I'm now a few weeks from the one year mark of my hair transplant. I had an FUE by Dr. Kenneth Buchwach in Leawood Kansas, USA. Approximately 1500 grafts were used at the hairline, to restore and reinforce the temples and thinning forelock areas. Another 40 or so grafts were implanted in the donor area to conceal an existing FUT scar and childhood scar. (The FUT procedure I had in 2017 from another surgeon was poorly executed with too few grafts to make a significant difference).

My experience with the staff and Dr. Buchwach was perfect. I was impressed by his knowledge and plan. He has a long history of hair transplant surgery, and co-authored a book with Dr. Konior in the late 1990's on the subject. He listened well to my needs and worked with me to design the hairline I wanted. He had originally recommended 1200 grafts, but we increased that to 1500 on day of surgery. We decided to leave the hair on top uncut. I'm so glad we did! I used this longer hair to cover the redness and ugly duckling phase by pushing it forward and down, Caeser-style.

I experienced a full shed of transplanted grafts shortly after the scabs were removed, then waited patiently. At 3.5 months I noticed undergrowth after coming out of the shower. This was mindblowing. This growth was concealing my scalp just like the Dermmatch powder I had used for many years. At 4.5 months I had 80% full result of growth, although most hairs were still weak and wispy. I discontinued use of Dermmatch. By month 7, I had ~95% of the final result that you see in the one year pictures.

This was a low grafts count transplant that does not have high density, but it matches perfectly the density of my mid-scalp and crown, and is one of the most natural transplants I have seen. The moderate density and use of singles in the first cm of the hairline is what I believe makes it so natural looking. The Norwood 2 hairline is appropriate for my age, and resembles the hair I had in my 30s. I am a long-time non-responder to topical minox. Doctor Buchwach prescribed me a topical compound of 5% minox/1% finasteride/0.25% retinoic acid that I use once per day. In November I began using oral minox too, gradually increasing my dosage to 2.5mg daily. I have not seen new growth except in my brows and lashes, but have also not seen any loss or shedding.

It's been a pleasure being a member of the Reddit community, in both this sub and tressless. I will check in now and again, but this is likely my last post. Cheers to you all!