Dr De Freitas | ~3,000 grafts FUE | June 2024 | ~40 yrs old

[randomhair]

Let me start by thanking members of the community for all the guidance they’ve provided as I started thinking about my journey towards a hair transplant. After considering various options, reviews and suggestions I decided to book my transplant with Dr De Freitas last year as my primary focus was my hairline and density. I finally went through my procedure towards the end of June.

 

There’s still a long way to go before I know how successful the HT was but overall I was very pleased with the process and the clinic. 

 

Some tips before I go into specifics of my procedure:

• the clinic provides a pillow but I highly recommend you bring your own as well just to have an option. You will be using it to sleep for a few days so it’s very crucial you be comfortable.
• The process is arduous, especially the second day, so be mentally prepared for that
• If possible, I’d recommend staying two nights after the surgery before heading back

 

Here’s a quick summary of the procedure: age: ~40 yrs

NW II-III

Initial graft estimate: 2,800

Grafts extracted: ~3,000

Hair: ~7,000

Average: 2.36

 

The initial estimate of 2,800 grafts (5,600 hair approx) was to repopulate the frontal area and receding hairline. He ended up extracting ~3,000 grafts (~7,000 hair). I mentioned that my crown is also thinning and he said that would require another procedure with another 2,500 grafts. The doctor ended up implanting 100 grafts in the crown and was kind enough to not charge extra for the additional grafts. The extraction was done by a technician and implantation and hairline was done by Dr De Freitas. 

 

Summary of my trip:

 

Day 0: arrived in Valencia the day before the procedure. Stayed at the hotel provided by the clinic. It’s very clean but basic.

 

Day 1: arrived at the clinic at 1015am, changed etc. 

1115-noon: doc drew first hair line, shave, hairline finalized 

Noon -130: extraction 

130-230: lunch 

230-4: implantation 

 

Day two:

Check in 1015

1045 shampoo cleaning instructions/medication instructions 

12-8: included two extractions and implantations and lunch/snack. 

 

The staff was very attentive, helpful and most people that interacted with me were fluent in English. Dr De Freitas was friendly and professional and very involved. He drew the hairline, did the implants and took progress photos himself. 

 

I wanted to thank everyone for their support during the journey. I will try and update this thread  thread periodically with progress pics but the focus now is on recovery. 

 

Hair before surgery:

 

Hairline:

 

1st day of surgery:

 

First day post-op:

Edited July 4 by randomhair

[De Freitas Clinic]

Thank you very much for sharing your experience in this forum. It has been a pleasure to welcome you at Clínica De Freitas.

You can count on us for whatever you need during your evolution.

Best regards.

[BaldGuy]

happy growing...great hairline design and density...let me ask you..how much did you pay per graft ?

[Gatsby]

@randomhair thanks for posting your results. You have gone to one of the best. I look forward to following your updates.

[twoeyes]

Looks amazing man im going in August!

[Al - Moderator]

Good luck with the growth. Keep us updated.

 

[randomhair]

Day 10 update:

Thanks all. The scabs are gone but there is still redness in the recipient and donor area. Definitely some itching and pain in the donor area but it's manageable. Will be starting medication and switching over to ketoconozole shampoo. 

Here are some updated pics :

 

Thanks all. Day 10 update:

 

Edited July 9 by randomhair

[randomhair]

On 7/5/2024 at 3:51 PM, BaldGuy said:

happy growing...great hairline design and density...let me ask you..how much did you pay per graft ?

hi everyone - sorry didn't respond to the posts last time. It was around 3 Euro

On 7/5/2024 at 8:52 PM, Gatsby said:

@randomhair thanks for posting your results. You have gone to one of the best. I look forward to following your updates.

Thanks Gatsby! Going well so far and hoping it'll be a good result. 

On 7/7/2024 at 6:16 AM, twoeyes said:

Looks amazing man im going in August!

Good luck! He is a great doctor with a great staff. I'm sure everything will go smoothly. 

 

Day 15 update:

Guess it's still too early to gauge progress but there's still redness in the donor and recipient area. There *might* have been some shedding but i'm not entirely sure. I initially thought the hairline could have been a bit lower but starting to like it more now as the hair grows. Guess the worst period is upon me soon - mentally preparing for the ugly ducking phase. Please let me know what you guys think about the progress so far. 

 

[baddecisions]

It looks really well. You'll end up with a great hairline but I honestly think you didn't need 3000 grafts.

[randomhair]

On 7/16/2024 at 2:48 PM, baddecisions said:

It looks really well. You'll end up with a great hairline but I honestly think you didn't need 3000 grafts.

100 went to the crown but yes, I do feel it could have been done with fewer grafts. I'm deferring to the doctors judgement on this. I do have good density but had a receding hairline so perhaps he wanted to maintain that density post transplant. 

 

Day 45 update:

Some major shedding as expected. Most of the transplanted hair have disappeared with a few strains left. Not sure if these are the originally transplanted hair or if it's regrown hair. Sticking with medication and using the shampoos as recommended. I started using topik this week as the doctor said it's ok to use now. As always, thoughts/advice is welcome.

 

[De Freitas Clinic]

If you have not left your review yet, and in case you want to share your experience on our Google Business Profile, we would greatly appreciate it. 
Sincerely. You can find us as Clínica de Freitas (Valencia).

Best regards.

[FUEtile]

On 8/10/2024 at 12:31 PM, randomhair said:

100 went to the crown but yes, I do feel it could have been done with fewer grafts. I'm deferring to the doctors judgement on this. I do have good density but had a receding hairline so perhaps he wanted to maintain that density post transplant. 

 

Day 45 update:

Some major shedding as expected. Most of the transplanted hair have disappeared with a few strains left. Not sure if these are the originally transplanted hair or if it's regrown hair. Sticking with medication and using the shampoos as recommended. I started using topik this week as the doctor said it's ok to use now. As always, thoughts/advice is welcome.

 

I can’t see the photos

[randomhair]

that's odd, let's try again

 

[asterix0]

Are you on finasteride? It looks like they extracted pretty high up on the back side of your head, that area of the crown can easily dip in the future, especially considering you already have loss on your crown. 

Edited August 19 by asterix0

[randomhair]

I was not on finestaride prior to the surgery. But I am now. My hair loss is a bit odd in that it's on top/front of my crown, not really on the back side. Of course, it doesn't mean that it can't change going forward. 

[randomhair]

3-month update: it grows!

There's been a good amount of growth in the last couple of weeks. I got my first hair cut 3 weeks ago. I feel some of the transplanted hair is the same length as my native hair, suggesting that perhaps these grafts didn't shed. The density is still a bit spare but I no longer need to apply topik and most people I know haven't noticed I got a transplant. Thinking of going for PRP in the next week as it's recommended by the doctor. Thoughts and comments always welcome.