Hi: I'm looking for advice regarding HT surgeons, and, techniques...I'm a former HT patient, and, had transplants 20 years ago--100 plugs in the hairline & top of scalp...it's obvious that HT techniques have improved dramatically since 1985, and, that FU's are the "gold standard" today...the information available today is tremendous, but, at the same time makes it difficult to make a decision...my dilemma is whether or not to have a transplant with 100% FU's when I really don't have a "virgin" scalp to work with...some recommended surgeons use a combination FU & minigraft procedure...in my case, does it really matter if I had a combinantion procedure or all FU's?...have any member's of the forum had a similiar background/experience?...I'm very interested in the opinions of the informed members of this forum...thanks very much for any opinions/replies!

Mike

Hi: I'm looking for advice regarding HT surgeons, and, techniques...I'm a former HT patient, and, had transplants 20 years ago--100 plugs in the hairline & top of scalp...it's obvious that HT techniques have improved dramatically since 1985, and, that FU's are the "gold standard" today...the information available today is tremendous, but, at the same time makes it difficult to make a decision...my dilemma is whether or not to have a transplant with 100% FU's when I really don't have a "virgin" scalp to work with...some recommended surgeons use a combination FU & minigraft procedure...in my case, does it really matter if I had a combinantion procedure or all FU's?...have any member's of the forum had a similiar background/experience?...I'm very interested in the opinions of the informed members of this forum...thanks very much for any opinions/replies!

Mike

Mike,

Another issue to consider is whether or not to remove your previous large grafts and have them microscopically trimmed into small grafts and then redistributed.

Not all surgeons, even those doing all FUT, are skilled at removing old plugs and redistributing them. Some times these surgeons just try to add more refined grafts in an effort to "camouflage" these large grafts.

I think if you have large grafts the ideal solution is to remove the old grafts first.

Dr. Vogel in Maryland who is recommended on this site is renown for doing excellent repair work.

Visit this site's "Research Library" and read his in-depth presentation on how he repairs previous work.

I wish you the best in getting the results you want.

Pat

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I also had plugs about 20 years (more than your 100) and recently had 1600 FU grafts which did a nice job of obscuring them. Unless you have a lot of plug grafts right in the hairline, they can be surrounded with new FUs will effectively hide them. I originally wanted them out, but my doctor suggested leaving them, which I went along with and it turned out better than I thought it would. In any case I would suggest going with all FUs, whether you have the old grafts removed or not.