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FUE 1,100 at the Maitland Clinic Hampshire

Bongo

Bongo

Member
Dr Ball David Anderson Janna Shafer please feel free to use any of my photos from the surgery day no mug shots though please!

Good evening to all. **I have tons of photos and have tried to upload them but I get a message saying I do not have permission - hope someone can help!**

A few on here may recall my deliberation and research had narrowed down my first ever HT procedure would be with Dr Ball at his new clinic in Portsmouth.

I'm just back home in Suffolk after having a 1,100 FUE procedure yesterday and wanted to give other forum members a full and frank overview of how I got to this point and how the day went. I`m still a little full of drugs so please forgive typos and any non sensicle ramblings...and also the length of my write up ¦congratulations if you make it to the end! But I hope you do.

Background

I'm a 37 year old from Suffolk, England. I began receding in temple regions about 12 years ago and it has been creeping back steadily since then. The pace seems to have picked up in the last couple of years and this, together with having 4 brothers with full heads of hair (who love to rib me about my hair loss), lead me to this point. Most of my friends are also either totally '8 ball' bald, or have full heads of hair. They have therefore either accepted their hair loss fully with the shave or like to remind me how mine is creeping back. It reached a point where I was constantly thinking about it, and I therefore wanted to do something about it. So I began my research...

The forum was great in providing much of the leg work regarding who to use. Two names kept coming up Dr Ball, who recently set up his clinic after leaving Ziering, and Dr Eberson, who I believe left the Glasgow clinic to move back to his native Holland and set up there.

I sent both a very long and identical email with tons of questions and thoughts around my expectations. Within a couple of days, each had responded with very similar points of view and thoughts which was reassuring, but also gave me a tough decision of who to favour. I wanted future proofing (therefore not being too aggressive with graft amount of my hairline), a natural undetectable soft looking procedure with the current length of the top hair kept in place (shaving down all over my head was simply not an option for me), not too much downtime, and for the price not to be a king's ransom.

From where I live in Suffolk, I can be in Amsterdam almost as quick as Portsmouth (due to Stansted Airport being 45 mins from my house) and at one point there was literally a fag paper in it for who I would want to progress with.

Some may recall a message I put on here on who may be best to use and the more I thought about it the more it seemed to make more sense to stay in the UK, particularly as others were posting really clean and good looking results from Dr Ball as I deliberated.

I had initially decided on doing all the consultation by email/Skype rather than having a face to face one in Portsmouth, due to it being an 8 hour round trip, but at the 11[sup]th[/sup] hour and on further discussion with Janna (who I have to say has been so helpful throughout this process) I decided to visit in February 2016. Within a few minutes of meeting Dr Ball I knew id made the right call. I was put at ease, listened to as he planned my potential new hairline as he answered literally 101 questions that I threw at him. Once I saw the new inked out hair line in the mirror and visualised it, I knew id be coming back and booked it all up a few weeks later with Janna`s help.

Accommodation

There is a large Marriott hotel almost next to the Maitland clinic, but after checking the prices I decided to look at alternatives (I was planning to stay 2 nights and they were after over £150 per night!)

I`m so glad I did because I stumbled across a place called Cavendish Lodge in Southsea on Trip Advisor, a boutique 3 bed B & B which was around 5 miles south of the clinic. Wow, what a place and what a host! £75 per night and it's honestly better than any hotel I`ve ever stayed in. I drove down in the afternoon (Wednesday) with my surgery booked for yesterday (Thursday). I could park outside the front door and was welcomed by Jean with open arms, a delightful host who can`t do enough for you. I popped out for a Chinese a 2 minute walk away (Mr China bloody brilliant food!) and watching the UEFA Cup final after my food helped distract me from my nerves that were building in anticipation of the next day.

Surgery Day

I`m an awful sleeper at the best of times. So being on foreign property and with masses of anxiety in me, I was delighted to wake up after at least 4 hours sleep on the board testament to the comfort of the huge double bed I had!

