My HT 25 Nov 09 with Dr Paths team in Thailand

[Sunnycoastman]

Hi, here is my HT experience this past week. Its a long winded account but I wanted to make it a bit like a story.

 

Im 55 and probably NW 5-6 with all my crown gone and a tuft of hair in my frontal area. Ive been saving hard for 5 months for this procedure so heres hoping??¦??¦:-)

 

Monday morning 23rd Nov. packed and ready. Off to the bank to squeeze the last money out of my bank account...AU$3000. Last week I telegraphed $10,000 to Dr Paths account to avoid carrying a lot of cash. Im now officially broke...:-(. One hours drive to Brisbane airport and pretty soon Im off on Thai airways flight 474. Free booze...:-).....but of course with the Ht so close I declined...no I didn't??¦lol. food was very tasty, a few beers, a wine or two...watch a movie...life is good...:-)a nice german girl next to me gave me some tips about Bangkok too. 9 hours later I arrived in thailandat 8.30pm and I followed the german girl thru to customs and out to the taxis. I had booked a room at karmanee hotel, 30 min from the airport. All good. $55 for the room.

 

Tuesday 24th. Breakfast was included in the room cost. Fantastic spread so I was into the thai food right away....rice and all sorts of spicy stuff....hog heaven for me. 2 huge platefuls later and I loosened my belt and was ready for the pancakes and syrup then 2 cups of coffee. I was happy as a sand boy...then a 5 min walk to an internet place to msg my girlfriend. I decided to walk to Dr Paths clinic for my consultation. I had chosen one of the hotels close by so a 15 minute walk and I was there, after asking directions at a few places. The thais mostly have very limited english ....i am now an expert at charades...and using words of 1 and 2 syllables...:-) Dr Paths clinic was floor 32 of the Siam commercial bank so in the lift I go..but hang on, the numbers say it only goes up to 23...so I wander round on floor 23 like a lost 3 year old til someone sees my confusion and points me round the corner to another lift that goes up to floor 42....tricky...but 10am and Im there and greeted by a friendly pretty thai girl and after a coffee, filling out a form and a few minutes wait I go in for my consult with Dr Oravan. She was good, explained everything, mapped out the hairline, bloodpressure taken etc. she spoke really good English and answered all my questions. Everyone there is friendly and I felt relaxed and in good hands. I decided to change hotels to one closer to the clinic. 5 min walk and $29 a night and next to the skytrain station. It was a good move and I ate at the restaurant there every day??¦delicious food and cheap!!. I went to the clinic every day I was there so being close was a good move and I just walked down, too easy. And the train station was just around the corner from the hotel ??¦that was good too. So for the rest of the day I went xmas shopping at Siam malls...15 minutes on the skytrain??¦too easy, then back at 9pm for dinner. Green curry with prawns and rice, Chinese tea and orange juice....delicious...and only AU$4. Then a shower and wash my hair twice with antiseptic shampoo the clinic gave me then watch tv for a while.

 

Wed 25th The big day. I slept ok. Woke at 4am which is 7am in oz and tossed around a bit til 6. Then a shower and wash my hair twice again with the shampoo. Breakfast was eggs on toast and orange juice $3. No coffee or tea. 8.30am I arrive at the clinic,fill out a form to say I have received all the information about the procedure and then I change my shirt for a robe and meet with Dr Path. BP taken and Dr Path draws the hairline etc, using the laser instrument. Im happy with it. Dr path talked about the style of my hair and the angle of the new hairs and the transition of the angle from back to front over my crown and blending with existing hair angles. His English is excellent and he knows his stuff. Then the finger prick for the blood test...ouch.....hurt more than any of the shots I had later...lol. Then 20mg valium, an antibiotic pill, and into the surgery. I have my ipod but didn't use it much..plugs kept falling out. Hardly felt any of the injections except the ones on my eyebrows( to deaden the nerves to my scalp) stung a bit. It was pretty much a painless experience tho. Most relaxing day ive had in a long while....lol. The valium did its job well. I just chilled out and listened to the female techs chat away as they put the grafts in. very pleasant. There was another Dr there too watching the procedure and Dr path was in and out giving instructions. I Know he did all of the original cutting and sutures but I think he left the graft insertions to the other doctor and techs under his supervision. every hour or so one of the girls would massage my legs??¦nice touch..... I only got up twice, once for a toilet break and the other for a cup of hot chocolate. They got around 3700 grafts.But Dr path wanted more for better coverage so he recut along the same line and extracted another 450 or so grafts and sutured up again. Total grafts 4,167. I was happy with that. My hair is very fine and thin too so I wasnt the best raw material to start with. Dr Path is very particular and I could tell he cares alot about doing the absolute best job with what he has to work with . He is decisive and very proficient and professional and hes easy to relate to. His team is awesome. 10 hours from the first injection to the last graft. 7.20pm and we're done. 7.45pm and im walking back to my hotel with my head bandaged up, pressure band on and hat covering it all. I have pain meds (tylenol/codeine)and antibiotics and a list of instructions. I wander round looking for a nice restaurant to eat at but end up at the hotel restaurant at 9pm for a delicious red curry....I just love thai food. Im really going to miss it. Then tv for a bit and sleep.

