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*Treatment results may vary
So if you're reading this then you are probably...
So if you're reading this then you are probably agonising over if it's worth it, just like I had been for years. The simple answer is YES! For me it was quick, pain free and nobody has noticed I’ve had it, even right after surgery.
My current hairline is below - I should also say that I haven't opted for anything too drastic. I'm 39 and want an age appropriate hairline, but one where I can wear my hair any way I like, which is very short at the sides.
I’m now just over 3 weeks post surgery and here's my story and the lessons I’ve learned so far.
1) Choose the best surgeon and check his work
Firstly and most importantly - choosing the right surgeon is key. I had previously booked to go to Dr Rahal in Canada, as when I first considered this in 2012 most UK surgeons didn't seem as good or as experienced. I cancelled that trip due to work commitments, which was lucky as the cost was over 12 grand without flights, etc.
In summer 2015 I knew it was the right time to have it in the UK. The calibre of surgeons available here is now so much better, but you still have to choose the right guy. I met Dr Edward Ball and immediately knew that he was brilliant. He has had FUE himself and the pictures he showed me of his previous work were amazing. He was honest and I could tell he loves what he does. He also had the same priority as me, to make it look 100% natural. The success of the procedure is mostly down to the skill of the surgeon and his artistry and then the team behind him. So choose wisely!
I opted for 1500 FUE to even out both temples and get rid of my receding hairline. Dr Balls explained that FUE would be better for me as he needed to pick the fine hairs for the hairline and this is the easiest way to do it.
2) Liposomal ATP is a must!
Dr Balls uses Liposomal ATP. It's a solution that keeps the oxygen in the grafts and gives them a much higher chance of survival - there's plenty of research on the net to back this up, so Google it. You may be offered the choice, so believe me it's worth the few hundred pounds extra. Otherwise your grafts will be kept in saline between extraction and insertion - AKA contact lens solution. Many UK surgeons don't use this, but it's widely used in the states by the best transplant surgeons and they recommend it.
3) The day of the procedure
I met Dr Balls at his Harley St clinic. He welcomed me and made me feel completely at ease, my apprehension soon disappeared when he drew my hairline and we discussed it - I even got excited. Dr Ball shaved my head but kept it long on top, so after my recovery I could go back to work and nobody would be wiser.
I then met the team who were all really friendly and all my nerves disappeared.
4) The procedure.
The big thing here is does it hurt? Not at all, I actually slept through most of it - seriously I was out like a light for most of the extraction. I did wake up when it started to sting a tiny bit but Dr Ball just numbed me again and I was back off to sleep. I had lunch after the extraction, then I turned round for the insertion of the grafts - Again, I didn't feel a thing and napped for most of it again. The whole thing lasted about 7 hours and I had 1300 grafts in total.
5) Immediately post procedure.
I had the donor area covered up and Dr Ball gave me his post op care advice. Basically don't touch them for 3 days otherwise they may dislodge. He also gave me 2 bottles of ATP solution to spray on every hour in the day and every 2 hours at night for the first 3 days. I got in an uber and was home 20 mins later. No pain at all!
6) Sleeping!!! The biggest challenge!
The biggest challenge is sleeping upright. Sleeping upright in the first 3 nights was my biggest nightmare. I tried my bed by sleeping at an angle on cushions, but woke up on my side and I had dislodged a couple of grafts that were bleeding. So I recommend a chair. Sort this out before you get your transplant, as you will need it!
The next day Dr Balls emailed me first thing to see how I was getting on, in fact he emailed pretty much daily for the first week and then just kept in touch once a week. He's really good at post support, which reassured me that a couple of grafts knocked out overnight are nothing to stress about.
7) Spray, spray and spray again!
Keeping up with spraying the ATP seemed to speed up healing more that I could have imagined. I was religious about using the solution every hour, which is why I think the redness and the swelling went away so quickly. I didn't have any itching either which I've heard is a common nightmare. So I thoroughly recommend it!
8) The results so far…
So my are my pix are below... I went back to work on day 9, nobody noticed a thing! I can see a little redness but nothing major. Not one person in my life has twigged so far. I just can't wait for the summer and the full results to start to show.
