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Dr Ball, Maitland Clinic. 2076 FUE. April 2021

S

SussexHair

member
Hi, i'm James. I've been studying my hair loss and reading the forums for many years.

Next week i am having my FUE with Dr Ball and i wanted to document and share my experience with others as I've found other peoples blogs so helpful in making my own decision.

10 years of hair loss
I am 34 years old. I started to notice my hair falling out when i was 24.
I remember sitting at my desk at work and noticing large numbers of hairs on my desk, i didn't think anything of it at these early stages as it was not noticeable to look at.

At 25 it was becoming noticeable to me in the frontal area, starting to recede.
I researched this and started Regain foam twice a day. I have been sticking to that routine since, with only a short gap of a few months when my son was born 3 years ago and i lost interest in my hair for a while.

Over the past 10 years i have stuck with the Regain foam and 8 years ago introduced Nizoral (2% Ketoconazole) as my main shampoo.

My hair loss has been slow but i have not been happy with my hair for some years now. Always conscious of it and finding it very hard to cut and style to anything i am happy with.

I decided taking medication was not for me so that was a part of the discussions i would have with Dr's on what a safe and appropriate hair transplant would be for me long term.

I have been aware of hair transplants for many years, Elon Musk is claimed to have had surgery and i follow his work a lot and he acts as a reminder to me of what is possible.

My hair transplant journey begins
18 months ago i spoke to Dr Lupanzula (Belgium) when he offered a free consultation in London. The discussion and conclusion was promising and i decided a hair transplant was a) Suitable for me and my condition, b) Something i could afford and could not live without.

Fast forward and meeting with David Anderson and Dr Ball on the 25th January 2021, i immediately put my deposit down and 3 months later i am just a week away from my FUE.

The Maitland Clinic
I had my video consultation with David, he has a great personality, genuine, honest, not at all trying to sell you the procedure and he's been through it all himself. He's also worked in this industry a very long time and is well known. We agreed on a proposal to discuss face-to-face with Dr Ball.

The clinic is in a very nice building in Portsmouth. The clinic staff were welcoming and i felt very relaxed meeting here. It's also just 90 minutes from my home which is a bonus.
I first spoke with David and then Dr Ball joined us. I immediately liked Dr Ball, confident and honest and again no sales pitch. What i liked most was his long term approach to the surgery, not drawing a hairline that i would not age well into or require further surgery to look natural. I actually want a receded hairline, i just don't want to be bald on top! And without saying this, Dr Ball drew his proposed hairline and i immediately liked it. It was that moment i knew he was the surgeon for me.

We agreed approx 2000 grafts for the frontal/mid area i want to address. Leaving plenty for any future work should i want/need it.

The crown i am not worried about, day to day i never think about it, in fact its only when i see myself in photos, which always make hair loss look much worse in my experience!, that i really worry about it.

My Diary
I am going to keep a video diary of my progress as i think it will give a better representation over just photos. Pre-op link to follow shortly.
Here are my starting photos! (Does anyone know how to rotate the photos please?)

I look forward to updating everyone as my journey progresses!

2020-07-27 13.55.36.jpg

2020-07-27 13.55.52.jpg

2021-01-25 11.59.23.jpg
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi SussexHair and welcome to the forum.
It sounds like you`ve done plenty of research and took your time before deciding to have surgery.
I know you`re not for Finasteride, only Regaine and now Nizoral. Have you looked into oral minoxidil? Quite a few people are reporting positive effects from its use.
I like the hairline design, it`s mature and will look natural. The 2000 grafts will give you a decent hairline to frame your face and leave plenty in reserve if you do decide on a second surgery at some point. Your donor looks strong as it is.

I`ve rotated the images. It`s to do with the size.

Not long to go for your surgery. I`ll look forward to following your journey and thanks for being willing to document it.

All the best.

Bm.
 
H

Herr Loss

member
Is it easy enough to get prescribed oral minoxidil?

I've struggled to find anywhere that will supply it.
 
G

Gobby

member
Looking forward to following your journey + videos.

