Dr. Kongkiat Laorwong - 1,837 grafts - FUE and BHT repair surgery

[AlexMeister21]

I am 4 weeks post-op of my surgery with Dr. Laorwong at Absolute Hair Clinic in Bangkok, Thailand, which I had on January 31. The procedure was done to add density to previous surgeries in my frontal third, implant beard hair into a FUT scar, and to extract some misangled grafts. I previously had two FUT surgeries with Dr. Diep with unsatisfactory results. Here’s my thread regarding my surgeries with Diep.

The main reason why I chose Laorwong is because he is involved in all aspects of surgery and I liked what I saw of his work. I consulted with other surgeons, but I felt Laorwong was more trustworthy as he is the one responding to your texts and emails. He also didn’t try to sell me on booking him as a surgeon and gave me pretty straightforward answers, like telling me he could do nape hairs but cautioned that these hairs weren’t DHT-resistant and scarring could be more visible in that area. I was originally planning on going with another doc and using entirely nape hairs, but I was not informed by them about any precautions using hairs from the nape. No other surgeon recommended any grafts to be extracted, and so I didn’t feel like my repair case would be too complex. In my opinion, the main issue is my depleted donor area and having to manage lifetime grafts.

 

Graft information:

• Grafts implanted into frontal third – 1,237 grafts
• Grafts for FUT scar – approximately 600 (524 grafts from beard, ~76 from scalp)
• 1s – 803 (524 beard hairs and 279 scalp hairs)
• 2s – 715
• 3s - 319

 

Pre-op Photos:

 

Surgery:

The day before surgery, I met with Dr. Laorwong and he spent about 30-40 minutes looking over my scalp, donor area, and answering any questions I had. We initially planned on using 800-900 beard grafts for my FUT scar, but I believe Dr. Laorwong felt my beard density wasn’t that good once he saw it in person, so we only did about 600 grafts for the scar. I’m fine with the lower amount as I’d rather see how survivability of grafts would be in my scar area before expending too many grafts on it.

On the day of surgery, I went in to the clinic around 1:00 pm and had a HIV test. Afterwards, they shaved my head, gave me some pills, and took photos. Dr. Laorwong initially wanted to only shave my donor up to my scar so I could continue hiding it, but I requested to have my head shaved completely to lessen the chance of any potential complications.

Then, I was led into the surgery room and was told to lay face down to begin the anesthesia injections. I did feel pain during the injections, but it wasn’t anything unbearable or lingering. There is someone massaging your leg during the injections and also someone else using a massaging tool at the site of injection. At worst, the pain was probably a 5 out of 10, but it was mostly around 2-4 for me. After the injections, they began extracting hairs from my scalp, which I didn’t feel pain during this process. I don’t know what tool they used, but it felt like a little vacuum that just sucked up each individual graft. I also began drifting in and out of sleep, so my memory is pretty hazy after this.

Next thing I remember, I was told to lie down on my back, facing up. They put a towel over my eyes to protect from bright lights that were shining over my head. Then, they started to administer anesthesia in my beard area, which was probably like a 1-2 in terms of pain. I was expecting this to hurt more, but the pain pills had already taken effect and I was also half asleep. I believe they also administered PRP during this time. I couldn’t see anything, but I believe Dr. Laorwong was extracting the beard grafts while I felt someone else implanting hairs on the right side of my head.

The next thing I remember, they told me to lie face down again, and this is when they started implanting grafts into my FUT scar. I was asleep for the majority of this part, but awake for about the last 30 minutes of the implantation. At the end, they told me I could sit up. I asked if it was time to implant the grafts into the rest of my head, but they told me that they had already finished everything. I was really surprised because I expected that I had probably another 2-3 hours of surgery to go through. I also did not even notice when they extracted the misangled grafts at my left temple peak.

For 7-8 hours, it honestly only felt like 3 hours to me since I was sleeping most of the time. Even though I couldn’t see, I knew Dr. Laorwong was there for the majority of the procedure because I could hear him speaking with staff while working. The only times I noticed he wasn’t in the room were the last 10-20 minutes of the procedure and maybe briefly during the middle of the surgery.

 

After surgery:

The surgery itself felt very coordinated and was a night-and-day difference compared to previous surgeries. With Dr. Laorwong, I was in the chair around 1:30 pm and out by about 8:30 pm, so about 7 hours of surgery compared to 14 hours with Diep using a similar amount of grafts. I also mentioned to Dr. Laorwong how long my surgeries with Diep were and he was surprised. I asked him if the time that my grafts were out of body may have affected survival in my previous surgeries and he said it was a possibility.

