jimmybald

What does potential recommendation mean? I thought he was already on the list of hair transplant network coalition. Anyway I just had surgery with Dr. Panine yesterday. It was a 13 hour surgery and I received 3226 grafts. It was tough to sit there that long, but they have a TV with plenty of channels and they feed you a fantastic lunch. Also Dr. Panine was involved in the entire surgical process. He placed grafts with the technicians( beautiful techs btw)and was always concerned how I felt. Now the wait time begins... I will post pics when I get them from Stuart(the patient advisor/office manager)

Hopefully I won't need another surgery for some time. But it is a relief to now that my donor area has great characteristic, such as, density, hair thickness, and waviness.

I got my first transplant from Dr. Pong 14 months ago. Yesyerday I a second surgery withr DR. Panine(a coalition member.) He said that my transplant was great and that the scar was the best it can possibly be. Have trust in Dr. Pong, I would of probably went back but I'm in the USA now so it's to far to travel even with his lower prices.

I had a surgery with Dr. Panine and his wonderful staff on 4/27. I received 3226 grafts. About 2500 in the crown and the rest to refine the hairline and densify the mid scalp. The procedure took from 10am until 12am with only a few small breaks. Not much pain, just a little donor tenderness which is to be expected. Another thing I wanted to share with you is about my work that I had with Dr. Pong in Thailand. Dr. Panine and all his staff were really impressed with my hair growth results and donor scar. Update: 5/1

I have already considered the unpredictable future of my hair loss. I understand the potential issues that can arise if I continue to bald. I'm not going to hit the crown with density, just 1500-2000. I am going to stay on the horizontal plane of my head as Dr. Beehner mentioned in a previous post. I am also committed to Propecia until a better drug comes along or until I die.. or I'm so old that idgaf about hair loss. Thanks Bonker for your encouragement. I agree with you about doing it while I'm young. When I see 50-70 year olds getting transplants, I wonder why they care after being bald for so many years. Obviously it has affected them for a long time and if they had the technology in the past, when they were young, they would have jumped at the chance. Therefore I'm going to trust in the knowledge of a hair network coalition member and pray that it all works out.

Quick Update on my situation. I have decided to have surgery with Dr. Panine out of Chicago. Dr. Panine and his staff will add density to the thinning crown and refine the hairline from my previous surgery. I will be having this surgery on Friday, April 27th . I think I will get between 2000-2500 grafts. I very excited about having a surgery with someone that is recommended on this site. That's not to say I am unhappy with Dr. Pong, my previous surgeons, work. Although. I'm curious to hear a professional opinion about my prior surgery from Dr. Panine. Wish me luck!

Thanks so much Dr. Beehner for taking the time to reply in such detail, it is really helpful for me in my decision. Sometimes the cold hard truth, as much as it stinks, is what needs to be said. I have been told that I need 2500 grafts but the doctor never mentioned other possibilities or future complications if hair loss continues.

I wouldn't call my crown slightly thinning. I didn't get barely any replies from my other thread because it was mixed up and I don't think many people bothered to open the message. To be honest, it does bother me, a lot. I can get by with nanogen alright but it really sucks having a GF and freaking out when she touches my head. I'm still not sure what to do. I might hold out a few more years to see what happens with the rest of my hair. Although I have the money to do it now so that's why I'm considering just getting it over with. I am happy with Dr. Pong for the most part. One side is less dense as I've said before, hard to see in the pictures which I took with my iphone. He has offered to fix anything I'm not satsifed with and has great communication with me. He has suggested 2000-2500 to the crown area. Difficult choice

Background 29yrs, propecia 3yrs, rogaine 3 years, one surgery in the corners of hairline(temples??) 1800 grafts 1 year ago DR. Pong. How many grafts do you think it might take? Who is the best crown doctor in your opinion? Also my donor is dense, hair is wavy, and hair diameter in thick(spanish ancestors).. all positives.. negatives- young No one in my family is slick bald. The only person with thinner hair is my moms dad but his crown is better than mine and he's 65. My dad and his dad have elvis hair. Life's not fair. Anyway thanks for your input and advice.

Any others care to contribute their opinion

Any others care to contribute their opinion

Thanks for the few replies I did receive. I would really like to fix the crown but I am concerned about the future as will all know what could possibly happen. Sometimes I think I should just be satisfied with my front looking alright and try to forget about the back for now. Easier said than done. I'm not sure the hair has stabalized or not, and I'm not really sure how to tell. It hasn't gotten any worse from the inital loss I had before I started treatments. Actually it got better only to go back to baseline and then better again.. and now, once again ,worse, where it is now... confusing I know I still lose quite a bit of hair when washing and brushing so maybe it hasn't stabalized.. but I've heard time and again that you shouldn't count hairs.. it could be normal shedding and so on.. Anyways I'm rambling, I'm just really at a loss on what to do at this point..

