average was 2.8 per graft. My Hair diameter varied in certain places from 50-60 and doner was around 8000 according to the doctor. I have been on 1.25mg Fin every other day for a year now and this really saved my midscalp and crown. Once I’ve received my post op report and figures on numbers of FU grafts il update the post and the professional photos he took.

Days leading up to surgery whilst in Espinho: 

So, I arrived in Espinho two days prior to my surgery as I had my blood tests done at the partner clinic and I wanted a day to explore Porto (highly recommend!) before my actual surgery, the train station was literally outside the hotel and took only 40 minutes into central Porto. I stayed in the Solverde Apartmentos which was ideal in a studio with its own kitchen, living room, TV so I could set up a movie room for the down time, it was also right next to the beach so on the first day I spent hours relaxing next to the ocean watching the sunset to ease my nerves.

Day 1 Surgery:

I walked to the clinic from my hotel (20 minutes) and arrived on time at 730am to be greeted by the legend that is Ricardo (Lead Nurse) who instantly put me at ease, showing me to my room, helping me undress and dress into the surgical gown. He kindly bought me some breakfast which consisted of fruits, breakfasts bars and juices. He spoke so highly of Dr F stating that they’d worked together for 5 years, and that I was with one of the best.

After around 10 minutes Dr F came into the room, we had a quick chat regarding how my stay was so far, gave me some paperwork to have a read through on the disclaimer and pre/ post op instructions. At around 8ish Ricardo took me to the prep room where I spent around one hour at least discussing my case, having Dr F draw my hairline based on my main aim to have the most natural looking hairline as possible that will look great when I age, hence maybe more “mature”. The original hairline I thought was slightly too high in the temples, so we closed them off and decided to reinforce the temple peaks. Dr F stated that one side of my forehead was wider so it would be advisable to have it asymmetric, I fully trusted that he knew best and agreed. We then took numerous photos, shaved the hair off, cleaned it and then went into the OR.

I had my blood pressure taken and they were high, Bruno and Ricardo both made a slight joke asking if I was nervous which actually settled me down. They were all so approachable including the nurses and down to earth. I then had a 10mg Valium to relax me, had my first round of extractions done which was around 600 (I think) that were then implanted in my hairline, Dr F stated that I had a very hard scalp so he had to really push into my head. He also joked that he asked the nurses to ensure the blades were sharp, of which they clearly were haha

We then stopped for a delicious steak lunch at 1pm and went back into OR for the second round of extractions and implantation. I was very impressed that nothing came across rushed from Dr F he really took his time with everything, and I could tell he was a perfectionist. We finished at around 4pm, I grabbed an uber and went back to my apartment.

Day 2 Surgery

I arrived back at the clinic for 730 to be met by Nurse Ricardo again, offered and supplied breakfast. I was taken back to the prep room for a doner hair wash and demonstration on the technique required for the full hair wash in detail. He again, said that so far, the hair transplant is looking amazing which was nice to hear!

Once this was done, I was back in the OR, 10mg Valium and having my extractions taken from the sides to work on each temporal peak. I think he took this from right at the bottom of my neck on the “borderline” (his words) as they were the finest singles he could find. Once extracted, they were then implanted. On day 3 we had three rounds of extraction and implantation. The final implantation stage was the longest and biggest as he was implanting within my native hair to add as much density as possible. Luckily, I had lots of 4s and 5s so I am hoping for a good dense result as I had a lot of native hair there too. Once the surgery was finished, I was supplied with the bag of goodies, aloe vera gel (3), Saline (3), absorbent pads, medication, tablet holder, travel pillow, gauze ice pack and some other bits. After a final chat with Dr F and a goodbye from the whole team who came into my room (which was a lovely touch!) I decided to walk back to the hotel, with my umbrella up of course to avoid the sun.

Post-Surgery

Once back at my apartment I was advised to spray saline every hour, take the required tablets, use the ice packs for the swelling and chill out. I was also given another Valium to help me sleep which did the job!

Day 1 post surgery I had no issues, religiously spraying with saline every 45 minutes to an hour, ice 4 times a day and eating lots of healthy food. I went for a walk back to the clinic with my umbrella up feeling very silly as it was 22 degrees. One of the nurses kindly came in on her day off to give my doner a through wash which was much appreciated!

Day 2 Post surgery: Grabbed an uber to the airport flew to the UK. Once home I noticed my scalp had excessively excreted yellow liquid (Fibrin) which I was very concerned about as I hadn’t had any yet. I emailed Dr F of whom replied instantly saying this is normal and to keep using the saline solution to try and wash it off. Hopefully, after my first full head wash this go away which will be tomorrow! 

