Dr. Bisanga - BHR Clinic - 3055 FUE 17-05-2023

[samsoninldn]

Hey 👋

In May this year, I had an FUE surgery done with Dr Bisanga in Brussels. Last week I reached the 4-month milestone, and wanted to share my progress.

I'll add a few posts with month-on-month progress and photos.

About me: 32yo man, balding for the last 7 years, with significant loss around the front and the temples starting in 2018-19.

Pre-Op (April '22)

As of early 2020, I started considering a HT and reached out to a few clinics in Europe and in Turkey, including Dr Bisanga. In April '22 I went on a consultation, during which we did an initial assessment and where Dr Bisanga recommended I start taking oral minoxidil (5mg) to stabilise the loss and reduce miniturisation.

In April '23, after a year of treatment with minoxidil, I decided to go for the surgery. My decision to go with Dr Bisanga was led by a few things:

• The utmost professionalism he and his team show throughout the process. This goes from being realistic about outcomes (e.g. "mature" hairline design and donor management), to designing an overall treatment plan, etc. They are incredibly professional and really care about their patients.
• The reviews here, and elsewhere, showing good results that last for years.
• The price - yes, it's more expensive than getting it done in a hairmill, but the care is top notch, it's easy for me to go see the Dr (just a train ride away), and honestly I'd rather get it done properly than have to fix a botch job.

Photos: April '22

[samsoninldn]

Day of Operation (17 May '23)

Hilde shared the post-op instructions about 2 weeks beforehand, which were super clear. Nevertheless on the day itself I was mega nervous.

I came in around 8pm, filled in some forms and then immediately sat down with Dr Bisanga. We talked a bit about my goals with the transplant, what was important to me in the hairline, and then we went to work drawing, adjusting, measuring, etc. On the whole we took about 30-40 minutes to make sure I was absolutely satisfied with the design, and the he was satisfied it would look good in terms of density. We also briefly touched on donor management and making sure we went for a realistic operation.

With that done, I got some pre-op photos done and went into the operating theatre. 

First Dr Bisanga did the pain killing injections. There's no way around it, those really hurt and are quite unpleasant.

After that, his assistants asked me which music I wanted on and we went to work. The assistants shaved my head down, and then Dr Bisanga started harvesting the donor hairs - first on the right side, then the back, then the left side. I think on the whole this must've taken at least 1.5h or so, but it was actually quite pleasant. It's hard to explain why, but the extractions happen in quite a "rhythmic" way and I just found that very soothing. Also Dr Bisanga is clearly a pro and is efficient in the extraction.

While Dr Bisanga did the extractions, one of his team counted the grafts and sorted them (singles, doubles, ...).

My memory is a bit fuzzy here, but IIRC after the extractions I had a brief lunch - with my wife, who'd come down to the clinic, and then we went to work with the incisions. Dr Bisanga made the incisions on the front and at the temples. Once this was done, he assisted with the initial insertions of harvested donor grafts into the incisions. Then his team took over, so I had two people essentially working on both sides.

I was bleeding quite a fair bit, but they said they could do their work really efficiently because the grafts "stuck" and weren't "popping".

By around 5pm, I came out looking like a swollen pumpkin...but with a brand new hairline.

That's when I met Hilde, who'd given my wife a full briefing on the aftercare already, and then gave me the briefing as well + the instructions + the after care pack that contained the shampoo to use, the saline spray, a headcover, etc.

Back to the hotel, where we got dinner in the room and I spent a paranoid night sleeping upright, with my hands tied to the bed so I wouldn't touch the donor area...

[samsoninldn]

Month 1 (17 June '23)

Aftercare

• For the first 10 days, I religiously stuck to the aftercare instructions:
  • Saline spray every 1h30m
  • No sunshine
  • No touching
  • No rinsing under the shower
• I did get Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy each day (so that's 10 back-to-back treatments)
• After 10 days, I went back to the office but wore a cap at all times.

Regimen:

As of Day 1, I started my regimen:

• Minoxidil 5mg oral
• Finasteride 1mg oral
• Biotin 8mg
• B-Complex
• Multivitamin
• Panax Ginseng (to reduce redness)
• High-dosage/high-purity fish oil
• MSM
• Arginine and Glutamine

That's a whole boatload of pills, but basically I researched what would help the most for early growth and recovery. So basically that's optimising for:

• Having sufficient nutrients, vitamins and minerals to stimulate growth and recovery
• Vasodilation to stimulate growth

As of Day 14, I also started applying Emu Oil to the recipient area to stimulate healing, and Bepanthol to the donor area to help with scar healing. 

