Journal Archive

April, 2006

Day 332

April 2, 2006

Well, I finally made the decision a week ago to have a third and final hair transplant with Alex Santo - the surgeon who performed my first and second hair transplants.
It was a very difficult decision for a number of reasons:

1. Did I need another hair transplant?
Simple answer was no, but I WANTED another one.

2. Who do I have my transplant with?
I have had a lot of past ties with the NHI Clinic (i worked for them for a brief period mid to end of 2005) and they seemed the obvious first choice.
During January 2006, Alex Santo left the NHI clinic and set up his own Clinic also in Athens called the ASANTO clinic. (Catchy heh?)
So do I go with the company who performed my first 2 transplants or the surgeon who performed them.
The choice was obvious. The surgeon.
Also, I had been chatting to Spencer who works for Feller Medical in the US - one of the best surgeons over there.
He had been doing some superb and astonishing work with FUE and was very close in the running.
After much deliberation, I stuck with my decision and flew out to see Alex Santo at the ASANTO clinic.

When booking up my procedure at the ASANTO clinic, I contacted their new UK consultant - Warwick Stanley.
I had actually met and become good friends with Warwick last year. He had come over to the NHI clinic and had a small procedure with Alex whilst I was doing the NHI's PR.
He stayed with me and then returned a few months later to spend a week touring Athens on holiday. We went to the islands together and became good buddies.

We both flew out to Athens and arrived at 2am (Monday Morning). We were met by Alex's new driver - Glykaria. A lovely Greek lady whose English is outstanding.
We were taken straight to the Best Western Hotel (2 doors away from the entrance to the Clinic) and had a few hours sleep before the surgery.

Day Of Procedure

April 3, 2006

8am, the alarms ringing and it's time for my big day. Had a good shower (my last one for 3 days), washed my hair and had a light breakfast.
Warwick is still snoring so I leave a note "wish me luck" and get met in the Hotel's reception by Lena - Alex's wife.
Lena is a character, stylish, demur and loud. She will keep you upbeat all day and make sure you are comfortable - she takes her role very seriously, so if you ask for something, you can pretty much guarantee she'll go out of her way to get it for you.



A 30 second walk into the new clinic and WOW!

A brand new, clean, bright complex with state of the art modern facilities.
I demanded a guided tour!
The reception area is bright, beautifully decorated and very welcoming.
Alex's office is professional and very executive looking.
The changing facility areas are personal and incredibly comfortable.
The staff areas have good facilities making the nurses happy and content.
The theatre is spectacular! Nothing in there is older than a few months and it is sanitary, bright and incredibly comfortable.
As you can tell, I was shocked and felt so confident about my procedure.

Meeting the staff (using their English names)
Lena - The office manager and Alex's wife
Alex - A superstar and life-changer in my eyes
George - The anaesthetist with a relaxing and calming nature - he has done over 10,000 surgeries!
Areti - A professional and always smiling nurse
Joanne - The Chief nurse, always there for the procedure's success and my comfort

So, into Alex's office and for my consultation. I explained to him what I wanted and although he couldn't understand the need for another transplant, he understood my desire and what I wanted to achieve.
3000 - 3500 hairs would achieve maximum density, making my total hair transplant number over 12,000 in 2 years (is that a European record I wonder')



Totally bald to a thick head of hair in 2 years - I WILL achieve it.

Led into the patient changing room by Lena (she is such a star) and into my gown.
A short relaxing time sitting in the room, taking my pre-med and thinking about my new look.

Now this is where the procedure differs from my other two.
After been led into the surgery room and laid down on the operating table, George, the anaesthetist inserts a small catheter into my hand and injects a relaxing solution.



I genuinely don't remember the next 6 hours of surgery apart from the feeling of happiness, contentment and sleeping.



I know we stopped for lunch (the pictures prove that) and I don't remember any pain.



...and then back to the table for more hair to be transplanted...



The time I was awake, I asked Alex if I could see what happens to my hair when it is prepared for transplant - you need to ask this when you go over, it really is facinating and requires enormous amounts of patience and skill.



After going through the medications with Alex and Lena, and saying my goodbyes (I hope I said goodbye to them), Warwick walks me back to the hotel where I sleep until 7am the following morning.

Day 1 - Feeling Fantastic

April 4, 2006

Wake up feeling refreshed and still can't get over the fact that I had 6 hour surgery the day before. No pain, very little discomfort and if you looked at me, you would not know I had had anything done.
Warwick goes down for breakfast and is then met by Lena to go and have his surgery.

The great thing about ASANTO is that the day after your surgery, you have a post op check up, hair wash and relaxation at the clinic.
Had my hair washed and was given the all-clear.
I spent most of the day at the clinic watching Warwick's surgery - fascinating.
He spent most of it in a daydream or asleep, so George the anaesthetist really knows his stuff.
Took some photos and had a great chat to all the staff there before leaving the clinic with Warwick.
Two very happy customers!!

