FUE with Dr Cole 5/15/14

[meddiffuse]

Pictures are below. I will divide this post into three subposts because I can't post the entire long thing in one post. I wrote it in notepad after my transplant last night because I did not want to forget my impressions of the day.

I can answer any questions that people have about my hair journey but I prefer not to answer personal questions such as what do you do for a living, where are you from, what other doctors did you consult with, etc. I do not want people in my life to find out that I have had a transplant other than girlfriend and close family.

I had a transplant with Dr. Cole in Atlanta yesterday. Here are my pre-op and post-op pictures. (Note: If Dr. Cole's office has a problem with me posting these photos, please let me know and I will gladly remove them or let the moderator know because I will be unavailable tomorrow due to flying. I know that I granted Dr. Cole's office permission to use eyebrows-up photos of me from marketing pictures but these are their photos. They own the copyright. I took some of my own preop photos which are very similar to the preop photos taken by Dr Cole's office, and I will be updating with more postop photos). I am just so impressed with the work that he and his team did and I am often frustrated when I read hair transplant threads on here where the patient has posted unclear pictures or no pictures at all. I've seen guys with similar loss to mine post pictures on here but I've never seen a similar case of someone who followed through with a transplant.

I made the decision in consultation with Dr. Cole and other reputable doctors were also willing to do procedures on me, but I chose to go with Dr Cole because of his long, successful experience with FUE and his skill at planting hairs into patients with diffuse loss patterns. I will not name the other doctors here because I did not end up going with them. I will be more than happy to buzz my head with a #3 guard if the balding process restarts and the existing hair in the recipient region is strong and protected by the medication I take. My donor region was estimated to contain approximately 8000-9000 grafts by Dr. Cole. I have above average quantity but below average quality due to the fine nature of my hair.

[meddiffuse]

Again, not sharing details like my occupation, real name, location, etc., I am a diffuse sufferer with a relatively intact hairline and i have been taking avodart for 9 years. I am 30. I also use ketoconazole Nizoral 1% shampoo two days per week. I would characterize my hair loss as moderate in the frontal part and less thinning in the midscalp with not much if any crown thinning. My family history is mixed with some bald guys and some guys with full heads of hair and some with diffuse loss similar to mine who never lost all their hair. My family notices my balding and most of my friends noticed it by spending time around me. I have lurked this board since 2011 and wanted to give back the community by sharing my story and posting updates etc. The hair loss is more noticeable in the wet photos. I have stabilized my hair loss for almost a decade now on medication and I decided to take the plunge. I do not want to wait for 10 more years and still have the same hair.

I attached a few photos which have been cropped by me to show the relevant areas, but the photos were originally taken by Chuck in Dr. Cole's office earlier today. To make that clear, I did not take these photos but they are an entirely accurate representation. I signed the release to allow them to release them with eyebrows up as well but I did not want my entire face shown publicly. The photos are very high resolution and I am impressed with the quality. I converted them to JPEG and shrunk the resolution a bit but I feel they are still very clear.

I had 2620 grafts with CIT and some PRP and Acell. I will not discuss the price I paid for this procedure because I consider that to be proprietary information and is the business of Dr. Cole's clinic in particular.

I chose Dr. Cole as I said, because of the FUE procedure offering the advantage of no-strip scar and also because, in my opinion, after exhaustive research, he is one of if not the best FUE surgeons in the US if not the world. I also wanted the option to shave to a #3 guard in the future in the event that mother nature catches up to me in the future. I do not plan on having another transplant in my lifetime, but if I do, it will probably be at least 10 years from now.

