Dr. Zarev strikes back! 6510 grafts taken from non-virgin donor over 2 consecutive days

[GeneralNorwood]

We did it. I can't believe it's finally over, and now it's just a matter of waiting for the growth to happen.

It wasn’t 5,200 grafts as previously planned during the consultation in March, but a total of 6,510 grafts were implanted over two days. This was taken from the donor area that had already been used by another clinic.

If you're not familiar with the story of my previous surgery, which had poor (to put it mildly) planning, check out this topic: Eugenix 3514 grafts (720 on the temples) May 2022 Dr Priyadarshini Das - Hair Transplant Reviews - Hair Restoration Network - Community For and By Hair Loss Patients

 

Let’s cut to the chase.

I was on the cancellation list, but the list is long, and with the current demand, I was sure I’d have to wait for surgery until 2027, even with the off-schedule price (9 euros per graft). To my surprise, two weeks ago, Dr. Zarev summoned me for the surgery. Within five minutes, I replied, "Yes, of course I'm interested."

I flew to Sofia on Saturday because I had to take blood tests on Sunday. I was a little worried about the results since I had recently recovered from a cold. I still had the occasional cough, but it disappeared completely on the day of the operation.

 

The blood test results were perfectly normal. It was a standard test for many factors like HGB, RBC, WBC, HCT, PLT, and diseases like HIV.

14th October 2024 (Day 1 of Surgery)

On the day of the surgery, I was picked up by Camila (Dr. Zarev's assistant) around 8 a.m. Driving patients with luggage isn’t her regular job, but I had stayed in an apartment too close to the clinic for taxis to accept the call.

Camila took me to the studio, which is located on the 1st floor of the Zarev clinic, and I had some free time.

 

 

9:30 a.m. - I'm at the reception, starting to fill out forms with consents.

10:00 a.m. - I move to the patient room, which is next to the operating room. This whole area is separated from the rest of the clinic. I got a suit and slippers, and then a nurse named Leonora (but everyone calls her Lennie) performed an allergy test. Then, I believe it was Maria or Natalie who set up the IV (intravenous therapy) in my hand. These two lovely ladies  like to use a lot of needles!

Tip: In the patient room, there’s a massage chair. It wasn’t until the second day of the operation that I noticed it had this function.

 

 

 

 

Around 10:30-10:40 a.m., Dr. Zarev came in, greeted me, and invited me to his office.

We started talking, and I showed him the pictures I had prepared. Showing him the pictures was something I needed to do to calm myself. I was saying, "Do you see this 'disconnection'? We need to fill it." He responded, "Yeah, of course it needs to be filled," and smiled. He was extremely understanding and cool about it, knowing that I was asking obvious questions only because I  felt harmed after the previous surgery.

We briefly discussed extraction from the hairline and temple peaks, but we agreed that it wasn't the priority at the moment. We could consider another surgery to address that later.

Then we had a photoshoot, and Dr. Zarev began marking areas around my head. He created 19 areas for calculation—11 recipient areas and 8 donor areas. Afterward, he shaved and cleaned my head and took more photos. Basically, he takes photos every time there's a change.

In the next part, Dr. Zarev measured all the areas with a tape measure and took pictures with a microcamera. I spent about 1.5 hours in his office, and then I moved back to the patient room, where I waited for another 1.5 hours while he finished all the calculations necessary for the surgery.

 

 

 

 

 

2:00 p.m. - The surgery started with the extraction in the chest position. This was the toughest part of the surgery for me. It’s not a very comfortable position, but you can readjust your head from time to time to reduce stiffness. I tried to adjust only when necessary so as not to interrupt the surgery too much. Dr. Zarev instructed me to always ask before readjusting for safety. This part lasted about 1.5 hours. The second part of the extraction was more comfortable, as it was done in a side position, which lasted for another 2.5 hours.

The extraction is the most important part of the surgery. Dr. Zarev uses AVA FUE for the punch part and then collects the grafts with forceps. There isn’t much talking; you mainly hear Dr. Zarev informing the nurses every time he collects 50 grafts (sometimes a different number), and the nurses sorting the grafts.