After the surgery, I was given antibiotics and pills for pain, sleeping, and swelling. I didn’t even have to take the pain or sleeping pills as I felt no pain after surgery. I also had no swelling and not much redness in my recipient area. My beard donor area was pretty much back to normal by day 3. The whole experience felt more like a spa treatment than having a surgery. Everything looked so clean post-op that I probably would have walked outside without wearing any headgear if it weren’t for my nasty Diep scar.

The after-care provided was also amazing. They wash your hair and provide low-level laser therapy treatment for five days. Due to the after-care, I didn’t have much scabbing or crusts at all and the recipient looked very clean. They also sell 5mg oral minoxidil, 30 tablets for 300 baht (approximately $8.70), and I bought a 9-month supply from them for $78.

Dr. Laorwong estimates that I may have about 3,000 scalp grafts remaining in my donor. Not sure if this would be enough to cover the rest of my head in the worst case scenario that I continue losing ground and become a NW6-7. With my head shaved, I can clearly see that hairs in my crown and midscalp haven’t died off completely and are just minaturized. I’m currently taking Finasteride every day and alternating with Dutasteride every 3 days, oral minox, vitamins B and D, and using Nizoral 2-3 times a week in hopes that my thin areas will grow back stronger.

[AlexMeister21]

5 Days Post-Op:

 

 

2 Weeks:

 

 

4 Weeks:

Edited March 2, 2023 by AlexMeister21

[AlexMeister21]

Final thoughts:

Overall, I had a fantastic experience with Dr. Laorwong. I really wish I could have just had a one-and-done procedure with him, or at least save 2,000-3,500 grafts instead of having those go to waste from my first two surgeries.

At four weeks post-op, I think I’m just starting to shed in the frontal region, though it still looks pretty strong. I believe all of the beard hair grafts implanted in my scar shed around week two. I don’t know if I’m due for a bigger shed in my frontal region soon or not. My first two transplants, I started shedding around day 5 or 6 and everything was gone by the second week.

Right now, I do have a few concerns that would have to be assessed with time. There is a thin patch that developed on my hairline around the 9^th day. It’s kind of in the shape of a checkmark and I think this may have been caused by me wearing a bucket hat from day 6 to day 9. This has me a bit worried because these grafts shed in a unique pattern quite early while there was not much shedding anywhere else. I can see the incisions in this area, but haven’t seen grafts sprout yet, so I’ll have to wait and see if this area fills in properly.

I’m also not expecting the FUT scar revision to be that effective, which is understandable given the size of it and the amount of grafts allocated. On my last hair wash day, Dr. Laorwong looked over my scar and then mentioned that I could consider SMP. I think I’d probably need about another 500-800 grafts to really minimize the scar, but I would have to see if I even have that amount of grafts to expend as I would prioritize saving grafts for my crown and midscalp.

Last concern I have is there are some thin patches near my FUT scar, especially on the left side. I expect this to fill in as my donor heals, but just something I am taking note of.

I’m happy with the procedure overall and am expecting a good result. Dr. Laorwong’s a great doctor and you get the impression that he’s there to solve a problem for you and cares for your final result.

 

Miscellaneous:

If you are planning on staying all 5 days for the after-care, I would recommend staying within walking Traffic in Bangkok can get pretty bad in the afternoon/evening and the city isn’t too well-connected by subway. I stayed in a comfortable $30/night AirBnb with a kitchen, washing machine, etc. and it was a five-minute walk to the clinic. The clinic is right by Krung Thon Buri BTS station, which has several 7-Elevens nearby, a MaxValu supermarket, street food vendors, etc. Here are some photos where you can find AirBnbs near the clinic using the map. The red X is where Dr. Laorwong’s clinic is located.

There’s also a big mall called IconSiam that is close to this area. It’s about a 10-15 minute walk from Krung Thon Buri station or you could just ride the subway one stop to get there. It has a nice food market on the bottom floor where you can stock up on post-op food, if you wish. Prices are a bit more inflated here compared to what you can get at more local vendors. For example, Pad Thai was like 100-200 baht (about $3 - $6) here, but you can find it for 40-60 baht (about $1 - $2.50) elsewhere.

If you want to go to a more local food market that’s in the area, Open Market – That Phra branch is about two subway stops away (Talat Phlu station) from Krung Thon Buri and has a variety of food options sold at local prices. You have to be careful not to bang your head on the food stalls if you go here though as they can be quite low.

