Bosley may have been a mistake.

[JoeTillman]

We were told he was given a local anesthetic, but he was knocked out for the majority of the procedure. Is that common practice? He did not have that happen during his previous two. It concerns him that he had no memory or recollection for large chunks at a time. And of course since I wasn't allowed in or to talk to him it concerns me as well.

No, this is not common but some clinic do knock their patients out for the surgery. I never understood the logic of this. This is one of the things that you have no control over as the patient has no opportunity to object to anything that is going on. At this point, it is not a point that matters but it is something you should make sure is documented.

In about a year we are interested in visiting one of the doctors you recommend to discuss his options and any further procedures if needed. I know we may be jumping the gun, but we also want to be prepared. Had we been more prepared and done more research we could have saved ourselves a lot of tears, anxiety and pain.

No, you're not jumping the gun. You're empowering yourself for the future, which is what you should be doing. The next few months are going to be a rollercoaster of emotions. This is true even for patients that HAVE done their research and have read about all of the experiences online but it still happens. For you it may be worse just because you have the stain of this experience on your minds but regardless, you just need to remember that the result needs to have the time it deserves to reach maturity. No amount of frustration, screaming, kicking or action will change how the result will unfold so simply hang on for the ride. As I've said before, there is a very good chance that things could turn out fine so just try to keep that in mind.

My last question is about shampoo/conditioner and other products that you or your doctors recommend.

I have read several articles and posts about them and was wondering what products you recommended as there is a vast array of them on the market.

As far as post-op recommendations, as long as you haven't received alternative recommendations from your clinic, then you're fine to use basically whatever you want. if there are recommendations then stick to them and ignore the rest of this paragraph There isn't a shampoo out there that will damage anything and none will really help. Just stick with quality shampoos, preferably ones you can buy in a good store and avoid the discount and low cost brands. Some have thickening properties but this really takes experimentation and that's about it. Once everything has healed, maybe around one month, he can try adding a ketoconazole shampoo such as Nizoral to his routine as directed on the bottle (two or three times a week?) and that should be the max that he'd need.

To ensure hair health he can consider taking MSM tablets, available in any drug store or health food store (even your grocer) as well as biotin. These will help your hair grow stronger and faster but they have no known effect on promoting early growth of grafts.

Happy Easter!

[Jojo1703]

No, this is not common but some clinic do knock their patients out for the surgery. I never understood the logic of this. This is one of the things that you have no control over as the patient has no opportunity to object to anything that is going on. At this point, it is not a point that matters but it is something you should make sure is documented.



No, you're not jumping the gun. You're empowering yourself for the future, which is what you should be doing. The next few months are going to be a rollercoaster of emotions. This is true even for patients that HAVE done their research and have read about all of the experiences online but it still happens. For you it may be worse just because you have the stain of this experience on your minds but regardless, you just need to remember that the result needs to have the time it deserves to reach maturity. No amount of frustration, screaming, kicking or action will change how the result will unfold so simply hang on for the ride. As I've said before, there is a very good chance that things could turn out fine so just try to keep that in mind.



As far as post-op recommendations, as long as you haven't received alternative recommendations from your clinic, then you're fine to use basically whatever you want. if there are recommendations then stick to them and ignore the rest of this paragraph There isn't a shampoo out there that will damage anything and none will really help. Just stick with quality shampoos, preferably ones you can buy in a good store and avoid the discount and low cost brands. Some have thickening properties but this really takes experimentation and that's about it. Once everything has healed, maybe around one month, he can try adding a ketoconazole shampoo such as Nizoral to his routine as directed on the bottle (two or three times a week?) and that should be the max that he'd need.

To ensure hair health he can consider taking MSM tablets, available in any drug store or health food store (even your grocer) as well as biotin. These will help your hair grow stronger and faster but they have no known effect on promoting early growth of grafts.

Happy Easter!

Joe,

Happy Easter to you as well!

Thank you again for taking your time to answer my questions. It's extremely helpful to have such a knowledgable person. 🤓It's very clear that you have made a difference for us in our outlook and anxiety about the past and future of this procedure. I know your speaking and advocacy has helped so many. You are a blessing to the HT community.

This website has been a blessing as well.

Things do seem to be healing well. I remove his sutures tomorrow. Little spikes are growing in and the scabbing is going away. I'm praying he's one of the lucky few who doesn't have any shock loss.

It is all about patience right now and for a few months. I am excited at the future and visiting one of the doctors whom you recommend.

I will update after his first haircut on April 16 and with some wedding photos, As well as healing and growth. Super rivoting stuff, I know. 😉

Thanks again for all the support. 😁

[Jojo1703]

Quick Update

The suture site seems to be healing well albeit some sores from maybe some hairs growing through the area causing some sort of in-growns.

April 16 he goes for his first haircut in forever. His hair is so long and curly and thinned in some areas possibly due to shock loss. The main area we have noticed that in is the area he had previously had two transplants, the front. All of his front hair is transplanted hair. Hopefully, it comes back.

Here are some photos of the crown to date

This experience has been stressful and emotionally draining but I have learned a lot and I have found this community.

About 6 weeks until the wedding. I ordered some Toppik for him to try before the wedding to perhaps use at the wedding. If anyone has a better suggestion, I am all for it.

I will post some after haircut photos, his hair always looks better after a haircut. It is so heavy when it is long and curly that it makes it look thinner

[JoeTillman]

The suture site seems to be healing well albeit some sores from maybe some hairs growing through the area causing some sort of in-growns.

April 16 he goes for his first haircut in forever. His hair is so long and curly and thinned in some areas possibly due to shock loss. The main area we have noticed that in is the area he had previously had two transplants, the front. All of his front hair is transplanted hair. Hopefully, it comes back.

Here are some photos of the crown to date

This experience has been stressful and emotionally draining but I have learned a lot and I have found this community.

About 6 weeks until the wedding. I ordered some Toppik for him to try before the wedding to perhaps use at the wedding. If anyone has a better suggestion, I am all for it.

I will post some after haircut photos, his hair always looks better after a haircut. It is so heavy when it is long and curly that it makes it look thinner

Hi JoJo,
Thank you for the updates. It looks normal, actually, and there is nothing I see that shows that there is any impending problems. A tip about the Toppik, when it comes time to experiment try not to use too much so that it looks caked on. The trick is to still allow some scalp to show through as that is what looks natural. Be sure to get a strong hairspray that has a shine to it because Toppik can make the area treated look dull and powdery. You should also order and try Dermatch which is applied directly to the scalp and doesn't need to be sprinkled in.

He's going to get sores in the donor zone off an on for a few months and it is just part of the healing process. When growth starts he'll get some pimples in the recipient area because some of the hairs get trapped and become "ingrown". You can use a hand towel soaked in hot water to relax the tissue then squeeze it out. It doesn't hurt the grafts and frees up the hair.