• Welcome to Hair loss Experiences hair loss forum.

    Free impartial hair loss advice, hair transplant advice, hair loss medications and hair loss news.
    You can contact us directly at [email protected] if you experience any problems.

2055 FUE Grafts Carolina Hair Surgery

T

tbuckle89

member
Hello all,
First time poster but thought I'd share my recent operation with Dr. Vories of Carolina Hair Surgery. For several years I researched about hair loss medications and hair transplant surgery but finally made the decision back in January to go through with it. Forums like this really made me informed about the process so I figured I'd return the favor.
A little about me, I'm 27 and a Norwood 3V. First noticed a widows peak at age 18 and have slowly receded since then. At 22 I first got a comment about my crown thinning and that has progressed as well to where I am at now. I have mixed hairloss patterns in my family so not quite sure how I will fair but my pattern is looking more and more similar to my father's at age 52 (Norwood 4). Obviously it has affected me be emotionally and socially so I had to do something about it.
I searched a long time through multiple boards before I settled on Dr. Vories. I had originally thought I'd go with Dr. Erdogan in Turkey but something about traveling out of the country for a medical procedure I had never experienced kind of scared me. The biggest part for me was concealment. I chose Dr. Vories mainly for three reasons:
1) He only does FUE
2) He extracts and places the grafts by himself
3) Price was very reasonable for USA ($4.30-5.00 per graft)
I shot him an email one night and he responded the very next day. He took a look at my photos and had originally quoted me 3000 grafts but since I haven't tried Propecia or minoxidil I'd postpone the crown until a later date, so we settled on 2000 grafts.
My procedure was on March 3rd and I drove down to Charleston on March 1st. Arrived at his clinic where I met Mike (his practice manager) and Dr. Vories to go over paper work, payment, and prep. I gotta say I was incredibly nervous even weeks leading up to this. I told no one, not my family, friends, or roommates.

Everything I had read about Dr. Vories was true. He was a very personable man and quickly made me feel at ease. He explained the process to me and expectations. His two techs were also quite friendly and made me feel at home. His clinic was very nice and clean but small, which was not a bad thing.

Dr. Vories ended up extracting 2055 grafts but only charged me for 2000. My count was as follows: 1) 325 grafts
2) 1410 grafts
3) 250 grafts
4) 70

The numbing shots were bearable but the recipient area was quite painful. I had pretty decent pain for a few hours after the procedure but I took a few extra strength Tylenols and haven't had an issue since. Sleeping has been quite rough though as I need to remain elevated. I wake up at least 10 times during the night, not in pain, but just due to angle and my fear of messing something up.
Overall my experience was a very good one. I can't thank Dr. Vories and his staff enough for how comfortable they made me feel. I am 3 days out at the moment and my donor is healing quite nicely. Now is time for the waiting game. I will include pictures momentarily.

Thanks for reading.


Pre op







Immediate post op







 
SADbutTRUE

SADbutTRUE

Valued member
welcome to the forum.congrats on recent surgery n heres to great growth.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your story. That's a nice number of grafts you got, they should create a nice new hairline.
Looking forward to following your progress.
All the best.

 
scepticsausage

scepticsausage

member
Never heard of Carolina Hair Surgery or Dr Vories myself but it sounds and looks like you had a good experience there. This will be an interesting post to keep an eye on for me to see how your transplant progresses.
Good on you for sharing.
 
T

tbuckle89

member
I am 7 days post op. My donor seems to be healing up nicely. My recipient has a lot of crusting however. I have been following all post op instructions but may just be a little too gentle with them. I contacted Dr. Vories and he assured me it was of no great concern and that on day 8 I should start to be a little more aggressive to try and free the scabs and crusts.

I took a long road trip straight after having the procedure. I drove a good ways around the USA to take some time off and allow for healing. I've noticed two things however that have kind of concerned me when coming back home and looking in the mirror that I am use to.

The first is that my overall hair seems a lot thinner. This could very well be the supplements I started taking about a month ago. Those include Saw Palmetto tablets, Minoxidil, Biotin 10,000 mcg, and topical S5 plus cream. I'm thinking this could be the result of the typical shed that some of these products induce. Hopefully, my texture returns in the following months.