If you want to get buttoned shirts to wear after surgery, Pratunam Market and Sampheng Market sell them for pretty cheap. At Pratunam, you can get pretty good quality shirts for 100 baht (about $3). The problem is is that most vendors don’t let you try on the shirts to see if they fit. Otherwise, if you buy shirts at the mall (which I unfortunately did), they sell for like 500 – 2000 baht ($15 - $60). Also, I could not find a plain, all-black bandana anywhere in Bangkok. If you want a particular style of bandana, I would recommend buying it before traveling.

Edited March 2, 2023 by AlexMeister21

[Mahesh42]

Good detailed write up👌 , Nice work by Dr. Laorwong..Happy growing 👍

 

[Spring15]

Dr Laorwong was my second choice surgeon, he's exceptional. Let's see if I made the right choice discarding him lol

[chuck]

Hi man,

I saw your other post. i was wondering if you could share your reasons why you choose Dr. Pekiner over Dr Laorwong. I am currently also facing the choice between the two! thanks in advance

[chuck]

24 minutes ago, Spring15 said:

Dr Laorwong was my second choice surgeon, he's exceptional. Let's see if I made the right choice discarding him lol

Hi man,

I saw your other post. i was wondering if you could share your reasons why you choose Dr. Pekiner over Dr Laorwong. I am currently also facing the choice between the two! thanks in advance

[Spring15]

52 minutes ago, chuck said:

 

Hi man,

I saw your other post. i was wondering if you could share your reasons why you choose Dr. Pekiner over Dr Laorwong. I am currently also facing the choice between the two! thanks in advance

I'll PM you, so to not de-rail the OP's thread

[dionysos]

Hi Alex,

Very interesting thread, I looking forward to see you making progress!

As I am thinking about a third surgery (mainly I need more densitiy in the crown) with the use of beard grafts, I also consider Dr. Laorwong - his clinic seems to be a good choice for repair cases.

Can you give further informations about the costs as they aren't  mentioned on the homepage?

 

[A_4_Archan]

Nice detailed review .....evn m booked with him...would be intresting to see how those beard grafts grow..i didn't know tht he is using beard grafts also...actually i even need beard grafts as i need around 5k grafts for full coverage ...so at least 1200-1500 can be taken from beard ..bt i thought dr laorwong is nt experienced in beard extraction so i was hesitant to go with him for beard grafts...will follow your journey closely ..best of luck and wish u all the growth

[AlexMeister21]

5 hours ago, dionysos said:

Hi Alex,

Very interesting thread, I looking forward to see you making progress!

As I am thinking about a third surgery (mainly I need more densitiy in the crown) with the use of beard grafts, I also consider Dr. Laorwong - his clinic seems to be a good choice for repair cases.

Can you give further informations about the costs as they aren't  mentioned on the homepage?

 

For me, it was 80 baht (about $2.30) per graft. I believe the pricing changes depending on how many grafts will be needed as I've seen other patients who needed a higher amount of grafts get charged a lower amount like 65 baht per graft.

 

3 hours ago, Archan said:

Nice detailed review .....evn m booked with him...would be intresting to see how those beard grafts grow..i didn't know tht he is using beard grafts also...actually i even need beard grafts as i need around 5k grafts for full coverage ...so at least 1200-1500 can be taken from beard ..bt i thought dr laorwong is nt experienced in beard extraction so i was hesitant to go with him for beard grafts...will follow your journey closely ..best of luck and wish u all the growth

I believe I've seen another patient state that Laorwong doesn't like using beard grafts, but you can ask him about it. I'm going to have to give it a full 12 months to see how the beard grafts grow in my scar, but the extractions were done very nicely. My beard donor area still looks the same as it did before surgery.

[A_4_Archan]

40 minutes ago, AlexMeister21 said:

For me, it was 80 baht (about $2.30) per graft. I believe the pricing changes depending on how many grafts will be needed as I've seen other patients who needed a higher amount of grafts get charged a lower amount like 65 baht per graft.

 

I believe I've seen another patient state that Laorwong doesn't like using beard grafts, but you can ask him about it. I'm going to have to give it a full 12 months to see how the beard grafts grow in my scar, but the extractions were done very nicely. My beard donor area still looks the same as it did before surgery.

Oh thts good tht your beard area recovered tht soon....yeh actually i have seen many results and reviews of him bt you are the first one with beard extraction ...if you knw any other patient thn plz do let me knw...actually am impressed abt hw clean his work is...immediate post op pics of his patients are extremely clean..i have rarely seen such clean work..and most of his patients i talked with told me that their donor area recovered pretty quickly ...bdw how was stay and how was the hotel experience ?

