Full Beard Transplant, 1891 grafts, FUT

[jake2016]

It wasn’t until last October when I read a New York Times article on beard transplants that I learned such a procedure was possible. I had been waiting forty years for my beard to grow in and had made peace with the fact that it wasn’t going to happen in this lifetime. Once I discovered it was possible, I immediately began researching methods and providers.

Given that this was a very big decision, I was not going to limit my search to nearby surgeons. Since I wanted the best possible outcome, I researched nationally. Fortunately, my search also uncovered a local practitioner who has top-notch credentials and experience, Dr. Steven Gabel of Hillsboro, Oregon. The clincher was reading other patient accounts with Dr. Gabel and learning that people come from far and wide to avail themselves of his services: Singapore, east coast, midwest. Given this, I had no hesitancy in choosing a capable and talented provider who was conveniently local to me.

My consultation with Dr. Gabel provided the confirmation I needed to select his practice for my procedure. He is very personable and spent all the time necessary to go over options that would provide realistic and natural looking results. For my goal of having a full beard, Dr. Gabel recommended an FUT strip procedure rather than FUE. With a strip, he was able to harvest the necessary follicles for a full beard transplant in one surgery. Other benefits to the strip procedure included having the donor site be undetectable from the time I left his office as well as having healthier follicles to place given that strip harvesting results in less follicle damage than FUE.

I was not only impressed with him being a double-board certified surgeon, but by his craftsman approach. Only one procedure is performed a day in his surgical suite, and Dr. Gabel performs each procedure himself, including the placement of each graft. His considerable staff — eight team members were present and working on my behalf — assisted the doctor with follicle dissection and quality assurance to make sure that all grafts were placed at the correct angle and direction.*

The procedure occurred during one long day with me arriving at 6:30 and finishing up by 5:00 pm. Even though the day was long, it went by quickly (assuredly with the assist of a valium and vicodin), and his staff made sure I was well cared for. They provided me with a tasty lunch, and I enjoyed the music and light banter between Dr. Gabel and staff while the procedure was underway. In general, there was little discomfort involved. The most unpleasant aspect was receiving the numbing agents. However, considering the adage: no pain, no gain; this small discomfort was well worth enduring. And that was the extent of the discomfort. The evening following surgery, I had one final vicodin at bedtime, but ibuprofen was all that was necessary in the ensuing days of healing.

On the day following the procedure, I was asked to return to the office so that the donor and beard areas could be cleaned and checked over by the staff and Dr. Gabel. I think having them take care of this first clean really helped minimize the minimal amount of crusting I experienced. During this visit, they also went over aftercare procedure to make it as easy as possible for me to properly tend to continued care at home. Since then, the staff has been very helpful in checking in with me regularly about my wellbeing.

I am now 17 days post-procedure and the shedding has begun, but I’m looking forward to six to eight months down the road when I begin to see the permanent results start to appear. I am so pleased that I have had the procedure and expect the outcome to be truly life changing. I’m so thankful for Dr. Gabel’s expertise, confidence and attention to detail and for the skilled assistance of his fine staff. I recommend his practice without reservation. If you do consult with Dr. Gabel, please let him know Jake sent you!