shookwun
Senior Member
- Reaction score
- 6,092
referring in most cases to graft maturation percentages. At 6-7 months the grafts should all be growing in already, and at this point changing in texture, and becoming thicker in quality.
6 Months Post-Op 4K FUE Hair Transplant... ZERO growth.
- Thread starter Ibiza4300
- Start date
referring in most cases to graft maturation percentages. At 6-7 months the grafts should all be growing in already, and at this point changing in texture, and becoming thicker in quality.
- Reaction score
- 5,209
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:
10 days post-op:
Scalp close up 6 months:
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:
The additional thickness is only attributed to the grafts that survived the transplant and never fell out.
I think what your surgeon did was completely disregard the healthy terminal hair you have been maintaining in your midscalp and forelock and just transplanted through it. I do not see any reason to transplant that many grafts in a region with such density. It is possible he transected those follicles and that is why you are still playing catch up. This is just a theory though, based on what happened to me. You still look a lot better in the after pics, IMO though, it was a waste of donor.
Yeah, I mean honestly it's already been a pretty big improvement but I just don't believe the real growth of new hairs has started yet. To be honest though, the last few weeks my hair has felt a bit more dense when rubbing my hands on top of my head (I keep it trimmed pretty short). It also seems to look fuller in certain angles like when the sun is shining from behind me. When the sun is shining directly on, I don't really notice much of a difference though. So hopefully this means there's lots of vellus hairs that are just starting to grow in.
I actually think that was due to the fact that I was exfoliating all of the dandruff with a comb for a couple minutes prior to taking the pics. That's why it looks red and that's why there's loose flakes of dandruff all over, it really doesn't look like that after I wash my hair. I never thought about that and in hindsight would have taken the pic at a different time.
I'm still on the fence about whether I'm getting results or not. I just don't see anything but maybe for me it's going to be a slow gradual process. As I said before I do think my hair feels more dense. Jury is still out.
- Reaction score
- 5,209
Have you seen a good dermatologist?? Once again, when I saw the before pic, and then the transplantation pic, I was kind of shocked. "shock loss" is s bullsh*t cozy term that hair transplant surgeons throw around. He should have transplanted a modest amount in your crown and created a soft hair line through your receding temples. You ARE NOT getting a lot of density, because your native hair has fallen out due to the procedure. Will it grow back??? I have no idea. You can see it trying if you zoom into the 6 month pic. Most people on here will not tell you that you've lost a lot of native hair because they don't want to believe that's a possibility. 6 month post op from my small hair transplant and my native hair was obliterated, gone for good. I am not trying to scare you, but I have a feeling you have suffered Telogen Effluvium from this procedure which is very common, especially with the extent of this transplant. Get to a derm.
- - - Updated - - -
The GOOD news is, you seem to have somewhat even coverage everywhere, which may look good if you grow it a bit, or do the opposite and go zero guard.
Cue Bald
Experienced Member
- Reaction score
- 933
I thought that 6 month close-up photo was another photo of the 10 day post-op...
I agree that the grafts that fell out don't seem to have "taken"... i am not sure what else you can do, your surgeon can argue from those pics "some hair grew so it isn't a failed hair transplant"
this is why I am weary of those FUE robots, what are they called, ARTAS/Neograft ??
mind I have done some searching and it seems a bunch of people on this board have had good results with ARTAS hair transplant's
I agree that the grafts that fell out don't seem to have "taken"... i am not sure what else you can do, your surgeon can argue from those pics "some hair grew so it isn't a failed hair transplant"
this is why I am weary of those FUE robots, what are they called, ARTAS/Neograft ??
mind I have done some searching and it seems a bunch of people on this board have had good results with ARTAS hair transplant's
LOL that's terrible but yeah, you know I still can't make a judgement call at this point. I have been under an immense amount of stress since the transplant. The past 6 months I've been dealing with an injury and some financial issues. And now I've begun to worry about the hair transplant itself. However, I just got a new job and now I am very relieved of my financial worries and my injury has been recovering. I think this stress might have had something to do with delayed results. Or, I could just be a "slow grower". I never really got any "results" when I used Rogaine, and then started propecia two years later. Although, my hairloss has completely stopped since using the Rogaine.