The second is that I'm not that thrilled about my hairline. The right side seems a lot higher and straighter whereas the left is more curved. This could just be a result of the shape of my forehead and or an optical illusion but to me it seems obvious. The other issue is that it is higher than I had originally hoped. I asked for a higher hairline and from the mirror in the office it seemed good but at home once the swelling has gone down I can definitely see that, at least in the front, that it would have looked better more jagged and shallower. Perhaps when the hair grows in it won't be that bad.

Regardless I'm still pleased with the procedure and hoping for good growth. I think in these initial stages I am paranoid that I won't get good growth but I'm trying to stay positive. The good thing is that I work in a blue collar field and hats are normal headwear so disguising shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks for reading. My next update will probably be in about a month. Cheers!!!





The direct lighting makes it look a lot. Plus I was just wearing a hat

 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Shockloss and shedding are common after a HT. Many patients experience this and have concerns when seeing their hair looks worse than before the surgery. It soon passes as the hair recovers and you`re back at pre-op stage.
As for your hairline, it's hard to say if one side is higher or straighter than the other. Once it grows out, you will be able to tell. If it is slightly off and you`re not happy with it, a small touch up should suffice.
Keep taking your regular update pictures and keep in touch with the doctor if you have any concerns.
 
T

tbuckle89

member
I'm 30 days post op. The donor has healed exceptionally fast and well. I cant notice anything but for slight redness at certain light angles. I don't think I've experienced any shockloss in the donor region; perhaps a little bit on the left side but I don't think it's that noticeable.

As for the recipient, the area is still a little red which I anticipated would be the case for a few months. One thing I've noticed is that I've experienced very little shedding of the grafts thus far and a noticeable length increase from the past two weeks. I'd say 10%-20% of the grafts have shed but a good percentage have seemed to have continued to grow. Some look to be half an inch or so in length. I've read that a small portion of patients never experience shedding of the grafts so lets hope I'm in that lucky category. I realize graft shedding can last 2-6 weeks so I'll try not to be too optimistic however I figured at this point I would have shed at least half. I will post a pic at two weeks and you all can compare if I am right.
Again thanks for following my progress. Cheers.

*The grafts I believe are growing include areas of the hairline that were completely void of hair

Two Weeks Post op
Two_weeks_post_op_1.jpg
[/url][/img]
two_weeks_post_op_2.jpg
[/url][/img]
two_weeks_post_op_3.jpg
[/url][/img]

One Month post op pics:
IMG_1031.jpg
[/url][/img]
IMG_1032.jpg
[/url][/img]
IMG_1033.jpg
[/url][/img]
IMG_1034.jpg
[/url][/img]

 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Everything looks right on track at two weeks. The hairs will most likely all shed but in a few cases, they do continue to grow.
Thanks for the update.


 
T

tbuckle89

member
Bigmac wrote:
Everything looks right on track at two weeks. The hairs will most likely all shed but in a few cases, they do continue to grow.
Thanks for the update.
Thanks for the reply and for following my thread. I posted the two week pics above for comparison but below those are my 30 days post op pics. In the pictures it may be hard to see but many of the hairs have elongated past what they were two weeks prior. It's also obvious that I have shed some from the photos. Is it normal for some patients to have at least some grafts to continue to grow while others shed?
 
D

Dazzster26

Valued member
That amount of grafts should give a nice result work looks very good thank you for sharing with us looking forward to following your progress wishing you great growth
 
T

tbuckle89

member
7 Weeks post op now. Can't believe its gone so fast. Really looking forward to the coming weeks and months. Not too much to report except that my original thoughts were correct. I have had some instant growth though not as numerous as I thought 3 weeks ago. I'd say roughly 25% of my grafts have continued to grow with the rest shedding between 2-6 weeks. I wish the redness would go away but it has subsided some in the last few weeks. Donor looks red due to wearing a hat. Again thanks for following.



