Dr Wesley, FUE, 3,514 grafts, pre/post op

[WhiteThnder]

Hi all. Been waiting for about six months to finally get in with Dr Wesley. I wanted to chronicle my story a bit so it can help others. I’ve been waiting about 6 months to get in (most reputable surgeons have atleast this) and since I’m not intimately close to NYC, I did a virtual consult. I basically sent in some pics and videos and he got back to me about a week or so later with a personal video indicating I was a good candidate. There was a $250 fee for that which is reimbursed if you decide for surgery. It was at that point in time I started taking oral finascertide and topical minoxidil. I saw great improvement since that time (see attached). My main areas of concern were the frontal scalp, mid scalp, and crown. I was basically a NW3, progressing to 4. Dr Wesley recommended during his consult about 3-3.5k grafts. He ended up doing 3,514. His costs per graft are $10 for the first 1000 and 5 for everything after. Below are my pictures at the start before taking any meds, after meds, and then after procedure. I’ll make posts every month or so with progress. Let me know your thoughts. I also listed out a few pros/cons in dealing with the office.

Pros:

- It didn’t hurt a bit. I was asleep nearly the entire 10 hours. 
- Even next day after, I had a question for them asking shouldn’t this hurt?  It didn’t. 
- Consummate professionals. All very kind, cordial, and caring
- Dr Wesley is an artist 
- His procedures are unique and thorough. 
- All extracts are manually performed and punch size is limited (.8)
- During procedures he incubates the follicles in PRP fluid and then rubs excess on head to promote growth and healing
- He provides you with a TON of extra care products to take home along with instructions. I’m not certain other offices do this - shampoos, minoxidil, ATP, aqua gel, bacitracin zinc, prednisone, antibiotics, ambien, codeine, and I may have missed a few
- Good bedside manner, listens, and is thoughtful / intelligent 

Cons:
- waitlist is fairly long (but not atypical to most good quality surgeons)
- they are not great at responding - especially to phone and certainly not voicemails. Don’t ever leave voicemails. Phone calls are hit or miss but they don’t try to just get you off the phone either. Once you get the email addresses, that is the best form of communication
- the documentation they give is all over the place and somewhat contradictory. They even admitted it needs to be updated. So comb through it. Take your own notes and ask questions because it’s confusing 

All in all, I’m pretty happy with results so far and we’ll update on progress as it comes in. Take care

[Melvin- Admin]

Work looks super clean. Happy growing, I'll be following your progress closely 🙌

[WhiteThnder]

1 hour ago, Melvin- Admin said:

Work looks super clean. Happy growing, I'll be following your progress closely 🙌

Thank you sir. Appreciate the kind words. Was worried about the density but I sensed he gets that a lot. Goes for the more natural / evolution route. 

[Gatsby]

@WhiteThnder the improvement from medication alone is very evident. As has been said the work looks very clean and I look forward to your updates. Thanks for sharing! 👌

[WhiteThnder]

18 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

@WhiteThnder the improvement from medication alone is very evident. As has been said the work looks very clean and I look forward to your updates. Thanks for sharing! 👌

Thank you! My one regret is I didn’t start nearly early enough and thought the side effects. Ended up not getting anything and learned it only affects < 2% of population. 

[WhiteThnder]

Post-Op Care Advice 

Getting frustrated and anxious here. About 5 days post-op and the post-op instructions (within various literature provided) by doctor are contradictory and confusing. The advice you find on the internet is wildly different based on where you look. So, a few things bothering me right now and looking for advice…

1. Doctor had provided me with various shampoos (including medicated ones) to take post op. They were labeled with days I should take them. Apparently they said to start them only 10 days post op and the more gentle shampoo post op. Well I used the medicated one for a day. I consulted with the doctor and they said it should be ok. What say you? I started using the gentle stuff they provided although the internet suggests baby shampoo. Doc said it’s too gentle and to use what they provided. 
2. One or the pieces of literature says to avoid sun but a little is ok. Most info on internet suggests to avoid sun at all costs. Well I got a little here and there - never burned or anything. Ok?
3. Post op instructions suggests bathing donor and recipient in epsom salt. A search on Reddit turned nothing in this area. I’ve been doing this as instructed. 
4. Post op instructions say to use minoxidil to assist with growth internet. Never saw this anywhere on internet. I’ve been using it as instructed 
5. I had a planned vacation to beach over July 4 holiday. Doc said to wear a hat but should be fine by then. I’ve now seen other docs recco a hat for a year post op! What is good advice? 
6. I don’t see any visible issues but how do I know if what I’m doing is ok? 