 

Thursday 26th. Up at 7 and shower. Eggs for brekky and coffee today and off to the clinic to have my hair shampooed. 9am im there. One of the girls shampoos my hair explaining how I am to do it. Dr path checks my head and is happy with what he sees. Pressure band goes on , hat on and off I go. Off to the bank to pay the balance of money owing (about $1400) and get some shopping money. An hour later after trying to get the bank staff to understand me...I was laughing in the end it had become so difficult to get the transaction done cz I wanted some money in Dr paths account and extra spending money too and they didn't get it. Whew!!! hard work....So now its lunchtime and off to the hotel for an awesome prawn and bacon salad for $4 and then off to MBK mall for more shopping for my family for xmas. 15 minutes and Im there. Dummy me, I should have been relaxing in my hotel room in recovery mode but I had to get the shopping done so 7 hours later after walking for hours in the huge malls im back to the hotel for a huge red curry and a beer...maybe the beer was a no no but anyway $5 all up.

 

Friday 27th. Back to the clinic for another shampoo and final instructions??¦and goodbyes. Bought 2 packs of 5mg proscar at the clinic..$73 each...($94 each pack back in oz). Lunch at the hotel then back to MBK mall for final shopping for presents. Huge mall, 5 floors of everything you can imagine. I walked every floor twice I think hunting for deals. Back at hotel at 9pm for final dinner and taxi to the airport. Im sad to be leaving. Wish I could stay another week and look around more. But work on Monday..:-( big accident on the way to airport and we 're at walking pace for 45 minutes....Im worried Ill miss the plane but we make it in time. Flight back was good. I had 3 seats to myself so could lie down. I was still taking pain meds regularly...donor area hurts more when lying down. 8 ?? hours flying and I arrive back at Brisbane at midday. Customs haul me off to a special stall like on border patrol and ask me all these questions and say they think I have something illegal in my bag. No tv cameras around so I wont be a border patrol star today....lol. They go thru my bags and find the chanel handbag I bought for my daughter. It has chains and a circular metal clasp which looked like handcuffs to them on the xray..lol...so funny. She asks about the proscar...a prescription drug. I tell her I had a medical procedure in Thailand and the proscar is for prostate....she wishes me a speedy recovery..probably thought I had cancer or something..lol. Then an hours drive from Brisbane and im home.Stop at Mcdonalds for a burger. $7.20...what a rip off. In thailand hats like a huge curry and rice meal, large bottle of heineken, chinese tea and a coffee....wonder if they want any engineers over there...lol. Anyway what a week. Today I slept in til 11am, Ive never done that. I was pretty drained I think...my head feels tight still, probably from swelling, pain from the donor is area is very minor...work tomorrow...groan...and explanations for the hat. Ill tell them I had surgery on my head, nothing life threatening, and it looks a bit ugly so doc told me to wear a hat for a few weeks.

 

That's it. Im very happy that I went to Dr Path. He knows what hes doing and has a great team who really look after you well. I can highly recommend him. The airfare cost me $1025. I spent $150 on the hotel. $100 total on all my meals, about $10 on the skytrain, and $20 on taxis and got xmas presents at super cheap prices. I paid around $2.80 per graft, AU $11700 for 4167 grafts. Thailand is a great place to visit too, lots to see and do, cheap shopping and fantastic food at ridiculously cheap prices. Cheers??¦

 

Sunnycoastman

Ps. When I get photos from the clinic Ill post them and my progress over time.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Sunny,

 

Thanks for posting a detailed account of your experience. I'm sure those considering hair transplant surgery, in particular Dr. Pathomvanich will find your account extremely helpful and comforting.