Observations:

• The first days were painful. I had a constant feeling that there was fluid leaking out of my donor area (there wasn't), headaches and generally felt like I was really in recovery mode.
• After the second week, the hair started growing and the pain subsided. I could also go to work again.
• Around the fourth week, right after this photo was taken, I started shedding a lot of hair in the recipient area. Thankfully I had no shock loss in the donor areas, but it still felt really uncomfortable and it does mess with your mind a little.

Edited September 26, 2023 by samsoninldn

[samsoninldn]

Month 2 (17 July '23)

Aftercare

• After 4 weeks, I started with daily scalp massages and also started doing 20 mins a day of red light therapy using this device (which I already owned before the surgery) 
• After 5 weeks, I got my first session of PRP
• After 6 weeks, I started cutting my hair down to grade 1 using a pair of good, oiled clippers and a clipper guard (which I disinfect prior to usage).
• I still avoid the sun like a vampire. When I do go out, I wear a cap and Factor 50 mineral sunscreen 

Regimen:

Same regimen as month 1:

• Minoxidil 5mg oral
• Finasteride 1mg oral
• Biotin 8mg
• B-Complex
• Multivitamin
• Panax Ginseng (to reduce redness)
• High-dosage/high-purity fish oil
• MSM
• Arginine and Glutamine

In the second month, I was also still applying Emu Oil to the recipient area and Bepanthol to the donor area once per day (before the scalp massage). 

Observations:

• Shedding was real in the second month. It felt like all the transplanted hair just disappeared
• The redness was decreasing day-by-day, which was really encouraging
• At this point, I still wasn't going to the gym, and not swimming which was driving me mad

Edited September 26, 2023 by samsoninldn

[Melvin- Admin]

I don't see the photos from the other months. Do you need me to upload them for you?

[Rec.M]

These are excellent pics so far and info. Please keep it coming. 

The work on the lower temples is really good. From the shedding phase, I could not see any scarring there.

You mentioned the hotel, would you recommend it> How many days did you stay after surgery?

[samsoninldn]

Month 3 (17 Aug '23)

Aftercare:

More of the same:

• daily scalp massages and 20 mins a day of red light therapy using this device
• weekly hair cutting to grade 1 using clippers
• week 9: second PRP session
• week 10: started going to the gym again, swam in the sea for the first time but still avoiding pools and chlorine
• no sunshine/hats/sunscreen

One new thing:

• Weekly micro-needling, initially at 1mm depth, using a Dermapen

Regimen:

 

Cut down my regimen a little:

• Minoxidil 5mg oral
• Finasteride 1mg oral
• Biotin 8mg -> replaced by Hair Supplement with Biotin
• B-Complex
• Multivitamin
• High-dosage/high-purity fish oil

 

• Panax Ginseng (to reduce redness)
• MSM
• Arginine and Glutamine
• Emu Oil to the recipient area
• Bepanthol to the donor area

Observations:

• Growth! I started seeing both baby-hairs in front of the hairline, as the hairline itself and the temples.
• Redness barely noticeable at this point
• Even when I cut the hair very short, you can't see the scars in the donor area anymore

[samsoninldn]

Month 4 (17 Sept '23)

Aftercare:

• More of the same
• Stopped clipping my hair 7 Sept, plan to grow it out for a few months now
• No PRP until October

Regimen:

Same

Observations:

• This is really when the growth kicked in - the HT is basically not noticeable to people anymore
• I'm also starting to fully appreciate how well Dr Bisanga has done the implantation and selection - the front of the hairline and temples are all singles, which makes it look incredibly natural vs. some of the more pluggy hairlines I've seen online
• The density is just right - especially knowing it'll get more dense in the next months. Already you can't really tell the difference between the native and transplanted hair on the hairline, unless you know/get really up close. I imagine with more density it'll basically look super natural
• I'm still a little thin behind the transplanted hairs by the temples (especially on the left-hand side). I'm doing more micro-needling here, and am thinking about applying a little bit of topical min just in that area for growth.
  

[samsoninldn]

On 9/26/2023 at 9:49 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

I don't see the photos from the other months. Do you need me to upload them for you?

I've just managed to upload the pictures with comments (as the system didn't really allow me to edit/add photos).

Can you help me delete the two old posts without comments:

On 9/26/2023 at 9:43 PM, samsoninldn said:

Month 3 (17 Aug '23)

 

Aftercare

Regimen:

Observations:

Note: bear with me, as I'm uploading photos/comments for each of the months one-by-one.

 

On 9/26/2023 at 9:44 PM, samsoninldn said:

Month 4 (17 Sept '23)

 

Aftercare

Regimen:

Observations:

Note: bear with me, as I'm uploading photos/comments for each of the months one-by-one.

