1st Hair Transplant (Finally!): 2,400 Grafts. Dr Saifi in Wroclaw

[Keith2091]

Yesterday I had a long, long... Long awaited hair transplant with a surgeon called Dr Marwan Saifi in Wroclaw in Poland.

But, before I get into it, a word of thanks - I've been a lurker here for many years and have gained more advice from this site than I can even begin to say. Thank you to all of you who contribute and openly share your stories 🍺🍺

This is going to be a long post, as those are the types that I found useful while I was researching my own HT.

🎥 The before and after photos 

I'm writing this on my phone and I'm not sure where the photos will be inserted. 

As you can probably tell from the after photos, my already large head is massively swoolen. Hopefully when this eases off the hairline will look a bit lower. 

👀 OK, onto business - My objectives going into my HT were clear:

- Restore the hairline (it was in a very bad way and has been getting worse for years) 
- Cover the temples as much as possible (I was keen to be as aggressive with this as reasonably possible) 
- Add temporal points (I've never had them and my head looks like a very large egg from straight on 🥚🥚)

💇‍♂️💇‍♂️ The morning of surgery

Picked up at 830 and was brought to clinic where I filled out paperwork and then did a tricology (I'm probably not spelling this right) exam of the scalp. 

I then met with Dr Saifi at 930 for the consultation. The consultation was relaxed, with Dr Saifi putting me at ease immediately. 

We talked about my areas of concern, my expectations and I showed him some photos of myself, to show him what I was hoping to achieve, and of others, to show him what I liked (I also showed him what I didn't like, and explained why). 

He's very easy to talk to and at no point did I feel rushed, which was great. He drew a rough outline, which I asked to be changed slightly. He did it again until I was happy and then I went and had the hair washed. 

🦸🦸Beginning the surgery

At around 1015 I lay down in the operating room and Dr Saifi did a meticulous design of the hairline that took around 15 to 20 minutes.

When this was done, we took the photos and then I took some tablets (I think they were anti inflammatorys, valium and maybe an antibiotic, but I can't remember). 

Then for the fun stuff - the anesthetic. I'd estimate there were as least 10 injections, but I could be wrong. Only two were actually sore, maybe a 6/10 on the pain scale. 

He then proceeded to use a machine to reveal/open (again, probably the wrong lingo) the grafts while a nurse removed them. I must have fallen asleep here as it was 13:20 when I looked at the clock and have very little recolation of it. 

💇‍♂️🦸 We took a 10 minute break after that and then it was time to do the front of the head. 

I lay on my back and Dr Saifi numbed the front of the head with anesthetic (painscale the same as before) and proceeded to make the holes with a (I think) safire blade. 

At a guess I'd say this took an hour. When it was finished, I had blood taken for prp and then the injections were given into my scalp. 

Weirdly, I was most worried about the bloods, as I hate having them taken, but it was fine. 

After this I sat down to lunch (chicken an mash potato) and relaxed for around 20 minutes.

🍺🍺 The final lap

Then it was implantation time. 90% of this was done by two of what I gather were the senior nurses (nurse could be the wrong term here) while Dr Saifi did the final section of the temporal points. 

This took 3.5 hours, at a guess, and was probably the toughest part of the day as it takes so long. 

🥚 And then we were done. I got more photos taken and then got changed and met with Dr Saifi to review everything and to get some instructions on medication and what to do and what not to do in the coming days.

I think we finished up just after 20:00, but most of the day flew by. 

💇‍♂️💇‍♂️ My thoughts on the whole experience

When I decided that I wanted a HT, I spent around a year, literally, looking at who to go with.

My biggest need was that I wanted a surgeon that I had unwavering trust in. After extensive research, I thought that Dr Saifi was most likely to be that surgeon.

After 5 minutes in his company, I knew I was right, and I went into yesterday confident and happy in my choice. 

Dr Saifi is meticulous, affable and you never feel like anything is rushed - as you're the only person there, everything is dedicated to you. 

He's also a very easy guy to speak to, and he takes your concerns and expectations into account before any response. Everything about him put me at ease.

I'm going to make a commitment to updating this thread every month, on the 7th. Now, I'm spraying with Saline 4 to 5 times a day and I'm in with Dr Saifi again tomorrow for the first hair wash. 

If you have any questions or comments shout away! 

Edited March 8, 2022 by Keith2091
Misspelling

[Britanium]

Looks absolutely fantastic work, and thanks for posting such a detailed write up of your experience so far 🙏 @RossybopGot a very good result from Dr Saifi 👍🏽

[Keith2091]

Haha I was actually talking to Dr Saifi about Rossybop yesterday as I was so impressed with the result. I'm always greatful to people like Ross who stick up a nice detailed account from start to finish. I've read that thread at least 3 times. 

 

Thanks for your reply. 

