Day of Procedure
Arrival is at 6:00 AM, you are greeted by one of the staff and you choose what you want for lunch that day.
Then you are taken to the back, change into a gown and your valuables are sealed up and put in the room with you and you are given the key.
You meet all the staff and Dr. Rahal asks if you have any questions, then they buzz you. They give you a sedative and you go face down, which is a little uncomfortable but you are feeling pretty relaxed at this point. You are frozen off and they get started! There was a few painful moments during the 3-4 hours I was down there, but I actually fell asleep a few times. They extract from your back then you turn on your sides and extracted as well. You are offered lots of breaks, I didn't really take any except when finishing a phase. Once my extractions were complete, they gave me a protein shake, I used the washroom then came back and they sat me up right. Dr. Rahal does every single incision, but he gave me two shots above each eye to help freeze my entire head which it certainly did. This was the shortest of any phase, maybe around an hour or so.
Once complete, it's time for lunch. I ate rather quickly because I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could.
Dr. Rahal and his staff are very kind, they offer you snacks, breaks, whatever you need really. Finally, the last phase of putting the grafts in your head begins! Two people are placing them one by one, they warned me it would take about 3-4 hours but I think it took much less. I watched American Gangster and as it was finished there was only about 30 minutes remaining. Dr. Rahal comes and does all the finishing touches and any changes he wants to see. During the final phase I was pretty uncomfortable mid-way so they gave me another shot of sedative to help me relax.
Finally, you get bandaged up after a long day! Get changed and they give you a care package with everything you need for the night. I stayed in downtown Ottawa, but I know they have the guest house available which is probably much more convenient.
I can honestly say through the entire procedure, the pain was minimal. A few points were extremely painful, mostly just the injections and a couple incisions, but they'll freeze you right away if you are in pain.
Sleeping is quite challenging, your head is extremely swollen and it is pretty uncomfortable. I stacked some pillows and I was able to sleep a few hours in intervals. The first night you do not do anything.
Day 2:
Arrive at Dr. Rahal's for 8:30 AM, and they do your first cleaning and teach you how to wash. Again, very easy and no pain. Once the bandage comes up, all the swelling is at the top of your head so you kind of look like a mushroom. Don't worry though, that'll come down into your face within a few days haha.
They ask you if you have any questions, explain the total graft count and breakdown.
1 unit: 436
2 unit: 1292
3 unit:1068
4 unit: 22
Total 2818
total hair: 6312
His staff indicated I still had a good amount of donor area remaining if I need to come back down the road.
On this day the pain was okay, I took 2 perc's the entire day and I was fine.
Day 3
His staff reached out to me to see how I was doing and if I had any questions. I have been doing the wash's, twice a day and have not used any pain killers today. The swelling is all around my face at this point, which is a little annoying but they said it should be gone in 2-3 more days.
I am taking photos everyday which I will post all at once once I have a little more content.
Tips:
- Utilize his staff! If you have any question at all, definitely ask! It'll make you feel better
- If you are worried about pain, you don't need to - there is only a few painful moments and they will accommodate you.
- Lay on a 45 degree angle as much as you can, I really think this helped the swelling not go into my eyes too much.
- They suggested advil to me, so I am going to try that and lots of massaging!
- Also remember to do the spray every hour!!
- I am having a lot of neck pain, so I rolled up a towel and have left that under my neck while laying down because I find the travel pillow is a bit too thick.
- Drink lots of water, as much as you possibly can
