2150 grafts unshaven FUE, day 1 post op.

[BoredMassively]

From my perspective I’m happy with the entire process from the consultation to the surgery and ongoing aftercare. The Dr is optimistic about my procedure and he seemed really sincere whenever I spoke to him. He actually said he thinks this will change my life, which if it goes well I’m sure it will, for reasons I won’t go in to.

I had ≈ 2150 grafts taken from the donor area which I was told should translate to around 5000 hairs. ≈ 300 singles at the forefront, the rest 2s and 3s behind the hairline.

I just want to know what this community thinks of how it looks. Does it look like they did a good job based on this early stage? thanks 👍

Edited April 29, 2022 by BoredMassively

[Euphoria]

Which doctor?

[BoredMassively]

27 minutes ago, Euphoria said:

Which doctor?

Dr Ahmad Moussa

[NARMAK]

Not familiar with the Dr but wishing you well on your recovery and hopefully the results to come. 

When you went for the unshaven, did that mean no hairs at alp in your recipient area were shaved? I:m due to have a procedure almost exclusively in the frontal area and where there's no real hair at present and was thinking of doing something similar myself where only the donor area is shaved and left long on top to style over. Hopefully resulting in the appearance of just an undercut of sorts. 

[Britanium]

Work looks fine, although I hope you don’t mind me saying that it’s possible the density may fall a little short… Was the plan for “one and done” or do you aim to have another transplant if needed? 

[BoredMassively]

9 minutes ago, NARMAK said:

Not familiar with the Dr but wishing you well on your recovery and hopefully the results to come. 

When you went for the unshaven, did that mean no hairs at alp in your recipient area were shaved? I:m due to have a procedure almost exclusively in the frontal area and where there's no real hair at present and was thinking of doing something similar myself where only the donor area is shaved and left long on top to style over. Hopefully resulting in the appearance of just an undercut of sorts. 

He doesn’t seem to have much of an extensive presence online, the group he works for have social media and good reviews and results and such. I’ll happily be a testament to their work good or bad, but I’m very hopefully. He’s very experienced (ex neurosurgeon of 17 years) and the team of technicians were great too, personable and seasoned. They spoke to me and showed me grafts and were just a pleasant set of people. I’ve no reason to doubt they did a good job myself, I’ve had nothing but good vibes and everything about my experience has been pleasant so far, at least as much as it can be with this miserable post op recovery involving sleeping upright and such. Obviously though, there’s no way better than to fill yourself with apprehension and doubt than to ask the internet what it thinks, which is what I’m doing now.
 

As per your question about the unshaven procedure, essentially for my transplant they only shaved my donor area and a few baby hairs that sat around my existing hairline that weren’t really adding much, which I was fine with. The Dr did say ideally it’d all be shaven off but he understood I wanted to keep my current hair and I spoke with him about the hairline a bit too until we came to a happy conclusion. He was very considerate and mindful of my concerns while also letting me know standard procedure and the importance of not lowering it too much, given I’m only 24. I was a NW3 though, and I’ve been on fin for years. 
 

So yeah, donor area is a must to go and nothing else was touched because of the nature of my transplant, aside from a few straggler baby hairs which I didn’t mind at all.

Hope this helps mate.

[BoredMassively]

10 minutes ago, J.A.C said:

Work looks fine, although I hope you don’t mind me saying that it’s possible the density may fall a little short… Was the plan for “one and done” or do you aim to have another transplant if needed? 

I’m interested to hear you elaborate on why you think the density will fall short mate, what gives you that indication? 

I had 2150 grafts extracted and the breakdown was around 300 single hairs for the hairline, the rest were 2s and 3s for density. I was told that my donor area was good and that I should expect, all going to plan, around 5000 hairs to grow through in the recipient area. No mention of a second op needed, unless I further recede in the future as I am only 24 even though I am on fin, but that would be for new patches absent of follicles.

 

thanks for the response, hope to hear back!

[Britanium]

Just now, BoredMassively said:

I’m interested to hear you elaborate on why you think the density will fall short mate, what gives you that indication? 