Jean then cooked me scrambled eggs on toast with smoked salmon and I was on my way to drive the short trip to the clinic. However, I should have left slightly earlier. Surgery was booked or 8.15am and although I allowed 30 minutes it did take at least 40, mainly due to a variety of road works in my way (although as is customary in the UK, no people actually working on or around them. I called Dr Ball on route as I hate being late for anything, his reply was typical of him, no problems, relax, we have all day, see you when you arrive. If anyone reading this decides to stay there, then 45 mins would be more than enough time.

On reaching the clinic, myself and Dr Ball went through all the pre op stuff, hair cut, hair wash, form filling and design. He bragged about his hair dressing skills as he gave me the shortest back and sides I`ve ever had, and to be fair it wasn`t a bad effort with the blend in! By round 9.45-10am I was in the surgery room where I began to pop a variety of pills to relax me as the aesthetic was prepared. They use a vibration distraction tool when applying the needle and it really did work for me, particularly as I`ve always had a bit of a phobia about needles. I can`t remember exactly how many went in but after the first couple began to take effect and the drugs kicked in I felt so relaxed I barely noticed as I tried to flick through the Apple TV options in front of me (a very nice touch).

The team working with Dr Ball were fantastic and consisted of two women (I think one was called Anna) and a chap called Stan, who was preparing the grafts as Dr Ball firstly made the incisions in the recipient area and then extracted from the donor whilst I lay flat and listened to the radio. I believe the extraction took around 2 hours but it went pretty quick and whilst a little uncomfortable (only due to laying face down without moving),it wasn`t anywhere near as bad as id anticipated. We stopped for lunch (prawn sandwich!) and then the afternoon was the easiest part where Dr Ball, Stan and one of the female technicians (I think it was Anna!) put the grafts in place. After a final angulation check by Dr Ball at the end I was done at around 5pm, before the debrief with Dr Ball and a nice chat with his new Senor Patient Advisor, David Anderson, who introduced himself and gave me lots of useful post op information also.

Although I felt ok to drive back to the B & B I was reminded it would invalidate my insurance so jumped in a cab that was ordered for me and was back in my room not long after 6pm, and proceeded to spend about 2 hours looking at where the new hairline will hopefully be growing in soon! The post op pack is full of useful bits and pieces and although I`ve had a bit of discomfort and swelling today its no where near close to what I had envisaged and after a pain killer or two there`s no issues at all. I`ve also received an email from both Dr Ball and David since yesterday to check on me a small gesture but something that goes a long way and demonstrates their commitment to their clients. All in all I`m glad I did it, so far, but I guess I won`t really know how it went until a few months down the line so I will be sure to keep you all updated, as I very much enjoy seeing the progress of others on here with their thoughts and photos.

If anyone has any questions please feel free to message me.

Kind regards

Bongo
 

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Bongo

Bongo

Member
P.S - It has allowed me to post only one photo - this is directly after surgery and of my right temple. More to follow I hope...thanks, Bongo.
 
Bongo

Bongo

Member
Donor area today (approx. 24 hours post surgery (note - the skin chunk on the upper shaved right area is a birth mark and NOT the result of Dr Balls work!)
 

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Bongo

Bongo

Member
24 hours post op - right side of temple
 

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Bongo

Bongo

Member
Left temple - 24 hours post op
 

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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hey Bongo, congrats on your surgery. It'll be good to follow your progress.For pictures, you can up.oad multiple images in your gallery which is under your user name. There's a topic in FAQ section telling how to post them which is easy, or send them to me at [email protected] and I'll add them for you.
All the best.
Bm.
 
Bongo

Bongo

Member
Many thanks for the reply BigMac, particularly re the photos.
My face has swelled massively more today, the elephant man has landed! No pain though and I was advised this would be the case and should settle in the next couple of days I hope. Donor seems to be healing really nicely which is good. Will share my journey as time goes on....Kind Regards, Bongo.
 
H

hergman

valued member
Sounds like you had a very pleasant experience throughout the surgery. How long before you can have your hair cut to blend in?
 