 

I encourage you also to create a hair loss website to share your experience and document your progress with photos.

 

All the best for a successful hair restoration,

 

Bill

[wb280]

hi sunny coastman! i was in his clinic a day before u! but i just had a basic consultation with dr oravan. spotted dr pat with another patient who i believed had his HT done a day ago as he was ushered in for shampooing!

 

i am close to 100% in choosing Dr Pat, he recommended me 2300 grafts but that was due to the lower hairline i requested. All in all, i decided to stick to the current hairline so i prob need 2000 or below

 

I had a friend who had gone thru HT, though not with Dr Pat. He was telling me abt the extreme pain he went thru during the procedure. Any comments? Also, the kind lady doc assured me that i can use toppik/nanogen a week after surgery. Were u using it before the HT?

 

thanks!!!

[wb280]

Bill, kudos to all the work u have done for this community for fellow hair-losers like us. Guess only the hair-losers can understand the agony... its affecting me nearly every moment hence the decision to go under the knife. I am 32 btw, and staying in the vicinity of Thailand. Just a receding hairline with my crown in tact. The dr recommended me to just fill in the hairline and temple and continue using minox to keep the crown. I am quite against the idea of using Propecia as i m worried abt the side effects

 

All in all, just wanted to say thanks on behalf of this community

 

thanks!

[Sunnycoastman]

Hi Wb, there is no pain during the whole procedure. The most painful part for me was the finger prick to take my blood test. If you begin to feel anything just tell them. about 3/4 of the way through my procedure i began to feel a little pain as they cut the grafts and they gave me another shot straight away. The shots dont hurt a bit. the ones in my eyebrow stung a bit but all over in a second. Please dont worry about feeling pain during the op. No I havent tried toppik but Ill look into it. You should try propecia. I started on it 3 months ago. I started with 0.5mg per day for a month to see what effect it had. I dont like taking drugs but I dont want to lose more hair either especially after spending so much money on my HT. Now Im take proscar(cheaper) 1mg per day and no side effects that I can determine so far. Im also going to start on minox in a few days time. good luck mate. Dr Path is good. He really knows his stuff.

[Beachgoer]

Hi Sunnycoastman

 

Glad to hear all went well with Dr Path. Your story has made me even more keen for my appointment with him next March. The staff all seem to be very proficient and professional which always helps when the anxiety gets a bit high.

[Sunnycoastman]

Hi beachgoer, yes the staff are proficient but quite humble and at ease as well. Dr path is the main man there, he is just good at his job and everyone there knows it i felt. before you go there write down the list of questions you want answered, and take a pen and write down the answers too at the time. have all the questions ready. dont try and remember like I did cz youll forget things like i did. depending on the number of grafts scalp laxity is important. i worked hard for 2 months with scalp exercises and Dr path got almost an inch deep, but i needed alot of grafts so Im glad i did. keep an eye on the exchange rate. you can transfer money to his account when its good and save heaps if you time it right. I transferred 9000 oz dollars to their account when the official rate was 31 baht to the $ and still got 30.4 baht per $ their end. the bank takes their cut of course. The day of the procedure is by far the easiest part of the whole exercise..The stress is before and after....i banged my head on the car door 3 days after the op and was worried, feeling for blood, lost grafts...lol. Im so careful now...first day back at work today. hat on, my scalp is still tight, bit of a headache but no pain meds needed. workmates fishing for info...Im hanging out for the xmas break..2 1/2 weeks holiday in NZ. cheers beachgoer

[wb280]

hi sunny! wow ur words have empowered me! Think i probably will settle for a date but i need to make sure my work is affected to the bare minimum. I was quite worried abt the pain but felt better after ur assurance!

 

Anyway which hotel did u stay? U still went out for shopping? OMG! Did u notice anyone looking at u? What head gear did u don?

 

Oh before i forget, did u get much swelling on the forehead?