I had 2150 grafts extracted and the breakdown was around 300 single hairs for the hairline, the rest were 2s and 3s for density. I was told that my donor area was good and that I should expect, all going to plan, around 5000 hairs to grow through in the recipient area. No mention of a second op needed, unless I further recede in the future as I am only 24 even though I am on fin, but that would be for new patches absent of follicles.

 

thanks for the response, hope to hear back!

For the area shown that was transplanted, personally I think it could have used 2500+ grafts. When I zone In I cannot see the density being particularly high, in particular the hairline, normally this is grafted at a higher cm2 than behind it. 
Please can you ask the Dr what cm2 he was aiming for? Thanks 🙏 

[Britanium]

And please don’t think I’m just trying to be critical here, just saying what I see. Keep us updated and we can all see how it develops 👍🏽

[BoredMassively]

3 minutes ago, J.A.C said:

For the area shown that was transplanted, personally I think it could have used 2500+ grafts. When I zone In I cannot see the density being particularly high, in particular the hairline, normally this is grafted at a higher cm2 than behind it. 
Please can you ask the Dr what cm2 he was aiming for? Thanks 🙏 

Ah I see your point. Unfortunately I don’t know what cm2 he was aiming for, and if I was told I’ve forgotten. Is 5000 prospective hairs not a good amount for the area covered though? The Dr seemed quite optimistic about my prospective results and the affect it will have on my confidence when he spoke to me after the surgery. I think also the idea was to be conservative because of my age and propensity to further recede. I appreciate your honest replies, I really do.

I would suggest the lighting maybe isn’t the best too. I also remember the Dr saying that he felt the amount of grafts would be enough and much more wouldn’t be too noticeable. 

[Britanium]

1 minute ago, BoredMassively said:

Ah I see your point. Unfortunately I don’t know what cm2 he was aiming for, and if I was told I’ve forgotten. Is 5000 prospective hairs not a good amount for the area covered though? The Dr seemed quite optimistic about my prospective results and the affect it will have on my confidence when he spoke to me after the surgery. I think also the idea was to be conservative because of my age and propensity to further recede. I appreciate your honest replies, I really do.

I would suggest the lighting maybe isn’t the best too. I also remember the Dr saying that he felt the amount of grafts would be enough and much more wouldn’t be too noticeable. 

Let’s see how it develops, the Dr is a well known & respected neurosurgeon, just that he’s pretty new to the world of hair transplants. Still working in the NHS I believe and not solely on Transplants yet. I really do hope we have someone that can become a decent choice for here in the UK, we really need it ! 

[BoredMassively]

7 minutes ago, J.A.C said:

Let’s see how it develops, the Dr is a well known & respected neurosurgeon, just that he’s pretty new to the world of hair transplants. Still working in the NHS I believe and not solely on Transplants yet. I really do hope we have someone that can become a decent choice for here in the UK, we really need it ! 

He told me he has got experience under his belt regarding transplantation, though how much exactly I don’t want to misrepresent as I can’t remember. He’s held the knife plenty of times though as you said. One salient point was that he was very assured, said that the procedure is simple and he was very considerate and patient with me. I take your point about more grafts but it’s your word against his in that regard, he felt the amount extracted would suffice and he seemed optimistic. Time will tell. Fortunately even if the hairline is a little thin as you suggest it might be I will be wearing a fringe anyway since I’ve got a dome like Megamind. It’ll be a substantial improvement on what I’m currently working with regardless, I’ll attach a few pictures so you can see what I was working with before my transplant and how I styled it… 5000 new follicles will be put to good use.

Like I said mate, I do appreciate your response. Most of the feedback I’ve got has been along the lines of “looks clean, let’s see” so as much as I’d rather all responses were a case of unanimous lauding along the lines of “looks incredible, amazing results a certainty” I appreciate the feedback. I agree with you. We all want more good surgeons. My chips are down with Dr Ahmad 😆

[HairEnthusiast101]

Two questions. The area you outlined for the transplant was it completely bald or just thinning hair there? Finally you have any photos of your donor area at all prior to treatment?

[BoredMassively]

6 hours ago, JoDimaggio22 said:

Two questions. The area you outlined for the transplant was it completely bald or just thinning hair there? Finally you have any photos of your donor area at all prior to treatment?

