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[Bill_the_bald]

HT with Dr. Jerry Cooley on 2/26/2007

 

 

 

[Bill_the_bald]

HT with Dr. Jerry Cooley on 2/26/2007

 

 

 

[Bill_the_bald]

Hi guys,

 

I have been researching this forum for the last three months or so, and this is my first post here.

 

About me: I have been losing hair since 17, and now at 36, I am a NW 5A. I chose Dr. Cooley because he is the closest coalition doctor, about 170 miles from where I live, not exactly local, but 2+ hours drive is nothing compared to flying to another state or Canada. I know you veterans had always emphasized that geographic location should not be a top priority, but if there is one thing I learned from this forum, it's that as far as technical skills and ethics are concerned, I can't really go wrong with any of the coalition doctors, the main difference being their philosophies and approaches.

 

Long story short, I got "Cooleyfied" on my virgin scalp on 2/26/2007, and below is a breakdown of my newly planted grafts:

 

DONOR:

 

Hair texture: coarse

Density: 60 FU/cm2

Elasticity: average

Trichophytic closure: yes

 

Hair counts: total hairs

 

1s 737 737

2s 1686 3372

3s 276 828

4s 9 36

 

total 2708 4973

 

RECIPIENT:

 

Transplanted area: 60cm2

Recipient density: 35-55 grafts/cm2 (average ~45/cm2)

Recipient incisions 0.7-1.0mm

 

 

I wanted 4000+ grafts to achieve full coverage in one pass. Unfortunately, as you guys could see, I only had a pathetically low donor density of 60 FU/cm2 (sigh). The only comfort I got from Dr. Cooley was that Asians typically have lower hair density compared to Caucasians, but at the same time, their hair are usually thicker and shaped differently. So I am going to have to rely on the saying that "one thick hair is better than two thin hairs" To be honest, I didn't experience too much post-op trauma: the redness was hardly noticeable after 36 hours, only needed to take few Tylenols to control the pain in the donor area the next day after surgery, very slight swelling on the forehead after 24 hours or so, but it was so minimal didn't even bother to use icepack, and it was completely gone in another few days. In fact, I got my HT done on Monday, went back to the clinic for post-op checkup around Tuesday noon time before driving home, and went back to work immediately on Wednesday, without wearing a hat or anything! I figure if anyone asked, I would just say I decided to try a new hairstyle by shaving my forehead hehe ......

 

In any case, about a week after the surgery, I began to notice a dark-colored, bumpy appearance on my recipient area, especially around the center hairline where Dr. Cooley packed the greatest density. I am posting few before and after photos, and couple questions:

 

1. Does my recipient area look normal to you guys at this stage? I mean if you look at my pre-op photo, the skin was fairly smooth, albeit without any hair on it. If you do a full-view of Day9 and Day10 photos of my repicient area, I think I'll see what I am talking about.

 

2. If you compare the photos of my donor area before and after HT, does it seem like it is experiencing some shock loss, specifically at the center region directly underneath the scar line?

[Toad_NW3]

Very nice refined looking work Bill. Happy growing!!!!

 

And to your question. Your recipeint area looks just fine. I noticed about two weeks out that whole weird skin in the recipient area, but it slowly resolves and comes back to normal. Remember, you just had a tone of tiny holes poked in your head.

 

 

Toad

[hairbank]

Hi BTB,

 

Hey, congrats on the session with Dr. Cooley. Yes, your donor cm2 was a little low, but the pics don't show it so I would guess the hairs are thicker.

 

I really like seeing Dr. Cooley's after pics, his work always seems so clean to me with very little bleeding. It looks great. As for your recipient area, yes, it looks totally normal to me at this stage, actually better than most. AS for the donor, that's very difficult to say at this point. Even if you have a little shock loss, as long as you don't buzz all the way down it won't be evident and will come back soon.

 

Try to post updates if you can.

[Bill_the_bald]

Thanks for your quick responses Toad_NW3 and hairbank!

 

Actually, I did place high confidence in Dr. Cooley's skills after reading so many positive reviews about him on this forum. Just got a little freaked out when my recipient scalp began to look like the skin of a toad Now I can sleep better at night.

 

Thanks again.