What I can tell you about the special vacuum device is that you don’t feel it working on your skin. It wasn’t until some time later that I realized the extraction had already started. You can hear it working under your skin when it’s near your ear, and there’s always a beeping sound after it’s used.

Overall, the extraction went smoothly, which made it possible to collect more grafts for a better final result.

6:00 p.m. - Break for 1.5 hours. During this time, I could rest and eat spaghetti Bolognese, which I had chosen earlier at the reception during a conversation with Ina, Dr. Zarev's assistant. During the break, I wore a bandage to protect the donor area, which was removed after the surgery was finished. Maria visited me again to take some blood for the PRP.

 

 

 

Before the implantation, always remember to use Zarev's dental kit

 

7:30 p.m. - During the implantation part, the atmosphere was more relaxed. You can sit in a more comfortable seated position and watch TV with music videos. Dr. Zarev works with an implanter pen at a pretty fast pace, which he maintains consistently. You can chit-chat with him, and it doesn’t affect his work—his hand is like a separate machine. The nurses are busy loading the implanter pens, which they pass to Dr. Zarev. At one point, he asked me to turn my head to the right, and I could see the nurses at work. I noticed that the grafts aren’t loaded randomly. After placing the graft into the implanter pen, the nurse adjusts the curl of the hair. From time to time, you can hear Dr. Zarev instructing the nurses to start giving him specific types of hair.

I didn’t even ask him why he doesn’t use pre-made slits. I think with his method, it would just be a waste of time and unnecessary trauma to the scalp.

We finished at 11 p.m., so the implantation lasted for 3 hours and 30 minutes. Dr. Zarev implanted 3,201 grafts.

Then I went to the patient room, got dressed, and went to Dr. Zarev for another photoshoot. He also gave me a pillow protector and medical lint.

And that was pretty much it. I could return to my room, eat dinner, and get some sleep.

 

 

15th October 2024 (Day 2 of the surgery)

The second day was very similar, but with some differences. The beloved chest position lasted longer—about 2 hours. And, of course, during the side position, I was lying on my right side. Something felt different, and my right hand became really stiff, so I asked Dr. Zarev to readjust, and I placed my right hand behind my back. That helped a lot.

The total extraction time was 5 hours this time, and the implantation time was also around 3.5 hours, like the day before. This time, Dr. Zarev implanted 3,309 grafts.

 

 

I was really happy when I took the pictures and saw that the 'disconnections' had been treated so meticulously 

 

 

 

Some data from the surgery:

• Total grafts implanted in 2 days: 6,510
• Total donor area: 304 cm²
  • High occipital and mid occipital area: 112 cm²
  • High temporal and mid temporal area: 114 cm²
  • Low occipital and low temporal area: 78 cm²
• Total recipient area: 223 cm²

Around 1,500 grafts were taken from the lower occipital and lower temporal areas. These grafts are considered more prone to DHT and of lower quality than the hair from the rest of the donor area. During the consultation in March, Dr. Zarev explained that we had to extract them anyway because, during the previous hair transplant, many good-quality hairs were taken and used for the frontal third, and the extraction done by Eugenix limited the use of his method. Hair from the lower occipital and temporal areas was implanted evenly across the recipient area.

And finally, here are the photos on the yellow background:

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Zarev said that I still have some hair available for extraction in the higher occipital and higher temporal areas. He mentioned that the 6,510 grafts he extracted are not going to deplete the donor area, and I will still be able to grow longer hair there.

The surgery is over, but now it's the classic waiting game—you all know the rules. I hope this incredible hair transplant will bring peace to my mind.

 

Thank you guys for supporting me for such a long time. Special thanks to @mtb for sharing his experience and encouraging me to take this journey

 

Let’s see what happens in 6 months!

 

 

Edited 18 hours ago by GeneralNorwood

[Approach]

I'm struggling with severe jealously right now 🙂.  It happened when I read about the last Dr. Zarev patient too. Congratulations!  We're super happy for you!  Happy growing!  Looking forward to frequent updates.

[JasonElva1990]

Damn,what a story u had. Hope Zarev will bring you peace and a lot of good hair growth in the future ! The final cost with everyhting was around 60 000 Euro right? 

[asterix0]

Amazing! 

[baddecisions]

Wow, it looks impecable. Extracting more than 6k grafts from a non virgin donor and having still some room before depletion is awesome.

