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FUE Patchy procedure with doctor Lupanzula (1803 grafts)

F

Fabian

member
Hi,

after lurking around in the hairloss forums for at least a decade (at the beginning only the german but now also in the english speaking forums),ive finally made the decision to tackle my hairloss problem by means of surgery. But first a few words to my story:

I've always had a high forehead witch became bigger and bigger with being around 18 (currently im 34). With around 22 it really started to bother me so much that i turned to the internet and tried to get some information of how i could regain my hair (i was around a NW2-3 at this age already).

MEDICATION:

It was around that time (22) that ive started to use finasteride and minoxidil in the hope of a full head of hair, but quickly realized that i should not expect wonders. Ive sticked to finasteride 1mg daily for almost all the time (with maybe few smaller breaks inbetween). Its hard say weather it actually helps but since i dont have any sides im just going to stick with it. I stopped with minox because of the shedding and the effort in applying it. Ive stated to use minox foam approx a year ago again and got used to the daily after shower procedure (I think it maybe thickend up the structure of my frontal forelock area, but again - no wonders).

SURGERY:

Already in the age of 22 which was around 2009 I realized that i will need to try to maintain what i have which was not really satisfying to me. So at that time i already got some information about hair transplants. I found that there were good results already, esp. in FUT but some also in FUE. I remember that ive contacted a few well known clinics of that time including Dr. Rahal which estimated that ill need approx 2000-2500 grafts. I didnt make the step to book the procedure since i was really young that time and it seamed to be a drastic step to me. Also since i was student that time my money resources were limited... So i tried to mange my life trying to maintain what i had...

THE 10 YEARS BETWEEN:

Its hard to explain such a long time, but i try to stick to the main facts: It was a time of ups and downs. Times where i was happy, and where i thougt that I could manage my life also with hairloss. Often thought of cutting my hair to 0, since this is the best thing you can do. Unfortunatelly i have a huge, long head, so i didnt even get close to use the razor on my head. Instead i developed my own strange camouflage style to cover my big temples and my high forehead, which involved a lot of hairspray and gel. Sometimes i thought it didnt look that bad, but somedays it was just so depressing to try cover the inevitable.

But generally i need to say that my hairloss affected me every day: But i learned to live with it by beforementioned dayly morning hairspray sessions... But i also need to say that during that time i also had phases of severe depressions and my hairloss was definetly involved into that...

RECENTLY:

It was around a year ago that i started agian to do serious research about getting an HT. I found that there are still the well known cinics of 2008/2009 (Rahal, H&W, BHR, Prohair,...) but also a lot of new clinics came to my radar. I researched on a lot of forums, especially here, on the american and the german forums. Sometimes also on the italian, spanish and french forums by using google translate. I always preferred FUE but as i said the shaving procedure always was a huge barrier to me. I found that a few good clincs offer "unshaven" or "patchy" procedures which i thought could be a solution to me. So my researched went more into that direction. At the end these surgeons where left for me:

- Dr. Michalis (cyprus and spain): Not so well kown here, but has good reviews on spanish and german forums.
- HLC Clinic (Ankara): Very popular on german forums. An bit more pricy considering the prices of other turkish clinics, But ive seen only good results so far.
- ASMED (Istanbul): Who does not know them, is not well enough informed to get an HT in my opinion ;-)
- Dr. Lupanzula (Brussels): My final choice. There was only good reviews of his clinic and he offered a patch procedure for a reasonable price. So this was my choice!

BOOKING:

Everything went quite smooth. After submitting my details through the medikemos website I had a long call with Scott. I think at that time i was so well informed about HTs already that there wasnt that much new he could tell me about the procedure itself. So we talked about prices, dates and so on. After a couple of emails i agreed to make the surgery in Feburary.

1st ATTEMPT of SURGERY:

Ill make it short: I had taken holidays for 3 weeks so there was enough time to regenerate and booked a Airbnb for approx 1 week which was close to the clinic. I arrived in Brussels by train at sunday from Dresden in Germany (9hr ride). After arriving i realized that things were getting serious. I was getting sooooo nervous and my nerves literally became crazy. Of course i didnt sleep this night at all.

