2300 FUE Grafts (54 y/o)-Dr. Konior

[BuellerBueller]

I am happy to say, with much thanks to this website and it's many users, that I completed my first hair transplant yesterday at the age of 54.  For those younger guys who think they'll turn 40 and not care about how their hair looks, trust me, you continue to care about your hair at every age.  A hair transplant is something I've contemplated since I was in my 20s. My receding hairline started in college. I loved my hair. My family used to make fun of me because I couldn't pass a mirror without looking at it. Once I realized it was starting to recede, I would sometimes have dreams that it was falling out faster and in clumps. I would wake up and count the hairs on my pillowcase. 

Those were the early years. As work life got busier and I got older, I just sucked it up and simply styled my hair to look decent in the front.  I've been using minoxidil and finasteride off and on for 20+ years. 

In the last 5 years, I realized I didn't like going to the gym without wearing a ball cap.  And then I noticed I wanted to wear a cap pretty much all the time.  I decided it was time to start researching hair transplants again.  I stumbled on this website (along with others) and was amazed at how the technology had advanced with hair transplants. I was also surprised of the many famous athletes and entertainers  getting transplants and looking good at every age. I decided to go for it. 

I emailed about 5 doctors (all represented on this site), sent pics of my hair and most replied back fairly quickly with their recommendations.  The consensus was I needed about 2000 grafts and that I had good donor area.  I did a little more research on each of the doctors and Dr. Konior became my top choice for a variety of reasons. I was able to reserve a date and had an in-person consultation with him which sealed the deal. 

Yesterday I arrived at his office at 6:30AM and met with the staff for about an hour of paperwork.  Dr. Konior came in after that and we discussed my goals and then like an artist with a blank canvas, he started working on my hairline. He reached out with his marker like it was a paint brush, placed a line on my forehead and then another and another...he would erase one and then add another or adjust one line and then add another. He repeated this process for about an hour.  He was very meticulous, looking at both sides of my face and taking measurements. He absolutely strives to create what is the best hairline for each individual face taking into consideration age and donor availability.  When he finally felt he had a good hairline for me,  he handed over the mirror and said "here's what I came up with, feel free to make suggestions."  I loved it!  I mean I wish I had that hairline decades ago. He agreed and so on we went to shaving my head.   

You've heard how great his staff is and I fully support all those reviews.  They are amazing all the way.  Without going into every detail, I will tell you that from start to finish it took 13 1/2 hours (including several bathroom breaks and a lunch break), but it sure didn't feel that long to me. I was told I did fall asleep a couple of times, so that's probably why. I returned to the hotel around 8PM.  I used a neck pillow and slept at about a 45 degree angle most the night. I woke up this morning, popped an Advil, had breakfast and then went back to his office to have the dressings removed, head cleaned and redressed. I was sent back to the hotel and told to chill and continue to stay upright.  That's what I'm doing now which is why I decided to go ahead and share my journey. 

I'm posting pre-op pics to show my hairline and then you'll see the post-op pics from last night.  I also included a couple of pics from the doctor's office BEFORE the surgery started showing the shaved head and lines that were drawn.  From what I understand I had slightly more than 2,300 grafts placed with a large percentage being 3 grafts.  I will share the actual counts once I learn them.   

 

This shows how at a glance I can camouflage the hairline. Reminder, density can be deceiving. The hair on the top of my head is not extremely dense.  It's not see through, but not dense.

 

 

 

Here is a wet look.

 

This was the pick I submitted online to show donor area.

 

And now the fun begins....here are the day of pics....

If you look closely, you can see where my actual frontal tuft exists. It appears like my hairline is dropping considerably, but it's actually not more than 1/2" to 3/4" max. 

 

These next pics are just a few hours post surgery.

 

 

 

 

 

[BuellerBueller]

Sorry, this last GIANT photo is in the wrong place. It was pre-op showing the lines placed before the transplant began.

