Baldspot’s First HT with SMG

[janna]

Hey Peachy,

We didn't take pics of his donor post operatively but we did take one while Doc was stapling. Baldspot said he'd take pics and videos of the staples being removed so you should be able to get a good view. Here's the one pic we have of his donor closure.

 

[Peachy]

Thanks Janna, looks like you caught this in mid flight. Did Baldspot's long hair give the Dr much grief with the strip extraction and closure?

 

[janna]

We have a technique for taping the hair up so it doesn't really matter how long the hairs are for the donor area.

I'm not sure what you mean by "mid flight". The donor pic??? I cropped the above and below the staples cuz it's middle of surgery and there's blood present and I didn't want anyone to faint.

 

[Peachy]

Assume you shaved/trimmed down in the strip region though? Sorry, by "mid flight" I meant half way through closing up. Was there any particular reason to go for staples in this case?

 

[Nervousnelly]

Great picture of the donor closure. Fabulous.

NN

 

[janna]

Peachy,

We always trim the donor hairs to about 1cm in length.

Yea, I got the "mid flight" reference on my drive home - the lights went on...lol. The closure was almost complete when doc stepped aside for a second so the picture could be taken. Dr. Ron always has both sutures and staples at the ready and decides depending on laxity and elasticity. He gets a feel for what he thinks will work best. Doc really prefers the two layer closure so I personally don't think the outer material of sutures or staples matter as much. The technique for bringing the two sides together without the skin overlapping or leaving gaps is a major factor in producing great scars.

Thanks NN!!!!

 

[NW5a]

It looks more than 400 grafts ... !

 

[janna]

I agree. I asked Baldspot but he had the same recollection as I did as the frontal 1/3 was the most important. During surgery, Dr. Ron said depending on the number of grafts we get, he'd address the crown accordingly and he at that time estimated around 3-400. I asked Dr. Ron yesterday what he thought of the numbers in the crown and he said closer to 600 but wasn't too sure.

Good catch Eagle Eye - way to keep me on my toes!!

 

[Baldspot]

It's bizarre looking at these photos and thinking 'hey that's my head' I'm looking at here... I'm so used to looking at other people's pics.

Anyway. Tomorrow will be 10 days post-op and I'll try and record the process of taking the staples out and what it looks like prior to and after etc.

Thanks bullitnut. Hope you're having a good vacation.

Janna's right - the front third was the priority so we were all paying attention to that. Plus she wasn't in the room all the time so we didn't have someone checking up on us... lol I think she was away buying birthday cake for Dr Ron (which was lovely by the way)

NW5a - Meds - I'm on Finasteride and the Rogaine Foam. Haven't been on the Rogaine for a few weeks pre-op but believe I can start using it again on Monday (2 weeks post op) which I will. Been taking MSM post op just in case it helps.

Peachy - Yeah I think a second swipe is almost guaranteed. Dunno how I stand re donor for future. With the staples in I've only been carefully cleaning the area. Will get a better look after tomorrow hopefully. I use Couvre Toppik etc for work and that helps with the dark hair to cover the scalp a bit. The longer hair, I'd say, is essential if you're going for the 'stealth HT' approach. There were a few 'getting a haircut soon?' comments prior to me going off work but it's a small price.

 

[Baldspot]

Hi Folks,

Thought you might be interested in an update - well two updates really. Post Op 5 Days and Post Op 10 Days.

I know 'downtime' from your work to go off and get an HT is a big worry for a lot of guys so it's probably useful to see how quickly things can heal.

Here's the pics - (hoping he can post them...)

Baldspot

 

[Baldspot]

Front

 

[Baldspot]

Side

 

[Baldspot]

Crown

 

[Baldspot]

Donor

 

[Baldspot]

Front

 

[Baldspot]

Front

 

[Baldspot]

Crown

 

[Baldspot]

Side

 

[Baldspot]

Donor

 

[Baldspot]

Staples coming out