Does this look normal for 8 days post-op?

[AlexMeister21]

I had an FUT done 8 days ago and I'm noticing some spacing getting larger as days go on. Today, I washed my transplanted area by lightly applying baby shampoo onto it and then rinsing it off with low pressure water. Am I unintentionally losing grafts from my washing or is this normal? 

 

DAY 8:

 

DAY 7: 

 

 

DAY 5:

 

 

DAY 4:

 

 

 

DAY 1 (right after surgery):

[Fue3361]

You’re not losing grafts, they are shedding. The hairs fall out, the root stays and will grow new hairs in a few months, don’t worry

[AlexMeister21]

3 minutes ago, Fue3361 said:

You’re not losing grafts, they are shedding. The hairs fall out, the root stays and will grow new hairs in a few months, don’t worry

Thanks for the response! I just felt like it'd be too early for me to start shedding so I got worried. 

[JDEE0]

1 hour ago, AlexMeister21 said:

Thanks for the response! I just felt like it'd be too early for me to start shedding so I got worried. 

Whilst you might well be shedding as already said, you'll find that when the scabs come off things will look overall much more full and that 'spacing' as you call it will seem to close up.

The inflammation/increasing tightness and dryness caused by the scabs sort of makes the skin taught and creates those seemingly empty channels with missing grafts, but once they come off, the skin will stop being pulled in either direction and you'll most likely see that they actually weren't empty. 

[AlexMeister21]

2 hours ago, JDEE0 said:

Whilst you might well be shedding as already said, you'll find that when the scabs come off things will look overall much more full and that 'spacing' as you call it will seem to close up.

The inflammation/increasing tightness and dryness caused by the scabs sort of makes the skin taught and creates those seemingly empty channels with missing grafts, but once they come off, the skin will stop being pulled in either direction and you'll most likely see that they actually weren't empty. 

Thanks! I'm hoping to get rid of the scabs in the next few days but also want to be careful with how I handle the recipient area. 

[BDK081522]

It all looks normal. Those channels happen to a great deal of patients during the immediate healing portion of the procedure. They're usually not noticeable once the hair transplant matures. Just curious, did you go to Dr Diep? It resembles his clinic's work. 

[Fue3361]

Look at day 1 post op.  Those channels didn’t exist.  If all goes well, your hairs will grow in exactly the way they show in day 1 pic.

[AlexMeister21]

12 hours ago, BDK081522 said:

It all looks normal. Those channels happen to a great deal of patients during the immediate healing portion of the procedure. They're usually not noticeable once the hair transplant matures. Just curious, did you go to Dr Diep? It resembles his clinic's work. 

Yeah I went to Dr. Diep. Hoping it turns out good. 

[SoyWalrus]

On 11/28/2021 at 5:32 AM, AlexMeister21 said:

Yeah I went to Dr. Diep. Hoping it turns out good. 

How long did was the wait between consultation and procedure? I hear it's often 6+ months out, possibly upwards of a year. However I also heard there can very likely be cancellations, so out of no where you'll get a couple week notice if you want an earlier appointment. 

[AlexMeister21]

8 hours ago, wonderful_derp said:

How long did was the wait between consultation and procedure? I hear it's often 6+ months out, possibly upwards of a year. However I also heard there can very likely be cancellations, so out of no where you'll get a couple week notice if you want an earlier appointment. 

It depends on whether you're doing FUT or FUE and how many grafts, but I had my consultation in October and then my procedure was the next month in November. My original appointment was scheduled for March 2022, but I was put on a waitlist for earlier appointments and emailed them like once a week to check on cancellations. I only got a week notice before I was offered the new date, but I was grateful to take it as I wanted the procedure as early as possible. 

[SoyWalrus]

12 hours ago, AlexMeister21 said:

It depends on whether you're doing FUT or FUE and how many grafts, but I had my consultation in October and then my procedure was the next month in November. My original appointment was scheduled for March 2022, but I was put on a waitlist for earlier appointments and emailed them like once a week to check on cancellations. I only got a week notice before I was offered the new date, but I was grateful to take it as I wanted the procedure as early as possible. 