[meddiffuse]

Now I will share my story of the events that happened today:

I arrived in Alpharetta, GA two days ago. I arrived at the office at 6:00am yesterday morning where I was met by one of Dr. Cole's employees who went over the paperwork with me. I agreed to the release of photos from the eyebrows up for their marketing purposes. I agreed to have my entire head clipped with a #0 guard for the procedure but I told the employee that I preferred to wait until I saw Dr Cole in person before they started the shaving. I wanted to wait because I did not want to have Dr Cole decide that I was an unworthy HT candidate and end up having shaved my head for nothing. I then proceeded to the office where I met Chuck, another one of Dr. Cole's employees. He is very knowledgeable about hair loss and we chatted a bit while he took my preop photos. I then went into the surgery room where they marked the "boxes" (the area where they would take the hair from) and Dr Cole arrived and looked at me. I have read stuff about him on here before about what a character he is, but they do not do him justice. He is very intelligent yet at the same time manages to be down to earth and frank. He looked at me and said that I have a lot of hair and what would I like to do. I told him that I basically want to fill in the thin areas behind the hairline and I realized that he is conservative in his approach, which I believe is correct. I was never interested in lowering my hairline but had I requested it I believe he would have rejected that idea. He knew that I had been on Avodart for over a decade and he said that if we were going to do this that we would have to buzz the entire thing down so that he could use the magnification (with loupes, I believe) techniques and spot the areas of thinning. I was then shaved with no guard all over my scalp and Dr Cole was able to spot the thinning areas with much more ease.

I selected a movie and we were off. I ended up watching 4 and a half movies during my time at Dr Cole's, which was a very enjoyable way to pass the time. I was sweating like crazy due to nerves and a lot of people clustered around me and I feel bad for the techs that had to be around my sweaty self during the morning hours. I picked my lunch in the morning but ended up taking it with me because I wasn't very hungry at lunch hour. We finally finished up around 5pm with 2620 grafts and Chuck offered to burn me a CD with my photos. He asked me if I was familiar with forums like this one and I said that yes, this one in particular because I have lurked it for years.

After I left, I drove to a local pharmacy and had the scripts Dr Cole gave me filled (antibiotic, painkiller and sleep aid). I took two Vicodin immediately because the pain quickly became unbearable. I'm very glad I had the surgery done but I was not prepared for the post-surgery pain which started almost immediately after I got to my hotel (I think from the anesthesia wearing off). I also left a big bloody spot on the headcushion of my rental car but I was able to get most of it out with water. I'm hoping that after using the rest of the Vicodin today and Saturday that the pain will be gone by late Saturday. I flew out today and I caught a lot of stares in the airport with my exposed bloody head, but I was told by Dr Cole's staff that it is very important not to wear a bandana or hat for 48 hours after the operation, because head coverings can rip out grafts. A small amount of public discomfort is an easy trade off for me to make for an optimal hair transplant result.

I have to thank everyone in Dr Cole's office especially Chuck, Terry and Barbara and obviously Dr Cole. I am not great with names or spelling them so I hope I spelled those right. There were 3-4 other technicians and other employees helping as well during the day but I do not remember their names. They were very personable and it was fun passing the time with them and they were all VERY skilled and knowledgeable. I'll try to post some update photos on Saturday (Day 2 post-op), Monday (Day 4), next Thursday 5/22 (Day 7 ), 5/25 (Day 10), and 5/29 (Day 14), with probably updates at 1 month and every month afterward until month 12. I had the entire head buzzed with a #0 guard so my plan is just to let it grow out until at least 2 inches before getting it buzzed again. I know that the transplanted hairs will fall out after 2 weeks but I am hoping to minimize the temporary shock loss as well so hopefully my hair looks relatively similar to what it did presurgery in month 4.

The donor and recipient areas are already healing very quickly. I also purchased ATP spray from his office and I am using it as instructed once per hour while awake. Unfortunately, I was flying today, and it is supposed to kept refrigerated. I hope that it will be fine outside of a fridge for 8 hours in my luggage and that I can refrigerate it when I get home tonight and keep using it until it runs out. I mentioned that I bled on the car headcushion immediately after leaving the office, but an hour later in my hotel room I laid my head down on the pillow for five minutes and when I got up they were just a few tiny red spots and it is no longer bleeding. It looks very good right now. I can easily see the thinning areas that Dr Cole transplanted and he put them in the exact areas that I wanted.

