12,501 grafts / Dr. Felipe Pittella / Jan 2024

[YodaHead]

8 hours ago, omarca said:

Hi you seem to have a lot of hair on top of scalp maybe miniaturized! Does the dr implanted new grafts on top of all thise native hairs? Or around them? The existing hairs may be damaged by the new grafts or insicions ?

Dr. Pittella’s approach with high NW cases is that he assumes there is nothing at the top (even if there are some hair). Because he does not prescribe Finasteride, he fills the entire top with high density with an assumption that the person is going to lose the native/miniaturized hair in near future and so the implanted grafts should provide enough density for long term. 
So with that said, I don’t think he would be able to work around every single native hair—especially with 12.5k grafts (on a small head such as mine). 

[donpizmeov]

It looks great. I am sure you will get a killer result🙂 

[Hairwolf]

5 hours ago, YodaHead said:

Dr. Pittella’s approach with high NW cases is that he assumes there is nothing at the top (even if there are some hair). Because he does not prescribe Finasteride, he fills the entire top with high density with an assumption that the person is going to lose the native/miniaturized hair in near future and so the implanted grafts should provide enough density for long term. 
So with that said, I don’t think he would be able to work around every single native hair—especially with 12.5k grafts (on a small head such as mine). 

Well we can see now that your username is somewhat ironic😊. Your hairloss pattern is interesting in that you are thinning diffusely, however the hairline is still intact! 
 

That is an insane amount of grafts-did the Dr inform you during the consultation you would need so many? Were you happy with this number? Did they provide the density per square cm?

From what you are saying:

Dr. Pittella’s approach with high NW cases is that he assumes there is nothing at the top (even if there are some hair)

the Dr goes for volume and may in fact implant over existing hair? Clearly must be a very skilled surgeon to implant such a quantity, but can’t help wondering if you really needed so many to get an optimal result.

 Anyway will be watching this one with interest. 

 

[Reina]

Happy growing...You selected a great surgeon for higher norwood patients. I will be following . 

[Melvin- Admin]

13 hours ago, YodaHead said:

It’s only day 14 and honestly, i don’t even see a single mark on my cheeks or neck. Also, it still looks like i can grow beard if i really wanted to. 

The density seems pretty good too. Of course, all this will start shedding soon…

Wow you really are Wolverine 🙌 the density looks fantastic. I’m gonna be following your case closely. You might end up in the running for best HT of 2024.

[YodaHead]

7 hours ago, Hairwolf said:

the Dr goes for volume and may in fact implant over existing hair? Clearly must be a very skilled surgeon to implant such a quantity, but can’t help wondering if you really needed so many to get an optimal result.

He really is skilled surgeon, no doubt. I did discuss with him the density I wanted and his estimate was around 11k+ based on the software he uses for estimates/density etc. At the end of HT day 1 he gave me the breakdown and took my permission on utilizing more beard hair and reaching 12k. Whether or not i needed that many? I know sooner or later I am going to lose the remaining native hair and did not want to go back 2-3 times to finish the job (at least not in near future). I don’t know if i will/will not need another HT in future, but in case i do, Dr. Pittella said, we still have some in the bank (including chest hair).

[Al - Moderator]

14 hours ago, YodaHead said:

It’s only day 14 and honestly, i don’t even see a single mark on my cheeks or neck. Also, it still looks like i can grow beard if i really wanted to. 

The density seems pretty good too. Of course, all this will start shedding soon

 

Thanks for sharing that info. I have to admit I've been very reluctant to take grafts from my cheeks as I normally always stay clean shaved and I'm afraid of having lots of tiny white dots or permanent red marks on my face. Unfortunately I'm just about out of other good donor to use as I've already taken a lot of grafts from under my chin plus a lot of chest grafts, so I may have to resort to trying it. Yours looks like it healed extremely well.

 

[YodaHead]

1 minute ago, BeHappy said:

I've been very reluctant to take grafts from my cheeks as I normally always stay clean shaved and I'm afraid of having lots of tiny white dots or permanent red marks on my face.

That concern is legitimate. I think the punch size, surgeon skill, and your body’s healing abilities all play a part. Dr. Pittella himself did the beard extraction and he used smaller punch size for it. My brother did not believe anything was extracted from my cheeks/neck as there was not a single mark when i shaved a couple days back. 
I also did not have much option here considering poor donor availability and density requirements. I just had to take the chance and no regrets at this point.

[Britanium]

Hmm yodahead no more I feel, hair is strong with this one it is.

[FSLONAL]

A really wonderful write-up!!  Provides the needed details that is appreciated by everyone contemplating a HT.

