6 Months Post-Op 4K FUE Hair Transplant... ZERO growth.

Ibiza4300

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6 Months Post-Op 4K FUE Hair Transplant... ZERO growth. (PICS)

I am exactly 6 months post-op and I have no visible growth. I had 4,000 FUE grafts performed by a successful practice in Istanbul, Turkey. I searched the hell out of my Dr. and did not find anything negative.

I am 27 years old, in great shape, had a dense healthy donor area, I take 0.5mg finisteride daily, use Rogaine twice a day and Nizoral twice a week.

The procedure was very routine and the practice was very clean & modern. I thought my transplant looked on par with some of the best, most full and cleanest transplants I had ever seen. Like it was done by a machine, and not a human. I followed all post operative care to a T. 10 days post-op I returned to using Rogaine twice a day and after 5-6 weeks post-op I began using a derma-roller (lightly) after each Rogaine application. This is actually supposed to be effective in encouraging blood flow & collagen build up in the skin and is said to help stimulate new hair growth.

There is absolutely no reason as to why my hair transplant would fail, but I am seriously becoming concerned. A good number of my hairs from the transplant actually stayed and have grown ever since, but there has been no presence of new growth.

I have always had a small layer of fine, vellus hairs that grew over the past several years (from using Rogaine), which never matured into terminal, adult hairs. So, it is very hard for me to determine new growth by using a flashlight & comb, for example, because those small vellus hairs are there and I would have no way of knowing if any of those really are my grafts growing in.

But honestly, at this point I really do not believe that I am seeing any new growth whatsoever. I have done everything right, and I'm becoming increasingly worried.

Any input is appreciated.

____________________________________________

It was performed by Dr. Maral in Istanbul.

1 day post-op:
hlxOh1j.jpg


10 days post-op:
uKbFN8d.jpg


Scalp close up 6 months:
RC1nQ05.jpg


I do have some dandruff now, but this was actually after combing through my scalp for a bit so it makes it look worse.

Before/6 months:
R7z3g1m.png


The additional thickness is only attributed to the grafts that survived the transplant and never fell out.
 

Pequod

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Hi, I don't have answer for you other than I am sorry to hear this, FUE as far as I am concerned is a higher risk hair transplant than FUT but I am sure you already knew this. We talked about this in other threads, as well as the risks. I am not 100% happy with my procedures but I got probably 85% of what I wanted. At 6 months I can't imagine having no growth come out, mine already had an inch or longer of hair by then. Normally you get about 10% coming out starting at 3 months so you should be 40% out so far and very noticeable. It is hard to see it though when it starts, it is easier to feel and that should be like maybe a 2 day beard. I do not know what is the longest to take but unless the grafts were severely shocked which might be a possibility I hate to say what i think.
 

buckthorn

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I am exactly 6 months post-op and I have no visible growth. I had 4,000 FUE grafts performed by a successful practice in Istanbul, Turkey. I searched the hell out of my Dr. and did not find anything negative.

I am 27 years old, in great shape, had a dense healthy donor area, I take 0.5mg finisteride daily, use Rogaine twice a day and Nizoral twice a week.

The procedure was very routine and the practice was very clean & modern. I thought my transplant looked on par with some of the best, most full and cleanest transplants I had ever seen. Like it was done by a machine, and not a human. I followed all post operative care to a T. 10 days post-op I returned to using Rogaine twice a day and after 5-6 weeks post-op I began using a derma-roller (lightly) after each Rogaine application. This is actually supposed to be effective in encouraging blood flow & collagen build up in the skin and is said to help stimulate new hair growth.

There is absolutely no reason as to why my hair transplant would fail, but I am seriously becoming concerned. A good number of my hairs from the transplant actually stayed and have grown ever since, but there has been no presence of new growth.

I have always had a small layer of fine, vellus hairs that grew over the past several years (from using Rogaine), which never matured into terminal, adult hairs. So, it is very hard for me to determine new growth by using a flashlight & comb, for example, because those small vellus hairs are there and I would have no way of knowing if any of those really are my grafts growing in.

But honestly, at this point I really do not believe that I am seeing any new growth whatsoever. I have done everything right, and I'm becoming increasingly worried.

Any input is appreciated.

