Patient Steve: NeoGraft Restored My Hair & My Career

Dr. Basu (00:08):
So today on Behind the Double Doors, my guest is a patient who has a remarkable story and we're honored that he's willing to share it with our audience and for those who are thinking about doing the same thing. Welcome Steve. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Steve (00:21):
Well, I'm 42 years old. I'm a plumber and I'm an active hybrid athlete. I'm retired, but I train daily, so I try to stay in good shape.

Dr. Basu (00:35):
And so what was bothering you when you came to us?

Steve (00:37):
Well, I have been losing my hair and I got a receding hairline and I had to shave it off and grow a mustache, like tens of the people who have that issue. And it wasn't coming off soft. I was having issues with my customers. I just wasn't getting the right response from people.

Dr. Basu (00:57):
So was there a moment that pushed you over the edge where you said, look, I got to do something about this, like this is now.

Steve (01:05):
Yes, actually, I went to Philadelphia to become Nexstar certified for my employees because we go into thousands of customers homes a year. While we were walking into the arena, there was four pictures of men, and the first picture was a bald guy with a beard. The second picture was a man with hair and a goatee. The third one was a man who had no hair with a mustache, and the other one had hair, clean face. And whenever we walked in, the question was, which one of these men would you want to come into your home to service your house while your wife is home alone and you're at work? And 98% of every service technician that walked in those doors picked the men with the hair and no facial hair.

Dr. Basu (01:50):
Wow. Wow. Okay.

Steve (01:52):
So that was it for me.

Dr. Basu (01:54):
Yeah. So what was your next step when you were doing your research?

Steve (01:57):
Oh, I looked it up. I wanted to find out what the process was. For me, it would be timing. I'd have to time it with the weather and also time it with business. I do work outside a lot. So for me it was educating myself to even seeing, I Googled, I looked up YouTube videos. I saw people's results and going to different countries and stuff and people horror stories in these countries that they're going to. And there was just certain people, and I found you and I looked at your reviews and I was like, wow. And your befores and afters, and I thought it was godsend because you're right down the street from me. So I thought, this is a sign.

Dr. Basu (02:42):
Awesome. When you found us, clearly you were doing your homework, which is excellent, but what made you choose us?

Steve (02:49):
You, as soon as I met you, I felt extremely comfortable with you because it wasn't something that you were trying to change instantly. You didn't give me any false hope. You didn't tell me, Hey, I can change your life. You didn't give me any of those results. And that's what I was expecting. I was expecting you to sell me on it. But when I went there, instead of that, you educated me on the process. You told me exactly what would happen, what could happen if I didn't do it correctly, what would happen if I did everything the right way. So for me, I felt like it was, we were a good fit, you and me because I knew that if I stuck with the regimen that you gave me that I would have great results.

Dr. Basu (03:29):
Yeah. And you're absolutely proof positive of

Steve (03:32):
Yes, sir.

Dr. Basu (03:32):
A great result.

Steve (03:33):
Thank you.

Dr. Basu (03:34):
So when you opted for Neograft hair restoration, were you nervous about anything?

Steve (03:40):
I was extremely nervous about the process. At first, I remember whenever I was told that the donor area was going to be removed, and I was extremely nervous for that. In all reality, that was nothing. I was so comfortable the entire time. Whenever it was over, I was like, what? It's done. So for me now, since I got my second one, I realized it's the recovery. It's those 16 days afterwards is what for me, it's always been 16 days for some reason. I don't know. I can go to the gym after the 16th day and it'd be okay with me.

Dr. Basu (04:19):
So tell us about the day of your Neograft procedure. What was it like for you?

Steve (04:24):
It was very comfortable. I arrived. Everyone was really sweet. Y'all took me right in. I didn't wait at all. It was like they were all waiting for me. The women were already there. So whenever I went in, I just did what you guys told me, and that was the one thing is you can't see everything. A lot of times you're face down. So it was very reassuring that everyone was communicating with me what they were doing. Hey, right now we're going to be taking these out here, putting 'em out over here. And they actually just walked me through the process. So I wasn't nervous at all for the second one because I knew how easy it was.

Dr. Basu (05:02):
You were experienced. Sure. Was there anyone on the team who made your experience much easier?

Steve (05:07):
It was a collective effort. I'm going to be honest with you. It was all of you. I couldn't just single out one of you guys because every single one of you reassured me you have a really great team and

Dr. Basu (05:18):
Thank you.

