Senior Member therambler Posted June 2, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted June 2, 2022 Hey everyone, I'm a week out from my surgery with Dr. Pinto so I said I'd better start a thread for the good community here as I've been lurking for years! I'm waiting to get back the photos taken at the clinic and I'll add them to this thread once I receive them. Background: I'm 38 years old. I had a FUT surgery with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3800 grafts to frontal region, mid-scalp and temple points. The details and journey of that surgery are documented here - Overall I was delighted with how the surgery went and couldn't have asked for more. As is often the case though in the 8 years since I lost more of my native hair so I started looking at the option of a second surgery. Choosing a doctor: Like most people here I researched hundreds of patient results from the forum and started consultations with a shortlist based off of these. Although he doesn't have a huge pile of results here Dr. Pinto ticked all the boxes for me. In particular I loved his clean work, the donor management and his total involvement in all aspects of the surgery. I got in touch with his patient co-ordinator Emilio in March via whatsapp and hopefully mentioned I was available to book on short notice in case of any cancellations. Thankfully this came to pass and after Dr. Pinto reviewed my pictures I was fortunate to get an appointment date in May. The total estimate was for 3200 grafts based on the pictures I sent. The surgery: I honestly couldn't speak highly enough of Dr. Pinto and all the staff at the clinic. From start to finish he puts you completely at ease and is in constant communication throughout. I had a list of questions ready in my head and never got a chance to ask as he'd already answered everything! After examining my donor he said I'd approximately 5000 grafts left in the bank which I was delighted to hear. The design part was easy as I didn't need to lower the hairline at all. The plan was to fill in behind and add density to front and mid-scalp. On the second day he would fill in the crown with approx. 1000 grafts. After the shave down though we discovered a scar from childhood in the donor area which I'd forgotten about to be honest! As has been said previously his extremely meticulous, and pays attention to every small detail. He mentioned his OCD a few times like previous patients have said Like all top doctors he takes pride in his work and he really loved the swirl he put into my crown! When they say Dr. Pinto is involved in all aspects of the surgery it really means all aspects. Consultation, Design, Taking all the photos, Extraction, Implanting and even helped out with the head-wash before I left 😀 He's one of a kind! Medication: I've been on finasteride - one quarter pill daily for about 11 years and also Minoxidil (Rogaine) topical foam applied twice daily. I also use Nizoral shampoo every 3 days. Dr. Pinto gave me a prescription for Dutasteride - 3 a week, Oral minoxidil and keep taking the Finasteride on the days I'm not taking Dutasteride. Graft count: Dr. Pinto said my hair was very fine, which I guessed anyway but still got a nice amount of 3s, some 4s and even three 5 grafts. I - 566 II - 1085 III - 1508 IV - 90 V - 3 Total implanted hairs - 7635 Average - 2.35 hair/graft FUT scar: Initially when I started consultations I was hoping I might be able to get some grafts into the FUT strip scar. It's fine, but I am restricted to a grade 4 back and sides in the barbers, and at that length you can still see the scar outline if you look closely (My fine hair doesn't help I guess). However chatting to Dr. Pinto on this, and I fully agree - It would take a lot of grafts to cover the long scar, and coupled with the unpredictability of graft survival in scar tissue it's better keep these in case I need to use them elsewhere in future. He mentioned SMP as an alternative option for camouflaging the scar. So now I'm starting to research opinions and experience with this. Has anyone got examples of SMP into a strip scar here? Do you have to get your hair cut a certain length for it to blend in naturally? Pre-consultation pictures: Day 1 pictures after surgery: FUT with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3814 grafts - Thread FUE with Dr. Pinto in May 2022 - 3252 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member therambler Posted June 2, 2022 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 2, 2022 Day 2 pics: FUT with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3814 grafts - Thread FUE with Dr. Pinto in May 2022 - 3252 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member therambler Posted June 2, 2022 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 2, 2022 Day 4 (Pre-flight home): FUT with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3814 grafts - Thread FUE with Dr. Pinto in May 2022 - 3252 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member jjsrader Posted June 2, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted June 2, 2022 Good deal - well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member therambler Posted June 2, 2022 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 2, 2022 1 Week update: FUT with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3814 grafts - Thread FUE with Dr. Pinto in May 2022 - 3252 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CaliforniaLiving Posted June 2, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted June 2, 2022 Looking good! Is there a reason you didn't decide to go FUT one more time? I've always assumed you get more grafts doing 2x FUT and then FUE after so I'm just curious (this is my plan when I get mine in a couple of years). