Hair Transplant Review

Day 1

After arriving in Phoenix the night before around 7pm, followed by a good nights’ sleep- today was the day of the hair transplant. I didn’t sleep well but it didn’t matter- it wasn’t as though I had much to do today other than lie there and let Dr Alexander work his magic.

We arrived at Biltmore Surgical Hair Restoration, the office and surgery of Dr Alexander at 7am for a pre-op consultation and general chat about the procedure. Spencer had filled me in on most of the details but a talk through it again with Dr Alexander just eased my nerves. In fact, it was great to finally be here and undergoing the hair transplant after a year of committing to it.

The first part of the day began with having the donor area of my head shaved down- the back and sides. This was done by one of Dr Alexander’s technicians. I’d be lying if I said it was anything more than to access the donor area- there was no finesse to the ‘haircut’. I had meant to get a cut before I went- but didn’t want to risk cutting it too short incase that would have caused a problem, which in hindsight it wouldn’t have.

Dr Alexander then began to draw my new hairline- around a centimetre lower than existing- which is where it used to be before recession. And to the sides of my head where the recession and creeped up the sides of my head.

Once the recipient area was marked out, Dr Alexander proceeded to numb my entire scalp with a local anaesthetic so the recipient area was ready for incision. The injections were painful but not unbearable, I’d say three or four out of ten on a pain scale from no pain to exceptionally painful. The injections were done quickly, within ten minutes.

The anaesthetic soon kicked in again within ten minutes, so it was time for Dr Alexander to make the incisions, for where the donor hair would later be implanted. I couldn’t feel a thing here, thanks to the numbing affect of the anaesthetic. The creation of the sites took two hours with Dr Alexander using a custom cut ‘blade’ which resembled a very fine apple coring tool. As Dr Alexander pushed the blade into the skin with short sharp jabs, Spencer informed that this is where Dr Alexander is set apart from the rest. His ability to create a natural hairline, with a natural pattern is second to none. Spencer is far more experienced than me here, and I guess the final result will reveal all but what I can say is that it felt as though Dr Alexander was taking the utmost care over my hair- almost like an artist creating a masterpiece if that’s not too over the top a description. In all seriousness, I could feel the care and precision he was putting in to creating my new hairline. During this process he periodically sprayed a saline and hydrogen peroxide formula to clean the area and stop any small amount of blood.

Then to the extraction and the ARTAS Robotic Hair Transplant System. A machine with a robotic arm that provides a minimally invasive hair restoration solution that leverages digital imaging and precision robotics to harvest healthy grafts for transplantation. Unlike the earlier methods of hair restoration, there is no need for the surgical removal of a band of tissue from the back and sides of the head, no linear scar left after surgery and no need for stitches or staples to close the wound. The benefit is a quick recovery time and the ability to return to normal activities and work sooner. Dr Alexander said I needed 2,200 grafts- which took three hours at the mercy of the ARTAS machine. As it rather noisily extracted the grafts, I felt no pain- but sitting, facing forward on my chest wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences, but by no stretch something awful. In truth- it’s much quicker than a Dr removing the grafts manually, and less tiring for all concerned- not to mention more accurate and a better harvester of the strongest grafts.

After 2,200 grafts had been extracted and a quick lunch stop it was time for Dr Alexander and his technicians to place the grafts into the marked area. While I was eating, the technicians had further refined the grafts by hand- any that ARTAS hadn’t removed with one hundred percent perfection. Removing excess skin around the follicle. This process was short, and over with before I had finished my lunch thanks to ARTAS’ incredible accuracy. The 2,200 took the Dr and two technicians four hours to meticulously place each graft into the recipient site. Again, thanks to the anaesthetic, there was no pain, and I watched television whilst they worked their magic.

After every graft had been utilised and the recipient area filled- my head was bandaged at the donor site and left to air at the recipient site- all covered loosely by a bandana which was removed as soon as I got back to my hotel room. It’s important for the recipient area to micro-scab as quickly as possible as this traps the grafts within the scalp, allowing them to take to their new home. I was giving some painkillers but didn’t need them and still haven’t needed them- it’s 11am now. I’ve had a shower now, careful to cover the recipient area with a damp face cloth- whilst rinsing water with the shower head over the donor area. The donor area looks quite sore, but it doesn’t feel it- the same with the recipient area.

Today I plan I’ve written this article and had some breakfast delivered to my room. I’m planning on a movie day but to be honest, I feel fine- so might venture into Phoenix to explore. I’ll be wearing my bandana but if I can find an adjustable baseball cap I’ll buy one to wear- I’m told this is fine as long as I’m careful not to have it press against the recipient area. I’ll need to shower with the face cloth on the recipient area for the next five days.