Dr. Konior FUE Experience ~ 2000 Grafts

[Bradley787]

Just wanted to post my experience with Dr. Konior.  Yesterday I underwent an FUE with him.  I haven't gotten a final graft count, but the initial estimate was 2000 - 2200.  I first contacted him at the end of 2020 when I had made the decision to move forward with HT.  Before that, my small amount of research led to believe H&W were the go to folks.  But once Covid hit, I didn't want to mess with going to Canada.  Plus, I started to my search to find out who was the "best of the best".  Thanks to these forums, I became aware of Dr. Konior.  Every review I saw looked like top notch work.  I would say I was a Norwood 2.5 -3 where all of my hairloss was basically in temple recession and the corner of the hairlines.  This started back when I was in college (~20 years ago) and has drove me crazy since.  The scary part was that I never had much interaction with Dr. Konior prior to surgery day.  A few emails, that was it.  He was always polite and responsive, but it was basically, what are you after, send me some pics, "yes, I can do that", here's my price and waitlist.  In talking to him yesterday, he does set aside a day for consultations, but I never requested one nor felt like I needed one.  Given his reputation, I was already pre-sold.  Even during COVID, he was about a 10 month wait.  Unfortunately I had something come up and I had to delay another 5 months - about a 15 month total wait for me.

Surgery day finally  came (just yesterday).  I arrived at 6:30am and we got to work immediately.  There was no real waiting and no other patients.  If you want to know how meticulous he is, I didn't leave until almost 9pm.  We stopped for a lunch break. I had a small Jimmy John's sandwich that I knocked out in 10-15 mins.  As soon as I was done, they were all ready to get back to work.  Dr. Konior was with me throughout the entire time.  From the initial consulation in drawing the desired lines and all through surgery.  He basically did everything and as everyone knows, I was the only patient for the day.  As many have previously indicated, he uses a stick and place method where he does not precut the recipient holes for techs.  Rather, all the extraction is done at first.  Then he takes them and places them one by one, paying careful attention to both density and direction.  I also am getting a LOT of grays on my sides and in front, but back donor area is still very dark.  But he worked hard to not only match the textures to the right recipient areas, but to also keep the salt and pepper blend throughout.   I think this attention to detail is what makes him the best.  He even drove me home after the surgery.

I'll say, I had no bleeding from the donor area and no bleeding or even any of the "bulbs" in the recipient area that I often see from other doctors work.  Here are some of my presurgery pics as well as some pics from today when I went back in for my first cleaning.  Like everything, I'm super excited and anxious to see what the future holds as it begins to grow back. 

Bottom line - I think there's a reason Konior is one of, if not the most expensive.  It's the same thing for elite athletes.  The best command higher prices than second-string.  If you are really trying to design the front hairline like I was, there is no other choice. 

It's day 1 after the surgery.  Just a minor bit of swelling near the temples.  No pain in back.  And the forehead just feels like I have a mild suburn when I raise my eyes and scrunch up my forehead.  Here's a pic of my hair the night before the procedure and then some picks a from today, the day after.  (sorry some of the pics are flipped.  I don't know why they are doing that can can't figure out how to fix).

 

 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Bradley787

[rob7331]

Can't wait for your result! I'm jealous of anyone who makes it to Dr. K. Rooting for healthy growth

[Melvin- Admin]

Fantastic as we come to expect from Dr. Konior.

[Britanium]

Hair artist at work here 😉

[BDK081522]

Those temple points are going to be stellar! They will look so natural when the transplant matures. It's the attention to detail and choosing the correct grafts for the correct area that sets Konior apart. Pristine post-op pictures as we've come to expect from him!

[Gatsby]

Yes this is going to be an incredibly natural result. Also you have done well to hang onto the hair that you have for so long. Can I ask if you have been taking finasteride or anything else? Looking forward to following your journey!

[Bradley787]

17 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

Yes this is going to be an incredibly natural result. Also you have done well to hang onto the hair that you have for so long. Can I ask if you have been taking finasteride or anything else? Looking forward to following your journey!