My current hairline is below - I should also say that I haven't opted for anything too drastic. I'm 39 and want an age appropriate hairline, but one where I can wear my hair any way I like, which is very short at the sides.
I’m now just over 3 weeks post surgery and here's my story and the lessons I’ve learned so far.
1) Choose the best surgeon and check his work
Firstly and most importantly - choosing the right surgeon is key. I had previously booked to go to Dr Rahal in Canada, as when I first considered this in 2012 most UK surgeons didn't seem as good or as experienced. I cancelled that trip due to work commitments, which was lucky as the cost was over 12 grand without flights, etc.
In summer 2015 I knew it was the right time to have it in the UK. The calibre of surgeons available here is now so much better, but you still have to choose the right guy. I met Dr Edward Ball and immediately knew that he was brilliant. He has had FUE himself and the pictures he showed me of his previous work were amazing. He was honest and I could tell he loves what he does. He also had the same priority as me, to make it look 100% natural. The success of the procedure is mostly down to the skill of the surgeon and his artistry and then the team behind him. So choose wisely!
I opted for 1500 FUE to even out both temples and get rid of my receding hairline. Dr Balls explained that FUE would be better for me as he needed to pick the fine hairs for the hairline and this is the easiest way to do it.
2) Liposomal ATP is a must!
Dr Balls uses Liposomal ATP. It's a solution that keeps the oxygen in the grafts and gives them a much higher chance of survival - there's plenty of research on the net to back this up, so Google it. You may be offered the choice, so believe me it's worth the few hundred pounds extra. Otherwise your grafts will be kept in saline between extraction and insertion - AKA contact lens solution. Many UK surgeons don't use this, but it's widely used in the states by the best transplant surgeons and they recommend it.
3) The day of the procedure
I met Dr Balls at his Harley St clinic. He welcomed me and made me feel completely at ease, my apprehension soon disappeared when he drew my hairline and we discussed it - I even got excited. Dr Ball shaved my head but kept it long on top, so after my recovery I could go back to work and nobody would be wiser.
I then met the team who were all really friendly and all my nerves disappeared.
4) The procedure.
The big thing here is does it hurt? Not at all, I actually slept through most of it - seriously I was out like a light for most of the extraction. I did wake up when it started to sting a tiny bit but Dr Ball just numbed me again and I was back off to sleep. I had lunch after the extraction, then I turned round for the insertion of the grafts - Again, I didn't feel a thing and napped for most of it again. The whole thing lasted about 7 hours and I had 1300 grafts in total.
5) Immediately post procedure.
I had the donor area covered up and Dr Ball gave me his post op care advice. Basically don't touch them for 3 days otherwise they may dislodge. He also gave me 2 bottles of ATP solution to spray on every hour in the day and every 2 hours at night for the first 3 days. I got in an uber and was home 20 mins later. No pain at all!
6) Sleeping!!! The biggest challenge!
The biggest challenge is sleeping upright. Sleeping upright in the first 3 nights was my biggest nightmare. I tried my bed by sleeping at an angle on cushions, but woke up on my side and I had dislodged a couple of grafts that were bleeding. So I recommend a chair. Sort this out before you get your transplant, as you will need it!
The next day Dr Balls emailed me first thing to see how I was getting on, in fact he emailed pretty much daily for the first week and then just kept in touch once a week. He's really good at post support, which reassured me that a couple of grafts knocked out overnight are nothing to stress about.
7) Spray, spray and spray again!
Keeping up with spraying the ATP seemed to speed up healing more that I could have imagined. I was religious about using the solution every hour, which is why I think the redness and the swelling went away so quickly. I didn't have any itching either which I've heard is a common nightmare. So I thoroughly recommend it!
8) The results so far…
So my are my pix are below... I went back to work on day 9, nobody noticed a thing! I can see a little redness but nothing major. Not one person in my life has twigged so far. I just can't wait for the summer and the full results to start to show.
Provider Review
Dr Ball is brilliant! He's an leader in his field after years at Ziering. He's now set up on his own and I believe he's one of the best surgeons in the UK at this time.