Regular Member brianK Posted June 13, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted June 13, 2004 1600 grafts with Dr. Jerry Cooley (Charlotte, North Carolina) to fill in the temples and the sides which have been receeding slowly since I was 18 years old and was bald in the temple regions by the time I was in my mid-twenties. I'm 32 now. Photo taken by me 3 days after the procedure. I still have some excess dry blood on my forehead which I will clean off soon. I'm kind of nervous cleaning any where near the grafts right now. Extremely satisfied with the look and results. Although there is a lot of redness (which is expected of course) where the newly-placed folicles are, I felt no pain after the first day except for a slight tightness of my head. By the end of the second day the pain in my donor area also went away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member brianK Posted June 13, 2004 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 13, 2004 1600 grafts with Dr. Jerry Cooley (Charlotte, North Carolina) to fill in the temples and the sides which have been receeding slowly since I was 18 years old and was bald in the temple regions by the time I was in my mid-twenties. I'm 32 now. Photo taken by me 3 days after the procedure. I still have some excess dry blood on my forehead which I will clean off soon. I'm kind of nervous cleaning any where near the grafts right now. Extremely satisfied with the look and results. Although there is a lot of redness (which is expected of course) where the newly-placed folicles are, I felt no pain after the first day except for a slight tightness of my head. By the end of the second day the pain in my donor area also went away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Robert_ Posted June 13, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted June 13, 2004 Thanks for the informative post and pic. I take it that you didnt need any work done on the crown? ------------------------------ Check out the results of my surgical hair restoration performed by Dr. Jerry Cooley by visiting my Hair Loss Weblog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member brianK Posted June 14, 2004 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 14, 2004 I've been thinning around the crown area, but I still have "light" coverage. Dr. Cooley refused to touch the crown area, and he's right. I've been on Propecia for only 8 weeks prior to the transplant and he said Propecia alone will thicken the crown area, giving me the results I want in that area. Like everything else, it'll take time to notice results from Propecia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member brianK Posted June 14, 2004 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 14, 2004 Smoothy, Thanks for the additional insight. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Brando Posted June 16, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted June 16, 2004 Brian K, I am scheduled for a 1200 graft HT procedure w/Dr Cooley in August. Looks great, by the way! I believe you're 6 days post op now. How's it looking? Can you wear a hat? Are you still pretty red? Did you experience swelling or shock loss? Thanks alot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member brianK Posted June 16, 2004 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 16, 2004 Hi Brando, Most of the redness is gone, and I can better see all of the grafts that Dr. Cooley meticulously put in. Looks good. Looks like a 5 o'clock shadow in all of the places where I was bald (the temples and hairline). I've been wearing a hat since the day of the surgery, but I only wear a hat when I have to go out. You can put saran wrap on the inside of the hat (or stick a piece over your hair to cover the grafts) so this way the hat does not stick or disturb the grafts. For the first two nights I wore a surgeon's cap with saran wrap underneath when I went to bed to prevent myself from rolling my head all over my pillow or itching my head by mistake. I spray tap water (with some special medication mixed in it) on my head about four times a day. Dr. Cooley had me start applying Rogaine to the grafts twice daily on the third day until finished. I am able to take a bath and pour water over my head, but I am still not allowed to use the shower stream on my head. I still have slight throbbing of pain in my donor area. I have dissolvable sutures and it only throbs when I apply pressure where the suture is knotted. I have no swelling. No shock loss yet. I think I am recovering pretty good. I am excited about the results I see right now, but I know the transplanted hair will fall out in a few weeks and then I have to see what actually regrows. You're in good hands with Dr. Cooley. I think he did an excellent job, and he has a great staff. Initially I was scheduled for 1500 grafts, but he had 1600 grafts in the end and spent the extra time putting all of them in. The procedure lasted from 8:30 AM to about 6 PM. Let me know if you have any other questions. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Havhairnow Posted June 16, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted June 16, 2004 Looks good so far...after 4 weeks or so approx. 80% of your hairs will fall out and you will suffer some shockloss...don't be discouraged though...we all go thru it!! I'm at 3 months post op and I'm having great growth but I'm only entering the exciting stage...it's nice when you see someone that you haven't seen in a while and they comment on how great your hair looks!! Good luck Is it 6 months yet?