Just had FUE hair transplant, was my procedure botched?

[FUEsurgery1986]

Hello,

I am about 7 days post op and I am a bit of a nervous wreck after doing some reading and what I believe to have been complications during my FUE surgery.

I was scheduled to have ~1750 FUE grafts placed around my hairline to fill in a receding hairline. I went with a highly reputable surgeon who has hundreds of videos showing quality results.

On the day of the surgery, he had one other patient scheduled who I believe was there first. I arrived at 7:30 and took pills to help me relax/sleep and the doctor I believe started his work around 9 am. From what I recall, I had lunch around 2 pm, after he had made the incisions, and then spent the next 6 hours placing what turned around to be around 1850 grafts. My girlfriend was told the procedure would be finished around 5pm, but they did not finish until around 8.

Although I had a lot of drugs in me to help me relax, I never fully fell asleep and I can recall a lot of details from the surgery. Mainly, I recall either the techs or the Dr. mentioning that I was bleeding a lot. They had to keep spraying my recipient area with liquid. I recall asking many times how much longer, and I was told 30 more minutes about 2 hours before they had finished (I asked a couple other times and kept being told 30 minutes). I only recall the Dr checking in on the techs a few times during the placing of grafts. Near the last 30 minutes, I was starting to feel a bit of pain from the placement of grafts and I was asking for painkillers before I even got out of the chair. My head hurt a lot that night, and I took ibuprofen for the pain because I couldn't find a pharmacy to fill my prescription (I later learned that I shouldn't take ibuprofen because it causes bleeding). The doctor didn't have any kind words for me at the end of my procedure - he just looked exhausted.

My main issue is the long length of surgery is concerning to me - and I've read that the primary reason for graft failure is when they are not preserved well enough outside the body. I've also heard that "popping" of grafts as a result of excessive bleeding can also cause graft failure.

Is there any way for me to tell how well my grafts did? I am stressing out at the idea of waiting 18 months to find out if I somehow screwed myself by taking the wrong vitamins or painkillers. I can post pictures of my recipient area each day post-op if that helps.

[benny g]

Hey FUEsurgery1986,

I had an FUE procedure just over 7 weeks ago and I can tell you recovery can be an emotional roller coaster! If I ever have any concerns but I just contact my clinic and they always steer me in the right direction. I suggest contacting the Doc that worked on you, otherwise you will just talk yourself in circles and continue to stress out!

[Spex]

Who did your surgery?

[FUEsurgery1986]

Who did your surgery?

I prefer not to name the Dr since it is just speculation at this point. I will e-mail you.