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10 842 FUE Grafts over 5 Operations (3000 Dr De Reys in 2013; 1800 Dr De Reys 2014; 1200 Dr Reddy 2017; 3133 Dr Arshad 2019; 1709 with Seneca 2023)

E

Edsarn

Member
9133 FUE Grafts (3000 Dr De Reys in 2013; 1800 Dr De Reys 2014; 1200 Dr Reddy 2017; 3133 Dr Arshad 2019))

I've just had my fourth FUE surgery with Dr Arshad from the Hair Dr, in Dewsbury (UK) yesterday, totalling 3133 grafts. In total, I've now had 9133 FUE grafts over 4 operations:

Operation 1: Dr De Reys - 3000 grafts in 2013
Operation 2: Dr De Reys - 1800 grafts in 2014
Operation 3: Dr Raghu Reddy - 1200 grafts in 2017
Operation 4: Dr Arshad - 3133 grafts in 2019


Here are the pictures before my operation. Overall, I wanted to add density to my hairline, scalp, and crown.
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OPERATION NUMBER 4 WITH DR ARSHAD

ABOUT DR ARSHAD

1. Dr Arshad and his surgical background in ENT
I consulted with Dr Arshad, who owns a clinic in Dewsbury, with a head office in Leeds. I found limited information on Dr Arshad on Forums, but I did extensive research about him (research gate, other forums, and pictures) and his credentials prior to booking a surgery. Dr Arshad's clinic is relatively new and he has been combining his HT work with working as a consultant ENT surgeon within the the National Health Service. Dr Arshad is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons - which awarded to surgeons passing the exit exam after years of training (and should not be confused with being a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, which is the entrance exam). Essentially, Dr Arshad is a very highly qualified surgeon, who regularly attends IHARS events. Admittedly, he has less experience in HT, but I felt his extensive surgical training and practice inspired me with confidence that he would have good skills for HT surgery.

2. His work looks very neat too from the pictures I viewed on his instagram feed, and has a growing body, of what I feel is exceptional work.

3. I e-mailed a couple of his patients about their experiences (e.g., consultation, surgery, aftercare etc) and both were very complimentary.

4. Price. At the moment Dr Arshad is charging £2 per graft. Yes, that is not a typo. I imagine this will go up in the future, given the quality of his work.

5. The Hair Dr also offer a guarantee, where they will perform a surgery for free if you are not happy with the results. Dr Arshad mentioned that about 1% are unhappy, and that his motto is "Do it right the first time".

INITIAL CONSULTATION

My initial consultation with Dr Arshad was very thorough and realistic. Having had three previous surgeries and consultations with many Dr's around the world, I believe I am pretty adapt at sniffing out the those are pushy, have a strong sales pitch, and are not passionate about the work - only taking their money off you. After my 3rd surgery with Dr Reddy in 2017, he informed me that I would have around 600 grafts left. When I had my consultation with Dr Arshad he suggested he might be able to get 4000 grafts to improve my hairline and overall density of my scalp. He said my donor was very good, despite having had 6000 grafts extracted. Of course, I was very shocked by this, but his checks were thorough. He also said he is quite an aggressive surgeon and believes in using the donor to its fullest without making it look patchy. My donor was still very thick, but I was thin on top. Aesthetically, I think having a thick donor area can make the top look even thinner. Myself and Dr A developed a plan and I then spoke to his clinic manger - Sommiya (who is very professional and caring). At no point did I feel under any pressure to book the surgery (neither were pushy at all) - we chatted about questions I had. If I've consulted with a very push clinic, it raises red flags, and makes me feel uncomfortable.

SURGERY
The pre-operation briefing that I received was by far the most comprehensive I've had in comparison with either Dr De Reys or Dr Reddy. Dr Arshad went into great detail about all aspects of the surgery, such as potential complications of surgery, but assured me procedures were in place, should anything untoward arise.
Dr Arshad spent much longer preparing my donor area that either Reddy or De Reys did, and said he used a technique that plastic surgeons do (can't remember what it is called now). All extractions were completely painless - which has not always been the case for me if you read about my other surgeries.