My overall experience of the trip to Portugal, organisation, the surgeon and his team of nurses was explementary. I now can’t wait until I can see the results! Il post again in a few weeks before the shedding stage and then again at six months once I hopefully have some growth!

Many apologies, for the long-winded review but I know there isn’t many of these on here from Dr Ferreira yet! Happy to answer any questions and would love some feedback on what you think of the hairline and overall surgery?

Post op hair

After 1st session of implantation on hairline 

After second implantation on day 1

Day 1 extraction zone 

After day 2 surgery

1 day post op 

Day 2 post op before flying home 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Shart19
Photo descriptions

[mxm56]

Good luck buddy, i am totally interested to your tranplant. It looks great, and i wuould trust Dr. Pinto work. So i think we can expect a great result!

 

[Future Hair Doc]

Thanks for the great review. Please keep the community posted and happy growing!

[Shart19]

4 hours ago, mxm56 said:

Good luck buddy, i am totally interested to your tranplant. It looks great, and i wuould trust Dr. Pinto work. So i think we can expect a great result!

 

Hey man, glad you think its good. I actually went with Dr Ferreira not Dr. Pinto

[Nounours]

Amazing! Looking forward to following your progress on this. I have a HT booked with Dr Ferreira soon and will also be staying in Solverde Apartmentos. Similar hair-loss to you as well. Good luck with the next year - keep us posted!

[Britanium]

This looks like excellent work ! Nicely refined & the design is spot on. Very nice write up 👍🏽

[shadowcast]

Good writeup, thanks for posting. 3,217 seems like a lot of grafts, but I guess Ferreira likes to go for bringing midscalp density way up while doing the slick bald areas of the hairline (guessing your midscalp thinning is only visible when wet and combed back, right?). Lorenzo does this too.

[Shart19]

11 hours ago, shadowcast said:

Good writeup, thanks for posting. 3,217 seems like a lot of grafts, but I guess Ferreira likes to go for bringing midscalp density way up while doing the slick bald areas of the hairline (guessing your midscalp thinning is only visible when wet and combed back, right?). Lorenzo does this too.

Yes i thought my midscalp was quite thick but once wet and combed back it was visibly thinning as seen in the below photos comparison wet vs dry 

 

[Shart19]

14 hours ago, JohnAC71 said:

This looks like excellent work ! Nicely refined & the design is spot on. Very nice write up 👍🏽

I'm glad you think the design is okay... I had literally no input into it apart from natural and mature please!

I am currently really struggling with excessive fibrin which looks disgusting 🤮 Hopefully doesn't cause any grafts to be pulled out!

[Gatsby]

That's great coverage and a hairline that you can grow into and not out of! Looking forward to following your updates. Thanks for sharing!

[shadowcast]

9 hours ago, Shart19 said:

Yes i thought my midscalp was quite thick but once wet and combed back it was visibly thinning as seen in the below photos comparison wet vs dry 

Yep, I think a lot of people look at cases from Lorenzo et al (assuming Dr. F is deriving his approach from Lorenzo to some degree) and wonder why these use "so many" grafts compared to other docs. Well, they tend to address the areas that are beginning to miniaturize, too.

8 hours ago, Shart19 said:

I am currently really struggling with excessive fibrin which looks disgusting 🤮 Hopefully doesn't cause any grafts to be pulled out!

Did Dr. F prescribe you anything for that? I had the same issue and my doc (not Ferreira) prescribed an anti-fibrin.

Edited October 12, 2021 by shadowcast

[Shart19]

2 hours ago, shadowcast said:

Yep, I think a lot of people look at cases from Lorenzo et al (assuming Dr. F is deriving his approach from Lorenzo to some degree) and wonder why these use "so many" grafts compared to other docs. Well, they tend to address the areas that are beginning to miniaturize, too.

Did Dr. F prescribe you anything for that? I had the same issue and my doc (not Ferreira) prescribed an anti-fibrin

I had multiple consultations from different surgeons and clinics. From the UK the estimated graft range was from 1600-2500 grafts , turkey 3500 & Belgium 3200 then obviously Dr F 3000 (plus 200 for temple peaks which we decided on the day) so it seems to depend what country you decide to go to. I didn't think 3000 grafts to reconstruct a hairline and frontal third was that high personally. Nope i didnt get any anti- fibrin meds, wish i did as currently i've got a one side that has a thick layer of it that im struggling to wash off! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Shart19]

I am now 9 days post surgery. I had a nightmare with thick scabbing, itchy burning donor area and swelling but i'm finally feeling back to normal and the scabs are going away!! Being able to sleep normally again has made a huge difference too.

