Fut With Dr. B-sanga 3567 Grafts Today

[Rocknroutlaw]

Hi all,
I just came straight out of the BHR Clinic in Belgium after a long day's procedure.
Graft breakdown:
Single hair =415,
Doubles=2058,
Triples=1024,
4 hairs=70.
Total:3567 grafts.

I will be requesting pre and post surgery photos as they become available. In the meantime, here are two selfies.
I am a 46 y.o. with NW3v. I chose FUT for 2 main reasons: larger number of grafts more likely achievable, and no need for a full head shave.
At the moments it's painful as hell, and I'm super paranoid about accidentally wiping my hand across the fresh grafts or something equally silly, so I shall be hiding in my hotel as much as possible before heading back to UK tomorrow. I hope to get thru this critical post-op care period!

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

Hi guys ,it's day 9 since the procedure. Unfortunately i haven't yet received any photos from the clinic.
The FUT scar seems fairly tidy, although still feeling the pain only when you touch it.
No signs of shedding as yet.
Apologies for the photo quality.. This is the best my phone can do. Opinions please!

 

[AnxiousAndy]

Looks to be growing in nicely! I think you'll have great results

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

Looks to be growing in nicely! I think you'll have great results

Thanks for your comment.
Compared to other guys who had a similar amount of scalp covered, do you think the number of grafts seem right? I have fine hair with diffuse thinning which probably makes the result less good.
Also I'm now entering ugly duckling phase (1 month post-op) and the shedding seems uneven. I'd like to believe this is temporary and not indicative of results lol. I've seen plenty other posts with pictures, but mine does seem rather unevenly shedding at some spots..

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

I finally received the photos from clinic.
I shall spare you from the scabby photos immediately after the procedure, but here are the photos pre-transplant....
It was mentioned that the crown is also rather thin, but Dr. B was not concerned. He would rather focus on the frontal third and mid-scalp (having understood that his approach is generally conservative and realistic, I was a little surprised how low he managed to bring the hairline).
It was understood that transplant will never match donor density, but I am hoping for good coverage and perhaps a fringe. As the hair loss seems stabilized before the procedure, I am hoping with all the maintenance regime I'm willing to keep committing to, the crown will blend in and won't cause an issue anytime soon.
I asked about the transplant density, and here is the response:
"The hairline is rebuilt with 1 hair follicles and the density is usually between 50-60 FU/cm2. The density is decreased the more we move the back as bigger groupings are placed, so less grafts are needed to fill a cm2.".
I guess that is not to say it was necessarily the density I actually received, but what I had was deemed realistic with the number of grafts vs area for coverage.

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

2 months update:
These pics were taken before, 1 week, 1 month, and 2 months after the procedure.
Between month 1 and 2, some more shedding occurred (particularly noticeable on the temple as per pic). It does seem to be more sparse on one side than the other which I hope won't be how they turn out eventually.
I would say I have lost 50% of the grafts. The shedding happened mostly in the corners, but strangely the lowered hairline is holding on with a few thin hairs defining it which have not fallen out.
The FUT scar seems to be healing nicely and I have mostly forgotten about it.
As you can see, the crown (where the work was NOT done on, just behind the transplanted part) looks rather thin....I have been continuing with Finasteride, Minoxidil across the whole scalp, and weekly microneedling 2mm using Derminator on the crown section only. I do not want another procedure in future if I can avoid it.
I have not touched a drop of alcohol since, and eating mostly healthy with high antioxidant/anti inflammatory foods in mind.
I have no idea what more to do to maximise the chances of success, so I shall hope for the best.

 

[jamesbooker1975]

2 months update:
These pics were taken before, 1 week, 1 month, and 2 months after the procedure.
Between month 1 and 2, some more shedding occurred (particularly noticeable on the temple as per pic). It does seem to be more sparse on one side than the other which I hope won't be how they turn out eventually.
I would say I have lost 50% of the grafts. The shedding happened mostly in the corners, but strangely the lowered hairline is holding on with a few thin hairs defining it which have not fallen out.
The FUT scar seems to be healing nicely and I have mostly forgotten about it.
As you can see, the crown (where the work was NOT done on, just behind the transplanted part) looks rather thin....I have been continuing with Finasteride, Minoxidil across the whole scalp, and weekly microneedling 2mm using Derminator on the crown section only. I do not want another procedure in future if I can avoid it.
I have not touched a drop of alcohol since, and eating mostly healthy with high antioxidant/anti inflammatory foods in mind.
I have no idea what more to do to maximise the chances of success, so I shall hope for the best.

Thinks looking good ! Please, keep us update, I am really interested on this Doctor.

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

3 months update
Just a few days short of 3 months...looking very sparse with majority of grafts shedded.
I honestly do not think there has been any new growth. If anything, shedding continued between 2 to 3 months, with the remaining hairs getting longer.
I also included a pic comparing how it looked 2 weeks post surgery to show the extent of shedding. While I understand this is normal, I did have hopes that shedding would have stopped earlier. Comparing to other posts at 3 months, mine looks rather thin. I'm not seeing any signs of 'small dots' which others reported around this time waiting to come out either.
I'm trying my best to remain positive. If telogen phase lasts 3 months, and much of my grafts were lost around 2.5 months, I guess growth won't even begin untiil around 5.5 to 6 months!! It could be that I am a late shedder, hence a late grower too?? This is my hope anyway.
Any thoughts?

 

[Derminator]

Hang in there, read so many stories of people freaking out after 3 months only to get great results.

