Mane-Attraction

Bald class: 3

Procedure 1

10 Years post op Where has the time gone? A whole ten years have just flown by since that fateful day on May 7th, 2009 when I plonked myself down in Dr. Rahal's chair and underwent hair transplant surgery. It's crazy to think that I'm a whole decade post-transplant and things are still going strong! Since my last update, nine years ago, I have paid nary a thought to my hair, as it really is something you begin to take for granted once the results have grown in and thickened. The transplanted hairs are really robust, too. Believe me, even after a decade they won't just fall out at the slightest breeze or touch. I can still swim, shower, run, dry my hair vigorously with a towel, scratch my scalp with long fingernails - you name it - that hair is affixed firmly in my scalp and is NOT coming out. Occasionally, the odd reminder of a transplant does creep back in -- such as getting my head shaved and the donor scar-line becoming slightly visible or residual numbness in my scalp -- but the overall procedure has been well and truly worth it. One of the best decisions I've ever made. My expectations of where I'd be at this point have also been exceeded. In 2009, Rahal had mentioned that my forelock area would be the next area to thin and disappear. He estimated that my forelock region would only last another five years - which means it should have bitten the dust around 2014. However, I'm very happy to say that my forelock is still alive and kicking in 2019. I was originally using Finesteride and topical Minoxidil daily post-surgery, but after about 5 years, I stopped using the Minoxidil and have only continued using the Finesteride since then (half of a 5mg tablet every 3rd day of the week or so). My forelock area has, perhaps, thinned a little, but not noticeably to the casual eye. I only notice it personally, because my hair doesn't fall exactly the same way as it used to. Aside from that, nobody who I haven't specifically told, has noticed I've had a HT. Even my hairdresser was surprised when I informed her. She said she had noticed the donor scar, but had not linked it to HT surgery. I no longer have any pitting where the transplanted hairs were placed and the scalp redness has long since faded. Suffice it to say, I'm glad I've been able to stave off another transplant thus far and I think this one will last me another half-decade, at least. There's still no hair cloning available yet, either - so that buys me another five years of waiting time (hey, I can STILL hope, right?) The two biggest downsides have been: 1) I never really regained full feeling back in my scalp (transplant area). At ten years post-op, I have bout 80% - 85% of the feeling back, but this is really not a huge deal, as I've become accustomed to it and don't really notice it anymore, unless I get a really bad scalp itch (and scratching doesn't satisfy it). 2) My donor scar has always been quite wide and is noticeable if I shave my hair to lower than a 3 gauge with the clippers. I have seen the recent development of scalp micro-pigmentation - getting small follicle-like "dots" tattooed onto the scar tissue to obscure it. This is an approach I might consider taking in the future. But first I'll wait to see if I need another HT before going down that path. At the end of the day (or should I say "decade"), the results I've received and the staying power of my HT have both really impressed me. When I first got this done, there were basically no people who were 10-years post-op, where we could look at their results and see if a modern HT surgery held-up over time. Well, I'm happy to be one of the test guinea pigs here and make this post for posterity. Here's to having hair! Note: The photos below consist of images taken with both long and short hair, to demonstrate how it looks in both styles.

Mane-Attraction

Bald class: 3

Procedure 1

Haircut 1 year and 1 day Post op So, I decided to get my first haircut in 5 years to celebrate my 1-year anniversary since having HT surgery. Can't believe I haven't had a professional trim since 2005! I decided to go with a short style that's easy to manage, can be spiked forward, and also with some blonde tips for good measure. Here are photos of the results!

