The Day of my Bosley Hair Restoration Procedure

On the day of my second hair restoration procedure I had to go into the Bosley offices early in the morning.  My consultation was scheduled for 7:30 a.m., and I got there just a little earlier than that.  I was greeted by Brenda, the same woman who had originally greeted me the first time.  I filled out my lunch order and some other paperwork.  Then I went back to the consultation room, and soon I met with Dr. Winans, who had done my first procedure.  He, of course, remembered me, and we discussed my goals for this time around.  Originally, what I had hoped to accomplish was to add some thickness to the area of my first procedure (the front and top of my head), fill in a little bit on the sides where the transplanted hair meets my natural hair on the sides (what some guys refer to as “the channels”), and fill in some of the area on the back of my head, which has been thinning all along (I did not have any hair transplanted into this area during my first procedure).  Dr. Winans told me that, unfortunately, we had neither the time nor the donor tissue available to do all of that.  He said we could take the donor follicles available and spread them out over that entire area, but that it would result in my basically having thinning hair everywhere.  So in the end we decided that I would get the same amount of grafts as my first procedure (1900 or so), and we would focus on the front and top again as before – the goal to have thicker hair in the areas that I myself and other people see when they look at me.

One note here is that ultimately I am o.k. if my hair is still just a little bit thin looking.  For who I am, my family history, etc., I think this will look natural.  I also feel that since I know I won’t be completely bald (as all the men in my family ultimately have become), I’m gaining a huge advantage.  This is just my theory, so I guess we’ll see how it plays out.

At any rate, once we were done with the consultation and drew up the plan of action, I was taken to the procedure room.  Actually, all of the staff members who worked on my procedure were people who had been there before – Angel, Chris and Grace were the three technicians who were with me for most of the day, and they all remembered me from last time (they were also all very friendly and professional).  I was actually impressed that they remembered me, as I assume they’ve seen quite a few other patients in the last three years.  Or maybe they were prepped before I came in and they did a convincing job of pretending to remember me!  Either way, it made me feel comfortable.

I was given an antibiotic and valium orally, and a shot of something I still can’t remember the name of – which pretty much knocked me out for the beginning of the procedure.  In fact, everything went exactly the way I had remembered it in many ways.  I was essentially unconscious or ‘sub-conscious’ up until lunchtime.  Then I ate and became a little more aware of what was happening.  I watched “Iron Man” and the first half of “Fletch” (yeah, showing my age just a bit here), and by about 5 p.m. I was done.

The one major difference between this procedure and my last was how I felt afterward.  The first time around, the last hour or two seemed to drag – and by the time I was done I felt like I had been there for a very long time.  This time around, I was surprised to hear that they were finishing up – for whatever reason I expected it would take longer.  Also, after my first procedure, I was very groggy and out of it.  This time, I felt great!  When I left the building I actually took a leisurely stroll back to the hotel (it was a gorgeous night in Seattle), I called my wife, I felt happy and (more or less) clear-headed.  I can only surmise that the big difference is that the second time I knew what to expect, and was physically and mentally prepared.  I may have had less anesthetic throughout the day also, which made me less groggy when it was all over.  Whatever the reason, there was definitely a big difference this time.  I can now see how some guys can go back to work right away, or just head home and have a normal evening. 

-Seth