 

Lastly, at the airport, i supposed u have to remove ur head gear? I do not think the customs will allow u to board without first requesting u to remove ur gear... thats of concern to me. wats ur take?

 

thanks!!!

[Beachgoer]

I'm really pleased all went well for you over there. I'll definitely keep in mind about pad and pencil, I have a memory like a sieve at the best of times. Been working on the laxity already but I find my arms get extremely tired very quickly, don't know if it's just me as a weakling or a common problem with everyone. Still all I can do is keep at it as like you I need a lot of grafts.

 

Look forward to your updates as time progresses.

 

Originally posted by Sunnycoastman:

Hi beachgoer, yes the staff are proficient but quite humble and at ease as well. Dr path is the main man there, he is just good at his job and everyone there knows it i felt. before you go there write down the list of questions you want answered, and take a pen and write down the answers too at the time. have all the questions ready. dont try and remember like I did cz youll forget things like i did. depending on the number of grafts scalp laxity is important. i worked hard for 2 months with scalp exercises and Dr path got almost an inch deep, but i needed alot of grafts so Im glad i did. keep an eye on the exchange rate. you can transfer money to his account when its good and save heaps if you time it right. I transferred 9000 oz dollars to their account when the official rate was 31 baht to the $ and still got 30.4 baht per $ their end. the bank takes their cut of course. The day of the procedure is by far the easiest part of the whole exercise..The stress is before and after....i banged my head on the car door 3 days after the op and was worried, feeling for blood, lost grafts...lol. Im so careful now...first day back at work today. hat on, my scalp is still tight, bit of a headache but no pain meds needed. workmates fishing for info...Im hanging out for the xmas break..2 1/2 weeks holiday in NZ. cheers beachgoer

[Sunnycoastman]

Hi beachgoer, yes keep at the scalp exercises. It took me 6 weeks of doing it before i noticed it really loosening up. wish Id started earlier.i only did two months and then I had a break for a week in that. I think 3 months is needed, you can do the exercises less to start with then more often as you get closer. I only did it at night cz Im lazy...lol. But Im strong, I worked out every day at the gym but my arms got tired real quick like you say. heres what I found to make it easier. do it lying down on the couch watching tv, so your shoulders are supported on the pillow. clasp your fingers together over the top to get more leverage. do mostly from the base of your scalp upward. I also did from the top downward and upward inbetween hoping it would help.i tried everything...lol. I found that by placing a rough facecloth on the back part of my head it got more grip on my scalp and my hands and I could apply more pressure. hold the pressure for 5 to 8 seconds then release. move around then repeat. I found it really hard work...my arms got tired very quickly...but just rest a bit then do it again and so on. doing it lying down helped me alot. The hard part is around the very back so you have to work on that area. I always clasped my fingers to apply the most pressure. good luck mate. Im very happy with my procedure so far and with Dr Path and his team. I think the result will be good. cheers....

Sunny

[Beachgoer]

Thanks for the advice and it is nearly exactly the way I am doing it. I think perserverence is the key. And maybe arms of steel....Lol

[Sunnycoastman]