Some questions if you don't mind;
1)  Once you filled out and forwarded your application / paperwork, how long did it take for you to get your first video call with Dr. Pittella

2) Once you had your video call with Dr. Pittella, how many months did it take before the actual procedure

I've been waiting to get my video conference with Dr. Pittella and trying understand average lead times.

Thank you very much and a Big Congrats to You

[YodaHead]

42 minutes ago, FSLONAL said:

Some questions if you don't mind;
1)  Once you filled out and forwarded your application / paperwork, how long did it take for you to get your first video call with Dr. Pittella

2) Once you had your video call with Dr. Pittella, how many months did it take before the actual procedure

I've been waiting to get my video conference with Dr. Pittella and trying understand average lead times.

1) To be as precise as I can:

- May 29, 2023 - I made the first contact with his team.

- May 30, 2023 - I was sent forms to fill by his pre-consultation team.

- June 6, 2023 - They sent me pre-surgical plan pdf (generic pdf about his packages etc.) and offered to put me on a priority list for video consultation and said they will let me know the next available date soon.

- June 13, 2023 - I followed up.

- June 14, 2023 - They gave me the video consultation date of July 10, 2023.

- They asked for photos from certain angles to be submitted prior to the meeting. 

- July 10, 2023 - Video consultation (approx 40 days after i first made contact).

- I was very happy with video call so I contacted his team same day about surgery dates booking. If you are traveling from outside Brazil, i think it helps to let them know.

- July 11, 2023 - They informed me that they are currently booking for June 2024 (one year away!). 
I told them I want to do it in december 2023 if possible. They said, they will note it and see if earlier date is possible.

- July 27, 2023 - I followed up, asking them to block whatever date they have available in 2024, and to put me on a waiting list if earlier dates become available (preferably Dec 2023).

- July 31, 2023 - They informed me that Jan 2024 dates have become available if I was interested. I said yes. 
 

2) So basically 6 months after video consultation, I was in Brazil for HT. 
 

Tip: He has a solid team but some of them rely on google translate to communicate, so if you are texting, try to keep the language simple—just to avoid any miscommunications due to translation errors.

Wish you the best. Feel free to reach out in case of any questions. 

 

 

[pullinyourleg]

Wishing you all the best in your hair transplant journey.my consultation process was the same as yours. I have surgery scheduled for feb 2025. My big concerns so far is getting to Brazil (from the uk) and it’s looking like I’ll be traveling alone. I did have some concern over safety but think I’m probably overthinking things. 

[YodaHead]

2 hours ago, pullinyourleg said:

Wishing you all the best in your hair transplant journey.my consultation process was the same as yours. I have surgery scheduled for feb 2025. My big concerns so far is getting to Brazil (from the uk) and it’s looking like I’ll be traveling alone. I did have some concern over safety but think I’m probably overthinking things. 

Thank you! All the very best to you as well.

I had a 10hr layover in Rio for my flight to Vitoria. So had to wait 10hrs for a flight that was only 1hr. 

Vitoria does not see much tourism, but the place is very safe. Stay at the hotel they book you in. The areas are well kept and I did not see any indication of danger during my stay of 7 days. I went to the beach once/twice and board walk—which is just 5 mins walk from hotel and it was beautiful. 

[pullinyourleg]

56 minutes ago, YodaHead said:

Thank you! All the very best to you as well.

I had a 10hr layover in Rio for my flight to Vitoria. So had to wait 10hrs for a flight that was only 1hr. 

Vitoria does not see much tourism, but the place is very safe. Stay at the hotel they book you in. The areas are well kept and I did not see any indication of danger during my stay of 7 days. I went to the beach once/twice and board walk—which is just 5 mins walk from hotel and it was beautiful. 

Thanks. How close to your surgery date did they book you into a hotel and was that an additional cost to you? Did you ask them to book you a hotel or was it something that they do as part of the package? I understand that Dr Pittella doesn't recommend wearing a hat until 14 days, so when flying back home did you wear anything on your head to cover up that you have had surgery?

Many thanks for answering my questions.

[FSLONAL]

YodaHead,

Perfect detailed response to my questions!!

Very obvious to me that Dr. Pittella has huge demand and rightly so.  I provided all the paper work and pics to his office 8 Nov and I'm still trying to get a video conference date.  I have reached out via WhatsApp about every 2-3 weeks.  The approx dates keep slipping and now it may be sometime in March.  If any of you have other ideas on how to expedite this video meeting I'm all ears. FYI, I have been nothing but polite in any/all correspondence.  My wife will be traveling with me from California and we look forward to the trip we just don't have any dates yet.