[Hicks]

Congrats! I had the same experience with Cole and his team minus the flight. I drove 2 hours home. No pain just an upset stomach. I didn't eat much for lunch maybe that is why. One thing I forgot to go was stock up on food. I rolled though burger king and got the craziest OMG look from this young girl.

Looks like you already have great hair. I had 2800 grafts.

My forehead swelled some. I should of did the exercises sooner.

I'm almost 3 months out. I see some very fine hairs starting to grow.

[meddiffuse]

Congrats! I had the same experience with Cole and his team minus the flight. I drove 2 hours home. No pain just an upset stomach. I didn't eat much for lunch maybe that is why. One thing I forgot to go was stock up on food. I rolled though burger king and got the craziest OMG look from this young girl.

Looks like you already have great hair. I had 2800 grafts.

My forehead swelled some. I should of did the exercises sooner.

I'm almost 3 months out. I see some very fine hairs starting to grow.

Thanks hicks. I scared the people in the pharmacy as well and at least 15 people asked me if I was okay. One advantage was that I guess the combination of my bloody head and tired look convinced the gate agent to let me preboard before the other passengers, with those that need extra time .

My head is so itchy right now in the recipient area. Do you have a thread on here with pictures that I can see? Would love to see your progress. I know I can't touch my head to scratch but I wonder if I can take Benadryl or something orally to combat the itch.

[Hicks]

Thanks hicks. I scared the people in the pharmacy as well and at least 15 people asked me if I was okay. One advantage was that I guess the combination of my bloody head and tired look convinced the gate agent to let me preboard before the other passengers, with those that need extra time .

My head is so itchy right now in the recipient area. Do you have a thread on here with pictures that I can see? Would love to see your progress. I know I can't touch my head to scratch but I wonder if I can take Benadryl or something orally to combat the itch.

not sure about itching. I didn't have an issue. The ATP stuff once an hour might of kept that at bay. I'd call the office Monday.

I do not have a thread up. I'll get to that after the holidays. It's just so boring waiting and there isn't really much to report. I look like I did before the surgery.

[meddiffuse]

not sure about itching. I didn't have an issue. The ATP stuff once an hour might of kept that at bay. I'd call the office Monday.

I do not have a thread up. I'll get to that after the holidays. It's just so boring waiting and there isn't really much to report. I look like I did before the surgery.

Gotcha. Yeah i am also using the ATP spray once an hour but it was unrefrigerated for 9 hours yesterday while flying. I resumed using to today and hopefully the lack of refrigeration didn't damage it. I am using it once an hour until it is gone. Is that what you did as well? 3 months out id think you should see some solid Growth in 2-3 months. Not concerned about permanent hair loss because my existing hair was strong but I am bracing for temporary shock loss. In the high resolution pics chuck gave me I can see what a good job dr cole did with the incisions. He placed them right in between my existing hair but not superhigh density. Very artistically done.

[Hicks]

I am using it once an hour until it is gone. Is that what you did as well? 3 months out id think you should see some solid Growth in 2-3 months. Not concerned about permanent hair loss because my existing hair was strong but I am bracing for temporary shock loss.

Yes, once an hour till gone.

I don't want to get you excited and not see any growth in 2-3 months. I do see it but it's very thin. Being diffused like you it's harder to find the new growth. That's why it's important to take pictures once a month. If you can do it after a hair cut and same lighting.

Man, month 2 was terrible. truly is the ugly phase. You just have to hammer through it.

[meddiffuse]

Day 4 (3 days after transplant)

Here are my picture updates for 3 days post transplant. Next updates should be this Thursday (one week out). I think everything is healing quite nicely. I uploaded a pic of the front, pic of the top, pic of each side, and a pic of the donor area in back.