Hey WB, I recommend the senna place hotel. I tried to get in there but it was booked out so that tells you its good value. if you stay 3 days you can get free pickup from the airport..thats worth AU$15 and late checkout...5pm. And its not far from the clinic. maybe 10 or 15 min walk Im guessing and the skytrain station is close too. check it out http://www.senaplace.com/home.htm . I wore a baseball cap with the black headband. It looks like a sweatband. I was out and about all the time every day and no-one looked at me funny. theres all sorts of dress in bangkok no-one cares. I talked to an english girl on the skytrain one day and she wasnt looking at me strangely...it looks like a sweatband. But if youre worried do this...tie a bandanna on over the head and headband then put your baseball cap on. I saw a random guy in Siam mall who did that...it actually looked pretty cool...kind of a bit hippy like, and I wished i had bought a bandanna, but are they easy to put on...Im lazy...lol. yes I got some swelling and my scalp felt tight for 5 days. i had about 1500 in my frontal area and 2600 on my crown and yes I noticed the swelling when I got home 3 days after the transplant but next day i slept for about 12 hours I was so tired and it was gone. no-one at work has noticed any difference...except the hat of course but i told them Id had surgery on my head and the doc said wear a hat. today one of the receptionists at work said "why are you wearing a hat inside"...I said "its international hat week"...lol, and she believed me....lol. Ok at the airport. That concerned me too. firstly carefully take off the band in the rest room before you go through. put the hat back on. make sure you have no metal on you when you go through or youll get stopped with no hat on. If your belt has metal take it off. If you have a laptop or portable dvd take it out of the bag and place it in the tray. you dont want to be stopped with your hat off going through the security check. But you have to take your hat off...cant avoid it, but do this. have another hat with you. put that in the tray with some other stuff and send it through the xray machine. wait til its gone in and then a few seconds more. then quickly take off your hat put in another tray and walk through the checkpoint and immediately pick up the other hat you sent through first and put it on. It will be over with in 2 seconds. Dont look at anyone...a few steps put the other hat on and its done. that avoids standing there thinking everyones looking at you while waiting for your one hat to come thru like I did...:-) . tomorrow stiches out. i have to tell the nurse i had a HT. Why am I so embarrassed about this....I dont know. probably cz she'll think Im vain...Im not good looking anyway so its not like it'll make me a studmuffin...lol....maybe the feeling that I have to have cosmetic surgery to make me feel better about myself...what does that say about me....is that it....I dont know, I cant pin it down why Im almost ashamed of having done this..Im 55 for gods sake, why am I so worried....funny isnt it. young guys think that when they get older it wont matter if theyre bald but you know I dont think thats the case...you resign yourself to more easily thats all but dont like it. lol, enough of my philosophising about it....Im glad i did it and look forward to seeing my hair grow instead of go....:-) cheers

 

sunny

[wb280]

hi sunny!

 

hey thanks for the reply! I think no matter wat, u have to take off ur cap at the customs, its unavoidable but hey, like u said, just look straight, smile, and just move on. they might stare but nobody is going home remembering how u look like!

 

for me, Dr Oravan has indicated to me 2000 or less grafts as i only have issues with my hairline and prob front part of the scalp. My crown is firmly in tact. Mind u i m just 32 so i guess its probably not that bad but bad enuff for me to go under the knife!

 

On the stitches, u did not wait till the 5th day to return to clinic to remove them? I think i will prob stay in BKK for 5 days until i m certified to go home by the dr! Oh, btw, Dr has indicated that i can use concealer 5 days after surgery, but i guess it depends on how fast i heal... However, if thats the case, i prob dun even need to worry on the customs

 

I am wishing u the best of luck, your success will be my success too!

 

thanks!

[Sunnycoastman]

Hi WB, youre lucky your crown is intact.you'll have no worries with concealing the Ht but the little crusts will take about 10 days to fall off I think. I have a large bald crown and a tuft of thinning hair in the front. Plus my hair is very fine and thin in my donor area too...iust the worst genes possible man...I would love to have stayed longer in thailand and had my stitches out over there but I didnt have enough annual leave so I could only go for a week at the max. Today is exactly 1 week since my procedure. I had my retention stitches out today. 17 of them. Not a problem. One bled a lttle. The nurse had never done HT stitches before. I also went to the gym today, did some treadmill work, stationary bike and twice through a weight circuit using light weights and about 20 reps. Felt good. I worried about my grafts tho. Im a bit paranoid about them I reckon...hullo out there, anyone know that feeling....lol. so all good so far. Ill try and post a pic of my scar on surgery day. the retention stiches are blue and work to reduce the tension on the dissolvable stitches which will dissappear in 4 to 6 weeks.

[wb280]

yo sunny!

 

i see! nah i will stay there as long as it takes, but dr has assured me the worst scenario is 5 days max. hey, i m 32 and if i dun do something now, i will prob look worse than anyone here at 55! i just v troubled by it, else i will not ve decided to go under the knife

 

ur scar looks clean... or is it not? i dun really know how to gauge

 

u can start some light exercising just 1 week after surgery?

[wb280]

sunny,

 

just to check with u, did dr shave any part of hair prior to surgery?

 

also, i took a gd look at ur scar. yes the scar is not that wide but the part above and below the scar are devoid of hair. did he shave it?

