Dr. Jones' Hair Transplant Center Blog

Monday, January 28, 2008
My hair is filling in
My hair is filling in slowly. No problems. Will report next in the spring.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Surgery #2 May 2007

Second time around for me. The first photo is five days after surgery and
the second is thirteen days after. They appear the same and don't show the
trauma I experienced the first time around evident in my earlier blog
photos. The latest photos support how I feel as well. This time around it's
been very straight forward with no pain and the scabs came off no problem at
all. I had 2300 hairs put in addition to the first go around of 2600. This
time I wanted hair added to my crown area which was left untouched
last time due to lack of available hair transplants. So the bulk of the 2300
about 1300 were put in the crown area and the remainder Dr. Jones felt would
be most beneficial placed in front. So this left an area in the middle in
which will have hairs from the first transplant only which Dr. Jones felt
were dense enough as is. I look forward to seeing how this approach will
work out. I'm having my stitches out on the 14 of May and I'll let you know
how that goes in my next blog.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Day 286

It looks as though all the hair from this transplant is growing. I hope to
check this out with Dr. J. I'm pleased with the results of transplanting
2600 hairs and am considering doing one more session as I would like a
thicker look and the small area missed at the back of my head filled in.

I'll give one more update on the anniversary of the transplant unless
something noteworthy happens after that. It has been worth the ride and it's
fun having hair to comb and play with and my wife likes it too.

Regards to all.

Friday, September 08, 2006
Day 162

Five and a half months have passed. My hair is obviously coming in but it is
slow and looks far from the full head of hair I eventually expect. Touching
my scalp indicates there are more to come. Otherwise all is going well and
I'm enjoying what is there. Report again next month.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Day 101

Can feel the start of growth but it is like a one day beard at this point.
Numbness at the front of my scalp is diminishing and I think that relates
to the slow growth there. All is well otherwise. Continuing to use the
hair growth stimulant. Scalp gets very itchy at times. Will report again in
one month.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006
75 days post-op
It has been 25 days since the last update and I can say that I have hair
growing. Hurray. Not as much as I would like. It is longer in the back half
of my head. Hair is growing in the frontal area as well but sporadically and
it has in some cases just barely emerged from my scalp. My frontal area is
still a bit numb and this may be related to the greater number of hairs
transplanted there. I have more hair on the right side at the front. There
is nothing to speak of in the way of growth at the front line on the left
side. Patiently waiting but it is slow. If you look at the 50 day photo vs
the 80 day there does appear to be some improvement. I do note that my scalp
does get quite itchy at times. I still have some hair growth stimulant
available and have been using it every day. I think this week should finish
it. I'll get some more from Dr.J when in Oakville next. I'll update in 2 or
3 weeks.

Monday, May 22, 2006
James, Day 50 Following up on day 36 I have not much to report other than I have lost a
lot of the transplanted hair and some of my pre-transplant hair and my scalp
is still numb on the front half. No problems otherwise. I can and do live a
normal active life and am looking forward to new hair growth. Report again
in a couple of weeks.

Monday, May 08, 2006
James, one month Back from vacation in sunny Florida. Drove a total of 4500km, stayed in many
hotels. Swam in pools, walked/ran on the beach, went on some hair raising
(don't I wish) rides at Disney,limited my sun exposure or wore a hat.
Although my scalp is still numb in most areas, my transplant was not
affected from the trip and I feel good. Looking forward to the start of my
hair growth. Report again in another week or when something noteworthy
happens.

Friday, April 21, 2006
James, Day 15
Day 15 and all is well with my transplant. Washing my hair each day, doing
my exercises and working at the office and at home, outside and inside. Put
my dock in by myself last weekend and that was strenuous work and I
accidentally hit the top of my head on one of the dock braces. Sore head but
no effect on my transplant. Heading off on a two week vacation in the US.
Going by car and taking the dog who still has a bit of skunk smell about him
but we're not about to leave him behind. Give you an update on my return.
Blessings to all.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006
James, Day 11

Well it's been two days since I last blogged. In general hair transplant
wise things are great. Had my stitches out on Friday. No problem. Took ten
minutes at Dr. Jones's office. After which I had a busy day on Friday with
three personal appointments in various parts of west end Toronto. Again no issue
as far as looking after my transplant. I washed my hair Friday, the crust is gone
but my scalp is still numb. I comb my hair using a light touch. Looking
forward to getting feeling back. What more can I say; I traveled, stayed in
a hotel and worked outside today including moving a wood pile. I feel great.
I'll report back again on Thursday and after that when I get back from
Florida on May 2. Should be some changes by then.