1) remember that new growth is gonna start as a finer hair fiber, so a lot of those vellus you see, may be grafts starting to grow
2) It takes LONGER for some people.. you may have experienced a Telogen Effluvium or something, where you are rapidly shedding the hairs and results will take a bit longer
3) 4,000 grafts for your FIRST fue?? I personally think this is risky - if, for any reason, it does not grow then you have depleted a lot of your donor
4) Who was your doctor?? once again, PERSONALLY speaking, if it was Erdogon or *********, then you were in good hands... they are pros
 

shookwun

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After Four months the grafts should be growing, doesn't matter who long of a bloomer you are. As far as follicle maturation that can take up to two years, but the initial growth should never take more then four months.

Most people start having sprouts around 2 half - 3 months post operation.
 

Ibiza4300

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Yeah, I am really starting to worry at this point. I do, however, feel when running my hands on top of my head (I keep my hair trimmed short at #2 buzz), that it sorta feels like there is more density. But the visual results are next to none. So, all I can do is wait, hope and pray at this point.
 

arfy

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You seem to have some new growth in the temples and hairline. Also, in your close-up, it seems like you can see the difference between the transplanted hair (thick coarse) and original hairs (vellous).

You may have experienced shock loss? It's really hard to tell for sure what your status is, at this point, and by looking at photos. Also, this might seem crazy, but you had a LOT of hair remaining, before your hair transplant. Adding 4000 grafts over a large area, to a scalp with a lot of original hair still remaining, will only result in an "incremental" improvement. You might have a certain percentage of more hair in the balding zone now, which could be hard to detect in a photograph. If there was a way to zoom in super-close, using (for example) a freckle as a landmark, and compare Before/After that way, that can be a more definite way to decide if the grafts grew or not.
 

resu

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You're using a dermaroller each day? How long have you been doing this? And what's the size of the needles?
 

buckthorn

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I will be the first to say, that in my opinion, this was not a sufficient use of grafts. I am NOT saying you will look bad, at all. But, why did they transplant SO many grafts in the areas where you still had decent density?? If you had stabilized all that on finasteride, then they should have added grafts to the crown and temples, and maybe across the hair line, that's it.
 

Ibiza4300

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You seem to have some new growth in the temples and hairline. Also, in your close-up, it seems like you can see the difference between the transplanted hair (thick coarse) and original hairs (vellous).

You may have experienced shock loss? It's really hard to tell for sure what your status is, at this point, and by looking at photos. Also, this might seem crazy, but you had a LOT of hair remaining, before your hair transplant. Adding 4000 grafts over a large area, to a scalp with a lot of original hair still remaining, will only result in an "incremental" improvement. You might have a certain percentage of more hair in the balding zone now, which could be hard to detect in a photograph. If there was a way to zoom in super-close, using (for example) a freckle as a landmark, and compare Before/After that way, that can be a more definite way to decide if the grafts grew or not.

I don't think I experienced any shock loss. I was a NW3, that is like the perfect candidate for a hair transplant and 4000 grafts would make it look much better. I have not been losing any of my natural hair for about 4 years now since using Rogaine and Propecia, so that's not a concern. In my close up you can see the transplanted hairs, but they are not new growth.

You're using a dermaroller each day? How long have you been doing this? And what's the size of the needles?

I don't remember and it doesn't say. I know it wasn't the smallest size, but the next size up, somewhere in the middle.

I will be the first to say, that in my opinion, this was not a sufficient use of grafts. I am NOT saying you will look bad, at all. But, why did they transplant SO many grafts in the areas where you still had decent density?? If you had stabilized all that on finasteride, then they should have added grafts to the crown and temples, and maybe across the hair line, that's it.

I agree with your assessment to a degree. He did not go down along the temples at all even though I specifically requested that he did and he said he will not because "it doesn't look natural". I think they did less on the crown because I had expressed interest in coming back for an additional session to work on that area and my priority was more-so the hairline. I thought for 4K it was still a great job and I could always address any issues with a follow up session. But at this point, I don't know what the hell is going on.
 

resu

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Dump the roller, it doesn't do anything positive or that significant. Your hair transplant wouldn't give a full head of hair appearance even if the 4000 grafts all grew. I would guess you got perhaps something like 60% of the grafts to grow full size, not bad but not great either, time will tell.
 

Ibiza4300

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Dump the roller, it doesn't do anything positive or that significant. Your hair transplant wouldn't give a full head of hair appearance even if the 4000 grafts all grew. I would guess you got perhaps something like 60% of the grafts to grow full size, not bad but not great either, time will tell.

