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3085 Grafts by Dr. Bisanga

S

SebastianLF

Valued member
So having gone through a lot of soul searching and saving for the better part of a year, i managed to secure the funds for my HT and I just returned home from the procedure (was done in Belgium, I live in Denmark)

I have chosen to write down some of my experiences of my HT at the BHR clinic:


I arrived in Belgium the day before the procedure along with by girlfriend and checked in at our hotel (Catalonia Forum). What an exciting night it was - knowing that the next day I was going to rectify a problem that has been holding me back for close to 10 years. Anyways, of course I couldn €™t sleep, so I just lay there waiting for the clock to turn 6.

We (Me and my girlfriend) got up, had a great breakfast and went down to the clinic. I was greeted at the door by one of Dr. Bisangas nurses, showing me inside and asking me to fill out some forms. Very nice and clean looking clinic. Then Dr. Bisanga himself came and got us in the foyer. Initial impression was great. Very cheerful and nice person. We had an initial talk about expectations and just a lot of signing papers and agreeing on the nature of the procedure. All in all a confidence inspiring session. He told me that I needed around 2500-3000 grafts and drew a natural looking hairline. Then it was time to start, and my girlfriend was sent home. After that a short photoshoot and then the shaving. I waved goodbye to my hair and was now led into the room where I would be staying for the rest of the day.

I got administered antibiotic and a valium pill and then it was time for the "poking" as the doctor referred to the large amont of local anasteasia shots to my head. He numbed the half of my backhead, and then started poking holes while a nurse was standing beside him and counting them. Meanwhile we chatted lively about pretty much everything from soccer to religion (Tip to future customers, hes a BIG Chelsea fan!). After he was done poking holes in the back of my head, it was time for the extraction. The extraction was done by one of Dr. Bisangas nurses, all VERY nice and in good mood throughout the day. This continued until around 1, when it was time to eat lunch. My girlfriend came back and we had a nice lunch in a little room where we could be alone. A nice little break. Then back again. Bisanga returned and now started poking holes in my recipient area while still in a great mood €“ although a little too fond of €œpoking € me :)
This took around 1 hour and then he did the €œsides € of my new hairline. After that 2 nurses started placing grafts in my forehead. All in all I was actually surprised by how well I got through the first day. Not too painful and I didn €™t look too bad.

The day ended with me getting a €œstylish € black bandana placed on my bloody head and being sent home. What a scary night. I put socks on my hands and tied my hands together just to make sure I wouldn €™t end up scratching my scalp and slept in a sitting position. I think I got around 2-3 hours of sleep.
Woke up again to a dreaded sight of my scalp being all bloody and a lot of extract looking like it was infected. I was later told that this was normal and nothing to worry about. Anyways, we went down to eat breakfast while wearing my €œstylish € black bandana and then went back to the clinic.

What a difference day 2 was. Everything was so painful cause of swelling and soreness from the day before. Especially the part when I had to lie on the side of my head while a nurse was pressing down on my head and extracting grafts hurt like hell. But with a lot of €œyou €™re doing great € and €œbest patient so far € encouragements from the nurses I got through the day. All in all the day was exactly the same as the first day. First Bisanga poked holes in the other part of my back head, then a nurse extracted grafts. Then Bisanga came back and poked holes in my forehead and finally 2 nurses placed the grafts in my forehead.
Post op was swiftly handled, and I left the clinic with a confidence inspiring speech by Dr. Bisanga of him expecting a high quality result.
Another dreadfull night of tied hands with socks on and very little sleep. We had booked an early flight home to Denmark, so we departed from the hotel at around 7 o clock. I €™m not a VERY sensitive person, but with a swollen head and a €œstylish € black bandana I was the object of quite a few glances on my 3 hour journey home. And what a relief it was to get back home and be able to start my post op procedures of spraying and washing the recipient area, and just being able to relax.
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S

SebastianLF

Valued member
It has now been 5 days since my HT, i will update with pics of my healing in a day or 2-

/Sebastian
 
D

Dazzster26

Valued member
Hi

Thanks for posting your story , thats a very nice amount of grafts which should produce a very nice result as well , BHR are a top clinic with consistent results good choice

Heal Well looking forward to your updates



Cheers

D
 
S

SebastianLF

Valued member
Thanks a lot, and I agree completely! My experience in the BHR clinic has been very positive and pleasant.

Cant wait for the final result :)
 
Y

Young Guy

Valued member
I thought norwood 2 were not good candidates for HT? How old are you? Has your hair loss stabilized?
 
D

Dantheman

Valued member
All the best with your end result - you chose a top surgeon/clinic.

¬b`
 
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SebastianLF

Valued member
Hey Fred

Im almost 32 years old, and yes, my hairloss has stabilised a lot. I started loosing my hair in my early 20s, but it stabilised a lot in the past few years.

Cheers Dan :)

/Sebastian
 
sl

sl

BHR Clinic Patient Advisor
Hi SebastianLF

Thank you for posting your case photos and update.

Look forward to the progression.
 
