HAIR TRANSPLANT FORUM

Hello,

I've been monitoring this forum for over a year and have surgery scheduled with Dr. Cole at the end of this year. The only thing I'm concerned about is going back to work after the procedure. I don't mind telling my friends and family but I don't think I want to tell the entire office. Fortunately I am doing the procedure right before the Christmas holidays and will have about 17 days b/w the surgery and my first day back to work.

I typically wear my hair short, but if I go back to work with a true buzz cut, people will notice. I guess my main question is, after 17 days, will people be able to see visible signs of surgery on my head??? The shaved head I can talk around, but will people see stubble coming out of places they have never seen hair before? Or will people see healing holes???

And secondly...as the weeks and months go on, am I going to have to keep shaving my head so that the "new" hair doesn't contrast too greatly with my "real" hair?

FYI...my hair loss is probably b/w a 2 and a 3. So most of the work will be on the hairline and my temples.

Does anyone have anything to share regarding going back to the real world and talking around the new look?

Spinner,

With FIT you really do not get any abnormal scarring at all. So right off the bat you are good in this area. For the first week to ten days you will have some redness, but honestly by the time you roll around to going back to work I do not see where you will have a problem. If you are not concerned about saying, "I shaved my head for the H of it" then you should be fine. I think you will be surprised at how smooth everything goes...from the procedure itself to the healing to the subsequent natural results. The newly implanted hair will be there for a only a matter of days after the procedure before they will start to fall out. They will grow back beginning as early as 3-4 months. Look for good growth in the 6-8 month range and in 12 months you should have essentially full growth from the procedure. These are rough estimates that will vary by individual. I truley do not believe you will have anything to worry about with your return to work. Even your hair will start to grow in by that time. Just my thoughts!

You can find a lot of patient talking about their experience on this forums, just look around...there are a lot of testimonials and "after surgery" experiences here.
you can find some real patient testimonials here: FIT photos and details of patients results

Hi Spinner,

I would just like to support the last post you got from a patients point of view. I have even had plug removal and sutering repairs with Dr Cole (far more messy and fiddly than his standard grafting as he is dealing with larger wounds and grafts from rubbish clinics) and been out with a large group of friends within a week. I may be a quick healer but I would say after the little scabs from the grafts come off (I would say this is 90% done by 5 days) you look pretty normal, and if you have longish hair you can mix it socially! I think I was wandering around Aplharetta and North Point Mall on my last trip within a few days having rinsed my hair forward over the grafts.

Obviously if you wear your hair as short as a no5 or less then you may need to stop in for an extra few days, but 2+ weeks you will have no worries!

good luck

NV

Hey Nobel Victim,

Thanks for the response. My post was actually over a year ago and I had my procedure with Dr. Cole this past December. I was worried about absolutely nothing. I actually ended up shaving my head short several months before my procedure...liked the look so much that I canceled my surgery. Then I woke up one day and rescheduled when I realized that maybe the shaved look would bore me for the rest of my life. I also ended up telling the entire office well beforehand. I've become sort of a legend in the office actually. I must get a hair comment at least 5 times a day. Actually got an email the other day from one of the girls in the office and all it said was,"wow...your freakin hair looks amazing!". It's actually a pretty funny subject around the office. I'm considering getting more work at the end of this year depending on how the rest of the growth progresses. In terms of going back to work, I ended up going back to work in half the time. I shortened my Atlanta trip and just said what the heck...I feel fine, it looks fine, let's get back to work. Even went out on New Years only 13 days after surgery.

So...good stuff all around...thanks!

Spinner

Opps! Yes I dont always check the posted date on messages, sorry about that! I'm really chuffed that things have worked out for you. I really admire how strong yove been about this as I would struggle with the coming out thing! I think if my 1st ht had been with Dr Cole then I may have done it, but I think being a repair case then you just dont want to admit to yourself, let alone anyone else what you have done to your head!

How many grafts have you had placed?

NV

I had about 1,100 grafts put into the frontal hairline. In terms of "coming out"...I guess that's a personal thing. I've always had a sort of self deprecating approach to life anyway...so as long as I'm the one who is teasing myself, then nobody else can really beat me to it. I'm totally cool with it though. I love the results and everybody else has also. I'm 33 but still very young at heart so now my appearance better matches my state of mind. It's really been a great experience. I can't wait to go back and thicken more of it up. Thankfully I found Dr. Cole at the outset of this whole thing. I have no idea what other doctors are like out there...but given the fact that I have had to convince professional barbers that I had work done...I don't think there is really anything else to say. Seriously....I have been to 3 different barbers and they literally don't believe me when I tell them that I had a hair transplant. What else is there to say?!??! Un-freakin-believable!!!!

Spinner

Spinner,

Your testimony is greatly appreciated. So many individuals have many reserves about what to expect from our clinic. We try our hardest to make sure that our patients' care is taken seriously.

You won't find our patients out in the real world because our method produces a high quality of natural looking results.

It must be great to know that your procedure was successfully accomplished by a great surgeon. The staff is meticulous about every step of the whole process. It is comforting to know that Dr. Cole and staff have several years of experience working side by side.

If there is anything that you need in the future, please give us a ring!