[Sunnycoastman]

Gidday WB,hairloss is the male curse isnt it. I bet if women had our problem the doctors wouldnt be able to keep up with the demand...lol. yes my light exercise is ok but nothing fast and jerky. I will go to the gym every day for next 5 days and work out lightly but enough to get a sweat up.My instructions say "absolute minimal for first 7 days involving fast body movement,thereafter mild exercise and after 10 days resume to normal activities" yes my scar is clean. i think its a good job done. no they didnt shave me anywhere else. I have a tuft in the front I wanted densified and they would have shaved that if they did it but I didnt have enough grafts and I was worried about shock loss anyway. heres a pic of the front to illustrate. They have to shave the donor area so the doc can see to cut around the existing hairs and not slice through them. They advise that you grow your hair so that the hair above is long enough to cover the scar and the shaved bit. I did that and you cant really see the scar or the shaved bit.cheers

[Sunnycoastman]

heres a pic of my crown I took the day after surgery. you can see the huge area that had to be covered. And the front needed doing too both sides of a tuft that has remained reasonably stable for many years. I know my hair will always be thin and see through,Im very realistic about it. but Ill keep it a good length and use a volumiser or something Ill be content just having SOME coverage.Im on proscar too so hoping I can hold what i have. cheers

[wb280]

hi sunny!

 

u sure 10days is enuff for u to go back into resuming ur usual workout? thats part of my concern too but no big deal. hair is more impt!

 

of cos they have to shave a bit ( sorry i wasn;t making sense when i wrote it ) how else can the dr make the incision to cut the strip... but the thing is i m prob going for less than 2k grafts and dr is now offering FUE, only FUT, so i m not sure if a permanent scar ( albeit a really fine one in the hands of a gd dr ) but still the risk is there...

 

however, dr has made it v v clear he does not perform FUE anymore...

[wb280]

sorry for typo, its NOT offering FUE, only FUT...

 

anyone care to chip in some opinions?

 

much appreciated!!!

[Sunnycoastman]

Hi WB, I wont be resuming my normal workouts in 10 days from my surgery. I'll keep my light circuit(50% of normal weights) and aerobics going for as long as I feel I need to and just see how the scar feels then gradually increase it. My scar is still a little tender and hurts a little sometimes so I wont be pushing the weights too hard. I dont think Dr Path had thrashing yourself in the gym after 10 days in mind when he said resume normal.:-). As to the FUT FUE thing. You could probably do FUE with only 2000 grafts.I couldnt. FUT has better succes, well at least more consistent success in terms of graft survival and you will probably pay double the cost for it and you need to find a really good doc to do it. Maybe in the USA/Canada. If money is no object then sure its worth considering. Will you need more HTs in the future. How fast are you losing hair. Are you on Fin. How good is your donor area. You may end up having to do FUT at some point anyway? But yes the opinion of some of the experts on this forum is what is needed right now.

[wb280]

hey sunny,

 

thats the key, i m not that heavy a loser yet. hence i prob need less than 2k just to fill in the hairline and front scalp. i have heard that FUE suits candidates who require less than 2k grafts. In Asia, the only one who i really think i can trust with my head literally on the surgical table is Dr Path but he has made it clear that he does not perform FUE anymore... so i m confused. however, i have gone thru quite a few pictures of FUE procedures... its not pretty... so many moth holes... so in fact, FUT seems cleaner as we can use hair on our back of the head to cover. any advice anyone?

[Sunnycoastman]

Hi WB. you need to start a new thread about should you you get FUT or FUE . Post a pic of your hair. Its not enought to ask, we need pics. Give details of your situation ie age, how many grafts youve been told you need, donor quality, speed of hairloss etc, as much info as possible as well as your hereditary background...father and grandfather balding, if you know, and hopefully youll get some advice from some of the experts here...good luck mate...

 

sunny

[wb280]

hey sunny

 

yah i will upload the photos soon i am 32, and prob 1800-1900 grafts... i m losing at the hairline with crown firmly in tact ( from dr ) and yah my dad has obviously less hair now compared to decades ago but not that bad...

 

My concern now is quite simple, i am defn going for a HT, and nearly 99% sure i m choosing Dr Path but question is whether FUE or FUT is more suitable for me..

 

think u r right man, i will set up another thread

[wb280]

hi sunny

 

how are things with u mate? Care to share some photos?

 

I heard u were concerned with donor scar stretching? wat happened?