FUE DHT 3600 grafts from Aus to Delhi with Dr Arika Bansal Eugenix (first HT)

[fualopecia]

Before starting this write up of my hair transplant, I just wanted to thank and acknowledge all the contributing members on this forum. The advice, information, shared experiences and feeling of not going through this alone has been instrumental. My previous discussion on choice and hair loss status are in a separate older thread. 

 

Pre op

 

Planning 

After reaching out to Eugenix via Whatsapp last year, a member of the team replied asking for some basic health and hair loss questions as well as some photos. This information was reviewed by their doctors and was relayed back to me. They annotated some of my photos and included how many grafts they thought would be needed (see earlier post). 

Consultation

I requested a consultation with Dr Bansal who I had done the most research on and was able to have a quick consultation with her whilst she was between procedures. She seemed caring, knowledgable and safe. Of course nothing was guaranteed from the online assessment and I was aware that she would have to examine my hair in person before having a better idea of graft targets. She estimated 2700 grafts to my frontal area and temple points and suggested a second procedure for my crown down the track; all dependent on my donor density and what my hair/skin was like during the procedure. 

Cost

Eugenix have a number of packages which determines the cost per graft. I chose a super premium package with Dr Arika Bansal. This involved her planning the procedure, designing hairline and performing the slits but no extracting or implanting. It also included accommodation for four nights and airport transfers. I had an early bird discount of 315INR per graft (not inclusive of an 18% tax). If I had my time again, I’m not sure it’s worth paying this much just for her just to design/plan and perform the slits as you get senior technicians doing all the implantation and extractions. If you can afford it and don’t have time to do much research on hairline design etc, then it can be a useful package as Dr Bansal is a gun- and you can sit back and be less involved. I would have liked a package where she did the crucial extractions and implanations too. I believe Dr Das who is also getting some amazing results was about 30% cheaper. 

Pre op bloods/instructions

Eugenix requested some basic blood tests which were easy to organise through my GP. I was required to pay a non-refundable deposit of 20,000 INR which I did through a credit card using a secure link they sent me when I was ready to lock in a date. I used the latitude 28 degrees credit card which doesn’t have any annual or international transaction fees. They also advised me that I would need to stop minoxidil before the procedure but could continue finasteride. They also request stopping alcohol and smoking for a week before and after the procedure.

 

Flights

I chose to travel business class with Air India. Qantas in Australia has had a bad wrap for losing people’s luggage and canceling flights post covid so decided to try Air India. Business was really nice. I think economy would be difficult due to some of the cultural differences between western and Indian culture around personal space; particularly when trying to protect your recipient areas on the way home. I also liked that they had a direct flight from Melbourne to Delhi. Some of the other advantages of business was that there is more privacy so you can spray you head with saline every couple hours, have space to get comfortable in a sleeping position that protects your head and having access to quicker check in and boarding so you don’t stick out as much on the way home with your surgical cap or fresh scars. 

 

Hotel

The concierge team organise hotels and transport between the clinic, airport and hotel. I was given the option of the Hilton or the Courtyard (Marriot). The Courtyard seemed to be more modern and had better Google reviews. Both hotels are less than 15mins drive to the clinic (HIlton is closer). I chose to stay an extra day (five nights in total) as I wasnted to reduce the risk to my immediate post op care by having to travel. The Indian food at the Courtyard was amazing and the staff were attentive.. They were also accommodating of my needs around the procedure and brought my included breakfast to my room each morning. Their rooms have a sun/lounge chair that I found really useful for sleeping on day 0 and day 1 to protect my implanted crown/hairline and temples. I didn’t want to take any risks knowing how much I move in my sleep. Without an Indian number I was unable to create an account for Zomato (their Uber Eats) as it would have been convenient to order food to the hotel for a change. 

 

Airport

I had read about a lot of scams that run from the airport; particularly around money transfer and taxi’s. I was assured by the Eugenix concierge team that there was free wifi at the airport and my driver would contact me 1 hour prior to landing but also be waiting with a sign with the hotel name as you exit the main airport post baggage claim. Unfortunately the wifi in the airport required an Indian phone number to receive the one time code. I’ve subsequently read that you can ask a staff member at the airport to assist by giving you a code/token to access wifi but I’ve told Eugenix to look into it and provide future international travelers with the details. I also avoided getting any money out as everything I needed to pay for I could use my travel credit card. 

