Dr Hasson | November/December 2022 | 3872 FUE Grafts | 22M

[consequence]

Your coming along right on track, patience is key. 

May I ask what was that gel he had you apply immediately after surgery? Was it petroleum jelly.

[mister_25]

1 hour ago, consequence said:

Your coming along right on track, patience is key. 

May I ask what was that gel he had you apply immediately after surgery? Was it petroleum jelly.

 I am actually unsure what he gave me, next time I'm in contact with them I will be sure to include that for you

[aaalan]

Wow going through your journey gives me hope… currently I am at 2 months and lost 90% of transplanted hair. I am fully aware of the drill, however, its one thing to be aware and another to go through it!! 
 

Thank you!!

[mister_25]

On 5/11/2023 at 10:39 AM, consequence said:

Your coming along right on track, patience is key. 

May I ask what was that gel he had you apply immediately after surgery? Was it petroleum jelly.

I asked the clinic and they said it’s a ointment called Bactroban which they said they use for a few days to ensure everything heals properly.

[GoliGoliGoli]

Do you feel any stubble sprouting in the crown? 

[mister_25]

32 minutes ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

Do you feel any stubble sprouting in the crown? 

Yes, I feel these small spiky/prickly hairs in my crown, maybe like 5-10 of them on the left side of my crown. I can only really feel them if im moving my fingers from front to back, otherwise I cant feel them if I'm going from the back of my crown to the front because I am pushing down the hairs if that makes any sense.

I haven't really looked at my crown since the 5 month mark, so I cant really verify if its hair or something else, but I am guessing from the way I described it, it is hair.

[GoliGoliGoli]

Ya as everyone says the crown can take a bit of time, and it varies patient to patient of course too. I think it's a good sign that you're feeling stubble there, and hopefully you start to feel more stubble all over the crown recipient area.

Apologies if you already said, but you do know how many grafts went into the crown specifically? 

[mister_25]

22 minutes ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

Ya as everyone says the crown can take a bit of time, and it varies patient to patient of course too. I think it's a good sign that you're feeling stubble there, and hopefully you start to feel more stubble all over the crown recipient area.

Apologies if you already said, but you do know how many grafts went into the crown specifically? 

Roughly 2900 in the front, 950 in the crown. I will most likely need a second transplant for the crown and midscalp which I will get in 2024.

[consequence]

17 hours ago, mister_25 said:

I asked the clinic and they said it’s a ointment called Bactroban which they said they use for a few days to ensure everything heals properly.

That's really interesting, thank you. Did you keep it on all day and just reapply more when it came off? Also did you do this with saline?

Also definitely keep us updated on how you're growing. 🙏

[mister_25]

5 hours ago, consequence said:

That's really interesting, thank you. Did you keep it on all day and just reapply more when it came off? Also did you do this with saline?

Also definitely keep us updated on how you're growing. 🙏

Yeah I kept it on all day for the first 2-3 days post op, however I did have to go to the clinic for them to wash the hair where they reapplied afterwards.

I’ve read that a lot of people spray saline every 1-2 hours for their post op instructions but I didn’t have these instructions

Ill update on the 1st, but the general idea is that in the past three weeks I’ve had more growth than any of the previous months.

[Chrisno]

 

1 hour ago, mister_25 said:

[...] Ill update on the 1st, but the general idea is that in the past three weeks I’ve had more growth than any of the previous months.

Fantastic, really looking forward to the update on the 1st

[mister_25]

Hey everyone, I'll take and add some new additional photos tomorrow but I just took these just now for a quick brief update so you can see what is going on.

Brief 6 Month Update:

Front:

Frontal Tilt:

Left:

Right:

So far I can say the following things;

