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My FUE Hair Transplant Story - Westminster Medical Group

ChrisEdgerley

ChrisEdgerley

member
Hi all,

My name is Chris Edgerley, and I'd like to share the current progress of my FUE hair transplant procedure at six months post op.

A little background information:

I’m a TV and theatre actor and started to notice my hair loss getting worse 7 years ago as I approached 30. I noticed my hairline corners slowly creeping back and becoming more and more visible over time. Having no family history of hair loss (only high foreheads) I knew I was never destined for total baldness. Over the last 2 years my temple corners have really bothered me; and being in the acting and theatre world one is certainly judged on appearance! I knew I wanted to do something about this as I'm constantly styling my hair to hide my recession and controlling it with hairspray.

Over the last few years I did a run of TV commercials and after watching them back I decided enough is enough, I'm going to strengthen my hairline!


Here is my hairline before:

My Before Photos.jpeg


I did a lot of research online which slowly became an obsession for my spare time. I visited three hair transplant clinics in total in London and essentially interviewed them to see which clinic felt right for me and my goals.

After having a consultation with Westminster Medical Group on Harley Street I felt very reassured almost immediately. On meeting Dr. Rogers, Dr. Miln, and James the clinic manager, they totally understood me, where I was coming from, and what I wanted to achieve with this. Ultimately I want to boost my confidence and boost my acting career! I must have talked for the best part of an hour with the team about everything, had a quick tour of the clinic, and even watched part of a procedure being performed that day. This was incredibly helpful as I’ve been worried about the operation after watching many videos online. Seeing the patient sit back, relax and watch a film whilst the team completed his hair transplant certainly made me feel a lot less anxious about it all!

Dr. Miln and James suggested that I lower my hairline a touch, yet still maintain a small amount of natural recession so that the hairline would suit me in years to come. They also suggested a slightly looser hairline using finer hairs to make the hairline appear as natural as possible. I was very impressed with this suggestion as the other clinics drew my hairline much lower and boxed in, which seemed fine, though I hadn’t even considered that my hairline must suit me in 20 - 30 years’ time. Dr. Rogers and James also had hair transplants so it was very helpful to see their results in person. I left the consultation feeling quite positive and charged, knowing that I was finally going to get this done!

Having done further research into the clinic, reading reviews online, and looking at various forum posts I decided to book a provisional date. The only issue I faced was the fact that I needed two weeks off to recover as recommended by the doctors. At this stage I was currently on an international tour performing Bodyguard with Alexandra Burke, and there was absolutely no way I could appear on stage with a red scalp so I decided to wait until the tour ended.

Come the time and the day of the procedure finally, I woke, had a very hearty breakfast and ventured over to Harley Street. I have to admit, I was feeling a little apprehensive on the walk over but knew I was about to embark on a positive change in my life. I arrived at the clinic and was immediately greeted by James and the medical team. James introduces me to each member of the team explaining their specific roles and how long they've been working with Dr. Rogers and Dr. Miln.

Dr. Miln and James then took me for a private chat in the consultation room to discuss the day ahead. We confirmed the plan for the day, pencilled on my new hairline, and I decided which one I preferred after considering each design in the mirror. I then had my blood pressure checked, and chose what I wanted to eat for lunch. I recorded a short interview as I'm more than happy to go public and share this with all my friends, family, colleagues and the world!! I suited up into my gown and entered the theatre to start the show!

The operating theatre was bright, spacious, and very relaxing with calm music playing in the background. The team welcomed me and positioned me so that I was comfortable. There's also a big screen mounted should I wish to watch a film if I got bored. To begin with, it was face down on the surgical bed where the hairs are extracted.

After having my local anaesthetic I couldn't feel anything, which was quite a bizarre sensation! I could feel the first few numbing injections, yet after those, I couldn't feel anything at all. The extraction process lasted just over an hour in total where 1383 hair grafts were harvested from my donor region by the doctor.

Following the extraction process I was given a short break and had a drink before re-entering for round two. For this stage of the process, I was sat in an upright incline position where my hairline was anaesthetised and the doctor made tiny incisions throughout for the grafts to be planted. All the while, the medical team are processing and preparing the hair grafts under high magnification behind me. This part of the procedure is incredibly relaxing though slightly odd because as I’m watching a film, I can hear a sound akin to snow being trodden on as the doctor makes each incision. I cannot feel a thing though I can hear it! Very weird!! I really appreciated the constant communication by the team, who were informing me of what is happening at all times.

The incision stage lasted for just over an hour and I’m then given quite a lengthy break to relax and eat lunch for around 45 minutes.

After lunch I'm taken back into theatre where I sit in the same position for the team to implant all the hair grafts. I have to say, the team was very funny and kept me entertained throughout the whole day, though I began to feel a little tired towards the end and actually had a small snooze! I was woken to say it's all over and actually felt a little embarrassed that I’d fallen asleep during the procedure! I was assured it is very common after lunch and often is the best way to get through the latter half of the day. I was told I didn’t snore, which I’m thankful of! :LOL:

I was then taken back to the consultation room where Dr. Miln and James explained the aftercare and gave me a post-op medication kit for the week ahead. They booked me a taxi to head home and I said my farewells to all. The only hiccup upon leaving was that I completely forgot to pack my post-op kit in my bag! I’d left it in the consultation room and hadn’t even realised! :rolleyes:

James instantly recognised this and called me soon after to ask me where I was heading. Luckily I was back home in West-London which was only 10 - 15 minutes away from Harley Street. James jumped in a taxi and delivered the post op-kit to my home address. What a gent!

