Scar Grafting with Dr Cole

[35YrsAfter]

Hey northeastguy:
It was great meeting you Friday. Thank you for being an encouragement in this forum to other men in a similar situation regarding scar repair. I shot some video of our surgical tech running a comb up the back of your head over the area that was once bare scar tissue. It's truly amazing how grafting into a scar, improves scar tissue appearance aside from the hair growth itself. At this point really, the only issue is one of increasing the density of hair growing in your scars a little more to match the surrounding hair. I hope your procedure last Friday exceeds all of your expectations.

While you were at our office, I was stunned while listening to you tell me how you were discouraged by "experts" related to expected FUE yield. One doctor even told you that FUE into scar tissue would be a complete waste of money. Also, I hadn't considered that a doctor would offer FUE as a marketing gimmick to get someone in the chair so they could then try to persuade them into having a strip procedure.

35YrsAfter works at Dr. Cole's office

[Artista]

Hi Stevie..to answer your question..No I have no experience or needed with the ReCell treatment (thankfully)
I remembered hearing of it before..the photos that you have posted are great, and the article sounds good.
"Back in 1992, Fiona Wood and Marie Stoner, a medical researcher, developed a groundbreaking new implement of medical science. Called ReCell, the spray-on skin aimed to revolutionize the healing process for damaged human skin...."

[Stevie R]

Thanks for the response Northeastguy, but ya I have gotten a lot of blank responses with the recell at least at the beginning but none lead to them saying that hair would be eliminated, just kind of a scrathing of the head as they have not tried to heal such a scar before. Yet I have only had doubt not any evidence saying it can knock out hairs and most guys on the recell side guarantee that no hair will be removed and all dermotoligists have said that it wont either, that hair removal is the only one that can remove hairs. I had the hair removal laser on my front hairs as I want a total reversal and even many of those grow back as I have been twice, so I am sure there is no risk but of course I may be wrong so I will no doubt ask these questions a few more time and a few more dermotoligists just to make sure. The question I have at this point is when will the redness subside, how much more hair will I get, how close in color is the scar and surrounding skin, that way I will know if I need recell first or a second pass before recell...though I think I will do a second pass because I am close to Feriduni now and will be leaving this continent soon as the FUE is more of a hassle than the recell with days after and it would e more of a pain to come back. From what I understand to do recell you don't even have to shave down, which is great but I am having a Skype consultation worth the doc in a few days to confirm that, but he did say on an email to me that he does not have to. But if I do do recell second I may do 1540 laser before I do recell although IDK yet.

[northeastguy]

Been a long time and I am sorry for that. I did see another MD regarding the 1540 laser today and didn't really come away with a solid answer. He was completely honest which I wanted. He has done many treatments on mens faces and abdominal area and stated that none had any hair loss issues. With that being said, He did mention my situation was a little more delicate and would rather do a very small area on the scar first and evaluate it after a few weeks. He did state that the frequency of the laser used for scars is very different that that of hair removal. Again I am a loooooong way from this aspect of my treatment and will continue to gather information as the time passes.

That being said, I see Dr Cole 2 weeks from this Friday for my second session. I'm actually getting a little excited as apposed to last time. I think the fear of it not working is no longer in the picture so I'm viewing it all a little different this time around. Hoping to pack those scars in one more time and begin the 90 day stopwatch to normalcy

Stevie.... He did soak the grafts in a solution. I know he is not a believer of keeping the grafts out of the body too long. The exact solution might be better explained by 35yearsafter. It helps fight off free radicals. Acell may have been in the solution as well but much of the product was applied to the scalp after the grafts were placed. Acell was mostly used for the donor area. PRP was used on the Recipient sites.

[Stevie R]

Artista, do you have any experience with recell?

