2510 Graft FUE w/ Dr. Nadimi (8/25/2022)

[AStark]

I actually had a topic going in another forum on this but thought maybe this one was more appropriate. It’s my first time posting (long time lurker) so I wasn’t familiar with the different forums. 
 

Im actually at 1 week today post op. 
 

Nonetheless, I’ll copy and paste my previous post here and follow it up with my week 1 update immediately after: 

 

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Before I even jump into my FUE experience I just wanted to say thank you to everyone before me who’s taken the time to both share their journey’s, knowledge and experience. I honestly don’t think I would have taken this leap without this forum and in fact, I was signed up for a procedure approx 4 years ago but chickened out the week of. I won’t mention that clinics name but let’s just say, I’m glad I waited.

 

About a year ago I decided to take another look into HT as an option for my hairloss. I read countless user stories (good and bad) and consulted with approx 3-4 different doctors before landing on Dr. Nadimi as my final choice. 

In fact it was this forum that led me to Dr. Konior’s office and ultimately Dr. Nadimi where, after 8 months of waiting, I finally had my FUE surgery with. 

Having said all, I wanted to share the experience thus far and fully intend to update this forum over the next 12 months as my process progresses. 
 

A little background on me: 

 

I’m currently 37 years old. I’ve been losing hair slowly since I was approx 21-22ish but it wasn’t until I hit my 30’s that I really began to realize the progression. I feel I was fortunate not to have a super aggressive pattern of hair loss and I feel it had somewhat stabilized but it had gotten to be such a hassle to try and conceal it day in and day out with fibers etc….that I decided now was the time to look into alternatives. 
 

Fast forward and I am now one day out of my surgery with Dr. Nadimi and her team and I would be lying if I didn’t say, I’m still having some real anxiety over it all. The procedure went great, the staff was amazing, the hair line design is what I envisioned, the pain was minimal but it’s the not knowing for 6+ months what the final results will be that, as you all know, that sucks the most.  
 

oh well….all part of the journey and like it or not, I’m in the game now as they say lol

Anyways, I will update once I have more info but I wanted to share some before and after photos I have and look for any feedback on the look and/or advice on the journey that anyone would like to share. 
 

This is my first time posting so I’m not sure I’m doing all this right but I attached a pre op top down photo the morning of and the evening just after the procedure wrapped up. 
 

Pre Op: 

 

Immediate Post Op: 

 

 

I will update once I have final graft counts etc but as far as I know we did 2510 grafts w/ approx 2340 in the frontal area and 160 in the crown. 

I don’t know what she meant exactly but Dr. Nadimi kept mentioning how my donor hair was as thick as yarn, very coarse and while she admitted that the 160 in the crown was not a lot she felt given the thickness of my hair shaft I would see an improvement. I went in with no intention of doing the crown but Dr. Nadimi mentioned she packed the 2340 in the front, that it should be a fantastic result and had the others left over for the crown. 
 

Admittedly, I don’t know if she could or should have used all 2510 in the frontal area but she said I had super thick donor hair and a lot of 2 & 3 hair grafts. I took her expert advice and rolled with it. 
 

Praying for a great outcome. 
 

Any and all feedback or questions are welcome. Thank you all again and I look forward to seeing where this goes. 

[AStark]

Week 1 Update: 

Today marks 1 week since my FUE Procedure with Dr. Nadimi and so far so good I believe. Everything seems to be going as expected and based on previous results I’ve seen 🤷‍♂️ 

Just to recap 

I had 2510 Graft FUE procedure w/ 

single hairs: 280 

double hairs: 1603 

triple hairs: 627 

total hair count: 5367 

 Started 1mg of Fin everyday, not sure on how long sides could take if one were to experience any but I haven’t so far 🤷‍♂️ 

 

pre op photo: Morning of procedure 

 

Pre Op styling 

And again…Immediate Post Op 

 

I believe the vast majority was concentrated on my front and recessed temples. The grafts decreased as we got closer to first purple line of the frontal half where I still had decent coverage from Native hair. Once Dr  Nadimi felt she has packed the front with all the grafts she could without risking loss of native or newly impacted hairs, she tossed 160 triples into the crown for good measure. Not really expecting much there but will be interesting to see if that adds any coverage in regrowth  

 

Week 1 Photos 

 

 

 

 

some of these are upside down, not sure how to change that 🤷‍♂️ 
 

Other than very light scabbing and a bit of itchiness, I have had zero issues.

