A Speedy Recovery for a Long-awaited ARTAS Robot FUE Procedure

My first night sleeping elevated was over before I knew it. I woke up with my alarm feeling refreshed, and my overnight oxygen saturation numbers were higher by a point or two, according to my Fitbit. Maybe I snored less? Who knows. First Day After:

The first morning after surgery was the day the bandages came off. I woke up that morning with the same dressing that was applied after the procedure. I went down to the hotel lobby right when they started serving breakfast at 6:30 am to grab from the breakfast and take back to the room. I skipped the coffee (day 6 without caffeine) but got a couple of cups of juice. I had no idea what my head was going to look like under the bandages, so I wanted to get all the public appearances out of the way before the bandages came off. :)

After breakfast, I washed my hands and got ready for the big reveal. I carefully removed the bandages, according to Dr. Lee’s printed instructions. I removed the top first then the back. Not a single graft came out and it worked out perfectly. The gauze in the back was wet with a little tinge of red, but nothing I worried about.

There was leakage overnight in the back donor area. I’ll talk more of this later in the following days, but it caught me by surprise this morning because I didn’t expect it, even though Dr. Lee told me to expect it. :)

I took a shower using Dr. Lee’s special method of washing the grafts and another for the donor area. I was extremely careful being the first day, not being familiar with the process yet.

I got a call from Dr. Lee on his cell to check on me and see if I had any questions. I filled him in, and he said to give him or Jordan a call if I needed anything.

The clear leakage from the donor area continued that day to the point I kept a wet wipe handy to wipe the back of my neck occasionally.

I picked up my kids from school on this day. I wore a blue paper surgeon’s hat that fit very loosely and didn’t touch my graft area. It rested on my ears and forehead above my eyebrows to cover everything up. I may have gotten a few looks, but more wondering if I was a doctor than “What’s under the blue hat”.

This was my first night in my home. I set up a sleeping area on a couch in a guest room so I was left alone. I have been applying a type of first aid ointment from Dr. Lee on the donor area. In the care package were some weeping pads so I wouldn’t mess up the couch if I touched it with the back of my head. I came up with the perfect setup of pillows to go behind my back so my neck pillow hit the back of the couch at the right angle to be comfortable. I had to get this just right, and it took a few tries the first evening, but once it was set up, I didn’t have to move it, and it stayed this way for the next few days.


2nd Day After:

I woke up in the morning with less leakage from my back, but I had to get in the shower to loosen up the area that had hardened on my neck. I’m glad I put the weeping pads down over my neck pillow because there was some on it too. After the morning shower that used the same procedure as the first day, the leaking was much less than the first day. I left pressure building in my forehead area, and I could tell some swelling was coming.

The swelling increased throughout the day, and by the evening, my forehead was swollen pretty tight, and my nose bridge showed signs of it moving into that area.

I slept like I did the night before on the couch.


3rd Day After:

I woke up this day with the most swelling. The swelling in my forehead was gone. It all moved down to my eyes, but mainly in the corners of my eyes by my nose.

I noticed scabs today on my graft area. I’m not sure when they technically form, but they are obvious today.

The donor area is turning a healthy red, and the leaking has stopped. I’m continuing to apply the ointment multiple times a day to keep the area covered.

My graft area started to itch in the evening, but I used a water sprayer from Dr. Lee to help with that. I also took a pain pill to reduce the itching. I was not in pain, but I didn’t want to itch in my sleep and touch my graphs. It didn't itch after this night.


4th Day After:

I woke up today with much less swelling in my nose and eye area, but I still had some swelling that appears as small bags under my eyes. They were not very noticeable, and I could see better today with the reduced swelling. My head feels tighter today, like the scabs are continuing to form. I’m keeping them moist with a spray bottle, though.

My donor area is looking less raw, and the individual graft that left holes when removed are now blending into the rest of my skin like they were never there. The normal skin color is returning to it, and I don’t think anyone would notice if I went in public and saw the back of my head. When I showered today and was massaging my donor area, I could feel a tingling coming back, which is good since the site has been numb up to this point, which is expected.

Dr. Lee’s instructions told me I could sleep lying down tonight, but I choose to continue to sleep elevated. I was sleeping better elevated than normal in my bed.


5th Day after:

Party Day!!!!
I woke up today with almost no swelling, so completely unnoticeable unless I knew where to look. It’s also the first day I don’t feel pressure in my head when I’m leaning over to pick an object up.

