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2000 FUE With Dr Edward Ball and his team at the Maitland Clinic

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TomTom

Valued member
I wanted to share my recent experiences having just had a procedure at The Maitland clinic in Portsmouth, in the last few weeks with Dr Edward Ball & his team.


I had done a lot of research prior to deciding last year that I thought an €˜HT €™ would be the best choice for me, having lost hair for some years €“ but was more or less stable. I went to meet several different doctors in as many clinics as possible in order to decide what I felt was best for me. I went through quite a list, but once I met Dr Ball I was quite sure he was the right person, I felt very early when I met him that he really cares about what he does, and how he does it, & that extends to the team he has. I really considered it important to focus on the fact someone will undertake a procedure on me that will be visible to everyone & define how I will look for the rest of my life, so the doctors ability, artistry & confidence was paramount to me, having met Dr Ball on two occasions prior to my procedure, I did not have one seconds apprehension before - during - or after the procedure, and I am so happy I made the decision I did.
The only thing that I wrestled with for a while was FUT or FUE, I opted for FUE & am very glad I did, in my case it was the better choice.


The Maitland clinic carry out procedures in London or Portsmouth, for me Portsmouth made a lot of sense. I would recommend that location to anyone, the clinic is in a very modern building & is discreetly located inside, it's stress free. The Portsmouth clinic is easy to get to & is less than 1 mile from the M27 as well as easy access to trains & an airport.

So a little of how my procedure went.
On the day:

I found the whole day fairly relaxing, I arrived at 8am and we spent some time planning the hairline - then my head was shaved (first time ever) then my head was washed, I met the rest of the team, who were all really cool. I took a relaxant, my head was numbed & the day progressed from there, it was pain free. The day was long, but no one was in a hurry, which was extremely reassuring. I can genuinely say to anyone thinking of doing this, it is virtually painless- you spend most of your day watching films & the day seems to go quickly, my procedure lasted near on 12 hours, but did not feel that long at all. There was always time for a break, and to have some lunch. I was really well looked after, can't fault it.

Next 48 hours:
Again quite straight forward, I needed to get used to sleeping with my head raised for a few days, and not touch the top of my head for any reason & generally just take it easy. In my case whilst it was a little sore, there was no real pain or irritation to note - my head felt like there was a small mount of pressure applied to it for a couple of days, not unpleasant though - mostly not even noticeable. As far as the donor area is concerned, unless I leaned back on a surface like a chair headrest I totally forgot about it. Ointment is supplied for the back of your head which really help those little tiny dots shrink even further - to produce really mini dots, as well as keeping your donor area feeling quite relaxed, this was applied during the first seven days. I stayed at home for 3 days, to avoid wearing hats early on & risking displacing any grafts, in fact for me staying in & doing nothing was the most difficult part of the whole first week - I am not used to that at all, but once you start watching a film or two - it's all good.
The next week or so:

By day 4 many of the little scabs on the back of my head were gone & by day 6 or 7 they had all gone. In the recipient area, by day 9 all the crusts were gone - the colour of my skin is still a little pinker than usual (even now), I guess that is to be expected & will slowly fade over time, I had some meetings I could not avoid on day 9, & no one noticed a thing - I was pretty impressed with that.
I have read other comments and posts about itchiness - I have not experienced this very much (yet). I think maybe getting rid of the scabs as early as possible probably helps as there is less to irritate the skin, time will tell if this becomes an issue for me or not.

So far all has gone very well, & I can't speak highly enough of Dr Ball & his whole team, I am really excited to see how this progresses, of course it will be sometime before any results are going to show, so I'm going to try to concentrate on other things & just let the time slip by & see where we are in a few months. I have included a few photos, pre-op, straight after, & a few during the first 10 to 14 days after.
Still early days, I will update this post in the coming months.



 

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janna

janna

Valuable Member
Thanks Tomtom for posting about your experience with The Maitland Clinic.You've healed up well. Please do keep us updated of your progress. Looking forward to following your progress.

 
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TomTom

Valued member
Thanks Janna, All good so far.. I will keep you updated ;)
 
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Dazzster26

Valued member
Congratulations having your HT with Dr E Ball and his Team that amount of grafts should give you a nice result wishing you great recovery and growth .


Have a great weekend


Daz


 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Welcome to the forum Tom Tom, 2000 grafts will make a very nice difference to your appearance. Do you know what the graft breakdown is?
Looking forward to seeing your updates.
All the best.
Bm.
 
T

TomTom

Valued member
Thank you Bigmac, I think you are quite right, hopefully it will. I do not know the breakdown, but I will find out and will post that info along with an update as soon as I know.
 
T

TomTom

Valued member
I €™m going to update this post a little now as I am a little further down the line (one month from procedure date). This Photo shows what I looked like approx 10 days after the transplant took place. I followed the instructions I was given very precisely and By day 10 all the scabs & crusts had pretty much gone.
 

