FUT - 18/12/15 - 4030 Grafts - NW6 - Dr Karadeniz - 18/12/15

[suarez]

My story on the HT journey started some 26 years ago . That was the day that someone pointed out to me at the works Christmas party that I was developing a bald spot . Still so vivid it seems like yesterday .

I grudgingly accepted my fate , but would periodically check out whatever the latest fad was being marketed to combat hair loss . Nearly all of them seemed to good to be true , and were .

Last time I checked out hair transplants was 10 years ago. Spent a good deal of time researching , but the quality of the HT's at that time were variable , and without the options available today were prohibitively expensive .

Fast forward 10 years and this is where I'm at . Spent the last 2 months or so endlessly researching the subject - the forums , the blogs , the websites . I spent every spare minute I could to increase my knowledge and understanding of the process .

After some deliberation , and following several online consultations , I decided to go with Dr Karadeniz . As Dr K had only assessed my hair loss via submitted photo's , the surgery options were left open pending a physical inspection .

I arrived in Istanbul on 16th December and after only 6 hours sleep headed of to the clinic the next morning at 8.45.I met Dr K at 9am whereupon we discussed the options . Dr K's opinion was that 4000 grafts plus would be required , to provide a good camouflage density to the frontal area and mid scalp regions . The crown would be untouched on this occasion , but sufficient grafts remaining should a further procedure be required . In consideration of my level of hair loss and the donor area characteristics , we agreed upon FUSS as the initial choice , with a potential further FUE the following day if the strip alone were to be insufficient for my requirements .

The usual pre-op photos were taken and hair design marked out . At around 10am the procedure commenced and I was on the operating table , and the first anaesthetic injections were administered along the strip line . These were pretty much painless , which was good as I was expecting worse . Much less painful that a dentists needle . Didn't take long for the head to be suitably numb and the strip procedure
commenced by Dr K . I was aware of things happening at the back of my head , but that's all it was , a slight sensation .On completion , the strip was passed on to the technicians for dissection .

With the strip removed , a lunch break was taken . Upon returning to the surgery, the technicians reported that in excess of 4000 grafts were taken .

On to the operating table once again and the recipient area was anaesthetised . Dr K made all the recipient site incisions . Again , I was aware of things happening , but was not painful in the slightest. Whilst the recipient incisions were being made , a team of technicians were dissecting and preparing the grafts .

Dr K made the initial graft placements to check for any potential popping ( elevation ) of the grafts . There appeared to be no issues , and the graft placement commenced , undertaken by a team of technicians . Strangely enough , although the time period from commencement of surgery to completion was around 9 hours , it didn't seem to drag at all .

The no's details are as below :

No. of grafts - 4035

1's - 780 grafts - 19.33% , hairs 780
2's - 2350 grafts - 58.24% , hairs 4700
multiples - 905 grafts -22.43% , hairs 2715

Grafts Total = 4035 ; Hairs Total = 8195 plus

Approximate area covered = 100 cm2

Grafts per cm2 = 40.35 average

Grafts were more densely placed at the frontal area and taper off to the rear .

I left the surgery around 7pm and returned to my hotel. Sleep that night was intermittent , although pain killers and other medication were taken to reduce pain / swelling .

I returned to the clinic the next morning for the hair wash and post-op instructions given .

Luckily enough , no swelling was suffered and little pain experienced . I am now at 7 days post-op , and the area appears to healing well . The scalp feels slightly tight , and light bruising is apparent to the recipient areas . Other than this , everything appears well .

My experience with Dr Karadinez specifically , and the clinic in general was very positive .

I will give further detail on the clinic in a separate post . Below are my pre-op and post-op pictures . I'd be glad to answer any questions .

I will update post op photos periodically .

[suarez]

Now at 8 days post op . Happy with the way things are going . Inflammation has greatly subsided and the FUSS incision seems to be healing nicely .Itchiness has almost completely disappeared . Scalp still feels a bit tight , but sure that will change when the staples are out .

[Alan1980]

Hello Suarez, congratulations on your new HT, it looks like everything about your HT has gone well for you, it seems you have found a good clinic and surgeon, and I look forward to seeing updates in the new future.

Alan.

[suarez]

Things have been going fine . Recipient and donor areas are healing well . The strip incision is looking very good . Have not shed any of the transplanted hairs yet , but unless I'm part of the lucky 10% , this will happen fairly soon.