 

Day of Procedure

 

Arrival

The concierge team told me that a driver would pick me up at 8am on Saturday morning and told me to have a decent breakfast as well as not to wear any hair fibres in my hair and a button/zip up shirt that doesn’t need to go on over your head. On arrival you take of your shoes and wear a pair of their crocs around the clinic. I started with the nurse who did a blood pressure, oxygen sats and pulse rate check. She also did tiny test injections of two local anaesthetics on my arm to make sure I wasn’t allergic to them. Nb my date was changed by a day due to a flight cancelation for the surgeon but they went above and beyond to make sure everything was smooth and my schedule wasn’t hindered. 

 

Meds

They encouraged me to take an anti-inflammartory (two different types on to help with pain and one to help with tissue repair and reduce scaring), a probiotic, an antibiotic, an antacid and a one off small dose of an anit anxiety medication called alprazolam (like a shorter acting valium). If you have any hesitations, I’d recommend speaking to one of the senior doctors as they can explain their rationale and help reassure you. 

 

Payment

I opted to bank transfer as this was the cheapest method. They charge a minimum of a 1.5% surcharge on visa and mastercard. The emails mentioned that if you were going to bank transfer, that you should do it days before hand to it clears in their account. I negotiated to use Wise (a money transfer service) as they can process the transfers within a few hours and I wanted to see Eugenix in person before sending them such a large chuck of money. I hadn’t used Wise before but it worked really well and their fees were cheaper than the banks. I’d suggest setting up the app/account before travelling and loading it up with money. It’s good to have extra in case they can take more grafts than expected and any surplus can be transferred back to your normal bank account free of charge. Because my procedure was changed to the weekend, my payment was made on a Saturday and didn’t clear until Monday but the team were understanding. 

 

Design
Firstly ‘professional’ photos were taken in a little alcove with the Eugenix backdrop.

Dr Bansal- alongside a posse of nurses/techs and other doctors (as well as someone recording the session for “internal use only”) - then asked me about my expectations and desires. I told her that I wanted to focus on my frontal hairline and temple points to frame my face and not sink too many grafts into my crown but if everything went well a few grafts to the crown for my hair fibres to stick onto would be ideal. I’d watched all the videos they had on hair transplant expectations and hairline design so felt pretty informed already. She thought my donor area was very promising in terms of density and the hair not being too thin or too thick. This was pretty important given I don’t have a dense beard or body hair. She used an eye liner pencil to draw her proposed hairline and areas of implantation. Photos were then repeated and displayed on a screen. She told me the hairline could come down .5cm and we settled on a design we were both happy with. She said we would need between 3200 to 3500 grafts but I was happy with whatever she could safely take. After that I changed into Eugenix scrubs and then they shaved the donor and recipient areas (followed by more photos of course!). 

 

OT

By the time I got in to start the procedure it was about 0945hrs. The room was well air conditioned, there was a whiteboard with my name and vitals and a TV that they stream music from YouTube. You could definitely bring your own speaker and playlist if you wanted. 

The local anaesthetic administration was fine. It’s not comfortable but they go to a lot of effort to help reduce the pain by using a little vibrating device, very small insulin needles and even a squeeze ball or massage if it helps you. I just focused on deep breathing/mindfulness. It’s only uncomfortable for a couple minutes. They didn’t do the whole scalp at once and just did an area at a time; splitting it up during the procedure. They also took some blood for PRP at this stage too. Dr Bansal came in and did the slits from the frontal area and then it was just getting to work extracting and implanting. 

It was a long day (0945 to 2230) of lying in various positions (back, front, side, sitting) while they did their thing. Your eyes are generally covered to protect them from the bright lights but there are constantly people asking you how you are and if you need a bathroom break. They changed teams of nurses and technicians during the day which I was happy about to avoid fatigue. Occasionally in a couple of spots I could feel a sharp scratch, but when I let them know they just topped up the local anaesthetic in that area and it was fine. Lunch was also delicious - I had the vegetarian thali. Highly recommended but very filling so don’t feel pressured to finish it all - especially if you have to then go and lie on your stomach! They really work like a well oiled machine during the procedure. Lots of people come in and out during the day - many didn’t introduce themselves - especially some of the technicians and doctors. I could only tell them apart by the colour of their scrubs. Techs in maroon. Doctors blue. Some of the post care team were in green.

I was a little concerned by the amount of supervision by Dr Bansal as I had done the research and put my faith in her. I had no idea who was doing the extractions and implants. I ended up just putting my faith in them because of their great reviews. Dr Sethi created a good youtube video outlining regardless of what package you use or who does your procedure, the standards are all really high. Dr Bansal also checked a couple more times after expressing my concerns. 

There was only one other small procedure in the theatre next to me but for most of the day it was just me. 

My final graft total was 3622. 2616 into the frontal hairline, 1005 into the crown, 126 into right temple and 190 into left temple.  

