View Full Version : Positive experience with Dr Feller (3500 grafts)
TwoTone
10-24-2010, 03:40 PM
Just over two weeks ago I went to NY to have a hair transplant with Dr Alan Feller. If I remember correctly it was around 3500 grafts. I have to say my experience was extremely positive. The moment I stepped through the door, I was made to feel very welcome. Dr Feller is a really nice guy with a great sense of humour.
First of all he drew in where he felt my new hair line should be and checked with me to see what I thought of it. I felt it was a little too high so he was able to lower it slightly. Once we were satisfied with that I went into another room and he injected anaesthetic in two lines around the back of my head to numb the area where the hair was to be removed from. It was a bit painful but certainly nothing unbearable.
After that the rest of my time was spent sat in a chair while Dr Feller and the rest of his team went to work. He had 10 staff working for him and all of them were very professional and friendly. Having the strip removed from the back of my head really didn’t hurt at all. I just sat there listening to the radio while they worked. After that Dr Feller prepared the top of my scalp to receive the hair and then his team went to work with replanting all of those hair follicles. Having a large team of 10 staff allowed them to work in rotations. On a few occasions the anaesthetic would begin to wear off and I would feel a slight bit of pain so I just informed them when this happened and they injected me with some more.
The operation in its entirety took about 7 hours. That might sound like a long time but really it just flies by. Throughout that time they took good care of me and checked that I wasn’t too thirsty. The pain was kept to an absolute minimum. In fact the worst bit was probably when he gave me the injections at the beginning, although it wasn’t really that bad. Also a side effect of the anaesthetic was that it would give me a brief adrenaline boost which felt a bit unpleasant but again wasn’t too bad.
Afterwards they treated me to an extremely nice grilled chicken sandwich and a cup of tea as I was feeling quite drained afterwards due to not being able to eat anything all day. To top it all off Dr Feller even gave me a lift back to my hotel which was nearby. Can you get better treatment than that? Once I was back at the hotel I actually felt full of energy and later became really sleepy. I didn’t encounter any negative side effects at all.
One note of warning to anyone planning on having this done......and this may vary depending on what exactly you are having done. For the first 3 days after the operation, nothing can be allowed to touch the new transplanted area of hair as there is a risk of those grafts becoming dislodged. This means that you should select your hat carefully. The one I bought with me was a bit too floppy to wear. Dr Feller gave me a baseball cap to wear but I couldn’t pull it down on my head properly due to the scar on the back of my head so it looked really silly. Therefore I simply went without it and just dealt with the odd looks people gave me. To be honest I really didn’t care after a while. The following day I got on a train and went wandering around New York for the day. I felt totally fine. My head felt pretty tight and a bit sore but there wasn’t any serious pain.
TwoTone
10-24-2010, 03:41 PM
Two days later on the morning before getting my flight back to the UK, my forehead started to swell up which is quite normal. By the time I got home the bridge of my nose had swollen a bit too. A friend of mine said that I looked a bit like one of the aliens from Avatar! All I needed was some blue face paint ;)
Anyway I have included some photos of what my hair looks like now 16 days after the operation. You can’t really see the scar on the back very well now as hair has grown to cover it but it has healed very well and the staples have been removed, although the skin above the scar has bulged out a bit. Hopefully that will go down over time. The crown and the area over the scar is still a little sore and strangely numb and uncomfortable to sleep on, although it is getting better with time. The actual top of my head with all the new hair isn’t sore at all now although it does feel quite numb.
I have been told that very soon all of the transplanted hair will fall out again and then in 3 months I should begin to see it starting to regrow. In 8 months my baldy days should be at an end. Woohoo! I can’t bloody wait......although obviously I will have to (sigh). At the moment I am just looking forward to being able to shave my hair back down so it is all the same length, as at the moment I have an odd looking two-tone head.
All in all I am VERY happy with the work that Dr Feller has done and I can’t recommend him enough, although of course time will tell. I am totally confident that in 8 months everything will be fine though.
Ps. Dr Feller still has the photos he took before, during and after the operation. It would be fantastic if he could upload them on here. I particularly loved the picture of the scar on the back. I guess I’m a complete weirdo but I thought it looked awesome!
JonB.
10-24-2010, 05:33 PM
Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. Dr. Feller sounds great and I look forward to seeing the photos he will post up.
Congratulations.
One question...Did you have to sleep sitting up in a chair? or just propped up on a pillow in more of a sitting position? Did you wake up in a different position and did that compromise any of the transplants?
I'd say you look great!!! Best of luck
JB
TwoTone
10-24-2010, 05:52 PM
Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. Dr. Feller sounds great and I look forward to seeing the photos he will post up.
Congratulations.
One question...Did you have to sleep sitting up in a chair? or just propped up on a pillow in more of a sitting position? Did you wake up in a different position and did that compromise any of the transplants?
I'd say you look great!!! Best of luck
JB
Hi JonB
Your most welcome.....and thank you. Dr Feller is indeed pretty awesome. There may well be people that can match his work but I doubt there is anyone better.