On monday morning 6:30, the day of surgery, i arrived at the clinic still in panic ;-). When i saw Dr. Lupanzula i immediatly told him that im not sure wheather i can do the surgery since my panic was at level 12 of 10 ;-). The doc was really calm and welcoming and said were going to have the preop consultation first and afterwards i can still make my decision. He took photos asked me about hairloss history in my family and then asked me weather i use medication.

So we were ready for surgery and i needed to take a decision. Its hard to describe what happend in that moment, but my panic just overwhelmed me, so i canceled...

The doc did exactly what i believe a good ethical surgeon should do when handling patients like me: He tried to make me feel comfortable and relaxed by his calm attitude, but was at no moment pressuring me. Instead he said that hes not forcing his patients and that whatever decision i take he will respect that.

First, after leaving the clinc i felt relieved because all the pressure was suddenly gone. But few hours later i of course was really really disappointed. I didnt even stay longer in Brussels and instead left back home and tried not to think that much about what happend and instead tried to enjoy the vacation.

2nd ATTEMPT of SURGERY:

I wanted to solve the problem thats for sure and knew that the HT will be the only option. I used a lot of money and was confident with the clinic so i resceduled for end of October. Booked an Airbnb for a couple of days and took holidays for 4 weeks. This time i invited my family to my plans which gave me some support (This is a big factor: Try to get some support from some people which are near to you before going trough this. It just makes things easier).

After arriving this tuesday i had the pre op consultation again. I was nervous but again the Dr. was really nice and calm to me. We discussed the hairline and took some pictures. Thats the second advice i could give: Have your Preop consultation a day earlier so there is enough time to talk about the hairline. Also: What I really liked was the fact that the doc drew the hairline with a permanent marker on consultation day, so in the evening there is enough time to rethink and to make some changes if necessary.

I went to the appartment and of course was really nervous again (its just me - i cant turn my head off). I dindnt know whats going to happen day after - there was definetly a chance that i would cancel again... This time i think i manged to get approx 2h of sleep which was 2h more then last time ;-). Again on 0630 i came to the clinc again. Everything was prepared and i took on the cloth provided by Medikemos. To be honest: Until the moment the doctor made the first extractions it could have happened that i cancel again. But then when the first extractions were made i knew that there is no way back from here now.

The procedure itself went really smooth. Ill make it short since it is reported by other patiens in other threads hundreds of times. Shave some patches on the back, extractions, shave patches on the left - extractions, shave patches right extractions. Recipient incisions. Graft placement. It was all done at 5pm in the afternoon. At the end the doc asked me weather id like to see my self now which i initially declined. Yet he said that im going to see my self anyways when im at home so he held an mirror into my face (actually i think this was the only thing which was done to me without my explicit permission ;-)).

Before the surgery i thought i might faint when i see myself but it was all nice - I felt relieved. Although my appearance didnt really improve as you might think, i was happy - I realized that it's done!

At 5pm lunch i received some postop instructions and went to my airbnb appartment. I arrived at arround 6pm and had a good sleep after watching some netflix.

FOR PEOPLE WHO DONT WANT TO READ HERE A THE BASIC KEY FACTS:

Age: 34
Hairloss: currently NW3, slooowly progressing since i was around 18. Always had a high hairline.
Family: Father NW4, Brother NW3-NW3V, Grandfather (fathers sinde) no hailoss at 58 when he died. Grandfather (mothers side): NW5 at 82 when he died.
Medication: 1mg finasteride since approx 12 years. Minox foam once a day since 1 year. ,Ketoconazol shampoo 1-2times a week, MSM, Biotin, Vitamins.

Procedure:
- FUE Patchy with 1803 grafts for hairline and temples.
- Probably one more FUE patchy procedure to come with approx 500-800 grafts for temple peaks unless i will be satisfied with this result already)
- Graft breakdown: 1s: 368, 2s: 921, 3s:465, 4s:48, 5s:1 -> 2,11 Hair/Graft
- Hair calibre: fine
- Density: 45-50 FUs

At this point id like to thank Dr. Lupanzula and his team for their patience and the incredible work they've done. Looking forward to see the results.

