Surgery 1: Hairline and Crown with Dr Arika Bansal at Eugenix in Mumbai - 4200 grafts

[WhamHair]

Hello All,

I am a couple of days late with this post and the guilt of dragging my feet with this finally kicked in an hour ago. As the subject of this post suggests, I just got 1st hair transplant done by Dr Arika Bansal at Eugenix in Mumbai (India). This is a first time for me. Prior to this, I had never used Minoxidil or Finasteride. I plan on using Minoxidil after my post-transplant head wash is done next Tuesday.

So before I do a deep dive into the surgery, I should provide some background. I am 42 years of age and I live in New York City. My first signs of hair loss started when I was around 26. By the time I was 28, I could not leave the house with using Toppik on my crown (one container of Toppik per month). My hairline seemed fine though. I did take some homeopathic meds to slow down my hair loss. It is unclear what that did for me but all I know is that it took years for my hairline to start receding compared to friends of mine that were at the same place as I was from a balding progression perspective. There is correlation here but I cannot positively attribute the homeopathic meds' effect on slowing hair loss. By the time I was 36, wind became my enemy and would render Toppik quite useless on my crown. My hairline also started to recede a fair bit. Last year, after doing two consultations - one with Dr Pittella in Brazil and one with Dr Arika Bansal while visiting Mumbai over Christmas 2023, I decided on the latter even though I really like Dr Pittella.

The plan was to do 4200 grafts over two days for my hairline and crown. Around 500 beard grafts were used. They were pulled from my neck area. Oddly enough, one of my sideburns were used as a follicle donor source.

Here are the photos taken a day before the surgery: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/411ef2i2jeoiir1ekf8mn/ANpqIA33jWG5BzM1Xlt9U1c?rlkey=rl3x2on1n5nznaeh6s0yfvajp&st=ogvtmv1s&dl=0

Here are the photos taken 30 minutes after the surgery was completed two days ago:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/vzxorz0vwxitixx8jwsv7/AIXHSKjAF3j6FylrqjhjVt0?rlkey=sdvczjhheg93z5upwzxerjcyb&st=c5cwztz2&dl=0

Day 1 was quite a breeze. I got to the clinic at around 11 am and only got out around 8 pm or so. Dr Bansal did the incisions herself while the techs did the rest. There were momentary instances of pain while I was getting local anesthesia. 

Day 2 was a little harder since there were far more isolated moments of pain but overall, it was fine. Since the crown was done on Day 2, I actually got to sit and binge-watch a show on HBO Max on my phone.

I have been returning to the clinic every day for my donor area cleaning and the head-wash will happen this upcoming Tuesday. I can barely wait! Between the antibiotic, probiotic, and pain killer protocol that I've been put on for about a week, I have NOT experienced any pain or other health issues - which is odd since I have been batting a stomach condition for the last 3 years and even that hasn't been rearing its ugly head these last few days.

I will start posting monthly updates here starting next month. Please feel free to reach out with any questions that you have. I promise I'll update this post to reflect the split between single-hair grafts, double-hair grafts, and triple-hair grafts.

Last, but not least, I cannot thank this community for the amount of support and information being shared. I am the beneficiary of your collective hindsight.

Now to brace myself for the emotional turbulence of the shedding phase next month - I am dreading it! 

[June 18 update] - I received the following details about my grafts from Eugenix today.

 

Total grafts- 4228

Scalp- 3942

Singles- 230

Doubles- 2610

Triples- 640

Quadruple- 462

Beard 286

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 18 by WhamHair

[Eugenix Hair Sciences]

@WhamHair

Thanks for choosing us for your hair restoration. We wish you all the best in your new journey. 

Keep us updated on your progress. 

Warmest Regards
Eugenix Hair Sciences 
 

[WhamHair]

6 minutes ago, Eugenix Hair Sciences said:

@WhamHair

Thanks for choosing us for your hair restoration. We wish you all the best in your new journey. 

Keep us updated on your progress. 

Warmest Regards
Eugenix Hair Sciences 
 

Of course! Thank you for everything! 

[Adam561]

Hope you recover well in next few days and best of luck buddy. Can you share few more pictures on the thread of before, post op? 

@WhamHair

[WhamHair]

16 minutes ago, Adam561 said:

Hope you recover well in next few days and best of luck buddy. Can you share few more pictures on the thread of before, post op? 

@WhamHair

Thanks so much. I am still worried about the wounds on my sideburns and neck (because of the beard grafts). I've never gone this long without shaving and I look incredibly scruffy. Really hoping I can go cleanshaven by the weekend. Here are a few more photos pre-op that I took at home.

[Adam561]

Thanks for sharing, following up closely. Happy growing! 

[WhamHair]

Just now, Adam561 said:

Thanks for sharing, following up closely. Happy growing! 

Thanks so much. At what point does it start feeling natural - like nothing is welded to my head. It's not painful at all - but when I frown or raise my eyebrows, I can feel a ripple right through my scalp. Once again, not painful - just odd and different.

[davidrotz]

Happy growing!!

[mustafer]

My first head wash is on Sunday, feeling exactly the same and healing quite well.