Friday, April 07, 2006
James, Day 8
Not much in the way of obvious change but I washed it this morning. The difference shows
in the picture in the way may hair lays. It is more manageable and as a
person who showers everyday, it felt good to have clean hair. No problem
washing my hair. My scalp is still numb and is flaking a lot. The crust as
Dr. Jones calls it is coming loose. Looks like dandruff flakes. As for activities
today I soaked my head and did my exercises this morning then went to work
and attended meetings outside the office. No one said anything to me and I
had no pain or discomfort.

I will not be submitting anything tomorrow as my wife and I will be away. By
the way I get my stitches out tomorrow. I'll update you on Saturday.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006
James, Day 7
Took a picture today to send with my update. Half way through last night I
discarded the three pillows and slept as I normally would with one and
shifted from my left side to my right side through the night. No problem so
I'm sleeping with one pillow from here on. Scalp looks good but still feels
numb to the touch and there are scabs at the front although they don't show
up on the photo. Had a good day, did my morning exercises, went to work
attended internal and external meetings. No reaction from anyone. I feel
good.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006
James, Day 6 Slept again last night on three pillows - taking precaution, it probably isn't necessary at this point.
Did my exercises this morning, finished up my antibiotics; Still soaking my head
twice a day. I have no pain but a little itching which is good because that
means the scabs are drying up. Hope the crust (scabs) are off by weeks end.
I will get my stitches out on Friday.

Went to work today. Looked like I do in my Day 5 photo. Lots of quick looks and the
odd stop in their tracks to turn around stare - only one person asked me,
what did you do to your forehead? Attended several meetings as
well. Feeling good and looking forward to another day at the shop and another day
closer to being able to shampoo. More meetings outside the office with new
people. I'll let you know how that all goes.

James, Day 5
You can see my scalp is looking good and the graft crust has come off. Dr. Jones thinks the results will be good. It seems to look that way to me as well. Had a good sleep last night, Exercised this morning,
went into town for groceries but mostly sat around and read and worked on
bills. Carried on with my normal routine of taking my meds and soaking my
head twice a day. My pain and anti-swelling meds are finished. I only have antibiotics left and they will be finished tomorrow at noon. I have had no pain at all. Only itching. If you look closely at the photo you'll see that
some of the line work done to guide Dr. Jones still shows in places but it
is coming off with successive soakings. I'm back to work tomorrow with
several meetings set up outside the office until Friday which I'm taking
off. No one at the office knows I did this. Should be interesting. I'll let
you know.

James, Day 4 This morning woke to a beautiful sunny day after sleeping well in my bed my head atop three pillows. I woke up on may back so I assume I didn't roll over. The transplants look to be in good shape and I can feel the tiny transplants with
the palm of my hand. It feels like a brush cut. I have not supplied a
picture today because there is no noticeable difference from day three. I'm
taking my medication and feel no pain at all. There continues to be the sense of
tightness in my scalp but that is not a comfort issue. The only discomfort
is with the itchy scalp, particularly at the donor site. I assume that means
the scabs are drying up and will soon come off. I am continuing to soak my
head twice a day for 20 minutes at a time. In regard to my day otherwise, I
spent the day starting with a light exercise followed with reading, eating,
walking the dog and doing a little clean up in the yard. I feel good.

James, Day 3

I slept 8 hours last night at 45 degrees in my lawn chair with no
disturbances other than to get up to take my 4 AM medication.
There has been no obvious change from yesterdays photo other than my
original hair at the back of my head seems softer and I'm starting to get
itchy at the donor site and here and there at the recipient sites. I am
taking my medication and as a result am experiencing no pain. I went outside today
with the dog and into town to return a video. I'm comfortable wlaking around, losing that self-conciousness I had at first out in public.

I seem to settling into a routine now with the removal of the scabs (crust)
my next goal followed by the luxury of washing and combing my hair. Both
should be achieved by day 11. At this point I intend to sleep in my bed with
the suggested 2 or 3 pillows behind my head tonight. I am concerned that I
might roll over and damage my grafts. I couldn't' roll over in the lawn
chair. I might stick with the lawn chair. I'll let you know how that goes.

James, Day 2

Last night I slept at 45 degrees on a lawn chair in our sun-room. There was no pain or discomfort other than
a slight ache in the donor area from the pressure of my head against the
pillow. I don't think I had a deep sleep but did doze off for an hour or two
at a time. I finally got up about 9 AM and had some breakfast. No problems
eating or enjoying food. Following breakfast I soaked my head - it was still
tight and had areas of numbness. The numbness could be the result of the
pain killers. Anyway my hair felt like it was held down with glue and I
wanted it back to normal (clean and shiny). The 20 minute head
soaking got rid of a lot of the blood spots but didn't do much in the way of
cleaning my hair. I'm not allowed to touch my hair until day 11 - using a blow
dryer with no heat to dry and style my hair. Looking forward to Day 11. The two photos I have
attached show a clear change since the day of the surgery. I cleaned up a lot. You can see the tiny follicles in the
after soaking photo. I'm having my second soaking tonight.

