Fue 1800-2300 Grafts. With Dr.******** @ ******** / Athens Greece

[JJJAMESJJJ]

After long consideration and plenty of research, I have booked in with Dr.******** on the 3rd of September 2019 in the new ******** / Cole Clinic in Athens.

A small briefing of myself. I'm in my early 30's and possibly a Norwood 2. Not losing a mass amount of hair but enough to make me feel self conscious. My hairline used to be lower in my 20's. The hairloss started possibly around the age of 25. Typical hairloss. Receding at the temples and the hairline moving back over.

I initially made contact with the B/C clinic after the recommendation on Instagram. Obviously I had done extensive research online and via lots of internet hairloss forums. I am also members of Facebook hairloss groups.

It was a very tough process, to filter though all the clinics around the world. Initially, I would have wanted to get the surgery done in the UK. As it's a very daunting process to fly to a foreign country for any cosmetic procedure.

As my research esculated and knowledge increased, I found that there wasn't many top surgeons in the UK. I'm definitely not saying there isn't any, I'm just identifying that my background checks on surgeons just didn't accumulate to much.

I also did a hell of a lot of research on Turkish Clinics. In the end, to cut a long story short, my main essential questions never got the answer I was looking for.

My thoughts behind choosing between either Dr.******** or Dr.C was purely personal preference. A flip of a coin some people may say. Dr.C has been a innovator within the FUE industry creating industry designed tools distributed world wide and performing numous FUE transplants. He also trained Dr.********.

My thoughts behind the choice of surgeon was souly based on my research. Also the type of surgery I was requesting and the results to back it up. Dr. Bisangas work stood out by a mile in relation to my specifics. His hairline lowering and temple work was top notch and widely documented online. Meanwhile, although I could find lots of Dr.Cs top great work online there wasn't as many (to my preferences) stood out compared to Dr.********'s.

Through many a conversation with my patient advisor Ian Rafferty, I decided to book with Dr ********. I must say, my patient advisor Ian has been top class. Every question (there's been alot) has been answered to a tee. Quick response times, honest and realistic answers. There's no main sales tactic within this process. It made me feel reassured that the patients interests were best at heart.

In my photos you will see the two hairlines illustrated on the photographs. The back hairline is what has been agreed between myself and Dr.********. He did mention that every patient is different.Normally Dr. ******** would look for a minimum distance of 7 cm between hairline and eyebrows. In my case due to facial features he has agreed to lower my hairline by 7-8mm.

The white dotted hairline is what I would have wanted initially, (if possible) but I am more than happy to take on the knowledge of Dr.********, knowing he has my best interests and future mature hairline in his considerations.

I'm going to document my full Jorney on this forum and possibly some others.

Thanks, and I hope this is of some interest on your particular hair transplant journey.

 

[JJJAMESJJJ]

On the 2nd of September myself and my friend flew out to Athens for my front temples and hairline reconstruction surgery with Dr.B. My surgery scheduled on the 3rd of September at 7:45.

As promised by the clinic, a driver was waiting for my arrival in the airport (even though we were 1 hour 30 minutes delayed / late). He then took us straight to our hotel and we checked in.

On the morning of the Surgery at 6:15 I went down to the hotel restaurant where we had breakfast. Avoiding caffeine and drinks high in Vitamin C. I had quite a large breakfast knowing there was a long day ahead. Although the hotel was great, my sleep the night before had suffered. I only managed around 5 hours.

My hotel was only a short 15 minutes walk from the clinic. Arriving at B & C I was greeted very happily from my Athens point of contact Maria. She took me through everything and I signed the necessary paperwork. From that point I went and met Dr.********'s Technician. She took my before photos and handed me my surgery wear.

Once Dr.B arrived, we went off to another room to disscuss the surgery. We also discussed the hairline and any other questions I had. He again was very welcoming, professional and put me at ease straight away. Although it did seemed to be quite rushed as he was a little late on the morning.

During the operation Dr.B was joined by two fellow surgeons from Israel. They didn't contribute towards the surgery, but were just observing, asking him and myself questions along the way. His knowledge is unquestionable in regards to FUE and it was a pleasure to listen in and contribute to their conversation. Both Dr.B and the other surgeons were complementing myself on the unlimited donor area / hair quality I seem to possess. For this reason Dr.B evenly punched one side and the rear of my head. He explained the reasons behind this and I was more than happy to agree.

As disscussed with my UK patient advisor Ian, Dr.B completed all graft punches and incisions. Again the other Drs seemed to be in awe of his techniques and quality of work. All things you would love to hear from the mouths other professional surgeons.

Once Dr.B had finished off, his team of technicians from his Belgium clinic began the extractions of all the grafts. This for me was the worst part of the operation. Not because of the extractions, but the body position I had to endure for quite some time. I was face down on the chair, on what can be described a very hard travel pillow with my neck bent up over. I was later told the clinic are in the process of moving to their new premises and this wasn't the usual chair used. I did have to stop for a few seconds every now and then to stretch my jaw and neck.

