5000 FUE with Dr De Reys

[William38]

I got back to London from the second procedure with Dr De Reys about a month ago.

I'm very happy with the result although I was also very happy with the first operation which I had with him last year.

I chose him because I knew he had been the lead surgeon at the Pro Clinic, which is also in Belgium.

My overall impression of Dr De Reys? Very professional and very experienced. He seems to be trying to limit the number of clients he has these days.

His Rep said I was a Norwood class 5 going on 6.

Here are some photos of me before I had anything done:


This is straight after the first operation. 3000 grafts put in front and centre. Dr De Reys actually took these photos himself in the clinic.


When I got home, I kept on taking photos and here are some shots after three days. You can still see the crusts (or scabs) on the scalp. At this stage, you're not supposed to touch the hair.

This is how it looked after seven days. Now I was allowed to wash my hair using a special Aloe Vera shampoo that Dr De Reys gave me.

After 3 months. Here you can see that the transplanted hairs had already started to shed. This is normal and after they had fallen out, they came back again after five or six months. At this stage I'm still using the Aloe Vera shampoo
and also applying an Aloe Vera cream in the evening.
Before I go on, I have to admit that I cut my hair a few times in the first few months.

I'd always had a buzz cut before the first operation to hide my thinning hair.

It was an eye-opener growing it in the months before the op because I finally saw how much had gone!

Dr De Reys recommended I grow it before the operation but on operating day his nurse cut it back down to grade one.

I also have to admit that after three months I let the photos slide a little ...but I also started to let the hair grow out.

I still had it cut but now it was at the barber shop!

It was great to visit the barber again and get a proper haircut - no need to use the clippers at home anymore.

So here are some photos at around eight months, just before I went to see Dr De Reys again for the second op.

Now a few days after these photos (at eight months) I went to see Dr De Reys for the second operation.

This time I wanted to get the back done and he said I had 2000 grafts still available in the donor area.

He also said that the grafts from the first op were not all through yet and he expected the full result to show at twelve months.

I'd already decided to add more to my temples, to bring the hairline even more forward.

Dr De Reys said it was no problem. He put 350 grafts to fill in the temples a bit more. The rest (1650) he transplanted into the back of my head.

Here are the pics he took immediately after the second operation:

You can see how he added a little to the temples to move the hairline forward. Here's the result after one week:

Now I'm at one month or so and I've just taken some more photos so I'll add them on here when I can.

Hope you like this journal and let me know if there's anything else you'd like to see or know!

 

[Dazzster26]

Hi William

Thank you for your story , Firstly as stated you have more growth to come from your 1st procedure but lets not take anything away 3000 Grafts your at 8 months and you look wicked love it , the 2nd result is on its way, I Think am excited about your result because am following the same game plan , I will be watching your progress for sure and all the very best

Excellent work Dr De Reys ¬b`

 

[Sparky]

Looks good

 

[TR38]

Looks good William, have you some donor area extraction pictures immediately post operative to illustrate the extraction pattern as your donor looks untouched after having a large amount of grafts removed.

 

[William38]

Hi TR38,

Before I post my one month photos (which I'll do next week, I promise!),I dug up some photos from the day after each operation to see if I had any of the donor area.

This is what I had.

Operation 1.

I have two reasonable photos of the donor area after the first operation.


If you look closely, especially on the one taken from the left side, you can still see small points of blood which formed on top of the tiny holes made during the extraction.

I'm afraid I didn't think about snapping the donor area at the time so these are the only two donor area photos that I've got for the first op.

Operation 2

I've got more photos of the donor area for the second op though.

Here you can see the points much more clearly.

So there you have it. I have to say that I think the darker skin tone helps to hide the points. At ten days they were completely invisible.

Right, I hope this helps and next week I'll post the one month photos (after operation 2)!

 

[spence]

congrat's, really fantastic results

 

[William38]

Now I've got some more photos of 1 month post-op (although I'm not on this forum as much so there's always a delay before I post
I've also received a ton of questions since I did this first post so I'm going to try and post some more answers at the end of this thread as they keep coming in.

I'll put up some two month and three months photos soon.

Hope you like this journal and let me know if there's

 

[William38]

Also I've been getting a lot of questions in my private messages box so here's a few answers for you!

Q1. How did you find him?

A1. I googled Dr De Reys to find his website. It doesn't usually appear on the top of the google list but it can be found if you scroll down.

