Day 2 - Swollen after FUE hair transplant

Two days have passed since my FUE hair transplant.

The recipient area it is very swollen and I still don't have sensitivity on the top of the forehead.

The pain is stronger in the morning and evening, probably because of the head position.

In general, sleeping has been quite difficult and uncomfortable due to the pain and body position.

I have tried setting up my pillows like at a hospital to lift up the head to avoid further swelling but it's very unconformable and makes it quite difficult to have a good night of sleep.

It is very important to avoid rubbing the grafted area on the pillow, so to maintain a stomach up position and avoid rolling during the night I added two pillows on the sides. 

The ideal position is a semi-seated position with the trunk raised at 45 degrees. 

The grafts should be fully secure by day 7-10 so I will maintain this sleeping position until then.

Post- Operative Care

At the clinic I have received a post/operative care kit which contains:

• spray bottle of saline solution 
• spay bottle with iso-betadine shampoo
• Antibiotic and healing cream

I have been following Dr Lupanzula's advice and I have been spraying the saline solution every hour. It is refreshing and reduces the itching and swelling. The saline solution also keeps the wounds clean and keep the infection to a minimum. 

Instructions described in previous post.

I have washed my hair with the provided Iso-Betadine shampoo, without massaging the recipient area.

It is important to rinse with plenty of lukewarm water, using a suitable container (cup etc.). Warning: a powerful jet of water, such as a shower, can damage the transplanted area.

Day 1 - Recovery after hair transplant

 I slept fairly well, without any pain. As instructed by the Doctor  I slept with several pillows under my head in order to prevent swelling.

I was afraid to wake up with my face all swollen and with an oedema like I have seen in some blogs but I had nothing at all.

In the morning I passed by the clinic so that the nurse could remove the bandage from the donor area and for the Doctor to have a look. He told me that everything seems to go well. Well, at least I felt great despite the fact that I had to use a ridiculous bandana.

The nurse also taught me how to wash my head and the regimen for the next days:

Medrol:

- First day: 1 full tablet

- Second and third days: ½ tablet

- Fourth and fifth days: ¼ tablet

Temesta: It was given at the clinic.

Analgesics – Paracetamol 1g: take 1g every six hours, i.e. three times a day, for the first three days after the surgery.

Antibiotics - Amoxicillin 1g: to be taken morning and evening for the first three days after your surgery. (I didn't take it)

Antibiotic and healing cream: Apply only to the donor area. Rub in well.

Oh yes, fresh!

Post-surgery care of the recipient area:

From the first day:

- Spray the saline solution onto the transplanted area every 20 minutes on the day of surgery.

From the second to the seventh day:

- Apply the saline solution every hour.

After this I was told to use a Keratene spray once every two hours.

Oh yes, fresh!

- Shampoo with Iso-Betadine: using the sprayer, spray the transplanted area and leave for the time required to treat the donor area. Under no circumstances should you should massage the recipient area. Rinse with plenty of lukewarm water, using a suitable container (cup etc.). A powerful jet of water, such as a shower, can damage the transplanted area.

Wash once a day.

From the eighth to the fourteenth day:

- Continue applying the KERATENE saline solution 5 or 6 times a day.

- Shampoo with Iso-Betadine: spray on using the sprayer and massage, using small and very light circular motions.

- Rinse with water at normal pressure.

- Wash the area once a day.

Post-surgery care of the donor area:

From the second to the fourteenth day:

- Apply the shampoo with Iso-Betadine using the sprayer and massage with circular motions.

- Rinse with water at normal pressure and dry.

- Then apply the cream provided by the clinic and rub in well.

- Wash the area once a day.

From the fifteenth day, return to "normal life". You can use the KERATENE shampoo (also provided by the clinic) to care for your hair two or three times a week.

Tips:

Resting and sleeping position: the ideal position is a semi-seated position with the trunk raised at 45 degrees. You can use a pillow to maintain this position. This will help to reduce swelling.

This position should be adopted for the first three nights after the surgery.

Conclusion, for me, for the next 2 weeks, no sports, no alcohol and no sun. I will try my best to do everything by the book!

Day 0 - FUE hair transplant day

I arrived at clinic at 7am. I was received by the doctor who took a few pictures and brief me through the whole procedure.

Around 7:30 I got my head shaved and I was ready for it.

After that the doctor gave me local anesthesia and started harvesting the grafts one by one (hence the name Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)) in the back of my head.

The worst part for me was the anesthesia as I hate needles. For the rest it was ok, it takes some time but I was mentally prepared for it.

As the doctor was harvesting, two technicians were sorting and preparing the grafts to be applied.

Once the harvest was finished, around 14h, the doctor started to prepare the recipient area by using a small blade to puncture the sites for receiving the grafts.

He explained me that this is the tricky part. To place the grafts in predetermined density and pattern, and angling the wounds in a consistent fashion to promote a realistic hair pattern.

After the punctures the technicians started inserting the individual grafts in place. At this point I was sitting straight facing the TV and I watch a couple of movies and even fell a sleep a couple of times.

At around 18:30 the procedure was finished.

The grafts are composed of 1, 2, 3 or 4 hairs. In my case the result was:

I – 345

II – 1145

III – 628

IV  – 25

Total of grafts: 2143

This makes a total of 4619 hair transplanted.

It's not very common to have more III than I, so it's a good thing as theoretically I will have more hair density.

2019-11-05 Consultation for FUE hair transplant

Dr. Lupanzula (Brussels, Belgium) was recommended by a friend of mine who had his procedure done with him with great results.

I met him on the 16 of November 2015 and explained my expectations.

The doctor was very kind, attentive and informative and after testing my hair density in the back of my hear (donor), he said I had a good hair density and proposed me a FUE transplant of 2000 grafts.

He also explained me that for this type of interventions we need to respect several cosmetic rules such as the proportions and distances between nose, mouth and hairline. Meaning, don’t go crazy, be realistic with your expectations otherwise it will look unnatural.

After a lot of research on final results and prices I have decided to go ahead and have the procedure with Dr. Lupanzula.

Of course there were plenty of cheaper options in Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia but when it comes to an hair transplant I think we need to make our decision based on results and not based on money.

I will have my HT on the 21st of January and for 2000 grafts I will pay ~7000 euros.

2019-10-07 Introduction

Introduction to my FUE hair transplant Experience

Hi everyone!

I have decided to write this blog describing my hair transplant experience.

The same way I followed many blogs until I made the final decision to have the procedure, I thought it was my turn to contribute for others decisions.

I will try to give as many details as possible of the procedure and recovery and I’m open to answer your questions.

My case:

I am a 34 years male and I have always had a big forehead but, with time and respective receding hairline, it became bigger and bigger until reaching a point where I was not comfortable with it anymore. I think I can classify my situation as a Norwood 2. I know that some of you will laugh and say it’s nothing but for me it was becoming a big deal.

I take Finasteride every other day since 3 years as it helped me slowing down my hair loss. No relevant side effects so far.

I have also tried minoxidil for a couple of months but it was not a good experience as I experienced hair loss and irregular heartbeat.   

I have passed all those those phases where one tries to hide the hair loss with ingenious hairstyles and then one day I decided that it was enough, I needed to tackle the problem.

Basically it’s that moment in your live where you decide go Nicolas Cage all the way or at least try Bradley Cooper.

So I decided to see an hair transplant doctor.