Regular Member LeonBlack Posted March 6 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 6 44 minutes ago, shiba1985 said: My only criticism would be, those are some huge punches to extract follicles for temple points. Most can do it with a 0.85 or 0.9 . Those look almost like a 1.0 punch Got it. Any other negative consequences of that besides potentially slight bigger scars if I shave down too low? Typically I buzz down to a 3 over the FUT scar and taper down to a two or 1.5 below. Will see how that looks now in a couple weeks after hair. With only 800 FUE I would presume imperceptible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member shiba1985 Posted March 6 Senior Member Share Posted March 6 2 minutes ago, LeonBlack said: Got it. Any other negative consequences of that besides potentially slight bigger scars if I shave down too low? Typically I buzz down to a 3 over the FUT scar and taper down to a two or 1.5 below. Will see how that looks now in a couple weeks after hair. With only 800 FUE I would presume imperceptible. For such a small surgery . No big consequences. If it was a bigger surgery - 1000 -2000 FUE grafts, the scarring that results from large punch holes also effects the neighboring follicles "health." I suspect this is due to the scarring effecting the blood supply so it is not ideal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted March 9 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 9 (edited) I’ve gotten several messages about scar pictures. Here are some from the side and last one is the back. It’s harder to find now that it is getting lighter. Also picture of the donor on same day, 9 weeks after 2nd FUT and 6 weeks after FUE. Need a haircut… but I don’t think there’s any evidence of surgery except the small remaining shock loss in the middle of the back. Doctor placed a few deep absorbable sutures, in addition to usual staples. The areas with sutures had some localized shock loss below them. I’ll post some more pictures soon after a haircut with a 3 guard over scar and fade shorter below it. I presume I’m out of the Wds regarding risk of significant scar stretching at this point. Overall, I think my donor looks pretty good for having 7400 grafts removed. Also, as trivial as it may seem, I am seeing more early growth start in the crown. Lots of dark little hairs in between the longer residual wispy miniaturized native hair. I think the small red splotchy areas are evidence of “activity“ and more hair is ready to sprout. I find this whole process so interesting to watch develop! Edited March 9 by LeonBlack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted March 16 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 16 (edited) Pictures 2.5 months out from FUT crown, 2 months FUE temples, 14 months frontal half FUT, after a haircut with 3 guard over the scar, tapered to 1.5 below. 100% hair on top of my head is transplant at this point, residual miniaturized midscalp is gone. Added baseline, 1 year post first FUT, post op temple to consolidate this long thread . I included some current (2.5 month post op) scar pictures, showing both the remaining shock loss around it, trichophytic effect with hairs going through, widest area in the back at 3 mm, hard to find on the side, about 1 mm. Can still see some layering of hair effect over the scar at this point, with the shock loss. That disappeared after my first procedure about four months out. Now just waiting on the growth over the next few months… Edited March 16 by LeonBlack Added more pics to consolidate thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member JoeD Posted March 16 Regular Member Share Posted March 16 Very impressive transformation in the front half. I would assume the back half and temples turn out similarly given it’s the same patient and same doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted April 6 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 6 Nothing terribly exciting, but will start monthly updates to document. Some early growth on temples at 2 months. More sprouting on crown at 3 months. 14 months after front half. Pre op for baseline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted April 28 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 28 (edited) Temples and crown starting to pop a bit more right on schedule at 3 months on temples and 3.5 crown. Edited April 28 by LeonBlack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Eureka Posted April 28 Senior Member Share Posted April 28 Hey man, keep on posting the updates 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted April 28 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 28 10 minutes ago, Silent123 said: Hey man, keep on posting the updates Will do, planning on monthly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted May 5 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 5 (edited) I’ve had several scar pic requests. Here ya go. 4 months post op FUT #2. From back of my head. Measured my finger to give some scale. The light pink area of scar measures 3 mm here. overall some areas, mainly on the sides, are 2mm. A few small areas at 4mm. Shock loss surrounding the pink area appears to be lessening and some hairs growing through scar. Covered completely by 3.5 guard. Last time took about 6 months til 3 guard completely concealed it without layering/puckering effect. Edited May 5 by LeonBlack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted May 16 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 16 (edited) Not quite a month from prior… But seeing some real changes over the last few weeks. Crown starting to show more visible signs of life at 4.5 months, temples taking some shape at 4 months, and further maturity/thickening of frontal/midscalp region 16 months out on that. Added a couple with a haircut at a 3.5 guard over scar, faded to a 2 below it. Some baseline comparisons included. I still find the whole process so fascinating to watch develop Edited May 18 by LeonBlack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted May 30 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 30 (edited) Today is four months on the temples. Just