Dr. Patrick Mwamba (Fue Clinic) - 3.500 grafts - 24th & 25th of May 2021

[captaincalico]

Hey Guys

My name is Louis, I am 34 years old from the UK. I have been reading this forum for many years and decided to share my experience and FUE journey.

I will be having surgery with Dr Mwamba in Brussels next week on the 24th and 25th of May. I had a few consultations with other Doctors but decided to go with Dr Mwamba as a friend of mine had great results with him and highly recommended him.
I have been using a hair system for several years now and decided to get a hair transplant to cover my entire baling area which is a Norwood 5 by now. I will be documenting the entire process with monthly updates on here and Youtube videos as well as I thought it would be cool to share my experience with others and for some moral support as well. I will be doing some filming on the day of the surgery.
The surgical plan is to have two procedures of3.500grafts each. The first one for the hairline and frontal third and the second one for the mid scalp and crown.
I will also be starting medication (Topical Dutasteride 0.1% twice and Minoxidil 5% from FUE CLINIC) to try to maintain and recover zone 3 and 4.
I have extensive balding but a good solid donor and thick hair so we are expecting good results. Fingers crossed

 

[captaincalico]

Hey everyone,

So I finished my second day with Dr Mwamba yesterday (25th may) and i have to say, the entire experience was very relaxed and enjoyable from start to finish.. we even ended up adding an extra 200 + grafts on this first visit, this adds upto 3700 roughly possibly a little more... Dr mwambas team are probably the most friendly and professional people I have had the pleasure of meeting, from the moment we started I was at ease, they work non stop with meticulous precision and the entire process was virtually pain free... ive heard people say the anesthesia can hurt but honestly, it wasn't all that bad, they were very gentle and accommodating to my needs, the first day went on for around 8 hours or so, I didn't sleep very well that night but that is due to my own paranoia, (rolling over and damaging the grafts) so i was extremely tired the next day, which was a little tougher being it was a much longer day than the previous... all that being said, I am already over the moon... we will see how everything goes with the Topical medication and in 6 months re evaluate where my hair is at... fingers crossed it brings alot of it back to life and we either take less grafts next time, or.. I could always use the 3500 to further fill out what has already been done.

The surgery is impeccable, I couldn't believe that I'd had a transplant when i looked In the mirror this morning... virtually no swelling so far and no residue on the scalp, the grafts have been fully imagery leaving no ugly white marks. I also received several laser treatments (4 to be exacrt) over the two days which will help with the healing and recovery! It also gives stimuls to the newly grafted hair... we also started day one my performing PRP which will also help a huge amount, and what is more exciting is that prp can in fact help maintain the new hair permanently after transplant.. no shock loss! But I will keep you updated on this... anyway i am beyond happy and i I attach photos of the work done so far so you can see for yourself how incredible they have performed... I will also be creating a YouTube blog, but I need time yo edit this.. i hope you enjoy what you see and look forward to all the questions .

1st photo is during day 2

2nd is this morning

 

[nicoandgello]

Mwamba is really good. Did he use any BHT on you? Also you didnt upload your postop pics

 

[captaincalico]

Mwamba is really good. Did he use any BHT on you? Also you didnt upload your postop pics

Hey thanks for the reply, that may be an option but we will see how we get on with the head first ! Oh I did but I think there is a problem with the page for some reason.... ill try again

 

[Mr.Shelby]

No oral medication? It is strange after a surgery not?

 

[captaincalico]

No oral medication? It is strange after a surgery not?

I wouldn't say so, the Topical are just as efficient

 

[captaincalico]

Day 3,

Post op

Still looking super clean, no real sign of scabbing which is great, the longer without the more likely you will regain more hairs, my recovery has been excellent so far, no pain minimal swelling. My donor area is probably 2 days from looking totally back to normal. Shampooing twice a day seems alot though, if you are like me it becomes a bit of a chore.... I may start only washing once a day as of tomorrow

 

[captaincalico]

I thought I'd share a before and after.... I have edited the after into black and white just so it gives the illusion that it's totally healed... I cannot tell you how happy I am

I didnt have a mad scientist hair do before by the way haha... I took my hair system off for the picture.... also my face as you can probably tell is still a little swollen around the eyes and forehead

 

[captaincalico]

Day 5 post op, redness is almost completely gone, still no real visible scabbing, i have been more than obsessive keeping it clean ... slept terrible again due to the donor feeling like it was on fire, I have read this can happen, so nothing to worry about, no significant swelling or redness and no blood

 

[captaincalico]

Day 6 post op.. Today I will be travelling back home, I'm healing up much quicker than anticipated which is great! The redness is almost non existent, and scabs are at a minimum, and whatever scabs i have are very small..... I will be taking it easy today, paying attention to my surroundings and making sure not to lift to heavy.... another night of broken sleep due to discomfort in the donor area, it is 100% due to the bruising but other than that it basically looks as though nothing has even happened ! Im looking into buying a laser cap to speed up recovery further... oh and I could swear that the prp has already made an impact on the existing hair ... its looking thicker to me, but we shall see !