[Stevie R]

Okay so I have talked to a few clinics, there is one is particular I am just about set on. From what I understand the best we can expect is the scar being invisible, perfect in my opinion. What they do is take a biopsy form your ass, hip, head or wherever they offer and you like then they put that slice of skin into some formula or something and then they spray it on your scar after they hit the scar up with some type of laser, in this docs case that I like it is a kind of CO2 laser, but not the one you heard of. Then they rap your head for three days and your done and the results take up to a year to be in full effect, it also may be red for months, and yes I realize it isn’t in the states but it is in Canada (I think) Europe, the UK and Australia. I don’t know how much more info you want so look at my “be patient thread” here http://www.hairlosshelp.com/forums/m...y&STARTPAGE=10 in the Hair Transplant Repair column. In their I have showed my journey to fix this scar of mine as I learn as I go along. But in that thread I list just about every conversation via email me and the Recell doc I have been in contact with has said. I also post numerous articles and experiences with the recell which all have been good to my knowledge. Personally I hope the scar is perfect but expect to see something after 2 FUE passes and a recell session, I hope not but am thinking I may see a difference, not something others will ponder on but just something that is their if one looks hard enough something a little better than this http://www.hairlossexperiences.com/v...90&forum_id=26 but I am hoping better as my scar was smaller, I will have done two sessions and recell, so much more work than he did in this pic, but still I am trying not to get my hopes up too much, but every day it gets better as I will soon be 5 months post op. If you want to ask me questions about the Recell doc and where he is located send me a private message on that site as I don’t know how to do it here, yet I am not positive he is the one just so you know, but I am 95 percent certain. Also, if you send me a private email in hopes to see pics of my scar I will do that as well, just let me know. But if I was you and if you did your FUE passes I would go get the recell done after some studying on it as I don’t think there is anything to lose and if I understand the recell doc right I don’t even have to shave my scarred area, which would be great.

[Artista]

Amazing product

[jetfan11]

Recell

Well I don't know if you seen the recell scar results like here http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/am...slide=blank-21 on pictures 15 and 16 and others it is simply amazing. The doctors I have been talking to at separate clinics say that a better result can be expected on the scalp compared to anywhere on the body as the scalp heals better. They use the Co2 Fractional laser from what I understand to peel the top layer of skin off, approximately 0.02mm of skin and then spray on skin that they get from somewhere on your body, behind the ear, leg, hip, whatever you prefer but I am told behind the ear is best, and they spray recell on that also so you don't scar there. Everyone agrees it doesn't dislodge hairs yet I am still looking into that myself as you can never be too careful. However, I think this is it, I mean the biggest challenge in my opinion with fixing these scars is the color, and recell looks to eliminate the whiteness if you will in scars, then it is just a matter of placing the hairs in. Yet I think I will make sure my density is just right because I will have them recell my fue dots (if I can find any) at the same time they recell the scar. I ask if perhaps I can improve the scar even further by doing fraxel or the roller before the recell and it seems only if those shrink the scar, which perhaps they do a small bit, but not too much to worry about it as he explains that that shouldn't matter. I think the Feriduni scar case could have been much improved with recell, in fact invisible to the eye if his recell result would have been like that womans scar you see there at that link with the scar on her neck. Yet, I am not sure I will need it but I am researching it just in case, let me and everyone else if you find anything else out about the recell process, I find I have to dig deep as only 5,000 people have done recell from what I understand and that includes burns, scars, acne scarring and all sorts of other cosmetic damages. Yet this seems to be the far superior method of fixing scars, far ahead of fraxel or the derma roller in my opinion.

Hey Steve,

I see you always posting on recell. What did they have to say when you had your consultation? You realize it's not available in the us right? I mean based off the photos I would get on a plane tomorrow if it worked like that. What actual contact have you had with those folks? What did they say?