I understand now through your experience and "pullingyourleg" that the actual procedure may take one year to sked.  

The hat question from pullingyourleg wrt to wearing anything on your head on the return flight was one I was thinking about too.  Only two answers I suppose; something very loose doesn't touch the scalp or to just deal with it.

Again, thank you very much.

[YodaHead]

1 hour ago, pullinyourleg said:

Thanks. How close to your surgery date did they book you into a hotel and was that an additional cost to you? Did you ask them to book you a hotel or was it something that they do as part of the package? I understand that Dr Pittella doesn't recommend wearing a hat until 14 days, so when flying back home did you wear anything on your head to cover up that you have had surgery?

They booked/paid the hotel for 4 nights as a part of the package, and they separately booked 3 additional nights that I requested, which I paid for when i arrived at the hotel. They also paid for transport from airport to/from hotel and also for all my visits to the clinic during my stay. They did very good job with coordination so I didn’t really have to struggle to find a cab or anything. You will know in advance who will pick you up and when. I was provided with the hotel booking confirmation about 5 days prior to my arrival. It was Sheraton and only 5 min drive from clinic.
 

I did not wear anything on my head during my journey. Because I stayed there for 3 additional days, my scalp had chance to heal and it wasn’t even obvious that i had a surgery. People are so busy at airports—nobody cared. I did have some swelling but most of it was towards the back of my head. This is because I slept in sitting position with head slightly tilted backwards for 3 nights after surgery. Definitely carry a travel neck pillow. 

Edited February 21 by YodaHead

[zach07]

Everything looks great. Your face healed so quickly. All the best. Closely following your journey.

[JD34]

@YodaHead I traveled to see Pittella from the US a week before you did...I had a similar positive experience and have nothing but good things to say about him and his staff...I am just over a month and so far everything is going smooth - and that is coming from a guy who's hair is starting to shed rapidly (ha).....I have all my photos saved and plan to do a detailed write up on this forum eventually... Just wanted to drop you a line and say: Thanks for sharing your journey and good luck during the process and I will be following closely. 

[YodaHead]

@JD34 - Oh Nice!!. Congrats and good luck to you. Looking forward to reading your journey!! Keep us posted. Cheers.

[Gatsby]

@YodaHead the oral minoxidil will benefit the beard hair in the transplant as well as the beard itself. This is going to be a great result. 👌💯

[YodaHead]

34 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

the oral minoxidil will benefit the beard hair in the transplant as well as the beard itself. This is going to be a great result. 👌💯

Thank you @Gatsby! I am counting on that! Always great to get your feedback! Cheers.

[pullinyourleg]

21 hours ago, YodaHead said:

 I was provided with the hotel booking confirmation about 5 days prior to my arrival. It was Sheraton and only 5 min drive from clinic.

How far in advance did you know that they would be booking you a hotel? As in the package details I received, it didn't mention anything about a hotel stay being included. So I just wondering if that has now been dropped from the package, or if I should just sit and wait for a while and see if they say anything about staying at that hotel? Many thanks again. 

[YodaHead]

3 hours ago, pullinyourleg said:

How far in advance did you know that they would be booking you a hotel? As in the package details I received, it didn't mention anything about a hotel stay being included. So I just wondering if that has now been dropped from the package, or if I should just sit and wait for a while and see if they say anything about staying at that hotel? Many thanks again. 

So it was also not written in the package i received, however, one of the staff members informed me that 4 nights of stay and transportation is covered after the date was fixed and I asked them about nearby hotels. 
Best, if you ask them directly and i am sure they will confirm this. 

Edited February 22 by YodaHead

[NY2024]

I am scheduled this with Dr. Pittella -did you have to pay in full via credit card prior to arriving in Brazil ? I thought that it would be at the time of arrival and when completed .

[YodaHead]

18 minutes ago, NY2024 said:

I am scheduled this with Dr. Pittella -did you have to pay in full via credit card prior to arriving in Brazil ? I thought that it would be at the time of arrival and when completed

I paid for 8500 graft upon my arrival (one day before HT) and the rest after surgery. Although, the agreement said in-advance payment for 8500 grafts, I asked them if i can pay upon arrival. They said, sure. You can use credit card. Just ensure there are no limitations/restrictions at your credit card company. Some credit cards flag certain unexpected charges as potential fraud. In my case, I received an email and when I confirmed the charge, it went through at 2nd attempt. Also, I suggest using credit card that does not charge foreign transaction fees. Some companies charge certain % of the amount—which could be huge for a big amount like this. 

Edited February 22 by YodaHead