Mane-Attraction

Bald class: 3

Procedure 1

12 Months Post op Well, I've reached the 12 month mark. Seems like the time has just flown by and now I have a full head of hair! One year onward from sitting in Dr. Rahal's hotseat, I can say that my results haven't thickened much more since the 8-Month mark, but I had already considered my results to be above average at 8-Months anyway, so all-in-all, things seem to have evened out over time. Right up till the 12-Month mark, I have continued to feel small bits of stubble (new hairs?) coming through the scalp, so I presume that subtle growing and thickening has still been taking place the entire time. I'm really pleased with the 'final' results. The left side seems to be a little thicker than the right. The techs experienced some 'oozing' in the right temple area when they were putting the grafts in which slowed down the process a bit, so perhaps not as many grafts survived on that side. Nevertheless, the appearance of hair growth/distribution looks evenly-spaced to the casual eye and not a single person suspects I've had any work done. Numbness has been present on the top of my head the entire 12-Months. Only in the past month or so have I gradually started to get some feeling back there. It feels so nice to finally be able to scratch my head and relieve an itchy scalp once more! Interestingly, I have discovered that hair loss must not have really been psychologically bothering me all that much prior to my surgery. Because unlike others, my successful results haven't really boosted by confidence or morale above the level that they were at previously. I guess this experience was more about what was personal to me, rather than going through it due to what others might think of my appearance. Looking forward, I would like for a little more thickness in the temple and hairline (hey, who wouldn't!?). I attribute this not to my surgery, but mainly to the fact that I have very fine, light hair, so I'm guessing more of it, densely-packed, is required get a proper illusion of thickness. If I were to get another procedure at some point in the future, I'd also like to maybe lower the hairline by about a finger-width and also define the temple-angles a little better. But I'll most likely wait a few more years to see if any more hair on top of my scalp wants to fall out before deciding what to do next. Hopefully, by that time, that magical solution known as "hair-cloning" will be a reality (well, I can hope!) In conclusion, it was extremely worthwhile getting HT surgery done, and quite an interesting journey to boot. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who's concerned about their hair-loss, with the caveat that they spend the time researching modern HT's and choose a good surgeon who has a reliable track record.

Mane-Attraction

Bald class: 3

Procedure 1

8 Months Post op At 8 months post-op, I can say that I'm very glad I traveled to Canada and went through with this surgery. I'm extremely pleased with my results to date, and while I don't consider my HT to be absolutely flawless, I do find the cosmetic difference from my pre-op days to be utterly astounding! The good: -To the casual eye, I have full coverage in all lighting conditions. Even in harsh lighting, the transplanted hair (mixed with the native hair) falls in such a way that it shields most elevated light from directly hitting my scalp. -It seems that over 90% of my grafts have grown. The left side is a tiny bit thinner than the right, but only when looking very closely. From afar, there's no discernible difference. And at only 8 months, I guess further thickening is still occuring too! -My donor scar (which didn't close optimally and is wider then usual on the left side of my head) is now a complete non-issue. With my hair shaved to a 3 guard, the scar cannot be seen at all, even in harsh sunlight. Fortunately, my hair grows out at an angle that completely obscures the scar, even when cut at a very short length. I did not encounter any issues with hair growing through the tricho scar at different angles or texture to the surrounding hair either. No hat hair effect for me! The not so good: Note: These things are nitpicky, but I wanted to include them in order to reinforce that there are always two sides to getting a HT. -The top of my head (recipient area) is still fairly numb at 8 months post-op. I was hoping this would be a non-issue by now. However, it's more of a minor inconvenience than anything else, and seems to be s-l-o-w-l-y improving little by little each month. -The angulation of the transplanted temple hairline hairs isn't perfect. They stick up a bit higher than my native hair. When getting out of bed this is especially noticeable, and it takes a bit of styling/brushing to get them to fall the right way and match the native hair. The transplanted hair is still a bit wiry, so using a hair straightener does wonders. Maybe these transplanted hairs will 'flop' more naturally once they become finer after going through a few growth cycles. Who knows? -When looking very closely at the hairline area, some pitting is evident and so is some discolored scar tissue where the hairs were transplanted. In certain lighting conditions (and at night when it's dark) the redness of my scalp is visible through the hair in room lighting. Again, with more time and hair maturation, I'm hoping these things will improve. All of these 'cons', however, are personal things that nobody else has ever noticed or commented on. They only affect me, and I'm my own harshest critic! Conclusion to Date My overall conclusion to date is that my HT has been a very positive experience, and I'm very glad that I went ahead with it. The density of my transplanted hair is exactly what I would expect it to be, in consideration of the number of grafts I received and the area covered. Dr. Rahal did a superb job and make no mistake about it -- any 'cons' I have mentioned are easily outweighed by the overwhelming positive aspects. I'm waiting with bated breath to see what kind of changes I can expect from 8 months to 1 year!