 
Last edited:
T

tbuckle89

member
Hey all,
My 3 month update. I can slowly see the hair starting to pop through. The grafts that stayed have continued to grow. Redness is still fairly visible though it has subsided a lot and appears worse in photos than in real life. I have the occasional pimple that appears that can be a pain. I can finally go out comfortably with my hair styled. I still feel that I'm not fully back to my original state as it appears I had some shock loss around the hairline area but my hair is long enough now to cover the area.

On a positive note I've seen a moderate thickening of my crown. I've been on 5% minoxidil for 4 months as well as Saw Palmetto and Biotin. I am hoping the thickening continues.

3_month_front_2.jpg
[/url][/img]

3_month_front_3.jpg
[/url][/img]

3_month_front.jpg
[/url][/img]

3_month_left.jpg
[/url][/img]

3_month_side.jpg
[/url][/img]


 
S

Scotsman91

Member
Looking good tbuckle, I am a fan of the conservative hairline designed, I'm 26 and have a similar hair loss pattern to yourself at the front but no thinning in the crown yet so I'm following your progress with interest. Lots of guys in their 20's just want a Hollywood NW1 and don't think long term but you have done your research well and look on your way to having a very satisfying result, looking forward to the next updates.
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Everything looks to be bang on track for where you are at the minute. The amount of grafts you've had and the design look like your going to have a great result and should be very happy when all grown in.
Glad you think the time is flying since your op as for most it seems to drag so slowly due to the anticipation and excitement of the new hairs coming through.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us on here.;)


 
T

tbuckle89

member
Scotsman91 wrote:
Looking good tbuckle, I am a fan of the conservative hairline designed, I'm 26 and have a similar hair loss pattern to yourself at the front but no thinning in the crown yet so I'm following your progress with interest. Lots of guys in their 20's just want a Hollywood NW1 and don't think long term but you have done your research well and look on your way to having a very satisfying result, looking forward to the next updates.
Thanks Scotsman, I agree with you. I've always had a high hairline with a high forehead. I've gotten used to it so lowering the hairline an inch or more wasn't in my interest. I'd rather have a high hairline with some density and styling options which will look proper in 10+ years than a thin NW1.
 
T

tbuckle89

member
bullitnut wrote:
Everything looks to be bang on track for where you are at the minute. The amount of grafts you've had and the design look like your going to have a great result and should be very happy when all grown in.
Glad you think the time is flying since your op as for most it seems to drag so slowly due to the anticipation and excitement of the new hairs coming through.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us on here.;)
I say that but in reality I'd love for it to go much faster. I guess I have the benefit of working a blue collar job where wearing a hat isn't frowned upon. Even before my surgery I wore a hat 50% of the time so having to wear it for a few months post op wasn't to big of a deal for me.
 
T

tbuckle89

member
Here are my 4 months post op pics. I guess things are right on track. My original hair around the hairline is pretty much grown back to normal and my new hairline is taking shape. I'm heading on a pretty big trip overseas in a few weeks and was hoping to be a little farther along to the point that it wasn't noticeable but oh well. With a bit of dermmatch my hair looks relatively decent right now but the hairline still is visible as the hairs are different lengths. I see new vellus hairs everyday come in so I'm very hopeful for a good result. Thanks again everyone for following my progress. Cheers!
4_months_Front.jpg
[/url][/img]
4_months_front_1.jpg
[/url][/img]

4_months_Left.jpg
[/url][/img]

4_months_right.jpg
[/url][/img]


 
T

tbuckle89

member
Hello all,
5 months post op has arrived. Still thin hairline but has improved some since last month. They say 5-6 months is the 50% month so I hope I have 50% more to go. Right now hair looks decent with a bit of concealer but its a pain to put that on all the time so I still wear a hat most of the day. I'm traveling so the photos are shot in a different setting so forgive the inconsistency. Thanks for reading and please share any thoughts or opinions.
5_months_1.jpg
[/url][/img]

5_months_2.jpg
[/url][/img]

5_months_3.jpg
[/url][/img]

5_months_4.jpg
[/url][/img]

5_months_5.jpg
[/url][/img]

5_months_6.jpg
[/url][/img]
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
It looks right on track to me, growth timeline and progress look fine. A few more months and it will look great.
 
Top