 

[BuellerBueller]

37 minutes ago, BuellerBueller said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by BuellerBueller
Posted in wrong place

[Future Hair Doc]

Thanks for the very detailed review. Dr. Konior's work is consistently amazing. Please keep the community updated and happy growing. 

[Mike10]

Given your age and NW pattern, you were a good candidate for a HT in my opinion. Just out of curiosity, how well has the medication worked for you over the last 20 years and is it still working now? Thanks

[OliverAtom]

That is looking very neat! 

You started the day a 6am? Wow!!! Did you discuss this with Dr Konior? How did they break the day? Did they extracted all 2300 at once? 

Also, what about medication on and off? Why did you do that? Any problems or side effects? Will you take meds after this surgery?

Can not wait to see the evolution of this one. And the work in those temples looks really clean!

Thanks for sharing 😉

[BuellerBueller]

7 hours ago, Mike10 said:

Given your age and NW pattern, you were a good candidate for a HT in my opinion. Just out of curiosity, how well has the medication worked for you over the last 20 years and is it still working now? Thanks

Thanks. My hair loss pattern is identical to my fathers. He's 84.  He still has a decent donor area around the sides and back of his head so I thought that was a good sign for being a good candidate for a HT as well.   I wish I could tell you I've had tangible results with the medications, but I really don't know how to judge the results. I've just taken them faithfully over time.  I've definitely had shedding periods over the last 25 years. I've never noticed new growth.  Minoxidil is so messy, I've never used it more than once a day and almost always in the morning when it has time to dry before I shower.  With finasteride, it's been the generic version ever since it became available. I've used it pretty regularly, though stopped for a year or two when my wife and I were trying to get pregnant (about 15 years ago).  The only side effect I've noticed with finasteride is low semen volume.  I've never had erection problems, depression or anything else.  Just recently after researching that DHT levels can be reduced on less than 1mg, I've decided to go with .5mg a day to see if that positively impacts the semen volume.  

[BuellerBueller]

3 hours ago, OliverAtom said:

That is looking very neat! 

You started the day a 6am? Wow!!! Did you discuss this with Dr Konior? How did they break the day? Did they extracted all 2300 at once? 

Also, what about medication on and off? Why did you do that? Any problems or side effects? Will you take meds after this surgery?

Can not wait to see the evolution of this one. And the work in those temples looks really clean!

Thanks for sharing 😉

The day started at 6:30AM.  Yes, everything was discussed way ahead of time. They are extremely organized and send various amounts of paperwork explaining the process, how to prepare pre-op and what do post-op. They are also available for questions ahead of surgery.   There is no waiting around during surgery day.  There were three to four breaks in between  the extraction process (left side, right side and back of head).  I took the recommended Valium which keeps you calm with very little movement which is necessary given how precise the surgery is.  They told me later I had fallen asleep a couple of times.  Yes, the surgery is done in that single day.  The extractions are completed in the first half of the day and the implants are the second half.  Both take about 5 hours each (including the breaks of course).  I gave more detail on my years of meds in the post above this. Only side effect has been low semen volume. Yes, I will continue to take meds after the surgery, though I'm testing a lower dose these days (.5mg).  

[BuellerBueller]

I have to add that I've been too chicken my entire life to shave my head. The shaving before surgery was something I was very excited about.  It was extremely liberating!  I'm owning it now and not embarrassed to be seen. I was in the elevator and a lady looked at me and turned away. I told her it was a hair transplant and she immediately said, oh good, I wondered if it was cancer or something.  I figure I might as well expose the elephant in the room!

[ML488]

Damn, it doesn't get much more clean than that. But then again you were in the hands of arguably the best in the world. Best of luck!

[Melvin- Admin]

Fantastic write-up 👏 

[RecessionProof]

Great write up! Seems like you have a good hair texture for a transplant. You are going to be very happy.

[Z--]

Amazing. Dr. K will make those 2,300 grafts look like 3,500. Keeping an out on your thread!