Yes, I started taking finasteride about five years or so ago for prevention.  It didn't regrow anything, but who knows what it saved. 

[Bradley787]

Day 2 - post operation.  
 

Had follow up appt this morning.  All is looking good.  No grafts dislodged.  They put a fresh bandage on my donor area last night, but said I didn’t really need it.  I took it off when I got home and all was fine.  No blood spots on pillow this morning.  Definitely starting to get some itching.  Otherwise, all is good.  No crusts or blood.  No pain except recipient areas still fell like they have a mild sun burn when I scrunch my forehead.  Here’s some pics from today. 
 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Bradley787

[Britanium]

Looks perfect 👍🏽 

[Bradley787]

Day 3 - post operation.  
 

Came back home yesterday after my appointment.  So I was in Chicago for the operation and two live follow up visits.  One of the techs said she would call me today (Sat) to check in.  I will say one thing about Koniors office, they certainly aren’t afraid to put in a lot of hours.  
 

Not much different today.  I’m getting a lot more itching.  Skin is seeming a little more red to me.  I’ve definitely got some swelling through the forehead, but it’s diffuse and not really noticeable.  No pain except temple areas still feel like a minor sunburn.  
 

I was surprised by how quickly the doctor said I can return to a lot of things.  Can wear baseball caps a week after surgery, return to cardio/light exercise one week after surgery, heavy lifting two weeks after.  I’ve got a beach trip with the family scheduled for three weeks after the surgery I was worried about.  He said no problem, just be careful with direct exposure.  This all seems like a much quicker return than what I’ve seen from some other surgeons.  
 

Overall, it’s been a pretty easy process and happy I did it.  Just want to get rid of the redness and itchiness for now and then anxious to get on with seeing what the new hairline is going to look like.  
 

Pics from today.  My front looks like there are some empty patches he didn’t fill in.  There’s hair there, it’s just gray/white and doesn’t show up in the pics.  

[A Fue Good Men]

Wow that work is so clean

[BuellerBueller]

Congratulations!  I had my consultation on Saturday with him.  I left unbelievably excited.  I'm scheduled for FUE in May.  I feel like a kid counting down the days to Christmas.   

Edited March 7, 2022 by BuellerBueller
typo

[stephcurry30]

This is going to be a home run result!

[stephcurry30]

On 3/7/2022 at 11:31 AM, BuellerBueller said:

Congratulations!  I had my consultation on Saturday with him.  I left unbelievably excited.  I'm scheduled for FUE in May.  I feel like a kid counting down the days to Christmas.   

How were you able to get such an advanced operation date with him? I thought he was booked since 2023?

[Bradley787]

On 3/7/2022 at 11:31 AM, BuellerBueller said:

Congratulations!  I had my consultation on Saturday with him.  I left unbelievably excited.  I'm scheduled for FUE in May.  I feel like a kid counting down the days to Christmas.   

I didn’t really think about it much until I got down to the last few weeks.  Then I started to get really anxious for it.  Just comparing my experience and recovery to what I’ve seen and read of some others, it’s clear how stellar his technique is.  He’s well worth his price.  Good luck and enjoy!

[BuellerBueller]

 

I just got lucky with the available date I guess.  

 

[BuellerBueller]

8 hours ago, Bradley787 said:

I didn’t really think about it much until I got down to the last few weeks.  Then I started to get really anxious for it.  Just comparing my experience and recovery to what I’ve seen and read of some others, it’s clear how stellar his technique is.  He’s well worth his price.  Good luck and enjoy!

Thanks!  Like I said, it's an amazing feeling to finally be committed to it.  Looking forward to seeing your success over time.  Thanks for sharing.

[Bradley787]

1 Week Update

Today is 1 week.  I’ve had a lot of itching the past few days, but that seems to have subsided today.  No pain or discomfort at all.  I don’t think I’ve lost any grafts, so I’m breathing a little more sigh of relief at this point.   Really not to much to add at this point otherwise.  No crusting.  Given how things look right now, I’m not sure if that’s something I’ll have to deal with in the next week or two.   I had a quick follow up phone call with one of Dr Koniors staff this weekend just to check and make sure all was well.  They told me to contact them if anything is up, otherwise, just on to the waiting game now.  Here’s some pics from today.  Having seen other pics from other doctors at 1 week out, I’m absolutely confident that Dr Konior was worth the wait and cost.  Can’t go wrong with him.  
 