Whats been fun (while it lasts) is seeing a new and more aesthetically complementary hair line. The work looks cleans and From just a few feet away, it’s almost impossible to tell. Looks like a solid buzz cut. 

I realize it’s VERY early in the process here and I have a long way to go to see how this ends but I am fully prepared to go back for Round 2 if that’s what it takes at conclusion so I assume if all goes to plan, I’ll be better off in 4-6 months than I was starting out and at 10-12 months I should know my final thoughts to another procedure or sticking with the results I’ve gotten. 
 

I have to add the obvious, Dr. Nadimi and her entire office have been amazing to work with. Best medical experience I’ve ever had. Have went above and beyond my expectations in all ways. 
 

I’ll update at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and depending on how things change and progress, either 8-10 month or 1 year. 

[Hairy Henderson]

Interesting to watch as from what I understand and have seen, Nadimi rarely takes on sessions exceeding 2k grafts.

[Melvin- Admin]

Dr. Nadimi does fantastic work, happy growing 🙌🏼

[lindros88]

On 9/1/2022 at 1:13 PM, Calihome1 said:

Interesting to watch as from what I understand and have seen, Nadimi rarely takes on sessions exceeding 2k grafts.

She mentioned to me that she would do a 2 day session of 3k if a patient was interested.

[lindros88]

Hell yeah brother!

Will be following. I got mine done with Dr Nadimi on August 4th. Will be interesting to track our progress.

I tried finasteride for a 3rd time and got sides which was disappointing, so on classic Rogaine foam for now, but going to try and procure oral Minoxidil in Canada.

[AStark]

5 hours ago, lindros88 said:

Hell yeah brother!

Will be following. I got mine done with Dr Nadimi on August 4th. Will be interesting to track our progress.

I tried finasteride for a 3rd time and got sides which was disappointing, so on classic Rogaine foam for now, but going to try and procure oral Minoxidil in Canada.

Yes sir! I’ll be following yours as well. Seems like you’ve had a similar experience thus far. 
 

it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next 6-12 months. 
 

I have never been on either in the past. I’ve been taking Fin since the procedure. I don’t think I’ve experienced any side effects but I don’t know how long I’d have to be taking that to know if I’ll get sides or not 🤷‍♂️
 

Happy growing bro. Your work looks just as  clean as I felt mine was. No exact guarantees in this, I get it…but I feel good about the doctor choice I made and the rest time will tell. 

 

Keep updating. I’ll do the same. 

[mrmane85]

With your hair characteristics and choice of surgeon, you have nothing to worry about. You're going to have a very pleasing result.

Start a new hobby or put more attention into a current one for the next few months to keep yourself occupied.

[John1991]

This looks quite good and I'd be surprised if you felt the need to go back again - not including years later if loss progresses, of course.  At some point in the process you may get the idea in the back of your mind that you might wish to go back for more grafts only to realize a few weeks later you won't need to  As of about 2-3 weeks ago I was thinking I might want to go back and get more grafts put in, but now at just shy of 5.5 months I'm very confident I won't need to.  

[AStark]

1 hour ago, mrmane85 said:

With your hair characteristics and choice of surgeon, you have nothing to worry about. You're going to have a very pleasing result.

Start a new hobby or put more attention into a current one for the next few months to keep yourself occupied.

Thank you. I feel confident in my choice to remain conservative on the hair line and def the surgeon choice for sure. 
 

of course only time will tell the full story but confident going into the next 6-12 months with my choices thus far. This forum has been a massive help. 
 