Edited March 8, 2022 by Keith2091
Grammer

[Britanium]

3 minutes ago, Keith2091 said:

Haha I was actually talking to Dr Saifi about Rossybop yesterday as I was so impressed with the result. I'm always greatful to people like Ross who stick up a nice detailed account from start to finish. I've read that thread at least 3 times. 

 

Thanks for your reply. 

Yeh he’s a decent guy and the thread is very detailed 👍🏽 

[im_not_a_robot]

Looks very good! I had my transplant done by Dr. Saifi two weeks ago, so it's going to be exciting to follow you progress!

[Melvin- Admin]

I’ve seen good stuff from Dr. Saifi

[Dr. Saifi Patient Advisor]

Great detailed overview Keith, congratulations!

[tunit]

Looks class Keith. Nice one. Very excited, heading over end of this month to Dr Saifi

[Keith2091]

Thanks for the replies everyone! The reason that I didn't reply to any is because I bumped my head not long after publishing this post and it bled!

So, it's safe to say my happy post-op buzz went south pretty quickly! Thankfully I only lost 4 - 5 grafts, but good God I freaked out when I saw the blood.

I didn't really feel it happening as my head was so numb! Here are some of the photos that Dr Saifi sent me. As you can see, he covered a very large space!

It's day 10 today and the scabs have started to come off with a slightly more rigorous head massage.

 

[Keith2091]

I've no idea why I've crossed out the eyes as I'm not exactly hiding my identity, but sure look! 

If the covered space sprouts hair the way it should, I'll be over the moon! I've been using the hair from the mid section of my head to act as a fringe for too long now.

Edited March 17, 2022 by Keith2091

[Keith2091]

Also, I've started taking Fin today. Going to give the microdosing a go.

I've taken 0.25 today and I'll take the same on Sunday. I'll take it again on Wednesday of next week and Saturday.

And then on the Tuesday and the Sunday of the following week. If all goes to plan, I'll up it to 0.5 twice a week and work up to 1mg every other day from there.

[SoSoz]

On 3/17/2022 at 3:30 PM, Keith2091 said:

Also, I've started taking Fin today. Going to give the microdosing a go.

I've taken 0.25 today and I'll take the same on Sunday. I'll take it again on Wednesday of next week and Saturday.

And then on the Tuesday and the Sunday of the following week. If all goes to plan, I'll up it to 0.5 twice a week and work up to 1mg every other day from there.

Have you experienced any side effects?

[Keith2091]

1 hour ago, SoSoz said:

Have you experienced any side effects?

No not so far thankfully. But the dosage up until this week has been so low (0.25 on Wednesday and Friday). Upping it to 3 a week next week. 

[RolyPolyBird]

@Keith2091 It’s looking great so far, congratulations! 
I’m trying to decide between a partial shave like yourself or getting it all off. Could you give an example of how you’re wearing your hair post op? 
 

[Keith2091]

1 hour ago, RolyPolyBird said:

@Keith2091 It’s looking great so far, congratulations! 
I’m trying to decide between a partial shave like yourself or getting it all off. Could you give an example of how you’re wearing your hair post op? 
 

Thanks! To be honest I've just been leaving it whatever way it falls when I'm at home and then wearing a hat out. 

For the first 3 weeks I wished that I had just shaved it but now going into the forth and having a hair cut en route to remove the steps on either side I'm glad I didn't. 

 

[RolyPolyBird]

19 minutes ago, Keith2091 said:

Thanks! To be honest I've just been leaving it whatever way it falls when I'm at home and then wearing a hat out. 

For the first 3 weeks I wished that I had just shaved it but now going into the forth and having a hair cut en route to remove the steps on either side I'm glad I didn't. 

 

That’s really useful to know. If you wear it forward does it cover up the operation at all or is it still visible? 

[Keith2091]

1 hour ago, RolyPolyBird said:

That’s really useful to know. If you wear it forward does it cover up the operation at all or is it still visible? 

I wore it back for a couple of weeks (looked ridiculous) and then I started drying it down at about week 3 I think. 

It covers it all aside from the temporal points. But once the scabs are gone you'd only notice the pinkness. 

My only regret is that I didn't allow my hair to grow longer pre surgery as it would have been easier to style 

[Keith2091]

Hi  folks, 

So it's the 4 week HT anniversary tomorrow but I'm going to pop the update in now. 

The attached photos will give you a sense of where things are at. 

As you can see, the native hair that was shaved is growing back in tufts. 

Thoughts at the 1 months mark

I took the attached photos tonight and it's looking like many of the hairs on the temples have fallen out. 

I didn't notice this happening so it must have been gradually. 

Hopefully this is normal at this stage... 

Hair care, staying and washing

I work for myself and work in a home office, so I've literally just been leaving the hair as it drys. 

I did try styling it a week ago but it was tricky with the way my Fringe was shaved off. 

I'm going for a haircut to even out the back and sides on Thursday so we'll see how things are then. 

