jimmybald

Just had my consultation with Dr. Pong. I am scheduled in the morning for around 1800 grafts in the temple hairline area. If you look at my pictures before you can see that it looked as I would need 3000-4000 grafts as quoted by many top docs from this site. I took the picture at about 2 months on propecia. I have now been on the med for 9 months and it has thickened the crown mid scalp area enough where I don't need grafts. It's not 100% thick but improved. About the area and office. I was a little concerned because of the area. Lots of motorbikes and a little bit of a third world feel. Once I arrived at this office I felt better. The place was very swanky and modern. Dr. Pong was very polite and spoke to me about all of my concerns. I already knew the answers to most of my question through the last year of research but wanted to make sure everything was similar. I also use something called thymuskin gold gel, it's damn expensive but I use it. Not sure if it is providing benefits or not. Plus minoxidil spray twice a day. I will post pictures as soon as I get them and update my progress until the end. Wish me luck my balding comrades!

Thanks for the elaborate write up. I am leaving for Chiang Mai this Sunday, so this definitely helps put my ming at ease. I will be staying in the area 9 days after surgery. Do you think that us enough time to heal in order to wear a beanie hat on the airplane back to South Korea? Thanks again

I actually saw the pictures before they were taking down but I didn't have enough time to reply. I would be very disappointed with the results with that many graphs. It seems that most doctors on this board are covering that same area with half the grafts yet better results. It's kind of suspicious how the pictures were removed.. I always thought this site was about pure honesty no matter what the outcome of the transplant was.. I guess even the "best" doctors are not always producing great results. .

Quick update, I'm pulling the trigger on a transplant next month. I've been on propecia for 8 months will be 9 at time of surgery. I have stopped losing hair in the shower for the past 3 months. I think it might have stabilized. I'm committed to continue use of propeica. When I took the above picture that was my worse and I believe it is because of the propecia shed. My hair is thicker and the crown is looking much better. I think I am only going to deal with the front 1/3 during my transplant and let the meds continue with the crown. I might address the crown sown the road but i think it's too risky now with possible shockloss. I've decided with Dr. Pong in Chiang Mai. I have been in contact with him for about a month. His website is legit and he has over 150 results on it. He uses all the latest techniques and has done over 1200 surgeries. Plus his staff has been there since he started 9 1/2 years ago. The price is right plus I can relax in Chiang Mai for two weeks after surgey. I am slightly nervous getting a surgery in a foreign country but I have researched and feel that he will do a successful job. I will detail everything. Wish me luck

Dear fellow balding community, I am officially booked for an appointment with Dr. Pong in Chiang Mai. I just sent my deposit and I will have the surgery Jan 25th. I hope the new year brings more hair for all of us! I know that I'm taking a risk by not going to a coalition member on this board but I have gut feeling that I will have a solid outcome. I will be detailing the entire experience. It's exactly one month away and the butterflies are already churning, Wish me luck

Nice blog Synz4 I'm started to lean towards Dr. Pong. He emailed me back promptly answering my questions. He has been exclusively practicing transplants for 10 years and has done over 1000 surgeries. His techs have all been there for around 9 years which I know is very important to the outcome. I am also between work and have an opportunity to relax in Chiang Mai for a month as I heal. Madhu or Pong that is the question.. Anyways I have to book it within the next two weeks so I will keep this updated

synz4- Thanks for that reply. I know all about Dr. Path but his prices are more than double that of Dr. Pong. I am also considering Dr. Madhu because of his competitive prices. Right now I am going to choose between Madhu and Pong. I know that Dr. Madhu is a recommended doctor here so I will probably choose him, but I really wanted to see Thailand for vacation and a surgery at the same time. I'm having surgery in Jan or Feb so I will be sure to start a blog and document the entire experience.

Does anyone have any information on this surgeon? His prices and website look great but I'm worried it could be to good to be true. I'm in South Korea so I am enticed by the distance and cost. Thanks for your input.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I narrowed it down to Bisanga, Path, and Hasson. I like Path and Bisanga because they have shown great results and their prices are reasonable. Unfourtunatley I only have about 6,000 saved up now and will have about 8,000 in January when I'm getting the procedure. I got approved for a loan with care credit to the transplant with Hasson. I will have just enough with my savings and loan. The credit company does not loan money for procedures outside of North America. But the problem is I can't make a decision if I want to drop 20,000 dollars, plus the interest from the loan portion, with Hasson. If I wait and I keep saving until I get 12,000 I can then pay cash and get the same number of grafts with Dr. Path or Bisanga. The question is...is Hasson that much better than the other two, as in 8,000 dollars better. This is the biggest decision of my life thus far and it's not an easy choice. What should I do? I need advice

