P
Priceyrice
member
Hi Everyone
I have been slightly concerned about documenting my progress on here regarding my hair transplant (mainly for privacy reasons), however, this forum was a huge help to me when deciding on which clinic to go for, so I think it's only right I give something back as well.
Background:
I am a 30 year old male who has been balding and thinning since late teens - it's never been a huge issue for me and I had pretty much accepted it, but the more I researched hair transplants the more I sold myself on going down this route. Then when lockdown came it seemed like a perfect time. I was looking to thicken up the density at top of the head and bring the hairline forward a bit while still trying to keep a natural look. I ideally wanted to get the job sorted in one transplant, but appreciate the fact I may need a further transplant down the line, especially if my crown continued to get worse (I am hoping Finasteride will help here)
Choosing a Clinic:
I am based in the south of England so my search was initially focused on London clinics, I wasn't interested in saving money and going abroad due to after care concerns and just some of the horror stories you hear from Turkey (although I appreciate there are good clinics there as well). I had around 7 different consultations at this stage and I found it very difficult with such a variety of different advice offered from the clinics. I whittled it down initially to the following clinics.
1. Harley Street Healthcare - hair-transplant-clinics.co.uk
2. Fortes Clinic - fortesclinic.co.uk/
3. Harley Street Hair Clinic - hshairclinic.co.uk/
I then came across this forum and discovered the horror stories about Harley Street Healthcare, I also realised the advice they had given for two transplants 4/6 weeks apart seemed very strange. Harley Street Hair Clinic (the Wayne Rooney clinic) seemed a bit pricey for 2000 grafts and the Fortes Clinic I just couldn't find that much info about. I then came across the Hair Dr and their results posted across this forum, both from patients and also the clinic itself. This transparency provided me with assurance as to the quality of their work. I would say an important aspect is speaking to the surgeon directly rather than a salesmen.
I had my initial consultation via video chat with Dr Arshad himself, he was very honest from the outset, keeping my expectations realistic and not trying to sell his service or a larger number of grafts. From all my consultations, this was the one I felt most comfortable with and had confidence in the advice provided. The initial advice was for up to 2500 grafts, although I wanted more, the concern raised was for my donor area and not over-harvesting.
Day of Procedure:
I arrived at 8am, had my temperature checked and waited in the reception room with Liam (I hope I've remembered his name correctly!) while the Dr and his team were getting ready. Once the team were ready I had the pre-op consultation with Dr Arshad where we discussed what I was looking to achieve, took some pictures and drew on the hairline. I also raised the point at this stage that I would prefer to have more grafts taken if possible with the Dr saying my donor area was better than he initially thought and he would see how it goes during the extraction stage as to whether he could do more than 2500 grafts - I mentioned I would be happy to pay for more if it was possible.
My head was then shaved and I was taken to the operation room - I was surprisingly calm during this and was looking forward to getting started. I was asked what music I wanted to listen to then the procedure started. I must say the initial stage is by far the most uncomfortable part of the procedure with the local anaesthetic being applied (it felt like staples being put into your head!). This is over relatively quickly though and after this you don't feel anything - the team also pressed the fact that if I felt anything to let them know immediately and they would apply more anaesthetic (an offer I took up a couple of times). I think this part of the op took about 2-3 hours - you're lying face down during this time, occasionally moving onto your side slightly. This part of the procedure was lead directly by Dr Arshad with his team splitting out the grafts between singles, doubles and triples. It was during this stage that the Dr mentioned the grafts were coming out very nicely and he had definitely underestimated my donor area. Once this was complete I discovered they had managed to extract almost 3500 grafts, which was more in line with what I had initially wanted, so I was very pleased.
Once this was over I was given lunch (having been asked early on what I wanted) and I was keen to get back to the op as soon as possible.
The second part of the operation was more comfortable, you're lying on your back and can watch tv. Again, this was lead by Dr Arshad as he made the incisions for the grafts to go into. He then instructed his experienced technicians on where to implant the grafts and left them to do most of the implanting stage, singles for the hairline with the doubles and triples added further back.
Once this was complete we had the post-op de-brief where I was given an aftercare package with lots of drugs, saline spray, ointment for the donor area, bandages and a daily planner for the next 7 days. The clinic also booked me my taxi back to Leeds. PLEASE DO NOT TRY AND DRIVE AFTER THE PROCEDURE, you're depth perception is way-off and you can feel very dizzy from all the anaesthetic. I was also given a whatsapp number to contact and have since has a couple of queries responded to pretty much immediately.
All in all I felt very comfortable throughout the day, the Dr and his team were fantastic at keeping my nerves at bay, being positive throughout all stages of the procedure as well as ensuring my comfort was the number 1 priority. It is a very long day, I know I am not good at sitting around doing nothing, but the day definitely went quicker than I expected and I can't thank the team enough.
Post-op:
My head was pretty swollen after the operation and I did struggle to sleep the first night, mainly due to having to lye on my back and use a travel pillow. However, the swelling went down within a couple of days and I haven't really had much pain in my head - I must say I did think it would be more painful post-op than it has been.
I am now day 4 post-op and I think my head is looking pretty much normal again, I am looking forward to running some water through my hair soon (using a cup) and getting the excess blood off. Luckily my head hasn't got itchy yet and I think everything is looking fairly good. I have posted some pictures from before the transplant, the during the transplant, the day after when I got home and then some pictures from today.
I will continue to monitor my progress on this site and hope it can help someone else as other posters helped me.
