Scar Grafting with Dr Cole

[northeastguy]

Beard testing

On Thursday we tested 28 beard grafts. I've posted some photos of Pre to day 3. We used a .75 punch and extracted via CIT. Once I get my hands on the video, I will post the actual extraction process.
Post care involved cleaning with soap and water and a consistent application of Neosporin a few times a day.

[northeastguy]

I'd say, looks fantastic, are the first and last pics the same length?

Hey Stevie. the first pic is a 2 guard over the entire head. The last pic is mostly a 2 guard with a 1 guard around the nap and over the ears. Just above the top scar is a 3 guard. I could probably do a 2 guard according to my stylist but i'm not comfortable with it yet. Besides, the issue I have of using a 2 guard over my whole head is the direction of the hair growth on top from the strip surgeries. It just looks off. that's why I need to either be at a 1 guard over the whole head or long enough on top so it lye's flat.
So to answer your question, it is mostly a 2 guard but a little longer over the top scar.

One other thing I noticed on Thursday is the effects I am getting from using Rogaine and Nizoral shampoo on a regular basis since my first procedure in June of 2012. my hair is fuller and not as fine as it was. mostly noticed in the areas around the crown and top back.

[northeastguy]

As always, I had a great visit on Thursday with Dr Cole and his staff. It was so hard to not jump into a large session while I was there but stuck with my intent which was to evaluate facial scaring from beard FUE. I'll post photo's of that area in addition to a video after the 3 day period. Today I will show some photo's taken in his office on Thursday.
as Dr Cole mentioned, I have some hair growth direction issues ( there's a clump of hair that looks real off but that is not accurate. I'm pretty sure that's from the seat on the plane and car during my travel ) Regardless, there is some adjusting we will do in the future to correct this. I'm too much of a perfectionist to go through what I am going through to leave that alone.

[John P. Cole, MD]

It's coming. Beard hair came out easy and went in easy. Lower scar looks great except some hair growth direction issues. Upper scar needs some fill in at the shorter hair lengths to get it right. We might want to change some hair growth direction issues on the lower scar, but you have to look close to see this thankfully. It (hair growth directional distortion) is not as bad as it could have been or as bad as i've seen. we are hoping the injections of steroids help the raised lower scar sit down. It's a little bit elevated. This can occur from hypertrophy of the scar (usually) or volumetric displacement (by grafts). I've not seen FUE grafts cause this before, but strip FUT grafts can because doctors leave more fat on the grafts and this extra volume causes elevation of the tissue around the graft. This is more consistent with scar hypertrophy as the entire scar is elevated rather than only around the grafts. One option is to cut holes with a punch to place grafts in rather than placing the grafts in slits if you are worried about volumetric expansion. In other words, before you drop the rock in the glass of water, you take out some water so that the rise in water is equal to the original level before the rock was put in.

[Stevie R]

I'd say, looks fantastic, are the first and last pics the same length?

[35YrsAfter]

Northeastguy is here today to test beard hairs (25) to evaluate scarring for a third pass on the overall back of the head using beard hair. This should improve consistent density.
We took some progress photos today and as you can see he is making great progress.

35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office
forhair.com
Cole Hair Transplant
1045 Powers Place
Alpharetta, Georgia 30009
Phone 678-566-1011
email 35YrsAfter at chuck@forhair.com
I am not a doctor and the content of my posts are my opinions, not medical advice.
Please feel free to call or email me with any questions. Ask for Chuck

[Stevie R]

Oh okay, well it looks great man, and your strategy makes perfect sense, do you or Cole have any guess estimate of beards hairs you might well use?

[northeastguy]

My second pass was in may so its early. It wasn't a large session so not really expecting a huge result. I am only doing a 25 beard graft test next month to evaluate any scaring I might be suseptable to. If all goes well ill do a larger session in the winter at least 8 months apart from the second pass. How much depends on how things look after I buzz down to a 1 guard.

[Stevie R]

That looks great man, how many more months do you have of growth from that second pass? The great thing is is that you are already fixed at what you want, anything else is a bonus really. How many beard hairs are you thinking of?

[chicago99]

Looks fantastic! Very happy for you. Thanks for keeping us up to date. It gives all of us some hope

[northeastguy]

Ok... took some photos this am in the sun. I would say its a 1 guard low to a 2/3 guard high... mid area is a 2 guard. Its funny because in this kind of light it looks great!

I will be seeing Dr Cole Next month to test some beard hair. I'm confident the grafts will grow, I'm more interested in what to expect from the extraction site. Considering its my face I'm taking it much more couscous approach. While there we will make another pass of Steroid over the lower scar. Prior to the procedure, I may go shorter with the cut, either way, there will be good photos from Coles office. Also, I want to follow the donor site on my beard closely for not only myself but others who might be considering using beard hair and are concerned of facial scarring. As I've mentioned before, there just isn't enough photos out there regarding beard harvesting in my opinion.

[northeastguy]

I think with any corticosteroid in "high doses" you have the risk of side effects. Hair loss being one of them. It is a hormone so it isn't out of the question. I met with a Plastic surgeon recently for this particular reason and he did not mention the risk of hair loss. The only connection I could find between kenalog and hair loss was in those who took it on a regular basis or had multiple high dose injections.
I have already had one pass with the injections and did not have an issue. Dr Cole did not mention this as a risk.

I welcome more feedback on this ... it certainly would be a concern. MD's experiences?

[topcat]

I thought Kenalog has been known to cause hair loss? I remember reading a post from a patient that was trying to reduce ridging. It worked on the ridging but in the process he lost hair.

Just writing what I have read I have no experience with it. I do have ridging but after reading that one experience I don't think I would ever risk it.

Thought I would pass this along but maybe you have more information and if so I would be interested in reading it.

[northeastguy]

My next haircut I'll have the stylist take some photo's. I definitely need to do a session with beard hair this winter if I want to safely go to a 1 guard. It's my goal and I want to achieve it. I could leave things alone and be ok with a longer cut but it isn't what I set out to do.
I also need to work on the lower scar in regards to the "horses tail" caused by the strip surgeries and pinkness that remains. I most likely will be using a combination of Kenalog injections and Pulse dye laser treatments.
I'll start with a test pass soon from my neck to determine what type of scaring I may receive from beard grafting then do a large pass in the winter while treating the lower scar.

[chicago99]

We would all love to see update photos. So far looks great!