• These photos were taken in the same lightings and same conditions as the 5 Month update. However I would say that If I took month 5/6 photos in moderate lightings/wet hair then the change would be more dramatic. Its starting to hold up on its own a bit in desirable angles/lightings now which wasn't possible a month before.
• I would say that the "skeleton" of the hairline has come in, its has the framing now but it doesn't provide any aesthetic value due to nature of the immature hairs and incomplete result.
• My forelock still has shock loss, I am starting to think it might be permanent. Before the surgery my forelock was bigger partially due to the longer hairs but also due to having a large amount of miniaturized hairs that did help contribute. In a follow up image below I circled the area that I believe is still suffering shockloss in red.
• The stubble is getting harder to feel in the crown, probably because its growing in length and feels finer/thinner after the initial sprouts
• I am feeling a bit of stubble in the hairline/previously bald areas at the front. It feels like maybe a few multis are coming through. I am also getting a few pimples this week in these areas. These areas are the areas highlighted in green on the follow up image.
• I do not believe I can say that I am any better than my baseline at this moment. I've simply "traded hairs" if that makes any sense. Because of the fact that my forelock is still suffering temporary or permanent shockloss I cant reasonably say I am any better because it looks like I've thinned out more over a wider area even though I probably have more hair in the front than I did before.
• Getting a lot of ingrown/pimples and stubble in my donor area, specifically where the shockloss was most severe.
• My mid-scalp looks very bald when I mimic my pre-op hairstyle of slicking it back, mainly because the hair refuses to lay down and just puffs up exposed how thin it is in the middle. I will need more length to do that.
• Some of the transplanted sprouts/hairs are white/grey hairs, I did not have any white/gray hairs in the recipient sites before hand.
• The left side is significantly slower to grow and weaker than my right side. Especially at the very front where the hairline is.

Pre-Op Follow up Photo:

I am having mixed feelings at this point.

On the positive side It is growing still at a ever increasing accelerating rate and even has some "shape" or "weight" to it in desirable conditions, and when I compare to myself at the four month mark compared to now at 6 months it is a massive positive change.

On the negative side, I am not any better in my opinion than compared to my pre-op, I had a receded hairline with a rather decent sized forelock, whilst now I have hair in previously bald areas but the tradeoff is that my forelock is weaker and smaller. 

Pretty much, when I compare my photos over these few months I feel more positive, but when I compare to other patients timeframes I feel more negative. I would say I am in the bottom 15-25% of growers but I am not saying that I would get a bottom 15-25% result, just that I am rather slow growing at this point.

My adjusted expectations are that I am going to take a while, maybe at the 9-10 months mark before I get anything substantial that looks like I'm not balding. Although I would be lying if I said I was expecting this from the beginning and I am not disappointed and concerned.

[HappyMan2021]

For 6 months in I would say growth looks mediocre at best. Hopefully you are a late grower. You still have a few months ahead of you before you can cast definitive judgement. 

That being said, based on your 6-month status report alone - my objective opinion is that you will need a 2nd pass to increase density, in order to be happy. 

While needing a 2nd pass is completely normal (and pretty much expected in the majority of cases), I am a bit surprised I guess as I thought H&W was known as being a 'high-density' clinic. 

[Melvin- Admin]

There’s certainly more time left, and I’m sure you’ll see much more growth, but I can understand your disappointment at this point in time. Have you been in communication with the clinic?

[mister_25]

1 hour ago, HappyMan2021 said:

For 6 months in I would say growth looks mediocre at best. Hopefully you are a late grower. You still have a few months ahead of you before you can cast definitive judgement. 

Yeah I am not giving a final judgement, the quote "its about the journey, not the destination" cannot be any more wrong when you apply it to hair transplants. I'll probably start to get really worried if it isn't any better by the 9 or 10 month mark.

1 hour ago, HappyMan2021 said:

That being said, based on your 6-month status report alone - my objective opinion is that you will need a 2nd pass to increase density, in order to be happy. 

While needing a 2nd pass is completely normal (and pretty much expected in the majority of cases), I am a bit surprised I guess as I thought H&W was known as being a 'high-density' clinic. 

I think for my case if my yield was as expected (and hopefully will be) then I wouldn't really need a 2nd pass for the hairline (maybe behind it). The post-op and the buzzed hair at the 2-3 week mark indicate decent-good density for a single pass if it had satisfactory yield. Here is a photo I took at Day 16 for clarity.

In my honest and yet probably controversial opinion, if you go to a reputable clinic and get poor yield on your first hair transplant with what people have said is good-excellent work, then I would just give up on hair transplants all together. I don't see a point spending tens of thousands of dollars on a impossible goal that you are desperate to reach, may as well admit defeat and shave.

1 hour ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

There’s certainly more time left, and I’m sure you’ll see much more growth, but I can understand your disappointment at this point in time. Have you been in communication with the clinic?

Yes. During the month 0-1 mark I was in frequent contact asking what I should do and how to treat my scalp which they responded at one point saying the scalp looks healthy, which I'm pretty sure implied that I was doing things right in the 0-1 mark and the photos showed for it. I followed all post op instructions and avoided touching my hair for the first 3-4 months.

Outside of Month 0-1, I send monthly photos asking if everything is standard and how everything is looking. I haven't gotten a response back yet for this month as I only sent it a hour ago but last month my reply was;

"Dr Hasson has looked over your 5 month post-op photos and said you are right where you should be. The frontal zone has started to regrow but the hair is still fine and immature. The crown is always the slowest area to come in and it is very common for no regrowth to start until around the 5 month point and it will be baby fine and patchy when it first comes in. It will take the full 12 months to see the final results in the crown."

