ttaco

I have naturally straight hair, and after I've had transplants, the transplanted hair starts to grow in very wiry and crooked looking. But It straightens out over time. I'd say by 12 months post op, it looks just like the other straight hair. Hope that helped answer your question. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Good post, vocor. In regards to shaving, everyone's situation is different depending on their height, weight, shape of their face, and size of their noggin. A 5'8 bald guy with a rounded face (i.e. Jason ALexander "Costanza") probably won't look good with a shaved head. Some guys can pull it off, some can't. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Homer, you do bring up some good points. I am a perfect example of getting a HT at a relatively young age and it not looking bad at first because I had some existing hair to hide the hairline. Then that fell out and was left with a pretty ugly mini/supposed micro hairline. I also wasn't on medication at the time. But if you go to a great doc and take medication to help slow down your hairloss, you can have good results. Transplants with a good doc today are light years ahead of where they were 10 years ago. Secondly... "If transplants were so good how come ANDRE AGGASI didn't do it, he has the money". I hate the "why didn't (fill in the blank with bald rich person/celebrity) get a transplant" argument. So are you saying that it's impossible to get a good HT because Andre Agassi doesn't have one?? Perhaps he doesn't mind being bald. Some men don't. But I know for a fact Jerry Jones (Cowboys owner) had one, and he's pretty darn rich. Maybe if Agassi walked in to a top notch doc's office and was shown how good a modern HT can look, he would consider it. But the vast majority of people who don't do internet research still think the only end result is "plugs" because people only notice bad HT's. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Pat, I am definitely interested in participating in the Mentor program. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Just curious, baldboy, but why won't you say who your doctor was? You never seem to want to answer that question. Did you go to him for your 1st HT? How long did it take for those grafts to grow in? How many grafts? You need to provide more info. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Thanks again for the compliments. He did not remove any of the minis/micros. Interestingly enough, I also had a consult with Dr. Vogel in Baltimore, and he told me in no uncertain terms, "You CANNOT camouflage that!" I asked him about putting FU's in front of what I had, and he said it wouldn't work." He wanted to take out the old grafts and dissect them and re-implant them. Not saying that wouldn't have worked (nor am I saying Vogel isn't good at what he does), but it would have been a lot more expensive and caused more scarring. Yes, Dr Weidig of Rockville did the initial work. And he is now retired, although he sold his practice to Dr. John Kiely, who is STILL doing the same outdated procedure from what I hear. Kiely actually did the last small mini/micro procedure on me, although I don't know if they are no doing strip now or still the open punch grafts. I feel like e-mailing them the above pics. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco [This message was edited by ttaco on May 27, 2003 at 06:11 AM.]

He is in Clearwater, FL. Search through some old posts that contain his name and I think Pat briefly talks about why he isn't recommended. Most of his work is from referrals and he doesn't get too involved in the internet stuff, so he may just not want to pay the fee. Another poster named Andy went to him also and has posted his pics too. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Thanks Fabe. You are talking about the new hairline, right? Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Here are some before pics I asked Joe Greco to send me. I just got them today. This is just before the surgery, just after, and a 9 month post op pic. So please understand why I get a little perturbed sometimes when others say that Greco is "unqualified." Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Here are some before pics I asked Joe Greco to send me. I just got them today. This is just before the surgery, just after, and a 9 month post op pic. So please understand why I get a little perturbed sometimes when others say that Greco is "unqualified." Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

No reason for the "are you a little dense?" comment, arfy. Everyone gets some form of cold feet before their surgery. Most people that have been "butchered" (myself included) had minis and micros. It's been said a million times but it's the truth ... if you go to a good surgeon you'll be fine. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco [This message was edited by ttaco on May 26, 2003 at 08:03 PM.]

Keep in mind that was posted back in '98. If you go to a great doc you should be fine. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Don't take my word as gospel, as ts808 said, call him and ask. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

If you are talking about Paul Rose, he does do strip. At least I haven't heard of him doing FUE. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Best of luck Truckie. You should see a huge improvement. Your hairloss pattern is the closest thing I've seen to my own pattern, although you can't tell from my pics since the only before pic I have is after my initial mini/micro procedures. If I hadn't had those done my head would look a lot like yours. You definitely look like you have a good supply of dense donor hair which is awesome. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Stockton had his done many years ago. I pointed it out to a few family members though and they didn't even realize he had one. Goes to show that most people don't notice other people's hair as much as we think. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Thanks Futzy, I appreciate the kind words. Arfy, you are correct on the punch procedure, there was no strip taken. My dr. was Dr. Jeffrey Weidig of Rockville, MD. His practice was taken over by Dr. John Kiely. His website iswww.hair-transplantation.com. He did the last punch procedure on me. I'm pretty sure they are still using the same outdated procedure. I'm lucky I have very good density and that they didn't totally deplete my donor area. Greco says I have a decent amount of donor hair left, but I'm hoping I can hang on to what I have. If you read some of my old posts I talk more about the punch experience. The first one was done in '94 and the last one in '97. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Uncjim, you're welcome! Hope the pics are helpful for you and hopefully some others. Tkotko, I think the 8 month picture was a little "off" - could have been the lighting or something, because the 7 month pic looks more dense than the 8 month one, but I never noticed it til I put them side by side. I hope I don't have to get another HT for a very long time! I have to save the donor hair I have left; those punch grafts in the mid 90's used up a good bit of donor area. I'm happy with the density now, and it should get a little better over the next 3 months. I'm also looking forward to my new hairs straightening out like the rest of my hair. That should also make it look a little better. Thank God for Pat and this site, because I may have been suckered in by a big hair mill who would have claimed to do an FU procedure and fix my old hairline, and that would have been a disaster. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco [This message was edited by ttaco on May 16, 2003 at 06:35 PM.]

I am 9 months post op today and have added some new photos to my site (see link below). I also attached a file that shows 4 pics: 6, 7, 8, and 9 month post op photos from the same angle. I thought this might be helpful for those who are curious about the density increase from month to month, especially those who have had camouflage work done to hide old minis/micros. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

I am 9 months post op today and have added some new photos to my site (see link below). I also attached a file that shows 4 pics: 6, 7, 8, and 9 month post op photos from the same angle. I thought this might be helpful for those who are curious about the density increase from month to month, especially those who have had camouflage work done to hide old minis/micros. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

My insurance plan through Cigna only covers Proscar if you are 39 or older. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

If you've gone through bad HT's, you realize how much better a good one is after you have it. The old procedures were smaller, so it took a while before you realized they weren't very good. The docs would tell you "one more will make it look a lot better." Trust me, I went throught it. Look at my old pluggy hairline and then my new one. I know now more than ever whata good HT is and what isn't. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

I have also had success using 5% spiro on my mid scalp and crown. That along with 5% minox and proscar has greatly increased the density. A 2 month supply of spiro from Dr. Lee (www.minoxidil.com) costs about $33 plus $4.30 shipping. 1/5 proscar daily, generic 5% minox from Costco, and the spiro from Dr. Lee totals about $38 per month, not bad at all. I wish I had some before pics of my crown to post, but I didn't take any. The only negative (if you can call it that) is that it's tough to tell which of the 3 is helping the most. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Thanks for the compliments. Not sure exactly why he isn't recommended, probably does have to do with the fact he's not an MD. Don't know if there is/are other reason(s). In regards to the donor strip, Joe says he has a 2% transection rate the way he excises the donor strip. I couldn't be happier with the results. Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco

Go to www.toppik.com Results of my 1424 FU transplant procedure on 8/16/02 can be viewed at... http://community.webshots.com/user/ttaco