Good choice with Dr Ball - I've also had a consultation with him and he's top of my list for UK surgeons. I read it was him that recently did Jimmy Carrs HT - you'll have to find out if he was cracking gags all through his surgery!

Do you know your hair thickness/calibre? And how many grafts per cm2 you will achieve? I ask as it looks like I have similar hair characteristics as you.

All the best for Friday.
 
S

SussexHair

member
Thanks for the comments. Really looking forward to finally seeing it happen!

Dr Ball was without question the Dr for me after meeting him in person and reading about his work and reputation.

I don't know my hair thickness or planned graft density. Some Dr's only talk/sell on these numbers, i did go through a period of focusing on graft count and less on design and overall long term planning.
But i listened to Dr Ball in my consultation and he seems to know how to make the absolute best use of the grafts. On the day he will use what he needs, 2000 is the estimate.

I trust him with the knowledge of what i hope to achieve in resorting the front / mid area. Leaving plenty of graft for future work if needed or desired.

Looking forward to updating over the next days/weeks.
 
S

SussexHair

member
Pre-op night before video now up. Having had head prepared and final design drawn.

Looking forward to updating after the big day!

 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Good luck with your surgery dude, your in great hands Dr Ball is without a doubt world class imo.
 
S

SussexHair

member
Quick update on the surgery day yesterday!

The day was really chilled and the time flew by. A long day for the staff, they took so much care and attention i cannot thank them enough for the work they have performed, what an amazing team.

I could not get over the immediate result looking in the mirror! I am so happy with the results!!

I left the hotel this morning with no dressing needed, no swelling, no pain. I have not needed to take any pain relief since yesterday.
The donor area looked worse this morning than when i left the clinic last night, but there is no pain at all!. The blood spots on the donor area just look worse and would wipe off but i've left them to heal.
Dr Ball is sending my photos over shorty that i will share.

Dr Ball did so much of the work himself, i could hear him selecting different size punches to suit each graft and he was working so fluently with his team of 4 or 5 in the room with us.

They double and triple checked all of the inserted grafts, constantly communicating if they wanted a stronger or thinner graft and how many hairs as they inserted them, i think we had a team of 5 in the room for most of the insertions and they took 5 hours using different tools to suit the size of graft! So much attention to detail, i feel very confident i had the best team i could have ever asked for.

Final count:
2076 Grafts, 4076 Hairs.

516 - Singles, 1120 - Doubles, 440 - 3's & 4's

Here is a photo immediately after surgery and a video leaving the hotel this morning.
More to follow.

2021-04-23 21.44.07.jpg
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Good to hear everything went smoothly. The work looks nice and refined due to the care Dr Ball takes during and after the surgery. Those grafts will make a great difference to your appearance.
I`m looking forward to following your progress.
All the best.
Bm.
 
H

Herr Loss

member
He's excellent at creating natural hairlines, it looks very nice.

Look forward to seeing it grown in, thanks for the updates.
 
0

01jmcginnes

member
Hi James

Great write up and videos mate, I’ve had a consultation with David late 2019 and I’m hoping to get a flight and arrange a meeting with Dr Ball at the clinic hopefully by this summer (COVID-19 situation permitting). I’ll be keeping a look out on your progress.
 
H

Hoping_for_hair

member
Great videos and the work looks so clean!

Good luck for future growth!
 
S

SussexHair

member
Thanks for the comments! Its going really well now on day 7.

I cannot get over how perfectly Dr Ball has done the procedure. The hairs are looking solid and the donor area is perfect!

 
G

Gobby

member
Looking great - very neat! Thanks for sharing with us.

The microscope camera photos are a great insight into the placement and density and really show off the quality of the procedure.
 
S

SussexHair

member
Week 2 (day 16) update!

It's really been no fuss at all.
New hair started shedding last few days.
Have some numbness on top and dry skin this week.
New hairs appeared to be getting quite a bit longer, think it is the shedding process as they are pushed out!

Really looking forward to the re-growth phase in a few months.

 
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