Over 100 views since the update and one reply. I would love some advice from the guys that have been here awhile and can tell me honestly what they think I should do.

Has anyone heard any info on this doctor? Here is his website (Link removed by moderator) The only thing that concerns me is that he has no before/after pics on the English version of his site. I tried to navigate the Korean version but could not find many pictures. If you know of him or any great surgeons in Korea, please let me know. Thanks

I will post picks at the 6 month mark, a little over a month from now. As of now I am very happy with my right side but my left side is severely lacking behind. I am concerned that it can't possibly catch up. There are no new hairs sprouting and looks about the same as it did at 3 and 1/2 moths to be honest. See you at 6 months

I am a little over 17 weeks post op with Dr. Pong. I am happy with the scar, I can barely find it, hair is growing through like it should. The only problem I am facing is very uneven growth. My right side has about double the length and density compared to the left side. It has me a little stressed to say the least. I'm concerned that the tech on my left side was not as competent as the one on my good side. Anyways I have amazing growth on the right side, I just hope they even out. I know it's early but I just don't understand how my one side can be so full. I will update pictures at 20 weeks in my thread. Good Luck

Bump for update on oral minox

Congrats on the surgery. I have a question about the oral minox. I noticed that your hair was severely thin in the crown in your before pictures but know it is very thick. Do you contribute that success to the oral minoxidil?

I have nothing but good things to say about my experience with Dr. Pong. I am only a little over 2 months post op so can't really say anything about my results. I do have hairs starting to sprout but nothing major, which is expected at this juncture. My scar is still pretty red but I can see the thin line so the closure looks to be top notch but I am far from an expert. Also Dr. Pong doesn't charge extra for the aids test or consultation. I feel that it is pretty petty to ask for more money plus the high price of the surgery. You'd think they could just include that. Also Dr. Pong offered for me to come in everyday to have my hair washed. I was stayed 8 days after my procedure, I thought that was very caring and generous. I will take pictures at the the 4 month mark to show my progress. You can also find my pre and post op photos on this site. Best of luck in your choice and outcome.

I stopped rogaine only one day before the procedure as prescribed by the doctor. I started two weeks after in the areas that were transplanted. I continued to put rogaine in area that were not transplanted two days after the surgery. My hair got a lot better by taking propecia and minoxidil for ten months before the surgery, except in the temples where I received 1900 grafts. After surgery I've been shedding everywhere taking major steps back. Anyway, I know that hair loss can be a roller coaster ride and that I am now on the bottom of the hill. I was just curious if anyone else had shed all over even though the surgery was only in the temples and hairline.

Bump...WTF still shedding a lot of hair. I'm pretty distraught right now. At this rate I'll have hair in the temple area that is transplanted yet nowhere else. FML! Hair loss is the biggest burden and piece of shit ever. Has anyone else had the experience of shedding all over after a transplant? I am almost two months post op. Almost a year on Propecia.... maybe it's a major seasonal shed? I don't know what the hell it is but all I know is that it's distressing.

I had a hair transplant FUT in the temple area about one month ago. I have shed about 60% of the 1900 grafts in the temples/hairline. The problem is, I'm having a major shed all over the top of my head not just around transplanted area. I have been on propecia for 10 months and minoixidil for awhile. Is it normal to get shockloss in non transplanted areas. Has anyone else experienced this after a transplant?

I had surgery with Dr. Pong is Chiang Mai. It was a great experience, no complaints. It was only two weeks ago so I can't speak for results. His website show prices and over 150 before and after pictures of results. I got 1964 grafts, came out to $3350.

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Well it's the day after my surgery. I had 1964 grafts. The cost was $3250. The strip was 18cm or long and 1cm thick. Not sure on the graft counts yet. I will pictures as soon as Dr. Pong sends them to me. The surgery is pretty painless as most people have stated. The shots are not nearly bad as I thought. The pain started about an hour or two after surgery from the donor area and a massive headache like feel. I took the pain meds and some valium and felt good enough to sleep. Today I feel basically nothing. The staff was kind and the mood was very relaxing. The actually surgery from when I was cut and then the placement of grafts took about 4-5 hours. A couple of concerns that I was thinking during the surgery. It seemed that when the doctor was making the incisions to place the grafts and did not take that much time at all. It felt like 15 minutes. Maybe I was high on valium and my concept of time was off. How long would it take to make almost 2000 incisions normally? I think that the assistants made some of the incisions while working and implanting. Is this normal? On the other, when he removed the strip, it took quite a while, much longer than making the recipient incisions. All and all it was pretty much a pain free experience and I had great treatment I will post pictures asap because I would love some feedback on how the work looks.