Thanks for sharing your result, Happy growing!

[bru]

1 hour ago, WhamHair said:

Thanks so much. At what point does it start feeling natural - like nothing is welded to my head. It's not painful at all - but when I frown or raise my eyebrows, I can feel a ripple right through my scalp. Once again, not painful - just odd and different.

It won't take to long at all maybe a week. Don't be worrying about it. Eugenix are very good at keeping the complications to a minimum, swelling pain etc. Congrats on getting your transplant done il be following your thread. 

[Rawkerboi]

Thanks for sharing your journey with us.

While the Ugly Duckling phase can be frightening, my advice is to avoid looking in the mirror while it's happening.

[WhamHair]

12 hours ago, davidrotz said:

Happy growing!!

Thank you so much! 

[WhamHair]

11 hours ago, mustafer said:

My first head wash is on Sunday, feeling exactly the same and healing quite well.

Thanks for sharing your result, Happy growing!

Of course. So thrilled that your head wash is only a couple of days away. I can barely wait for it so that I can get out of the house and not worry about wearing a surgical cap anymore. That attracts way more questions than I feel like answering. Glad you are healing well. 

[WhamHair]

10 hours ago, bru said:

It won't take to long at all maybe a week. Don't be worrying about it. Eugenix are very good at keeping the complications to a minimum, swelling pain etc. Congrats on getting your transplant done il be following your thread. 

Oddly enough, there has been no pain. They put me on a mild antibiotic so no negative effects from that either. So far, no swelling, There is still a little soreness in my donor area though - so that area feels a bit tender. I'll definitely be regular with the updates. I have to pay it forward given the amount of help I have received from all of you on here. 

[WhamHair]

9 hours ago, Rawkerboi said:

Thanks for sharing your journey with us.

While the Ugly Duckling phase can be frightening, my advice is to avoid looking in the mirror while it's happening.

Thanks so much. How are you concealing the Ugly Duckling phase? Just buzzing your hair down? The reason I ask is because I am in a client facing role at work - so I do need to be out and about in the month of July/August - which is when I imagine the ugly duckling phase will be at its worst. Visually, I look pretty alright now - except that I cannot shave my facial hair until the beard and sideburns wounds heal and that is annoying since I've never gone this long without shaving. 

[Rawkerboi]

3 hours ago, WhamHair said:

Thanks so much. How are you concealing the Ugly Duckling phase? Just buzzing your hair down? The reason I ask is because I am in a client facing role at work - so I do need to be out and about in the month of July/August - which is when I imagine the ugly duckling phase will be at its worst. Visually, I look pretty alright now - except that I cannot shave my facial hair until the beard and sideburns wounds heal and that is annoying since I've never gone this long without shaving. 

I buzzed my hair down after 20 days post op. During the first two to three months, keeping your hair even is crucial to navigating the ugly duckling phase.

 

[WhamHair]

1 hour ago, Rawkerboi said:

I buzzed my hair down after 20 days post op. During the first two to three months, keeping your hair even is crucial to navigating the ugly duckling phase.

 

This is helpful. What was your litmus test for when you knew you could get away without buzzing your hair down? 

[Rawkerboi]

5 hours ago, WhamHair said:

This is helpful. What was your litmus test for when you knew you could get away without buzzing your hair down? 

Hair growth varies from person to person, but after three months, buzzing your hair down is no longer necessary.

[WhamHair]

11 minutes ago, Rawkerboi said:

Hair growth varies from person to person, but after three months, buzzing your hair down is no longer necessary.

That is what I will aim for. I actually kinda like the post-surgery look right now - but I am also painfully aware of how short-lived that look will be until the shedding phase subsides.

[Shadman]

@WhamHair just looked at the pre and post op photos. Liked the hairline designing and overall grafts distribution.

Best wishes 👍

[WhamHair]

1 hour ago, Shadman said:

@WhamHair just looked at the pre and post op photos. Liked the hairline designing and overall grafts distribution.

Best wishes 👍

Thank you so much. Really hoping this pans out. I am still in this weird phase where all of this feels new and exciting - but I am dreading the shed phase! 

[Rawkerboi]

2 hours ago, WhamHair said:

Thank you so much. Really hoping this pans out. I am still in this weird phase where all of this feels new and exciting - but I am dreading the shed phase! 

Embracing the shedding phase is the way to go, no need to dread it.

[WhamHair]

On 6/16/2024 at 7:17 AM, Rawkerboi said:

Embracing the shedding phase is the way to go, no need to dread it.

I'm with you. It is just really hard. I am in a client facing role at work so I am always paranoid about what I will look like in these situations. Prior to my surgery, Toppik was my lifeline. 

[Al - Moderator]

Have you shaved your beard now? How is the beard donor area looking?

 

[WhamHair]

3 hours ago, Al - Moderator said:

Have you shaved your beard now? How is the beard donor area looking?

 

I FINALLY shaved my beard yesterday. The beard area has healed very well so I'm good on that front. Just got done with my third and final head wash this morning since my scabs did not come off completely in the first two headwashes.