A this point we stopped for lunch and I was provided with a meal while the technicians sorted my grafts.

After a quick lunch break at around 3.30pm we were back in the surgery room. The final stretch! Placing the grafts in the incision sites. This was the most comfortable part of the procedure for myself. As I was sat conventionally on my back relaxing, while the technicians completed the placements. The two surgeons from Israel popped in from time to time to watch their techniques. Again they were both impressed.

Overall the procedure was great. The lead upto the big day was well organised and communication with my UK patient advisor Ian second to none. Not only Dr.********, but his team and staff are all clearly professionals.

From the start, I some how had a gut feeling Dr.******** was was the physician for me. After researching on various hairloss forum's, reading reviews, looking at examples / styles of work, I decided he was the surgeon for my desired hairline.

Fingers crossed I've made the correct decision!

Specifics from my procedure :

Punch size - 0.9

Total Graft Count - 2622
1s - 400
2s - 976
3s - 1046
4s - 200

Currently 9 days post operation. The donor area is near on unnoticeable and hairline free of all scabs although slightly red.

 

[JJJAMESJJJ]

Day 10 Update.

A bit of advice needed.

While looking through all the post operation photos and my 9 days post operation photos I noticed two similarities. In both temples its seems like theres a few areas which aren't as densely packed as others. On my left temple - a line type effect. Also on my right - a more of a obvious few patches.

As I haven't hit the shedding phase as of yet I'm wondering if this is the finished density?

Or will this be at all noticeable once grown through? Hopefully I'm just being slightly paranoid about the whole thing and just need some reassurance.

I've attached 4 photographs, one immediately after the procedure and 3 others

Any advice appreciated.

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

Day 10 Update.

A bit of advice needed.

While looking through all the post operation photos and my 9 days post operation photos I noticed two similarities. In both temples its seems like theres a few areas which aren't as densely packed as others. On my left temple - a line type effect. Also on my right - a more of a obvious few patches.

As I haven't hit the shedding phase as of yet I'm wondering if this is the finished density?

Or will this be at all noticeable once grown through? Hopefully I'm just being slightly paranoid about the whole thing and just need some reassurance.

Glad to read about their new clinic. I also had Dr. B doing mine back in Dec 2018 (in Belgium) and the experience was largely similar to yours.
I also noticed what appears to be a slight gap in one of the temples, but not a line type effect as you said. If memory serves me correctly, shedding soon kicks in and the other temple also started to appear gappy. Understandably I was as concerned as you are now, but eventually it sorted itself out and the growth became even.
I was a late shedder and a slow grower, so I really didn't stop feeling doubtful until 6 months or so.
Hang in there, and in time you will be thanking yourself for having made this choice! Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[JJJAMESJJJ]

Hi Rocknroutlaw, have you shared your experience on a hairloss forum showing your journeys progression?

Please send me a link.

It would be very good to view as you sound like you have had a similar start to myself.

Yes I will be updating frequently to document my progression. Thanks for giving me confidence, with knowing better things are hopefully to come in the next 12 months!

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

Hi Rocknroutlaw, have you shared your experience on a hairloss forum showing your journeys progression?

Please send me a link.
!

Here it is
https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/threads/fut-with-dr-b-sanga-3567-grafts-today.119007/

 

[JJJAMESJJJ]

I've just taken a look through your progress thanks for the link.

My main concern is, I seem to have less dense spots immediately after the the crusts left. Also while the crusts were in full force it seemed to take less time to heal. Even the scabs were less dense. I also didn't see any more than maybe 3 hairs in the first wash of the recipient area. This is my worry. One side seems to look fine aside from the line and the other seems massively patchy.

Looking through your thread you are looking great at the two week mark. Evenly distributed amounts of grafts and nothing looks patchy.

I have massive faith in my choice of physician which is the main reason I'm not a total paranoid wreck at the moment.

Did Dr.B place any of your grafts or did his technicians complete this stage for you?

 

[JJJAMESJJJ]

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

I've just taken a look through your progress thanks for the link.

My main concern is, I seem to have less dense spots immediately after the the crusts left. Also while the crusts were in full force it seemed to take less time to heal. Even the scabs were less dense. I also didn't see any more than maybe 3 hairs in the first wash of the recipient area. This is my worry. One side seems to look fine aside from the line and the other seems massively patchy.

Looking through your thread you are looking great at the two week mark. Evenly distributed amounts of grafts and nothing looks patchy.

I have massive faith in my choice of physician which is the main reason I'm not a total paranoid wreck at the moment.

Did Dr.B place any of your grafts or did his technicians complete this stage for you?