Steve (05:19):
That's why I came back and I'll continue to come back to only you because I know that it works and I'm pretty sure it works other places. But where are you going to feel comfortable? That's important to me.

Dr. Basu (05:31):
Absolutely. You talked about educating. Let's talk a little bit about, in your own words, how Neograft, follicular unit extraction or hair transplantation works. How would you describe it to your buddy who was thinking about it? How does it all work?

Steve (05:48):
Well, so they remove good hair, good follicles from a donor area and take 'em out of the back of your head or wherever your donor area is. They have people on standby that are separating one follicle, two follicle, three follicle, four follicle to where they get that natural look and then they put 'em in accordingly. So that way the hairline doesn't look too straight or fake.

Dr. Basu (06:16):
Exactly.

Steve (06:16):
So it's a natural look as it progresses into the hair.

Dr. Basu (06:21):
Right.

Steve (06:21):
To be honest with you, it's an art that I can't even explain because I'm so happy with my results that they were just very knowledgeable about everything that they were doing To me, I would tell them that the most important thing they need to do is to be prepared for the after surgery to make sure that they have help, make sure that they can set up for a couple of days over the weekend, but also to be taking the proper vitamins to be taking the proper medication, not to drink alcohol, not to smoke cigarettes, everything. I mean, I think every single thing that you have listed on my regimen contributed to my hair growth.

Dr. Basu (07:05):
Absolutely. Yeah. And you described the procedure very well. So for our listeners, what you described and what we do with raft is we harvest or extract the hair follicles from a donor site. Usually it's the backside of the head, but it can be other areas. And unlike in traditional hair transplant surgery where we have to make a long incision, sometimes known as the strip method with Neograft, we're actually using a special device to core out the hair follicle without having to make that long linear incision. And so therefore, my patients who are getting Neograft don't have that long linear scar that can be unsightly, particularly if you continue to thin in the backside of the head with Neograft, there's no need for that linear scar. And as Steve correctly described, we basically harvest the hair as an isolate it so we can get onesies, twosies, and threesies of hair shafts that are all part of the follicle.

(07:57)
And then we strategically, this is really important, we strategically rebuild a hairline. So you get a very natural looking hairline. And that's really, look, a lot of people can do hair transplantation, but it's the artistry of how we set the hairline. That makes a huge, huge difference. For my listeners out there. Look, we've all seen a hair transplant job that looks so obvious. It looks bad, it hits you in the face. But a great hair transplantation result is keeping people guessing. You got a great airline, you look great, but people can't tell. And I can tell you received results you can't tell. It looks really natural.

Steve (08:34):
Thank you.

Dr. Basu (08:35):
Now, after the procedure, did you have a lot of pain? Did you have to take pain meds? I mean, because a lot of people always worried about pain and any procedure?

Steve (08:42):
No, no, no, not at all. There was no pain really for me. For me, it was more of the healing of the harvest area, and it was itchy whenever it would start to heal, and I'm talking maybe six days, seven, but once that hair grew back around the harvest area, it protected the skin, I believe, because I was able to lean back. Now I didn't have to sit on an airplane pillow, so it was able to actually relax. But after the surgery, it was shockingly no pain at all. I mean, I could have went to the gym based on the way that I felt.

Dr. Basu (09:18):
But of course you did not.

Steve (09:19):
Of course not.

Dr. Basu (09:21):
Right. You can't go to the gym.

Steve (09:22):
No, sir.

Dr. Basu (09:23):
For a little bit. But when did you get back to normal? And when I say normal, when were you able to get back to the gym?

Steve (09:28):
16 days.

Dr. Basu (09:29):
Yes. Perfect.

Steve (09:29):
It was the 16th days for me. On the 16th day. I didn't go and sweat and sit in the hot sauna, of course, but I went, I walked, I did lightweights, pushups, some calisthenics just to move around because I've been sitting still for 16 days. And then I slowly got back into my regimen. I would say 30 days in, I was running for or five miles again every single day. And back to riding my bike 75 miles a week. So yeah, I try to stay. I try to keep my hair, protect my hair from sun, from extreme heat, and I try to not touch it. I think less is more for me. I don't do the whole topical things every single day. I don't try to over chemical my hair, but I do take a lot of, I take every vitamin that I can, the A, B, C, D.

