Robot Hair transplant - 4.23.2012

[fitness-man]

Day 3 pics.

had my brother cut my hair ... except for the top.

took a shower and latered up the scalp and let the hand held show drip on it to remove it all.

no pain - feeling good.

[topcat]

Fitnessman, punch sizes matter. Below is a blown up view of what a 1mm punch would look like compared to a .75 punch. The difference in square area is drastic even though the slight difference in number size would lead many to believe it doesn’t matter. I have included a photo of white dotting from a 1 mm punch along with my own result where a .75 mm hand punch was used to extract fue from my face. Approximately 400 from a very concentrated area which would be close to 10,000 fue if the same area was used where the white dotting is shown. Below that is a illustration that might be helpful for others.

Could please provide better pictures and insert them directly into the thread. The thumbnails are of limited value.

[northeastguy]

Great point Topcat..... Good photos. Question to ask those who have had 1mm punches used (photo 2), is this the typical scarring seen by most that have had FUE...Or is it less common? Obviously, these are results I'd be unhappy with. Regardless of how long I wear my hair. (on a totally differant subject, SMP does a great job hiding scarring like this. Allmost becomes undetectable). I have to think anyone who doesn't value the importance of punch sizing is missing the big picture. Until evidence is shown to evaluate the production of scarring from various punch sizes, I would always stress using the smallest punch possible without increasing the risk of transection. For me it's common sense. Dr Epstein pointed out in this thread, it is essentially the overall O.D. that is the magic number and not the I.D which is the number used to identify the tool.

http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=8307

Makes complete sense. If a .80 punch is being used but the overall thickness of the tool is .2mm wider than a 1mm punch they are essentially producing the same size hole.....something to think about. I'd like to see some evaluation by Dr's who have used a variety of punch sizes on each patient and determine whether there is a significant difference in terms of healing. Is there a difference in scar size for a punch that is .80 compared to .90 compared to 1mm.....and so on? Is there a point where punch sizes get so small they are irrelevant in terms of being a cosmetic improvement?

[topcat]

The picture I posted of the white dot scarring is very mild from the many I have seen over the years. I posted this particular picture just out of convenience and that is why the smaller punch matters. Smaller hand punches become a time consuming process that’s providing the doctor even has the skill to use it and most do not. But most importantly it becomes a money losing proposition for most clinics. So it’s either speed up the process or not offer it at all.

I think if you look at SMP under high enough magnification you will see that the size of the dot is huge almost 3-4 times the diameter of the surrounding follicles. I think it might be beneficial in extreme cases of scarring but that’s about it.

And of course the wall thickness of the punch matters I assume the reader knows this but I suppose many might not be as familiar with mechanics so I should have probably been a bit clearer. Sometimes I assume too much.

As far as studies on the size of punches and the scarring all one needs to do is search through the past 10 years of results and it becomes easier to figure out. I knew very well 7-8 years ago that I would only accept a punch at or near .75mm

[fitness-man]

1 Week pics!

Still lots of scabs on top. I sud up my head very lightly when washing..not really touching it, just floating on top.

more than likely start posting weekly pics.

[northeastguy]

thanks for the pics fitnessman. your healing well and looks good. You might want to contact the facility in regards to washing. I'm pretty sure it is very safe to be a little aggressive cleaning your scalp at this point. you should be able to scrub off those scabs by now....even use a little conditioner. conditioner with Biotin is best. I'm not 100% sure of the exact time frame, but I think the grafts are pretty well set after 72 hours. call and ask.

If you haven't added Biotin, Vit E, and SMS to your diet it will help with the hair growth. all can be bought at your local pharmacy. SMS you may need to get online. A place like vitacost.com is great for all this stuff.

Best of luck....

[fitness-man]

Originally Posted by northeastguy

If you haven't added Biotin, Vit E, and SMS to your diet it will help with the hair growth. all can be bought at your local pharmacy. SMS you may need to get online. A place like vitacost.com is great for all this stuff.

Best of luck....

thank you sir! appreciate the info...will look into those STAT!

biotin the shampoo or pills?

what is sms? i looked on that site and it didnt trigger anything.

[northeastguy]

LOL... sorry, my fingers were going a bit to fast there. Its MSM not SMS. If your a gym guy, you may notice it helps you out with soreness. It's also a natural anti-inflamitory. Since our focus is hair growth, it's going to help. I would take biotin as a supplement and in the conditioner. I take 5000mcg 2X day of biotin. it's cheap enough. The Vit E I use is tocomin suprabio. there's some research out there about the benifits it has on hair growth....you can take it for what it's worth. regardless, Vit E is great for the hair and skin. Especially when your healing.

hope that helps....

[fitness-man]

3 months and 2 weeks update.

using minox w/carepost (<-generic latisse) mixed in (thx tracey) - biotin

[Winston]

Fantastic results for only 3.5 months! Please continue to keep us posted.