FredtheBelgian's FUE - 2000 grafts with Dr. De Reys - 24 Years Old NW5 from DPA

[fred970]

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:



After the surgery:



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 .