The Procedure:
I arrived at the Alvi Armani clinic in Beverly Hills and was greeted by a very friendly staff and a very nice and discreet clinic. After completing some paperwork I was taken into another room for my initial photos and changed into my robes. After I was changed I met with Dr. Baubac and we went over what we were planning to do with the graft distribution and some of the other details of the procedure. Then we went into the procedure room and began getting ready for the extraction stage. This is when I was first introduced the rest of the Alvi Armani team. The entire team was amazing and were looking to provide me with any assistance or any comfort I desired throughout the day. I can’t say enough about how friendly and considerate they were, the entire experience was fantastic and all of the staff played a significant role in that.
Before the extractions began I was given some numbing agents which made the whole process completely painless. The entire extraction took a couple of hours but seemed like it went really quickly. Once the extractions were complete we still had some time before lunch so Dr. Baubac began on working through the incisions. The incisions are where the Dr. punches the holes for where the transplants will eventually be placed. After this had been completed we took a break for lunch, which was also incredibly good (I recommend the Chipotle Chicken Wrap!). After lunch we put on a movie and the team came in and began implanting the extracted hairs. This last step of the procedure took a few more hours but will vary for every case depending on who many grafts are being done.
After the procedure was done we took some after pictures and washed off the donor area. Dr. Baubac and I talked about about the success of the procedure and to give me some my instructions for the first night. I will be honest, my head was a bit sore the first night and that coupled with the sleeping position of having to sleep in an upright position made falling asleep quite difficult. In order to protect the new grafts and reduce swelling you must sleep in an upright position (like sleeping in a Lazy-Boy) and I am already excited to lay down and sleep normally again. My donor area was throbbing a bit as a tried to fall asleep and I took one of the pain killers that Dr. Baubac had included in my take home package. Eventually I drifted off and was able to stay in the upright position the entire night.
The next morning I had some breakfast and took my prescribed medication for after the meal and made my way down to the clinic for another post-op cleaning and check-up. This visit was short and sweet - although given how pleasant the staff is I wouldn’t have cared if it took a couple of hours. In this morning session we reviewed the spray and medication schedule as well as some of the other questions I had such as how long before I can return to a fitness regimen (28 days or so) and how long will it take for scabbing to deplete. After that they arranged for a cab to take me back to my hotel and it was off to the airport.
Going into this procedure I did copious amounts of research, looked into a variety of clinics and scoured over results photos before deciding on Alvi Armani and Dr. Baubac Hayatdavoudi. I was excited about my procedure but given my personal situation I kept very conservative expectations. After the procedure I was absolutely thrilled with the results, we were able to cover more area while also providing some more density based on the way my hairline naturally flowed and the shape of my head. Over the next couple of weeks my head will heal and scabbing will slowly disappear and after the first month most (or all) of my transplanted hair will fall out, and I am oddly excited about that. I know the new transplant will have to go through the normal hair cycle and when they come back the second time those are the ones that will be there for good. My biggest concern was having the procedure go badly, not meet my hopes or expectations or be an unpleasant experience; after all, this isn’t a small expense. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience, a better team of doctors or better results. There are a lot of good HT doctors, but there are none as exceptional as the Alvi Armani team. I look forward to updating you all as the the weeks and months progress.