[AlexMeister21]

1 hour ago, Archan said:

Oh thts good tht your beard area recovered tht soon....yeh actually i have seen many results and reviews of him bt you are the first one with beard extraction ...if you knw any other patient thn plz do let me knw...actually am impressed abt hw clean his work is...immediate post op pics of his patients are extremely clean..i have rarely seen such clean work..and most of his patients i talked with told me that their donor area recovered pretty quickly ...bdw how was stay and how was the hotel experience ?

I stayed for about 9 additional days after surgery and it was really nice. I stayed at an AirBnb that was across the street from the clinic. Every day I'd walk over for the hair wash, then maybe pick up some street food on the way back or order Grab and just chill out so it was real relaxing. Since I didn't have complications after surgery, it felt more like a vacation.

[A_4_Archan]

1 hour ago, AlexMeister21 said:

I stayed for about 9 additional days after surgery and it was really nice. I stayed at an AirBnb that was across the street from the clinic. Every day I'd walk over for the hair wash, then maybe pick up some street food on the way back or order Grab and just chill out so it was real relaxing. Since I didn't have complications after surgery, it felt more like a vacation.

Oh thts nice....evn am planning to stay thr atleast 4 days post op

[Z--]

Congrats bro! It’s great that you had a positive experience this time around; it seems like Dr. L is ethical and cares about his patients. Post op looks really clean too. 

With the hairs in your scar, I don’t think it’ll be as noticeable any more. You deserve the best for keeping other patients informed and not silencing yourself after your prior experienced. Will follow this thread. 

[AlexMeister21]

7 hours ago, Z-- said:

Congrats bro! It’s great that you had a positive experience this time around; it seems like Dr. L is ethical and cares about his patients. Post op looks really clean too. 

With the hairs in your scar, I don’t think it’ll be as noticeable any more. You deserve the best for keeping other patients informed and not silencing yourself after your prior experienced. Will follow this thread. 

Thank you. Really hoping the day comes when I can leave the hat at home.

[stephcurry30]

I'm sure this will be a hgome run result! I remember reading your previous threads and hoping for the GOAT result here!

[AlexMeister21]

9 hours ago, stephcurry30 said:

I'm sure this will be a hgome run result! I remember reading your previous threads and hoping for the GOAT result here!

Thanks, hoping for a good result too. Close to 5 weeks now, and I think I've had some more shedding. Also seeing some grafts sprouting.

[Gatsby]

@AlexMeister21 you have good, thick hair my man. This is going to look awesome! All the best! 👌

[AlexMeister21]

29 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

@AlexMeister21 you have good, thick hair my man. This is going to look awesome! All the best! 👌

Thanks Gatsby. Hoping my crown hairs can become thick again as well.

[ichigo]

Thanks for your report! I'm possibly looking at getting surgery in Thailand one of these days. I thought that Dr Laorwong was based in Phuket now? Or maybe I am getting mixed up with someone else..

[A_4_Archan]

1 hour ago, ichigo said:

Thanks for your report! I'm possibly looking at getting surgery in Thailand one of these days. I thought that Dr Laorwong was based in Phuket now? Or maybe I am getting mixed up with someone else..

Yeh he was based in phuket long time back..bt nw he has his clinic in Bangkok 

[ichigo]

11 minutes ago, Archan said:

Yeh he was based in phuket long time back..bt nw he has his clinic in Bangkok 

Ah got it! Cheers!

[AlexMeister21]

7 hours ago, ichigo said:

Ah got it! Cheers!

I guess he said Phuket and went to Bangkok.

[AlexMeister21]

Here is my two month update. I don't even look like I had a hair transplant two months ago. It does look like I had a hair transplant or like I have diffuse thinning because of the thin spots left from my procedures with Diep, but I'm pretty happy with how things are looking. I would say the worst my hair looked was probably around 5.5 weeks post-op, when most of the grafts had shed. I noticed some new grafts have already popped out, but feel like it would be until month 3 or 4 until there's significant growth of new grafts. I still have some patchiness near my scar area, but that's filling in. I also feel like my crown has filled in a bit, but I'm not too certain. I've only been on oral minoxidil and Dutasteride for about 2-3 months. I'm also liking how my left temple peak is looking. Laorwong removed the misangled grafts from here, and it looks pretty natural to me. My right temple peak looks unnatural with short hair because the grafts that were used by Diep are too coarse. I didn't notice this when my hair was longer, but with shorter hair, it's pretty noticeable. Maybe if I go for a fourth hair transplant, I will have those grafts removed. 

 

 

Edited April 2, 2023 by AlexMeister21