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member therambler Posted June 2, 2022 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 2, 2022 6 minutes ago, CaliforniaLiving said: Looking good! Is there a reason you didn't decide to go FUT one more time? I've always assumed you get more grafts doing 2x FUT and then FUE after so I'm just curious (this is my plan when I get mine in a couple of years). Thanks! I done online consultations with a list of top surgeons and every one of them recommended FUE this time ( Even in cases where the doctor performs both FUT and FUE transplants). So I was happy to go along with that, I figured they know best! I was also a massive fan of Dr. Pintos work and he only performs FUE surgeries. 1 FUT with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3814 grafts - Thread FUE with Dr. Pinto in May 2022 - 3252 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euphoria Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 I checked his method and he uses a Choi pen it seems without the gloves. You’re going to have a good result for sure. check out my thread I recently made to understand what I am talking about 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CaliforniaLiving Posted June 2, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted June 2, 2022 2 hours ago, therambler said: Thanks! I done online consultations with a list of top surgeons and every one of them recommended FUE this time ( Even in cases where the doctor performs both FUT and FUE transplants). So I was happy to go along with that, I figured they know best! I was also a massive fan of Dr. Pintos work and he only performs FUE surgeries. That makes sense! It looks super clean- I think the result is going to be fantastic. Will be following this thread for sure 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Harry Bosch Posted June 2, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted June 2, 2022 Best of luck, mate. Hopefully see ya at the finish line 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Gramatik Posted June 2, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted June 2, 2022 Good luck mate. What was the price per graft ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Hairy Henderson Posted June 3, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted June 3, 2022 Was there a particular reason you didn’t want to get the FUE done with Konior since he did the original surgery? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Jackdaniels Posted June 3, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted June 3, 2022 looks clean job. Dr pinto is a great doctor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member therambler Posted June 3, 2022 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 3, 2022 11 hours ago, Harry Bosch said: Best of luck, mate. Hopefully see ya at the finish line Cheers! Same to yourself, we should be on similar growth timelines 😀 FUT with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3814 grafts - Thread FUE with Dr. Pinto in May 2022 - 3252 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member therambler Posted June 3, 2022 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 3, 2022 10 hours ago, Gramatik said: Good luck mate. What was the price per graft ? I got them at 2.95 per graft, I think like everywhere else though his prices have gone up since. (Still great value for a top surgeon IMO) FUT with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3814 grafts - Thread FUE with Dr. Pinto in May 2022 - 3252 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member therambler Posted June 3, 2022 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 3, 2022 9 hours ago, Calihome1 said: Was there a particular reason you didn’t want to get the FUE done with Konior since he did the original surgery? I did consult with Dr. Konior first alright and he is brilliant at responding quickly. This time around he was simply out of my price range FUT with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3814 grafts - Thread FUE with Dr. Pinto in May 2022 - 3252 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Jackdaniels Posted June 3, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted June 3, 2022 (edited) why did you select dr pinto instead of Dr Ferreira? Both surgeons are good and located in portugal and do everything by themselves... Edited June 3, 2022 by asda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Z-- Posted June 3, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted June 3, 2022 With 6,000 grafts taken, any sense of the grafts remaining? You've picked two great doctors, so I'm sure with this surgery, all will be good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member therambler Posted June 3, 2022 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 3, 2022 4 hours ago, asda said: why did you select dr pinto instead of Dr Ferreira? Both surgeons are good and located in portugal and do everything by themselves... Dr. Ferreira was on my shortlist as well actually, I've seen great results from him as well. He seems to share a lot of characteristics in how he works with Dr. Pinto. I believe the two of them are good friends. When I was reaching out to places Dr. Ferreira was closed off for online consultations, even the fast-track option was unavailable at the time. FUT with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3814 grafts - Thread FUE with Dr. Pinto in May 2022 - 3252 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member therambler Posted June 3, 2022 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 3, 2022 26 minutes ago, Z-- said: With 6,000 grafts taken, any sense of the grafts remaining? You've picked two great doctors, so I'm sure with this surgery, all will be good. Actually just over 7000 grafts taken between the two surgeries! 