Cheers.

[Britanium]

Excellent write up, and the work looks impeccable ! Thanks for posting such a detailed account of your experience so far 🙏

[sbguy01]

Congratulations man!  The coverage looks great!  

Good luck recovering.  

[Bradley787]

I was wondering how yours went.  That’s gonna look amazing.  Konior is the best. 

[BuellerBueller]

16 minutes ago, Bradley787 said:

I was wondering how yours went.  That’s gonna look amazing.  Konior is the best. 

Thanks! Glad you checked in. I’m heading to the office this afternoon for another clean and Dr. K will be looking it over. My scalp looks great. No blood. No ooze. I’ve had a little swelling in the forehead but it’s already going down. Sleeping with a neck pillow has been the hardest part. Hard to believe it’s only been three days.  

[BuellerBueller]

12 Days Post-Op

Thought I’d send an update. I’m 12 days post today. I’ve had what I would call very light scabbing mainly around the front hairline and corners. I’ve been applying aquaphor spray to keep them moist. I’ve been carefully trying to work on the micro scabs today and for the first time, noticed a tiny hair that was within the tiny scab. I feel like I’m about to move into the shedding phase over the next 5 days or so. I think it’s expected between the 2nd and 3rd week, right? 

[Britanium]

1 minute ago, BuellerBueller said:

12 Days Post-Op

Thought I’d send an update. I’m 12 days post today. I’ve had what I would call very light scabbing mainly around the front hairline and corners. I’ve been applying aquaphor spray to keep them moist. I’ve been carefully trying to work on the micro scabs today and for the first time, noticed a tiny hair that was within the tiny scab. I feel like I’m about to move into the shedding phase over the next 5 days or so. I think it’s expected between the 2nd and 3rd week, right? 

Yeh, could be anytime from now onwards 👍🏽

[Britanium]

Also… I can’t look at you’re username without saying “Anyone, anyone…?” In my head 😂🤣

[BuellerBueller]

2 hours ago, J-C said:

Also… I can’t look at you’re username without saying “Anyone, anyone…?” In my head 😂🤣

Ha!! I’m clearly a child of the 80s. Picking a profile name was harder than the hair transplant decision. 😎

[sbguy01]

You're right on schedule Bueller!  It's going to shedder alot faster next 2 weeks.  I think 98% of my stubbles are gone.  I'm 40 days post-op.   I did notice a few new sprouts.  I asked Dr. K what he thought and he said this is the dormant phase of transplanted follicles, so looking for new hair is pretty pointless 🙂  The waiting game continues. 

[BuellerBueller]

1 hour ago, sbguy01 said:

You're right on schedule Bueller!  It's going to shedder alot faster next 2 weeks.  I think 98% of my stubbles are gone.  I'm 40 days post-op.   I did notice a few new sprouts.  I asked Dr. K what he thought and he said this is the dormant phase of transplanted follicles, so looking for new hair is pretty pointless 🙂  The waiting game continues. 

Thanks for the insight sbguy (and J-C). As much as you learn from researching on your own, it still feels nice to get reassurance from this group.  

December 25th is seven months away…This might be the most anticipation I’ve felt for Christmas to arrive since I was six years old! 💇🏻‍♂️🎄

[Hairy Henderson]

On 5/13/2022 at 11:15 AM, Z-- said:

Amazing. Dr. K will make those 2,300 grafts look like 3,500. Keeping an out on your thread!

Cheers.

That’sa huge area for only 2300 grafts!  Is that really going to cover everything? 

[BuellerBueller]

On 5/22/2022 at 9:27 PM, Calihome1 said:

That’sa huge area for only 2300 grafts!  Is that really going to cover everything? 

I only had work done on my front hairline. Nothing on crown. I think the amount of FUE grafts for a receding hairline tend to range from 2,000-2,500 for most North American doctors. I had three different graft quotes in that range from three top docs.