Hi everybody,
I am the italian patient
sorry if I did not write before, but I'm a bit shy and I'm not very familiar with forums.
My first comment is to say publicly thanks to dr. Cole and his wonderful staff for the great work they did on my head
The operations really changed my mind and my life, and, after many years of hair-losing, I could finally live a long period of hair-growing in places where before there was just the desert!
What can I say more? Results are very natural, I had a very light and no problematical post-op, hair and bht are still growing. I'm completely satisfaied. Thats all.
Sorry for my poor english. If there are questions, I'd be glad to try to answer.
Ciao a tutti!

Original post and results:

http://www.forhair.com/hairtransplant/topic1375.html 

Hi Dr. Cole, hope all is well. It has been some time since I checked in with you, and I wanted to pass on some impressions of my progress.

The good news is that things continue to improve up there on the 'ol head. I just came from a professional conference, and I hadn't seen some of my colleagues for some years, and also met many new people. The new people I met didn't seem to notice anything about my head (the dreaded stare at one's pluggy scalp I was so accustomed to). That was a good experience.

More often than not, however, people commented on how "healthy" I looked, especially people who hadn't seen me for some time. They said that couldn't quite put their finger on it, but that I looked "younger" than they had seen me . . . .I pointed out that I have more grey hair than I did years ago, so how could I look younger? This seemed to puzzle people, and many just said that they couldn't quite figure it out, just that I looked strong, good, and healthy. Not too bad, huh?

I presented an academic paper before 500 or so people one of my last days at the conference, and while this was something that I would have avoided like the plague for the past 7 or so years (as the plugs became more and more obvious), it was a breeze and I enjoyed it. One person asked if I had taken a public speaking course or something. Of course I didn't tell them that it was as simple as getting some of my confidence back after shattering it with my bad decision to go to Bosley inc. all those years ago. Thus, in a way, with the boost provided by removing the plugs, I am simply starting to remember "who I am", rather than continuing to allow myself to be the insecure person I had become, due to the bad HTs.

In reference to my noggin, things continue to improve. Growth in the linear scars continues, I can shave down to a number 4 now in back without much showing, and this is a major improvement. The front is also looking good, I can style it with much less evidence of bad HTs. There are about 5 or so plugs that are still visible, and two areas of the hairline that while not pluggy, are still a bit "patchy" (the very front, to the right) and the left temple. Under bright neon lights, I have seen a wandering eye or two as well. However, I know that for my type of repair, 7 months out is not the end of the story, and thus I continue to hope for additional improvement.

Again, thanks for the extra mile you worked on my head, it has really made a difference.

Best Regards"

My experience at IHTI was amazing. I was there for about 3 days or so back in October of 2005. It was almost like a dream; it was a dream, really. I was a little nervous a first obviously because this was my first time but just looking ahead at what was to be really gave me the courage to go through with the surgery, and at the end, it turned out better than I expected.

It's been about 7 months now since the surgery and I am so satisfied and this is just the beginning. I really miss Alpharatta and everyone at IHTI and can't go back and visit them all. The experience was more than a life changing experience for me because I met so many great people there at the clinic that really care about you and your well being. My life has changed now. I don't worry about hairloss anymore, it's the other things like traffic, work, etc, but when I look back at the way my life was and the way I felt when I was losing my hair, these things are really mundane. I feel as though as long as you feel good about yourself, you'll view the world in a more positive way. This does not mean that everyone should go out and get a transplant; it's not for everyone, actually. Some people might be satisfied with the way they look even if they're losing their hair. However, some people look in the mirror who are losing their hair and don't really want to look different, but want to look the way they did when they had hair. Thanks Dr. Cole and everyone at IHTI.
This journey has been one of the greatest experiences of my life!!!!!!!!!!!!

 You can find photos of my results here:

http://www.forhair.com/hairtransplant/viewtopic.php?t=877

Ocassionally, they will ask if I've been using a new hair product. Those are only people who have known me a long time and see me infrequently.

As for the results, yes, I got the expected results and then some. I am often mistaken for being in my late 20's. (I'm 37 next month). It takes about 8 or 9 months for new hair to start to show (after your surgery).

After a year, it will be all grown out. You will look in the mirror and notice a difference one day and realize it worked. As for the overall time it takes, I could have stopped at the second procedure (total 900 grafts), because my original goal was to not look (balding). I was still thin in a few areas and wanted to go for it, so I had the big ones done as well. If you want to accelerate it, you could always do big procedures close together. I'm just more likely to take baby steps.

I'm obviously a big fan of Dr. Cole's work. I wouldn't let anyone else work on me. I'm lucky I found him! If you have any other questions, just email me back.

Good luck!

Andy

I would like to say that I am extremely impressed by the high quality of

service that I received.   Everyone that I dealt with was very corteous and

professional.

Dr Cole is everything that I heard he was.  In my opinion, the best FIT/FUE doctor there is.  His attention to detail is most impressive.  He definitely exceeded my expectations.  And I really like the new hairline he gave me!

Thanks to all for a great experience.

Chuck