Mane-Attraction

Bald class: 3

Procedure 1

4 Months Post op Growth has really kicked into top gear for me between months 3 and 4. It has been interesting waiting and waiting for the first signs of growth over the first 3 months, which all amounts to nothing -- and then suddenly seeing a transformation take place almost overnight!I'm no longer wearing a baseball cap. I removed it weeks ago and almost instantly started receiving baffled glances from people. My sister was the first to comment (she had previously seen me with longer hair). She said, "I think your hair looks much better like that!" and then kind of did a double-take and said "Is that thicker?!" I just shrugged it off and said I guess it must be an optical illusion caused by the shorter haircut! My dad (who knows about my surgery) was in the room at the time and chuckled at this.Though the transplanted grafts are growing in quickly now, they are still pretty thin and fine. When looking at them from the front, they seem thicker. But when viewed from the side, they are almost see-through. Also, when my recipient area is examined up-close, there seem to be bare patches of scalp where no hairs have broken the surface yet. These barren areas are located behind the hairline, further toward the back where my former temple points use to be. It's obvious that I still have many months of growth and thickening ahead.In the back and sides of my head, the donor area is still a little tender. But I would say 85% of the feeling has returned. It's gradually coming back, very slowly. On the top, the temples are slowly regaining more feeling, but the top, center is still mostly numb. I'll be glad when the feeling returns there!I'm very impressed with my graft growth to date, especially for only 4 months. However, with the good also comes some bad. It seems my donor scar may have stretched as wide as 5mm in some points and it would probably be noticeable if I shave my hair down to a lower guard number (though, I haven't tried it yet). Bare in mind that I followed Dr. Rahal's post-op instructions to a T. I performed scalp exercises for 4 months prior to my surgery date, I played it extremely careful and haven't done any heavy lifting or performed any strenuous activity since my surgery in May, I washed the donor scar twice every day and kept it very clean, I slept upright, and I even put Polysporin on it to aid healing. Despite all of this, it seems my scar has still stretched, and I wanted to make mention of this to educate potential patients that even if you choose a top Doctor, even if you do EVERYTHING right and follow the most optimal instructions, scar stretching can still happen! Of course, I am still in the early stages. My scar is still quite red and the shockloss is only beginning to grow back. Dr Rahal has asked me to wait another few months for the redness to subside further and also to let some of the hair grow through the tricho-scar. However, I can certainly see that there's unquestionable stretching in the portion of the scar above my right ear (the area I mentioned having trouble with in earlier blogs). Kind of annoying since I like to keep my sides short, and had been contemplating FUE due to concerns about this.Still, I'd rather have hair on the top of my head and slightly larger donor scar, than no donor scar and be bald. Let's see what the coming months hold. Exciting times! 

Mane-Attraction

Bald class: 3

Procedure 1

3 Months Post op 3 months in and things are starting to take a turn for the better. An amusing story... I had to fly to the US for a presentation 2 weeks ago and at that stage, my transplanted hair was still very short and wispy, and the surrounding native hair wasn't providing enough coverage to disguise the recipient area. So I decided to buy some Toppik for the occasion. Unfortunately, the only place I could find that sells the stuff in Melbourne was Dr. Barry White's office. His company seems to be the official Australian outlet for it. I had mixed feelings about purchasing anything from Dr White, considering the sub par transplant work his clinic seems to do... but in the end, I really needed the Toppik and his company seemed to be the only place to get it, so I bit the bullet. The woman behind the counter offered to sprinkle some Toppik on my hair before I paid, in order to do a color match. After I decided on the light brown color, she began to subtly pitch hair transplant surgery to me as a better solution. I got quite a kick out of that! Either it means that Dr. Rahal's work is so good that his work is undetectable to others in the industry (even at this early stage) or that Dr. Barry White's work is so bad that even his own staff do not know what a real hair transplant looks like! Perhaps a little of both? While I was in the States I was far too busy to check my hair every second of the day, and by the time I returned home, I was surprised to find that my transplanted hair was noticeably longer and thicker on the day of my 3 month surgery anniversary. The donor scar finally seems to be covered up by hair on all sides of my head, although the width of the donor scar on the left side still concerns me when the hair is pulled aside. Hope the shocked hair will grow back soon and start to improve the appearance in that area.The recipient area on the top of my head is now well disguised by the surrounding native hair -- so much so, that it's hard to get decent photos of the transplanted grafts without pulling the native hair really far to the side. The transplanted hair is thinly growing in and is already quite long and is also getting darker by the day. I don't think I'll need to wear a baseball cap around much anymore. It's time to start gradually and subtly weaning friends and family members onto the fact that I'll have hair soon by removing the cap forever and allowing them to see it grow, even if they don't notice the gradual day-by-day process. Should be fun to see the reactions I get!I don't really have much numbness in the donor area, but it's still a bit tender to lie on. I'll be glad once the tenderness subsides for good. The recipient area is still nearly completely numb on the very top of my head. My temples are partially numb, yet the feeling is starting to return there and the recipient area isn't tender like the donor.I'm pleased with my progress so far and am glad to have finally reached the end of the doldrums period. I'm looking forward to see what's in store for the next month. Watch this space... 