I’ve attached a photo I snapped in the toilet just before the transplant after we had agreed a new hairline, then a photo post op. You can see that in the transplanted region I had no hairs aside from a few babies at the front of my “hairline” which they shaved off. Also, I’ve attached a couple of pictures of my donor area that I sent to various clinics. Thanks for the reply & I’d love to hear back.

[JP28]

I wish you good luck and hope you’ll have a great result! Although I feel the need to ask you that question, why going with a surgeon that is pretty unknown when the forum has a list of so many reputed surgeons that operate all over the world?

I mean no offense at all just curious.

[BoredMassively]

1 minute ago, JP28 said:

I wish you good luck and hope you’ll have a great result! Although I feel the need to ask you that question, why going with a surgeon that is pretty unknown when the forum has a list of so many reputed surgeons that operate all over the world?

I mean no offense at all just curious.

Because I got a very good impression when I went there. From top to bottom the team seemed sincere, welcoming and not pushy. I had a phone consultation and an in person consultation prior to the procedure. The Dr was very assured and that was what won me over most. He’s not inexperienced by any means in transplantation. The technicians I had on the day were very experienced too. I contacted all sorts of clinics before deciding on the one I did. I’ll be sure to keep this forum posted with my results. I’m optimistic. 
 

Also I would suggest, based on my experience with other similar user run forums, that while they are generally a good litmus test they aren’t the be all end all of worthwhile surgeons. It wouldn’t be the first to have a paymaster or two. I appreciate your concern though. 

[BoredMassively]

Just now, BoredMassively said:

Because I got a very good impression when I went there. From top to bottom the team seemed sincere, welcoming and not pushy. I had a phone consultation and an in person consultation prior to the procedure. The Dr was very assured and that was what won me over most. He’s not inexperienced by any means in transplantation. The technicians I had on the day were very experienced too. I contacted all sorts of clinics before deciding on the one I did. I’ll be sure to keep this forum posted with my results. I’m optimistic. 
 

Also I would suggest, based on my experience with other similar user run forums, that while they are generally a good litmus test they aren’t the be all end all of worthwhile surgeons. It wouldn’t be the first to have a paymaster or two. I appreciate your concern though. 

I’ll also add that I spoke to former patients and such from this clinic as well. The patient coordinator also had a transplant in the clinic. They showed me a procedure being done live and in the flesh. I’m not sure what more they could have done to win me over.

[Gatsby]

I'm just wondering why this surgeon agreed to perform a hair transplant on you at 24 years of age? Did he not recommend finasteride first? The reason I mention this is because MPB is progressive over the life span. The work at this stage does look clean and I wish you all the best.

[BoredMassively]

19 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

I'm just wondering why this surgeon agreed to perform a hair transplant on you at 24 years of age? Did he not recommend finasteride first? The reason I mention this is because MPB is progressive over the life span. The work at this stage does look clean and I wish you all the best.

Fair question. I’ll outline my situation.

I’ve been on finasteride for god knows how many years now, at least 3, maybe more, I’ve lost track. Years ago I visited a clinic in Leeds and I was told I was a NW3a: I have more or less the exact same hairline all these years later. Also, I have always had a naturally high hairline and a large forehead that compound the situation, and a clear and obvious need for hair transplantation. All those practical factors are aside from my own colossal insecurity and burning desire to have one, which didn’t factor in to Dr’s decision making but certainly did mine. I want having any more years of insecurity. I’ve been thinking about this for years now. All clinics I spoke to suggested grafts in the region of 2000-2200.

Every clinic I contacted asked about my existing treatment and how stable my hair loss was. They all made me aware of the potential, probable need for another transplant down the line and stressed the importance of preventative treatment, that I was already aware of. Also, while age is an important factor when considering transplantation, you can only lose so much hair and I was already a NW3 and have been for a number of years. My donor area is apparently good too and all my recession was at the hairline. Those factors were part of the reason my surgeon was content enough to proceed. Incidentally, the hairline I have now is better than what I was born with. Hope that answers the question. 

[Gatsby]

56 minutes ago, BoredMassively said:

Hope that answers the question.

