Regular Member DaveOHiggins Posted July 23, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2022 Hey Folks, I had a HT done in late '21 - FUT - 4500 grafts - Front third of scalp. I decided to go with Hattingen after doing a lot of research (mostly on this excellent website actually ) My initial consultations with Sever Muresanu, surgeon at Hattingen, were over Zoom. He immediately struck me as a bright, honest and expert person, with a passion for his job and a straightforward manner. We waited 6 months until the HT due to his waitlist. I flew to Geneva and took the train to Schaffhausen, having organised an airbnb near Stetten, where the clinic is. In the months before, during and after the HT, Carmen, Hattingen’s PA, was a huge help at all times in organising logistics, advice re travel and accommodation, payment issues, and even emotional support at times during a particularly low ebb…. I cannot say thank you enough to Carmen! On meeting Sever and his wonderful wife Laura I was instantly put at ease, I knew the operation was going to be a success. I slept well the night before and on Day 1 the first half of the operation was completed. I had about 2500 grafts on Day 1, and 2000 on Day 2 The theatre was spotless and the transplant team all knew their jobs perfectly. I spent most of Day 1 and Day 2 (the second half of the operation) asleep due to the sedative! Actually at times it was very relaxing. However it all turned a bit traumatic after the second day. Being groggy - and having nobody accompanying me to Switzerland - I obviously had to take care of myself, and on getting out of a taxi when I was back at my Airbnb, , I wasn’t concentrating, and I bumped the front right-hand side of my head on the side of the inside of the car. I didn’t feel much due to the anaesthetic but I did feel the impact. When I got the bathroom at the Airbnb I could see that I had damaged that front-righthand section which was bleeding in a section of about 2 inches x 2 inches. I was really upset as I felt I had ruined the whole operation! I called Carmen - it was now 7pm - and even though it was so late, she picked my call and asked me to take a photo of the problem area and send it to her via smartphone. She then sent it onto Sever and Laura, and Laura arranged immediately for me to meet her at the office, which was 30 minutes away, so she could take a look. At 8pm (!) she arrived and opened the office for me. She washed the area again, and examined the grafts carefully. I’d lost a few, but she said it was nothing to worry about, and I went home feeling better. Imagine the level of service to interrupt your family’s dinner to make sure a patient was ok! On Day 3 I went to the office one last time, where I had a final consultation by Sever and Laura. They sent me on their way and I said a goodbye to the team, who had also been wonderful. I returned to the UK that day, with a doctor’s note allowing me to keep my bandana on for privacy at security checks etc. The weeks following the HT were the most worrying. The section where I had bumped my head had started to scab up worse than the rest of my head, and I was truly sick at the prospect of having ruined a great job by the Hattingen team due to a second of my absent-mindedness in the taxi. My scalp looked terrible, full of scabs and I was tired, lonely and depressed. Apparently this is normal , even without the worry of the head bump bleed! Carmen was a great help at this point and she would keep telling me not to worry, to stay positive, and that she was almost certain nothing bad would come from the bump. Sever also had several consultations with me every month or so on Zoom, to see how I was. I was very impressed by the post-op care from him. He often asked me for photo updates and he would advise me if anything didn’t look correct. I also developed a dermatitis of the scalp, which he helped me treat by recommending a shampoo , Nizoral, which seems to have cleared most of it up. 10 months after the operation, I can see that I’m likely to have a good result from the operation. A lot of healthy looking hair has grown and there is also a prospect of even more… Am keeping fingers tightly crossed for some more hair by October 25th, the one year anniversary of the operation. Would I recommend Hattingen and team? Absolutely. First class pre-op, operative, and post-op care. There are a few cheaper HT clinic out there but I very much doubt there are many better. Thank you to Sever, Laura Muresanu, Carmen, and team! Pic 1 = Day 2, bump on head Pic 2 = 2 weeks Pics 3, 4 = 9 months post op (I've just washed my hair, sorry the pix aren't great quality - I guess hair would look even thicker when dry) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Havar Posted July 24, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted July 24, 2022 Thx for the writeup. I’ve booked Hattingen i nov22. Do you have preop photos? Are the grafts just in the front? Norwood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member DaveOHiggins Posted July 25, 2022 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 25, 2022 Hi, Sadly only the clinic has the pre-ops. Yes, it was a Norwood only. I didn't have enough grafts for the middle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member BurnieBurns Posted July 25, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted July 25, 2022 Very happy for your result. It may get slightly more dense in the next few months. Bet it makes a big difference from before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Havar Posted July 25, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted July 25, 2022 13 hours ago, DaveOHiggins said: Hi, Sadly only the clinic has the pre-ops. Yes, it was a Norwood only. I didn't have enough grafts for the middle. Thx, looks like a nice result so far. Do you know if you where Norwood 5 before the transplant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member DaveOHiggins Posted July 27, 2022 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 27, 2022 Yes it was between Norwood 4 and 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Havar Posted July 27, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted July 27, 2022 7 hours ago, DaveOHiggins said: Yes it was between Norwood 4 and 5 Looks very nice, looking forward to see rest of your story. Thx for sharing, important for us juniors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Britanium Posted July 27, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted July 27, 2022 Really like Hattingens work, will be following this one ☝️ Please keep us all updated 🙏 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member GoliGoliGoli Posted July 27, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted July 27, 2022 8 hours ago, DaveOHiggins said: Yes it was between Norwood 4 and 5 Hard to tell but this looks more like Norwood 6 if not 7? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member DaveOHiggins Posted August 2, 2022 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 2, 2022 On 7/25/2022 at 10:23 AM, BurnieBurns said: Very happy for your result. It may get slightly more dense in the next few months. Bet it makes a big difference from before Thanks, yes it has already made a big difference ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Havar Posted October 4, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted October 4, 2022 Hi! Still happy? Any updates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member mrmane85 Posted October 17, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted October 17, 2022 How's it going @DaveOHiggins? Are you able to share some updates photos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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