Mane-Attraction

Bald class: 3

Procedure 1

2 Months Post op I know most people say that the first few months seem to drag on forever, but time seems to have flown by quickly for me. It seems like just last week since I was sitting in Rahal's chair!In any event, today marks my 2 month surgery anniversary and if the reported timeline is to be believed, my halfway point through the doldrums stage. As is to be expected, there's not an overly large difference since my 1-month update photos. It seems that a few of the transplanted hairs that didn't shed are beginning to show initial signs of growth -- nothing major yet, though. I've been getting only a few small pimples in the recipient area and am not sure whether to expect an onslaught in the weeks ahead. The redness on my scalp is clearing up bit by bit, though I'm still wearing a hat in public because my native hair isn't long enough yet to cover the transplanted areas.My donor scar is healing well on the right side of my head, but I'm a little concerned that the left side seems a bit wider and more visible due to shock loss. I haven't cut or trimmed my hair since surgery as I wanted the native hair to cover the scar until my results grow out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the shocked hair surrounding the donor area will grow back and that the appearance of the scar on the left side of my head will improve drastically in coming months.I tried to take the photos below in the harshest conditions possible. The first bunch were taken with wet hair, just after stepping out of the shower and the flash was used. The second set were taken in direct sunlight with no flash. (Thankfully it was a sunny winter's day!)I still have a fair amount of numbness in my scalp. Though the sensation does seem to be gradually returning from the front and working its way back over time. The area where my transplated hair meets my native hair is still 90% numb. The feeling has nearly fully returned in my donor area at the back of my head (the sides are already 100%). I feel more tenderness there than numbness at this point.I'm excited that the coming month or so should see me approaching the turning point -- Hopefully that'll occur sooner than later and that my next blog entry will be written by a hairier person. Till then!

Mane-Attraction

Bald class: 3

Procedure 1

1 Month Post op I've reached the 1 month mark and aside from a large number of hairs falling out (as anticipated) there's not a whole lot to report. I have well and truly entered the doldrums stage and will be donning the baseball cap for the foreseeable future. At least I'll have enough work to finish and deadlines to meet in order to keep my attention diverted over the coming months. That should help a bit!In terms of healing, my donor scar is still quite red and noticeable, particularly beneath the scar line on the left side of my head where there's some evident shock loss. I also had what felt like an ingrown hair irritating the scar above my ear. So I shaved the hair around the scar down in that small area and now the inflammation appears to have cleared up. However, as a result, I now have a hairless patch surrounding that area of the scar. I am hoping that the hair above the scar will grow quickly now to cover and camouflage the donor line. On top, there's still a fair amount of redness and most of the hairs have gone AWOL. My entire head was shaved almost cueball-bald on the day of surgery, and one month later, it still hasn't grown long enough to cover the redness nor the areas where the transplanted hairs have shed. I have a feeling My Oakley cap's gonna become my new best friend... The numbness is almost entirely gone from the back and sides of my head, but the entire recipient still has no sensation.

