Yeah I have done it!

I got my hair transplantation in Brussels with over 2000 grafts now my temples are covered and I got a female hairlibe. Okax I have to wait and see if the hair starts to grow out of the transplanted hair follicles.

I took three days but it was nearly painless. The sitting on the surgery chair was the greatest challenge....sitting for 33hr can become realky unpleasant.

Yesterday was the last surgery day and today I feel pretty good and I do not look that bad.I have no swelling just many red dots in front of my hairline. I choosed to have only patches shaved which is more expensive but from behind I look normal.

I am so happy!  I hope so much that out of 95% of the hair follicles some hairs will grow. But I have to one year to see the final result

Lara

Hi Lara,
Congratulations and I hope it works out very well for you! I did mine last December, also in Belgium but with Dr Feriduni in Hasselt. Mine worked out really well and I had enough regrowth after 6 months to no longer need a wig. I would guess from the hair density that it was I got > 95% regrowth of the transpanted follicles.  What a relief before hitting the summer!
For such a long intervention I guess you must have used the FUE technique? I used the FUT method and had over 3500 follicles transplanted in just one day. If I remember correctly it only took a little over 6 hours.
Just for people's information, it would be interesting to know a little more about what you did exactly?
Hugs.
Donna

I am very interested in this and looking at it myself. Why did you select the place you did?  Would you be willing to share costs? I am looking locally and the cost estimate I received was $3.75 per graft. I was recommended for 3,000 grafts if I want a feminine hairline.  Debating if I want to do this before or after ffs... or do a partial now to get some growth before ffs.

Hi Toni,
No problem sharing costs. I paid 8000€ (about 10000$) for everthing including one night of hotel accomodation and transport to and from the clinic. Dr Feriduni was recommended to me by a friend and if I was you, I would definitely do FFS first, both because it generally includes a scalp advance and because forehead surgery can lead to significant hair loss.
Cheers.
Donna

Yes the FUE technique was used. I prefer FUE over FUT for myself. The hair follicles were taken from the side and the back of my head. The are enough haisr left for a second hair transplantation. A very natural hairline was created using single hairs on the front, follicles with two hairs in the next area and so on. Also the growth direction of the existing hair was considered. I had the feeling Dr. Mwamba is more an artist than a medical doctor.

I choosed Dr. Mwamba in Brussels. He and Dr. Feriduni are able to shave only patches, the donor areas, to get the hair follicles. The receiving area is not shaved. That was very important for me because I do not want to loose my current hair lenght. I also look very normal in my face, no swelling and just a lot of small red dots on my forehead.

I paid 5,40Euro per graft. A decent amount of money but usually Dr. Mwamba repairs areas free of charge if there is not enough regrowth. I got a discount because I allowed that pictures from me can be published.

Nice to meet another girl here which made their transplantation in Belgium

I am not sure about FFS therefore I decided to have the hair transplantation first. It also takes much time to grow the hair.

I could definitely benefit from this procedure but I'm finally too old to care. My thoughts about that would be that it would be something best accomplished after the testicles are gone otherwise it would be smart to use Finasteride to preclude the possibility of any testosterone converting to dihydrotestosterone and eventually killing off any new hair growth. Testosterone blockers like Spironolactone along won't do what Finasteride will accomplish.

You are nether too old to fulfill your dreams and wishes auntie

I did not started HRT but I do take Minodixil and Dutasterid. I helps bit it does not solved my problem. I see only some regrowth.

Lara

Quote from: Lara1969 on August 17, 2013, 06:14:43 PM
You are nether too old to fulfill your dreams and wishes auntie

I did not started HRT but I do take Minodixil and Dutasterid. I helps bit it does not solved my problem. I see only some regrowth.

Lara

Thanks Lara, sweet of you! I think Dutasteride is a good way to go as well. I recall when Minoxidil first hit the market, I overheard two chemists talking about it who said that when it was originally formulated it would grow hair on a doorknob, but here in the States the FDA made the manufacturer cut the strength considerably. BTW -I like your looks, you dress so fashionably and look terrific!

Quote from: Lara1969 on August 17, 2013, 06:05:52 PM
Yes the FUE technique was used. I prefer FUE over FUT for myself. The hair follicles were taken from the side and the back of my head. The are enough haisr left for a second hair transplantation. A very natural hairline was created using single hairs on the front, follicles with two hairs in the next area and so on. Also the growth direction of the existing hair was considered. I had the feeling Dr. Mwamba is more an artist than a medical doctor.

I choosed Dr. Mwamba in Brussels. He and Dr. Feriduni are able to shave only patches, the donor areas, to get the hair follicles. The receiving area is not shaved. That was very important for me because I do not want to loose my current hair lenght. I also look very normal in my face, no swelling and just a lot of small red dots on my forehead.

I paid 5,40Euro per graft. A decent amount of money but usually Dr. Mwamba repairs areas free of charge if there is not enough regrowth. I got a discount because I allowed that pictures from me can be published.

Nice to meet another girl here which made their transplantation in Belgium

Hi again,
That really is a very big difference in price compared to FUT. Obviously with FUT, you have a rather large scar left in the area where the donor follicles are taken, in my case 30cms across the back of my scalp, but the swelling wasn't a big deal. I did the intervention on Dec 21st and was fine by Dec 25th.