I really want to see more pictures when scabs are finally removed, because I am sure it will look great.

21 minutes ago, GeneralNorwood said:

I hope that this incredible hair transplant is going to bring peace in my mind.

That is every repair patient's desire. Really happy for you!

[Berba11]

Actually I take it all back... I think Dr Das' work is better

 

 

What a journey this will be though! Did Zarev have much to say about the original HT during you surgery?

[Berba11]

Also... You do know this HT isn't even possible (even though it's happened), because @jjalayalready told you it wasn't possible, right? 

[GeneralNorwood]

17 minutes ago, Berba11 said:

What a journey this will be though! Did Zarev have much to say about the original HT during you surgery?

He showed me a case with bad planning from a Turkish clinic, but he said that he had never seen a case like mine, which is why he decided to help me

 

19 minutes ago, Berba11 said:

Also... You do know this HT isn't even possible (even though it's happened), because @jjalayalready told you it wasn't possible, right? 

Yeah, maybe this is just a dream

[Gatsby]

Congratulations @GeneralNorwood. When this grows out you'll be changing your avatar name to Supreme Commander of Armed Forces. Super happy for you man to get this far and will be even happier in six months! Repair of the Year! 🏆

[hair transplant 10]

are you taking any medications?

[SY7]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing the experience!

[laverita]

All the best for your journey and look forward to seeing the outcome. 

[davidn]

Damn, that will be an interesting 12 months 🍿

[Rawkerboi]

Thanks for sharing your experience mate! This will be another stellar from Dr.Zarev!

 

[Tommy1991]

It’s insane how clean it all looks…

Best of luck man! Life changing 🙂

[Bandit90]

Unreal! Flawless work by Zarev. Great write up.. Happy growing 💪

[GeneralNorwood]

10 hours ago, hair transplant 10 said:

are you taking any medications?

 

Yes, I am taking 0.5 mg of dutasteride daily, and I am going to use topical minoxidil again after the removal of scabs

 

Besides, I am now taking post-operative medication from Zarev, which includes Clindamycin, Aspirin, Endotelon, and Agapurin

Edited 14 hours ago by GeneralNorwood

[Mr. Clean]

Thank you for the detailed write up and review @GeneralNorwood. This is the most detailed review of Dr. Zarev so far 👏.

Were you able to ask what his workload for a week? You had surgery monday and tuesday...  does he have scheduled surgeries for wednesday and thursday too? I know from previous reviews he does consultations on Fridays... Im trying to figure out how many surgeries he does in a week and if he ever does have a break in a month or in a year explaining his long wait list.

[Matys]

Looks very good!! What did they tell you to pay attention to before and after the operation? I’m planning to get a hair transplant too, but my budget won’t stretch for Zarev, and I don’t think I can wait that long either!  

[Melvin- Admin]

His office looks as clean as his work. Happy growing, thanks for sharing another review of him 🙏

[mtb]

@GeneralNorwood happy for you! Dr Zarev’s process controls every conceivable variable. Very interesting to hear that he could tell which areas of your head were used for extraction and where they were placed by the previous clinic. Also, interesting to hear about the selection and implantation process based on specific hair characteristics. I believe you’ll get an excellent result. 
 

Now I realize how painful this sounds but you just need to relax and not think about it for the next six months instead if checking the mirror 10 times per day. I realize how impossible that sounds. Ha.

[ScottishGuy21]

Happy you got a much earlier slot than originally planned. Looking forward to following your journey 🫡

[A_4_Archan]

Very Happy for you brother....best of luck...am sure this will turn out to be an excellent result. 

[ITA]

I haven't read your whole story, but did you already have an appointment with Dr. Zarev? If you are an "unscheduled" patient, would you have spent €97,650? It's an absurd price, but these are the prices he charges for patients who have already had a transplant in another clinic, as shown in the table I attach.

[davidn]

10 minutes ago, ITA said:

I haven't read your whole story, but did you already have an appointment with Dr. Zarev? If you are an "unscheduled" patient, would you have spent €97,650? It's an absurd price, but these are the prices he charges for patients who have already had a transplant in another clinic, as shown in the table I attach.

Groceries and warm water always been overrated anyway.