under five on the crown. Crown, as I knew would be the case, definitely growing slower than my hairline did. Progress occurring nonetheless. Included the sides, with scar covered, 3.5 guard a week ago, tapered down below Edited May 30 by LeonBlack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted July 12 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 12 (edited) A little belated, but here are updates at 6 months on the crown, 5 months temple points, 18 months on the front/mid. I decided to see how a 3 guard looks over the scar. Some thoughts: -scar was not perceivable at all when the hair was a little longer, some visibility at this length. I’ll probably keep it at a 4 going forward, tapered down to a 2 below. I like that the scar is relatively high up, so I can taper it down shorter below. - Crown most definitely is growing much slower than the front did, as expected. Temples also growing slower than the hairline did. Both, however, appear to have month over month improvement and I’m hoping for some more major progression over the next few months. what I do find interesting, particularly in the temples, is that the hairs that started growing at about two months were quite dark/thick from the start, already mature in appearance. The new hairs sprouting over the last month or so are very thin/fine, which is how they started in the hairline. - Mid scalp definitely thickened up significantly between 12 to 18 months. - my crown is dipping a bit further in the back, so I will probably end up with a bald area on the part that slopes backwards, behind my transplant. Not ideal, but I am totally OK with that at my age. No plans to chase it with more transplants. Edited July 12 by LeonBlack 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted July 13 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 13 (edited) I have gotten some more questions about the scar… its essentially the same size as the prior pictures in an earlier post, just lighter/pale in color at this point. I’ll probably keep it at a 4 guard over the FUT scar (this was a trial at 3) and taper down below. The FUE area is at a 2 guard in these Edited July 13 by LeonBlack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted August 10 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 10 (edited) 7 months crown. 6 temples. definitely much much slower progress in both areas than I had last year in my hair line, as expected at least in the crown. Lots of little thin hairs showing up in the temples that are hard to see in pics next to the thicker ones that sprouted early. some pre op and current hairline/mid pictures added to compare Anyone aware of typical growth rates of temple points? Ive never seen anything written about the temple point growth rate vs the other areas. Edited August 10 by LeonBlack More pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Al - Moderator Posted August 11 Moderators Share Posted August 11 The crown seems to be coming in very slowly. I’m a bit concerned with that. I hope you still get a lot more improvement there. Al Forum Moderator (formerly BeHappy) I am a paid forum moderator for hairrestorationnetwork.com. I am not a Dr. and I do not work for any particular Dr. My opinions are my own and may not reflect the opinions of other moderators or the owner of this site. I am also a hair transplant patient and repair patient. You can view some of my repair journey here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted August 11 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 11 (edited) 2 hours ago, Al - Moderator said: The crown seems to be coming in very slowly. I’m a bit concerned with that. I hope you still get a lot more improvement there. Agreed. Here’s my midscalp at 7 months out from first HT. Crown still lagging behind that, but my midscalp didn’t start looking decent til about 10 months and really improved a lot between 12-18 months. Hairline grew like wildfire from about 5 months on. I would be starting to get a little worried had I not had this experience with my mid scalp Edited August 11 by LeonBlack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member asterix0 Posted August 12 Senior Member Share Posted August 12 Crown can lag and still show improvement 9-10 months out. Temple points should have better blood flow so I would think in the next 1-2 months you should see improvement there too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Al - Moderator Posted August 12 Moderators Share Posted August 12 7 hours ago, LeonBlack said: Agreed. Here’s my midscalp at 7 months out from first HT. Crown still lagging behind that, but my midscalp didn’t start looking decent til about 10 months and really improved a lot between 12-18 months. Hairline grew like wildfire from about 5 months on. I would be starting to get a little worried had I not had this experience with my mid scalp Ok good. you are probably just a slow grower then. That’s good news. 1 Al Forum Moderator (formerly BeHappy) I am a paid forum moderator for hairrestorationnetwork.com. I am not a Dr. and I do not work for any particular Dr. My opinions are my own and may not reflect the opinions of other moderators or the owner of this site. I am also a hair transplant patient and repair patient. You can view some of my repair journey here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted August 12 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 12 7 hours ago, Al - Moderator said: Ok good. you are probably just a slow grower then. That’s good news. Yeah, though I still find it incredible how much longer my midscalp took to look full versus the hairline. I am not expecting an incredibly thick crown, given only 2700 grafts and the large area covered, but given the outcome of my first procedure, dark hair color, thick caliber, I am expecting decent coverage once it fully matures. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted August 13 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 13 (edited) I was curious if I could see more of the newer finer hairs growing if looking at it from a different angle…looks to be the case. Encouraging but still a long way to go Edited August 15 by LeonBlack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BourdainLesaux Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 I'll be honest with you brother, for over 7k grafts I would be generous to call it an average result. I am also a past patient of Dr. Bloxham. I had a bad experience with a crown transplant that left me with poor coverage and a nice wide scar on the back of my head for my troubles. The techs shocked me with how unprofessional they were during the procedure. I played the waiting game as the doctor kept promising further growth in the crown that never came. I ended up going overseas, paid less than 1/2 the price and was much happier with how the procedure went and the results were phenomenal compared to the initial surgery in NY. Maybe others have a different experience, but I thank god that I didn't go back to Bloxham for the second HT. I don't want to be totally negative but I have to be honest. I was so hopeful going into the surgery, it's unfortunate it ended that way. I hope you have better luck than me with the growth from here. You must be tired of transplants by now but if you still have donor area to spare you could get a final small procedure to the crown as a finishing touch. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member LeonBlack Posted August 23 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 23 (edited) 7 hours ago, BourdainLesaux said: I'll be honest with you brother, for over 7k grafts I would be generous to call it an average result. I am also a past patient of Dr. Bloxham. I had a bad experience with a crown transplant that left me with poor coverage and a nice wide scar on the back of my head for my troubles. The techs shocked me with how unprofessional they were during the procedure. I played the waiting game as the doctor kept promising further growth in the crown that never came. I ended up going overseas, paid less than 1/2 the price and was much happier with how the procedure went and the results were phenomenal compared to the initial surgery in NY. Maybe others have a different experience, but I thank god that I didn't go back to Bloxham for the second HT. I don't want to be totally negative but I have to be honest. I was so hopeful going into the surgery, it's unfortunate it ended that way. I hope you have better luck than me with the growth from here. You must be tired of transplants by now but if you still have donor area to spare you could get a final small procedure to the crown as a finishing touch. Hey, I am really sorry to hear that! Glad to hear it ultimately turned out well for you despite needing another procedure elsewhere. Who did you end up seeing overseas? I am most definitely tired of transplants (mostly the recovery process and long waiting period) though my second and third were so close together so that recovery was essentially lumped into one. If I end up wanting another one for crown dipping further or lateral humps, fortunately, I have plenty of donor left for FUE on my scalp and an untouched thick beard. That said, I would give it a few years to make sure I am at my final balding destination so I don’t have to chase it any further. If at 18 months, mine turns out with decent crown coverage, I think I would be perfectly OK with ultimately having a small bald spot in the very back of crown if/when dips to Norwood 7. if my sides drop further, granted wasn’t much further to go, I think the hair on top of my head will cover it well enough if longer. I would probably only get another procedure for that if it looked weird on the lateral humps. As for mine, I am very pleased with the result on my hairline to the mid scalp. Coming from a Norwood 6, that was a major transformation. My mid scalp really improved substantially between 12 to 18 months, so I really am content being patient with my crown. Hopefully will be at least decent coverage on the crown by 18 months. I’ll keep posting monthly update pictures on here. Edited August 23 by LeonBlack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BourdainLesaux Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 Sounds like a solid plan. Agree that the midscalp to frontal area turned out alright but for the prices they are charging you have to compare it with the best doctors in the world. It's hard to understand that until you have a procedure with a top doctor to compare it to. I ended up going to Dr. Laorwong after doing extensive research. Even with the travel, it cost me less than half the price of the NY surgery despite being FUE instead of FUT, and more hair was extracted overall. The result ended up being excellent just 4 months after the surgery (including crown) instead of having to wait 2 yrs for poor growth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member GoliGoliGoli Posted August 23 Senior Member Share Posted August 23 11 hours ago, BourdainLesaux said: I'll be honest with you brother, for over 7k grafts I would be generous to call it an average result. I am also a past patient of Dr. Bloxham. I had a bad experience with a crown transplant that left me with poor coverage and a nice wide scar on the back of my head for my troubles. The techs shocked me with how unprofessional they were during the procedure. I played the waiting game as the doctor kept promising further growth in the crown that never came. I ended up going overseas, paid less than 1/2 the price and was much happier with how the procedure went and the results were phenomenal compared to the initial surgery in NY. Maybe others have a different experience, but I thank god that I didn't go back to Bloxham for the second HT. I don't want to be totally negative but I have to be honest. I was so hopeful going into the surgery, it's unfortunate it ended that way. I hope you have better luck than me with the growth from here. You must be tired of transplants by now but if you still have donor area to spare you could get a final small procedure to the crown as a finishing touch. Do you mind elaborating on what you mean when you say the techs were unprofessional? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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