Between, work/home life and Jiu Jitsu, I’ve got enough to keep my mind and body occupied lol. Thanks again brother. 

[AStark]

21 minutes ago, John1991 said:

This looks quite good and I'd be surprised if you felt the need to go back again - not including years later if loss progresses, of course.  At some point in the process you may get the idea in the back of your mind that you might wish to go back for more grafts only to realize a few weeks later you won't need to  As of about 2-3 weeks ago I was thinking I might want to go back and get more grafts put in, but now at just shy of 5.5 months I'm very confident I won't need to.  

Thank you!  
 

you are correct. A 2nd procedure is a back ground thought at the moment but I went into this with the expectation that it’s possible. 
 

I’ve spoken to Dr. Nadimi about this and we agreed to reconnect 6-8 months from now and see where things were at and how the 1st was progressing. 
 

For now, I’m solely focused on staying busy and being patient. 

[Chetman2112]

I’m scheduled with Dr. Nadimi in Nov, your post opp pics look great and I love the hairline design, will be following, thanks for the write up. 

[AStark]

18 hours ago, Chetman2112 said:

I’m scheduled with Dr. Nadimi in Nov, your post opp pics look great and I love the hairline design, will be following, thanks for the write up. 

Good luck with your upcoming procedure. You’ve made a good choice in surgeon no doubt. 
 

I appreciate the words and I will certainly keep things updated here along the way. Just shy of 3 weeks and I’m 100% healed up. A little nimbleness in the recipient area still but no redness, no scabbing and donor looks like it was never touched. I attribute that to the clean work Dr. Nadimi and team did.

[Chetman2112]

Just curious how many days total after your HT did you stay?   

[AStark]

2 hours ago, Chetman2112 said:

Just curious how many days total after your HT did you stay?   

I would advise staying for at least 2 days after to allow Dr. Nadimi and her team to give proper cleanings and look over things before you jet off. But 2 additional days is more than enough. 
 

I was within driving distance (about 5 hours) so it was no big deal for me to stay a few extra days.  

[Chetman2112]

Thanks for the information, I’ll be driving from Mi. Approximately 5 hours also. 

[AStark]

On 9/12/2022 at 6:25 AM, Chetman2112 said:

Thanks for the information, I’ll be driving from Mi. Approximately 5 hours also. 

Good luck brother. You’re in good hands. I look forward to watching your progress. 

[AStark]

1 month update…….

Not much to report but I’ll post a couple of photos. As expected, I hit the shed phase about 2.5 weeks in and at 4 weeks have shed majority if not all transplanted hairs and then some. Def some shock loss in the recipient areas but it’s hard to say exactly how much. I was prepped by Dr. Nadimi (and others in this forum) for the reality that I may actually look balder at this point then I did before. 
 

I’ve been pretty well all healed up since about day 10 or 11. I’ve had zero issues to speak of. Now I’m just in the waiting stages to see how this whole thing turns out.
 

If not for this forum, I can understand how a person might panic at this stage of things. Hard to see an end result but I’m a patient guy and stay busy so hopefully this will help ease the anxiety of waiting over the next 3-4 months for some action to happen. 
 

I’ve elected to carefully buzz down the hair to a .5 guard. Not straight clipper but short enough to help play down the ugly duckling stage I’m in. Dr. Nadimi told me I was good to do so after 2 weeks. 
 

still a bit of redness, especially under certain lighting. Recipient area still a bit numb but donor looks untouched and as good as new. 
 

I took a few different photos under natural and indoor lighting. 
 

 

Agian, not much to report at 1 month but figured it was a good bench mark To share to show healing etc….

Obviously the worst part is waiting and I’m very interested to see how this whole thing shakes out but so far so good and feel all is as expected. 
 

See you in 3 months…..

