HairSite's Personal Journal, September 2002
First Three Weeks After Follicle Transplantation at Gho Clinic

Why Dr. Gho?

When I wrote about Gho Clinic's Follicle Transplantation story in May 2002, I made a public announcement that I would consider a hair transplant procedure for a small number of grafts. I had one hair transplant procedure back in 1995 and personally I do not think that strip excision surgery is appropriate for me. However, this new generation of so called "minimally invasive", "patient friendly' and "excision free" hair transplant piqued my interest. 

DAY 1 - Arriving Maastricht & Consultation

Arrival
Same as last year, I traveled to Maastricht via Amsterdam. However, next time I would try the connecting flight from Amsterdam to Maastricht. Read my travelogue for details. 

Ground Transportation My consultation was scheduled for 1:30 in the afternoon and Gho Clinic advised that the 10:27 am train from Amsterdam would bring me to Maastricht at 1 pm. The trains in the Netherlands (or perhaps throughout Europe) are surprisingly punctual. I arrived Maastricht at 1 pm. I purchased Gho Clinic's overseas package which covers all ground transportation in Maastricht. As soon as I exited Maastricht Central Station, I saw a gentleman holding a "GHO CLINIC" sign. I was escorted to a Mercedes Benz by the driver and was driven off to Gho Clinic immediately for my consultation.

Estax Car Service

Consultation
During the consultation, I made it very clear to Dr. Gho the following issues in the order of importance:

I was looking for a very small procedure with no more than 200 grafts for fear of possible shock fallout and other complications. I had a major case of shock fallout when I had my strip excision surgery last time. A substantial amount of my hair on top fell out and never grew back. For some reasons, my concern for possible shock fallout intensified substantially as I arrived Gho Clinic. While I knew that nobody could guarantee whether shock fallout would happen or not, I insisted that the procedure would have to be under 200 grafts.  

I was concerned that some of my existing hair would be damaged as a result of the incisions that were created by removing bald tissue. I requested that on a certain part of the recipient area, micro incisions were to be made without removing bald tissue from the scalp. 

The plan
Dr. Gho and I finally came to an agreement on how the procedure should be executed. We addressed the angle of the grafts, the placement of the grafts, the number of grafts, the types of incisions as well as location of the donor site for the purpose of the procedure. We decided to work with my existing hairline and to only focus on a tiny wedge on my left temple instead of attempting to fill in my entire hairline. It's hardly possible to do anything radical considering that it was only about 200 grafts.

Administrative Issues
"Before" pictures were then taken and toward the end of the consultation, Dr. Gho had me filled out the necessary paper work, signed the disclaimer or waiver form and of course paid for the procedure. 

DAY 1 - Bon-Aparte Hotel

Tour of Maastricht
When the consultation was over, Dr. Gho was kind enough to take me out for a late lunch and gave me a little tour of Maastricht as well as his offsite research project. That was much appreciated. Dr. Gho then drove me to my hotel and got me settled down.

Hotel Accommodation The hotel accommodation was part of the overseas package. The hotel is called Bon-Aparte located in a very charming area in Maastricth city center. The arrangement resembled a bed and breakfast where meals were served at the restaurant on the ground floor. Details and pictures can be found in the travelogue section. The picture to the right was taken from my hotel room. It was in a very charming area.

Welcome Basket
In my room there was a welcome basket from Gho Clinic with all kinds of Dutch goodies - that was much appreciated ! How nice !

End of Day 1
Since I had a late lunch, I decided to skip dinner and went out for a walk. The area was very safe and there was so much history all around. By the time I got back to the hotel, I was exhausted and I probably ended up in bed by 10 pm.