Kind regards - Fabian.
 

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Scott Medikemos

Scott Medikemos

Valued member
Thanks for the honest and thorough report Fabian. I'm sure your progress updates will be invaluable for the community, especially with it being unshaven FUE. Happy healing and growing.
 
F

Fabian

member
Hi,

currently im 17 days post OP (but pics). So the 14 days aftercare just ended few days ago. Ive seen also some shedding already (maybe 20 percent),but most of the hairs are still in place. I had some crazy itchiness in the recipient area between day 5 and day 10, but i think it is quite normal and is a part of the healing process. The scabs came off at day 8 and 9 post op when i carefully massaged the recipient as advised. Currently its still a bit itchy and numb, but not to bad... Definetly not going to scratch the area in the next weeks ;-)

The donor area feels quite normal. Since my hair is quite fine it is slightly visible where the strips had been shaved (but not too bad i think). The redness in the recipient is quite visible, but if put my hair to the front its not too much visible (but looks dumb as fu** ;-)). Its good that winter is coming, so i can wear a beanie...

Currently im using Sebamed Everyday Shampoo with pH of 5.5 (also on the recipient). Further I use Fin 1.25 mg, MSM, Biotin, Sawpalmetto and Vitamin B. Planning to use Minoxidil Foam again when im 1 month post op. Not sure weather im going to use Aloe Vera Gel on the recipient since i dont wanna risk anything... What do you think? Any recommendations?

Greets - Fabian
 

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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
The work looks nice, clean and healing well. Very nice write up which help many of the forum readers.
I`ll look forward to following your progress.

All the best.

BM.
 
Scott Medikemos

Scott Medikemos

Valued member
You are healing nicely, thanks for the update. Jojoba oil or aloe vera can both be used on the recipient area now.
 
F

Fabian

member
Hi,

its been almost 6 weeks after the surgery now and i owe you my 1 month update...!

Currently things are progressing as expected. Here are the basic facts:
- Most of the transplanted hair has shed. No or very little shock loss in the recipient area.
- Donor area unnoticable since week 3 or 4.
- Recipient area is still red. Its fading - but quite slowly. Redness is really depending on the light and differs from pic to pic. I think its gonna be noticable until month 2 or 3. Many clinics say that its gone after 1 month but i think to be more realistic you should count with 2 or 3 month until its completely gone...

Now my personal experiences:
Basically the time after the procedure was quite okay. Of course - it wasnt nice but i was expecting worse... What i found to be the hardest phase until now were the first 2 weeks. Especially avoiding social contacts and trying to hide wasnt to nice (I only told my family about the procedure. Friends dont know anything until now.) After week 2 or 3 i felt comfortable enough to go out with friends again and after 4 weeks i was pretty much back to normal. No one realized anything until now because i can hide the recipient area quite well with my existing medium length hair.

In my opinion the patchy procedure really paid off for me. I was able to resume my regular life after approx 3 weeks and no one noticed anything! Of course this all comes with a little drawback. I think i will need another procedure of approx 1000 grafts more to meet my initial goals. And of course the price is a little bit higher - you should roughly count approx 20-25% more then the regular procedure.

Now i just hope that the growth kicks in early for me...
 

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S

Sfriel1992

member
Looks brilliant mate!! Thanks for the honest write up. Sounds like you did great even getting the op done in the first place when you were that nervous
 
Scott Medikemos

Scott Medikemos

Valued member
Thanks for the update Fabian. I'm glad that unshaven FUE has really worked for you end enabled you to get back into your daily routine with minimal disruption, now time for regrowth, exciting times ahead!
 
F

Fabian

member
Hi its been 2,5month post op and im fully in my daily routine. Its hard to be patient and not to think too much about the hair. As you can see the redness in the recipient is still slightly visible, which doesnt bother me to much because i can cover it with my native hair - What counts is the final result. Further i can see some little regrowth, which is better in the left temple.