 

[Capone]

Relax.. 3mths is nothing. Why wouldn’t you shave the whole head and how are you going about your daily life like some kind of yokel with a mullet

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

Relax.. 3mths is nothing. Why wouldn’t you shave the whole head and how are you going about your daily life like some kind of yokel with a mullet

I am well aware it is still early days for visible cosmetic appearance, although it does seem that I shedded quite a lot quite late compared to many cases, so I suspect if growth does happen it will be later than usual.

Call it what you will, but remember it is personal preference. I honestly dislike the shaved look more than anything. I prefer long hair styles and intend to keep a style with layers, so once the transplanted hair grows to about 15cm it will be workable for the style I intend. I understand the reason most people fully shave;, and short styles are obviously the norm for most men. Shaving full head does work well limiting down time etc, but to grow to the current length from zero will take 4-5 years, as opposed to 1.5years doing it this way.
At the moment I'm totally fine wearing a loosely fit hat or completely tying back to hide the length and sport the hipster man bun for the time being

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

Hang in there, read so many stories of people freaking out after 3 months only to get great results.

That is true, however there are many more who had seen much more new growth at this stage too. I'm rather bored of keeping an anti-inflammatory/anti-oxidant diet now lol. I guess it's probably best if I try avoiding the mirror for the time being

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

4 months update:
The hair which remained intact since the procedure continued to grow, hence giving me the appearance of a slightly improved coverage.
As you can see from the top view, the 3-months photos actually looked worse than the ones taken after 2 months. I would say now at 4 months it is back to the same level as 2-months post-surgery.
There are however some signs of new growth, of which most are around 2-4mm, mainly near the hairline (or possibly because it is harder to view the section of scalp further up). I am hoping this is reality rather than my hopeful thinking. I don't expect any major cosmetic appearance change from those new growth just yet, and those alone won't be enough to give me the appearance of not having a see-thru scalp, so hopefully there is more to come thru in the empty spaces.
I am still continuing with all the treatment regime prior to the transplant procedure, and started to more regularly lightly dermastamp on the transplanted frontal third as well.
This will be a longer process than I expected given that my growth started rather late, but I am still hopeful for results which I can be happy with.

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

5 months update
Just one week short of 5 months to be precise ..
There has definitely been progress over the last few weeks. While I'm not enjoying the crazy growth as some, I'm starting to feel more positive. The longest growth is around 6cm,while the newer growth vary between 5mm to 1cm so it's still looking a bit sparse, but as my aim is to catch up with the length at the back and sides, I won't be trimming it yet.
My comparison pics are taken with hair slightly wet (shortly after applying Minoxidil) and under bright light with mid part. As the length combed to the sides cover temples more, the middle part is probably most appropriate for comparison..and it has become a little more dense.
I am still continuing with all treatment regime and trying my best with high antioxidant diet, but soon I will be drinking alcohol more regularly again which I feel I deserve.
I've also included a frontal photo under different lighting to show how it appears on a daily basis.
Now that it has grown a bit more, I feel that the grafts look natural with good angulation. What I am waiting patiently on is better density which I hope will improve over the next months.

 

[MxMa]

Hey man. How are you doing? Some update?

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

Hey man. How are you doing? Some update?

6 months update coming soon...

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

6 months update
The length continued to grow, and it's starting to look healthy and like a hair style as opposed to a massive cover-up of a bad haircut lol.
I had a recent follow up appt with Dr. B, and he was happy with the progress so far and could not see any major issues, although I do think It is still rather see-thru.
There are shorter length hairs, but nothing seemingly 'new'.. I hope to see some new growths for better density over the next months.
At this length, it is becoming difficult to keep taking 'slightly damp' photos consistently, so I'll also start posting dried hair photos with frontal view under different lighting against pre-op pics for comparison.

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

7 months update
The general appearance continued to improve due to more length. However it's been months since I've seen any brand new growth, so perhaps its unlikely to get much more density.
I'm posting how it appears under different lighting conditions, as well as how it looks when I wear it differently.
Everyone who had a transplant seems to comb it back... Has anyone managed to grow a fringe?
If I was to grow a fringe to cover forehead, it looks ridiculous with this current density (see the pic with hair combed forward), so perhaps a long side bang could work once it grows.
I have very long hair, and have been wearing it in a man bun until it grows much longer to blend in with length at the back.
So far the reaction from everyone has been positive, and no-one notices the transplant unless I point it out. It does look natural and healthy so perhaps I'll have be realistic and not expect my naturally fine hair to give me much more coverage.
If it continues this way, I'll be ok with it but hoping for more density as a bonus.

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

7.5 months post procedure...
I decided to get some colours. Yes I know.. Many advise against it, but having seen various points of view, I'm inclined to believe as hair is dead tissue (except the follicles), as long as the chemical does not make direct contact with scalp, it should not have an influence on growth. I'm sure it's a never-ending debate and I know many surgeons advise against it, but I've done it. I had some highlights with foil leaving 0.5-1cm clear from the roots, and left the very frontal ones alone.
I do think it brings out a bit more texture making it look more like a 'style' than a transplant recovery phase.
Here are a few pics from different angles under different lighting.

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

9 months update
Not a lot to report...the length is growing well and looking natural. I'm also now able to wear it up or as a side-parted fringe.
The colour appears darker when I pull it back from forehead, but you can see while the density isn't amazing (neither was my native hair, even in my teens), it certainly looks healthy and natural without any undue gaps.
Still no sign of any brand new growth (since 5 months post-op), so i think this will pretty much be the final result.
It has definitely changed my overall appearance, and I'm happy with it.
I will do my best to commit to my maintenance regime, and once the length gets longer I'll hopefully be able to experiment with styles a bit more.