7 FUE's and counting......

[shanti]

It's friday and I'm relaxing in the Andrew hotel in Great Neck, the day after a touch up FUE session with Dr Feller. Recovery has been a breeze as usual and I have already ventured out to Manhattan and been refused beer ! At 35 I did of course take this as a compliment but now I'm concerned that in 6 months time when my hairline grows in, I'll never get served ;-)

 

Anyway, back to business..........yesterday I had 487 sexy single hair grafts placed to add density along my hairline and lower my right temple slightly.

 

This was my 7th FUE session. 3 have been with Dr Feller and I wish I'd found him sooner !

 

For those of you who don't know me, I began naively in 2001 with Dr Jones in Canada with hairline and temporal restoration of 600 grafts. Unfortunately, the result was poorly angled, vertical standing grafts and next to hopeless density.

 

Dr Jones second effort wasn't much better so since then it's been a battle to repair or at least refine the work that he had done.

 

Dr Wood's in Australia had a bash and to be fair he and his sister did a pretty good job, especially compared to Jones. The yield was excellent on the whole but there were still gaps and the hairline was pluggy, despite the density, partly down to my dark coarse donor hair I now realise.

 

Then another doctor (I did get around in those days!), managed to place some nice fine, naturally angled hairs but not many grew and the FUE holes in my donor took far too long to heal compared to the norm. I didn't like that at all and I'm sure he caused more scarring than was necessary. He also stopped working on me half way through and his trainee at the time, Dr Mwamba took over. I wasn't over the moon about that one either.

 

So that brought me to Dr Feller. I had read about Dr Feller and his dense pack which I though would be ideal to fill in the gaps. I flew to NYC and Dr Feller targeted the left temple with 200 grafts during a "luchtime" FUE session. My plan was to concentrate on planting in the stronger left temple as I parted my hair that side and I wasn't confident enough to risk more donor on both sides. If I'm honest, I didn't hold out much hope based on past experience but 8-10 months later the results were very impressive and the gaps filled.

 

Now that my faith had been restored in HT's, my confidence grew, so I had Dr Feller feather a few grafts along the very edge of the hairline which he managed with very natural results. The hairline continued to soften and 2 years later the result is pretty much perfect. That now brings us up to yesterday and my 7th session.

 

A consequence of my tactic to concentrate on the left side of my hairline obviously led to a lower hairline on this side. It didn't really matter as I parted my hair on the left and covered the right with longer hair. But my experience with Dr Feller showed me what can be achieved, so I decide to sit in the chair again and have him place 400 single hair grafts to lower the right side of my hairline and balance my hairline out.

 

The right side of my hairline is made up of a cowlick which lies very acutely to the skin. Dr Feller placed the grafts at this acute angle, copying the natural direction. This will result in great coverage as the hairs will lie on-top of each other. He also added a little density in the centre of my hairline and my "hair greed" meant we utilised the left over grafts in the left temple again.

 

Final count and 487 singles resulted from the FUE extractions. Very please with this result and while I wouldn't say it was an enjoyable day out, (it was surgery after all), it's the best I could have hoped for. Thank you Dr Feller, Anna, Marcia and the team......... again!!

 

I don't have any photos with me in the hotel but I'll get some up soon. Until then I'm happy to answer any questions/ comments as there's nothing on HBO !

 

Shanti

 

 

P.S Thanks also to Spex for his ongoing advice and support. Cheers buddy.

Edited February 26, 2011 by TakingThePlunge

[youngsuccess]

Congrats. I can relate to your story to some degree, having undergone 3 relatively small transplants to the hairline already. I'm almost 100% sure I'll be booking with Feller next year for FUE.

 

A couple questions:

How long did it take?

How much of your donor was shaved?

 

Any pictures you're willing to share would be great. Thanks for the write up.

[shanti]

I arrived at the office at 11.45 and we were finished at around 4pm.

 

Anna shaved two sections of my donor about 4x2 inches each from the side of my head above my ears towards the back. They didn't shave centre back as this is where most of my other grafts had been taken from previous surgeries and it's best to spread the extractions out.

 

I will shave the whole area down in a day or two.

 

Last time I grew my hair long enough to cover the shaved area but this year I'm not too bothered with the shaved look.

 

Pictures will hopefully be up early next week.

[shanti]

Ok, one week post op and it's actually been the fastest recovery so far, both with the donor and recipient.

 

I'm not sure wether that was down to smaller incisions or that I used aloe vera and vitamin E oil which softened the scabs but either way the scabs have all gone and I'm now washing as normal.

 

Flight back was fine and at JFK they don't seem to ask you to remove your cap so no strange looks there.

 

I did have shaven bald patches with the red dots at the back of my head where the FUE's were taken, which I was self conscious about when walking round Manhattan. Despite the cap they were still visible through the back strap, so for the flight home I simply used a little Dermmatch to paint in the bare skin areas. Worked fine and I don't think it hindered the extraction site healing in any way.

 

Haircut's not the best though and I was considering shaving it all off to Grade 1 to match the donor. While it would look great now (buzz cut with intact hairline), I know that in a few weeks the grafts will shed and I won't have native hair to hide my loss. So for now I'm not sporting the best look

 

Anyway, all good so far and I believe the surgery pictures will be up soon.

 

Cheers

Shanti

[HairHope]

FUE is awesome, wish my wife could do it at home for me!

[shanti]

Quick update...... it's been 3 months since the surgery.

 

Healing was quick and easy. No real signs of growth yet but that's to be expected.

 

I held onto a few hairs but most shed so no real change in appearance. The usual stuff.

 

However this time, to take my mind of the wait, I've managed to shift my focus onto my health and body. I'll mention it because it's been so effective in improving my mental state during the doldrums.