Actually my photos were not the quality that you managed so didn't capture the patchiness. I'd say it was about the same as yours with a slightly different pattern. When I was at that stage I did have the bad thought of wondering whether I damaged the grafts by accidentally running my fingers across it etc etc, but it was all fine at the end.
Dr. B did the strip removal for my FUT and the punching for graft sites, then the rest was by a combination of 2 technicians (but mostly the same person, with the other one occasionally helping). This team was top notch from what I could see, and Dr. B did come in regularly to check on the progress which put me at ease.
As for the crusts, my understanding is once they're gone you're in a better position to heal and grow. Inevitably, some hairs fall out with it and it is always a scary sight, but also not unexpected. You'll soon hate the look of yourself in the mirror, but hopefully good result awaits in months to come.

 

[JJJAMESJJJ]

Actually my photos were not the quality that you managed so didn't capture the patchiness. I'd say it was about the same as yours with a slightly different pattern. When I was at that stage I did have the bad thought of wondering whether I damaged the grafts by accidentally running my fingers across it etc etc, but it was all fine at the end.
Dr. B did the strip removal for my FUT and the punching for graft sites, then the rest was by a combination of 2 technicians (but mostly the same person, with the other one occasionally helping). This team was top notch from what I could see, and Dr. B did come in regularly to check on the progress which put me at ease.
As for the crusts, my understanding is once they're gone you're in a better position to heal and grow. Inevitably, some hairs fall out with it and it is always a scary sight, but also not unexpected. You'll soon hate the look of yourself in the mirror, but hopefully good result awaits in months to come.

Thanks, your comments have reassured me. Hopefully again I'm just overthinking and working on the absolute worse case scenario.

Your operation with Dr.B sounded pretty much the same as mine. Obviously yours was FUT to my FUE.

Yes I'm definitely not looking forward to the ugly duckling stage. I'm debating whether to keep it mega short or role with the punches and get through to the 5 month stage, where hopefully I have some ok growth.

Thanks again mate

 

[Kambrira159]

Good read. Will very soon have mine with Dr B. as well.

 

[doyle11]

Why has B.sanga had his name filtered?

 

[JJJAMESJJJ]

Why has B.sanga had his name filtered?

I haven't a clue to be honest!

 

[JJJAMESJJJ]

Day 18 update.

Totally random day to update the thread at day 18. It landed on a Saturday, what more can I say.

I'm very happy with the donor area at this very early stage. Near on unnoticeable. I've had various complements off other guys like us on facebook and hairloss forums.

I'm not looking forward to the dreaded shed stage, it's feeling like it's getting ever closer.

Still feeling slightly less dense on the right hand side of my head compared to the left. I haven't received any feed back on this thread and very curious to hear other professionals or patients thoughts?

I'm more than confident with my choice of surgeon and always have been from the start. Obviously at such a early stage it's very hard to tell and I have been reassured by my patient advisor that I'm looking good, also if for any reason there was a problem after 12 months Dr.******** would review and touch up if deemed necessary.

Directly from the front it looks very good in my personal opinion. I'm happy with my new hairline and hoping it permanently sticks with me through the full process....fingers crossed!

As usual all the photos are taken directly in front of the window, in natural light.

 

[JJJAMESJJJ]

Week 5 update.

From week 3 I started noticing a considerable amount of shedding. Lots of hairs falling in the shower and noticable amounts on my V shaped pillow (I've became quite attached to it since the first week). Still a permanent fixture in the bedroom as somehow I've attempted to using it and a bit reluctant to get rid ha!



Just after week 4 I noticed my shedding phase had appeared to stopped. During and shortly after shedding stopped, I started to see very, very, small hairs appearing through the scalp.



Could I be growing this early!?



I have been quite red and have been advised to use bio oil to reduce the redness. Although I've decided against this as and I'm going to try and smile though this ugly ducking phase as naturally as possible.



Here's a few more pictures

 

[Willie Brown]

Great Job

 

[Kambrira159]

Looks good. I also had mine done with B isanga recently (in Brussels). The back looked like nothing happened after 4 days and redness at the front went away after 6-7 days and the design of the hairline is brilliant. He has a gentle hand. Absolute impeccable so far and best thing I've done in my life.

 

[JJJAMESJJJ]

Looks good. I also had mine done with B isanga recently (in Brussels). The back looked like nothing happened after 4 days and redness at the front went away after 6-7 days and the design of the hairline is brilliant. He has a gentle hand. Absolute impeccable so far and best thing I've done in my life.

Very lucky with the front redness going so quick!. My donor area seemed to be the same as yours...very fast recovery! Have you got a link for your thread so I could view your progress? Glad to hear you are so positive in regards to D r B isnga.

 

[dogman]

what was your cost for that many grafts?

 

[Kambrira159]

Very lucky with the front redness going so quick!. My donor area seemed to be the same as yours...very fast recovery! Have you got a link for your thread so I could view your progress? Glad to hear you are so positive in regards to D r B isnga.

Don't have a thread, but may upload it at some point. I'm a month in and seeing some minor shedding now. Very happy so far.