Hey everyone
I'm back home now and went back to work today. I think I can safely say I'm in the ugly duckling phase (see attached picture) with what I think looks like far less hair than I had before the operation.
A few people commented on my short 'haircut' and one of my colleagues actually stopped me and asked why my head is so red. I was about to bite the bullet and just tell the truth but before I could he asked if it was from shaving so I just went with that.
Before the operation I thought I'd just be totally honest about it afterwards but it looks so bad at the moment I just can't be bothered to explain that it's supposed to look like this before it gets better.
Anyway, I thought I'd write a little bit more describing the actual operation days as I haven't done so yet.
Wednesday: 2500 grafts in the frontal third
Thursday: 1500 grafts implanted in the crown
Dr. Koray had drawn lines on my shaved head the day before and I was instructed not to rub these off so they were still there the morning of the surgery. I covered this with the distinctive
hat that Asmed provided me and went down to breakfast at the hotel I was staying at. The first thing I noticed was two other guys wearing the same hat and I couldn't help but laugh to myself at the whole situation.
I can't remember exactly what time I was told the bus would arrive to pick us up but it arrived perfectly on time and so the other guys in hats and I were taken off to the clinic.
Although I had been excited and looking forward to the operation by the time I was actually sat in the operating room ready for the first anaesthetic jab to the back of the head I was pretty nervous. Even after the anaestheia was complete and the extraction had started the anaesthesiologist (I won't name any of the staff other than Dr. Koray by name just in case they don't want me to) told me I was still showing signs of nerves (blood pressure and heart rate were taken as well as other things) and asked me to take a sedative. I was a bit reluctant at first but once it kicked in it definitely made the operation go much easier.
Another really nice touch was that a masseuse came and massaged my feet whilst the grafts were being extracted which was very pleasant and definitely helped to relax me.
The extraction felt pretty weird... you can still sort of feel it at times but it doesn't hurt. I chose to watch Casino Royale at this point but couldn't really pay attention and found that just talking to the staff was the best way to stay relaxed. As I said before I really liked all the staff at Asmed and I think they all genuinely care about their clients' wellbeing.
After the extraction (I think this took about 4 hours maybe?) I had lunch before going back to the operating room for Dr. Koray to do the incisions. I was pretty tired by this point and I think I actually slept through most of this part. This took maybe 90 minutes.
The implantation took about the same length of time as the extraction. Toward the end I think the anaesthesia started to wear off but rather than say anything I came over all English and just gritted my teeth and let them get on with it. I think I thought it was going to be over sooner than it was but in hindsight I would advise anyone to ask for anaesthesia as soon as they feel pain. The staff recognised I was in discomfort anyway and gave me a bit more anaesthetic after which it felt much better!
Thursday followed a similar schedule but took less time as only 1500 grafts were moved. I know I mentioned it previously but I once again want to say just how kind, friendly and funny the staff were throughout the whole operation on both days. Looking back on the experience my enduring memory is that it was actually quite a fun experience and this is solely down to them. Thank you!
Technical details
Before I returned to England on Friday afternoon I visited the clinic one last time to have my scalp washed and given details on post-operative care etc. I was also given a document that gave a detailed breakdown of my specific operation which included graft counts, graft counts per area, hair caliber and lots of other statistics from the procedure. This is a nice touch and if I get a chance I'll upload some of the pages from it as it contains loads of useful technical details. In summary:
General information:
Total graft: 4005
Total hair: 8110
Average hair per graft: 2.02
Caliber: 50
Hair details:
1 hair: 804
2 hair: 2354
3 hair: 792
4 hair: 53
5 hair: 2
6 hair: 0
Graft distribution by area:
Temporal: 23%
Parietal: 49%
Occipital: 28%
Once again I'd just like to thank everyone at Asmed for making the experience such an enjoyable one! I can't wait for the final outcome!
