Absolute Hair Clinic | Dr. Kongkiat Laorwong | FUE 4128 | 45M | NW6 | October 2023

[Gatsby]

I have to agree with @Berba11. If you look back to the original pre op pics this is too early at 5 months to judge anything. Growth will continue for the months ahead. The donor has already bounced back well. 👊

[mrmane85]

For 5 months you are rocking my bro. 

[rja]

Hello everyone.

So I've gone back to Dr Laorwong to do my mid-scalp and crown at the 5.5 months mark. When I scheduled it I didn't actually notice it was slightly before the 6 months mark but I guess that doesn't make too much of a difference now

Prior to the procedure I've spoken with him about his idea for the second part and sort-of agreed on a 2000-2500 grafts procedure to cover the remainder of my bald head.

The number was surprisingly the same one that I've been quoted by both Eugenix (I've had a consultation w/ Dr Erica) and Hairtran (I've consulted w/ Dr Patty), which made me feel more confident.

I'll save the details around the pre and post-op process as it was practically identical in both cases for me - I stayed for the same amount of time in Bangkok, had the same pre-op tests and medications, and the same post-op care for 5 days before I headed back home.

I had a pre-op consultation with Dr Laorwong the day before and he examined my donor and was (I believe) quite surprised. I think he didn't expect it to that good. I was telling him that I wanted to use as much beard hair as possible, and as far as I was concerned he could take out 100% of my beard if he can, but he said it might not be necessary.

I ended up with 3847 grafts taken from my scalp donor only and implanted into the bald part.

The extraction started at about 9 am (got there earlier to get a haircut, medications, etc) and the transplant ended at about 9:30 pm.

It was a more difficult session this time than the one I had before. For some reason, I had a lot of lower back pain and a more frequent need to go to the toilet which made them have to pause a couple more times during the whole day. I'm not sure if it was one of the medications they gave me or something else I've taken or eaten or something, but it was extremely annoying for me and I can only imagine it was the same for them.

I was also surprised (and a little bit disappointed) that they didn't use beard grafts. I was hoping to leverage beard hair and save scalp hair for the future, but perhaps it won't make a difference... time will tell I guess.

All in all, I think I got good coverage now, even though the density might not be great, but as some of you have said in previous comments - compared to where I started from - there's no comparison!

Below are a few photos from different moments:

Pre-op before hair cut:

Pre-op after hair-cut and with Dr markings on my head (my scalp was red in many places with dry skin - I've had this happen every now and then - it comes and goes):

Next day after the first wash:

Last day (5th day) after the wash:

Other interesting (I think) details:

• I asked the Dr if I should continue with Min 5mg or cut down to 2.5mg - he suggested to continue with 5mg
• He also suggested to start taking Fin 1mg daily to preserve my hair. I've started taking it (been a week now) but I was surprised as to why he suggested it now and not the first time. He said he thinks I might still be losing hair (as in - my progression hasn't stabilised yet) so it's best to take it
• I also asked him how many grafts he believes I still have left in case I need them in the future and he said around 1000. Not sure if that's a good or a bad number to have, but I have a feeling that in a year or two, after both transplants have had time to mature and stabilise if I see that I need and decide to go for a third one for density, I'm going to insist on 100% beard grafts, so it won't make much difference.

I'll try to get some reasonable photos of my front in a couple of days and upload on the 6 months mark.

Thank you all for your support and for following up on my story here!

 

[Melvin- Admin]

This is gonna be an incredible journey to follow 🙏

[rja]

On 4/13/2024 at 3:11 AM, Melvin- Admin said:

This is gonna be an incredible journey to follow 🙏

Thanks @Melvin- Admin  

[rja]

Ok, so here are some photos I took this morning at the 6-month mark.
Please note my hair was still slightly wet from the morning shower.

• Not a lot of change (in my opinion) for the front part, especially considering the photos from 2 weeks ago.
• From a quick conversation with Dr Laorwong, he told me that he thinks about 80% of my grafts have sprung, so he expects about a 20% improvement in density by the 1-year mark.
• Continuing on Min 5mg and added Fin 1.25mg (a 5mg tablet cut into 4) as of a week ago.
• My donor site is still a little sensitive and red but it mostly doesn't bother me.

In general, I look like a plucked rooster at this point 😜 but I know it's temporary...

 

 

[rja]

Hi guys,

Today is the 1-month mark for my second HT (6.5 months for the first).

I've taken a few photos to show the progress.

• I've started wearing my (front) hair combed backwards as can be seen in the photos. Frontal density is still lacking, but hopefully will improve with time.
• Started experiencing shedding from the new HT about 2 weeks ago
• Donor redness is gone (or unnoticeable)
• Lots of white hair on my sides

front:

front / top:

top:

back:

left:

right:

 

[Hairwolf]

As i previously mentioned the front is looking good considering your starting point. You have enough to comb it back with an illusion of density and chance of some more thickening and maturation.

Edited Thursday at 03:00 PM by Hairwolf

[franklewis92]

Ffront line looks very natural. Congratulations!

[rja]

8 hours ago, Hairwolf said:

As i previously mentioned the front is looking good considering your starting point. You have enough to comb it back with an illusion of density and chance of some more thickening and maturation.

Thanks @Hairwolf. I'm hoping it will thicken and mature more in the next 6 months, but I like what I see in the mirror, so I can't really complain  

[rja]

8 hours ago, franklewis92 said:

Ffront line looks very natural. Congratulations!

Thanks @franklewis92

[Gatsby]

Considering this is only 6.5 months @rja with HT number two just beginning this will be a great result. Give the donor time to thicken up and bounce back. I agree that combing it back looks the best IMHO. 👌

Edited Friday at 03:15 AM by Gatsby

[rja]

1 hour ago, Gatsby said:

Considering this is only 6.5 months @rja with HT number two just beginning this will be a great result. Give the donor time to thicken up and bounce back. I agree that combing it back looks the best IMHO. 👌

Thanks @Gatsby. Yeah, I know it's just waiting at this stage. I'm keeping up the positive thinking and looking forward to seeing myself with long hair again one day 🙏