Hi all,

I am currently little over my 3rd week, and I wanted to share with you guys my first HT experience. These are some pics I took in order to keep track of my progress.

I just started propecia. Perhaps I should have tried it long time ago, but after my hairline receded, I definitely wanted a HT for optimum results.

My age is 27 years old, and I'm a 3V on Norwood scale. I had 1488 grafts,about 200 on crown area, the rest on the front.

Any comments/ feedback very welcome.


Thank you!

before3.jpg (20 Kb, 408 downloads) right before surgery

Hairline at 5 days post op

DSCN1321.jpg.JPG (121 Kb, 399 downloads) 5 days post op_1

Scar at 5 days post op

DSCN1338.JPG (215 Kb, 281 downloads) 5 days post op 2

3 weeks post op

ht_002.jpg (190 Kb, 346 downloads) 3 weeks post op

Hope it grows well Victor. I hope you realize that you'll need about 6000 grafts in total given the patern of your hairloss...so be very careful how you use them.

hey john,

thanks a lot, i hope so to. yes, actually i had that in mind, and that's why me and my doctor chose a procedure of 1500 gtafts instead of any larger than that. given also that my donor area has an average density.
my plan is to stick with propecia, and see how results will be in a year from now - HT and propecia - . as far as genetics, taken into account male hair loss pattens in my family of both my parents' sides, i am rather "condemned".

Any recommendation for getting rid of the redness. Your pictures at 5 days looked great and it didn't look like you had any redness. I'm on day 5 with a lot of swelling, Thanks!

John, you must mean 6000 over the course of his life, right? Because I can't see where he'd put them just at the moment, but given his relative youth, he would want to keep good reserves.

mark

Hello victo27. Thanks for sharing your experience. You should notice a cosmetic difference with 1500 grafts but don't expect a huge difference...it will be apparent, but nothing "amazing". I'm glad to see that you stayed conservative on the hairline...that's important, at least in the beginning I think. Also, 200 grafts in the crown isn't going to make hardly a cosmetic difference...just so you know. I had 800 in my crown the first surgery and that didn't really give me any cosmetic difference. What are your long term goals? I don't think starting conservative at 27 is a bad move though...just be patient and be ready for additional surgeries.

Falc

Thanks for your replies guys, I really enjoy having conversations and sharing views and experience in this forums. Congrats to Pat once again..

Waggy:
My prcedure was medium in terms of grafts transplanted, I am sure I 'd have more redness had I gone for 3000 grafts or so. Furthermore, I sprayed saline like 8-10 times a day on the recipient area, and also using ice packs every couple of hours on forehead and donor area. Oh, and I was taking a walk at the beach every day, I believe the ocean breeze is good for us.. ut remember, every person reacts different to a surger like that.

Mark/ John/ Falceros:
99.99999% possibility I would be a Norwood 5 or 6 one day. Even if I went for 3K grafts - I am not even sure I have this option in onee session, due to my low-average density - , I would still need a second procedure in the future. I want to preserve what I have for the worse days to come. I know, Falceros, that I would never look how I did in high school, but I hope it does make some cosmetic difference to me, and my #1 priority is the hairline. I also got thick dark hair, and sometimes this is offset to a low density. 200 grafts for the crown is not that much, but my crown looked good while on rogaine, I completely quit 3 years ago and thus the consequences.I just restarted, and hopefully will help me, too, along with the new grafts (the foam s far looks promising). I have to say one thing my friend Falceros, you sure are an aggressive hair-gainer! I know the more you get, the more you want, but you sure want it all!
All the best to our growth, guys.

Good idea vic

Guys , hes different than us. We have stabilized our loss and are pretty sure on what is staying and what is going.. Let's say he has a mega session and then has minor luck with Propecia. Than it is too late to adjust his approach and utilize the donor hair most effectively.. I think this is a safe approach ..

Victo27,

Sounds like you have a good strategy planned then. I always like to state for newbies on the forum for those who are getting or have gotten HTs that they will never be able to restore a high school head of hair. The fact that you realize that of course is a big positive and it sounds like you will most likely be satisfied with your course of action. That's terrific! It's definately good to keep donor hair in reserve for future loss.

Yes, I suppose I want it all...that was funny reading that. I guess 7550 grafts is a lot eh? Then again, if it weren't for the grafts on my head I'd be a NW5A to a NW6...so I need more grafts that you for a decent amount of coverage. I'm all about getting the most out of what I have. My plan was for 3 HTs...and now I've had them. I think no matter what after this one, I will be stopping, at least for awhile. Truth is, I should be at least much closer to where I want to be AND it's too expensive to keep having them one year apart. So I think if I do consider having another one it won't be for about 3+ years. But yes...I guess I am a "want it all" guy! Yet I like to think I'm realistic too. With today's technology and how far HTs have come, it is realistic for a NW6 like me to want over 7000 grafts...some have it...some don't. I'm one of the luckier ones who was able to get that much I guess. You might be too...however, right now, at a NW3, you won't need it...hopefully the meds will help you out too. Happy growing!

Falc