We went out to Goodies (Greece's answer to McDonalds) on the evening then both settled down for an early, stress and pain-free evening.

Day 2 - Chilling Out In Elysia

April 5, 2006

We had a very quiet day today, both of us relaxed and still pain-free. Warwick went to have his post op all clear and hair wash.
We popped into Elysia, had a meal and went for a short walk to absorb the past few days.
Neither of us could believe how quick, relaxing and pain-free the whole experience was.

Day 3 - Washing My Own Hair

April 6, 2006

Washed my hair today by myself, which was very nice.
Very gentle and not letting direct water jets touch the newly transplanted hair.
I think my body enjoyed the shower the most as I hadn't showered for 3 days.

OK, now here's how fast you recover....
It is less than 48 hours since Warwick's surgery and 60 hours since mine.
We're on a plane to the island of fun - Mykonos.
Both of us are fully recovered and'look completely normal - no evidence of surgery and off to have some fun and frolicking in the sun.

Here's some poser pics (how vain')

Excuse the bad lighting - but I think you can see how possible it is to look great within a couple of days of surgery.

Day 4 - Relaxing On Mykonos

April 7, 2006

Mykonos in April is not the liveliest of islands. In fact it is very quiet which is
good, as we are meant to be relaxing.
Making the most of it - sitting by the sea, drinking in the local bars and tasting the island's fine cuisine.

Day 6 - The Journey Home

April 9, 2006

A very long day.
Took a taxi from the hotel to Mykonos Airport, a flight to Athens International airport and then after a 4 hour wait, another flight to London Heathrow.
Fortunately and very surprisingly, I was met at Heathrow by a good friend who had come down to pick me up and take me home - what a star!
Said my goodbye's and thank you to Warwick and started the long 3 hour drive back home.
My friend couldn't believe his eyes - "Are you sure you had something done? All I can see is that you have a tan!"
That's the perfect response to a perfect procedure and a few days to recover in the sun.

Day 8 - First Day Back At Work

April 11, 2006

First day back at work (8 days since my procedure) and no-one believes I've had anything done - I show them my stitches and the new hairs and then i am believed.
It's great that I can walk around and no-one has any idea what's been done.
The ASANTO and the Choi method is perfect for guys who don't want to let anyone know what they've been away for...discretion assured :)

Day 11 - Stitches Are Removed

April 14, 2006

Just a quick entry to say that I have had my stitches out - it tickles!
Its a great relief to wash my hair with no stitches. Apart from the scar which will disappear after a few months, there is now no evidence of surgery.

Day 17 - My First Haircut

April 22, 2006

Down in London visiting Warwick - he is looking great!
Although I have had a little shock loss (the original hair falls out and regrows within 3 months - due to the shock of the surgery), he thinks I look amazing.
Had my first post-op haircut today at a great Turkish barbers in the Angel, London.
It looks good, feels great and I'm well on my way to the new look...only 4 months to go.

Andy Hunt's Hair History

April 28, 2006

These photos are of me a few days before I embarked on having hair transplants.

A brief hair history...

Hairloss maybe hereditary in our family - my Grandad was bald early, my father the same and both my brothers have high foreheads or are starting to lose their hair.

I was born in Birmingham (UK) in 1971 with white blond hair although very early photos (black and white mainly) show that my hair didn't really start to grow until I was at least a year old.

Throughout the first 10 years of my life, my hair went brown and although I had a very high forehead, was cut into a Beatle bowl, the inevitable centre parting at weddings and parties and I think I even had a session or two at cutting it myself (disastrously)

From 11 to 16, I had many styles (it was the 80's) from a back perm to highlights - every style always had tohave a fringe as I was very self-concious of my high forehead (or slap-head as it was sometimes referred to as)

My late teens saw the first sign of hairloss when my temples started to recede which unfortunately was made obvious with my high forehead.

By my early twenties the hair was slowly but noticable falling out.
It was around now when I embarked on trying to find ways to bring my hair back or at least stop it getting any worse.
At the back of National Newspapers were many adverts claiming miracle cures - lotions, potions and tablets to bring back hair.
It is not a surprise to say that none of these "snake oils" worked and my hair continued to fall out (although over the few years, I had spent over '16,000!)

So throughout my twenties I decided to bleach my hair white-blond to hide the fact I was bald as the contrast between white hair and a white scalp gives the impression of more hair - it does work although requires regular maintenance and is not to everyone's taste.

David Beckham saves the day!
Yes, I owe a lot to the fashion sense of David Beckham when he shaved his hair off a set a new trend.
So, I followed suit and shaved mine and because guys with full heads of hair were doing the same, it was difficult to know who was bald and who wasn't - perfect for me!

I researched Hair Transplantation thoughout the 90's and I felt the results were obvious and certainly not for me. The classic doll's hair/paddy field results looked false and would have made me feel worse so I gave up on looking.

However, in 2004, I first came across the Choi procedure and within a few weeks, I was booked into the clinic and had my surgery under the skillful talents of Dr Alex Santo....

Journal Archive Menu