FFS with Facial Team - Wed April 6th 2016

[Paula1]

Hi Stephanie,

See you arrived safely in Orlando, well done. Sleep well later.

Very interesting! Did she say why just those specific seasons?

I cannot recall unfortunately but I do know that hair grows better in the spring and maybe taking them later before winter is beneficial. 

They gave me a box of them, but they weren't enough to cover the entire time they recommended, so I ordered another box, which puts me about 50% beyond their recommendations. I may just continue taking them indefinitely, along with the finasteride and the minoxidil. Also looking into one of those laser helmets. The doc I originally had my consultation with (can't remember his name off-hand) said they were originally skeptical, but have decided they're actually helpful, along with Platelet Rich Plasma injections.

Everything helps 😀

Take care

Paula

Stephanie

[Paula1]

Happy New Year everyone.

Had my hair cut earlier today as it grows quite rapidly and I last had it done by my hairdresser 7 weeks ago just before leaving for Spain.

She stayed clear of the hair surrounding my new grafts so as not to disturb any.

It doesn't appear that any have fallen out as they are growing nicely and it's now 6 weeks and 3 days since the surgery.

When I gently touch them, they feel like a crewcut which I once had many years ago ... 😂

Over the last week or so I have been getting itchiness in the scalp around the donor site so as instructed in my post op instructions, I contacted Facial Team's post op team.

They said it's a consequence of the inflammatory process. The tissues after stretching have to recover their position and one of the consequences is itchiness and dryness. They said if it's accompanied by dehydration, there are special pharmacy products to hydrate the scalp and recommended Neutrogena T/Gel which I have just commenced using.

I'll let you know how I get on and post a foto in the next few days of my scalp just after the procedure.

Have a great weekend ... 😀

[Kendra]

That's great Paula!  Sounds like success so far.

Seems just a few days ago you were showing me & Steph2.0 old town Marbella.  Has it already been more than a month?!

[steph2.0]

Hi Paula,

Friday was a month since I was on the table. It seems that some of the grafts in the corners have shed so I'll have to wait until the regrowth cycle on those. The ones in the front feel like Velcro, so I have to be careful about getting close to fuzzy things so I don't get stuck and make a loud ripping noise to get loose. The last scab on the back incision came off on Friday, so it's fairly smooth now. My scalp is starting to loosen up from its previous drum-tightness. The forward part of my scalp, just behind the grafts, was pretty sore until the last few days, but feels pretty good now. No itchiness so far, but I'm a week or two behind you, so we'll see.

The rest of the procedures are healing fairly well, though I'm a little disappointed in the lip lift. At this point it feels like they were a little too conservative, and I wish they'd taken a few more millimeters out. But my nose is still swollen, so I'm hoping that as it goes down it will raise the lip just a bit more.

I'd had two different concerns: they would either make things worse, or would be so conservative that there would be no discernible improvement. The first concern wasn't a problem. I'm still not sure about the second. I can see that the nose is smaller, so I'll just have to wait on that. The lip is what it is...

I'm so glad to hear that you haven't had any loss. That's awesome!

Stephanie

[Paula1]

Hi Kendra,

Happy New Year.

That's great Paula! 

Thank you

Sounds like success so far.

I hope so

Seems just a few days ago you were showing me & Steph2.0 old town Marbella.  Has it already been more than a month?!

It's scary how time flies. Yep that lovely evening we spent together was just over 5 weeks ago.

Take care

Paula xx

[Paula1]

Hi Paula,

Hi Stephanie,

Happy New Year.


Friday was a month since I was on the table. It seems that some of the grafts in the corners have shed so I'll have to wait until the regrowth cycle on those. The ones in the front feel like Velcro, so I have to be careful about getting close to fuzzy things so I don't get stuck and make a loud ripping noise to get loose. The last scab on the back incision came off on Friday, so it's fairly smooth now. My scalp is starting to loosen up from its previous drum-tightness. The forward part of my scalp, just behind the grafts, was pretty sore until the last few days, but feels pretty good now. No itchiness so far, but I'm a week or two behind you, so we'll see

Thank you for your update. Don't worry about some of the grafts going into resting phase, it's quite normal. Velcro is a great description and yes be careful getting too close to fuzzy things ... 😉

The rest of the procedures are healing fairly well, though I'm a little disappointed in the lip lift. At this point it feels like they were a little too conservative, and I wish they'd taken a few more millimeters out. But my nose is still swollen, so I'm hoping that as it goes down it will raise the lip just a bit more.

It is very early days still and I remember back in 2016 that I had concerns like your's. It does take quite a long time for the final result to be seen. With me it was 12 months at least.

I'd had two different concerns: they would either make things worse, or would be so conservative that there would be no discernible improvement. The first concern wasn't a problem. I'm still not sure about the second. I can see that the nose is smaller, so I'll just have to wait on that. The lip is what it is...

