I had my procedure done with Dr. Wong at the end of January, 2008. Dr. Wong and his staff were great. They made you feel like you weren't just another number and understood how big of a deal it is for the patient. This is pretty amazing considering Dr. Wong and his staff do approximately 400 procedures per year. Now for the bad part: I have experienced a lot of shock loss and this bothers me. I'm so sick of wearing a hat all the time. With my pre surgery coverage, I figured I would have been able to ditch the hat by now. It looks like the shock loss will make that goal unrealistic for a few more months. In the end, I won't care as long as the hair comes back. If it doesn't, I think I'll have improvement along the hairline but will disappointed overall with the procedure. Maybe I should just shut up and wait a few more months before rendering any opinions. I wanted to thank the site and community for all of the knowledge I've gained from you. I really appreciate it.

WOW!!! Thats alot of shock loss. Hope it all works out in the end. Shock loss for the most part will all come back in the next couple of months. Dr. Wong is top notch and im sure you'll be alright. I had a ton of shock loss, but most of it came back and i had a terrible doc.

You're gonna be fine Mike. Dr. Wong is up in the cream of the crop as far as HT Doctors, worldwide. You have suffered a substantial amount of shock loss but having chose Dr. Wong, you obviously did your research and knew this would be a possibility.

The waiting has got to be the worst part of this entire process (other than the actual losing of hair) but by the end of summer you'll be a happy camper. Keep your chin up and know your days of wearing a hat will be over in the near future.

Mike:

How are you dealing with your shockloss at work? I imagine people ask you what's happened to your hair. Do you wear a hat at work?
Sometimes we must take a few steps back before moving forward. I'm sure it will all come back and you'll look great pretty soon.

Thanks for the encouragement. I've been wearing a hat to work since I returned from the procedure. I never wore hats before. So, I've gotten a few questions. Whenever I'm asked, I tell the person I had hair transplant surgery and I'll be happy to answer any questions they may have. I've ended up explaining the procedure in detail to a few people. I figure if I don't act like it's a big deal, they won't either and it's worked pretty well.

Mike-

Do you have any pics of your dome right after Dr. W shaved down the recipient area? This would allow us to better see your level of hair loss.

Your pre pics in the weblog do not really give a good indication as you had it styled in a way where it looked as though you had good coverage.

Hang in there buddy. Two months is early and to give you additional comfort you should call jotronic at H&W, direct him to your pics on this site, and even speak to Dr. W.

2900 grafts is not alot to spread out over the entire scalp, especially when you consider the possibility of shock loss. I am wondering if doing a first session of the same quantity concentratinfg on the front third-half of your scalp would have been a wiser choice. You could have still covered the crown for some time if the pre-op pictures are anything to go by. Dr. Wong is obviously top notch and in the end I am sure you will be fine. Hope it all works out for you. Hang in there!!

hey mike

my names rich and heres a link to my four month update , there is pics on there from every month so far , my crown looked terrible at only two months , even worse than before my ht , take a look ,

http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7466060861/m/5071039763

two months is very early , hang in ther bud , dr wong is one of the best , i'm sure everything will be fine

richie
2100 crown grafts
Dr Feller
nov 2007

Mike,

I know shock loss can be scary, especially at that amount, but I have seen many other patients in your position and everything grew back fine.

Dr. Wong is first-rate and follicular transection (which could cause permanent shock loss) should not be a worry in his hands.

It's hard getting through the first few months, but slowly but surely, you will have a great head of hair in the end.

Spreading 2900 grafts out over a larger area as you had is not problematic in my opinion since you've already had a good head of existing native hair, this will dense it up quite nicely when the final result grows in.

Keep us posted.

Falc

Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure the shock loss will come back but it's unsetteling to see it go. Stratman, I don't have any pics from when my head was shaved. I had my camera with me on surgery day and I should have taken a few. bummer. I went to the bathroom after the shave job and prior to the strip removal and checked it out. It wasn't thick by any means but there was still a decent amount of hair on top. Like everyone says and I couldn't agree more, Dr. Wong and his staff are top notch. Compared to my experience at Bosley it was a night and day difference.

I'll keep my web log updated on a monthly basis. One thing I didn't mention or show pictures of is my donor scar. I looked at it yesterday and was really impressed. It's slightly pink but looks really good. I did have some shock loss from the donor strip on the left side of my head.