• 05-15-2014 09:47 AM
    fred970
    FredtheBelgian's FUE - 2000 grafts with Dr. De Reys - 24 Years Old NW5 from DPA
    Hi guys, I'll give you a little feedback and a few pictures about my recent hair transplant. I hope it will be useful to some of you :).

    My story in short

    I'm 24 years old and I'm from Brussels. I started losing my hair quite aggressively at 17 in the form of DPA (diffused patterned alopecia) which means no receding hair line and the hair thinning equally in the NW5 area. I started using minoxidil at 20 and I've been a very good responder for 1,5 year. Dermmatch (a concealer) also helped me a lot to make it seem like I had a full head of hair (easy when you don't have a receding hairline). Unfortunately, after that, the hair loss resumed quickly and I reached a NW5 at the age of 24. Hair loss stroke me hard and caused a lot of psychological problems for me. I had to go through major depression, anxiety, panic attacks and even psychosis. All of that because of the horror of losing a part of myself at such a young age.

    My hair transplant (FUE)

    I had been researching hair transplants for about 2 years before actually going for it. For those who aren't aware of it. It is a crucial decision to take. Once you're, you're cut. Take the time to evaluate if you're a good candidate. Know your hair loss family history. Try medications (minoxidil and/or propecia) before considering a hair transplant. At the first sight, I wasn't a good candidate. being NW5 at 24, that is quite rare. Try also to find the top surgeon, costs and distance do not matter. But if you can find cheaper without lowering the quality, then all the better.

    I chose Rudy De Reys in Belgium. He's very professional and is working with his wife who is a trained nurse. I stayed at their brand-new clinic and they're take good care of you there. You have a comfy room for the night (if you go for a large amount of grafts, a few days are necessary to complete the procedure). We agree to go with 2000 grafts to cover the NW4 area and a conservative hair line, as it was my first surgery and I'm still quite young. You never know if you might need some grafts later in life. The part when they extract your donor is the hardest to go through, once they implant the hair, you can watch a movie while they do it. It was painful at times, but the pain was rapidly taken care of with some painkillers. I'm satisfied with the hair line even though it's not my original hair line, and it seems that the donor with heal with minimal scarring. The cost of the procedure, including all the additional costs of the stay (food, room etc.) was 4500€. Well, now I just have to wait and see, I hope almost all the grafts will take and grow, and I hope I don't encounter problems like shockloss.

    The pictures

    First, a before/right after the procedure to give an idea on where I was and where I (hopefully) will be.

    Before:

    http://www.fredk.be/fue/before-ht.jpg

    After the surgery:

    http://www.fredk.be/fue/day1-front-with-face.jpg

    And here are the pictures from different angles with a higher resolution:

    http://www.fredk.be/fue/day1-front-close-up.jpg
    http://www.fredk.be/fue/day1-back.jpg
    http://www.fredk.be/fue/day1-donor-left.jpg
    http://www.fredk.be/fue/day1-donor-right.jpg
    http://www.fredk.be/fue/day1-front-up.jpg

    I'll post pictures every few months.

    All your comments are welcome :).
  • 05-15-2014 10:11 AM
    Hicks
    Can't believe you made this terrible mistake! Just messing man Happy growing! I'm on month 3 and I'm seeing a very SMALL amount of hair sprouting but it's hard to tell. I told Cole I wanted to plan for future loss so he made my hairline higher.

    Keep us updated!
  • 05-16-2014 08:05 AM
    swingline747
    hey fred, good luck from this forum as well
  • 05-16-2014 11:01 AM
    ryan555
    Nice! Hopefully this will be the beginning of the end of your hair loss worries. Looks good so far.
  • 05-16-2014 04:17 PM
    meddiffuse
    Looks very well done in my opinion.
  • 05-17-2014 01:52 PM
    Notcoolanymore
    Glad to see you were finally able to make it down to Mumbai.

    On a serious note, I am getting closer to making the decision to get this done.
  • 05-18-2014 12:28 PM
    Rodfarva
    Looks good man! Happy growing, keep us updated:)
  • 05-19-2014 08:09 AM
    35YrsAfter
    Fred is a cool dude and looks good with or without hair.

    35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office
    Cole Hair Transplant
    1070 Powers Place
    Alpharetta, Georgia 30009
    Phone 678-566-1011
    The contents of my posts are my opinions and not medical advice
  • 05-22-2014 05:36 AM
    Artista
    Again, Chuck , you could not have said it better and I agree!
    Fred, if you never had had this done you would still be a DAPPER looking man!
    Of course we ALL understand the need within that you have had.
    Dr De Reys did a FANTASTIC FUE job on you.
    Fred- Compliments go out to BOTH.
    I am very HAPPY for you bro!!
    I have no doubts that you shall be a SATISFIED young man in the upcoming months ,and years!
    Thank you for choosing to share with us your continued experience with us.
    Cant wait to see your scalps progression.
    The photos of your donor hair are GREAT.
    Cheers! :)
  • 05-22-2014 10:16 AM
    redy
    just a question, but why did you ultimately decide to do this?

    you've always at least seemed to be more or less okay with your situation as a bald dude from what I've read in other posts (about lifestyle, dating, being a normal person, etc), so I always assumed you were not going to opt for the transplant. But, being that you did, I am curious as to what made you decide to do it?

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