I will include their response at the 6 month mark when I receive the email.

EDIT: Dr Hasson said that my growth at 6 months is good and that within 3-6 months I should have sufficient coverage.

Edited May 30, 2023 by mister_25

[Z--]

 

1 hour ago, HappyMan2021 said:

For 6 months in I would say growth looks mediocre at best. Hopefully you are a late grower. You still have a few months ahead of you before you can cast definitive judgement. 

That being said, based on your 6-month status report alone - my objective opinion is that you will need a 2nd pass to increase density, in order to be happy. 

While needing a 2nd pass is completely normal (and pretty much expected in the majority of cases), I am a bit surprised I guess as I thought H&W was known as being a 'high-density' clinic. 

Echoing this sentiment. I think crown not crowing in at this time is fine, but the front is indeed concerning. 

However, @mister_25 you’ve got the perfect attitude — I’d say if month 8 hits and it’s still lacking/see-through, a serious discussion around a touch-up (on H&W) or refund need to be had. It’s important to emphasize that any lack of growth isn’t due anything you’ve done; you’re on all the right medication, you’ve researched well and selected an elite clinic, and you’ve followed their instructions to a T. It’s good to hear the clinic is responding - and it may be helpful to get their perspective on the possible shock loss + gray hair (this is particularly strange). 

On the bright side, if your donors on the side are anything to go by, you probably have many hairs remaining for any future needs. Hope you keep updating - some people really do take longer to grow and hope that’s the case with your brother. 

[mister_25]

34 minutes ago, Z-- said:

It’s important to emphasize that any lack of growth isn’t due anything you’ve done; you’re on all the right medication, you’ve researched well and selected an elite clinic, and you’ve followed their instructions to a T.

I do believe that If I could go back in time with the same knowledge that I had now, I probably still would select H&W. 

To me the idea of doing everything right and just being the type of patient that won't have good yield is the worst outcome. I am a big believer of enough hard work, discipline and diligence you can meet your goals but I guess you can't really say that applies to HTs 100% of the time.

As for Donor. I don't know, its a conversation to have with the doctor when I'm at 10-12 months.

I should include these now because they add more context to my situation, I've included some additional photos taken 10 minutes after a shower and towel dry with varying conditions. This should help prospective patients understand how much lighting/angles play in your favor.

I've included these three shots indicating how much lighting has a play on HTs, If I could describe the lighting in these photos. I am in a different bathroom and somewhat under the lights directly. But the lighbulb itself is dimmer. Otherwise rather moderate lighting

Left:

Right:

Here are the zoomed in photos.

Left:

Right:

Edited May 30, 2023 by mister_25

[Kent]

I wasn’t overly impressed with my HT until the 9th month. It’ll appear thicker as it lengthens. Some of your multi hairs will sprout a little later too. I don’t  think 6 months is enough time to reach a conclusion.

I can emphasize with you my friend. 

[bigmistake]

Dr Wong does FUE ? I thought he only did FUT and Hasson did FUE.

[HappyMan2021]

21 hours ago, mister_25 said:

In my honest and yet probably controversial opinion, if you go to a reputable clinic and get poor yield on your first hair transplant with what people have said is good-excellent work, then I would just give up on hair transplants all together. I don't see a point spending tens of thousands of dollars on a impossible goal that you are desperate to reach, may as well admit defeat and shave.

so if you are following your own advice, you are saying you will quit this journey if this hair transplant is unsatisfactory?

one of the unfortunate thing about hair transplants is you really do have to 'see it through' to the end. Unless someone is super ignorant and naive on what is vs what isn't a good hair transplant, people won't be happy with a work-in-progress result. 

Also in my opinion it is incorrect to assume than going to an elite clinic will yield a 'one-and-done' result. All doctors are humbled by nature, science, and the body's physiology. No matter a doctor's skill, talent, and experience, nature/science can unfortunately limit how much can be done in one go, even by the world's best doctors. 

Also whatever you do please don't put elite doctors on a pedestal. Some people say the only difference between an "elite" doctor and a "normal/random" doctor is charisma and political savviness 🤣.

Edited May 31, 2023 by HappyMan2021

[mister_25]

43 minutes ago, HappyMan2021 said:

so if you are following your own advice, you are saying you will quit this journey if this hair transplant is unsatisfactory?

one of the unfortunate thing about hair transplants is you really do have to 'see it through' to the end. Unless someone is super ignorant and naive on what is vs what isn't a good hair transplant, people won't be happy with a work-in-progress result. 