Mane-Attraction

Bald class: 3

Procedure 1

2 Weeks Post op: Suture removal The past two weeks since my surgery date seem to have flown by! I had my sutures removed today at a local clinic. Aside from a few small tugs and minor pinches the stitches came out easily. 15 minutes later my head felt great to finally be free of them. Both the nurse and doctor who I spoke with at the clinic were amazed at the intricacy and detail of the hair transplant work and said that the results look great which was nice to hear! The nurse said she had never seen (or removed) sutures quite like these before and found the experience of removing them to be very interesting. Aside from that, a few hairs up top are starting to shed, signifying that the great follicular exodus draws nigh. I also seem to have acquired a minor amount of shock loss on the left side of my head, above the ear. This area was always more red and tender than any other place along the donor scar and wearing a baseball cap always put pressure on it. I think a suture knot was causing the irritation, so hopefully it'll clear up now that they've been removed. Even though I had planned to discontinue minoxidil forever, after 2 weeks of "umm'ing and ahh'ing", I decided to start back up on it again. The hair loss in my mid-scalp region only really picked up when I ceased minoxidil last time. So I'm hoping that by going back onto it again (the foam), I can hold the rest of my mid-scalp and crown hair for a longer amount of time, in order to stave off another hair transplant for a while yet. Besides, Dr. Rahal's post-op instructions recommend it for the transplanted grafts anyhow... might as well maximize my chances of having great results.

Mane-Attraction

Bald class: 3

Procedure 1

1 Week Post op Here are a few pictures of my progress 7 days post-op. I experienced quite a bit of swelling (thankfully, now gone) which caused some bruising and contusions on my face and neck after the swelling subsided. In my final post-op appointment, Dr. Rahal said that I bruise very easily.In these photos below, I still have a few scabs in the recipient area, but these all came off the following day. I'm very happy with the shape of the new hairline and my scar seems to be healing quite well with very minimal scabbing and no oozing whatsoever.  I have been using Polysporin (which I picked up in Canada) on the donor scar and washing it twice daily.I'm also quite surprised at the small amount of post-op "redness" I'm experiencing on my scalp, particularly since my surgery was bloodier than most and also because my complexion is very pale. Fingers crossed it will only continue to fade!