The most frustrating thing is this is a highly expensive and reputable surgeon. The info provided is contradictory even within the same office let alone internet provided. Spent alot of money, time, and energy and just looking for the best results Just looking for some good advice and maybe a bit of console 

[JoeD]

1 hour ago, WhiteThnder said:

Post-Op Care Advice 

I think you are worrying too much about things that truly are trivial, by no fault of your own.   The advice is truly all over the place between different clinics and online.  Do you know what that generally means?  No one really knows the right answer and it probably doesn’t mean much either way.

 

for shampoo, on day 4 mine recommends using my regular shampoo and going under regular shower.  Days 1-3 are just pouring a cup of suds and then water over the head.
 

With sun, most recommend six months.  Briefly being in the sun should be OK but in general just wear a hat.

I have never heard of the Epsom salt thing. Perhaps it’s to help loosen scabs. 

A lot of these things may make some theoretical sense and some have seen empirical benefits…….. but most likely just doesn’t mean much in the long run.

 

1 hour ago, WhiteThnder said:

Getting frustrated and anxious here. About 5 days post-op and the post-op instructions (within various literature provided) by doctor are contradictory and confusing. The advice you find on the internet is wildly different based on where you look. So, a few things bothering me right now and looking for advice…

1. Doctor had provided me with various shampoos (including medicated ones) to take post op. They were labeled with days I should take them. Apparently they said to start them only 10 days post op and the more gentle shampoo post op. Well I used the medicated one for a day. I consulted with the doctor and they said it should be ok. What say you? I started using the gentle stuff they provided although the internet suggests baby shampoo. Doc said it’s too gentle and to use what they provided. 
 

2. One or the pieces of literature says to avoid sun but a little is ok. Most info on internet suggests to avoid sun at all costs. Well I got a little here and there - never burned or anything. Ok?
3. Post op instructions suggests bathing donor and recipient in epsom salt. A search on Reddit turned nothing in this area. I’ve been doing this as instructed. 
4. Post op instructions say to use minoxidil to assist with growth internet. Never saw this anywhere on internet. I’ve been using it as instructed 
5. I had a planned vacation to beach over July 4 holiday. Doc said to wear a hat but should be fine by then. I’ve now seen other docs recco a hat for a year post op! What is good advice? 
6. I don’t see any visible issues but how do I know if what I’m doing is ok? 

The most frustrating thing is this is a highly expensive and reputable surgeon. The info provided is contradictory even within the same office let alone internet provided. Spent alot of money, time, and energy and just looking for the best results Just looking for some good advice and maybe a bit of console 

 

[WhiteThnder]

6 minutes ago, JoeD said:

I think you are worrying too much about things that truly are trivial, by no fault of your own.   The advice is truly all over the place between different clinics and online.  Do you know what that generally means?  No one really knows the right answer and it probably doesn’t mean much either way.

 

for shampoo, on day 4 mine recommends using my regular shampoo and going under regular shower.  Days 1-3 are just pouring a cup of suds and then water over the head.
 

With sun, most recommend six months.  Briefly being in the sun should be OK but in general just wear a hat.

I have never heard of the Epsom salt thing. Perhaps it’s to help loosen scabs. 

A lot of these things may make some theoretical sense and some have seen empirical benefits…….. but most likely just doesn’t mean much in the long run.

 

 

Thanks for your rationale sense of mind. I agree and too think the medical industry in general is a bit of a crap shoot. Anyway, appreciate the consolation and will attempt to relax a bit.