BTW: At 2 month i started to use minoxidil foam once daily again. Still on fin 1,25mg, MSM, Biotin, Vitamin B daily.
 

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Scott Medikemos

Scott Medikemos

Valued member
Thanks for the update Fabian.

I know how frustrating it is at this timepoint as you are constantly checking the mirror for regrowth to kick in. The good news is that it has now started so you are well on the way to aesthetic improvements. I'm really looking forward to your upcoming updates!

Thanks as always for taking the time to provide updates for the community.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Everything looks like normal progression at this stage. Redness can linger for months depending on the patient, it is nothing to worry about. Seeing some growth already is nice, quite often one side grows in quicker than the other. The Minoxidil may be speeding things up.
It is hard waiting for everything to happen but it will. When I had my HT`s, I would gentle feel the stubbles on my crown all the time, couldn`t help myself.


Thanks for the update.
 
F

Fabian

member
Hi,

its almost 15 weeks now since my transplant and i think i owe you an update. I'll make it short: Growth has started. Everything is still quite thin and seethrough, but i can see progress.

Redness is still visible, but its getting less since the growing hair camouflages it a bit. But redness hasn`t been so much of a problem for me since i can cover it up with my native hair quite well.

Further ive realized that my iPhone camera has problems to catch the new fine hairs. Especially in natural light. Thus ive did pics in different light situations this time (bathroom with bulb about 80cm above, natural light - directly in front of windows and indirect light inside). All pics are with wet hair. Pics are from 14 weeks, so approx 3.5 months.

Regards.
 

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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Fabian. Good to hear you are starting to see new growth. Everyone grows differently, some patients don`t see anything until 6 months plus. Waiting for things to happen can be frustrating, worrying even but you just have to wait. The redness is lingering a while but it does look like it has subsided some. Thanks for the update.
All the best.
Bm.
 
Scott Medikemos

Scott Medikemos

Valued member
Thanks for the detailed update as always Fabian.

Redness can linger in some cases and this is obviously highlighted by your pale skin but it is nothing to worry about and will resolve soon.

Regrowth has definitely started and I expect to see aesthetic changes shortly.

Thanks again.
 
F

Fabian

member
Hi,

its been i while and i thought i use the time in quarantine to post a new update. Im currenly 23w post op and in the last 2 month growth had started signifcantly. Its still thin and density is not great but im optimistic that things will improve. Further i now begin to understand what it means when people say HT creates an illusion of density. Dont get me wrong - its gonna be a good optical improvement and other people will probably not realize but theres a big difference comparing to the native density (in my case: approx 45-50 vs 80). For example when the hair is wet, then the transplanted hair dries much faster then the native hair which sticks more together.

As you can see on the pictures everything depends on the angle and the light...

NOTE: Pictures are from 21st week post op, so approx 5 month.

Further id like to report that i started minoxidil foam once a day after approx month 2. After 1 month i started to shed (not to bad, but after showering i could see more hair in the sink then i was used to). A really strange thing was that the hair that shed was mostly quite thick, dark short hair (i usualy have fine dark blonde hair which i wear medium long). The shedding stopped after approx 2 to 2.5 month. Now since 2-4 weeks i almost lose no more hair, which im quite happy about. Hopefully its gonna stay like this. BTW: Still on 1.25mg Fin, Biotin, MSM and Vitamin B dayly.

Regards Fabian
 

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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Looking good at 5 months. The hairline is taking shape now, that illusion of density will improve over the coming months as more hair grows and matures.
As for shedding, it`s a sign the minoxidil is working, so all good. Hair colour change is a common occurrence after having a hair transplant and taking meds.
Thanks for the update.
 
scotty75

scotty75

member
Thanks for the update Fabian. Nice early aesthetic changes and I'm really looking forward to the next few crucial months which should yield the biggest changes.
 
MrPierre

MrPierre

member
The growth at 5 months looks very good. Keep us updated when you can.
 
F

Fabian

member
Hi. Yes i will publish my 6 month update soon. Probably this weekend. Sorry for delay.

Rgds. Fabian
 
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