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I haven't visited this site for a while now but I thought I'd contribute my HT #2 tale for everyone's benefit.
My first HT was when I was 21 with MHR and consisted of hairline work...roughly 800-1200 grafts, I think (I really don't recall). I failed to do my research and in hindsight, I regret going to MHR (Ziering's outfit) and moreover, getting anything done at such a young age. To be honest, if I wouldn't have gotten anything done back then, I might have just shaved my head and accepted my fateful genetic circumstances. Alas, that opportunity had passed long ago with the lifetime scar that I now own.
About 13 years later (present day...I'm 34 now) my hairline had continued to recede and thin and I had miniaturization throughout the mid scalp regions and my crown had taken a real beating. For the record, I toyed with Rogaine for about a decade- and it worked very well for about half that time- but eventually I did away with it and have simply stuck with finasteride about 4 days a week.
Continually losing more hair, I contemplated another surgery for the past few years. I did my homework and elected Dr. Konior to perform HT #2. We planned for a shave/3000 graft procedure but we ended up with 3250 in total. The game plan was to strengthen the hairline and reinforce the mid scalp and crown areas. Although 3250 grafts is a lot, when spreading throughout the entire scalp, it's probably not as dramatic as one would think. I was told that this amount of grafts would yield roughtly a 10-15% increase in overal density (as we know, a 50% density is all one needs for the appearance of a full head of hair). I'm hoping that with my current natural hair still in place and hopefully I can hold onto it for a while, this 10-15% boost will give me a noticeable improvement at the end of the day.
A couple things to mention...
1) Dr. Konior cut out most of the old scar and now there is only one more refined scar
2) suprisingly and a little alarmingly, it was mentioned that I had scar tissue in my crown area that made implanting grafts in that region a little challenging. I didn't think grafts were implanted there during my first HT so I have no idea how I'd have scarring back there. At any rate, I hope the new grafts grow successfully in this supposedly scarred region
As of today, I'm 3 days post op and aside from some donor area pain here and there, all is well...minimal swelling and little scabbing or crusting.
Although we won't know my outcome until well into 2013 I can attest that Dr. Konior, his assistant/coordinator Tom, and his entire staff of nurses were very professional, accommodating and tended to my every need before, during and after the surgery. In the months, weeks and days following up to the procedure, Dr. Konior and Tom never failed to respond to my many, many questions quickly and in full. In short, my confidence in their office and staff was very high, which I feel is paramount when getting involved with something like this.
I am really excited to see how this turns out. The hope is that my result is more than satisfactory and that I won't have a need for another procedure until I'm closing in on 40 years old. Of course, I guess all of this is dependent on donor hair availability, how much more I continue to lose and how successful this latest graft yield is.
ATTACHED ARE SOME PICS (pre-op and 3-day post).
I'd love to hear your thoughts, opinions, etc.!
Thank you for reading.
My first HT was when I was 21 with MHR and consisted of hairline work...roughly 800-1200 grafts, I think (I really don't recall). I failed to do my research and in hindsight, I regret going to MHR (Ziering's outfit) and moreover, getting anything done at such a young age. To be honest, if I wouldn't have gotten anything done back then, I might have just shaved my head and accepted my fateful genetic circumstances. Alas, that opportunity had passed long ago with the lifetime scar that I now own.
About 13 years later (present day...I'm 34 now) my hairline had continued to recede and thin and I had miniaturization throughout the mid scalp regions and my crown had taken a real beating. For the record, I toyed with Rogaine for about a decade- and it worked very well for about half that time- but eventually I did away with it and have simply stuck with finasteride about 4 days a week.
Continually losing more hair, I contemplated another surgery for the past few years. I did my homework and elected Dr. Konior to perform HT #2. We planned for a shave/3000 graft procedure but we ended up with 3250 in total. The game plan was to strengthen the hairline and reinforce the mid scalp and crown areas. Although 3250 grafts is a lot, when spreading throughout the entire scalp, it's probably not as dramatic as one would think. I was told that this amount of grafts would yield roughtly a 10-15% increase in overal density (as we know, a 50% density is all one needs for the appearance of a full head of hair). I'm hoping that with my current natural hair still in place and hopefully I can hold onto it for a while, this 10-15% boost will give me a noticeable improvement at the end of the day.
A couple things to mention...
1) Dr. Konior cut out most of the old scar and now there is only one more refined scar
2) suprisingly and a little alarmingly, it was mentioned that I had scar tissue in my crown area that made implanting grafts in that region a little challenging. I didn't think grafts were implanted there during my first HT so I have no idea how I'd have scarring back there. At any rate, I hope the new grafts grow successfully in this supposedly scarred region
As of today, I'm 3 days post op and aside from some donor area pain here and there, all is well...minimal swelling and little scabbing or crusting.
Although we won't know my outcome until well into 2013 I can attest that Dr. Konior, his assistant/coordinator Tom, and his entire staff of nurses were very professional, accommodating and tended to my every need before, during and after the surgery. In the months, weeks and days following up to the procedure, Dr. Konior and Tom never failed to respond to my many, many questions quickly and in full. In short, my confidence in their office and staff was very high, which I feel is paramount when getting involved with something like this.
I am really excited to see how this turns out. The hope is that my result is more than satisfactory and that I won't have a need for another procedure until I'm closing in on 40 years old. Of course, I guess all of this is dependent on donor hair availability, how much more I continue to lose and how successful this latest graft yield is.
ATTACHED ARE SOME PICS (pre-op and 3-day post).
I'd love to hear your thoughts, opinions, etc.!
Thank you for reading.
Attached Files
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