In regards to extractions, Dr Arshad and his lead tech performed this role. Dr Arshad started and then they took it in turns. His lead technician is Helen Serquina, who has over 17 years experience working with the likes of Dr Cole, Dr Bisinga, HDC in Cyprus etc. She currently works as a freelancer travelling all of the world. Extractions were made using a motorised punch of 0.7 mm. I had complete confidence in Helen and she has lots of stories to tell about the HT world and is also a very nice lady indeed - very funny and also very hard working. Dr Arshad had four other technicians working that day, who were all experienced technicians. 4000 grafts was not achieved, but the total was 3193 - Dr Arshad did want to leave my donor area sparse and felt that was the most he could extract. My surgery started at 7.45-8am and the extractions were completed by around 2pm (ish). I have posted a picture of my graft count which is:

- 403 tripples,
-1432 doubles
-1263 singles

Both Helen and Dr A said my donor was very strong, despite this being my fourth surgery (excuse the blood on the sheet).


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Dr Arshad did all of the incisions, immediately after the extractions, using a sapphire device, which he said enables him to insert the grafts closet together and at better angles than other tools. I can't remember how the incisions took, but I had a short break for lunch and had Helen inserting grafts in my crown, and one technician on each side implanting grafts, so I believe that took around 4 hours. All in all, the surgery last 12 hours, approximately. Dr Arshad spoke about the importance of having a good team and I felt looked after the whole day. My experience was very good, and although it was a a long day, the time went by pretty quickly. Dr Arshad looked after me well the whole day and also ensured the team had plenty of breaks throughout the day. I really liked this approach.


POST-OP PICTURES

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Edsarn

Member
Here are some pictures of my donor from the start of Day 2 (transplant on the 15th of August, today is the 17th of August). I took the bandages off yesterday evening. My donor area - Overall, I feel a lot better than yesterday. The day before my operation I had a heavyweight and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu session in the hope I would sleep during my operation the following day. In hindsight, I regret that decision, because I feel it contributed to me feeling quite stiff and lethargic.
I am currently taking 40mg of Prednisone and Co-amoxiclav three times a time. That is upsetting my stomach, slightly but nothing major. I was also given a plentiful supply of ibuprofen and paracetamol, but I am not sure if I need that today.
You can see from my donor that Dr Arshad went much higher than either Dr De Reys or Dr Reddy. He said I had no miniaturisation in those areas and that those hairs will be safe well into my sixties. If some of those hairs don't survive until then, so be it.

As you can see, my donor are is pretty much used up now. Dr Arshad said my back up plan, should I ever need it will be to use beard grafts. I've got a very dense beard, so should easily be able to get 1500 grafts, if I ever need it.

I will also consider SMP in the donor or scalp area should I need it in the future to add a bit of density. I've seen that it in long hair and it looks pretty good.


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E

Edsarn

Member
DAY 4 - All healing pretty well. Donor area is sore still.
 

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Edsarn

Member
DAY 7 - My donor area is still very sore, and it is affecting my sleep on a night. I am hoping this will settle down.

Also, I was prescribed Prednisone, which I took for 4 days (40mg per day). However, I believe I suffered quite strong side effects from this, particularly when I stopped taking the tablets. Whilst I was on the tablets I felt very irritable and unwell. When I stopped taking the tablets I had severe low mood and body aches, which has now thankfully passed. It was a very unpleasant experience. If I'd have known how these tablets would affect me, I would not have taken them. Swelling would have been preferable to how I was feeling.

