arcobalenoeterno Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 Hey everyone, In August 2024, I had a two-day hair transplant with Dr. Bruno Ferreira in Espinho, Portugal, near Porto. After being a passive member of this forum and doing extensive research, I chose Dr. Ferreira because of his natural results, expertise in hairlines and temporal peaks, and the fact that he personally performs every step of the procedure. I made sure to have about two years of medication stabilization with Finasteride before considering surgery. Today I am 28 years old. Before going into further detail, I want to thank everyone here for their reviews and insights! I benefited a lot from patient reviews here and I sincerely hope my experience can help others as well. The team was very kind and professional, Dr. Ferreira closely examined my status and took his time drawing an individual hairline that he deemed suitable. I was a bit unsure about the design of my temple points, as it is very difficult for me to predict how changes in this area would actually turn out, especially with a view to the distant future. We weighed this, and ultimately, I trusted his expertise and went with his design as suggested, since one of my goals was to make my forehead appear a bit narrower in order to achieve a more balanced look. The operation itself was comfortable. Dr. Ferreira works very carefully and attentively, checking regularly if I felt any pain. If needed, he promptly administered additional anesthesia. Aside from the anesthesia injections, the procedure was completely pain-free for me. He and his team are very accommodating. Whether it was the nurses or the patient managers, everyone was incredibly friendly. The atmosphere is highly professional yet laid-back. You can tell that the whole team is well-coordinated, very meticulous and works seamlessly together. The two days went by quickly, and post-op care was thorough. Four days later, I returned for the first full hair wash, where I received detailed instructions for ongoing care. The clinic remains available for any questions, and I’ll have regular check-ins with Dr. Ferreira through photos until the one-year mark. Today I‘m almost 3 weeks post-op. I’m looking forward to the results and will update this thread as I progress. Best regards PRE SURGERY: „normal“ hair: wet hair: partial shave: shave: POST SURGERY: day0: day9: day 15: 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcobalenoeterno Posted August 20 Author Share Posted August 20 Donor (pre and post): 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Ccd99 Posted August 20 Regular Member Share Posted August 20 Thanks for the write up and sharing your story. I will be following your progress closely, I have my surgery with Dr Ferreira in less than 2 weeks. 3.1k grafts is a lot for the area covered, this will be a super dense result! Did you discuss the proposed density with Dr Ferreira? Just curious why he used so many grafts 1 Consultation with Dr Bruno Ferreira - Nov 2023 - ✅ - see link below for more info First surgery with Dr Bruno Ferreira - Sept 2024 - ✅ - 3200 grafts to frontal third and partial mid-scalp - link to thread Second surgery with Dr Bruno Ferreira - May 2025 - ❌ - 2500-3000 grafts to remainder of mid-scalp and crown + touch-up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Steeeve Posted August 20 Valued Contributor Share Posted August 20 The work looks wonderful. Looking forward to following through until then end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcobalenoeterno Posted August 20 Author Share Posted August 20 14 minutes ago, Ccd99 said: Thanks for the write up and sharing your story. I will be following your progress closely, I have my surgery with Dr Ferreira in less than 2 weeks. 3.1k grafts is a lot for the area covered, this will be a super dense result! Did you discuss the proposed density with Dr Ferreira? Just curious why he used so many grafts Dr. Ferreira initially estimated between 3000 and 3500 grafts during the consultation. For me, the frontal third is the most crucial area, involving not just addressing the NW3 pattern but also the temporal peaks. My forelock and the area behind the hairline were somewhat thinned and miniaturized, so these were also treated and required some grafts. I’m curious to see how the density will ultimately turn out. He mentioned from the beginning that even a touch-up for the hairline might be necessary. Of course it was important to be stabilized with Finasteride and to have sufficient donor capacity. I discussed this very clearly with him, and he assured me that the donor area still has a sufficiently large capacity to address the areas behind it in case of future hair loss. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Ccd99 Posted August 20 Regular Member Share Posted August 20 (edited) 27 minutes ago, arcobalenoeterno said: Dr. Ferreira initially estimated between 3000 and 3500 grafts during the consultation. For me, the frontal third is the most crucial area, involving not just addressing the NW3 pattern but also the temporal peaks. My forelock and the area behind the hairline were somewhat thinned and miniaturized, so these were also treated and required some grafts. I’m curious to see how the density will ultimately turn out. He mentioned from the beginning that even a touch-up for the hairline might be necessary. Of course it was important to be stabilized with Finasteride and to have sufficient donor capacity. I discussed this very clearly with him, and he assured me that the donor area still has a sufficiently large capacity to address the areas behind it in case of future hair loss. Thanks for the answer, that makes sense. After looking a bit closer I do see that your mid-scalp required some grafts also, graft numbers quickly add up I guess! Edited August 20 by Ccd99 Consultation with Dr Bruno Ferreira - Nov 2023 - ✅ - see link below for more info First surgery with Dr Bruno Ferreira - Sept 2024 - ✅ - 3200 grafts to frontal third