Bongo

Bongo

Member
Hi Hergman, thanks, it was much more pleasant than I had ever anticipated.
Had the surgery on Thursday and booked in to have a blend in at the barbers next Saturday, so about 8-9 days post surgery. Most forums and Dr's seem to suggest about after one week onwards and the donor should be ok so will just get it blended in with a comb and clippers.
Hopefully my face will look a little less puffy by then, I can barely see out my eyes today due to swelling but its at least moving from the head area and down the face so I keep telling myself its good progress!
Ive just taken another picture of my donor area - 3 days post surgery and healing really well. Any tenderness I had in the area feels like its almost gone now too, which is good.
Happy to answer any further questions.
Kind regards,
Bongo


 

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hergman

valued member
10 days sounds like a plan. I never knew face swelling was so severe when patients have frontal work, what did the doctor recommend for it?
Your donor looks pretty good 4 days post op. Does the small scar in the right side create any patchiness?
 
Bongo

Bongo

Member
I might consider getting a few grafts put in it if I have to go down the HT route again, I always knew it was there but I normally wear the back at a grade 2 and its barely noticeable at that length, but the shorter length has made it stand out somewhat.
I've read mixed things about swelling. Some people hardly get anything and its probably unusual for someone who's had a relatively small procedure to get the level I've got. It really is bad today and it seems to be getting worse by the hour.
Dr Ball said to treat it with ice and try to massage it down the face and away from the eyes. I've done my best but last night slept right through from 10pm until bout 8am almost totally horizontal, must have moved in my sleep from the pillows and I don't think that's helped!
Oh well, should improve soon...I hope.
Kind regards,
Bongo
 
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H

hergman

valued member
If you can't see the scar at the length you usually have I would leave as is. Your swelling sounds serious, usually I read people's accounts stating they're back to work within several days. Would anti inflammatory drugs help?
 
Bongo

Bongo

Member
Thankfully I'm off work until next week so have another 8 days recovery (Bank Holiday included)..I've got some anti inflammatory pills so am taking cheers, although currently not touching the sides it seems..
If it doesn't die down over the next few days i'll be in touch with Dr Ball but I'm pretty relaxed about it now. I remember seeing a video on You Tube (Chris from Vancouver) and his was really, really bad, but cleared up quite quickly.
Kind regards
Bongo
 
H

hergman

valued member
I recall viewing Londonlads picture of his swelling after strip surgery, he looked like Rocky. Swelling usually vanishes within a few days of appearing, the yellowish colour may linger slightly longer.
I'm taking everything onboard, it's helping plan my own HT. Thanks for coming back to answer my questions.
 
Bongo

Bongo

Member
I look like a bedraggled and malnourished Rocky right now!
Funny you should say about the yellowish colour, I only just noticed that around the recipient area its gone quite yellow, reassuring though when I then read your comment as was starting to worry about that. However if its normal then so be it, just another joy of the HT journey I guess...
It was other peoples advice on here that helped me take the plunge, so I'm happy to try and help anyone where I can.
Kind regards
Bongo
 
L

LSK

Valued member
I had bad swelling after my HT. I was swollen from my hairline down to my jawline! Haha. I also had yellow skin and two black eyes. The swelling went within a week but the yellowness lingered for about 10 days.

Drink plenty of water would be my advice.
 
Bongo

Bongo

Member
Cheers LSK. Glad I have next week off work to recover and enough food in the house for a few days to ride it out!
 
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D

Dazzster26

Valued member
Congratulations on your Surgery wishing you great recovery and growth looking forward to your updates few days the swelling will clear I had a lot of swelling myself when i did my temples keep positive its all worth.

Cheers
Daz
 
janna

janna

Valuable Member
Hi Bongo,
The swelling usually starts at day 3 after surgery and lasts about 3 days so you should be at the tail end of the swelling phase. The good news is that the swelling doesn't affect growth.
Your healing looks great. Please let us know if you have any post operative questions. We wish you speedy recovery and best wishes!!

 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Congratulations on your recent surgery dude, Dr Ball and Janna are both amazingly talented, caring people and I'm certain your going to be very happy with your results when grown in. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us on the forum.
 
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