2nd HT 2500 grafts mid scalp + front& back zone 250/250. 3000 total

[Napoleon lll]

Hey guys,

First time I’ve been on this forum and I like to here your thoughts about my 2nd HT. The first one was back in 2019, results were great and loved the end result. I had my hairline back and filled my crown with a total of 3500 grafts(pictures are attached).

Over the years my hair on the mid scalp got thinner and balder so I decided to go for a 2nd HT at a different clinic. It has now been 16 days since the HT. They’ve managed to take another 3000 grafts from my donor area to fill the mid scalp and also added some grafts to my hairline and crown area. My first concern is about the donor area, I would like your thoughts about whether they have over harvested the donor.

Secondly, yesterday I started using minoxidil topical solution on the whole scalp to help grow my original and transplanted hair. I used it in the morning and again in the evening, 2x1ml. I woke up at night with an irresistible urge to scratch my scalp. So I used my pillow and rubbed my head against it several times until I felt a relief, by the time I woke up I saw a lot of hairs on and around my pillow. An estimate of around 50 to 75 hairs(transplanted ones). I know it’s a normale phase to start shedding but could I have damaged the grafts by scratching it this way? Shouldn’t they fall off by itself? The next thing I noticed is that my scalp is red on some places, more like red spots than the overall pink colour that occurs when shedding. I was thinking it might be folliculitis . Was it too early to start minoxidil?

Hope you guys can clear this up for me.
Thanks!
Pic1: 8-9 months after 1st HT
Pic2: Before 1st HT
Pic3: 3 months before 2nd HT
Pic4: After 2nd HT
Pic5: Before minoxidil(yesterday morning)
Pic6/7/8: Today

 

[Bigmac]

Welcome to the forum Napoleon.
Rubbing your head with the pillow sounds like you’ve encouraged the grafts that were due to shed fall out early. The minoxidil could be a contributing factor as well. 6500 grafts in total is a lot of grafts. This suggests you were destined to be on the higher end of the Norwood scale. How much donor if any do you have left?
I’d consider Finasteride in your situation. Preventing or slowing down further loss, otherwise you may require another surgery down the line.
Your post-op healing looks good. If the itching continues, maybe add Nizoral shampoo or an oil to help.
You do not have Folliculitis in those pictures. Always advisable to contact the clinics aftercare if you do have any concerns.

 

[Napoleon lll]

Welcome to the forum Napoleon.
Rubbing your head with the pillow sounds like you’ve encouraged the grafts that were due to shed fall out early. The minoxidil could be a contributing factor as well. 6500 grafts in total is a lot of grafts. This suggests you were destined to be on the higher end of the Norwood scale. How much donor if any do you have left?
I’d consider Finasteride in your situation. Preventing or slowing down further loss, otherwise you may require another surgery down the line.
Your post-op healing looks good. If the itching continues, maybe add Nizoral shampoo or an oil to help.
You do not have Folliculitis in those pictures. Always advisable to contact the clinics aftercare if you do have any concerns.

Firstly I want to thank you for the feedback,

I guess that should be it, it wasn’t very smart to do so I hope I didn’t cause any damage by letting it shed too early. My father and older brother are at NW 6/7. I’m 30 atm but I guess in a few years I’ll be there too. The surgeon said I have a very good donor area, so if I should believe him I could even go for a third and fourth HT. I’m not sure if I’m up to it really but I’ll see how it progresses in the future. I also have a very thick beard and enough chest hair as a back up.

I haven’t thought of taking finasteride due to the side-effects it has. Especially the ones that affect your libido. Maybe I should consider it. I have used minoxidil before and saw a significant change in hair density, once I stopped using it , it went to back to its old state and even worse actually. The DHT does its work so I was already prepared for it.

Luckily the itching has decreased a lot. I guess it was the minoxidil on a healing scalp that caused it. The redness and spots are fading away so that a good thing, there was a bit of panic seeing it. I’ll wait another week and then start using it once a day for a week and build it up down the line.

I’m almost at 3 weeks so I’ll be going for a check up and PRP session at the clinic soon and hear what they have to say about the progress. I’ll be posting my progress here also to hear what you guys thoughts are, what do you think about the density of grafts in the mid-scalp ?

Thanks a lot!