 

Since I've spent a small fortune over the years on my head, I though the rest of me could do with a little attention.

 

I've never been overweight but I was developing a bit of a belly thanks to a relaxed diet and beer. By hitting the gym 3 times a week for 40mins and running 3 days a week for 40 mins in the morning before breakfast, I've completely changed my body composition. I've cleaned up my diet but cheat one day over the weekend. The result is that at 35 i'm in better shape than I've ever been.

 

The main benefit however is that I'm not staring at my head waiting for the hair to grow. I can't do anything about that, I just have to have faith in Dr Feller and let nature take it's course. Instead I'm focusing on my body, which I do have the power to do something about.

 

When the hair grows in, it'll be the icing on the cake (God I miss cake :-), and I'm hoping people will notice my healthier appearance as an overall improvement and so they won't notice the hairline.

 

At the end of the day, hairs all about vanity and confidence. I really recommend using the HT waiting period to give the rest of you a little TLC because the final package will really compliment the hair transplant.

 

Have a great Christmas everyone. I'll update again when I see some growth.

 

Shanti

[Bill - Seemiller]

Thanks for the update Shanti.

 

I think it's good that you're keeping yourself busy rather than looking in the mirror every 2 minutes. I remember how much I scrutinized my own scalp watching and waiting for my new hair to grow.

 

I can relate to the relaxed diet. I've been working out hard, but I just can't resist those Christmas cookies, ice cream, and giant bloody red meat steaks :-). Dieting really is the key to weight loss, even moreso than exercise. But a combination of both is paramount.

 

Keep doing what you're doing and in 6 to 8 months, you'll be a new man :-)

 

Keep us updated and Merry Christmas!

 

Bill

[shanti]

Update.....

 

I haven't been on the forums for a long time. Don't suppose they've found a cure yet??

 

It's been 1 year and 4 months since my last surgery with Dr Feller. The grafts grew in as expected and the hairline filled nicely.

 

I can't pin the timing down but one day my hair definitely became less of an issue. My haircuts seemed to improve and I just felt satisfied for the first time in a long time about my hair and hairline. Not quite "wash & go" but it's pretty damn close

 

Then I guess I just drifted away from the forums. Never really thought that would happen but it took a follow up email from Spex to remind me about this place and to log in.

 

It's taken 7 surgeries and a load of time and cash, but I can honestly say I don't need any further hair. The hairline is now very, very natural and a "home run" as they say. I'm sure I will lose further hair as I age but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. (I'm 36 now).

 

So for now I'm done. It's been a pretty nasty journey and a couple of years back I did regret ever starting.... but now on reflection, I'm happy that I did.

 

My prior surgeries (before finding Dr. Feller) didn't live up to expectation. I'm sure they are good doctors in their own right but maybe a combination of my hair/ scalp characteristics and their technique didn't quite compliment each other. Who knows?

 

What I do know is that Dr Feller fixed me .....and for that my biggest thanks of course goes to him and his team. It took me 4 surgeries to find him but since meeting him there has always been light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks Alan.

 

A huge thanks goes also to Spex. He's been there all the way through. He's a legend in his own right and I know I won't be the last guy he helps. Cheers buddy !!

 

And finally, the HTN publishers, moderators and its posters. This forum has been an invaluable source of information. It's also been a reliable and trusted companion when feeling down about all this hair loss crap... So a big thanks to all that make these forums happen and wish you all a very hairy 2011.

 

I will update with photos and I'll answer any questions anyone may have but I doubt I'll be logging on much anymore.

 

So I guess this is Shanti ... signing out

Edited January 13, 2011 by Future_HT_Doc

[Spanker]

Love to see some pics.

[hairmee]

I just turned 40 this month and I have been pondering an HT for quite some time. I have shifted my research from strip to FUE. I am fascinated by this technology but am having a hard time nailing down patients to talk to with a combo of a good doctor. I didn't realize that Dr Feller did FUE or is one of the best at it.

 

Can I see photo's.... please contact me in PM as well. I would like to get your phone number.

 

Thanks for sharing your story.... good stuff!!

[skinnyshaft]

great write-ups and a very interesting journey, now very keen to see the pics!!!

[uselessgomez]

That's a lot of surgeries. And a lot of money I presume.

 

I don't know how many grafts you have had total, but I reckon 1 mega-session of FUT and then 1 FUE session into the scar to obscure it would accomplish the same thing in much less time and for much less money and agony.

[shanti]

I promise the photos are coming. I won't leave with out a proper update.

 

Grafts?... I reckon about 2000 unfortunately. I could add it up but I don't need to know. I would however say 500-700 of those were wasted. It wasn't a large area but what I learnt is that you always need more grafts than you think to try and recreate your "expected" natural density.

 

I didn't want a strip scar at the time and now I'm so pleased I don't. However I agree 1 large FUT session may have been better possibly in my case. However I am aware that if I'd done that with my first doctor back in 2001 I'd probably be in a right pickle now. I'm lucky that I only had a relatively small FUE session which could be fixed. A FUT megasession with a poor doctor would have been a nightmare. 600 badly placed FUE was bad enough!!

 

I thought (probably like most of us do) that I'd nail it first time and I could get on with my life back in 2001. Not the case. It took me 10 years and 7 surgeries to finally hit my goal..... and that's with the internet, these forums, no expense spared, zero travel restrictions and using the top notch recommended doctors. The top 5 docs of their time.

 

One way or another it's worked out eventually but it not a decision to take lightly. It's an intense ride !

Edited January 14, 2011 by shanti

[hair_me_out]

Shanti, we need those pics man! You know what they say... without pics it didn't happen.

[shanti]

I do remember the name confusion

 

I'm away this weekend but I'll get some pics up next week. Thats a promise !