Artas Hair Transplant Patient - 3000 Grafts

I am a 53-year-old male who just underwent a first-time hair transplant surgery. Chose Dr. Berman of Palo Alto who specializes in the Artas robotic procedure. Yes, I went back and forth among several physicians and procedures, before settling on Dr. Berman. It has been three days since the operation and photos are posted below. Will try to take pictures on a monthly basis (if I remember!). Am nervous (as is everyone) of what grafts will survive and thrive.

The procedure took 2 days, each day lasting approximately 8 hours (1500 grafts per day for a total of 3000 grafts). Pain was minimal except for one anesthetic shot that radiated down my jaw for some reason. The Artas robot extracted the grafts and also made incisions for grafts on top of my head (but not the incisions for the hairline or crown which were done manually). Apparently, the FDA has very recently approved the Artas for implantation of grafts but that's still in the testing phase, according to Dr. Berman.

One thing that the technicians told me while the grafts were being implanted which I had never heard about was that they liked my scalp because it was "easy" to work with. I asked what they meant and apparently (according to them) some scalps are harder to work with than others. I got the impression it had to do with skin density or elasticity or something. Anyway, it's something I hadn't heard of before, not sure if it matters for end results, or how to tell if one's scalp is the type that is easy to work with or not.

10 Day Update:
I am very thankful that I took 2 weeks off for the transplant. At about the 5th day out, I was experiencing some intermittent intense pain in the donor area (kind of a mix between a severe sunburn and a toothache). On the 7th day, I ran out of tylenol with codeine and the doctor was hesitant to prescribe more and instead prescribed some hydroxyzine for night to help me sleep (not sure it was very effective). However, ibuprofen and aloe vera applied to the donor area only helped manage the pain.

Last night, I still had that stabbing pain (which gets intense at night for some reason) but it was much diminished from the night before and today I'm feeling pretty good. After googling around, apparently, this lingering pain from nerve damage isn't common but also isn't that unusual. At the trajectory of the pain diminishing, it will probably be nonexistent in a few more days, but again, I am very glad I'm not having to work under this condition since I took 2 weeks off to recover.

I can't decide if I'm suffering from shock loss or not in the donor area. There definitely seems to be a noticeable zone that looks patchy/thin compared to the surrounding area.

NOTE: I'm giving 4 star rating based on experience with staff, not results, will try to keep this thread updated and will adjust rating based on outcome.

I'd like to reiterate how glad I am I took 2 weeks off. Not only do you aesthetically look much better but if you have any of the pronounced pain side effects from days 5-10, you really don't want to be at work. After 2 weeks, the pain had gone away but my scalp was still sore for about 20 days out. At 30 days, there's some numbness and redness but lessens every day. I believe my recovery 'looks' typical.

I am very concerned about the "moth eaten" look in a strip in the back of my head as well as the sides. I don't know if the Artas over harvested or if it's shock loss of surrounding hair at the donor sites, but there is definitely a patchy look. I wonder if shock loss is more common for those of us who suffer the 5-14 day lingering sharp pain. Anyway, I'll apparently need to wait 3-6 months to see if this recovers (if it is shock loss). If it's overharvesting, there's not much that can be done.

Everyone says the 2 month mark is the worst and I certainly agree. All transplanted hair has shed and back to where it was pre-surgery, although where the temples were bald there is now very wispy hair which looks not very good. My understanding is results don't really start showing until third month so I'll be holding my breath until then. However, the patchiness or shock loss in the donor area is still greatly concerning me. The thin strip on the back can't be unseen but I can feel it, but most troubling is the side which is VERY noticeably patchy. What's weird is I can feel hair stubble there so I am thinking part of my scalp is still in shock and preventing hair growth. However "easy" or "simple" some people may present hair transplant, it is a surgery that traumatizes the nerves in your scalp and you may suffer some side effects (i.e., shock loss). It could be that I'm suffering from overharvesting but again since I can feel stubble there that refuses to grow, I am pretty convinced the scalp is still in some sort of shock.