Edited September 20, 2022 by AStark

[Chetman2112]

Thanks for the update, I’m sure this will be a home run, will be following closely, as you know I’m scheduled in November with Dr Nadimi and my hairloss is similar to yours so shock loss is a concern of mine, but I’m prepared to go through the ugly duckling stage, the reward is worth it! How has your friends and family reaction been, have they been supportive? 

[AStark]

7 hours ago, Chetman2112 said:

Thanks for the update, I’m sure this will be a home run, will be following closely, as you know I’m scheduled in November with Dr Nadimi and my hairloss is similar to yours so shock loss is a concern of mine, but I’m prepared to go through the ugly duckling stage, the reward is worth it! How has your friends and family reaction been, have they been supportive? 

It’s hard to really say the exact extent of the shock loss but I’ve def experienced a bit of it. Nothing I’m too worried about. Hard to keep the head looking good no matter what a guy does at this stage I suppose so no reason to stress about it. 
 

All in all I couldn’t be happier with the recovery process, it’s seemed to have healed in the first 2 weeks aside from a little redness in the recipient area. 
 

As far as friends and family, they’ve all been pretty supportive. The bald/balding friends are most curious but I don’t try to hide it. I’ve barely worn a hat unless I’ve been outside under the sun. If people have questions I will openly discuss. Nothing to feel ashamed or embay about as far as I’m concerned. It’s not for them, it’s for ourselves 🤷‍♂️ I think you’ll find the same reactions. 
 

Good luck in November. You’re in good hands so you can rest easy knowing that at least. 
 

Depending on progress I may post an update at 2 months but don’t expect much to happen between now and then but either way I’ll post an update at month 3. If you have questions feel free to DM me here anytime or post a question on this topic. I’ll check back from time to time.  

Edited September 21, 2022 by AStark

[Chetman2112]

I was curious on your day of surgery schedule? For  example did you arrive at 6:45? How long did you discuss the hairline design? How many hours total for the surgery? Please comment when you have a moment, thank you. 

[Fut2022]

@Chetman2112Hey there, I know this isn't my thread but I recently had a procedure with Dr. Nadimi - 3 weeks ago to be exact.

 

So, I got there at 6:45 as you mentioned and we didn't discuss the hairline design too long as I gave her full control BUT it did take a while to draw it. Like Konior she is a perfectionist and there was one side she went over around a dozen times to get it just right. 

My surgery ended around 4? I can't say for certain but it might've been a little bit later. I had a FUT procedure of 2,000 grafts and I actually bled a little more than the average person during so that may have prolonged it. Feel free to DM me if you'd like design + post op photos. I will not be making a thread until growth. 

[reliablemoose11]

Is this doc in Illinois? Congrats on the results they look incredible. 

[Jayson1361]

How’s 2 months + looking?? 

[AStark]

 2.5 month update 

I don’t think we usually see much if any growth at this point but below are my 2.5 month updates. I was wearing a hat all day when I took these so hair looks a little worse than usual but shows what you all want to see I think lol
 

I’ve def seen some growth, tons of  baby hairs in the transplanted area which aren’t visible in most lighting  but I’m starting to see some progress I think but nothing to write home about just yet  

I finally started letting my hair grow out after the first month. Had been keep it buzzed down at a .5 guard every few weeks. I’m in that awkward stage of growing the hair out but almost past it and back to where I was pre transplant. 

been taking 1mg Fin daily since the procedure and started on 2.5mg oral Min for past 4 weeks. No sides that I can tell 🤷‍♂️ 

it’s hard to be patient at this stage but I have a busy schedule and find myself thinking about it all less and less. Stopped wearing hats most places about 2-3 weeks ago. 

It’s still very early but I will update again in a few weeks when I hit 3 months and get a proper hair cut for the first time since the procedure. 
 

Aside from wishing time would move a bit faster, I can’t complain. This really hasn’t been that bad at all. 

Not sure if I’m on track or not but based on what I’ve seen I think I am for just over 2 months. 

Edited November 14, 2022 by AStark