Apart from that, Belgium will have played a very big roll in my transition so far since I also did my FFS there, with Dr Van de Ven in Ghent.  I very much liked both Dr Feriduni (an Iranian born German) and Dr Van de Ven who is Dutch. Both are perfect gentlemen and I felt really comfortable in their hands.
Warm regards.
Donna

P.S. I have been on Finasteride since I started my HRT so hair loss had stopped well before I did the transplants.

Thank you for the information! The pricing I received was for FUE, and came to just over $10,000 USD.  I could do a smaller area for $8,000 USD, but would plan to finish the work after FFS.

Donna, the points you make regarding FFS first are well taken. The question I have, and I am not sure I am thinking of this correctly but here goes, is this: "If I should wait until hormones take effect before FFS, then that could be 18 to 24 months or more as I am just starting.  Couldn't I grow my hair out quite extensively with hair transplantation during that time?" Would the risk be that FFS will damage/alter the hairline in such a way as to negate the transplant? Or is it just that I would still need work after, and some of the transplant hair will fall out?

As always, thanks for your help! I am beginning to plan a transition timeline and budget, and this is one topic of particular interest.  My apologies to the OP if I hijacked the thread   Just grateful to Lara for bringing up the topic!

Toni

I decided to start with the hair transplantation because the hair needs so much time to grow. There is little risk to damage the hairline when one year or more are between ffs and HT. I decided to have FUE because I could easily have a second or third HT after the FFS for example to hide the scar after forehead reconstruction.

Lara

Quote from: Lara1969 on August 18, 2013, 09:13:10 AM
I decided to start with the hair transplantation because the hair needs so much time to grow. There is little risk to damage the hairline when one year or more are between ffs and HT. I decided to have FUE because I could easily have a second or third HT after the FFS for example to hide the scar after forehead reconstruction.

Lara

Thanks Lara. That was exactly my line of thought, as well.  Good to know you are happy with the process.  Thanks for sharing! Btw, you have marvelous hair.  So envious!!!

Quote from: Antonia J on August 18, 2013, 12:37:07 PM
Btw, you have marvelous hair.  So envious!!!

Thanks but this is a wig in my natural hair color. I cannot wait to have long and full natural hair. I hate my wig.

Lara

Ah! I was wondering why it looked so good I would love to hear you're updates as time progresses to see how you like it. You're current look is not bad at all.  You look really good actually.

Thanks Auntie and Antonia

Quote from: Antonia J on August 18, 2013, 06:24:08 AM
Thank you for the information! The pricing I received was for FUE, and came to just over $10,000 USD.  I could do a smaller area for $8,000 USD, but would plan to finish the work after FFS.

Donna, the points you make regarding FFS first are well taken. The question I have, and I am not sure I am thinking of this correctly but here goes, is this: "If I should wait until hormones take effect before FFS, then that could be 18 to 24 months or more as I am just starting.  Couldn't I grow my hair out quite extensively with hair transplantation during that time?" Would the risk be that FFS will damage/alter the hairline in such a way as to negate the transplant? Or is it just that I would still need work after, and some of the transplant hair will fall out?

As always, thanks for your help! I am beginning to plan a transition timeline and budget, and this is one topic of particular interest.  My apologies to the OP if I hijacked the thread   Just grateful to Lara for bringing up the topic!

Toni

Hi Toni,
Unless you use a coronal incision for any forehead work you might do, yes you would at least have a scar along your hairline that you may want to hide subsequently. Furthermore, many people experience quite significant hair loss following FFS so that's also something you might want to factor in too. That being said, I can also understand the reasons for wanting to get the hair transplants behind you now.
Other than that, I am really curious to understand what advantage you and Lara see to using FUE. If you are doing a large surface, FUT makes far more sense to me with FUE as a solution if you just need some touch ups at a later date.
Using FUT, I did almost double the number of grafts Lara did in less than a quarter of the time and I have no reason to believe there is any significant difference in the final result.
Hugs.
Donna

Quote from: Donna Elvira on August 18, 2013, 05:35:33 PM

... I am really curious to understand what advantage you and Lara see to using FUE. If you are doing a large surface, FUT makes far more sense to me with FUE as a solution if you just need some touch ups at a later date.
Using FUT, I did almost double the number of grafts Lara did in less than a quarter of the time and I have no reason to believe there is any significant difference in the final result.

Hi Donna,

Good question! I met with the surgeon, and he explained the major differences between FUE and FUT as the following:

- FUT provides denser hair in a shorter amount of surgical time, but may also leave a thin scar from the donor site whereas FUE only leaves "scar dots" that are less noticeable.
- FUT healing time may be longer due to incision, and there may be a period of numbness along the donor site that FUE usually does not have (no scalpel with FUE, as I understand it).
- FUE is supposed to have a more "pain free" recovery.
- FUE can be selectively taken from different spots to "selectively thin" certain areas, and also provide finer hair in targeted areas (like the front)
- FUE is more expensivee than FUT, that is certain, and not recommended for large areas, but as long as I am staying under 3,000 units, I should be okay.
- One downside aside from costs, is that FUE (as explained to me) can sometimes have an 80-90% success rate, whereas FUT is closer to 95+%.   

I think both techniques work fine, as I understand them, and really it comes down to personal preference. I have not fully made up my mind, but probably leaning toward FUE to avoid pain and scarring, and the surgeon suggested it would probably be the best way to achieve the results I am trying to achieve.

Best,

Toni