i still can't believe i've actually gone through with this, lol - thought i'd never have the guts... but now that i have, why not share my experience, hopefully to the benefit of those still agonizing over if/who/when/how many, etc? (the least i can do after i've availed myself of all the info/advice provided by so many people on this wonderful forum, for which i am grateful)...

here are the numbers i got from dr Rahal and Adrian: 3225 grafts (initial goal was 2700-3000), area filled 50 cm2, strip surface 31.6 cm2; 485 singles + 1974 doubles + 743 triples + 23 quads = 6,754 total hairs;

hair characteristics: average donor density, average donor laxity, average hair diameter/coarseness, VERY straight hair (unfortunately!)...

the experience was great, everything was smooth and professional and relaxed, no salesmanship whatsoever... thank you dr Rahal, Adrian, Mike and all the others...

Adam's Inn - more than adequate: good price, very comfortable beds, fridge, good breakfast, not far from clinic (20-25 min walk), Chinese takeaway around the corner (every portion as big as 3 European-sized portions - just heat up in microwave on breakfast bar), supermarket 10 min walk away...

surgical cap - great, get a bunch from the clinic and wear whenever you go out; with a sweat suit on people will think you're an absent-minded doctor who forgot to change after a long shift (or that's what i made myself believe, lol)...

btw, the higher, more conservative hairline was MY request, and dr Rahal agreed with me... my reasons: 1. it's age-appropriate (am almost 42); 2. though my hairloss has been very gradual and slow, who knows where it'll end?; and 3. if i'm not happy with the result and future hairloss isn't too bad, i can always go back for something a little lower, plus have the temples filled in a bit.

my main concern is density (surprise, surprise!), so any comments are welcome... thanks for reading!

Looks really good, you made a good choice of Dr

Provided the grafts all grow you're going to have very good density - 63% of your donor density on average, or 135 hairs/cm2 (of course this will actually vary depending on where singles/doubles etc are placed).

Comparing to my own case, you had a lot more triples and quads than me, so even although I had 3700 grafts placed, my total number of hairs was only 200 more than you, so you got better value for money

Keep posting your results!

Congrats on your recent procedure. Work looks great. Good choice in the mature hairline, but with your age and amount of hairloss, Im sure youll be fine. The post op pics, the buzzed head really suits you. But this is obviously post HT with the new hairline. Keep us updated my friend!

hrvoje14,

The work looks absolutely stellar. You should be one happy gent in a few months. Just curious, how old are you and are you on fin? I'm just wondering what the prospects of future loss will be for you. It certainly looks like you wouldn't be anything more than a NW5.

thanks guys!

Scottishguy, your forelock seems to have been pretty strong even before, so i'm guessing the size of the area filled in in your case may have been much smaller than mine... do you know what it was? at any rate your numbers sound excellent as far as density goes... looking forward to seeing your result!

Raphael - you're spot on, the buzzed look doesn't actually look half bad now (to my surprise too), but imagine what it would have looked like with my pre-op hairline... no, not sexy, lol...

Congrats also on your procedure.
Dr Rahal consistently preforms the highest quality work for his patients.
Come the New Year expect some full on fringe action!

hey, aaron... i'll be 42 soon, and i am not on anything, but i will be starting with minox 2 weeks post-op for at least a year, as suggested by dr Rahal... still debating about propecia, dunno... what's your experience with fin?

I really like the placement. I dont see this as conservative at all. I wish you good growth. Im 40 and also plan on going with rahal this coming summer. I think i might ask for this hairline too. I have been putting off for about 3 years now.

I'm an advocate for the mature-ish hairline, and I think it will suit your head/face especially well.

How long have you been losing hair for? If it's been dropping for a while like you say then you've been lucky considering you haven't taken propecia.

Anyway, good growth to you. You picked a good time of year with winter being the best time to keep hidden under hats. Come next summer you should be sporting a fine head of hair.

anouar - glad you like the hairline... it IS conservative compared to my original hairline and the temples are left open, but every face is different... i too waited for a couple of years and am glad i did it now, i was ready and in a good place mentally and emotionally, which really helps...

mattj - i've been losing hair since i was 23, so it HAS been pretty slow... and yes, i actually deliberately planned the date so as to be ready for the summer...!

Looks good, hrvoje, and you're definitely one of the lucky guys who can pull off the shaved-down look. And your density - at over 60 grafts/cm - is going to be amazing!

From your posted pics it's a little tricky to get a good sense of just how conservative/not your hairline placement really is . . . so, what's the distance (in cm) from your hairline to the center of your eyebrows?

thanks, sparse!

it's just over 7 cm in the middle, but obviously more on the sides as the temples are not closed... this however really is very individual, i think, depending on the size/shape of your head... i think my head is a bit on the smallish size, (who you calling bird-brain???, lol), so 7 cm IS conservative for my head, but might not be for somebody with a larger head...

like i've already said - am very impressed with your early growth, you are very lucky!!!

hrvoje,

42 is a good age. You likely won't be heading into NW5/6 territory. But still, I'd get on Propecia (or Fin) before Minox. But that's just me, my skin had a bad reaction to Minox... and Fin has worked well for me. Much less a hassle popping a pill than rubbing moose or liquid into your scalp. You already have a good amount of native hair and Fin would likely preserve it.

thanks for your advice, aaron, appreciated it... and happy growing to you!

sutures are out, yaaaaaay...! no crusts/scabs forming though... ???

Congratulations from one Rahal patient to another! It is such a huge relief to get the sutures out!

I'm not sure what to make of the lack of crusts though...although I wouldn't think it would be anything to worry about.

thanks, goldilocks! btw, where can i see your results?

You are very welcome.

I prefer not to post my pictures on the forums, but I don't mind sharing my results privately with people who ask. I'm also female and I tend to think that since most members here are male, they'd rather see results from their compatriots.

goldilocks - men, women and everything in between, we're all in the same boat here... actually, it must be about ten times tougher on the women! so whenever you feel like you could use some support and input, please feel free to pm me... i promise not to sell your pics to Hello magazine