After it was all done, I got a little massage, more photos, offers of food and very clear instructions on post op care before being dropped back off at the hotel just after midnight. (I was pretty happy it was so late so I could just sneak up to my room without being seen by people in the lobby). They sent me back with a Eugenix ‘goodie’ bag containing a Yogi book, medications, gauze, betadine, saline/spray bottlle, sterile surgical caps and presciptions/written instructions/medical certificates and medication instructions. I also bought a month supply of their hair multivitamin which was around 1000 INR. 

 

Post op 

After an average night sleep I woke up and set my phone timer to go off every hour to remind me to spray saline onto my recipient areas. There was ooze on the neck pillow which I was told to expect. I got an automated Whatsapp text/email reinforcing care instructions and some instructional you tube videos. 

I've never taken so many tablets in my life! In addition to my finasteride/dutasteride mix I’m taking over 10 other tablets a day for the first 7 days. Because I had my temple points done, I was also told to avoid wearing a hat for 7 days and if I went outside/to the airport, that I would need to wear a sterile surgical hat. Very sexy. 

I returned to the clinic on day 1 for the donor site wash and then again on day 2 as Dr Bansal wanted to review me. She was happy and suggested that I increase my dutasteride to 3 times a week given the increase growth I’d had preop and the breakthrough loss I was getting with finasteride. 

As a bonus all of the liquids they gave me (betadine, ointments, small saline spray bottle) were all less than 100mls so I could take them onto the plane with me. 

 

I can’t believe its finally happened

 

[fualopecia]

Day 6 Update, looking forward to stopping all the regular meds and spraying. 

Sleeping hasn't been ideal but no biggy.

Board graft count included too.

[A_4_Archan]

Nice detailed write up...Evrythn is looking good at this stage ..the implantation looks clean and dense ...Happy Growing and keep updating ...

[Rawkerboi]

A great write up, wish you best.

Are you still in India or back to Aus?

[Gatsby]

Hey @fualopecia. Another Aussie here and the work looks good. You chosen one of the best. Glad you didn’t fall for surgery here. I look forward to following your results. Thanks for sharing! 

[Adam561]

wow. Amazing job and fantastic write-up. wish you a great outcome, take care and enjoy this journey. 

[fualopecia]

16 hours ago, Archan said:

Nice detailed write up...Evrythn is looking good at this stage ..the implantation looks clean and dense ...Happy Growing and keep updating ...

Thanks Archan - will do.

12 hours ago, Rawkerboi said:

A great write up, wish you best.

Are you still in India or back to Aus?

Thanks mate. I got back to Australia on Day 4 post op. Happy to be home but I miss the room service.

 

12 hours ago, Gatsby said:

Hey @fualopecia. Another Aussie here and the work looks good. You chosen one of the best. Glad you didn’t fall for surgery here. I look forward to following your results. Thanks for sharing! 

Thanks Gatsby. I've actually followed your journey and posts really closely for years. You're a huge part of the reason I decided to look outside Australia and pick Eugenix. Thanks so much for sharing all your experiences.

 

11 hours ago, Adam561 said:

wow. Amazing job and fantastic write-up. wish you a great outcome, take care and enjoy this journey. 

Thanks Adam. Looking forward to the growing phase and am buying some beanies for the ugly duckling phase!

[fualopecia]

Day 11 update 

On day 7 I followed the Eugenix first hair was instructions which included gauze onto your hair. Dove intense repair shampoo above that. Wait around 20 mins and then then wipe off with lots of water spray in between.

 

I think it was too early and a lot of the scabs didn't want to come off. I noticed a graft attached to a scab and decided to abandon.

What I found most helpful was standing in the shower with hot water and steam. Skipping the gauze and letting the shampoo sit in the hair for 20-30 mins (not good for water restrictions!). And then massaging the scab areas lightly with my fingertips (the way Melvin demonstrates in his video). Most Scabs came out on day 9 and 10 this way without any force and I didn't lose any other grafts.

 

So far I'm happy with the frontal hair line. I know the midscalp density and crown isn't super high but hopefully in 10 months time and with the use of hair fibres it will be good.

 

In terms of meds I'm now on dutasteride .5mg three times a week. Finasteride 1.25mg the other four days. And I've started the multivitamin mix I purchase from Eugenix clinic. 

Was told not to start topical minoxidil, ketoconazole shampoo etc until day 30. 

 

Apologies for the amateur photos and the one upside down one.  

Hairline 

Donor

[fualopecia]

Week 5 update

Currently taking dutasteride (m/w/f)/finasteride(t/t/s/s) and the eugenix recommended multivitamins. 

 

There's been hair loss and I'm hoping it's normal shock loss. Would be keen to hear what others think.