Removed the staples at 14 days - 61 of the suckers in total . Wasn't as painful as I'd feared . I'd say 50 came out with no pain whatsoever , 10 with a slight smart and 1 that I did feel . The soak in a bath for 20 minutes before removal would have helped I'm sure .

Only problem is , and was my major concern prior to surgery , both donor and recipient areas are fairly visible .Even to the extent that I've been dreaming about it , so obviously playing with my psyche .

I may have been a wee bit optimistic as to how it would look 2 weeks after surgery . Anyway , back to work in 2 days and the panic has set in ! To be fair , it's not really panic , but more a case of what I do now . I have 3 options the way I see it :

1) Use cover up at both areas and try to mask the donor scar also with Toppik
2) Get back to work and just tell everyone that I've had a HT done
3) Wear a hat to work for a while

I work in an office , so wearing a hat would be a bit strange , but my employers would be fine about it .

[August]

It's a common recommendation by serious clinics to wait at least a month before applying any kind of cosmetic product to the recipient area, because there is a risk graft survival could be reduced. And speaking with experience, it is quite difficult for white skinned people to hide such dark red color as you're experiencing.
If you still want to try, then I can warmly recommend L'oreal CC Cream Anti redness http://www.loreal-paris.co.uk/make-u...m/anti-redness
If you go that route then don't expect dark redness to become totally invisible, just significantly less visible.
The option of wearing a hat would be the best by far. I hade fue surgery and used a baseball cap and no one noticed anything. No one asked why i suddenly began wearing the cap either. With strip scar, you'd need something that cover farther down on the back of the head.
Wish you luck!

[suarez]

Thanks for your comments August .

I've checked out various forums in relation to trying to conceal surgery post op , and opinions do seem to differ . I hardly ever wear a hat , so people will be curious as to why I have started to ( my friends suspected pretty quick ).

Lucky enough , if I wear a baseball cap , the back strap does in fact cover the strip scar if positioned right.

Thanks for the advice on the Loreal cream - I'll check it out .

[siow]

May I ask ,how much did you pay for 4030grafts.Why isn''t the crown area covered with grafts?

[Realenglishnic]

May I ask ,how much did you pay for 4030grafts.Why isn''t the crown area covered with grafts?

I am no expert. But based on my recent consultation and looking at the before surgery photos there may not have been enough donor area to cover the crown and cover the front hairline and scalp with dense enough coverage. I was told by a specialist during my recent consultation that the crown would be the last part of the head to be covered because it is on the very top and the least noticeable to others. Fix the other parts first basically before the crown

[suarez]

I am no expert. But based on my recent consultation and looking at the before surgery photos there may not have been enough donor area to cover the crown and cover the front hairline and scalp with dense enough coverage. I was told by a specialist during my recent consultation that the crown would be the last part of the head to be covered because it is on the very top and the least noticeable to others. Fix the other parts first basically before the crown

Pretty much correct . However , it wasn't limited donor that affected the decision , but the size of session to go for .

4000 grafts is about the limit I would consider in a single session . You can go above this figure , but there are risks in doing so . Also , there are very few surgeons I would trust to go above this figure.

[Realenglishnic]

Pretty much correct . However , it wasn't limited donor that affected the decision , but the size of session to go for .

4000 grafts is about the limit I would consider in a single session . You can go above this figure , but there are risks in doing so . Also , there are very few surgeons I would trust to go above this figure.

Hi Suarez, this is good you have more donor to contribute to your crown. Wouldn’t you know after a year though of having your last transplant done if you can now go ahead and get the rest of your crown done?

I only recently learned from Joe Tillman yesterday similar to what you state above, that it’s risky going for anything more than 3000-3,500 grafts in one session because if your new hairs don’t take then you pretty much mess up your donor area which could lead to catastrophe for future hair transplants.

I have been enquiring with Asmed clinic (Dr Erdogan) as many have stated such amazing results and his work is exceptional. However Asmed clinic has assessed that I would need 5000 grafts for my surgery. I am only between Norwood 3/4, 5000 seems a hell of a lot to me and also €12,500 euros is out of my budget. It’s risky as well tampering with 5000 grafts for my first time but Asmed seem to do this with others. I am thinking of getting FUT for a 1/3 of the price (3,500 grafts) for my first hair transplant so I get good coverage and have more donor area to use at a later stage and then a couple of years down the line if needs be getting it all topped up,thickened up and the rest of the lost parts with Asmed FUE. I’m not sure but need to try not to jump too far ahead.

How would you rate Dr K from AEK ??