Aside from that I've been washing it around 3 times a week with a mild shampoo and conditioning with a biotin conditioner that I've used for around 6 months. 

Fin

I've been taking finastricide since the HT. 

I decided to ease myself onto it and for the past three weeks have taken 0.25mg on Wednesdays and Fridays. 

I'm going to up this to three times a week for 2 weeks and then in 3 weeks try 0.5mg twice a week and work up from there. 

No sides thankfully but the dosage is pretty low. 

How I'm feeling about the HT

When I went in to Dr Saifi for the first wash one of the first things he said to me was that he had looked over the photos that we took and that he thought he would need to do an additional HT of around a thousand grafts to lower the hairline more. 

I found that disheartening at the time and I think it made me think negatively about my HT from around the 1 week mark as I kept dwelling on it. 

With that being said, if I end up with the temples covered, a thicker frontal zone and with some good temporal points at the 10 month mark I'll be happy. 

I have, however, resigned myself to the fact that I'll probably be back in Poland this time next year, and I'm OK with that if needs be.

I went into this journey after having a terrible hairline for 10plus years, and I'm committed to doing everything in my power to get myself to the point I want to be. 

I'm rambling here... 

Cheers for all the comments so far. 

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Keith2091

[Britanium]

All looking very good 👍🏽 thanks for the update 🙏

[Keith2091]

Well lads. A very mini update. 

Got the hair cut yesterday. According to my barber it'll take 2 hair cuts to get the shape to where it needs to be. 

I'm pretty happy with it. The donor area looks pretty much scar free which surprised me.

I'll update this next month anyway. 

[Britanium]

Wow 😯 Superb looking donor ! That’s really recovered particularly quickly 👍🏽

[Keith2091]

1 minute ago, J.A.C said:

Wow 😯 Superb looking donor ! That’s really recovered particularly quickly 👍🏽

Thanks - I was fully expecting there to be dots everywhere!

[Keith2091]

Annnd it's 3 days over the 2 month mark since the HT.

Things I've noticed/have been thinking over the past month

Shedding/native hair growth

I'd make a rough estimate that 90%+ of the transplanted hair shed. It's most noticeable around the temples and the temporal peaks.

The native hair which was shaved in the frontal zone has grown a fair bit (they're the tufts you can see in the photos - they're making it hard to tell if there's any progress).

Being realistic

I went into this HT thinking that I'd be able to wear my hair up if all goes to plan, but I know that won't be possible.

Despite asking for it during the consultation, the hairline wasn't lowered enough during the surgery (see comment in my previous post about what was said when I returned for the first wash).

The best case scenario is that the lowering of the temples and the strengthening of the frontal zone gives the hair a more natural look (I had to cover the temples with hair from the mid section previously).

I'm also going to be relying on a good result from the temporal points if the face is to be framed nicely. My main concern here is that there won't be enough density (basing this on the photos immediately post op).

Fin

I've been easing myself onto Fin for the last 2 months. Started with 0.25 every few days and am at 0.5 ever second day now.

No side effects thus far, thankfully!

Next update at month 5

I'm not going to update this thread again until August 7th, 2022.

Until then - all the best.

[Berba11]

54 minutes ago, Keith2091 said:

Annnd it's 3 days over the 2 month mark since the HT.

Things I've noticed/have been thinking over the past month

Shedding/native hair growth

I'd make a rough estimate that 90%+ of the transplanted hair shed. It's most noticeable around the temples and the temporal peaks.

The native hair which was shaved in the frontal zone has grown a fair bit (they're the tufts you can see in the photos - they're making it hard to tell if there's any progress).

Being realistic

I went into this HT thinking that I'd be able to wear my hair up if all goes to plan, but I know that won't be possible.

Despite asking for it during the consultation, the hairline wasn't lowered enough during the surgery (see comment in my previous post about what was said when I returned for the first wash).

The best case scenario is that the lowering of the temples and the strengthening of the frontal zone gives the hair a more natural look (I had to cover the temples with hair from the mid section previously).

I'm also going to be relying on a good result from the temporal points if the face is to be framed nicely. My main concern here is that there won't be enough density (basing this on the photos immediately post op).

Fin

I've been easing myself onto Fin for the last 2 months. Started with 0.25 every few days and am at 0.5 ever second day now.

No side effects thus far, thankfully!

Next update at month 5

I'm not going to update this thread again until August 7th, 2022.

Until then - all the best.

Hi mate,

Things are looking good.

Can you clarify something... Are you saying you don't think you can wear your hair up/pushed back because you think the hairline is too high still? Am I understanding that correctly?

Cheers

[John1991]

On 5/10/2022 at 8:57 AM, Berba11 said:

Hi mate,

Things are looking good.

Can you clarify something... Are you saying you don't think you can wear your hair up/pushed back because you think the hairline is too high still? Am I understanding that correctly?

Cheers

I'm almost 100% sure that's what he meant.