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My FUE transplant @ DHI Glasgow

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cruelnature

member
Welcome all,

I've been a long term "sufferer" of hair loss, in my early 20's this predominantly affected my hairline giving the appearance of an even larger forehead (last thing I really needed!). In recent years my crown was next to go, funnily my colleagues discovered this before I did which was a bit of a wake up call.

I initially started taking Regaine around 6 years ago which I have done on and off (foam/liquid) with little to no success. Over the past 12 month I have also been taking Finasteride, unfortunately I experienced a fair bit of shed within a few months of doing so which I have yet to recover from - over the past few month the hair loss appears to have stabilised hence I decided to proceed with a hair transplant.



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After much consideration I decided to proceed with the transplant at DHI Glasgow, following a consultation with Alex it was decided that a Mega+ session would be most suitable (extended one day session).

On the day my hair transplant was complete by Dr Epameinondas Bonaros, from arrival I was welcomed and I'd say taken pretty well care of. Slightly concerned that I had skipped breakfast I was provided with some light snacks prior to entering the room with Dr Bonaros and his nurse assistant (apologies forgot the name). The treatment was mostly entirely pain free but I do tend to require a lot more anaesthetic than most!

Unfortunately with the degree of hair loss I had I had to toss up between either having a lower hairline and no work on the crown or a split between a modest hairline and some crown coverage. As per the photos below you will see that I opted for the latter.



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Looking back at some pre pictures (none shaved unfortunately) I am relatively pleased with the amount of grafts that seem to have been carried over. The first few nights were not the most comfortable on my donor (slept with my uncomfortable travel pillow to avoid rubbing the grafts).

Below is one of the few photos I have of my donor area, this was around 3 days post FUE and you can see that it healed up quite nicely (do have a couple of gnarly scars there from childhood). Despite this I did have intense pain in the donor area from day 5 which only subdued really around day 10 requiring round the clock Ibuprofen (pain was a combination of pinching/burning/clamping sensation).



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I will continue to update as things progress, also have some shots at 10 days post FUE which I will add shortly.. :)

N.B. Unfortunately I do not know exactly how many grafts were transplanted, clearly from the photos it looks like I have a fairly good density at the front however at the crown I was told to expect only around 75% of what it could/should be.

Edit.. including pre-op photo here as the ones from the image hosting site don't appear to be showing in most instances.
 

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C

cruelnature

member
Day 10 updates below, almost all scabbing has come off in the shower, still a strong pink hue in the recipient areas which I'm hoping will subdue in the coming week (back to work this coming Monday!). Can pretty much shower normally now, wear t-shirts and sleep with a normal pillow.. bliss :)

Edit.. Adding another pre-op photo here..
 

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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Cruelnature. Welcome to the forum.
The work looks good and you seem to be healing well. I would have opted for the higher hairline and crown coverage too, Imo, you made the right choice.
You say you experienced a shed with Finasteride, this hair should return and hopefully, you don`t experience any sides.

Thanks for sharing your story, I'm looking forward to following your progress.

 
D

Dazzster26

Valued member
Thank you for sharing your experience with us wishing you great recovery and growth


Cheers
Dazz
 
C

cruelnature

member
Not sure on the number of grafts, generally during the Mega Sessions they just transplant as many as possible during the given time. I will ask this at my check up session in December and update on here if they have this information :)
Edit.. Adding image of immediately post op (appears can only add one photo per post)
 

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B

bushy-hair

member
Hi, Cruelnature. Congrats and thanks for sharing your story. Looks good, I will be pleasure when you update your progress.
I got HT in Turkey, the doctor use DHI technique. I can understand you that getting HT is awesome.
 
C

cruelnature

member
Just over 1 month has passed since I had the hair transplant. Photos below..Apologies for earlier photos - they don't appear to be displaying properly on some browsers.

 

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C

cruelnature

member
Photo 2 - 1 month post FUE========================A significant portion of the transplanted hair has fallen however the redness has also (fortunately) subdued!

 

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cruelnature

member
Maybe jumped the gun a little, still quite red on top which seems to get worse/better at varying times. Whilst I seem to have lost a fair bit of the transplanted hair, what I have left appears to be growing at a decent pace.

In my donor area I have a lot of sore spots growing which the missus has been applying anti-septic lotion to and also odd tightening sensation at times (read somewhere this is due to being "younger" and the skins collagen).

I'm using some sensitive shampoo which I purchased from DHI at the time of the transplant and continuing to take the multivitamins I also purchased at the same time. The multivitamins contain various ingredients including Biotin (from past experience this appeared to only make my nails grow longer and not my hair but can't hurt)..

I was told at the time of the transplant I may need another afterwards if the hair loss continues (however I suspect even if it doesn't that I may require this).

I've not told my work colleagues but have told family and friends. I find the best way to deal with it is to not make a big deal of it and just be casual. It's a shame that transplants are still so expensive and not yet mainstream, once you get past the first week or two life becomes very BAU. I'm looking forward to the upcoming months with hopefully a very slightly warmer noggin :)
 
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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Everything looks quite normal at this stage. Redness can vary from day to day, again quite normal.
I like your casual approach if anyone suspects anything.
Thanks for the update.
 
janna

janna

Valuable Member
Hi!
The sore, prickly sensation in the donor area tends to last a week and is normal. It €™s also normal to get the red spots (ingrown hairs) in the donor as you heal too. Using a hot wash cloth on the spots 3-4 Times a day and then applying an antibiotic ointment will help. If they get worse or don €™t clear up within 7 days then contact your physician.
Looks like you €™ve healed well. Waiting for growth can be difficult.
Best of luck!

 
C

cruelnature

member
Thanks for your responses,Hit 2 month today and scheduled for check up on Monday coming. (will need to remember to query the graft count) :)
Photos below.. Think I'm regrowing some hair and definitely didn't lose all the transplanted. Hopefully start to see results in the next month or so.. perhaps this is the worst over with.
 

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cruelnature

member
Month two from the top (flash off)
 

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cruelnature

member
Rather unforgiving flash photo below.. Will continue to take photos with the flash on but not convinced I will ever have a flattering photo with the flash on :)
 

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bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
You look to be bang on course dude. I would have gone with your decision too and opted for the mixture of a slightly more mature hairline and some in the crown. I like the hairline shape and thing its going to look great.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us lot on here it really does help potential patients, i personally love reading peoples experiences with all the different clinics/doctors so appreciate you taking the time to do a write up and add pictures.
Exciting times ahead dude;)
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
It does look like things are beginning to happen growth wise. The hair is definitely filling in.
What was said at your assessment?
Regards Bm.
 
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cruelnature

member
Thanks again for the comments!

Had my first review yesterday, the graft count I had was around 1700 (3200+ hairs) and the amount of transplanted hairs I have retained is above average which he attributed towards the DHI implantation method and the use of Finasteride.

I do have a bit of an infection on the back of my head from the donor area, have a bit habit of touching and rubbing it due to pain/itching. They have prescribed me an antiseptic cream and some kind of daily wash solution (would have to check the names when I go home).
 
reddude

reddude

Valued member
That's a decent amout of grafts. Do you know how many grafts were placed in your crown area? I had about 850 approx.
 
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cruelnature

member
Sorry didn't confirm number in the crown, tried counting the dots once it was complete and I reckon it's less than 500 to be honest. Could provide some coverage there but I may need another at some point in time.
Only time will tell I suppose :)
 
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