Mane-Attraction

Bald class: 3

Procedure 1

Journey to Ottawa and Surgery Day I awoke early on the 4th of May 2009, after only 4 hours of sleep. Boarded my plane at Melbourne's Tullamarine airport at 10am. As I walked through the metal airport security gates, I knew that there was no turning back and I was really going through with this Hair Transplant gig! After a 4 hour flight, the plane stopped in Auckland, New Zealand with a stop-over of several hours. Then, jumped back on the plane from NZ direct to Los Angeles - all up, 17 hours of flight time just there!Upon arriving in LA, I was scrutinized very carefully by a rookie customs official who was apparently still learning the ropes. Had to go into immigration for questioning, as they got my passport confused with someone of the same namesake who had been running drugs into the United States via the Caribbean. Yikes! I thought they were going to put me on the next flight back to Australia and that I'd miss my appointment with Rahal. But to cut a long story short, after much inconvenience I was allowed to proceed. Another four hours later, I boarded my flight from LA to Toronto, which took 4.5 hours. Started watching Valkyrie with Tom Cruise mid-flight, which was almost enough to put me to sleep... but not quite. I think I was analyzing Mr Cruise's hairline most of the time, rather than comprehending the actual film.After reaching Toronto, I had yet another waiting period of 1.5 hours. I was also questioned by customs and immigration at Toronto's Pearson airport and had to tell the immigration dude about my HT procedure. The customs officer really perked up when I mentioned that I was staying at Adam's Airport Inn, because apparently he'd stayed there himself on the one and only occasion he'd been to Ottawa. I guess that must have earned me some brownie points with him, because he let me through right after that. All in all, I found customs coming into Canada to be much, much better than those coming into LA!Finally, I was onto the final stretch of my very arduous journey -- the one hour flight from Toronto to Ottawa. As the plane touched down in Ontario, everything felt a little surreal. I had been in transit for over 24 hours and awake for even longer. I was mere minutes away from the fabled Adam's Airport Inn and Bank Street, which, until that point in time, had only existed to me on the virtuality of the Internet. After escaping the very last airport I jumped into a taxi and moments later, I arrived at the inn, greeted by that huge, red, glowing sign! Inside I was greeted warmly by Jallal, the night manager. He gave me a tour of all the facilities, and finally the key to my room. Sorry about the rambling, but the point of all the above preamble is to provide an accurate and honest account of the amount of travel and inconvenience I was willing to endure in order to ensure I received top results from a top Doc. Seriously, I consider all of these inconveniences to be minor in light of the benefits a Rahal HT can provide, and even if I had to go through it all again, I still wouldn't have had it any other way.Anyhow,After setting up my laptop, settling into my hotel room, and having a shower, I went to sleep, ready to begin the next phase of my follicular journey...I spent the next few days familiarizing myself with the Bank Street area. Stocked up on food, snacks, and drinks to put in the mini-fridge in my room, so that I'd have a stockpile of supplies post-surgery. I also walked from Adam's Inn to Dr. Rahal's office a few times, in order to time myself and judge the distance. It took about 35-40 minutes. Not bad, and I actually prefer to walk both for the exercise benefits, and so as not to overspend on taxis unless it's absolutely necessary! Cabs seem to be quite expensive in Canada.My pre-op consultation day arrived and I met Adrian and Dr. Rahal for the first time. Both were great! Adrian was extremely helpful and accommodating. It's very settling to be in his presence, as his un-salesman-like, truthful approach when answering the plethora of questions thrown at him (both about your own surgery and his) really puts you at ease. This is a guy who understands what it's like to be in the shoes of a balding male, and I found his attitude to be most refreshing. Adrian also gave me a tour of the front and back of his head. When I mentioned that this was the first time I'd ever seen a HT in person, Dr. Rahal joked that he hoped I wouldn't cancel the surgery now and run out the door! In all honesty, I have to say that Adrian's hair looked fantastic. He also had a totally undetectable donor scar, and I was excited to be able to see some of Dr. Rahal's handiwork in the flesh. Dr. Rahal and I went over my plans, goals, and expectations. I mentioned to him that I wanted a lowered hairline and he said we'd need to measure it the next day to see if it would look symmetrical with my face or not. After filling in the consent forms, I caught a cab back to the inn, took a Temazepam pill, and went to bed early to I could get up for my 6:30am surgery the next day. I had no qualms sleeping the night prior to surgery at all. No anxiety, no fears. no doubts. Nothing. I woke up nice and relaxed!I have to say that I was never the slightest bit nervous in the lead-up to the surgery, and the same was true on the day of my surgery. I awoke and headed down to Rahal's clinic in the service of good old "Mo", the Rahal token cabbie. He reassured me that Dr. Rahal was the best, and that he has driven tonnes of satisfied patients back and forth over the many years. This was very good to hear, as it only solidified in my mind that I had made the correct choice of Doctor. I had no major doubts going into the surgery, although I did have a bunch of questions and comments for Dr. Rahal!  Upon arrival, I had a good chat with Adrian for about 15 minutes, while Dr. Rahal prepared. When he was ready, I went into his office and we started designing my hairline. Dr. Rahal measured my facial dimensions and then strictly cautioned me that he wouldn't want to lower my hairline any further than approximately half a cm down my forehead, due to the chance of future increased loss in the crown later on.  Now, I must state here that a lowered hairline is something I REALLY wanted going into this HT, so I tried to push Dr. Rahal for it, but he said that it really wouldn't be a good idea since his main concern was framing my face naturally, and that the new fringe (bangs) he was going to place in the receded areas would do a LOT to give the appearance of a lower hairline.  At this point, I decided to shut up and listen to Dr. Rahal's advice, as I realized he really was doing what was in my best interests based on thousands of prior surgeries, which was very admirable of him!  He actually did end up bringing down the right side of my hairline slightly more than the left, in order to match the bone structure in my forehead. He made the hairline nice and stagge

Mane-Attraction

Bald class: 3

Procedure 1

Pre op photos My hairline as a 21-year-old, back in '98! Here are a random assortment of pre-op pictures that show my current degree of hairloss. My goal with Dr. Rahal is to have a hair transplant of approximately 3,500 grafts into the hairline, temples, and mid-scalp region in order to rebuild the hairline and increase density.