Here are my Day 7 pictures. My donor area is still very sore.
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Mikes FUE Story

Mikes FUE Story

member
A great write up and having my hair transplant here with Dr A, Sommiya and Helen I echo your words fully. Having my 2nd procedure next week to add more density to my hairline and frontal forelock. I still can't believe how my grafts you've had taken in total. That's crazy . Looks great work and I can't wait to see the results months down the line.
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Congrats on your recent surgery. Sounds like you had a positive experience which is awesome. Out of curiosity do you usually prefer shorter hair or do you prefer it slightly longer like in the before pics......I only ask incase the FUE extractions are too noticeable when your hairs shorter after it heals (could be fine I dont know)..9000 grafts is a large amount that's all dude and I imagine it will be fairly noticeable to some degree when really short...saying that I suppose it will depend on hair length as to what degree :) ....You mentioned you'd consider SMP if thats an issue so you have a plan in place which is good incase you need it. Please post a pic of your donor when it heals I'm interested to see what 9000 FUE extractions will look like healed bud.

On the plus side you've had a good size surgery so it will produce a good improvement in density like your after.

I'm interested to see how this turns out for you.

Happy you had a good experience

Take care BN
 
E

Edsarn

Member
Thanks. I’ll probably have a similar hair cut as before my surgery, longer round the back and sides. Before my 4th operation my donor was still pretty thick and grew outwards rather than down. All my surgeons have commented how good my donor area is. Dr Reddy called me a genetic freak and said it’s about the best donor areas for a NW6 he’s seen and I’d already had 3k grafts taken from it. I’m 8 days post surgery and it’s already growing. I’m not concerned at this stage. I had a consultation with Dr Lorenzo in Madrid and he said he could safely extract 8k grafts from an average donor area and 10k + from a better donor area. I knew it would be a risk, but some SMP will do the job if required.

Whilst it is growing out, I will apply some dermmatch to the donor.

I’ll keep a regular photo journal of my experiences.
 
E

Edsarn

Member
DAY 8 - SHEDDING

Dr Arshad gave me some Seba Med shampoo, which seems to be really helping my donor area. It is definitely not as sore.

I noticed that I am shedding my transplanted hair, when I washed it this evening. I started shedding early on previous transplants too, in comparison to others. I checked on Dr Bernstein's website and this can start after 7 days and continue up to 6 weeks.
 
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Edsarn

Member
DAY 14

DAY 14 - My donor area is very itchy and still a little sore towards the bottom part. My hair started shedding on Day 8, and I am losing a few hairs each time I wash my hair. I am taking hay fever tablets to help with the itching. Will probably do this for another week or so, and it has worked well in the past.

My donor looks a little patchy at the bottom, but I am hoping this will be fine once it grows out.

Really happy with my recipient area, and it should look pretty thick.
 

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Mikes FUE Story

Mikes FUE Story

member
Looking great and sounds like things are working fast! Soon as that shedding starts mean they've anchored in and got their blood supply so guess sooner they shed the better....the real regowth begins .
As for you donor area...still bit red ain't it so eyes drawn to that, sounds like you will still have enough to cover well especially if you wear your hair longish at back and side.

All the best ✌
 
R

Risingforehead

member
You should keep the shaven look it really suits you sir.
 
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Edsarn

Member
Thanks. My missus tells me that every day at the moment. She also wonders why I bothered putting myself through it all!!
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Your donor does look a little patchy at the bottom, I noticed it on the previous pics but it's still early days yet to see what it will look like..... but if your planning on wearing your hair similar to before then it shouldn't be an issue even if it stays a little patchy dude....the thing is when you know about transplants like us lot on here we tend to look at little things like small extraction hole scars or strip scars when we see people with them, but in all honesty the general public will likely be none the wiser or couldnt care less (unless its massively obvious off course). Your recipient area look good and I agree the shorter style suits you. Looking forward to seeing this grow dude
 
E

Edsarn

Member
Cheers BN. It's still really pink too, which I think makes it stand it even more. Once that settles down and the hair grows, I am hoping it will look ok. My donor area has been very sore this time, in comparison to my previous surgeries. I am not sure whether this because: 1) the surgeon used a motorised tool in my fourth surgery, in comparison to manual extraction in my first three surgeries, 2) the number of surgeries and scarring, 3) being a bit older and taking longer to recover, or 3) combination of 1, 2, and 3! I am close to being 4 weeks post surgery, and it's only in the last two days that I have been able to sleep pain free, because my donor has been very tender. I had a follow up appointment and there is no infection in my donor. I will post my four-week pictures shortly at the end of the week. .
 