Alright. I have a consultation with him Wednesday (I think I scheduled the consultation September), I've been getting 1500-2000 graft estimates from every other American clinic, he would probably be around the same. If he would be available in January I would absolutely try snatching that up. From what I see with so many of his cases, people's hair post transplant can look better than it probably ever did pre balding in terms of design, density, etc...

Add in the fact I'm less than an hour and a half drive away from his location makes him super appealing. Even if he ends up costing 4-6k more than other clinics, I think that doesn't matter, however waiting until potentially summer 2022 is too long. I've already been on minoxidil 21 months, finasteride 15 months, ready to be done with this hair loss stuff. 

[AlexMeister21]

15 hours ago, wonderful_derp said:

Alright. I have a consultation with him Wednesday (I think I scheduled the consultation September), I've been getting 1500-2000 graft estimates from every other American clinic, he would probably be around the same. If he would be available in January I would absolutely try snatching that up. From what I see with so many of his cases, people's hair post transplant can look better than it probably ever did pre balding in terms of design, density, etc...

Add in the fact I'm less than an hour and a half drive away from his location makes him super appealing. Even if he ends up costing 4-6k more than other clinics, I think that doesn't matter, however waiting until potentially summer 2022 is too long. I've already been on minoxidil 21 months, finasteride 15 months, ready to be done with this hair loss stuff. 

Yeah, I don't know too much about other surgeons, but Dr. Diep's work seems to be the best in the United States. I don't think a lot of his patients cancel on him, rather they just reschedule their surgery dates, and since we're around the holidays there's probably quite a bit of rescheduling. Like I was also offered a December date the week of Christmas before getting the November offer.

Sounds like you're estimated to need a manageable number of grafts, so he might be able to fit you in sooner. Especially with Omicron and the uncertainty in the news around it, I think there ought to be people rescheduling if they are traveling out of state. I don't know Dr Diep's technique exactly, but I think he harvests a lower amount of grafts, but he splits the grafts or something to get the most out of the grafts harvested. Don't quote me on that though.

You might want to stay in a hotel for 2-3 days unless you have someone who is able to drive you back and forth. You usually have to arrive at his office around 5-7am on the day of the procedure, and then afterwards they recommend not to drive.

[SoyWalrus]

 

14 hours ago, AlexMeister21 said:

Yeah, I don't know too much about other surgeons, but Dr. Diep's work seems to be the best in the United States. I don't think a lot of his patients cancel on him, rather they just reschedule their surgery dates, and since we're around the holidays there's probably quite a bit of rescheduling. Like I was also offered a December date the week of Christmas before getting the November offer.

Sounds like you're estimated to need a manageable number of grafts, so he might be able to fit you in sooner. Especially with Omicron and the uncertainty in the news around it, I think there ought to be people rescheduling if they are traveling out of state. I don't know Dr Diep's technique exactly, but I think he harvests a lower amount of grafts, but he splits the grafts or something to get the most out of the grafts harvested. Don't quote me on that though.

You might want to stay in a hotel for 2-3 days unless you have someone who is able to drive you back and forth. You usually have to arrive at his office around 5-7am on the day of the procedure, and then afterwards they recommend not to drive.

I have family member who lives like 40 minutes away, somewhat doable drive. Probably would stay with them for a few days. 

 

Anyway, consultation is in a few days, very eager to hear how soon I could get it done. 

[SoyWalrus]

On 12/5/2021 at 5:35 AM, AlexMeister21 said:

Yeah, I don't know too much about other surgeons, but Dr. Diep's work seems to be the best in the United States. I don't think a lot of his patients cancel on him, rather they just reschedule their surgery dates, and since we're around the holidays there's probably quite a bit of rescheduling. Like I was also offered a December date the week of Christmas before getting the November offer.

Sounds like you're estimated to need a manageable number of grafts, so he might be able to fit you in sooner. Especially with Omicron and the uncertainty in the news around it, I think there ought to be people rescheduling if they are traveling out of state. I don't know Dr Diep's technique exactly, but I think he harvests a lower amount of grafts, but he splits the grafts or something to get the most out of the grafts harvested. Don't quote me on that though.

You might want to stay in a hotel for 2-3 days unless you have someone who is able to drive you back and forth. You usually have to arrive at his office around 5-7am on the day of the procedure, and then afterwards they recommend not to drive.