[Stevie R]

Hey Northeastguy, I had a question for ya cause I don't remember if you did it or not, but did Dr. Cole use ACELL, did he soak the frafts in ACELL before placing them into your scar? The reason I ask is because a buddy of mine FUE'd his scar about a month back or so and he used ACELL and he says his scar feels much softer and the area is not raised, he can hardly feel a difference at all he says, which is great for just 1 month post op from my knowledge on the subject. So if you did do ACELL did you get similar results? I mean it is suppose to take a year or at least a few months for the full effect of ACELL to kick in right? I wonder about this for my next round of FUE's if I need them and whether I should do ACELL before recell...If you have no info on this I understand but maybe someone else would like to chim in then...The way I see it is that if ACELL makes the scar flatter and more skin like it just gets it that much closer to fixing the problem and then why does not everyone use ACELL then? My experiance is that the areas where my scar is most visable is in the areas where it is raised. Also when I did my cortisone shots into my scar not only did it flatten the scar alot but it also made it smaller so I can't help but to think the raisedness and width are some how interlinked, what baffles me is that I have not heard anyone before link the two as I am doing now, I wonder why....Thoughts anyone? Northeastguy? Dr. Cole?

[El Nino]

Thanks Gill for all your support. Very much appreciated. May 17th is the Date... noticed the typo on my post.

Few Photo's to post.....

First Photo is #6 guard. It was the shortest I could cut my hair. When wet, everything was visible.

Second photo was taken just prior to being shaved down At Dr Cole's office for the procedure. It is a #2 guard cut. My ultimate goal..... shorter if we can make it happen.

Third photo was taken at Dr Cole's office 3 weeks ago. It is a #3-#4 guard cut.

Looks 100 times better already NE guy, congrats.

[northeastguy]

northeast guy,

I was there Friday for a little touch up, gotta agree 100% with the blunt tip, 1000% less painful! The staff was great, did 1300 FUE non shaven, 387 to front, the rest crown/mid scalp. Even put two beard grafts in my strip so I can see healing of beard, as well as taking to previous strips.

I'll keep track of your progress, I see 1000 beard grafts in my strips from Cole sometime next year.

Glad your experience was a good one....

[northeastguy]

Gotcha i have appts with well respected laser places in Seattle and 1 in New Your City. I actually think Pulse dye was the 1 they rec in my initial consultation. Still scary though I mean I have to get this scar in better shape before I let any hairs get put in them but at the same time if that laser causes hair loss its game over. For you i wouldn't even risk it I mean you look great after that 2nd pass with Cole you'll be golden.

Please update us on this thread after your appts. the feedback will be quite helpful.

I don't remember or think my lower scar was raised at all. I don't want to have all this laser work done, go have the second round of FUE only to have the scar raise again. AS LONG AS ITS SAFE, I will have the laser done after the grafts have grown from the second session..... minimum 8 months post. It's strange, the scar 2 cm above it, looks great in all aspects. One of those things I guess.

[jetfan11]

laser

Gotcha i have appts with well respected laser places in Seattle and 1 in New Your City. I actually think Pulse dye was the 1 they rec in my initial consultation. Still scary though I mean I have to get this scar in better shape before I let any hairs get put in them but at the same time if that laser causes hair loss its game over. For you i wouldn't even risk it I mean you look great after that 2nd pass with Cole you'll be golden.

[northeastguy]

NE guy,

Gotta super important question for you. Aren't you afraid the laser will damage not only the hair follicles in the scar AND the surrounding hair follicles? I want to do cortisone and laser before I see Cole but I am petrified the laser will destroy the hair around it. For you it would be worse because you have hair growing out of the scar.

Is this Palomer laser something you researched a lot if so who did you talk to?

I was assured by a few MD's and laser professionals that pulse dye laser or palomar fractional laser will not do damage to the existing hair or the follicles. laser hair removal and laser skin resurfacing is completely different. Talk to Md's in your area who do laser for skin resurfacing. I will continue to research this and assure myself that your concern is will not be a possibility in any way. Otherwise I will not risk it. I am reaching out to another MD as well as the makers of this laser.

little information...

http://www.palomarmedical.com/treatments/laser-scar-removal.aspx

http://saveyourface.com/whatsnew/2009/02/04/starlux-fractional-laser-skin-resurfacing/

[gillenator]

I got it on Amazon.com.

Who would have ever thought of purchasing a derma roller on Amazon and I bet it's much cheaper from there as well.