There was no sleeping involved. I was awake through the whole operation. Sounds severe? It isnt. The experience was actually quite comfortable through a lot of it. I was in good spirits through the whole day. It was only during the last few hours when hunger started to set in and I started to feel a bit drained that I became less comfortable.....but even then it wasnt particularly bad.
Glad it all went well mate:cool:
TwoTone
10-31-2010, 01:20 PM
Your pics matey:
Oh brilliant! Thanks Spex :)
Any chance of having the one showing the scar on the back? I can understand if Dr Feller is perhaps a bit reluctant to have it posted here as it might scare some people off......although I personally think he did a really neat job with the surgery. In fact when I went to have the staples removed, the nurse commented on how good the work was and how well and quickly it had healed. She was surprised that it was only 10 days old.
Do you think I could have that one emailed to me? I want to show it to some friends and work colleagues. Yeah I know we're all sick in the head ;)
Mr. 4000
12-30-2010, 09:39 PM
I find it very funny that in the age of free speech and the internet that this thread is NOT CLOSED and the other thread that is just as open and honest was CLOSED.
I am speaking of the one by Badluck, that had a negative experience with Dr. Feller.
I love the way Docs protect themselves by saying some guys don't grow and then offer the patient another procedure at a reduced rate .
That makes no sense to me. If they didn't grow the first time, what is a doctor going to do that is different the second time around to make that happen. I mean the Physical factors aren't changing. Maybe some doctor can't transplant is a better way to word it.
What would it take to make this guy happy? What would it cost Dr .Feller? A couple grand that he doesn't need?
The number of unhappy patients is without a doubt underestimated by every doctor in this industry, bar NONE.
To say otherwise is bullshit. I have caught many doctors and their reps lying through their teeth, and as long as there is money to be had they will continue to do so.
I am very happy for this patient and Dr. Feller for making this patient happy
I find it funny you would randomly bump this topic..:confused: It stinks of agenda to me.
However since you have intensionally attempted to try start something you possibly know very little about allow me to clarify - The topic you refer to was ONLY locked by the moderator as the poster FALSLEY accused Dr Feller of illegally drugging him prior to signing the waiver forum. This is the FACT of the matter. That was the statement the poster made and the forum acted on it correctly. (The information posted was far from honest) The topic was locked for NO other reason.
All good Doctors do their very best by all their patients, as we know you are an unhappy one who feels he has been wronged by his Doctor (not Dr feller)
For this i am sorry. Do you care to share with us who your doctor was and make a separate topic raising your concerns rather than turning this topic into a negative topic - or was that your intension?
Mr. 4000
01-03-2011, 05:03 PM
I find it funny you would randomly bump this topic..:confused: It stinks of agenda to me.
However since you have intensionally attempted to try start something you possibly know very little about allow me to clarify - The topic you refer to was ONLY locked by the moderator as the poster FALSLEY accused Dr Feller of illegally drugging him prior to signing the waiver forum. This is the FACT of the matter. That was the statement the poster made and the forum acted on it correctly. (The information posted was far from honest) The topic was locked for NO other reason.
All good Doctors do their very best by all their patients, as we know you are an unhappy one who feels he has been wronged by his Doctor (not Dr feller)
For this i am sorry. Do you care to share with us who your doctor was and make a separate topic raising your concerns rather than turning this topic into a negative topic - or was that your intension?
I just looked and both were on the same page at the same time
One bad for Feller
and One good for Feller
I found it funny when reading his story that the thread was closed, I have never seen a closed thread on this board before.
I firmly believe that both had the right to post what they did. Dr. Feller made his point based on his procedures and Badluck posted his.
I think that is fair for both to give their story behind the HT discussed. LET THE POEPLE decide who is right and who is wrong, what is wrong with that?
I think most people will call out a liar, like the next 2 post did. I'm not saying he did lie, but it is clear that he will have opposition not matter what.
Dr. Feller type his side and gave his reasoning, and that in its self is good enough for me. Now it is up to me and every other person reading to make up their mind.
The evidence can't be proven either way, both sides can't prove what they claim on this board. So no harm no foul.
I didn't realize I bumped this topic it was on the first page and it was a good review of Fellers work, so I thought seeing both I would comment on the one not locked.
I know you work for Feller and he was not my doctor, but I will certainly need a doctor to fix what my doctor screwed up. You know my doctor, but I can't tell you for obvious reasons.
You know my doctor, but I can't tell you for obvious reasons.
I do not know who your doctor was, but i know it was not Dr Feller.
Obvious reasons..?
I think that is fair for both to give their story behind the HT discussed
If this is the case i see no reason why you can not discuss your situation, however if your choosing not to then thats your choose - BUT trying to create controversy surrounding another case and different doc to your own seems strange to me...
Mr. 4000
01-05-2011, 07:53 PM
I do not know who your doctor was, but i know it was not Dr Feller.
Obvious reasons..?