As a note, Dr Ferreira has messaged daily to see how I am and for new photos with detailed on advice on how to safely reduce the thick scabs. This was been very reassuring as I was getting concerned with the super thick scabbing from the Fibrin, I am not entirely sure if you'd get the same level of service from all surgeons/ clinics. Moving forward he has requested I upload daily high quality photos to google drive so he can observe progress up to day 30. I've attached a couple of photos taken this afternoon. How does my donor, hairline and overall head look for 9 days post op?

I am very pleased with what I can see so far and I really can't wait for the swelling in the recipient area to go down so i have a realistic view of my new hairline.

9 days post surgery photos:

[Min12]

27 minutes ago, Shart19 said:

I am now 9 days post surgery. I had a nightmare with thick scabbing, itchy burning donor area and swelling but i'm finally feeling back to normal and the scabs are going away!! Being able to sleep normally again has made a huge difference too.

As a note, Dr Ferreira has messaged daily to see how I am and for new photos with detailed on advice on how to safely reduce the thick scabs. This was been very reassuring as I was getting concerned with the super thick scabbing from the Fibrin, I am not entirely sure if you'd get the same level of service from all surgeons/ clinics. Moving forward he has requested I upload daily high quality photos to google drive so he can observe progress up to day 30. I've attached a couple of photos taken this afternoon. How does my donor, hairline and overall head look for 9 days post op?

I am very pleased with what I can see so far and I really can't wait for the swelling in the recipient area to go down so i have a realistic view of my new hairline.

9 days post surgery photos:

Donor looks really clean!  From what I’ve seen the crusting seems to go away by day 12. 

[Shart19]

Day 13 Update

Thought i'd post an update on day 13 post op. Virtually all the scabs have none gone apart from the small one at the front, no itching at all now but i've got a few spots and red patches which i assume is normal? Also, noticed a fair few fine hairs in my hands this morning when washing it so i guess the shedding stage has started!!

I took a variety of photos this morning to give an idea of how it looks with harsh lighting (flash) and natural normal room lighting. How's it looking?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JST07]

I get the feeling that this is going to be a super result. 

Good luck with the healing process! 

[Shart19]

21 minutes ago, JST07 said:

I get the feeling that this is going to be a super result. 

Good luck with the healing process! 

I hope so! Fingers crossed the density will be enough

[shadowcast]

6 hours ago, Shart19 said:

Virtually all the scabs have none gone apart from the small one at the front, no itching at all now but i've got a few spots and red patches which i assume is normal?

You may develop itching in your donor as it starts to heal, mine kicked in after a few weeks or so. After I took a huge swipe at my head in my sleep, I ended up going to bed with rubber gloves on until everything calmed down.

[Shart19]

For anyone that might be interested, here's the photos that were taken before and after by Dr Ferreira pre and post surgery:

I had 3217 grafts implanted over two days with average ratio FU 2.8 (i think!) so around 9000 hairs in total to restore my hairline and frontal third.

Before:

After the 2nd day of surgery:

I probably won't post anymore updates now until i have some growth in a few months time! Any thoughts or comments on the above photos would be much appreciated though 🙂

 

 

[Min12]

1 hour ago, Shart19 said:

For anyone that might be interested, here's the photos that were taken before and after by Dr Ferreira pre and post surgery:

I had 3217 grafts implanted over two days with average ratio FU 2.8 (i think!) so around 9000 hairs in total to restore my hairline and frontal third.

Before:

After the 2nd day of surgery:

I probably won't post anymore updates now until i have some growth in a few months time! Any thoughts or comments on the above photos would be much appreciated though 🙂

 

 

Looking really clean, Now the waiting game.

[Shart19]

16 Week Update

Quick update; I think I've had some decent early growth with new hairs popping up daily which is satisfying to see! I've attached some photos below, apologies for the quality as my house mates are on holiday for a couple of weeks so it's simply a selfie with flash (The redness doesn't look so bad in person!) In general I am pleased so far, don't really think about about it much and to be honest quite actually quite enjoy not having to style it or do anything after a shower! I will probably buzz cut it at some point so it all grows back at the same length! Does my growth look as expected for four months post op? Any comments or questions are welcomed  
 

 

 

 

 

[mxm56]

Good luck with your operation, Dr Bruno Ferreira is among my favorite surgeons in Europe and one of my first choice when i will finally be hable to do my own HT, fingers crossed. Everything seems to be going smooth from ur side i think you will get a great result!

Edited March 4, 2022 by mxm56

[Sitries1]

Update??

[stephcurry30]

This will be a slam dunk IMO! Posting here to keep progress

[ML488]

5 month pics?