😧 I was pleasantly surprised to find out when Dr. Pinto examined the donor under microscope he estimated there was about 5000 grafts left in the bank. That's the benefit of doing FUT first time I guess. So after the surgery now I should have roughly 1800 grafts left there, which is lucky as I'm not blessed with any beard hair to use really 😅 I plan on going back after a year for a consultation and see how everything looks at that stage. He did mention there may be more needed for the crown in future, but I've changed up the meds to start taking oral minoxidil and duta as well so there's a chance the crown could respond well to them as well. So I'll see hwhere i am in a year basically but it's nice to know I have some grafts to spare if needed.. and if hair greed kicks in 😂 1 FUT with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3814 grafts - Thread FUE with Dr. Pinto in May 2022 - 3252 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Z-- Posted June 3, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted June 3, 2022 3 minutes ago, therambler said: Actually just over 7000 grafts taken between the two surgeries! 😧 I was pleasantly surprised to find out when Dr. Pinto examined the donor under microscope he estimated there was about 5000 grafts left in the bank. That's the benefit of doing FUT first time I guess. So after the surgery now I should have roughly 1800 grafts left there, which is lucky as I'm not blessed with any beard hair to use really 😅 I plan on going back after a year for a consultation and see how everything looks at that stage. He did mention there may be more needed for the crown in future, but I've changed up the meds to start taking oral minoxidil and duta as well so there's a chance the crown could respond well to them as well. So I'll see hwhere i am in a year basically but it's nice to know I have some grafts to spare if needed.. and if hair greed kicks in 😂 Dude, 12k grafts total in the bank?! That's awesome especially for higher NWs. Funny you mention FUT first; I was initially hesitant about doing FUT, but reading that starting with FUT before doing FUE convinced me to run the idea by Dr. K, who mentioned that it typically yields an additional 1 - 2k lifetime grafts (depending on characteristics), so now I'm in the same boat as you 😁. Very very glad to see that it helped you retain more grafts!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member therambler Posted June 3, 2022 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 3, 2022 1 minute ago, Z-- said: Dude, 12k grafts total in the bank?! That's awesome especially for higher NWs. Funny you mention FUT first; I was initially hesitant about doing FUT, but reading that starting with FUT before doing FUE convinced me to run the idea by Dr. K, who mentioned that it typically yields an additional 1 - 2k lifetime grafts (depending on characteristics), so now I'm in the same boat as you 😁. Very very glad to see that it helped you retain more grafts!! Sorry, the 5k Dr. Pinto was estimated was pre-surgery.. so roughly about 10k total grafts in the bank, not too shabby though! Yeah I was lucky that I've been able to stay on the meds a long while as well without any sides so I'm sure that helped. Looking at my hairloss before the first HT and my family history I was definitely going down the higher norwood path. It all depends on the person and their situation really whether to go FUT first, I'd definitely listen to Dr. Ks advice anyway, he knows better than most! FUT with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3814 grafts - Thread FUE with Dr. Pinto in May 2022 - 3252 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member therambler Posted June 3, 2022 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 3, 2022 ~9000 grafts total actually.. Maths isn't my strong point 😅 1 FUT with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3814 grafts - Thread FUE with Dr. Pinto in May 2022 - 3252 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Z-- Posted June 3, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted June 3, 2022 6 minutes ago, therambler said: ~9000 grafts total actually.. Maths isn't my strong point 😅 No worries!! I'd bet the 1,800 left is more than enough to cover anything in the future after the full head of hair from this pass. Cheers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Falconary Posted June 5, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted June 5, 2022 Looking great man, I'm sure you Will have a great result 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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