Colter Posted December 28, 2021 Share Posted December 28, 2021 After researching for 5 years into FUE (lurking this forum as well), I finally had the surgery 12/14/2021. Took about 8 hours all together. Experience was fantastic, very professional, clean and comfortable. They put me up in a hotel next door (4.3 star rating on google the day of this posting and I would concur). There are two brothers that run the clinic and I got the attention of both the day I went in. While in surgery, there's the doc and at least 3 nurses in the room all working like a well oiled machine. Would 100% recommend HMR, especially given my results so far at 14 days post op as of tomorrow. I'll post before pictures to this parent post and progress photos will follow as replies. What I've done for after care: As I mentioned, I've been researching for years. I've accumulated more than 100 bookmarks and 20 pages of notes. I owe a great debt to this forum for helping me with some of the niche information many reviews, web site write-ups, and public conversation threads where missing. I was able to get a lot of broad stroke information from reddit, google, other forums, and more that all contributed to a fairly comprehensive plan that I put together for myself. In the end, I followed pieces of my post-op care instructions from Dr. Cortez but also subsidized it with the results from my own research. Days 1-3: Sprayed both donor and implant area with Avene to keep the areas moist several times a day. Slept on my back with a rolled up body towel under my neck and over my shoulders to help keep my head straight. I was very cautious to not disturb the implant area at all in these first 3 days. No hats or otherwise touching at all aside from spraying Avene on it. Days 3-7: Switched from Avene to pure Aloe Vera in a 3-ounce spritzer bottle. Soaked my head 3-5 times daily. Took a shower daily, but didn't let the water hit the implant area directly. I stay in the shower long enough for the steam to wrinkle my skin on my hands and soften the scabs on my head (they'd turn white). I wouldn't touch any of the implant area, goal was to only allow for max moisture absorption in the area from the steam. I did grit my teeth and start massaging and washing the donor area using this swiss-made Hair Transplant Shampoo. After my shower, I used the lotion in the kit on the donor area. Day 7: Cortez sent me instructions that I would be safe to rub off scabs using a tongue depressor. This seemed a bit too rough for me, so instead I did the shower routine as normal, allowed the scabs to turn white and soft, then lightly washed the area using the transplant shampoo. Took 5 or 6 washes, but with some light rubbing and help from the steam, all the scabs came off clean without irritating the area at all. Day 7-14 (current): I wash my head (still using the Transplant Shampoo) and let it sit on my scalp for 5 minutes before rinsing daily. After my shower, I soak my head with the lotion from the kit. In the morning, I apply a mix of Mederma oil and Aloe Vera to the donor area and just Aloe Vera to the implant area. Because it's super cold where I live and I have a shaved head, I do wear a beanie all day. I plan to continue this routine until the transplant shampoo and lotion kit run out. From there I'll switch back to my Keeps shampoo and just apply lotion to my head daily. --- Cortez sent me an email on day 10 that I responded to with current pictures. They then responded saying that I've healed a lot faster than they expected and "practically already fulfilled the most important period of indications we expect to see in the first 30 days normally." That made me feel super validated and I'm very excited for everything to go back to normal soon. I'm still expecting to potentially go through the shock loss/ugly duckling phases, but I'm hoping some of my care plan may have helped me avoid it. Time will tell. Other than that, I am super happy with how it's turning out. I hope my story here can be of help to anyone looking for information like I was. Thanks. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colter Posted December 28, 2021 Author Share Posted December 28, 2021 Day of Surgery. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colter Posted December 28, 2021 Author Share Posted December 28, 2021 Post-Op Day 5: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colter Posted December 28, 2021 Author Share Posted December 28, 2021 Today: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Fue3361 Posted December 28, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted December 28, 2021 Gotta say, looking fantastic so far. And you have no redness! 1 Check out my journey here: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Gokuhairline Posted December 28, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted December 28, 2021 hell yeah brother, HMR alum right here and like you said I cannot express how professional and attentive they've been and obviously its looking like it will be a great result. very under rated clinic here guys pay more attention to this clinic and Cortez' work, you will be seeing a lot more go here instead of Turkey specially the US guys...its a no brainer... try to not let the name Tijuana blur any aspect of a procedure. good luck 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member follically challenged Posted December 28, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted December 28, 2021 Looks really good, man. You have similar hair colour to mine though i think yours is a bit thicker. Looking forward to see this grow in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WideOpen Posted December 28, 2021 Share Posted December 28, 2021 Never heard of this doctor mentioned here (I think), but that doesn't mean Cortez is not a legit doctor with great results. So far everything looks like your going to have a great outcome, time will tell and we'll be following your journey. Also would you share what the cost per graft was? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killbot801 Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 I was actually there the day before you (12/13/21) and had 2400 grafts. It went super smooth and I'm extremely happy and optimistic about the procedure. I need to post my progress as well. I am currently in the shedding phase and really bummed to see it all go but it's part of the process. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Britanium Posted January 4, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted January 4, 2022 Very nice write up, and the work looks good ! Look forward to seeing your subsequent updates 👍🏽 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Britanium Posted January 4, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted January 4, 2022 3 minutes ago, killbot801 said: I was actually there the day before you (12/13/21) and had 2400 grafts. It went super smooth and I'm extremely happy and optimistic about the procedure. I need to post my progress as well. I am currently in the shedding phase and really bummed to see it all go but it's part of the process. Yes be good if you could also create your own result thread, be nice seeing more from Dr Cortez. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Jayp805 Posted January 4, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted January 4, 2022 Looking good man! I was very close to going to HMR myself and I have heard a lot of good things. Glad to hear you had a good experience with them and looking forward to seeing your results as they come in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Gatsby Posted January 5, 2022 Valued Contributor Share Posted January 5, 2022 That's very clean work. Looking forward to following your results! 1 GATSBY 'UNPLUGGED!' 15,671 (3 surgeries) Grafts FUE+BHT Dr. Sethi Eugenix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel4336 Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Looks good so far.I appreciate you sharing your journey.Im still on the fence about these guys but it would be the most convenient place for me to get it done.I had an in person consultation with the younger brother and was just not impressed.He didnt even look at my hair up close or give me any information that wasn't already on their website.I asked for pictures of results and he showed me the same bad before/after pics on their website. It's too bad there aren't more decent options in Mexico Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Pephair Posted January 16, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted January 16, 2022 (edited) Thanks for the write-up! I'm interested in doing some touch-ups eventually somewhere closer than 14 hours away so nice to know you had a good experience close to California. Definitely following this. Just curious, what was the cost per graft? Edited January 16, 2022 by Pephair question 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member WildBlueberry Posted January 16, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted January 16, 2022 3 hours ago, Pephair said: Thanks for the write-up! I'm interested in doing some touch-ups eventually somewhere closer than 14 hours away so nice to know you had a good experience close to California. Definitely following this. Just curious, what was the cost per graft? Your results were looking great. Where are you getting touched up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted January 16, 2022 Administrators Share Posted January 16, 2022 10 hours ago, Steel4336 said: Looks good so far.I appreciate you sharing your journey.Im still on the fence about these guys but it would be the most convenient place for me to get it done.I had an in person consultation with the younger brother and was just not impressed.He didnt even look at my hair up close or give me any information that wasn't already on their website.I asked for pictures of results and he showed me the same bad before/after pics on their website. It's too bad there aren't more decent options in Mexico Why are you posting this here? This is a review thread. If you had a bad experience, please create your own thread. Journeys are for support and encouragement, not this. I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey: View my thread Topical dutasteride journey Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member sabe Posted January 19, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted January 19, 2022 Nice work! did anyone here have a problem crossing back with a bandage in the head? like driving back some police will inspect the car or when the border patrol see your head did they tell to take off the bandage. because at airport they ask to take my hat off all the time. thanks! looking great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Pephair Posted January 30, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted January 30, 2022 @Colter Any update? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member justbelieves Posted January 31, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted January 31, 2022 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colter Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 (edited) Hey Guys, Super sorry, I didn't realize this post got this much traffic. Here's an update, and I'll try to be on the forums more often: My hair almost completely shed out in a couple days (I may have encouraged it a bit once it started) around week 3 and the pictures here are from today, 7 weeks post. I've had a hat on all day, so my hair is a bit matted. The one thing I've noticed is that the center peak is thinner than it was before the surgery, but I do know they filled in that area pretty heavily with new grafts as well. So I'm sure there's some extra shed loss with the native hair in the area as well. Overall, I'm just playing the patient game from here for a few months. Straight up "Ugly Duckling" beneath my hat, haha. Edited February 2, 2022 by Colter 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted February 3, 2022 Administrators Share Posted February 3, 2022 1 hour ago, Colter said: Hey Guys, Super sorry, I didn't realize this post got this much traffic. Here's an update, and I'll try to be on the forums more often: My hair almost completely shed out in a couple days (I may have encouraged it a bit once it started) around week 3 and the pictures here are from today, 7 weeks post. I've had a hat on all day, so my hair is a bit matted. The one thing I've noticed is that the center peak is thinner than it was before the surgery, but I do know they filled in that area pretty heavily with new grafts as well. So I'm sure there's some extra shed loss with the native hair in the area as well. Overall, I'm just playing the patient game from here for a few months. Straight up "Ugly Duckling" beneath my hat, haha. Thanks for updating us, i've been very impressed by the Cortez brothers. Do they both operate on you or do you choose one? I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey: View my thread Topical dutasteride journey Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Gokuhairline Posted February 3, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted February 3, 2022 1 hour ago, Melvin- Moderator said: Thanks for updating us, i've been very impressed by the Cortez brothers. Do they both operate on you or do you choose one? both do, at least that was in my case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member stephcurry30 Posted February 3, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted February 3, 2022 Looking good. WIll keep track of this progress! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member follically challenged Posted February 3, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted February 3, 2022 Looking great so far. Any chance to see updates on the donor region too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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