Dr. Basu (10:17):
Right. Supplements, absolutely do help with hair health. No doubt, no doubt.

Steve (10:21):
And I've noticed a huge difference with the vitamins and also the neutrophil that I would've take in.

Dr. Basu (10:28):
Neutrophil is a great over-the-counter product that really helps. It won't necessarily grow hair, but the hairs that you have from your Neograft or hair transplant procedure, it's almost like nutrition for the hair. It's healthier hair, it's a thicker hair. Now, you mentioned to our listeners that you had two sessions. I always try to tell patients, depending on the amount of hair loss and the surface area or ground that we need to cover, sometimes we have to do a second. Sometimes in severe cases, we have to do three sessions if they have enough donor site available. So you mentioned two sessions. Can you talk to our listeners about that whole process of going through two sessions?

Steve (11:05):
Yes. Well, once I had the first session and I seen that my bangs were growing so fast, I wanted the rest of my head to do the same thing. The places that we didn't touch, and it wasn't because I felt insecure about it, it was just for preventative maintenances in the future. I wanted to make sure that I had that hair because I knew I was going to have bangs forever. So I wanted to make sure that the back had hair as well.

Dr. Basu (11:30):
Right. And it's really density for our listeners. Sometimes we get great coverage with just one session, but a lot of guys do come back just to get a second session for density building, whether that be in the front or the back, just as it's more consistent. Again, it's all about getting that result that looks supernatural to keep people guessing so that they don't know you've ever had this before. And that's what our goal is. Now, was there anything after the surgery that surprised you? Was there anything that you were not expecting?

Steve (12:01):
I was not expecting it to be so healthy. I didn't realize that the hair that was transplanted was going to grow faster than all the other hair. So that's what really shocked me to begin with, how healthy it was, how long that it got, and how fast that it grows. Even now, I have to get a haircut every Thursday, and the top is always longer. So that's what I'm really shocked with.

Dr. Basu (12:25):
And there's two reasons for that. Number one, when we get the hairs from the backside of the head, remember that's a different kind of hair than what used to grow in the front, what used to grow in the front where you've had thinning, that's a thinner hair as we get older, whereas the hair in the back stays thick and it's stronger so it grows faster. Number two, I think Steve has to give himself some credit. He's the perfect patient, right? He did what he was supposed to do. He held off and going to the gym. Look, we get it. It's hard to stay away from your regular routines, but you don't want to get your blood pressure elevated too fast right after the procedure. You don't want to get your scalp sweaty, and it forces the transplant of hair out. So you got to protect that hair like it's gold because it's your investment. And he did the other things such as supplementals, like platelet rich product that are growth stimulants, in my opinion. And that's a whole separate discussion of how that works. But P R P injections help, I think supplements absolutely help and a healthy lifestyle. So credit goes to you, Steve, for doing your part. And again, doctor, patient relationship is about teamwork, and we do our part, but you did your part too, and that's why I mean, you are a poster child for success, for graphic hair restoration. You look amazing.

Steve (13:33):
Thank you very much.

Dr. Basu (13:34):
What would you tell someone who's thinking about having a hair transplantation? What advice would you have for 'em?

Steve (13:40):
I would tell them, if you're out there and you are thinking of getting it, go and get it. Go and get your research. I would come to Dr. Basu first. Let him educate you on exactly what's going to happen. Figure out what steps you're going through, see if it's a good fit. But if you're thinking about it, get it. Don't wait because if you wait, all it does is delay the inevitable. In other words, I wish I would've gotten this five years ago when I first thought about it. I would've had five years of hair that I didn't have.

Dr. Basu (14:15):
Better late than ever. Well, Steve, thank you so much for sharing your insights with our listeners and check the show notes for links and how to reach us to schedule a consultation or for questions about pricing, finance, or anything else that's on your mind. Steve, thank you so much for joining us.

Steve (14:31):
Thank you.

Speaker 3 (14:37):
Basu Aesthetics and Plastic Surgery is located in Northwest Houston in the Towne Lake area of Cypress. If you'd like to be a guest or ask a question for Dr. Basu to answer on the podcast, go to basu plastic surgery.com/podcast on Instagram. Follow Dr. Basu and the team at Basu Plastic Surgery. That's B A S U Plastic Surgery. Behind the Double Doors is a production of The Axis, T H E A X I S.io.