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by Bradley787

[stephcurry30]

Wow this is going to be a home run result. That hairline looks amazing!

[Bradley787]

29 minutes ago, stephcurry30 said:

Wow this is going to be a home run result. That hairline looks amazing!

Thanks!  I hope so.  I didn’t ask the doctor about it, but I thought it was kind of interesting how he does a pretty straight hairline compared to some other docs that make it kind of jagged.  No idea if one approach is better than the other, but it’s definitely a recognizable difference. 

[BDK081522]

Trust me it will look natural. It might not be the thickest transplant you've ever seen with chunky grafts broken up by a zig zag pattern but the thing that Dr. Konior excels at is naturalness. His transplants are indistinguishable from natural hair growth when it comes to angles and hair graft selection. 

[BuellerBueller]

21 hours ago, Bradley787 said:

1 Week Update

Today is 1 week.  I’ve had a lot of itching the past few days, but that seems to have subsided today.  No pain or discomfort at all.  I don’t think I’ve lost any grafts, so I’m breathing a little more sigh of relief at this point.   Really not to much to add at this point otherwise.  No crusting.  Given how things look right now, I’m not sure if that’s something I’ll have to deal with in the next week or two.   I had a quick follow up phone call with one of Dr Koniors staff this weekend just to check and make sure all was well.  They told me to contact them if anything is up, otherwise, just on to the waiting game now.  Here’s some pics from today.  Having seen other pics from other doctors at 1 week out, I’m absolutely confident that Dr Konior was worth the wait and cost.  Can’t go wrong with him.  
 

 

It doesn't even look like you had surgery.  Crazy!  How do you like the army type stubble look?  From these pics, it looks like you would look good with even this hairstyle.  I've always wanted to shave my head, but have been too chicken.  I actually can't wait to be shaved for the surgery to finally "see" how I would look with a buzzed head.  Hope its as good as yours! 

[Bradley787]

1 hour ago, BuellerBueller said:

It doesn't even look like you had surgery.  Crazy!  How do you like the army type stubble look?  From these pics, it looks like you would look good with even this hairstyle.  I've always wanted to shave my head, but have been too chicken.  I actually can't wait to be shaved for the surgery to finally "see" how I would look with a buzzed head.  Hope its as good as yours! 

Thanks.  I don’t mind it, although at this length, it’s not too hard to see the discrepancies between hair thickness (my donor hair is thicker than the old frontal hairline) and density.  But it’s subtle.   But I’m really looking forward to growing it out with a full head of hair and trying some different styles.  

[NARMAK]

I have to say, i love the angle of the temple points. Not a lot are personally willing to angle them like that and make it almost juvenile but i would have opted for that over every time anybody else gets the more triangle "Dorito" shape like some out there sometimes have. 

Looking forwards to seeing your results as the months tick by. 

OP, i know you mentioned 2200 grafts but do you know what the graft breakdown was for the hairline and specifically the temple points? 

If you also know the rough density of your native hair and what was planted, that would be awesome to know. 

[Bradley787]

21 hours ago, NARMAK said:

I have to say, i love the angle of the temple points. Not a lot are personally willing to angle them like that and make it almost juvenile but i would have opted for that over every time anybody else gets the more triangle "Dorito" shape like some out there sometimes have. 

Looking forwards to seeing your results as the months tick by. 

OP, i know you mentioned 2200 grafts but do you know what the graft breakdown was for the hairline and specifically the temple points? 

If you also know the rough density of your native hair and what was planted, that would be awesome to know. 

Getting a little more growth in, I love how they are looking.  Unfortunately, I have no idea in the numbers.  I don’t even know the number of grafts.  Just from the original pics I sent him early on, he said it would be 2000-2200.  No idea what I ended up with.