Micrograft hair restoration after FFS

[scrambledeggs]

One of the main things I was hoping to fix with FFS is my hairline (actually I'm really hoping it will recover from HRT alone but I don't want to get my hopes up). The surgeon I saw gave me a quote that includes a scalp advancement. He said he could guarantee 0.5" centrally and 0.75" on the side. Nine months after that I can get micrograft hair restoration for another 8k.

Has anyone with a Norwood Type II hairline had this done? I'm wondering if a scalp advancement alone might be good enough.

Also, what is it like growing out your hair when you have long hair everywhere else but tiny short hairs in the front scalp. Do you just look really weird until it evens out?

[Kendra]

I went with a different method, coronal incision - back where you'd wear headphones.  During FFS they transplanted 1,500 follicles from that scrap of skin to fill my widows' peak triangles.  So everything was done at the same time in my case and within a month I started getting turf growing in those corners - and very happy with that.  I didn't think it looked odd at all as I was so happy to see dark stubble instead of shiny skin. 

The line in the first photo isn't a scar - that's a pen mark for the transplant.  The second photo is a month later.  These aren't glamor shots... in the second photo I stood under a spotlight with almost no makeup so the two photos would be similar.  On most browsers, click each photo to zoom in.


May 22, 2018 - 20 minutes before FFS


June 24, 2018

I'm now at 5 months and this has turned into regular hair.  I will be posting detailed photos a month from now when I reach half year post-op.  I am currently 55.

[scrambledeggs]

I went with a different method, coronal incision - back where you'd wear headphones.  During FFS they transplanted 1,500 follicles from that scrap of skin to fill my widows' peak triangles.  So everything was done at the same time in my case and within a month I started getting turf growing in those corners - and very happy with that.  I didn't think it looked odd at all as I was so happy to see dark stubble instead of shiny skin. 

The line in the first photo isn't a scar - that's a pen mark for the transplant.  The second photo is a month later.  These aren't glamor shots... in the second photo I stood under a spotlight with almost no makeup so the two photos would be similar.  On most browsers, click each photo to zoom in.


May 22, 2018 - 20 minutes before FFS


June 24, 2018

I'm now at 5 months and this has turned into regular hair.  I will be posting detailed photos a month from now when I reach half year post-op.  I am currently 55.

You look amazing, both before and after! In my case I'd have to wait 9 months post-FFS to get the grafts done, which isn't ideal but not the end of the world either. I'm actually hoping the scalp advancement might be enough but I always try to plan for the worst case.

It actually looks pretty natural growing in and I can see how your hair would easily cover it. Did they have to take a strip from the back of your head to do that?

[Kendra]

> Did they have to take a strip from the back of your head to do that?

No.  With a coronal incision the cut line is centered above the ears, buried in the hair.  My skull is slightly smaller now (brow ridge gone, etc.) so when things were sewn up there's a thin strip of skin that is normally discarded.  The surgeons handed the strip of skin from the coronal incision to a team in the next room.  They harvested 1,500 follicles from it while surgeons were operating (my nose was done by a nose specialist while a different surgeon worked on my skull).  Immediately after FFS, a hair transplant specialist injected those 1,500 follicles into my forehead.  At that point I was just waking up from anesthesia, barely aware of the transplant procedure and sort of slept through it.

If I'd had a coronal incision without the simultaneous transplant option, 1,500 follicles would have gone in the trash.