[Bill_the_bald]

By the way Hairbank, as for my low follicular density, near the end of surgery I asked Dr. Cooley about the prospect of hair cloning, he said the technology should be available in about 10 years, and not only can anyone restore the original density, but actually exceeding it! I was originally under the impression that hair cloning just means the surgeons can leave your donor area alone, cloning and growing tens of thousand of grafts inside a petri dish, then physically planting each graft onto the recipient area just like today. But no, he said it will be more like injecting hair stem cells onto your scalp and let them grow.

 

So I guess 10 years from now, I will be walking into his office with a checkbook in my pocket, demanding 200 fu/cm2!!!!!!

[Christian]

I think you'll be happy with your results! I wish I had thicker hair Keep us up to date with your progress!

[its-only-hair]

Looks good Bill_the_bald, hopefully you will update your photos in a few months time when all the hair grows in.

 

You have a good crown, are you taking Propecia?

[John_in_NC]

I don't know you even botherd: it's only hair.

 

By the way: Great next day picture...extremely clean. Congrats to you and the doc. Amazing job.

[its-only-hair]

"I don't know you even botherd: it's only hair."

Huh? John_in_NC

[Bill_the_bald]

Hi its-only-hair,

 

I did not take any Propecia prior to 2007, I wish I started taking them when I first lost my hair at 17, because if I did, I will probably be a NW 3 right now. During my initial consultation with Dr. Cooley on 1/23/2007, he gave me a complimentary bottle of "sample" Propecia with 30 pills, which tied me over for one month. After looking into my insurance coverage for prescription drugs, I found that for 30 pills, my co-pay for Proscar is around $30. However, for generic 5 mg Finasteride, I only have to pay $5, so for me, the price delta between the two is actually 6X. In other words, I can get 90 pills, or one whole year supply of generic Finasteride tablet for just $15, you just can't beat that price!!!

 

Turns out Dr. Cooley didn't have any problem writing me a prescription for generic 5 mg Finasteride during initial consultation. In fact, he wrote me a whole year's worth at a dosage of 1 pill per day, which means I can get a 30-pill refill every month for a total of 360 pills (4 years supply) out of that single prescription! Unfortunately, I was told by his assistant Ailene that Finasteride only has a shelf life of about a year, so it wouldn't do me any good sitting on a pile of cheap Finasteride that I can't possibly consume in one year. So I guess I can just go in for a refill every 4 months or so for $5

 

I posted a somewhat related question in a different thread, but so far only heard back from Hairbank, and I like to hear more opinions. Apparently most veteran posters are against buying Finasteride-based medication online due to concern about not getting the real McCoy from sources of dubious origin. So the question is: do you guys feel the same about buying minoxidil online? The cheapest generic 5% minoxidil topical solution I found in local CVS or Walgreens pharmacy stores costs about $40 for 3-month supply, over $13 a bottle. But looking online, this website for example http://www.minoxidildirect.com, it's selling the same thing for ~ $6.75 per bottle, about half of what you pay at local pharmacies. So should I also be concerned that they may be selling fake minoxidil? Amazon.com also sells very cheap minoxidil, though the price is slightly higher than this site. Would it be a more reputable place to buy, since it's a well-known online store?

[its-only-hair]

I just starting taking Propecia myself last month, I wish I had started earlier. I'm not sure, but I think Propecia is mostly for the crown, so it might not of helped you on your forehead.

[Bill_the_bald]

Actually, I am using both Finasteride and minoxidil mostly to maintain my existing crown hair. You probably can't tell from the photos, but I can feel that my crown hair is much softer than the hair in my donor area. When I mentioned this during my initial consultation, I was told that this "softness" is due to miniaturization of the crown area. Maybe it's psychological, but after taking Finasteride for about a month and half, I think my crown hair feels harder and thicker again, still not up to par with my donor hair, but an improvement nevertheless.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Bill_the_bald,

 

Soon you'll have to change your name to Bill_has_hair! Welcome to the forums.

 

As others have posted, everything looks terrific and yes, your recipient area looks normal. Dr. Cooley does some fine work. Congratulations on selecting a fine surgeon.

 

Bill

[Pat - Community Publisher]

Bill,

 

Congratulations on your excellent results. Thanks for sharing your information in detail - including your detailed hair counts.

 

Best wishes for great growth, Pat