The first night of sleep was surprisingly good; I sprayed the saline solution a couple of times and slept in a raised position in bed by doubling the pillows up. The next morning I had a small amount of swelling on my forehead but it subsided fairly quickly. By day two I was able to pop on my baseball hat and head to the shop to get some food. On day four my friends asked how I was feeling and invited me to a show, which I felt more than comfortable to go to wearing the hat. My recovery was going very well and I was constantly in touch with James throughout this time on WhatsApp, which was extremely helpful. I have to say the aftercare throughout the last six months has been superb.

I am now six months post-op and here are my photos and video updates. I should have started to post this months ago but I’ve been incredibly busy! Now we’re on lockdown here in London so I have time finally.

Pre op photos:

My Pre Ops Harley Street.jpeg


5 days post op:

My 5 Days Post Op.jpeg


6 months post op: (Please excuse my lockdown fade hair cut, I did it myself :LOL:)

My 6 Month Progress.jpeg


Here is my 6 month update video:


I'll keep you all posted on my progress moving forward. I'm very much looking forward to my full result at 12 months :cool:
 
sl

sl

BHR Clinic Patient Advisor
Thanks for posting the write up and video Chris.. Yes confidence is certainly an aspect that a good head of hair gives and especially in your line of work. Looking forward to seeing the updates and hope it has a nice positive impact for you as things develop more.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Chris, welcome to the forum. It sounds as though you did extensive research before choosing The Westminster Medical Group which is advisable. Reinforcing hairlines is very popular now, I can see why you wanted yours doing. You were healed well at 5 days, now at 6 months your hairline has taken its shape and should begin to thicken up.
Thanks for the additional video too.
I`ll look forward to seeing you progress to 12 months.
All the best.
Bm.
 
ChrisEdgerley

ChrisEdgerley

member
Hello sl and Bigmac, thank you for the warm words. I'll certainly keep updating the forum with my progress.

Wishing you a nice and sunny bank holiday weekend :cool:

Chris
 
MrPierre

MrPierre

member
Looking very good for 6 months. Keep us updated on the months ahead!
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hello sl and Bigmac, thank you for the warm words. I'll certainly keep updating the forum with my progress.

Wishing you a nice and sunny bank holiday weekend :cool:

Chris


You`re welcome Chris. The bank holiday was nice, hope you had a good one considering our situation.
Enjoy your hair.
 
Westminster Medical Group

Westminster Medical Group

London, UK
Hi Chris, thank you for sharing your hair transplant update sir. We're very pleased to see how your are progressing at the 6 month regrowth juncture.

Please kindly keep us updated over the months ahead with your progress. Best wishes from the Westminster Medical Group team :)
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Chris, how`s it looking now as you`ll be around the 10 month mark?
 
D

Dazzster26

Valued member
Hi Chris


Thank you for sharing with the forum hair looking good at 6 months would be great to see an update thanks
 
ChrisEdgerley

ChrisEdgerley

member
Hi all!

I've just hit 11 months and it's coming on really nicely :D

I put together a quick side by side of when I did Aladdin panto in 2012 and a recent advert I did for Karcher last month...

Me 2012 vs 2020.jpg


I'll be heading back to the clinic in the new year for a full follow up and will update with better photos and a new video. Hope you're all keeping well (y)
 
D

Dazzster26

Valued member
Thank you for posting the update , your hair looks totally natural excellent result
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
I agree with Dazzster, your hair is looking great, no more receding corners/temples.
Did you rub that lamp and make a wish for more hair?
 
Westminster Medical Group

Westminster Medical Group

London, UK
Hi Chris, many thanks for posting your update. Your hair is looking fantastic !

We look forward to getting you back to the clinic to film a follow up video once the lockdown restrictions are eased :)(y)
 
Westminster Medical Group

Westminster Medical Group

London, UK
Hi MinajFan - good timing!

Chris is coming back in to film a full testimonial soon in February. He's been so busy with travel and acting. We'll post his testimonial here of course for all to watch :)

Here are the post op photos for his case:

combine_images.jpg



Chris Edgerley WMG.jpg
 
D

Dazzster26

Valued member
Great result looks totally natural , congratulations Chris and all involved
 
ChrisEdgerley

ChrisEdgerley

member
Hello everyone, sorry for the radio silence... though I have been flat out with work and travel! Here is my video testimonial below talking about my experience with Westminster Medical Group in London.

I had a further 350 grafts with Dr Sebastian Deme late last year to further tweak the hairline as I got a little hair greedy !

I'm dead happy with the result and it has certainly helped me with my career :cool:

 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Looks great Chris. Really pleased for you. I hope the work and travel has allowed you some relaxation time to enjoy your new hair.
Thanks for the update.
 
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