Hey guys,
I just had my procedure done by Dr. Feller on Tuesday August 12th. He did approximately 3100 grafts in the frontal third. Here's a quick run down of the procedure, that will hopefully help out people considering scheduling a procedure, or those who already have one booked and aren't sure exactly what to expect. I left my house at 6:00AM to ensure I wouldn't be late, and ended up getting to Dr. Feller's office at 7:00 - 45 minutes early, but always better to be early than late. The Dr. arrived shortly thereafter and we went to his office where he took some pre-op pics, and then drew on the hairline that we had agreed upon during my consultation. As we were both pleased with this, we went to the procedure room where the techs shaved both the recipient area, and the donor area. After this we went to another room where Dr. Feller administered the anisthetic while I lay face down. We had a conversation about politics as he was injecting me with the lidocaine, and it honestly was not painful at all. In fact I barely felt it, except for one spot where I was told I had some scar tissue that he had to inject through. After this we returned to the room where the reaminder of the procedure was to be done. Since I had told him that I was feeling a little nervous about the strip removal, the doctor gave me a valium just to calm me down a bit. As Dr. Feller began the strip removal I thought back to an episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8 that I watched with my wife where they mentioned that you would hear ripping and pulling as the strip was removed, and the idea of that kind of freaked me out. I didnt notice much of this noise at all however, and before I knew it Dr. Feller was already stapling the incision shut. The strip was removed in pieces. A part was removed, then that area was stapled, and so on. Basically I had worried about nothing, because as I was told you didn't feel a thing, and you also barely heard anything being cut (it sounded as if you were GENTLY scratching your head). The strip was then disected by the techs under microscopes. While they were doing this, Dr. Feller administered the lidocaine to the recipient area, and then a few minutes later began making the slits where the grafts would be placed. I believe he said this part took about an hour and 40 minutes. Since I didnt sleep very well the night before, I actually fell in and out sleep as the slits were being made. As some techs continued disecting the strip, others began to place the grafts, starting with my new hairline. This was done in shifts with techs switching between disecting and placing grafts while the area was constantly irrigated. After the second team of techs finished placing grafts, they gave me the lunch which they had ordered for me (I had a choice of pizza or deli, and went with pizza). At this time I was also able to see my wife and my father who came along and waited for me through the whole procedure. After my lunch break the techs finished placing the grafts. Since there were a few more left, Dr. Feller had to make some more slits. Finally the rest of the grafts were placed. I was given post op instructions, as well as told what to expect as far as swelling. Dr. Feller then took some after pictures, and then my wife, father, and I left. I took a vicodin an hour after I left Dr. Feller's office, and about an hour after taking that vicodin, I felt a pretty decent amount of pain for just under 2 hours in the donor area. I took one more vicodin and then the pain slowly subsided. By the end of the night there was only slight discomfort, and I actually ended up sleeping well. When I woke up the next morning I felt a little sore in the donor area, but nothing unbearable. I didnt even take a vicodin until about 3 pm when the feeling of tightness began to bother me a little bit. If i didn't have the vicodin it wouldn't have even been a big deal as the pain was minimal. Overall, at this point I am very satisfied with Dr. Feller. His staff was very professional, and everyone kept me informed through the whole procedure of what was going on. Now I just have to wait and see how these grafts grow in. In a day or two I'll post some pre-op and post-op pics. I havent got a chance to start the blog yet but will do so shortly.

Well done!!

Your experience sounds very similar to mine, I would imagine reading your post will be a comfort to anyone contemplating a HT.

I took Tylenol for the next few days, it takes the edge of the discomfort.

2/3 days post op. I had a lot of swelling, it was great for getting sympathy but really was only cosmetic and disappeared a within a couple of days.

Look forward to following your progress.

Tubs
Aug 8, 2008 - 3,500 grafts Dr Feller

I just created a blog on this site. For anyone interested, here's the link to it.

http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=876

FenderPlayer,

Thanks for sharing your experience and for creating a hair loss weblog to share your photos. Your transplanted hair looks nice and densely packed. I expect you will have a great result .

Expect to experience some discomfort over the next few days. Sleeping with staples can be a bit uncomfortable. But the temporary inconveniences are worth it considering the new head of hair you will have in the end

Best wishes,

Falc

Congrats on the HT! Dr Feller is great and you'll be thrilled in a few months. 3100 grafts in that area will look very full. Lay low for the next few days and let your grafts take hold. Then sit back and relax..its a long wait ...but you'll be really happy when its all said and done. Grow well!

Your write up was very similar to my experience with Dr. Feller. The surgery was smooth sailing, the recipient area was left super clean, and everyone was very professional.
I'm roughly six plus weeks ahead of you. Hopefully, we will both be very happy in the coming months.
Looking forward to your updates.

Congrats mate - heal and grow well!

quote:

Originally posted by FenderPlayer:
I just created a blog on this site. For anyone interested, here's the link to it.

http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=876

Your gonna get some terrific results mate, well done roll on the next 6 months ay!

For how long would you guys want to see daily updates? Let me know and that's what I'll do.

FenderPlayer you got a good density but I was excepting to see a larger area covered by 3100 grafts.

Can you Let us how Dr Feller is calculating the number of grafts?

I also saw in other patients of Dr. Feller that he does not cover the edge and around the transplanted areas. Is there a reason for that?

Thanks for your reply.

Fender,

We look to have had extremely similiar HTs and extremely similiar situations!!! The number of grafts also seems extremely appropriate and "about right"; this should give you good density and match nicely w/ your native hair and set a good hairline.

As for updates.....you are doing great so far; I think after the staples come out would be a good time for another; then maybe at 3 months to gauge recovery; then 5 months; 6 months...etc etc.

Fender,
Just saw your profile and your pics. Congratulations on the HT man and Im sure over the next few months you will start to see some great results. Im in a similar situation as you were pre-HT and am planning an appointment with Dr. Feller in around 12 months. Hope your progression continues as Im sure it will.

Just letting you know I'll post some updates shortly. I've been extremely busy, so I haven't had the chance too post anything new.

I feel like a lot of the grafts are growing quite well already so I'm very happy about that. I can't wait till these things thicken up!

Finally posted the 3 months pics.

Not much growth in those pics, but theres a bunch of new growth now