 

[captaincalico]

Day 7 post op

I'm back home, everyone cant believe it... its now as though I've not even had surgery! I'm still in some discomfort when sleeping but it is subsiding now. No side effects so far from medication either... i just wish I could start exercising now, and enjoy the sunshine without wearing a daft cap. But that's all just trivial... I am for lack of a better word, ecstatic! A new man

 

[captaincalico]

Day 8 and looking very good, I've been using 5 essential oil combination spray every 3 or 4 hours to keep the scabs soft and its definitely working, hardly looks like I've had anything done

 

[captaincalico]

Day 9 and Improving rapidly... the pain has subsided loads and sleeping is getting easier! I am able to gently rub the area now, but I will continue to just wash gently as I want to give it a little longer to anchor.

 

[captaincalico]

Day 10, things are starting to really clean up nice, the skin is coming off now, looks like couscous ! No blood or anything, I reluctantly started to massage the area to start loosening the dead skin, it's a daunting part as I don't want to risk dislodging any grafts, but I'm sure after 10 days the are secure by now ? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated... ive also received my toppik fibers today, this is another issue, would it be safe to use now or should i wait a little longer to apply fibers ? Also exercise, so many conflicting ideas out there, I'm think of starting my routine again as of Monday, this is 13 days post op... id greatly appreciate opinions on both those burning questions... whats your opinion time frames for working out and applying hair fibers ! Look forward to your answers.... FYI I've not experienced any side effects so far from medication

 

[captaincalico]

Day 12, today I gave my head a proper clean, i was gentle and sure not to catch any hairs in my nails etc, but I think nearly 95% of the skin has come off now, I am actually amazed at how much the new hair has grown so far ! Shame it'll all fall out. I do however have a question, the back portion of the transplant doenst seem to have grown as much as the front section ? Is this normal? It was implanted the day before the front was ...

 

[trialAcc]

Looks like its going to be an unreal result, I'll watch for updates.

Tough to tell what your actual hair pattern was because of the shave, were you like NW5? How long did you wear the system and how well did it work for you? Do you anticipate another FUE in the future?

 

[captaincalico]

Looks like its going to be an unreal result, I'll watch for updates.

Tough to tell what your actual hair pattern was because of the shave, were you like NW5? How long did you wear the system and how well did it work for you? Do you anticipate another FUE in the future?

Thank you, I really hope so ! I was a Norwood 5 pushing on 6 really.... i had the system for 6 years! Was great I was very happy with it... i just felt it was time. In hindsight i should have started on meds years ago and would have saved alot of hair.... ill be having another surgery in 6 months time with Mwamba, for a further 3500 on the back ... but hoping the meds will bring alot of the back back to life, so it may be used to thicken the rest up even more

 

[captaincalico]

Day 15, the hairs are starting to shed quicker now, I'm not feeling as traumatised as I thought I would be.... just knowing they will return thicker and healthy is all I need.... ill probably shave my head on Saturday which is basically the end of the 3rd week so it should be safe to do so. Still slight redness on the scalp but that's all OK

 

[captaincalico]

Day 15 .... still can't tell hairs are shedding but it is progressively getting faster. Wondering if I can wear my little woolen hat now just for walking not exercising? Or is it still too early?

 

[trialAcc]

Thank you, I really hope so ! I was a Norwood 5 pushing on 6 really.... i had the system for 6 years! Was great I was very happy with it... i just felt it was time. In hindsight i should have started on meds years ago and would have saved alot of hair.... ill be having another surgery in 6 months time with Mwamba, for a further 3500 on the back ... but hoping the meds will bring alot of the back back to life, so it may be used to thicken the rest up even more

Nice! Were you actively dating with the system? Some of the new ones look so good my only concern would be actually having people go close up/touching it.

Meds will be huge for you, seems like you have a lot of smaller hairs that could be recovered.