 

[Zinedine]

looking very good at 4 months already... and your donor looks impeccable... keep those updates coming.

[ItIsTime]

Results look very natural and fits you well
The team at BHR are all top class

This is just the early stages too - looking forward to the months to come

[Psychman]

Results look great. Thank you for the thorough aftercare notes. They are really helpful. I’m going in for my HT on Tuesday to Bisanga. I’m reassured I made the right choice. 

[samsoninldn]

Month 5 (17 Oct '23)

Photos taken under harsh light, 30 mins after my first haircut 😁

Aftercare:

• daily scalp massages and 20 mins a day of red light therapy using this device
• no PRP this month
• Weekly micro-needling, initially at 1mm depth, using a Dermapen
• started going out without hats when the sun is very mild BUT using sunscreen

Regimen:

• Minoxidil 5mg oral
• Finasteride 1mg oral
• Hair Supplement with Biotin
• B-Complex
• Multivitamin
• High-dosage/high-purity fish oil

Observations:

• The density is really starting to kick in - at this point you cannot really tell I've had a HT. 
• Redness is fully gone
• There's a small patch behind the left temple that seems to be a little thin, but it's responding to micro-needling and topical min 1x per week (seeing vellus hairs)

Also: FINALLY got a haircut (right before this photo), which was such a nice feeling. It's really short (grade 1) on the sides, so you can really see how well the donor area has recovered. 

On the whole I'm very, very excited to start growing out my hair now!

[samsoninldn]

On 10/15/2023 at 4:46 PM, Psychman said:

Results look great. Thank you for the thorough aftercare notes. They are really helpful. I’m going in for my HT on Tuesday to Bisanga. I’m reassured I made the right choice. 

Hope it went well - he's really great!

Diligently stick to the aftercare instructions from the clinic, they're really great - measured yet effective. Happy growing!

[samsoninldn]

On 10/4/2023 at 6:39 PM, ItIsTime said:

Results look very natural and fits you well
The team at BHR are all top class

This is just the early stages too - looking forward to the months to come

Thanks! I've been keeping it very short until now, but the density is finally there to grow it out normally so excited to see what that's going to give

[samsoninldn]

On 9/28/2023 at 12:07 PM, Zinedine said:

looking very good at 4 months already... and your donor looks impeccable... keep those updates coming.

Just had the sides buzzed down to a Grade 1, and you can't even tell IRL. It's impressive. My feeling is that it's a mix of good scarring genetics, really careful extractions and the aftercare with Bepanthen that helped good healing.

[samsoninldn]

On 9/27/2023 at 12:24 AM, Rec.M said:

These are excellent pics so far and info. Please keep it coming. 

The work on the lower temples is really good. From the shedding phase, I could not see any scarring there.

You mentioned the hotel, would you recommend it> How many days did you stay after surgery?

Thank you and sorry - forgot to answer!

I stayed in Martin's Genval, which was like 20 mins away by car but around a nice peaceful lake and great rooms/beds/room service food. Left the day after the surgery to drive back to the UK with my wife. Would recommend it - it was a bit pricier, but it was great to recover from the surgery and wouldn't have minded if I'd stayed a few days longer.

I heard quite some mixed things about the Comfort Hotel just down the road from BHR.

[Julius]

Awesome result!

[laverita]

Congratulations...hope you will really enjoy this as it grows out...

[Silent123]

Hey man, awesome work! Happy growing 😀

[Rec.M]

On 10/18/2023 at 6:47 PM, samsoninldn said:

Just had the sides buzzed down to a Grade 1, and you can't even tell IRL. It's impressive. My feeling is that it's a mix of good scarring genetics, really careful extractions and the aftercare with Bepanthen that helped good healing.

 Does the clinic recommend Bepanthen or did you find this yourself? I haven't seen it around on other posts, but I guess it makes sense as it's used to help tattoos heal. Seems to have been a good call for you anyway.

[samsoninldn]

12 minutes ago, Rec.M said:

 Does the clinic recommend Bepanthen or did you find this yourself? I haven't seen it around on other posts, but I guess it makes sense as it's used to help tattoos heal. Seems to have been a good call for you anyway.

Clinic recommended emu oil for the recipient area. For the donor area, I spoke to a derm friend about best way to support scar healing and he recommended no sunshine / bepanthen.

[Proportions]

From upper third of a 60 year old to upper third of a college student. Looking good.

[domjonse]

Month 6 update?

[Melvin- Admin]

Yes an update would be great 👍🏼