 

Have noticed a dry itchy scalp and keen to restart my ketoconzaole shampoo. Am currently using the dove gentle shampoo every second day.

 

Not sure if i should start on oral minoxidil or buy a laser too. Open to suggestions. 

 

Thanks in advance for any guidance. 

[readyforresults]

Looking good man! I’m no expert but it all looks exactly like where it should be at 5 weeks (from all I’ve seen). Your donor area looks great! I’m 5 weeks behind you so I’m watching your progress closely. Keep sending me postcards from the future, lol!
How is your body doing with Dut? Eugenix didn’t recommend any multivitamins to me, what did they suggest for you? I usually take a multivitamin but would be curious if there are some I should be focusing on. 

[fualopecia]

34 minutes ago, readyforresults said:

Looking good man! I’m no expert but it all looks exactly like where it should be at 5 weeks (from all I’ve seen). Your donor area looks great! I’m 5 weeks behind you so I’m watching your progress closely. Keep sending me postcards from the future, lol!
How is your body doing with Dut? Eugenix didn’t recommend any multivitamins to me, what did they suggest for you? I usually take a multivitamin but would be curious if there are some I should be focusing on. 

Hey Readyforresults

 

Congrats on your transplant man. How did you find Eugenix and the experience?

 

Dut has been fine, no side effects but started it slowly (once per week and gradually have climbed to three times a week). They had this multivitamin called hair fact. It's a whole bunch of different vitamins you take on different days. They call it a cyclical program. You can't get it outside India. It's about 1000 rupees. It's pretty good and has a lot of natural and vegetarian. My only issue is the amount of biotin in it is quite low (about .4mg/week) and it has vitamin D2 instead of D3 which is OK if you see plenty of sunshine. 

 

Which one are you taking? I'm looking at the Swisse Hair Nutrition and it looks pretty good (1.3mg bitoin per capsule), Saw Palmetto 200mg per capsule. 

 

[aaalan]

7 hours ago, fualopecia said:

Week 5 update

Currently taking dutasteride (m/w/f)/finasteride(t/t/s/s) and the eugenix recommended multivitamins. 

 

There's been hair loss and I'm hoping it's normal shock loss. Would be keen to hear what others think.

 

Have noticed a dry itchy scalp and keen to restart my ketoconzaole shampoo. Am currently using the dove gentle shampoo every second day.

 

Not sure if i should start on oral minoxidil or buy a laser too. Open to suggestions. 

 

Thanks in advance for any guidance. 

Looking on track!! I am at 2 months with decent amount of shock loss… and around 70-80% shed in transplanted hair. Ugly Duckling phase is real!! 

[readyforresults]

21 hours ago, fualopecia said:

Hey Readyforresults

 

Congrats on your transplant man. How did you find Eugenix and the experience?

 

Dut has been fine, no side effects but started it slowly (once per week and gradually have climbed to three times a week). They had this multivitamin called hair fact. It's a whole bunch of different vitamins you take on different days. They call it a cyclical program. You can't get it outside India. It's about 1000 rupees. It's pretty good and has a lot of natural and vegetarian. My only issue is the amount of biotin in it is quite low (about .4mg/week) and it has vitamin D2 instead of D3 which is OK if you see plenty of sunshine. 

 

Which one are you taking? I'm looking at the Swisse Hair Nutrition and it looks pretty good (1.3mg bitoin per capsule), Saw Palmetto 200mg per capsule. 

 

Thanks! I have my last donor wash today before I fly out to the states (17-hour flight, 😱) and will ask about multivitamins. I like your regimen and may try it out for a bit. I’m using a generic Costco brand gummy multivitamin now (which are tasty) but need to check them out when I get home. 

[Melvin- Admin]

On 4/30/2023 at 8:14 PM, fualopecia said:

Week 5 update

Currently taking dutasteride (m/w/f)/finasteride(t/t/s/s) and the eugenix recommended multivitamins. 

 

There's been hair loss and I'm hoping it's normal shock loss. Would be keen to hear what others think.

 

Have noticed a dry itchy scalp and keen to restart my ketoconzaole shampoo. Am currently using the dove gentle shampoo every second day.

 

Not sure if i should start on oral minoxidil or buy a laser too. Open to suggestions. 

 

Thanks in advance for any guidance. 

Yes to both laser and oral minoxidil. Here’s the stack I took. I wish I would’ve been on oral minoxidil. Definitely add that to the stack. 

 

[Eugenix Hair Sciences]

@fualopecia

Thank you for the Update, everything is looking good and on track. We wish you all the best in your new journey. Keep us updated on your progress. 

Warmest Regards 
Eugenix Hair Sciences