4200 grafts, between month 5-6 but worried..

[Robbert]

Hello, at the end of last year I got a FUE hair transplant with 4200 grafts but I'm a bit worried about the growth as I'm not seeing much results..

Currently I'm about 3 weeks short of 6 months post op.. and since month 4 I'm not seeing much growth anymore, the hairs got longer but for my feeling no new hairs came through.. I do still have an itchy scalp and had some dandruff issues for which the clinic advised 100% pure argon oil.

it's a bit better than pre-op at this moment. Improvement but not what I would've expected from 4200 grafts 😔

[Britanium]

Which clinic/Dr was this ? I’m not seeing enough grafts across that area. For what was Implanted I think your seeing the expected growth for this mid way point. 

[Robbert]

Nielsen in the Netherlands.

 

[Robbert]

Photo with natural lighting and no flash. Taken around the 5 month mark:

 

[Nw7HPE]

Some people are late growers , I would give it a couple more months until the 8th month mark . 

[Melvin- Admin]

5 months is still early, I would give it a few more months. Try not to stress, believe me I know it's hard im at 3 months and it's difficult.

[Al - Moderator]

I see improvement from month 4 to month 5, so hang in there. You should get a bit more improvement at least. With that said, it looks like you had a lot of area to cover, so 4200 grafts may not be enough to get the kind of coverage you may be looking for. You will probably need a 2nd session. That does not mean it was a poor job because 4200 grafts is a lot for one session, but extensive hair loss usually takes a 2nd pass to make most men happy with it.

 

[Robbert]

2 minutes ago, BeHappy said:

I see improvement from month 4 to month 5, so hang in there. You should get a bit more improvement at least. With that said, it looks like you had a lot of area to cover, so 4200 grafts may not be enough to get the kind of coverage you may be looking for. You will probably need a 2nd session. That does not mean it was a poor job because 4200 grafts is a lot for one session, but extensive hair loss usually takes a 2nd pass to make most men happy with it.

 

A second HT was something I was discussing with a friend a few days ago. The issue is that I'm not sure if my donor area can then handle a third one if it's needed.. The surgeon informed me after the operation that I still have around 3000 grafts left. But still, but that's something I will need to discuss with the clinic and probably also get a second opinion.

If I do a second one again I probably won't do much more than 2000 grafts, the 4200 grafts session took from 7am until 4pm.. and that's also the reason why I'm a bit worried, due to the amount of hours that the grafts were outside my body..

For the clinic itself I don't have any complaints. They are professional and tell me the same thing as the response here but still I remain a bit worried. 

[asterix0]

OP how is it lookin now?

[Melvin- Admin]

Can you also share a pre-op picture? 

[JohnCasper]

4,200 grafts in one day is a tough day for everyone.  Grafts shouldn't have been out of the body that long if done properly.  That shouldn't be a concern.

[Robbert]

On 5/5/2022 at 8:37 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

Can you also share a pre-op picture? 

The first picture in the openingpost is my pre-op picture.

I will make a new photo soon and post it here

[BaldDude]

did doctor do the incisions?

[THE TRUTH]

I can definitely see improvement compared to baseline. 

However there are 2 issues. 

1. 4200 is probably not sufficient to cover the whole area even with optimal survival rate. You are Norwood 4 almost 5 severe diffuse thinner and you will likely need more grafts and 2 surgeries in total. Mister Rolandas had very similar hairloss to yours and he achieved illusion of full scalp coverage with around 6500 grafts. 

2. Although your transplanted hairs are certainly growing, you may have not gotten optimal survival rate. I'd say it's more than 50% but probably not 90%. Somewhere around 70%. 

Also at 5 months there is still some room for further improvement. 

[asterix0]

5 months is still early, actually for many it is right when the majority of the growth kicks off. So just stay patient and trust the process, months 5-9 are the biggest cosmetic changes months.

[Robbert]

Thank you for all the responses, it helps to get some good feedback. 😊

Today I took a photo as it's the 6 month mark. It's a photo with natural light.

[Robbert]

On 5/6/2022 at 9:09 PM, BaldBobby said:

did doctor do the incisions?

Yes the hair transplant specialist did the incisions. She also was the one who extracted the hairs. 

There were two assistents that placed the hairs.

 

I do wonder, how much time can a hair be safely outside the body?

[Melvin- Admin]

Pretty big difference to me

 

[asterix0]

Robbert it looks like it is progressing nicely, you should get additional thickening in the next two to three months as well, stay positive!

[Urmat]

I hope Mr Roberts all transplanted hair will grow and he will be satisfied with his result.

Dear Melvin and other experienced members,

I have the same question. How long grafts can stay outside safely?

On 21 April 2022, I also had hair transplant in Turkey (4700 grafts) and surgery lasted 12 hours total. Graft extraction 7 hours because only one person did that, DHI placement 5 hours.

The clinic told me there is nothing to worry about and that ice was under the grafts but as I read 6 hours is the limit for the grafts. I paid 1500$ so I think they used cheap regular saline solution. 

 

I will appreciate your reply.

Edited May 17, 2022 by Urmat
Forget to add something

[Britanium]

@UrmatCould you start you’re own thread? Otherwise this will be derailed, thanks 🙏 

[Urmat]

2 minutes ago, J-C said:

@UrmatCould you start you’re own thread? Otherwise this will be derailed, thanks 🙏 

Okay, I apologize.

[JohnCasper]

Typically, if grafts are kept properly hydrated they can stay out of the body for quite a while.  Keeping them hydrated and inserting within several hours is important.  Others may have more input on this. 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

Robbert,

in my opinion, you are right on track as to where I believe you should be based on the number of graphs you received. Your six month photo is much improved over your five month and your five month is improved over your four month.

Also, keep in mind that 4200 grafts over the entire top of the scalp isn’t going to produce a whole lot of density especially if the natural hair you had left is on its way out and/or isn’t going to grow back.

While permanent shock loss isn’t something discussed on this forum very often, it can amd does occur to natural hair that’s already in the process of falling out due to male pattern baldness aka androgenetic alopecia. In other words, the hair is already miniaturizing and the trauma due to hair surgery may have sent the miniaturizing hair to an early death.

if the above occurs, you may be left with mostly transplanted hair on top which in one way is good because it will be essentially permanent or at least as permanent as the hair on the sides and back of your scalp. But on the other hand, 4200 grafts won’t provide substantial density over what looks like a Norwood class five recipient area.

The good news however, is that you can always go back for subsequent procedures to add density and given that you are already seeing signs of excellent results, going back for more will only add to its cosmetic appeal.

I hope this helps 

Rahal Hair Transplant 

[Robbert]

Hi all, 

Thank you for all the responses.

Today I had my six month check-up and the doctor showed me the before photo and the one taken today. They were taken at the same location on the same time of the day with the same camera.

However the first photo was taken in September and the other in May. The photo location is in the office but away from the windows, however the sunlight could impact the non natural office lighting but only if it's a very rainy day and the other a very sunny day. But for me this was not the case, both were clear sky sunny days.

The results are good, the last two weeks the growth has been noticeable which I'm happy about  My doctor said that I could expect about 30% more density within the next six months. So I'm relieved and the worries are gone