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  1. #11
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    Default Day 43

    Hi Chrisis,

    Some Scar photos just for you! Also Some general photos for anyone else who might find them of interest.

    These were taken last week (Post Op Day 43).

    Just for a quick update,

    Day 25,
    I had a grade 3 all over from my hairdresser.
    Up until this point, there was still quite a noticeable step change around the donor area (at least in my eyes, examining it with multiple mirrors/lightsources/microscopes and other paranoid means (not really, but kind of! )). To be honest, it looked like I had been wearing a baseball cap all day and had helmet-head!!
    After the haircut, it looked a lot better, and I ditched the cap permanently. I would say that for the first week after having it cut, I felt aware that the scar was visible through through my hair at certain angles and lighting conditions (bearing in mind my above comments, I was checking it under a bathroom spotlight, with my head tilted completely forward.). Needless to say, no-one commented on it, and indeed the following weekend I saw a mate I'd not seen for a few years, and he said nothing. Well that's not true, we had a joke over the sudden shortness of my hair (I've never had a grade three all over in my life!), and that I now resembled him (he is considerably more advanced than I am/was in the deforestation situ!).

    Day 43 Post Op - I have included photos of the scar.
    I would say that at this point, I now feel that evidence of my op is very well concealed. I now feel that I have reached break even point - i.e. I am as I would have been pre-op, had I cut my hair all over to about a grade 6.
    I am trying to avoid checking as much as possible until at least day 60 - the three month period. I am not expecting a major change at that point, but it hopefully will be the start of the new crop coming in. If nothing else, it will be a good marker for the coming months and hopefully the significant progress that everyone else who has posted on here seems to realise at this juncture!

    As well as pics of the withdrawal site, I have also included photos of the depositing side of the op. Incidentally, as I'm sure many of you are aware, different lighting conditions (and the use of a flash, and also where exactly the flash 'hits') makes a huge impact on how the coverage looks in a picture. I've taken several photos so that you can at least get an idea of the variation. A couple of points for reference...

    1) I reckon this is how my hair would have looked pre-op, although I had it longer so it wasn't quite so pronounced.

    2) You can see that in some of the photos, the crown actually looks quite sparse. I'm not in denial, but I can assure you that I have no signs of thinning in this area, so this is the penetration of the flash reflecting through my short hair.

    3) In all photos, where the camera has the hair/scalp in good(sharp) focus, the coverage looks thinner. I guess taking the example of a microscope, hair coverage - even in dense donor areas - appears thin! At one of the consultations I had with an HT consultant, I was able to see both donor area and the thinning regions, and as I said, the gap in-between hairs on my scalp at the donor area looked huge. I must point out that I have normal donor density!

    Anyway, long way round of saying that in reality, if the photo is slightly out of focus (or if I don't use the macro mode at least!), this probably represents how my hair looks to a pair of prying eyes!
    As an example of this, I've included two photos which are quite out of focus (so they exaggerated the coverage that I have more than I would say is the case in reality!)

    Will keep update photos at the next milestone! In the mean time, if any one has questions, I'm more than happy to answer if I can!

    ODBLK Over & Out!
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    Last edited by OperationDontBeLikeKojak; 05-20-2012 at 12:47 PM. Reason: Forgot to include title (Day 43)

  2. #12
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    Default

    Thanks for the pics. Looks like the scar isn't so bad, even at this relatively early stage. I imagine by the year mark it'll be very difficult to see.

  3. #13
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    Default

    Yes, still early days for the scar, so it's definitely getting less pronounced each week. I would hope that by twelve months' time it should be pretty faint. Time - and the 365 day post-op photos shall tell!

  4. #14
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    Default

    Just curious if you've tried using Bio-Oil? I dunno if it's recommended or not, but worth considering?

    bio-oil

  5. #15
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    Default

    To be honest Chris, the scar isn't something that has played on my mind much - other than being keen for it not to be visible in the early stages. I don't intend to have my hair shorter than a grade 3/4 at the back so it won't really ever be visible no matter what the final appearance of it is.

    That said, I appreciate the link and I'll have a look into it - if it looks like it is very beneficial then I might well use it!

    Either way, thank you!

  6. #16
    Dr Representative Spex's Avatar
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    Thumbs up

    Great update mate - thanks for keeping the community informed

    Grow well

    Best
    Spex
    Visit my website: SPEXHAIR

    Watch regular segments and interviews on The Bald Truth UK show

    View Media interviews www.spexhair.media

    Subscribe to my YouTube Channel : SpexHair Youtube

    I am not a doctor or medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions expressed are my own unless stated otherwise. Always consult with your own family doctor prior to embarking on any form of hair loss treatment or surgery.

  7. #17
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    Default Day 91 Post Op Photos (Exactly 3 months in...)

    Sorry for the delay for anyone who might be interested in following this thread - have been meaning to post these for a while. There will be a lot less of a gap with my next update...