Otherwise I have had a fairly active day. Other than taking my medication, I
retreived a dead skunk from the back yard, wrestled with the changing of a
clogged water filter (we're on a well and drove my daughter to the Go train.
On the way to the train I opened the moon roof to enjoy the sun and quckly
closed it thinking it probably would not be good to get a sunburn on my
head. As well on the way to the train I popped into the local movie rental
store and mustering my altogether composure walked right in picked out a
movie, placed it on the check out counter, looked the owner in the eye and
gave him a friendly hello and my phone number. He never said a word other
than hello, that will be $5.00 and goodbye. I said goodbye and left the
store. Hmmmm?

James, Day 1

Had my transplant today. It started at 7:30 AM and was finished at 5:45 PM. I had 2600 follicles transplanted from a strip at the back of my head that was approximately 16mm wide by 260mm long. I live out of town so I stayed at a hotel in Oakville the night before near the Dr. Jones' clinic, got a good sleep and was not rushed the day of the surgery. I wore jeans, deck shoes and a short sleeve golf pullover shirt. I suggest wearing a button up shirt as the fresh transplants are delicate and definitely should not be disturbed. Luckily staff helped me put my shirt on at the clinic and I had help later at home.

What was it like?

It was a long procedure started at 7:30 AM with a greeting from Dr. Jones and the signing of a disclaimer followed by payment of the balance owing, ordering and paying for pain killers, antibiotics and a post surgery hair growth stimulant. Next I took off my shirt, put on what I call a hospital gown and took a pill that fights swelling. You get four days worth of the set to be taken three times a day. Following this I laid down on what I describe as a massage table, got injected by needle with a local aesthetic in the area of the donor hair and then Dr. Jones went to work with his scalpel. I had images of the old cowboy movies where Indians would raise there hand in the air with part of the scalp of some unfortunate enemy. Upon its removal which was a relatively quick and painless procedure Dr. Jones past my scalp over to three ready technicians in the same room who proceeded with quiet focus to separate my scalp into its finer "follicle" parts. The technician in the middle cut the donor strip into pieces 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch long. These were passed to the adjacent techs who with the use of a microscope further broke down the scalp into separate follicles with some of these follicles separated into single hairs for placement at the front of my head to give it a more natural look. While this is going on Dr. Jones sutured my scalp together, that is pulled the 16mm gap together. Nice tight feeling in the head. Once this was done Dr. Jones assistant numbed the recipient area with a local, needle administrated, aesthetic following which Dr. Jones made tiny incisions in the front and middle portions of my bald(ing) area and in doing so made provision for 1800 individual follicles. With Dr. Jones' work complete I was turned over to the lead technician who I believe was an RN who, once sufficient follicles were available started the hair placement procedure. Part of the preparation for the insertion of the follicle grafts is the application of some sort of liquid that I understand puffs up my skin such that the cuts in my head are open to better receive the follicle and at the same causes pressure against the vascular system under my scalp thus reducing potential bleeding.

With eight to ten follicles on the index finger of his latex gloved left-hand (his right hand was gloved as well) the RN using jeweller’s tweezers placed one follicle at a time into the pre-cut sites. This procedure continued throughout the day with an additional tech joining the middle and back sections to speed things up. We broke for lunch in the room. I had bagel and cream cheese, chicken noodle soup and a juice. We also stopped with the procedure any time I wanted to get up to stretch or go to the washroom. The staff were very attentive and wanted me to be comfortable and pain free and as such would provide additional aesthetic whenever I asked for it. They knew when I needed it before I did because as the aesthetic was wearing off I would start to bleed more at the recipient sites because, I hope I get this right, my body, becoming more sensitive to the trauma would increase my heart rate and blood pressure. Keeping this under control was important to maintaining a good work site for my grafters. Dr. Jones would pop in periodically to check on how things were progressing and gave me a final look over, an affirmative nod and hand shake saying it went well and that it looked good. I looked at myself in the mirror and said to myself I hope he's right. With hand shakes and goodbyes all round, two granola bars, one apple juice, my meds and post op advise/instructions in hand from my RN I left the building got in my car and drove home hoping I wouldn't see anyone I knew. Needless to say while on the 407 I got a call from home that my dog had introduced himself to a skunk and that as I had the only car would I pleeeeease pick up some hydrogen peroxide and backing soda. Well my debut was quicker than I thought. Once back in my town I stopped at the local IGA, walked in like nothing is different about me. I got smiles from the people in the store and the check out clerk but no stares or looks that say wow what happened to you. Well I'm out of the closet and nobody cares. So I went home mixed the skunk concoction and de-smelled the dog.

Next issue.

Got to sleep at a 45 degree angle tonight. I'm afraid of rolling over and destroying all that good work and wasting all that money.

I'll let you know.