I noticed last night (52 hours post transplant that my forehead is swollen. I woke up this morning and I cannot open my left eye without significant effort because it is heavily swollen. It does not hurt. I have been taking the doxycycline antibiotic as scheduled, 2 per day since Friday morning. I took my last painkiller dose Friday morning and have not taken a sleeping pill since because I no longer need either. No pain in any area of my head. My recipient area is itchy from time to time but I am not touching it. I am using the ATP spray once an hour while awake on my recipient area. Sometimes I use a tiny bit too much and a little runs down the sides.

I shampooed my head and wet it for the first time since surgery earlier today, 68 hours post op. Had to wait longer than usual because of the PRP and Acell. I used Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo and was relatively gentle with both the donor and recipient areas. I used a cup of lukewarm water to wet both and then gently dabbed the shampoo in both areas then rinsed both with lukewarm water after letting the shampoo sit for a minute. The donor area is healing faster than the recipient but I think this is expected. I am glad I had the entire thing shaved. I have not left the apartment since arriving Friday and I will not leave it until 8 days post-op when the grafts are fully secure. I have only bumped my head one time on the rental car and I want to make sure that does not happen again. I made sure to buy groceries before leaving and I am basically lying in the recliner watching movies all day. I go back to my normal life and obligations a week from Monday. I still have not worn a hat or anything on my head and will not do that until this Friday, 8 days postop. Anytime I am in the sun I will wear a hat until we are at 180 days postop and my hair is 3 inches. I will not be cutting the hair until it is 3 inches long.

[chicago99]

Congratulations! You were in great hands. Dr. Cole is the best. Please keep us posted. Best of luck

[meddiffuse]

Day 6 (5 days post transplant)

Congratulations! You were in great hands. Dr. Cole is the best. Please keep us posted. Best of luck

Thanks chicago99!

I decided to upload some pics of the head 5 days out. I will probably update again on Thursday and Friday. The recipient area is looking brown and scabby at this point. The donor is continuing to heal. My native hair is growing quickly after being buzzed with a #0 guard last Thursday immediately before surgery. I am still using the ATP spray once an hour while awake on the recipient areas.
I shampooed my hair this morning as I have every morning since Sunday with baby shampoo. I am still being very gentle with the recipient area, pouring a cup of lukewarm on it then gently dabbing the shampoo into it, letting it sit for a minute on the grafts before slowly pouring another cup of lukewarm water on it to rinse it. I am using the shower head on the donor area and rubbing the shampoo in, not babying the area like I am with the recioient area. Starting yesterday after drying the hair, I applied neosporin to the donor area and let it soak in. I did that again today per the instructions and will use the neosporin for the last time tomorrow.

[meddiffuse]

Close up shot of 5 days postop

Here is one more pic of my recipient area today, taken in normal lighting. I am kind of paranoid that i lost grafts since thursday because it now looks like a lot less but i attribute this to the scabbing that has taken place. I have experienced no bleeding since thursday so i dont see how i could have lost a graft.

[ITNEVERRAINS]

Congrats!

Cole is very good. Since it's your first you won't notice, but I used Cole for my fifth procedure and it took almost 14 months to see full results. I don't know if it's FUE or how shallow Cole picks grafts, but it did take longer to see results. Be patient.

[meddiffuse]

8 days postop update

Congrats!

Cole is very good. Since it's your first you won't notice, but I used Cole for my fifth procedure and it took almost 14 months to see full results. I don't know if it's FUE or how shallow Cole picks grafts, but it did take longer to see results. Be patient.

Thank you, itneverrains!

Here is my 8 day update. Pics taken under bright light with no flash. Donor area is still a bit red in bright light but fading fast. I think after it is all healed I would be able to buzz to a #1 guard in the future without white dots in case I wanted to. 2 guard for sure. All of my scabs/crusts fell off yesterday and today in the shower. The recipient area is a bit pink but I understand this should fade with time.

[chicago99]

Hey Med, hope you are doing well. How are you healing? Would love to see more pics. It's great to see the healing process week to week. I'm really interested because I am having a procedure with Cole and am curious about how the healing goes week by week and to see how fast native hair grows back. Best of luck