Dr Kaan Pekiner 2507 grafts

[Stilgar]

Hi, fellow hair-loss combatants
First of all, sorry for my bad English, it is not my mother tongue.

-)I am posting my 6 weeks of post-operation pictures with Dr. Kaan Pekiner last month. I am 28 y.o Italian, I do label myself as a NW3, with some slight thinning in the mid-scalp (more on this later).

-) Pre Op:

I ve been on Finasteride for more than 2 years and Minoxidil for more than 3 years. Hairloss journey: I ve always had a high hairline due to my scalp morphology so I didn't notice that I had Androgenic Alopecia until the situation went really bad (4 years ago). I wasn't prescribed Finasteride at that time due to the fact that my Dr. was an idiot (he saw me having all the signs and somehow he was convinced that Min would solve my case). The situation went really bad to the point that I was losing 200+ hairs a day throughout my scalp (probably because I was depressed which caused me a Telogen Effluvium). Eventually, (at 25 y.o) I educated myself and I went to a good Dr. who prescribed me Finasteride. After using Finasteride with Minoxidil, medication helped me stabilize my hair loss and even gain back some volume (although not in my temples). For this part, all i can say is that hair loss effects on one's psychology is really really underestimated. Before noticing hair loss, I was a confident and joyful person. After starting to see everything go bad (before starting Finasteride), I became a very depressed person, I barely got out at that time, I became grumpy and I was so self-aware about the lights, rain, etc.. Essentially it caused me body dysmorphia, which caused depression, which made it even worse... even thinking about it now while writing this makes me feel sad about myself. Man, what a vicious cycle it was...
As i said earlier, medication brought me from a diffuse NW4 to a solid NW3 with some thining in the mid-scalp, but since i unfortunately jumped on medication late in the game, I had to go for an HT to bring back my hairline.

-) Pre Op:

 

-) Day of the operation:

I wanted to address my hair loss all in one session, but then I realized that it's always better to separate, I was afraid about that thin area in my mid-scalp. I chose Dr. Pekiner because he was simply the best when it comes to hairline and since I wanted to bring my hair back to look like a 28 y.o instead of a 40 (no offense). I spoke to the Dr via his assistant Alex back in the beginning of 2023 and I booked for Feb 2024. I will not repeat what has been said about the Dr, I ll just echo that he is very ethical and incredibly meticulous with his work (which is vital since we all have a limited supply). I was told to stop Minoxidil 3 weeks pre Op. I paid 2.7 eur per graft. At first, I was supposed to have 3000 grafts, but then after the on-site inspection of my hair and some conversation about hair loss in my family (I have a NW5 A uncle). We agreed to tackle the hairline and go all the way back, but leave the mid-scalp untouched since it might become better with medication + I was too afraid of shock loss to the native area since it wasn't an empty spot, it had hair (although sparser because I have a scar there + thin hair due to the hair loss gene). We concluded that 2500 grafts would be enough for the current situation and maybe in the future if the mid-scalp thins out a lot, I ll go back to him to fix it. Current Situation: I am currently 6 weeks post my operation, and the ugly duckling phase hit me really really hard, as you can see in the last couple of pictures, the mid-scalp area, even though untouched, also had shedding there which frightens me the most because I might lose those hairs permanently (sorry if I sound dramatic, but I have been fighting hair loss for a while and the fact that I see my head without enough hairs brings back daunting memories..).

-) 11 days post Op:

 

 

Day 14 + 17: 


5 Weeks:

Wet:

Dry:

My main question to those who had shock loss in the untouched areas is (central mid-scalp in my case), when did it get better? Although I was prepared for this stage, it hit harder than expected.

[EvansLawrence]

This looks like its going to be Epic. Keep those updates coming!