If this is the case i see no reason why you can not discuss your situation, however if your choosing not to then thats your choose - BUT trying to create controversy surrounding another case and different doc to your own seems strange to me...
I will if I have to, I'm still trying to work things out with my doctor. Do you have any advise when it comes to a speaking with a doctor on the issue of a really bad result?
TwoTone
01-24-2011, 01:07 PM
Hmmm drama in my thread. Exciting stuff :)
I have not updated my thread for bloody ages so apologies for that. Here are some photos I had taken a week ago. Unfortunately I had shaved my hair short a few days beforehand so....erm....they dont really show much. Yes I know I'm stupid lol.....but I thought I may as well post them up anyway.
About 3 weeks after the operation, some of the transplanted hair folicles started to come out each time I washed my hair, which is what I was told to expect. This continued to happen for about 3 weeks if I remember correctly. I was expecting it to all go quickly but it was actually very gradual and only some of the hair came out. Most of it has remained, which wasnt quite what I was expecting. I thought all of it was going to come out and then new hair would regrow at a later date. I guess not then.
Anyway I dont have a huge amount to report at the moment, as 3 months have now gone by which I guess places me at the "between phase". My friends seem to think that the new hair is thickening although I'm personally not seeing much change so its probably just their imagination.....and I'm not expecting to either as I'm not even halfway through the 8 months that I was told it would take.
The waiting game continues :)
I will try to remember to post up pictures each month from now on.
TwoTone
01-24-2011, 01:21 PM
The scar has healed pretty well though. It was certainly a relief when I was finally able to run a shaver over my head, as it was far too sensitive beforehand. It felt so good to finally get rid of the bozo look :)
TwoTone
03-06-2011, 01:59 PM
Here are a few photos taken about a week ago, after I had let it grow a bit. This is roughly 5 months after the operation. It doesnt look particularly good but hopefully it will start looking better over the next 3 months, although if I'm totally honest I'm feeling rather doubtful about it. To get the full head of normal looking hair I would like, I think I will need another operation.....or two. Hmmm
DAVE52
03-07-2011, 07:31 AM
It doesnt look particularly good but hopefully it will start looking better over the next 3 months, although if I'm totally honest I'm feeling rather doubtful about it. To get the full head of normal looking hair I would like, I think I will need another operation.....or two. Hmmm
Interesting
I understand sometimes we don't feel good with how we look but from the Jan 24 pics you posted IMO you look good with the really short Haircut
Maybe it's unfortunate you could not have got used to the reaally short hair and accepted / embraced it as it appears from the above statement your expectations may have been too high and you may now think you will another HT .....or 2
Winston
03-07-2011, 07:54 AM
I think you’ll be surprised at how much will start growing within the next few months. From what I see on the forum, some people are disappointed even up to 6th or 7th months and then all of a sudden they get a big growth spurt and in the end are very happy. Give it some time.
TwoTone
03-08-2011, 12:00 PM
Interesting
I understand sometimes we don't feel good with how we look but from the Jan 24 pics you posted IMO you look good with the really short Haircut
Maybe it's unfortunate you could not have got used to the reaally short hair and accepted / embraced it as it appears from the above statement your expectations may have been too high and you may now think you will another HT .....or 2
I think having to shave my hair extremely short for the past 15 years due to being so bald on top has given me plenty of time to get used to that. Thank you for the compliment though. However what I have never truly accepted is the lack of "choice".....and of course the great big bald patch on my head ;)
I didnt go for a hair transplant so I can continue to think "Oh well I had better shave my hair super short as it will look bad if I grow it". I went for a hair transplant so that I can have that "choice" back again......the choice to have one of those mythical things many people refer to as a "hairstyle". Also the scar on the back of my head is a detractor from shaving my head now.
My expectations really go no higher than "I want a full head of hair that looks good". I will of course try and hold off on judging it too much until the transition is complete.
TwoTone
03-08-2011, 12:02 PM
I think you’ll be surprised at how much will start growing within the next few months. From what I see on the forum, some people are disappointed even up to 6th or 7th months and then all of a sudden they get a big growth spurt and in the end are very happy. Give it some time.
Indeed. I have thought about this. I will keep my fingers crossed and hope that this does indeed happen. Thank you for the comment :)
Winston
03-08-2011, 01:29 PM
I don't think it’s really possible to regain a full head of hair from a hair transplant. I have seen some great photos on this site, but I think there always has to be some give and take. Did Dr. Feller say that he could give you back a full head of hair?
TwoTone
03-09-2011, 11:21 AM
I don't think it’s really possible to regain a full head of hair from a hair transplant. I have seen some great photos on this site, but I think there always has to be some give and take. Did Dr. Feller say that he could give you back a full head of hair?
You're right it probably isnt possible to get a full head of hair from a single hair transplant, especially when there is a large amount of baldness......and no Dr Feller didnt promise that either. I'm not sure why I was even remotely expecting it to be honest.
However despite my earlier lapse in confidence, I am actually happier with having more hair than I did before. Once the current crop has fully grown, I will decide where to go from there.