Had my consultation, 1500-1750 grafts. Not bad amount of grafts (every other American clinic also between 1500-2000). Cost $15,000 at least for the 1500 grafts FUE. $10,000 for FUT. 

Definitely pricey, but my concern wasn't price instead how soon. He said 5-10 months, but if I were to book it and put down $1,000, I could be put on cancellation list like you mentioned (re-scheduling), and sounds like there are a decent amount of cancellations, he said there was one December 21st (already taken of course), but I do feel like that's a gamble, as once we're done with the holiday season, cancellations probably will decrease. 5 months isn't a terrible wait though. 

 

Edited December 9, 2021 by wonderful_derp

[AlexMeister21]

12 hours ago, wonderful_derp said:

Had my consultation, 1500-1750 grafts. Not bad amount of grafts (every other American clinic also between 1500-2000). Cost $15,000 at least for the 1500 grafts FUE. $10,000 for FUT. 

Definitely pricey, but my concern wasn't price instead how soon. He said 5-10 months, but if I were to book it and put down $1,000, I could be put on cancellation list like you mentioned (re-scheduling), and sounds like there are a decent amount of cancellations, he said there was one December 21st (already taken of course), but I do feel like that's a gamble, as once we're done with the holiday season, cancellations probably will decrease. 5 months isn't a terrible wait though. 

 

Did they give you a specific date when they'd be able to fit you in next? You could think about it for a while and try calling to see if there's any earlier dates before putting in your deposit.

Edited December 9, 2021 by AlexMeister21

[Gatsby]

10 hours ago, wonderful_derp said:

Had my consultation, 1500-1750 grafts. Not bad amount of grafts (every other American clinic also between 1500-2000). Cost $15,000 at least for the 1500 grafts FUE. $10,000 for FUT. 

Definitely pricey, but my concern wasn't price instead how soon. He said 5-10 months, but if I were to book it and put down $1,000, I could be put on cancellation list like you mentioned (re-scheduling), and sounds like there are a decent amount of cancellations, he said there was one December 21st (already taken of course), but I do feel like that's a gamble, as once we're done with the holiday season, cancellations probably will decrease. 5 months isn't a terrible wait though. 

 

I hear you @wonderful_derp in terms of waiting. But I think the most important decision is finding the right surgeon for your hair loss goals. With Covid and living in Melbourne, Australia my wait went from a month to two years and a 17 hour plane flight. I've also just turned 55 so time for me is more valuable than most other things. However I wouldn't change this for anything because by finding the right surgeon for my hair loss needs is worth it's wait in gold. In 5 weeks the wait will be over (and then the post op wait begins). All the best!

[SoyWalrus]

11 hours ago, AlexMeister21 said:

Did they give you a specific date when they'd be able to fit you in next? You could think about it for a while and try calling to see if there's any earlier dates before putting in your deposit.

I only got a 5-10 month estimate, and it didn't seem like I could be on the cancellation list unless I put down a deposit and schedule the procedure. 

[SoyWalrus]

11 hours ago, Gatsby said:

I hear you @wonderful_derp in terms of waiting. But I think the most important decision is finding the right surgeon for your hair loss goals. With Covid and living in Melbourne, Australia my wait went from a month to two years and a 17 hour plane flight. I've also just turned 55 so time for me is more valuable than most other things. However I wouldn't change this for anything because by finding the right surgeon for my hair loss needs is worth it's wait in gold. In 5 weeks the wait will be over (and then the post op wait begins). All the best!

That must be incredibly exciting that your long wait is almost over. Best wishes to you and your hair. 

[AlexMeister21]

2 hours ago, wonderful_derp said:

I only got a 5-10 month estimate, and it didn't seem like I could be on the cancellation list unless I put down a deposit and schedule the procedure. 

I'd say it's worth it unless there's other surgeons you prefer. Since Diep is close to you, you'd be saving on travel costs. Do what you think is best for you. If you call their office, they would be able to give you a specific date on when Dr. Diep would be available, but the dates they give you fluctuate pretty wildly depending on who you're speaking to. Like, one person can say his next availability is Dec 2022, but if you call the next day and speak with someone else, they may say May 2022.