M

Modenese

boy meets quiff
Hi Seb

I'm about 8 weeks out now, and can relate very much to your story - especially the trip home in the bandana.

I bought an inflatable back rest, and bought a number of those 'flight' pillows.

I slept using one of these for 2 weeks to keep me upright:

(Mods, I hope you don't mind me posting a link):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000NJSPGY/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00

For the 1st night when you are in Brussels, there is an inflatable version.

Happy growing, and good luck with the ugly duckling phase.
 
S

SebastianLF

Valued member
Thanks so much Modenese :)

yeah that trip home sure wasnt fun :) I have a lot of pillows to sleep as upright as possible, so I think its taken care of. My main issue these days is an immense burning sensation in the donor area, which makes it hard for me to rest my head om a pillow, but I'm sure it will get better.

I just read through your topic, and I can see you are a fellow Dr. Bisanga patient. Yours is starting to look really good and good luck wtih your growing as well :)

/Sebastian
 
sl

sl

BHR Clinic Patient Advisor
Hi SebastianLF

Not sure if you have spoken to your advisor but it appears you have occipital nerve pain (neuralgia). It can be more intense at night. Ibuprofen tablets help to settle the nerves and also b vitamins.

I had this once in 7 surgeries, it can come on at even two weeks post surgery and last a week. Take the pain killers, wash and massage well and also I found applying cold aloe vera helped a lot.
 
L

Levrais

Valued member
Hi Sebastian,
Congratulations on your procedure. You've got a lot of native hair and with that number of grafts in the front, you're going to have amazing hair. I'm looking forward to seeing your updates. What does your girl friend think about you doing the procedure?
 
S

SebastianLF

Valued member
Hi SL

My advisor is slacking big time! Just kidding, Fredrik has been amazing, just wanted to give him a small break from the questions after my procedure, I have been overwhelming him a bit up to I had my HT done :)

But it makes a lot of sense. I try to massage the donor area with circular motions which helps for an hour or so. Also applying the cold Hydrocortisone really feels nice, so I can see where you are coming from wiht the cold aloe vera :)
Would it be okay to start using aloe vera on the donor area only a week after my procedure?

Question about the pain killers. Tomorow it has been a week, and I was told to not take any other pain killers than the ones I was prescribed - Tylenol. I was only prescribed 6 of them, so they are gone now :) But after a week I can start taking pain medication again, right?

The reason why I ask is cause ibuprofen really isnt good for my stomach, since I have some problems with acid reflux, so another product called Pamol would be better. I asked my pharmacist who said it didnt contain salicylic acid (its a paracetamol substitute), but I didnt wanna risk anything, so I wanted to wait till a week had passed :)

Kind regards
Sebastian
 
S

SebastianLF

Valued member
Hi Levrais

Great question :) To be very honest, the hardest part was admitting to myself that i was a vain man, who actually cared about loosing my hair, and admitting it affected my self confidence. I have a lot of friends who are balding, and who simply dont care. (at least they act that way) I wished I was like that sometimes :) Sadly I'm not. I found myself hiding myself away more and more and judging myself. I decided that I wanted to do something about it and discussed it with my girlfriend. She was very supportive about the whole thing, but banned my from Finasteride - Cancer risks, loss of sexual drive etc didnt excatly sell the product too well :)

As long as I saved for the procedure myself, and if I genuinly felt I needed it, she would back me up 100%. She has said throught the whole proces that she thought I was silly, and that I didnt needed it though. But she's a great girl and is generally a really caring and supportive person, and we try as much as possible to be there for each other if we feel something is really important for the other person.

And let me tell you it was such a relief having her with me in Belgium, especially for the trip home :)

/Sebastian
 
E

ejj

member
Hi Sebastian

The work looks great , it will make a huge difference when it all starts ` sprouting` , the waiting game can be frustrating , i found to pass the time either gym, (after required downtime post op ) or a playstation helps !

Look forward to the updates , keep up the aloe vera

Regards

ejj
 
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topccat29

topccat29

29 year HT veteran
Sebastian best wishes on a great result.

I really have to appreciate your girlfriend €™s comments, now that is a woman that cares about you.
 
sl

sl

BHR Clinic Patient Advisor
Hi Sebastian

I think Fred has emailed you, anything you need let him know or of course post and I will read.

Take care.
 
S

SebastianLF

Valued member
Thanks so much Topcat. She is indeed a great girl :)

/Sebastian
 
S

SebastianLF

Valued member
Hey Ejj and thanks :)

Yeah the waiting time is kinda hard, but hey only 52 more weeks for the full result now, right? :)

I have taken 2 weeks off work, so I have 1 more week before I'm going back to work. I think time will pass much faster once I go back :)

But yeah Playstation defo helps! In 2 weeks I can start working out again, I really miss that too.

/Sebastian
 
S

SebastianLF

Valued member
Alrigth today it has been 6 days since my HT, heres how my healing is going:

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Im a little worried about the front of my head being a little bit "crusty" and "woundy", but in 2 days I will start using a shower on it and actualyl start "touching" it and masaging it, guess it will slowly fall off :)

/Sebastian
 
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