Please don't worry too much. From your photos that I have seen, you look fine and it will only get better. You can always get a revision to your lip lift at a later date if you are still not happy. Better to have too little tissue removed than too much. After all my FFS experiences, cosmetic surgery is such a difficult art.

I'm so glad to hear that you haven't had any loss. That's awesome!

Thank you honeybun.

Stephanie

Look after yourself and following your chronicles, you are enjoying life.

Hugs

Paula xx

[Paula1]

Hi everyone,

Wow can't believe it's been 6 years since I last posted on here BUT I have some interesting news to tell you about my hair. I'll tell you all about it in the next few days and in the meantime take care.

Hugs

Paula xx

[Lori Dee]

Hi everyone,

Wow can't believe it's been 6 years since I last posted on here BUT I have some interesting news to tell you about my hair. I'll tell you all about it in the next few days and in the meantime take care.

Hugs

Paula xx

Welcome back, Paula!

Don't be a stranger. We want details! 

[Paula1]

Morning Lori Dee and everyone else in this amazing place.

Apologies that I've not been around to continue my saga but at the end of April I was hospitalised with a suspected heart attack. After loads of tests and scans at the superb NHS Kingston Hospital, I've been diagnosed with Stage 1 Heart Failure but it's not a big deal as all humans are slowly dying from Day 1  😳  ... So all I need to do is pop pills for the rest of my days and I could easily live past 100  😀 Also I have been told to take it more easy and I'll be fine so less night clubbing, I jest of course  😉 ... The other news is after all these years ( 37 to be exact), I've officially "Come out" to the big wide world although many people in motorsport knew about me anyway and NEVER once has anyone been rude to me although many newer participants in our illustrious sport haven't a clue which is wonderful BUT they soon will as my autobiography is coming out next year and I'm in talks already with a film company about making a movie of my life which will be great fun. Oh yes, I recently attended a race meeting where a guy that I have known for over 20 years, I came out to. He was flabbergasted as he had no idea about my medical history which was incredibly "Gender confirming"  ... I was worried that he might not accept me but he was lovely and simply said "It's not what you are, it's who you are" .... how nice and it's made my year so far ...  😎 ... However I digress because since my excellent FFS revisions with FT in 2016, a lot has happened since and in 2017 after my nervous breakdown,  a scalp condition called Scarring Alopecia has been happening which is a very long story so in my next post, I'll tell you all about it and the final positive outcome. So have a good day my friends and back later.

Hugs

Paula xx

PS ... can't believe I started this thread coming on 10 years ago!!!

Welcome back, Paula!

Don't be a stranger. We want details! 

[Paula1]

Hi everyone,

I hope you all have had a good summer. Here in the UK, it's been the hottest and driest since records began.

After a very thorough MRI scan four weeks ago at London's Royal Brompton Hospital, I have had very encouraging news from my cardiologist and my heart is back performing as well as it did prior to my stay in hospital back in April. No doubt medication and my Mediterranean diet has helped.

Anyway on to the main subject, my hair. Since 2017, the year of my nervous breakdown when I nearly died (long story which will be in my autobiography), as you already know, I have been suffering from Scarring Alopecia which unfortunately destroyed the grafting carried out by Facial Team in November 2018.

I have been looked after by the dermatology team at Guys and St Thomas's Hospital in London who diagnosed the condition after a biopsy and I have been on various drugs ever since and will be for the rest of my life.

The condition had totally gone into a sort of resting phase so I contacted my superb hair grafting surgeon Paul Cotterill in Toronto, Canada in the fall of 2023 and arranged a session in February 2024. Before the procedure, he and I discussed the possibility that the grafts might not take and was I willing to go ahead. I decided to go for it and having spent a day or two visiting Niagara Falls and the CN Tower, the grafting was done. I stayed in an excellent and very reasonable guest house close to his premises and one week after the surgery he removed the stitches and I flew home the following day. Oh yes, one day after the surgery Paul washed my hair.

After a few weeks, none of the grafts have died and the session has been a great success so in February this year (2025), I returned for another and final session ( as I had no more donor hair left after the 2004,2005,2006 sessions with him which gave me a fabulous full head of hair plus the failed Facial Team session in 2018, no fault by them, of course ).

The 2024 grafts are well established now and as the 2025 session has also been a success, then all thinning in the scalp will be history I'm so delighted to say.

I was recommended to Dr Paul Cotterill way back in the late 90's by my dermatologist in London and all that I can say is that he is a brilliant surgeon and also a friend. His team are superb too.

You will see my before and after results after my 2006 session on his website:

https://www.drcotterill.com/

Well that's all my news at present and wish you all a wonderful remainder of 2025.

Hugs

Paula xx

[Lori Dee]

That is great news, Paula! Thank you for the update. 

[Paula1]

That is great news, Paula! Thank you for the update. 

Hi Lori,

Thank you, it's a great relief 

Take care

Hugs

Paula xx