I noticed that Dr. Bisanga isn't recommended here. I am seriously considering him for my hair transplant as of now. He is decently priced and have heard nothing but good reviews on the web. Is there are reason he is not recommended here that I am missing? I'm aware that Doctors have to pay a fee to be on this site in addition to proving outstanding work. So is Dr. Bisanga not participating in this process or doesn't feel he needs to pay fee because he is well known already. I would think I doctor would indeed pay a little extra for the amount of potential plublicity from this site. Anyway, has anyone every had a transplant with him or know someone who has? Any advice you have would be kindly regarded.

So this is what I got so far.. Hasson - says I'm excellent candidate 4000-4500 grafts .. rough estimate 18,000 Bisanga- Not recommended here but I think he would be if he just participated, great reviews on internet and his site. 4000 - 4500 roughly 13,500 maybe some discounted FUE work in addition Madhu- Only wants to focus on frontal third first 2000-2500 roughly 3,000 Dr. Path is roughly the same as Bisanga I'd rather get a mega session so it kind of rules out Madhu. What would you choose? Are they any options you think I'm missing? Look forward to your results Tom. I haven't completely rule out Madhu if propecia kicks in for my crown, but I think I need a miracle for that to happen

I pretty much agree with TC17 at this point. If you go to Dr. Madhu's website, he only has maybe 6 before and after pictures, although they do look great. On the other hand, Dr. Hasson has a one or two post a week of results. I still have some time to decide since I plan on getting the surgery either in February or August. I agree with the point that money is regainable, whilea mediocre hairtransplant is not. So I should choose the best surgeon available regardless of price.

What would you do if you were in my situation? I have enough money saved to have a transplant by Dr. Madhu now and forgo getting in debt. Or.. I can have a transplant by Dr. Hasson which will cost me upwards of 10,000 dollars more. I will have to go into debt for this extra money. A little background info... I'm 28yrs, yearly income around 35,000, have 6,000 in savings, and already have about 12,000 in student loan debt. As you see, I'm not rolling around in the dough but I'm willing to sacrifice to get a good transplant. So what would you do if you were in my shoes, or should I say, if you were under my hat? Thanks for your recommendation and advice

Does anyone have any advice on Loniten? I read the post by Dr. Path who is a very highly regarded surgeon and now I'm very curious to give it a go before going the transplant route. If any one has used it and seen results please let me know Also I have borderline high blood pressure(not over weight, eat healthy,..) that I've been told is genetic. Can high blood pressure cause hair loss? either way maybe loniten can kill two birds with one pill. ] Thanks for any advice

Thanks for the advice, I will duly follow. So let just say, hypothetically, my hair stays like this after 12 months on genuine propecia, would it be viable to proceed with a hair transplant? Do you think I would experience significant shock loss? I have good news about the new propecia I'm taking. My hair has slowed down in shedding and I see a few hairs sprouting around the hairline that weren't there before. I'm not getting my hopes up yet but it's a good sign since my hair on generic fincar continued to shed at the same rate. I know the generic fincar vs. real propecia has been discussed to death, but do you think that by chance it could of been fake or miss dosed? I'm hoping it was fake actually.

Thanks for the support fingers crossed. That's my plan now I will continue with my genuine propecia for ten more months, by that time I'll be almost 29 years old and can make a better decision about a transplant. Does anyone know about the mixing of folligen and minoxidil? I put them together in a spray bottle for easy application but I'm not sure if the minoixidl degrades once mixed together. If anyone else wants to chime in that was in a similar hair pattern situation as me, please do. Thanks

Thanks for the reply, disheartening but probably a reality. What really confuses me is that there no nw6-7 in my family at all. My great grandfater just died at 90 with a nw 1.5, my father is a nw 1 still at 46. My mothers father shaves his head and is maybe a nw 3 at 67. How in the hell did I end up with this!! I'm considering taking lontien if my real propeica doesn't kick in. I just started month three of it. I took cipla 1.25mg for ten months already. Do think there is a possibility that it was fake? Also does minoxidil lose it's efficacy if pre mixed with folligen? So a hairtransplant is beating a dead horse you think? On Dr Madhu website I've seen guys balder thank me get decent results, at least that is what the pictures suggest. I've aslo seen other transformation on this site. Why am I a lost cause epileptic? Thanks

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