2nd procedure at Anderson Hair Center - FUT & FUE hybrid approach

Two weeks ago, I received my second hair transplant procedure from Dr. Ken Anderson at the Anderson Center for Hair. I had an FUT procedure a year ago for 2,4654 grafts. My original starting point was NW4 male pattern baldness loss. At that time Dr. Anderson concentrated on creating a front hairline structure and adding density through the rest of my balding area. In terms of distribution, 1,100 went to the crown, and 1,365 into the frontal area. During my annual follow-up visit, I expressed to Dr. Anderson that my looks had improved but the density was not where I wanted it to be for my full scalp. We discussed doing a density packing session that would require a hybrid approach: another FUT strip in the same area taking a section with the old scar AND an FUE procedure to gather as many additional grafts as safely possible. This was planned back-to-back over a 2-day period on a Thursday (FUT) and Friday (FUE).
First day I arrived at 9:45am and was greeted by the head technician Keisha in the lobby. We reviewed some consent forms and she took my order for lunch (Jimmy John’s) then shortly after that was escorted back to the surgery room. The room was very clean with nice views outside and a large flat panel screen to watch during the FUT procedure. Keisha had me watch an instructional video from Dr. Anderson that explained the procedure and what to expect during the weeks of recovery. It was super helpful and answered a lot of questions that I might not think to ask. Dr. Anderson arrived a few minutes after that along with the rest of the team Keisha, Jada, Tianna, Sherlina, Renae, and Kia. He drew an outline on my forehead to show where the grafts would be placed over the next two days. Next the back of my head and sides were shaved and marked where the linear strip would be extracted. Keisha also drew my blood for the free PRP treatment to be used during the surgery. I received an injection of local anesthetic in my left arm and was unconscious a few moments later. I was revived after the linear strip was extracted and wound sutured together. Dr. Anderson uses the trichophytic closure technique to reduce the overall size of the scar (hair actually grows through the incision to make the scar nearly invisible with most hair styles). The back of my head was bandaged at this point but I felt no pain or discomfort. They brought my lunch order (Jimmy John’s) and gave me about 20 minutes to complete. Another local injection was given and I was out until after the surgery was complete.

I went home with my head bandaged and instructions to arrive back his office 8am the next morning for FUE procedure. Day 2 started much the same with choosing lunch food order, drawing blood for second PRP and watching the FUE instructional video. This time Dr. Anderson gave me two balls to squeeze in each hand while he injected the numbing anesthetic into my scalp where the grafts would be extracted using FUE technique. Again, I received an injection of local anesthetic in my left arm and was unconscious a few moments later. I was woken for lunch then back out again until late afternoon.
Here were the procedure facts
a. # of grafts from FUT (day1) - 2344
b. # of grafts from FUE (day2) - 2808
c. Length of the procedure on both days – 8 hours 1st day, 9 hours 2nd day.
d. Total # of grafts – 5,152
I was sent home with instructions to sleep with head elevated for the first 4 nights. I have a recliner chair in my basement with a large flatscreen TV so I spent all the nights there and some of the days just resting and taking it easy. My prescription contained Ambien to sleep, and Oxy for pain which really helped get comfortable those first few nights. My take home care kit included a neck pillow which is a must to keep the wound area suspended above the back of the char as it was sensitive. You also do not want anything pressing on the grafts for the first few days. My job allows me to work from home so I did try to do a few conference calls on the second day but found myself really tired by end of day. On day 2 the instructions allow you to wash your hair using the “cup method” of pouring baby shampoo and rinse on the grafts but no direct stream of water. It takes a few days for the dried scabs to completely rinse off. By day 10, I looked clean with no remaining redness or scabs. The sutures were removed by Dr. Anderson on day 14 and resuming of normal activities, including sports. At one month out, I do not feel like I even had an operation and can’t wait until I see the full results once my hair starts growing back in a few months. I can’t express how great the process was with Dr. Anderson. He and his staff are the most professional team, always available to answer questions. I will post a one year review with final results in October 2025.