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TomTom

Valued member
The photos below are more recent, all taken in the last week. A lot of shedding has taken place €“ which was to be expected, & I am doing what I can to make sure the remaining ones shed as soon as possible... Quite a few are very stubborn & seem very at home. During this week I have really noticed the pinkness of the scalp starting to fade. Really happy so far.

The journey continues .......
 

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janna

janna

Valuable Member
These are good progress pics!! You're going through the awkward stage, unfortunately they are part of every ht surgery. As long as one knows what to expect it's not so worrying as in your case. Really glad you're sharing your progress. You'll be going through the hardest part in the next 3 months....waiting for growth! We'll be around if you come across any concerns. Heal and grow well!!
 
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Dazzster26

Valued member
Hi Friend

Thanks for posting your update for us everything is looking as expected at 1 month Post Op try and keep yourself busy it can get a bit painstaking at times but its all worth it , you have the Team at the Clinic if you need advice but feel to PM me or send me an email I sent it in a PM to you all the best mate keep positive .


Cheers

Daz
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
It looks to have healed nicely and right on track with your progress.
Thanks for the update.
All the best.
Bm.
 
T

TomTom

Valued member
Hi All,
This is just a bit of an update, although not much to say yet.
I had meant to post on here at the end of March, but things have been really hectic & I simply didn €™t get round to it. At the end of the March it would have been 2 months post op for me, so I am just going to go through some of the experiences I have had to date. I guess I am going to be one of the more boring writers as there is not a huge amount I can say, other than I am exactly where I expected to be at this stage.
Generally, almost all redness is completely gone, in fact, I would say it has entirely gone. I don €™t think I have experienced & shock loss (although I appreciate it is possibly a little too early to be 100% sure of that and I may do).
The most important thing that I want to let anyone reading this know is that in terms of pain €“ there has been none at all, at any point, which I hope is reassuring for anyone planning on a procedure. I do get the occasional annoying pimple on the top of my head, which I simply put a warm hand towel on for a few minutes & then they go, I was told to expect a few of these to pop up as new hairs try to get through, they are really easy to deal with though €“ no dramas..
My Donor area, visually, no one would have a clue it has been touched €“ in-fact the only people who know anything are people I have told.
There is not a lot I can add to this post just now as I am simply in the waiting stage ...In the last 7 or 8 days though, I can feel a lot of little spikes, so although still early days, I do expect I will have more to say in my next post.
The pictures I have posted today are about 3 weeks old, so not date accurate €“ but there is no real difference to see at this stage. I look almost exactly the same as I did pre-op.
I am still very relaxed with everything & have found the whole process to be ever so simple... I will post again in a couple of weeks time.
Thanks for taking the time to read my experiences so far
 

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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Tom Tom, it sounds like you`ve healed up really well. Its always nice when the redness has gone and things get back to normal. When you feel those little spikes coming through its hard not to pat them gently knowing that your growth is beginning. Exciting times ahead once you can see it visually.

Good to hear no one has spotted your HT too except the ones you informed.

Thanks for the update.

Bm.
 
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Crudance2006

Member
The wait for things to happen. I remember how anxious I was, all the questions I had. It seems you are over the worst now, just try to relax as those new grafts are on their way.
 
T

TomTom

Valued member
And now it all starts to comes together & the purpose of this journey starts to becomes apparent.
I am early into the 4[sup]th[/sup] month post op now, & there is certainly some noticeable new growth that I am seeing. I started to notice progress about 4 weeks ago, and although very subtle that has continued since.
I actually, more or less have a proper hairstyle now, something that has not been possible in recent years, this has occurred earlier than I thought would happen. I guess anyone reading this will understand the frustration of having weak (if any) hairs you just can €™t style.
I really can €™t speak highly enough of Doctor Ball, Janna & the whole team at the Maitland Clinic. I am still really impressed with everything so far & very happy with the results at this fairly early stage in the overall process. I have read may other posts suggesting Doctor Balls work is €™consistently good €™, I will add my name, very happily to the list of people who say that.
Anyone taking the time to read this, more than likely has more than just a passing interest in the whole procedure. If you are someone contemplating a HT, having got to that point you feel it €™s now €˜The time €™[/b], I really hope that I am able to get across just how beneficial the whole process can be. I think in some ways, taking the time to visit many different clinics, then the wait to have the procedure, followed by the length of time to see any results, makes the whole experience that much sweeter when you start to feel and see the benefit.
I hope that although my descriptions are brief in comparison to many other posters, that I can provide a real feel of what it €™s all about to have a HT. I would certainly encourage anyone to take the first steps, & book a consultation. I notice that I have inadvertently chosen to describe this whole process as a €˜journey €™ €“ That is really what it feels like to me, & I hope anyone reading this understands that is meant in a very positive way.
I am posting some photos covering the last 4 weeks.
I will update this post again very soon.
The journey continues €¦
 

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T

TomTom

Valued member
Most Recent photos at 4 months Post op
 

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