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Brando Posted June 16, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted June 16, 2004 Thanks alot Brian. Seems as if you've had a wonderful experience. Is there any way you can keep us updated with pics? Every few days the first couple weeks? I may go with the dissolvable sutures as well because I live about 4 hours away from charlotte and would have to go back 2 weeks later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member brianK Posted June 17, 2004 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 17, 2004 6-Day Post-Op. 1600 FU with Dr. Jerry Cooley to fill in the temples and hairline. Getting some scabbing. Redness is going away. I have blotches of white residual between the new hair follicles because I sprayed too much Rogaine on my head and it won't wash away with water. I can't scrub my head with shampoo yet b/c it's still too early. I know I have a big, Conan O'Brien-size head, but I was born that way. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Brando Posted June 17, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted June 17, 2004 Excellent picture, Brian. Is there any way we can get a pic of your donor scar? How do the dissolvable sutures work? Are they noticeable or are they gradually dissolving? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member brianK Posted June 17, 2004 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 17, 2004 I'll try to photo my donor scar. It's pretty hard to see because my hair is very thick in the back and it covers the scar very good. The width of the scar is also very narrow. When I lift my hair it is really hidden in there. The scar goes ear to ear (well, not all the way ear to ear, of course). The sutures are not noticeable. The one problem I am having is where the first suture starts (or maybe that's where it ends) on the left side of my head; it feels like a big suture knot there and it irritates me when I sleep on it. Other than that I feel no pain, only slight discomfort when I sleep on my back and the weight of my head applies pressure to the suture area. But I notice the discomfort has been decreasing very slowly over the last two days. I forget how the dissolvable sutures work. I know (obviously) they dissolve on their own after a few (???) weeks, and what's left are tiny suture knots that fall off or I can scrape off with my fingernails. I think they are already slowly dissolving because they feel different than they did in the beginning. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Robert_ Posted June 17, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted June 17, 2004 I have a "high and tight" haircut right now, so my donor scar will be very visible until the hair grows out. Sucks for me in trying to hide it, but good for everyone curious to see it when I post the pics tomorrow. BTW, looking good, brian! Did you grow your hair out in anticipation of the scar? I (naturally) didnt have time. ------------------------------ Check out the results of my surgical hair restoration performed by Dr. Jerry Cooley by visiting my Hair Loss Weblog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member brianK Posted June 17, 2004 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 17, 2004 Actually, I got a hair cut a week prior to my hair transplant. My back is short (not buzzed), but it is naturally thick and layered, unlike the rest of my head. I tried taking photos of the donor area but I have too much hair surrounding the sutured-up area; even when I wet and lift my hair the scar barely comes up on my camera. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member garyr Posted June 18, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted June 18, 2004 Your going to look super good between halloween and Thanksgiving -lol - no need for a mask you won't recognize yourself! Garyr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member brianK Posted June 18, 2004 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 18, 2004 That's good, because I don't think they make Halloween masks that fit my giant head. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member brianK Posted June 18, 2004 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 18, 2004 7-Day Post Op. 1600 FUs w/ Dr. Cooley. Today I noticed I no longer feel a "tightness" around my head from the transplant. My head feels normal for the first time since the surgery. The discomfort in the donor area is going away, and the dissolvable sutures are disappearing. Looks like all of the redness on the scalp is nearly gone. I'm applying Rogaine twice daily to the grafts very conservatively so the residual doesn't build up on my scalp. I'm using the Rogaine (tear)dropper, not the sprayer. I also apply Rogaine to my crown area once daily before I go to bed, which I've been doing for two years now. I've been on Propecia for 9 weeks, and I continue to take 1 tablet of Propecia every other day (yes, every OTHER day), as per Dr. Cooley. I continue to spray my grafts and scalp about 2-3 times daily with clean tap water (with special healing medicine mixed in). Everything looks good and everything is going better than expected. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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