Q2. what technology does he use?

A2. He only does FUE and he does it with a 0.75mm needle (or puncher, whatever the technical term is!). To be honest, I don't know much about the technical stuff but I'd seen photos of his work from when he was lead surgeon at the Pro Clinic and I liked what I saw.

Q3. How many technical assistants does he have?

A3. He only worked with his wife, Gina who is a trained nurse. Dr De Reys extracted all the hairs himself and placed most of them too although Gina did some placing as well. He doesn't have any technical assistants.

Q4. What was your stay like?

A4. My stay was fine. The town Heist-Op-Den-Berg is a small country town with a long main street which has a couple of nice restaurants. I ate out almost every night.

The hotel staff know that Dr De Reys brings his patients there so they're very helpful and used to guys turning up for an operation.

They offered me breakfast in bed on the day after the operation if I wanted it - I didn't in the end and just ate in the dining room. There weren't many other guests so it wasn't an issue. My family went off to Antwerp to do some exploring while I was in the operating room.

Q5. What was Dr De Reys like?

A5. He's a straight-up guy who has seen it all before and can answer pretty much any question you fling at him. He can also prescribe medication if you need it.

It's a family business and his wife cooks meals for the patients and you might see some of the doctor's family around.

It's not a super-space station clinic with loads of staff but the main man knows his stuff and you know you're in safe hands. Like I said, he actually extracts every single hair himself. By keeping it in the family, he can afford to keep his costs down which helps my pocket too

So that's it for now. I've got quite a few more questions by PM so I'm going to get them together and start adding to the thread.

In fact, I've been thinking about turning this post into a blog or a website. Any ideas on that, you guys?

 

[doesanythingwork]

Thanks for posting so much detail - look forward to seeing how it goes over the coming months!

 

[William38]

Here are some photos at 2 months after the second operation. From the front, back, left and right first:

And now I took some close-ups of the hairline. You can see that the results of the original operation mean I now have to push the hairs back to see the new grafts.

At the moment the new grafts are at the shedding phase so they have mostly fallen out. I'll have to wait a few months before they grow back. you can barely see them at the moment.

Still, the fact that I now have to push hairs back is a great feeling!

 

[Dazzster26]

Hi William

Looking good buddy and thanks for your updates , great to here your feeling good about your hairline Brilliant thats what its all about.

Cheers

D

 

[William38]

Here's another update with the photos at 3 months. You can see the original transplant hairs are really going strong now. It took about 5 months before the hairs from the first transplant showed at all so the hairs from the second operation aren't showing yet.

 

[Bigmac]

Thanks for the update William,all seems to be right on track and good.

 

[William38]

Hey, I'm going to put up some more photos soon but I've had a ton of questions so I thought I'd answer a few of those first.

The doctor prescribed me finasteride 1mg during the first op. I'd never taken any medication or shampoos before and I think it's helping but it's not making any new hairs.

Dr De Reys kind of explained it to me and he said he was going to put an interview about it on his Facebook page but I haven't seen it yet. Maybe he's scared of those big drug companies :-O

There's loads about finasteride and regonaine online but has anyone from the forum got any advice for me? Is it true about those side-effects? Should I start with minoxidl as well/instead? Seems to be going well with just finasteride so far...

Cheers,

Will

 

[Dazzster26]

Hi William

thanks for your update looking great buddy , as for the meds I am using the Foam and the Fin daily , as for side effects, I have to be honest and say I did seem to loose some energy and put on a few pounds when i first started the meds , am training again now and everything seems to be settled down

Cheers

D

 

[William38]

Right, so here's the four month update. As you can see the hairs from the new transplant at the crown are really starting to show. I can't wait for the full results in 12 months!
I'll put up some five month photos soon.

 

[Bigmac]

Things are starting to happen for you now, exciting times ahead, thanks for the updates.

 

[William38]

It's five month time (I know it's been longer than that!! Sorry work keeps getting in the way). This time I've pulled the hair back on the right and left so you can see how the extra grafts at the temples are coming through. I'll keep doing this from now on (promise )

It's the big six months next time and I'll try and update a bit quicker this time Happy Holidays for now, people!!

 

[bullitnut]

Looks good dude things are definately improving and your not at the halfway mark yet congratulations.

Thanks for the update.

 

[Dazzster26]

Hi

Looking great William thanks for the update , after seeing your temple work I want some now

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

D