Also in my opinion it is incorrect to assume than going to an elite clinic will yield a 'one-and-done' result. All doctors are humbled by nature, science, and the body's physiology. No matter a doctor's skill, talent, and experience, nature/science can unfortunately limit how much can be done in one go, even by the world's best doctors. 

Also whatever you do please don't put elite doctors on a pedestal. Some people say the only difference between an "elite" doctor and a "normal/random" doctor is charisma and political savviness 🤣.

It depends on how unsatisfactory the results are, in my opinion 60% yield while many will deem a failure and it really is, it still lays the groundwork for future surgeries and is definitely salvageable depending on donor reserves (which I probably have, albeit will dip into reserves for future loss), but if your growth is like 50% or below its playing with fire. And the more FUE grafts the more it takes away from maintaining a aesthetic shaved head. 
 

Definitely agree on the one and done point. I will most likely have my second op next year and I’ve already had talks with the clinic. I’ll have to wait and see how it pans out by 9 months or so. If the yield is poor from invisible factors such as patient physiology then ill probably have to give up.

As for placing doctors on pedestals, I try not to do that.

Edited May 31, 2023 by mister_25

[Dillpickle123]

I’m in the same boat rn although I still feel stubble in my hairline I’m a month ahead nov 2022 poking through and hair looks satisfactory with fibers on it there’s still a lot of time left about 5-6 months of growth still possible 

[Balding Bad]

You and I are essentially an identical situation. I'm about 6 months out and my current results are mirroring yours. Hopefully we'll turn that corner soon!

[jnyc97]

Any updates? 

[mister_25]

3 hours ago, jnyc97 said:

Any updates? 

I’ll provide pictures another time, it helps to try and take my mind off it as it’s been a source of stress for me. I do have photos including the 6 month crown photo that I missed which I will include with the 7 month photos when I feel up for it. But I’ll give a general update.

the front is still rather disappointing and weak, but it’s still improving. I would say that if my 6 month photos were 20% growth/coverage, then my 7 months were 40% growth/coverage. The left side is lacking and much more see through compared to the right. The right side in particular now contributes aesthetically and looks somewhat decent especially in moderate to dimmer lighting.

before I said that the “skeleton” of the hairline has come in, now I would say it’s starting to have more to it and it is filling in. The area behind the hairline has some patchiness but still a overall improvement. When it comes to naturalness it is rather low density at the moment but natural on the right, the left side does look a bit artificial due to a moderately sized weak point that exposes the fact that it’s a artificially made hairline. The forelock itself has shown no improvement or invisible improvement. It is also worth mentioning that the front has matured and is starting to behave like my native hair now, it’s easier to comb into different directions and blend in. But there is still a lot of hairs that need to thicken.

the crown has started to rapidly grow in, it looks like there is a lot of thin hair in the crown now. Comparing photos from my 5 month to 7 month shows a massive difference for the crown. I also still feel a decent amount of stubble in the crown. If I had to estimate. 5 months was 0-3% crown coverage, 6 months was like 15% and 7 months is about 35-45% coverage.

another development is that a week ago I noticed a tiny slick bald patch that had developed on the right side of my donor. It has gotten the tiniest bit worse as there were 5-6 remaining hairs on it when I first noticed that have shredded of by today. It has not gotten any bigger since I’ve seen it.
 

It could be alopecia areata or the very possible chance that I scratched it out as I’ve had some large pimples there that never developed heads so I never popped them, and these pimples caused itchiness which was hard to control. I vaguely remember seeing blood on my fingers one time after intense itching about two-three weeks ago so it does line up.

I will be seeing a dermatologist to assess it, dr Hasson believes that if it is AA that a injection will most likely grow it back. I am hoping it is temporary but in reality it’s really tiny and something that I could live with as long as it does not get worse. It’s more the principle of having AA that worries me. It can be easily passed off as a scar as it’s a bit too perfect of a circle.

overall, I am quite unhappy at the moment but noticeable improvements can be seen in increments of 2 weeks. It’s definitely picked up in growth rather than slowed down.

In general, I can say that I am above baseline now in all areas except for the mid scalp which has grown in enough to be able to slick back like I was doing before surgery.

I should also mention that in a email they said that in the event that my growth is subpar or not meeting the standards, that they would offer a refund or provide a free touch up. I asked them on the free touch up and what they would do differently from the first procedure to ensure growth is much better next time and they replied that they would not do anything differently.