Absolutely. But the answers aren't really for me but intended for you so that you understand what this involves over the lifespan (not just over the next ten years) that's all. Wishing you all the best! 👌

Edited April 30, 2022 by Gatsby

[BoredMassively]

8 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

Absolutely. But the answers aren't really for me but intended for you so that you understand what this involves over the lifespan (not just over the next ten years) that's all. Wishing you all the best! 👌

Ah I see, well thanks for that. Hair is something that is essential for my appearance and I’ll do anything to improve on/keep it. I don’t think I’ll ever not care about it & I’m prepared for future transplants if necessary.
 

Hopefully one of the myriad of bald billionaire tycoons decided to pump some money into the industry within a few decades and create a hair growth pill or something to make all our lives easier. Surely it’s got to happen at some point. Looking at you Bezos.

Edited April 30, 2022 by BoredMassively

[BoredMassively]

21 hours ago, J.A.C said:

For the area shown that was transplanted, personally I think it could have used 2500+ grafts. 

I thought about this a little more (since got cabin fever and nothing better to do at present).

I had a good amount of consultations with multiple clinics up and down the UK and not one quoted me near 2500 grafts, much less above that. They all suggested around 2000. I was also told to be wary of any clinics that offered me more than around 2000. Also, wouldn’t 2500+ for bringing the hairline forward a touch and filling in the corners leave me at risk for less coverage down the line if I recede further? I am 24. Thanks though 😊

[Britanium]

1 minute ago, BoredMassively said:

I thought about this a little more (since got cabin fever and nothing better to do at present).

I had a good amount of consultations with multiple clinics up and down the UK and not one quoted me near 2500 grafts, much less above that. They all suggested around 2000. I was also told to be wary of any clinics that offered me more than around 2000. Also, wouldn’t 2500+ for bringing the hairline forward a touch and filling in the corners leave me at risk for less coverage down the line if I recede further? I am 24. Thanks though 😊

In the Uk they are not doing particularly larger numbers in general, who were the clinics ? Nothing wrong with around 2k worth of grafts though, just personally thought it was going to need a little more for the area shown. In a way it’s good you started out with less, so many times we see people go overboard with filling the frontal third and fast run out of grafts for the rest of the scalp. Hair Transplants are rarely a one time thing unfortunately, however I think you have a good plan in going forward. 

[BoredMassively]

12 minutes ago, J.A.C said:

In the Uk they are not doing particularly larger numbers in general, who were the clinics ? Nothing wrong with around 2k worth of grafts though, just personally thought it was going to need a little more for the area shown. In a way it’s good you started out with less, so many times we see people go overboard with filling the frontal third and fast run out of grafts for the rest of the scalp. Hair Transplants are rarely a one time thing unfortunately, however I think you have a good plan in going forward. 

Harley street (I think multiple on Harley), Vinci, Hillside… I can’t remember them all. Is 5000 hairs not enough for density? sounds like plenty to me. I did a good job disguising my hairline with a fringe without the aid of 5000 follicles, I’m sure I’ll be more than fine.

Also I was told by my Dr that more grafts wouldn’t have a substantial impact on appearance. And you’re right, you can rectify under-harvesting but you can’t fix over-harvesting.
 

[Britanium]

1 minute ago, BoredMassively said:

Harley street (I think multiple on Harley), Vinci, Hillside… I can’t remember them all. Is 5000 hairs not enough for density? sounds like plenty to me. I did a good job disguising my hairline with a fringe without the aid of 5000 follicles, I’m sure I’ll be more than fine.

Also I was told by my Dr that more grafts wouldn’t have a substantial impact on appearance. And you’re right, you can rectify under-harvesting but you can’t fix over-harvesting.
 

These are not good clinics, unfortunately we don’t have the best Drs/Clinics here in the UK. And the ones that are mostly doing the better work are Dr Reddy, Dr Ball, Dr Farjo and Dr Arshad. When it comes to reliability/consistency though most will look elsewhere, add in the cost a lot of people look elsewhere/outside of the UK. I truly hope one day we can add another Dr to the forums recommended list, right now it’s just Dr Farjo + Dr Arshad.