Losing my HT virginity!

[abc123]

Hey guys and girls!
I have been to a few forums over the years but I must admit this is by far the best!

well my story...
i'm pretty much from a family of bald men. father had completely lost his hair in his late 20's, both younger siblings have lost/losing majority of their hair. Well I noticed thinning at the age of 17/18. I started keeping my hair short from 21 and over the years its gone shorter and shorter to keep up with the receding hairline and further loss.

I did go through a phase of using minoxidil - I found it very uncomfortable to use, constantly drying my scalp and flaking of the skin. I then started using 1mg finasteride but after 4-5months, with a marriage coming up I became worried about the potential s/e (well no body wants man booby's!) so stopped taking it. I must admit even though I didn't see any growth with either I felt both did stablise hairloss whilst using.

Fast forward a few years... for the last 2years ive not used any products and actually came to terms with being bald... Unfortunately recently i've had the urge to give it a go with a hair transplant. Im soon to be 29 and feel im at the right age.... even though I no there isn't a specific age I feel if I leave it any longer it will never happen.

My chosen surgeon is Dr Humayun in Islamabad, Pakistan. I'll be flying there (from the UK) in a weeks time and will keep a record of my progress. My plans are 3000grafts via FUE. Aims - general coverage, im not excepting my 15 year old hair coverage but I want to be able to notice sufficient coverage - especially frontal line and temporal regions

Why Dr Humayun - cost is a big factor, but I have seen some of his work on real life clients and have been impressed. If cost wasn't a factor Dr Feruduni was top of the list and have also been impressed with Dr Hakan Doganay's work - but going to either country and not being able to speak the language puts me off for safety reasons...

Anyways pre-op pics attached - im sorry I know there not great angles but it gives an idea of what I look like at present.











Procedure date 17/01/2014

[Notcoolanymore]

Your not getting back on fin? I personally would stabilize if I was going to get a transplant. Good luck though. Keep us posted on your progress.

[fred970]

Stabilize it? He's bald!

Good luck with your HT abc!

[Notcoolanymore]

Stabilize it? He's bald!

Good luck with your HT abc!

Look at the top of his head. Are any of those hairs worth saving? His crown could possibly thicken. You really think it doesn't matter if he loses any of that hair?

[abc123]

Sorry for any typing errors using my phone...

Hey just had the procedure an hour ago....
Wasnt to bad, but being a GP (family doctor) myself its pretty second nature to me being in this kind of enviroment

Had to wait for the doctor to arrive for 30mins, very little conversation prior to the surgery which i didnt like, maybe that was because he had 2 other procedures on the go at the same time....

Well Dr Humayun marked my area, harvested my donor area and made incisions for graft placements.. Thats all i could ask for, didnt like the fact he was answering his mobile phone atleast 3-4times during the above

i must say his team were great. very very plesant had a nice chit chat throughout...

Unfortunately my donor area only allowed 2149 grafts approx 700 singles, 1100 doubles, 300 tripples n only 7 quads!!)

I'll upload picks when i return home to UK in a few days

[fred970]

Don't let your donor supply get you down. Even if it's only 2000 grafts, it could make a tremendous difference in your looks.

[Notcoolanymore]

very little conversation prior to the surgery which i didnt like, maybe that was because he had 2 other procedures on the go at the same time....

didnt like the fact he was answering his mobile phone atleast 3-4times during the above

Not sure if this is the norm, but I would not like this.

Hope your HT turns out well.

[abc123]

back in the UK finally

uploaded some fresh pics, sorry their not great quality but hopefully gives you an idea. personally I'm having big doubts I will have a decent frontal line density - which was my aim! also it appears on the left side the density is much greater than the right side? am I just being paranoid... please let me know your views

pre op (same mirror/location/lighting with post op)






day1 post pics




day5 (today)

[John P. Cole, MD]

The left side is thicker than the right. The grafts were placed in rows. Hair does not grow in rows. You have a much higher than expected number of single hair grafts. With FUE, one should have well under 5% natural single hair grafts unless you have a poor donor area density, in which case anyone with an extreme degree of hair loss is not a candidate for a hair transplant. With FUE, one can also get a larger number of single hair grafts by fractionating the intact follicular units and taking one out of two or three hairs using a very small punch. There just are not a large number of natural single hair grafts in an average donor area.

Strip procedures produce about 20% single hair grafts. The same happens with the Artas, which has an abnormal number of single hair grafts, which makes no sense because it uses a 1.2 mm punch.

Anyway, let this grow out. Eventually, you can add more density and resolve the linear transplants in a subsequent procedure. Wishing you great growth and natural results.

[abc123]

thank you very much for your opinion Dr Cole.

Prior to the surgery I was told I didn't have an excellent donor area but it was certainly a good donor area. Regarding linear placement and left side being more densely packed, it is a big mood downer for me... I was told during the procedure the technicians had over 20years experience between them.

well I am going to refrain from making to many early comments, am hoping I have at least an average result and will now start posting monthly picture updates. I have decided to restart minoxidil - which I will start after month 1 post op.