Dr. Saifi - 1700 grafts - 31st Aug

[Scree]

Hello everyone,

I want to share my hair transplant journey with Dr. Saifi in Wroclaw, Poland. My primary reason for sharing this is to give back to the hair loss community that has given me the information and the tools to fight this damned thing.

A bit of background: It all started in February of this year. Until then, I had been wearing my hair long. During a pivotal moment, I decided to switch things up and opted for a short haircut. That's when I noticed a significant temple recession, diffuse thinning at the back, and the mid-scalp. It was a jarring and unsettling experience, I guess I just didn't notice it before due to how the hair looks differently when it's long. Immediately after, I jumped on medication—Finasteride for the first four months, followed by Dutasteride and oral Minoxidil. A huge shoutout to Melvin and his podcasts with Dr. Muñoz and Dr. Vaño.  While I saw considerable improvement in the diffuse thinning, there was nothing on my temples to regrow, making a hair transplant the only viable option if I wanted to restore a Norwood 1 hairline.

I'm not going to go into my decision process too much. Enough to say that after consulting with numerous clinics it was clear that I wanted someone highly skilled and certified, with a good track record, and someone that is responsive and I have access directly. Once I decided, I made a refundable deposit of 650 euros and set the date for August 31st.I drove 10 hours to Wroclaw. It was a long journey, but manageable. Included in the procedure's price was a stay at the Art Hotel, a cozy place located in the city's main square.

 

On D-day, a taxi picked me up at 8:30 AM and took me to the clinic. After some paperwork, I met Dr. Saifi to discuss my case. Initially, 2200 grafts were estimated, but due to medication improvements, we settled on 1700 grafts using the modified FUE technique, where a strip of hair is preserved in case a future FUT procedure is required. We focused mainly on the hairline and temple peaks, with some work into the forelock. I also opted for the a concentrated growth factor injection into the recipient site as an added extra

During the extraction phase the doctor used a motorized punch of 0.7mm and 0.8mm. The nurses inspected the grafts under microscopes while Dr. Saifi created the recipient sites using a sapphire blade. The nurses then took turns implanting the grafts. The procedure ended with a "stick and place" method, with Dr. Saifi making the incisions and the nurse immediately implanting the grafts. This allows for fine tuning and final finishing touches to the end "product". In total, the procedure took about 9 hours. Technically it was a bit more than 1700 grafts - the temple peaks took a bit more grafts than initially anticipated. The Dr. did not charge me for the extra grafts.

I went to see the doctor in his office again, where he explained the postop recovery procedure. We said our goodbyes and a taxi (included in the price) took me back to the hotel.   As far as the immediate recovery process is concerned, I feel no pain and was okay to drive home 10 hours the very next day. Mentally, I'm doing great. It's such a load off my mind. 

I hope this post helps someone out there. Feel free to ask any questions or share your thoughts.

Cheers!

BEFORE:

 

 

AFTER:

 

CLOSEUPS AFTER:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Scree

[A_4_Archan]

@Scree

Thanks for posting your journey ...you have chosen a good experienced doctor...this is an interesting approach to keep a strip for FUT intact....best of luck..Happy growing and keep updating brother ...

[Britanium]

Great write up, excellent pics too 👍🙏

[VCA]

Thanks for sharing and best of luck.

Work looks good and clean.

I'm booked with dr. Saifi for early October and am looking forward to it. I'm also driving there - 5 hours - but my partner will come along and she is gonna drive on the way back.

If I may ask, how much extra did the "concentrated growth factor injection" cost?


 

[Turkhair]

Looks good. 

Happy growing!

[Scree]

16 hours ago, VCA said:

Thanks for sharing and best of luck.

Work looks good and clean.

I'm booked with dr. Saifi for early October and am looking forward to it. I'm also driving there - 5 hours - but my partner will come along and she is gonna drive on the way back.

If I may ask, how much extra did the "concentrated growth factor injection" cost?


 

150 euros or thereabouts. As the doctor was making incisions into the recipient a nurse came and drew my blood. The doctor then injected the CGF right before the nurses started implanting the grafts.

Good luck with everything.  Someone escorted me as well, because  I expected I would need a ride home. On the contrary, I felt great and had 0 issues on the return journey. As far as I can tell you have made a good decision - of course my final verdict will be in about a year from now.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Scree

[Willforhair84]

The work looks great, your recession is very minimal so should be a killer result . I’m surprised you had some grafts placed in the forelock as it looks thick already

[Scree]

14 hours ago, Willforhair84 said:

The work looks great, your recession is very minimal so should be a killer result . I’m surprised you had some grafts placed in the forelock as it looks thick already

The doctor seemed satisfied with the work. As he made the final incision via stick and place he exclaimed "work of art". I hope he is right. I like the design of the hairline, I can't stop looking at myself in the mirror. 😁

Apparently, I had some minor loss in the forelock that he wanted to patch up with thicker hairs. He doesn't think I will lose too much hair in the future but as you know, these things are unpredictable.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Scree

[hairman4321]

do you know what density cm2 he placed them?

[Scree]

8 hours ago, mark91 said:

do you know what density cm2 he placed them?

No. The doctor did not volunteer that information. I will ask him in our next correspondence and let you know. I'm not an expert, but to my eyes, it looks good density-wise. There's also the hair caliber, the hair type, the angulation and the skin-hair color contrast to consider. 

The next batch of pictures I will post in about a week, when I shed all the scabs.

[Britanium]

I do like the Drs work, but hope they didn’t try pushing the CR Labs products?

[Scree]

19 minutes ago, BRITA-XL said:

I do like the Drs work, but hope they didn’t try pushing the CR Labs products?

He mentioned it in passing. More in the sense of "if you are ever interested, let me know", no pressure. Regarding hair loss prevention, I'm on the strongest stuff (oral minoxidil, oral dutasteride) in existence apart from straight-up E2 and bicalutamide.  The over-the-counter stuff probably can't hurt to consider if you are side-effect averse. But this is the big leagues - I'll go bald when I'm dead if I can help it. 

Edited September 5, 2023 by Scree

[Britanium]

Just now, Scree said:

He mentioned it in passing. More in the sense of "if you are ever interested, let me know", no pressure at all. In terms of hair loss prevention, I'm on the strongest stuff (oral minoxidil, oral dutasteride) in existence apart from straight-up E2 and bicalutamide. It probably can't hurt to consider if you are side-effect averse. But this is the big leagues - I'll go bald when I'm dead if I can help it. 

That’s good it wasn’t a push, a mention is ok 👍 

[Scree]

Update. I worked out most of the scabs. There is redness present. Anyone more experienced willing to comment on the transplant now that the recipient is clear?

[Teddy1927]

Looks great and dense 

[stephcurry30]

looking amazing!

[Scree]

5 week update (pictures were taken last weekend). 

My left side is holding up better than the right—fewer hairs have shed there. The temple peaks are looking a bit thin compared to my pre-op pics.  Still got a bit of an itch going on in the recipient but overall, everything seems to be healing well. The shedding seems to have stopped.  For the donor area, it's pretty much healed up. Still a tiny bit sore, but visually, it's looking really good.  Overall, I think I'm doing a bit better than before the op. My forelock isn't as thick as I'd like, but that was the case even before the surgery. 

Mentally I've had ups and downs. I've invested in a couple of hats and use Toppik occasionally. I expect growth to start in around 2 months but the existing hair should give decent coverage of the recipient in about a month.

Edited October 13, 2023 by Scree

[juicer404]

any updates?

[Lewis Horsley]

Update