E

Edsarn

Member
Here are my 4 week photographs. My donor area has been very sore, and you can see it is a little red and patchy towards the bottom of it. I am hoping this is just a bit (or a lot of shock loss). I experienced shock loss in my donor after first (but not 2nd or 3rd surgery). I am a little concerned about this, but I know it is very early days. I had a follow up visit last week with the clinic last week, so they could check if I had any infection, but all seemed good and they said I was just healing.

One thing I've used for the soreness in my donor is savlon! Dr De Reys gave me some aloe vera cream, but I found that irritated me even more. One night when it was bothering me, we had some in the cupboard and it gave me instant relief. My clinic suggested vaseline, but I prefer the savlon. At one point, I was using it 3-4 times per day in my donor and putting plenty on.

Shedding seems to have slowed down now and there are fewer hairs after washing my hair. I've started on the regaine, and will get back on the fin. I've not taken that for over a year now, because my partner and I were trying to conceive. That happened much quicker than I would have liked (!), but I've not got back on it yet. I always seem to get more colds when taking it (have been on and off it since 2005).


I'm really pleased with my recipient area, even though I have now lost most of the implanted hairs, so it should look even better once they grow through.

SMP still remains an option in my donor and or crown, if they do not look as thick as I would like.


P.S., I am not sure why my photos are the wrong way up. I've tried correcting it, but could not work it out. Sorry! :)



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E

Edsarn

Member
UPDATE - I had a text from my surgeon last night, asking how my donor was feeling. I said it was a little sore and red. I also sent some pictures, and Dr A said he would put some medication in the post to help it heal. Credit to Dr Arshad for doing this - texting me on a Saturday night. Shows the clinic has great aftercare procedures.
 
Thanks for the write up Edsarn, give the donor area time to settle as its still early days from a large procedure. Happy growing and look forward to your updates :)





Surgeon Representative and Patient Advisor for Dr.Arshad - Leading the way in hair restoration.
 
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Edsarn

Member
2 MONTH UPDATE

Here is my 2 Month update pictures. As you will see, my donor area has improved since my one month update - particularly the sides, where it looks pretty thick, even under harsh light. The back of my donor is improving too, but it is just taking a little longer - especially the bit near the nape of my neck. I am now confident, that when I grow it longer, that it will be fine.


In terms of my recipient area, I've got lots of bumps and spots, but I've had that before and think it is good sign.

I started taking propecia again - for a week - having been off it for almost a year since trying to conceive (and on and off since 2005). I have now stopped taking it. I will see what happens with this HT, before making a decision. I will get back on the minoxidil though, but my scalp is still pretty irritable, so will wait.



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reddwarf

member
Why did you stop taking the propecia again after such a short time back on it?
 
E

Edsarn

Member
Why did you stop taking the propecia again after such a short time back on it?

I've cycled on and off it for years. I've had great results, but have never felt great on it. I seem to be much more susceptible to colds and viruses when I take it. I know this is only anecdotal, but it definitely seems to effect me. As such, after taking it for a week I was unsure about whether to continue or not. I had quite sore testicles and felt a 'bit out of my tree.' I've had this before when cycling back onto propecia, and it subsides after a week or so, but I just questioned why I am taking something that has such negative side effects for me. Given I've had over 9,000 grafts I am hoping that I will have pretty good hair without it, as I don't have a lot of my native hair left on top. I am going to see how things go. I know I've got at least 1,500 beard grafts for my crown, if I need them, so I think I am going to stay off it for a while.
 
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