The graft area continues to form heathy scabs.

The donor area is a bit tighter. It feels like when I wear sunglasses on my forehead, and the arms are pressing behind my ears. I have to remind myself multiple times today that I don’t have sunglasses on my head.

This evening I have an outdoor public event at a restaurant. In preparation, I’ve washed my favorite trucker hat and test-fit it to make sure it doesn’t touch my graft area but also fits loosely around my donor area because it is still a bit sore. I get dressed up in my best summer casual outfit that matches my hat. It is a 90-degree day, and the sun has 2 hours before it sets, so it is hot and humid. I arrive and find the group of people I’m meeting. They have no idea I had the procedure, so no one brought it up, but I ordered a beer and treated it like any other meetup. I did have relatively long hair before this, and one person commented that I got a short haircut, but I just laughed it off saying t was too hot for long hair, and that was the only hair conversation that I had that night. It was sweltering that night, but I didn’t feel any pain or discomfort on my head.

I came home and showered, and went back to my elevated couch to sleep. I slept great.

I’ll update again in a few days.

My journey began two years ago on RealSelf. I was looking for honest opinions on hair restoration procedures. It seemed like every educational article on Google is some sort of sponsored advertisement. I eventually stumbled onto RealSelf, which gave me the personal reviews, and the doctor answered questions that I needed to begin learning the true story about hair replacement procedures. I am a man of technology, so I naturally gravitated towards the ARTAS robot-assisted FUE method. After reading the reviews and the long history that Anderson Hair Center has had with the ARTAS System, I sent a consultation request through RealSelf to learn more about their hair transplant services. Matt called me from the Center that day and introduced himself as my single contact for this journey. After a light discussion about HT, I was ready to come in for a consultation. I was in Atlanta for business, so we set a date for an in-person meeting since that’s how things were done in 2019. The in-person consultation was amicable and more focused on information sharing than pushing any HT procedures. I was able to get all my questions answered and see the results of many past warriors that passed through these hallowed doors. As Matt described different hairlines and procedure types, he also jotted down questions that Dr. Lee could answer best. Dr. Lee joined us a few minutes later, and with Matt’s help describing the technical side of my desires, Dr. Lee and I discussed my expectations as he traced a proposed hairline across my head. He explained why he was making certain adjustments to compensate for my balding pattern and how this proposed procedure would age with me if my hairline continued to recede. I had a small island of hair on my forehead, so I knew the difficulties of trying to keep it connected to the “mainland”. I was in awe as I watched in the mirror as Dr. Lee worked his artistic talent with my limited canvas on the crown of my head. At that point, I went from a tire-kicking pessimist to a true believer. Unfortunately, I was not able to commit to a procedure in 2019. Then 2020 lockdown happened. Matt and I got back together through a virtual consultation to go over all the figures again. Dr. Lee joined us because I wanted to compare the pictures from the previous year to my current hairline. We reviewed photos and determined my hair loss had slowed, thanks to the finasteride Dr. Lee asked me to take after our 2019 meeting. Confirming that my hair loss had slowed gave me long-term hope, but I could not commit due to the instability of my then career and the burdens added to every family that year. Matt checked in occasionally with me throughout the year. We would spend the time discussing new research procedures in the far horizon, PRP questions, and other advertised hair loss “cures”. He genuinely answered my questions (and some old ones I seemed to ask every time) and always offered time with Dr. Lee if I needed it. The beginning of 2021 was a good start for me, and I was ready. On Matt’s next call to me, we booked a date! Leading up to the date, Matt emailed instructions on preparing for my procedure; the big ones were no caffeine or alcohol a few days before. Jordan called to introduce herself as my pre- and post-procedure contact. She answered all my questions in detail about recovery expectations and the day of procedures. She helped calm me down with answers. She also continues to follow up during the recovery window. The morning of my procedure, Dr. Lee and his assistant Kia greeted me as I arrived at the office for the 2-day procedure. Kia lead me to a private room where I was able to change into a provided t-shirt. We then went to a photo booth where Dr. Lee took a few pictures to document the transformation experience. Kia took me back to the private room with a comfortable reclining chair that maneuver to any possible angle. I will be spending quite a few hours in it. Dr. Lee joined us and began laying out the markings in the recipient area on my head we discussed previously. He was with me the whole time