I have been slightly concerned about documenting my progress on here regarding my hair transplant (mainly for privacy reasons), however, this forum was a huge help to me when deciding on which clinic to go for, so I think it's only right I give something back as well.
Background:
I am a 30 year old male who has been balding and thinning since late teens - it's never been a huge issue for me and I had pretty much accepted it, but the more I researched hair transplants the more I sold myself on going down this route. Then when lockdown came it seemed like a perfect time. I was looking to thicken up the density at top of the head and bring the hairline forward a bit while still trying to keep a natural look. I ideally wanted to get the job sorted in one transplant, but appreciate the fact I may need a further transplant down the line, especially if my crown continued to get worse (I am hoping Finasteride will help here)
Choosing a Clinic:
I am based in the south of England so my search was initially focused on London clinics, I wasn't interested in saving money and going abroad due to after care concerns and just some of the horror stories you hear from Turkey (although I appreciate there are good clinics there as well). I had around 7 different consultations at this stage and I found it very difficult with such a variety of different advice offered from the clinics. I whittled it down initially to the following clinics.
1. Harley Street Healthcare - hair-transplant-clinics.co.uk
2. Fortes Clinic - fortesclinic.co.uk/
3. Harley Street Hair Clinic - hshairclinic.co.uk/
I then came across this forum and discovered the horror stories about Harley Street Healthcare, I also realised the advice they had given for two transplants 4/6 weeks apart seemed very strange. Harley Street Hair Clinic (the Wayne Rooney clinic) seemed a bit pricey for 2000 grafts and the Fortes Clinic I just couldn't find that much info about. I then came across the Hair Dr and their results posted across this forum, both from patients and also the clinic itself. This transparency provided me with assurance as to the quality of their work. I would say an important aspect is speaking to the surgeon directly rather than a salesmen.
I had my initial consultation via video chat with Dr Arshad himself, he was very honest from the outset, keeping my expectations realistic and not trying to sell his service or a larger number of grafts. From all my consultations, this was the one I felt most comfortable with and had confidence in the advice provided. The initial advice was for up to 2500 grafts, although I wanted more, the concern raised was for my donor area and not over-harvesting.
Day of Procedure:
I arrived at 8am, had my temperature checked and waited in the reception room with Liam (I hope I've remembered his name correctly!) while the Dr and his team were getting ready. Once the team were ready I had the pre-op consultation with Dr Arshad where we discussed what I was looking to achieve, took some pictures and drew on the hairline. I also raised the point at this stage that I would prefer to have more grafts taken if possible with the Dr saying my donor area was better than he initially thought and he would see how it goes during the extraction stage as to whether he could do more than 2500 grafts - I mentioned I would be happy to pay for more if it was possible.
My head was then shaved and I was taken to the operation room - I was surprisingly calm during this and was looking forward to getting started. I was asked what music I wanted to listen to then the procedure started. I must say the initial stage is by far the most uncomfortable part of the procedure with the local anaesthetic being applied (it felt like staples being put into your head!). This is over relatively quickly though and after this you don't feel anything - the team also pressed the fact that if I felt anything to let them know immediately and they would apply more anaesthetic (an offer I took up a couple of times). I think this part of the op took about 2-3 hours - you're lying face down during this time, occasionally moving onto your side slightly. This part of the procedure was lead directly by Dr Arshad with his team splitting out the grafts between singles, doubles and triples. It was during this stage that the Dr mentioned the grafts were coming out very nicely and he had definitely underestimated my donor area. Once this was complete I discovered they had managed to extract almost 3500 grafts, which was more in line with what I had initially wanted, so I was very pleased.
Once this was over I was given lunch (having been asked early on what I wanted) and I was keen to get back to the op as soon as possible.
The second part of the operation was more comfortable, you're lying on your back and can watch tv. Again, this was lead by Dr Arshad as he made the incisions for the grafts to go into. He then instructed his experienced technicians on where to implant the grafts and left them to do most of the implanting stage, singles for the hairline with the doubles and triples added further back.
Once this was complete we had the post-op de-brief where I was given an aftercare package with lots of drugs, saline spray, ointment for the donor area, bandages and a daily planner for the next 7 days. The clinic also booked me my taxi back to Leeds. PLEASE DO NOT TRY AND DRIVE AFTER THE PROCEDURE, you're depth perception is way-off and you can feel very dizzy from all the anaesthetic. I was also given a whatsapp number to contact and have since has a couple of queries responded to pretty much immediately.
All in all I felt very comfortable throughout the day, the Dr and his team were fantastic at keeping my nerves at bay, being positive throughout all stages of the procedure as well as ensuring my comfort was the number 1 priority. It is a very long day, I know I am not good at sitting around doing nothing, but the day definitely went quicker than I expected and I can't thank the team enough.
Post-op:
My head was pretty swollen after the operation and I did struggle to sleep the first night, mainly due to having to lye on my back and use a travel pillow. However, the swelling went down within a couple of days and I haven't really had much pain in my head - I must say I did think it would be more painful post-op than it has been.
I am now day 4 post-op and I think my head is looking pretty much normal again, I am looking forward to running some water through my hair soon (using a cup) and getting the excess blood off. Luckily my head hasn't got itchy yet and I think everything is looking fairly good. I have posted some pictures from before the transplant, the during the transplant, the day after when I got home and then some pictures from today.
I will continue to monitor my progress on this site and hope it can help someone else as other posters helped me.
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