26 year old 1 month away from 2000 graft ARTAS Transplant

[oregonbuff]

Hi everyone,

This is my first real post on the Bald Truth, but I really appreciate everyone's input and stories that have helped me up to this point. I am now 1 month away (12/13) from my ARTAS transplant. I will have approximately 2000 follicles transplanted and focused around the hairline. I think I'm about a NW3. I'm most nervous about shaving my head for the first time and the time it'll take to grow back to the point where people won't notice. In the end, I know it'll be worth it, but I'm not looking forward to the first several weeks and months. Any advice or shared experiences would be, as always, greatly welcomed and appreciated!

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

I have been performing FUE hair transplantation using the ARTAS for the past year and a half and have recommended to patients to start wearing shorter hair styles prior to the procedure. This will get the people they see on a regular basis more used to seeing them with shorter hair.

[oregonbuff]

Thanks Dr. Charles! I've been thinking about doing this but had been hesitating. While I only have a few weeks left until my procedure, I am going to make an appointment in the next week to get it cut down shorter.

While I've read varying reports on their effectiveness, I've started taking Biotin (5000mcg) and MSM (1500mg) tablets once per day. I'm continuing to apply rogaine foam once a day and take 1/2 of a 5mg finasteride tablet once every other day.

I recently purchased a few beanies and hats to wear while I get used to my new look (especially during the first 2-3 months) and have medihoney and spray aloe to apply in the days immediately following the transplant. Now its just a waiting game! I'm anxious, but excited for the end result.

I have been performing FUE hair transplantation using the ARTAS for the past year and a half and have recommended to patients to start wearing shorter hair styles prior to the procedure. This will get the people they see on a regular basis more used to seeing them with shorter hair.

[oregonbuff]

I didn't know biotin and msm helps with hair loss? Is that really true?

I'm not sure if its true, but I read several posts on this site and elsewhere suggesting that it may help with regrowth after transplant. I figure it can't hurt (maybe wrongly?), so might as well add it to my intake. I'll try nearly anything that may speed up recovery/improve success

[oregonbuff]

I'm now just over a week away from my ARTAS 2000 graft procedure and am getting mentally prepared for shaving my head and the recovery process. While I haven't been able to take proper "before" photos yet, here are a couple natural photos from being out and about. I'll be sure to take better close ups in good lighting to best document the process and success of the procedure.

[35YrsAfter]

I didn't know biotin and msm helps with hair loss? Is that really true?

My daughter knows a lot about health foods and bought a bottle of "Hair, Skin and Nails" by a company called Buried Treasure. I just looked at the label and it contains 2000 mcg of Biotin and 500 mg of methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). By buying this product, I don't know if she's trying to tell me something or what, but I started using it. I can verify the effectiveness of another Buried Treasure product. It's called ACF. If you feel like your coming down with something, at least in my family, that feeling goes away reliably when we take this product. ACF is an immune booster.

I would like to make a suggestion to anyone having FUE via the ARTAS. Ask what size punch is going to be used. If the punch is larger than a .85, make sure you opt for ACell. ACell has been approved or cleared for sale by the FDA and their marketing has been approved or cleared where they are allowed to make claims regarding ACell's regenerative properties. Not to be confused with the FDA's product vindication process they named their Approval process. There is a public misconception regarding exactly what FDA Approved means, according to their terminology rather than the dictionary definition. Approval according to FDA terminology is NOT meant to indicate FDA brand endorsement. It really means that a product suspected and classified as being either dangerous or ineffective has been vindicated through what the FDA calls their Approval process before the FDA cleared it for sale.

The following general and scientific overview by Steven R. Bauer, PhD, was approved by the FDA for publication on the FDA website. The article touches on the role extracellular matrix plays in a regenerative process. ACell was cleared as a "Device" by the FDA. Nonetheless, FDA product classification of course has nothing to do with what a product can and will do in the real world:


"General Overview
Cell-based therapies show great promise for repairing, replacing, restoring, or regenerating damaged cells, tissues and organs. Researchers are working to develop cell-based treatments that are both effective and safe."

"Scientific Overview
Our research program uses animal models and cell cultures to study how cells multiply and differentiate (mature into specialized cells with limited, specific functions). We also study the effects on cells of their microenvironment, both inside and outside of the body. The microenvironment is the immediate area around cells. Parts of the microenvironment include other cell types, and other tissues and growth factors that have a localized effect on how the cells grow, divide, or migrate. Part of the microenvironment is the extracellular matrix made up of a carbohydrate-protein gel. The extracellular matrix helps to support the cell and cushion it from physical stress; it also serves as a means through which cells communicate with each other by releasing signaling molecules.

The communication among cells, as well as the time and conditions in which cells grow exert significant influence on stem or progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation. Progenitor cells are stem cells that have differentiated enough to be committed to becoming a certain general type of cell, and will eventually differentiate into a specific cell."

Reference:

http://www.fda.gov/biologicsbloodvaccines/scienceresearch/biologicsresearchareas/ucm127182.htm

ACell is an extracellular matrix product.

I included this quote from the FDA website to underscore the fact that regenerative medicine is real and the effectiveness of ACell is based upon science, not wishful thinking like many technologies that never came to fruition.

[35YrsAfter]

Device vs Biologics

It's also interesting that ACell was cleared for sale by the FDA as a Medical device. ACell may be looked upon differently today:

The National Center for Biotechnology Information
"The vertebrate extracellular matrix was once thought to serve mainly as a relatively inert scaffold to stabilize the physical structure of tissues. But now it is clear that the matrix has a far more active and complex role in regulating the behavior of the cells that contact it, influencing their survival, development, migration, proliferation, shape, and function. The extracellular matrix has a correspondingly complex molecular composition. Although our understanding of its organization is still incomplete, there has been rapid progress in characterizing many of its major components."

So rather than ACell/extracellular matrix being like the 2x4 stud framing of a house, in a structural support-only role, researchers are learning its function goes far beyond that. As per the article above, extracellular matrix isn't yet fully understood.

The FDA classifying ACell as a "Medical Device" is sort of like classifying Michelangelo's marble statue of David as a "Rock".

The exciting thing is, now doctors can legally purchase ACell and further enhance its effectiveness. It's only going to get better from here.

35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office
Cole Hair Transplant
Phone 678-566-1011
I am not a doctor and the content of my posts are my opinions, not medical advice.