with a mirror in hand, showing me his work as we moved my new hairline around to an agreeable plan. After a stylish head shave and shampoo by Kia, we are ready for the numbing procedure. Everyone on RealSelf talks about the injections being uncomfortable, so I was dreading this part and was quite nervous. It’s like the first impression handshake of a doctor is their ability to give a comfortable injection. I was pleasantly surprised by Dr. Lee’s gentle hand, and the time he took with the first few injections to ensure my comfort. Kia stayed busy staging supplies, giving Dr. Lee a hand when needed, and keeping the tunes coming from her playlist. Once the injections are given, we have a short break for them to take effect. Dr. Lee returned to the room a few times to check on my numbness progression. He then worked for a few hours getting the recipient area opened up to place graphs the next day. We had light conversations during this time, but I mostly jammed out to the music and watched a high-mounted TV with relaxing island getaways. I was given the option to look in the mirror and see the work done at the end of the day. After that, I was bandaged up, and a blue surgeon’s paper head wrap was placed over my head till the following day. I was able to go out to dinner that night and had a lovely meal. I was in no pain, but I took a pain pill to be safe and stay ahead of it. The following early morning, Kia and two other associates (I forgot their names, but they did introduce themselves to me) were ready when I arrived to take me back to the previous day’s room. I could tell the associates worked together well and that I was in good hands. As the associates removed the bandages, Kia asked if I wanted to be awake or sleepy for the procedure. Dr. Lee and I discussed all details the previous day, so I asked to be a little sleepy for the doner area extraction. Dr. Lee was with me the entire time during the extractions as he monitored and adjusted the ARTAS robot. Kia helped Dr. Lee position my head to prepare each extraction site. The ARTAS robot mapped out my hair follicles, aligned itself at a precise angle, and extracted each graph. I was awake but found it easy to close my eyes and dose off if I felt like it. The downward-facing chair was very comfortable and adjusted to my size. We took a few breaks during the process. Once the extractions were complete, I was taken to a larger room with a center chair with microscopes where the associates finalized the separated follicles the ARTAS robot extracted. There was a TV here as well that had a classic movie playing. At this point, my lunch arrived that I picked out that morning. After lunch, Kia got me settled into the chair, and the associates started placing the prepared graphs in my recipient area. I was dozing off during this time, but Dr. Lee checked in on the progress regularly and made a few additional recipient areas during the process. He came to do a final check, and I was given another opportunity to view the finished work before Kia bandaged it up and put another surgeon’s hat on me. Kia provided instructions and a care package to get me through the next ten days. She explained every step to me in the instructions. I jumped in an Uber to the hotel. I ordered take-out from the restaurant in the lobby that night and spent the evening checking the day’s emails and watching TV. I prepared my sleeping area on the couch with blankets and my Dr. Lee furnished airplane neck pillow. I took a pain pill but was not in pain yet, and went to sleep right to sleep till morning. I never was in pain during the whole recovery process and didn’t take another pain pill after this one. Looking back over the whole procedure, I made a bigger deal mentally over getting a HT than I should have, but at the end I'm super glad I went through with it. A couple of tips and additional observations: One day after the procedure, I picked my kids up from school with a blue surgeon cap loosely over my head. Five days after the procedure, I was at a hot outdoor graduation party wearing a baseball cap and drinking a beer. It felt good to be in public again. The scabs came off seven days after the procedure, and I haven’t covered my head ahead since, except when I’m in the sun. Don’t be scared to ask to see the progress as the procedure goes on. I asked lots of times because I was curious. I believe Dr. Lee wants to show his work to you. Dr. Lee maintains a super chill, stress-free environment. I didn't have to worry about anything. Privacy is essential in the office, and the few people that worked with me were friendly and answered any questions about what procedure they were doing to me. I stayed at the Hyatt House hotel about 2 minutes away by Uber that has an excellent complimentary breakfast and a full-service restaurant in the evening. The couch in the room was super comfortable to sleep elevated for the second night after the procedure. They also have a minifridge and microwaves in every room for snacks. I brought some soup and a couple bags of popcorn just incase I got hungry in the room. There are two locations for Anderson Hair Center, which are Dr. Lee’s or Dr. Anderson’s office. My procedure was done at Dr. Lee’s location in Sandy Springs, which is just south of the 285/400 junction. It was easy to find once off the interstate.