But the problem is that nothing has grown to full size since the transplant. Any additional hairs that grew were the ones that survived the hair transplant, and were the same thickness and density from the day they were implanted. I've heard that as many as 25% of grafts in FUE operations continue growing from they day of surgery. This means I still should be expecting the other 75% of the hairs to grow and develop, an entire wave of new growth, and I have experienced nothing.
 

Pequod

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4000 would look way better than that at 6 months, that looks like 500. It may be the derma-roller damaged the new follicles, you seem to have a lot of dead skin on your scalp which is not a good sign.
 

Ibiza4300

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4000 would look way better than that at 6 months, that looks like 500. It may be the derma-roller damaged the new follicles, you seem to have a lot of dead skin on your scalp which is not a good sign.

I don't know if the derma roller would, I've read it is safe to use and I would do it lightly. I didn't even start for at least a month after surgery. The grafts are planted quite deep into the scalp. I have a lot of dandruff on the top of my scalp now (I only had it on the sides prior). It does look worse in the pics because I just combed some of it out prior to taking the pics so it's all over the place. You normally can't really see the white flakes otherwise.
 

Pequod

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The color of your scalp doesn't look healthy, it seems like something is going on. I would stop the Rogaine / derma-roller as it might be creating or making the dandruff worse, or even see a dermatologist. Anyway sorry to sound negative, all I can say is my scalp looks nothing like that in terms of color and flaking skin after a hair transplant. I had a second one 3 weeks ago and it already looks back to normal. Yours seems really pale and unhealthy. You should have had much more growth than you have seen, 4000 is a lot and your front should be close to full. They tapered yours like they did with me.
 

Ibiza4300

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The color of your scalp doesn't look healthy, it seems like something is going on. I would stop the Rogaine / derma-roller as it might be creating or making the dandruff worse, or even see a dermatologist. Anyway sorry to sound negative, all I can say is my scalp looks nothing like that in terms of color and flaking skin after a hair transplant. I had a second one 3 weeks ago and it already looks back to normal. Yours seems really pale and unhealthy. You should have had much more growth than you have seen, 4000 is a lot and your front should be close to full. They tapered yours like they did with me.

I just think that is from the white flash from the camera so close to my scalp plus the fact that I have not been in the sun at all this winter. I'm not going to stop the Rogaine, I've been using it for 5+ years now, I don't want to risk having even more hair fall out. I have only read good things about using a derma roller post-transplant; it triggers the skins wound healing response and produces the proteins necessary for new hair development as well as makes the scalp thicker which is important. I think I just have a sensitive scalp, but I don't think it would have been any better off without the roller.

I also forgot to mention that I applied copper-peptide folligen spray daily for about 10 days post-op then once a week thereafter, then once a month the past 3 months or so... it is supposed to also support new hair growth. I have researched the **** out of everything to do with hair transplants over the years and I trust my own judgement when I say that I have not done anything to sacrifice my results.
 

Hairloss23

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Was done by a robot, that is likely the reason they're not growing the machine probably damaged them or wasn't calibrated correctly to remove then entire follicle. Either damaging it during the removal from donor or implanting it incorrectly to the recipient area.
 

Ibiza4300

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Was done by a robot, that is likely the reason they're not growing the machine probably damaged them or wasn't calibrated correctly to remove then entire follicle. Either damaging it during the removal from donor or implanting it incorrectly to the recipient area.

Well, it was performed by what I would hope were two skilled technicians. Do you just mean the FUE machine? Also, I had a lot of hairs survive the transplant that have grown since the day of the operation, so if the grafts were all damaged I don't think that would have been the case.


- - - Updated - - -

Dr. Maral seems to think my results are very good so far, actually perfect, from what he can tell in the pictures. There was no mention of my scalp irritation as evident in the photos, either, which I think is a bit odd. He also demands that I grow my hair longer and comb it to the side. Yes, I understand this makes the hair look more full, but I think that is exactly what he wants. Whether my hair is long or not has no bearing on how many grafts actually grew in. Keeping it the same length also lets me actually see the true results.
 

resu

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I checked Dr. Maral and the clinic webpage doesn't seem to have any before and after photos of patients side by side, the price is very cheap so there's that risk/reward side to it.
 
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