There may be some good news however, I was doing some research and came across ACell + PRP treatment. This is exactly what I think I need right now:
I can't find a place that seems to do these in conjunction with each other (I found only one Dr. in Phoenix can perform ACell treament with his hair transplants but there is no mention of PRP), but there are plenty of clinics that offer PRP in the area. The cost is $350 for the Acell and $550+ for the PRP. But if this can rejuvenate my hair grafts then it will be worth it. I will be getting both of these done this week.
arfy
Established Member
- Reaction score
- 17
Beware! Just like hair transplants, there are a lot of scam treatments and incompetent clinics. PRP and Acell are both unproven treatments, and there are even guys who claim that PRP made their hairloss worse. Plenty of guys have tried this with no results. However, there are no standards with these treatments (the procedures that clinics use can be completely different). If you get this treatment, do lots of research, and document your results. In my opinion, these treatments are mostly a scam, just like every other snake-oil treatment. Some doctors say hair caliber was increased, however those increases might not be perceptible (and therefore, worthless). If your hairshaft diameter increases .4 microns, is that worth paying thousands of dollars for? IMO, no.
Hi Ibiza4300
Can you please update us on the progress? I am thinking about doing a FUE with Dr Maral and I would really appreciate if you could let me know if you saw better results after those 6 months.
Thanks!
- Reaction score
- 375
OP, your scalp looks red and inflamed and that's not normal and do not come from combing your scalp hard. You can try the same combing on your healthy scalp (sides and back) and see how it looks. It's not the same. I have awful scalp inflammation too and after that test they absolutely don't look the same.
I think the doctor just messed the native hair up. Triggered some auto immune reaction or whatever that lead to the inflammation. God, transplant into a diffuse area hold so much risk... Are you sure you didn't see any shedding (of native hair)? And seriously why would you go for this Dr. Maral? His website really doesn't look so decent and honestly I doubt if many people have heard of his name among those Turkey doctors?
I think the doctor just messed the native hair up. Triggered some auto immune reaction or whatever that lead to the inflammation. God, transplant into a diffuse area hold so much risk... Are you sure you didn't see any shedding (of native hair)? And seriously why would you go for this Dr. Maral? His website really doesn't look so decent and honestly I doubt if many people have heard of his name among those Turkey doctors?
- Reaction score
- 3,815
This result is all about laughable expectations and no research. I can almost guarantee looking at the result that at least 75% of the transplanted hairs grew. Couple that with shock loss to what was already a decimated norwood 5a pattern with 15% of original density in the few covered areas, and this is what should be expected. People get 4000 grafts for the frontal and temple area ALONE and yet this person expects 4000 across an entire scalp will magically bring him back to having his teenage hair. Ridiculous.
100% you got what you paid for. How anyone can look at that result and say it was lower than expected or that "nothing has grown" is completely nuts and should get glasses. He tried to cover a whole norwood 5 area in one procedure with a lower end doctor, this is what one would expect.
The graft placement on the other hand appears to be the real disaster here.
100% you got what you paid for. How anyone can look at that result and say it was lower than expected or that "nothing has grown" is completely nuts and should get glasses. He tried to cover a whole norwood 5 area in one procedure with a lower end doctor, this is what one would expect.
The graft placement on the other hand appears to be the real disaster here.
- Reaction score
- 8,865
shookwun
Senior Member
- Reaction score
- 6,092
there are a lot of variables to consider, but I believe the biggest issue being the surgeons technique and the possibility of having a high transection between native follicles. Compounded with miniaturized hairs, the trauma of transection ontop of shock loss could of put your hair permanently asleep. Could also have to do with graft handling prior to implantation which again could involve poor transection technique ontop of handling by assistants. The involvement of both poor harvesting, and poor implantation could have been the sole reasons alone.
There are many cases that involve people with diffuse loss having hairs transplanted between for a cosmetic benefit. I don't see any reason why the OPs grafts wouldn't grow apart from the surgeons technique, and assistants involvement. permanent shock loss occurs, but its not as common as most think
There are many cases that involve people with diffuse loss having hairs transplanted between for a cosmetic benefit. I don't see any reason why the OPs grafts wouldn't grow apart from the surgeons technique, and assistants involvement. permanent shock loss occurs, but its not as common as most think
Sorry to see this bro.
Your hair looks like mine did in month 2. When did you get this done? Must've been around the same time as me as I hit my 6 month mark last week. I got 5300 grafts, so bigger than yours, and I had less hair. My result has been totally different.
Its good that you followed the initial 10 day rules - a friend of mine ignored the advice given and this seriously affected his growth. All I can say is what others have already touched on - people all react differently to the treatment and you may be taking longer to show progress. Have you contacted your surgeon? What's their take on it?
Your hair looks like mine did in month 2. When did you get this done? Must've been around the same time as me as I hit my 6 month mark last week. I got 5300 grafts, so bigger than yours, and I had less hair. My result has been totally different.
Its good that you followed the initial 10 day rules - a friend of mine ignored the advice given and this seriously affected his growth. All I can say is what others have already touched on - people all react differently to the treatment and you may be taking longer to show progress. Have you contacted your surgeon? What's their take on it?
infinitepain
Experienced Member
- Reaction score
- 357
This is brutal.