Thana and Ronald,

I do hope you will take into account that what sounds good in theory and works for some, does not in fact work for all. As to styling and product, I couldn't be in better hands. Dr Feller is as we all know, a skilled, dedicated and experienced world class surgeon, and as I already stated my sister along with her staff has over twenty years experience as a beautician/hairstylist. However when illusion clashes with reality, we all fall to different sides of the fence. The amount of product I would need would be counter-intuitive. As I've learned you must use product judiciously at best or run the risk of drawing attention to the area in question.

Thana eluded to this himself when he referred to naturalness and undetectability.

"The three tenants throughout research: density (the illusion and actual increase), naturalness (both undetectability of product *and* boosting the naturalness of the HT itself) "

That said... if I were able to properly fill in the area behind my hairline I believe I would be in a much better position. I would prefer to look as an older naturally thinning man, if need be, than an over-processed guy trying 'way too hard' to conceal his balding with a comb-over. Which I'm told by the women I've spoken to is all to obvious.

Understand, the opinions I've expressed here and throughout this thread were derived mostly from feedback I received from friends and family. Mostly females.

Dr Konior,

Thank you for your excellent contribution to our discussion. And for your very insightful and helpful comments.

As to placement, in my untrained opinion I thought it might have been best if the bulk of the grafts were placed in the area behind the hairline.

Be that as it may, here I stand and I hope to move forward rather than belabor the past. And for that I do need to determine the following...

How well will further grafts placed in the 'scared' area in question grow ? And what percentage of growth can I expect ? This is of course paramount to making my decision.

And will the 1500+ grafts I have available be enough to make a noticeable cosmetic difference ? Or, in the end will I have a 'somewhat denser' area but still be relegated to having to do a comb-over ? Realistically then, I would have to wonder what would be the point ?

Lastly, and perhaps most important. Are repair patients who are sans 'strip' donor hair, still candidates for further work via FUE ? Whereas adding an addition 1000+ to the equation would obviously make or break the end result.

Dr Feller,

Yes, actually I found Dr. Konior's post very helpful. I do hope you can clarify something for me. As I mentioned in the Drs post, how well do you anticipate the grafts placed in the previously mentioned 'scared' area will grow ? And what percentage of those grafts do you expect to grow ?

Will the 1500+ available grafts that are left make enough of a cosmetic difference to alleviate the need of any further comb-overs ?

And after one is depleted of 'strip donor' what would be the possibility of further work if necessary via FUE ? Or perhaps even better a combination Strip/FUE session consisting of the remaining 1500 strip plus an additional 1-2k in FUE alleviating the need for any further work.

Thank you...

GIR,

I have read this series of posts over and over... And With that said, at least from your posts, you are handling your situation with calmness and logic-quite frankly, it's impressive. Your points and questions are logical and seem very well though out...

So here begs the question, as Dr Feller is a well repsected surgeon with consistently proven AND SOMETIMES AMAZING RESULTS, what is the likely hood of him performing another transplant on you while achieving a high growth rate? From my observation, now after reading your most recent post, and as the first procedure did not achieve generaly acceptable growth, it seems a very risky proposition... According to Dr. Feller, you only have about 3500 FU'S left in your donor area-max. This time GIR, yield failure would be catastrophic to your situation and more importantly, your quality of life...

As you noted, Dr Konior, another highly respected doctor gave you some great insight and more importantly, seemed sincere in his right up to you.

In the end GIR, as you well know, this is not just another procedure, it's your life... Not to mention the amount of time, energy, and money you invested in this process...

Gir, I know you would travel the world to find the best repair doctor. Is there a repair doctor out there who thinks out of the box and who has achieved a high growth rate of success regardles of scarring...Or is this even possible? In my opinion, this is the area where you need to begin...

"The truth is easy to recognize, however, at times hard to act on."

__________________
My Hair Loss Website - Hair Transplant with Dr. Ron Shapiro

GIR,
I don't know the percentage of possible growth in scarred area NOBODY can accurately predict that.

Yes, 1500 grafts will make a signficant cosmetic difference IF it grows well and IF it's all packed into what used to be your forelock area (and fringes).

The use of a combover is subjective so I can't answer that. As of now, you do not need to combover native hair from the left temple as you used to when I first met you. That is, the transplants now stand on their own WHEN STYLED of course.

The classic use of FUE are on patients who are "stripped" out. Mixing a strip and FUE in your case probably would not make any difference. Getting another 1000 or 1500 after your last strip via FUE is VERY possible, but again, nobody can know until they try.

I sincerely hope that helps you GIR.

M1A1,
Thank you for the kind comments on this and other threads.

GIR may have lost faith in me, and that's ok...but that's not going to make the odds of his next surgery any better. No doctor is going to come on to this thread and state that growth would have been better in their hands, because there isn't a single doctor out there who hasn't faced these same circimstances and produced equivalent results.

In fact I've had this very discussion with the following doctors at one point or another over the past few years and all of them have experienced the same exact situation and results:
Dr. Ron Shapiro
Dr. Victor Hasson
Dr. Jerry Wong
Dr. Scott Alexander
Dr. Steve Gabel
Dr. Ed Griffin
Dr. Tom Law
Dr. John Cole
Dr. Paul Rose
Dr. Bob Bernstein
Dr. Bill Rassman
Dr. H. Rahal
Dr. William Lindsey
Dr. Ray Konior
Dr. David Seager (RIP)
and many more.

But with that said, I don't think the issue here was poor growth. I know the focus keeps going to the former forelock area, but that was not the focus of the surgery. It simply couldn't be in the first round because what would be the point of using the best hairs in the forelock area when the front area looked so pluggy? NOW the focus can be put on the forelock area... and should be.

Ok, now I'm REALLY signing off this thread. GIR, if you have any more questions by all means come on down to the office.

Dr. Feller

__________________
Feller Medical, PC
Great Neck, NY

Dr. Alan Feller is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians

Providing Hair Transplants and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Treatments

GIR,

Quite honestly, choosing another surgeon isn't going to change the probability of getting better growth the next time around. Nobody really wants to hear this, but being a repair patient with previous scarring does add an extra layer of complication. While some repair patients experience excellent growth, others don't.

I do think the best thing to do at this point is take Dr. Feller up on his offer to evaluate you in person and discuss your options.

Best wishes,

Bill

__________________
Managing Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog and the Hair Loss Forum and Social Community

View our hair loss articles on EZineArticles.com

Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Subscribe to our Newsletters | How We Recommend Physicians

-----

To learn about how I restored my hair, view my my hair loss website.

Remember, true beauty radiates from within, not from the skin.

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own.

M1A1,

Thank you for your very kind words. Yes it is a life changing decision. And since there is a lot at stake, I certainly will tread lightly.

Good luck to you...

Dr Feller,

Although you signed off from this thread, I feel compelled to respond to something you said.
I have not lost faith in you at all, quit the contrary. And I'm very sorry if my posts implied as such.

To quote myself from a previous post... "Dr Feller is as we all know, a skilled, dedicated and experienced world class surgeon"

I do though frankly believe the results were not what I was hoping for, however I never believed you were at fault. Let's be honest about this, I am not qualified to make that judgment. Especially considering all the variables involved. I suppose that's why I'm here ? Hoping to find some answers.

I'll see you at your office...

GIR

Thanks for your advice Bill.... yes I agree.

GIR

The one variable to change would be choice of surgeon going forward. If you didn't grow then, I believe you could safely assume your scarring has precluded growth.

__________________
My Hair Loss Website - Hair Transplant with Dr. Arocha