Post op Day #2 - FUE

[Delphi]

Nice attempt to deflect your shameful conduct Topcat. I know you believe that you're a master investigator, but you should recheck your "records." I've referred to you as "King Topcat" in the past because I thought it was hilarious! It cracked me up when I first read it! I didn't know your nickname was reserved for specific members here.

I do have sense Topcat, sense enough not to emotionally harass a person who came here looking for help. Not to hit someone who just had surgery, with shit like "Wow did you do any research at all" and "why in the world would you allow a doctor to use a punch that large on your head?"

I think over the years you've lost sight over what's really important, if you're willing to make your "point" at the expense of another person who is obviously at a heightened emotional state since he just had surgery and there is no way to reverse his decision. It's disgusting that you would do this!

I thought this was a support community and I have a feeling that ThinningonTop thought the same thing until he was greeted by your loveliness. Oh, but I forgot, it's all about you and your agenda. Why should you care about another person's feelings as long as you make your point? Great job, I'm sure this poor guy is going to have a wonderful weekend now!

[topcat]

I’m sorry but it is you that is misguided. It is important for those that come to these forums looking for information to know the truth regardless of it is myself or another patient. We can’t simply gloss over important issues and let others make the same mistakes we have made so that we can feel good about ourselves as if we are doing some type of good in the world.

Plain and simple the doctor gave this patient bad information and that is not the patient’s fault.

[ThinningonTop]

Do you know Dr. Cole? Respect his work and research? He gets glowing reviews all over these forums. It was his research that made the claim about punch sizes. Thanks, you are really a good guy!

[topcat]

Yes and No.

I can also direct you to a posting from 1 week ago on another forum where the patient claims he has white dotting from a 1 mm punch. I am not trying to make you feel bad but to not point this out would not rest well on my conscience. I hope you heal well.

The fact is there are very few doctors that can use a
.75 handheld punch and achieve outstanding results.

Hi Topcat611
Thanks for trying to help but I'm maxed out with FUE. There are too many scars to get most grafts out and I wouldn't want to anyway because my donor looks really thin shorter than a 4 guard.
My first 2 surgeries were manual punches. The doc was the first guy in the USA to dedicate his whole practice to FUE. He trained all these 'reputable' docs all over the world like Mwamba (who worked on me as a trainee) and Bisanga. Results? I would guess 70% yield and thousands of white dots in my donor visible up to a 2 guard. These were 1mm punches. If a FUE graft can't grow well with a 1mm manual punch then when will it ever?

My other surgeries were .75 mm electronic punches handheld by technicians - I call them home depot drills -not those robotic devices that I think you're talking about. Results: probably 60% yield. Beautiful extraction sites - no scarring visible but who cares at this point? And I went to all the guys that said FUE works in the right hands. I'm talking about 2004-2009 so maybe FUE has improved recently but that's now irrelevant to me.

So you see when I buzz my head from 0-4, white dots are visible or my donor looks very thin. The HT hairs don't look very natural either when short- something which is actually common when you have dark hair and light skin because not even expert dense packing can duplicate the density of nature.

Grown out long, it looks more natural but thin as ******* - the kind of thin that people ask "Why don't you just shave your head?"

[topcat]

Thinningontop I hope it all works out for you. I think if you would have read a thread similar to this before your procedure maybe you might have thought about these considerations. At the very least recognize that this may benefit others and it’s not meant to make you feel bad. Why on earth would that be my intent all one needs to do is look at my own experience.

If I had access to the internet 25 years ago I would have hoped to read similar types of postings with the technology that was in place at the time and I would not be here.

I think too many that work in the this industry remain quiet but they are making shitloads of money off of desperate bald guys and when harm is being done it’s wrong. Regardless of if they are actively causing harm or just sitting on the sidelines and making money. But I know in my heart that those that have enriched themselves will suffer the consequences sometime in the future. The natural law of Karma will hit them personally or someone close to them.

[northeastguy]

Unfortunately White dotting is a reality to anyone who performs FUE and those of us who have it done. Even the Great Bisanga isn't free from its presence...

http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthr...?t=8907&page=2

" I had this HT in April 2010.

I had 1544 grafts, 1 Hair-407, 2 Hair-782, 3 Hair-352 and 4 Hair-3.

Recipient isn't 100%, there are some white dots, but only visible if I were to shave down with no guard on the clippers. I would imagine it's impossible to not get white dots, hair and a small amount of tissue was removed, so it has to leave something behind.

I did have a strip scar and bad grafts from bad UK HT's I had around 200 grafts removed from the hairline, and I had grafts into the strip scar. "

I merely spent 3 minutes to find that so I'm sure there are others out there regarding white dotting with DR's who use very small punches.

The larger the punch size, there is going to be an increase in damage to adjacent grafts but increase risk of graft survival from those grafts harvested. The smaller the punch the higher risk of transection. Personally I can't see any Dr using a .75 punch on any 3-4 hair folicle without doing damage to the graft. Dr Cole used a .85 punch on me and I was very happy with that compromise. We also focused on single and double hair grafts to keep the yield high. To this date, I have no visible scarring or white dotting.

The main problem with the argument about white dotting is the fact that everyone heals differently and this variable makes it very difficult to access. Lets see, how about 100 subjects.... half the donor done with punches <.85mm and the other half >1mm .... that should due.

@ thinningontop... your initial question is about hypopigmentation. Unfortunately, there isn't anything that I'm aware of you can apply topically to help with that post procedure. Aloe is a good choice to help with healing and redness. Individuals with darker skin will have a higher visible rate of hypopigmentation. Acell may also aid in helping with hypopigmentation, one of the reason I choose to add it to my treatment.

would love to see some pics if your willing to share them with the community....Heal well.

[Sean]

Sorry but I disagree with you completely. A .75 - .85 punch in capable hands will yield at or near 100%. I hope you do not have white dotting but I do not believe that will be the case. The reply is not only for you but for the forum members they need to understand this.

Plenty of pictures out there of heavy white dotting from 1mm punches all one needs to do is a little research.

In my opinion topicals are of no value, when it comes to fue it's about punch size.

This is a great diagram. I had FUE myself and one of the most important things I requested were punch sizes less than 1mm. I had extractions varying .8mm-.9mm . Punch size to me was just one crucial factor I looked into. Depending how a person heals, Dot scarring may be more visible in extractions greater than 1mm. Thicker Hair caliber and density can conceal it better and are factors to consider but lower sized punches usually keep things healthier for the donor area. Not all hair textures /caliber /groupings are suited for smaller sizes though.

OP, I don't think topicals would do much and I would double check with the doc before applying anything. Every skin type is different. But eating healthy/or taking supplements may help with the healing process. MSM, biotin, fish oil are great along with a good healthy diet. What you eat is very important. Good luck.

[joe1111]

I know this thread is years old...but for anyone else who comes along, I just got a FUE and my doctor (Dr Diep in the San Francisco bay area) has given me bacitracin ointment to be applied to the donor area after showering via qtip.

[gillenator]

Congrats Joe, how many FUE grafts did you have done?

Got any B4 and after pics?

If not, wish you great success with the end result and happy growth to you!

[joe1111]

Yep over on the hair restoration network .com forum. Look for the post "1500 FUE grafts with Dr. Diep" under the fue section