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.
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.