and partial mid-scalp - link to thread Second surgery with Dr Bruno Ferreira - May 2025 - ❌ - 2500-3000 grafts to remainder of mid-scalp and crown + touch-up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Berba11 Posted August 20 Valued Contributor Share Posted August 20 Looks fantastic! Keen to see how this one turns out. That said, I find the term "Leading Edge..." in the tagline of the logo on the photos to be triggering. It should of course say 'Cutting Edge...', so I'm deducting points from Dr Bruno there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member asterix0 Posted August 21 Senior Member Share Posted August 21 Happy growing, now you enter the infamous ugly duckling stage so be aware you may look even worse than pre-transplant for a while, but it will pass quickly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wemay8 Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 this looks like it will be good. following Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Gatsby Posted August 21 Valued Contributor Share Posted August 21 The work looks excellent @arcobalenoeterno. The height of the hairline is perfect in my book. 👌 GATSBY 'UNPLUGGED!' 15,671 (3 surgeries) Grafts FUE+BHT Dr. Sethi Eugenix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member NorwoodKnight Posted August 21 Regular Member Share Posted August 21 19 hours ago, arcobalenoeterno said: Donor (pre and post): Great write-up! I will be following your journey closely as well! P.S: sei Italiano? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Eli_Avdikian Posted August 21 Regular Member Share Posted August 21 Looks pretty clean. It's very humble and realistic from Dr. Ferreira to admit that you might need a touch up eventually Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcobalenoeterno Posted August 21 Author Share Posted August 21 3 hours ago, NorwoodKnight said: Great write-up! I will be following your journey closely as well! P.S: sei Italiano? Thank you! Not Italian, but I've been lucky enough to spend some time in that beautiful country 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcobalenoeterno Posted August 21 Author Share Posted August 21 (edited) @Ccd99 I wish you all the best for your surgery and I'm looking forward to follow your journey as well. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message Edited August 21 by arcobalenoeterno 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Ccd99 Posted August 21 Regular Member Share Posted August 21 49 minutes ago, arcobalenoeterno said: @Ccd99 I wish you all the best for your surgery and I'm looking forward to follow your journey as well. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message Thank you very much! Ines has been really great at answering all my questions! But if there's any tips/advice you have I am happy to listen 1 Consultation with Dr Bruno Ferreira - Nov 2023 - ✅ - see link below for more info First surgery with Dr Bruno Ferreira - Sept 2024 - ✅ - 3200 grafts to frontal third and partial mid-scalp - link to thread Second surgery with Dr Bruno Ferreira - May 2025 - ❌ - 2500-3000 grafts to remainder of mid-scalp and crown + touch-up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member NorwoodKnight Posted August 21 Regular Member Share Posted August 21 1 hour ago, arcobalenoeterno said: Thank you! Not Italian, but I've been lucky enough to spend some time in that beautiful country Nice!! Your nickname tricked me 😄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jetski Posted September 27 Regular Member Share Posted September 27 What’s the typical waiting period from first consultation to surgery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrea84 Posted September 27 Share Posted September 27 I know the doctor has closed the list for the consultation. One year ago I signed up with Ines by email. They should contact me the next month for the visit ( so only one year of waiting for it) after this time I presume one year more. Anyway triangle points are great 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Ccd99 Posted September 27 Regular Member Share Posted September 27 (edited) 2 hours ago, jetski said: What’s the typical waiting period from first consultation to surgery? I signed up back in August 2023 and Ines (the patient coordinator for Dr Bruno Ferreira) replied saying they have no availability that year left and asked if I can travel at short notice if a consultation slot became available, so of course I said yes to this. Then later on around the end of October 2023 I received an email that a consultation slot became available mid-November 2023. So ultimately I only waited 4 months. I had my surgery recently (within 12 months of consultation) and I have my second surgery scheduled for May 2025 - but most likely a cancelled slot will come up. My advice is to ask if you can be put on the cancellation list also. Edited September 27 by Ccd99 1 Consultation with Dr Bruno Ferreira - Nov 2023 - ✅ - see link below for more info First surgery with Dr Bruno Ferreira - Sept 2024 - ✅ - 3200 grafts to frontal third and partial mid-scalp - link to thread Second surgery with Dr Bruno Ferreira - May 2025 - ❌ - 2500-3000 grafts to remainder of mid-scalp and crown + touch-up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcobalenoeterno Posted September 27 Author Share Posted September 27 8 hours ago, jetski said: What’s the typical waiting period from first consultation to surgery? I completely agree on @Ccd99. It’s helpful to mention that you’re flexible if there’s a cancellation, and any heads-up would be appreciated. With a bit of luck, you might hear back way sooner. Generally, though, you should probably be prepared for about a year at least, plus the time until your consultation. That said, it's often worth waiting a bit longer for the right solution. A little patience goes a long way in this game 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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