    With regards to the photos, these were all taken on the same day. You'll notice that my coverage looks different depending on whether I used the flash or have wet/dry hair, or even how I brush is (to reveal the thinner areas, or to cover them). So I have taken several photos with the different conditions to give a hopefully comprehensive reflection of my hair at 90 days post-op.

    So the three month mark is often referred to the minimum wait time before the action starts in earnest (and so as not to give hair transplant patients a bit more patience, this is qualified with 3-6 months before you start to see a major improvement (with up to a year suggested before the complete effect has been realised).

    Anyway, I would say that at this point, I had now reached a a position where to the casual observer, there is no evidence of my surgery. If someone were to comb through my hair at the back, they would see my donor scar, but having a shower or going swimming does not reveal it. I would say that there is currently a slight dimpling (if that's the correct word) of my hair line as a result of the donor area, but would qualify this by saying this is really only noticeable when my hair is shorter (has just been cut), and only noticeable to myself (who scrutinises it every day!). To be honest, looking at the photo of the back of my head, I'm struggling to see any evidence at all!

    At the donor site, there is a small strip which had no growth at it, but now has a few hairs starting to poke through, which in time should hopefully further lessen any visible dimpling as a result of the donor area. That said, the area is actually where the head naturally tapers in, so to be fair it could just be as a result of this - and certainly to anyone but myself or possibly a transplant surgeon, if anyone ever stared at it for a long period and actually noticed any thing, they would almost certainly put it down to this (I would think!). Perhaps this is why the donor strip is taken from this area? When I hit month four, I shall take some more snaps of the back!

    In terms of growth of the new stuff, there has definitely been a little progress (I'd say as a completely uneducated guess, possibly 5-10% of the donor stuff has started to come in). I can definitely feel short 'spikey' hairs over the entire recipient region. I should probably stop playing with them as I'm getting a sore arm from searching my scalp to check for new ones! They're quite difficult to photograph as all the other (native) hairs represent around 8 weeks' growth in terms of length and these ones are probably about a week's worth in length. So in effect, it'll be another 7 weeks til the first lot of new ones achieve the same length as the native ones, by which time I'd imagine there will significant emergence of the new crop!

    I'm still taking Finpecia daily, washing my hair once or twice a week with Nizoral, and also using a shampoo called la biosynthetique at all other times showering times. I would say that I notice a small improvement since before the op. (which may or may not be down to my native hair thickening up) and can definitely say that there is a little less patchiness at the front of my hair line, where as before before it looked certain that I was on the way to an Alan Shearer style hair island at the front! I don't know whether any or all of the above can be attributed to this, but as I'm sure you can do your own research and make up your own minds as to how effective these all are with other transplant bloggers. I just figured (as with a lot of others in our position) that a combination of approaches couldn't hurt at all!

    Anyway, that's it for now, but I'll post again early in August when I hit the Four month mark!

    ODBLK
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  8. #18
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    Thanks for the update! Looking good!

    Curious if there's anything you'd do differently if you had to do it again?

  9. #19
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    Chrisis,

    I'm not quite sure if I understand the question but I'll try to answer it!

    Ultimately I'd have liked to put everyone in suspended animation for a month or two whilst all returned to normal! In reality, it is a waiting game, so patience and spending time on sites like this (without becoming obsessed) is what's called for. First month is the worst, after that you are on your way back to normality. In terms of choice of surgeon and location, New York is obviously a bit more of a journey but the transparency of being able to see patients online at all stages of the process and read their comments made my choice for me. Plus being able to have a good long chat to Spex before hand, and have him as a guide and smooth the process out works very well.

    Surgery is not like ordering a burger and comes with a fair amount of trepidation, but as I said in my first post, Dr. Feller has a fantastic way with him which really does calm you as much as is possible, considering what you're there for! I'm sure there are many fine surgeons out there, but I would have no hesitation going back to Dr. Feller if I had to make the decision again.

    I started Finasteride at the beginning of the year, so I guess were I able to go back in time, I would give that a go maybe three years before. The problem with that is, that in reality, you don't know how quickly your hair is going to go and therefore are unsure what effect (if any) taking the pills would have on the thinning area, or indeed what would happen if you stop taking it!

    Apart from that, I wouldn't change anything really - my journey to this point has been no more difficult than expected!

    Hope that answered your question!

  10. #20
    Dr Representative Spex's Avatar
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    Great to see you mate - keep us updated as you go.
    Visit my website: SPEXHAIR

    Watch regular segments and interviews on The Bald Truth UK show

    View Media interviews www.spexhair.media

    Subscribe to my YouTube Channel : SpexHair Youtube

    I am not a doctor or medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions expressed are my own unless stated otherwise. Always consult with your own family doctor prior to embarking on any form of hair loss treatment or surgery.

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