OtherSyde

Oh Texas? Well then you're in the home state of the Godfather of Ab-Etching, Dr. Henry Mentz in Houston! Lucky you. I looked at him but Dr. Mowlavi also had many great results, was way closer to me (I was living in San Diego), and offered me a fat RealSelf discount (from $18K to $13K). If you're already in Texas, I would definitely look into Dr. Mentz, he's pretty famous for his pioneering ab etching work. Here's his ab etching page. [EDIT] - And yes the holes they make are tiny; they're meant to be low-visibility. You can see how small they are in my immediately-after-surgery operating table pic above towards the beginning.

Really? I chose to stay wide awake during my otoplasty, I was talking to the surgeon and assistants just like with my HT's! They did comment that I was especially ballsy to do this however, since most people choose to go under. Oh heck yeah! In fact the procedure of getting pointy ears, aka the "Elf Ears" surgery, has become a bit of a popular thing among zoomers and cosplayers in recent years. You can change the shape of your ears for sure! This clip is from way back in 2013 almost a decade ago, and it's gotten way more popular since then!

There is one up underneath the overhang of each pec muscle near my armpits, two at the bottom of my abs below the waist-line about 6-8 inches apart, and one inside my belly button - all strategically placed to be out of sight in any normal circumstances - although from my pictures you can obviously tell that they're barely visible anyway as they were tiny little holes to begin with. They're just big enough for those little clear drainage tubes to be inserted for a couple of days, which are about the same diameter as the cannula used (hi-def lipo uses smaller, more precise cannulas than regular lipo does for the detail-work of carving out the little troughs between the muscles).

I haven't seen many 20+ year old facial implants, and no custom ones that old - just those old off-the-shelf ones which were all that was available back in the dark ages, so no idea how a custom implant will be in ~20 years, but I'd bet it'll be a lot better than one of those garbage off-the-shelf implants for sure. We'll see. As far the TMJ situation, I have absolutely no idea - honestly I would address fixing the TMJ via jaw surgery or something first, and then look at implants.

Yes! It's just lipo, really, but done with a smaller canula and the help of either high-frequency vibrations (VASER) or light/heat (SMART Lipo) so as to be much more detailed than traditional tumescent lipo. The fat cells are (aggressively) physically removed and gone though, so it's effectively permanent unless you eat so much for so long that you gain an absurd amount of weight (like 100+ pounds of pure fat) - which is basically the only way to get your body to create more fat cells past the late-adolescent stage of life. There's no need to work out like I do to keep the results, I'm just extra I guess. I have heard of that crappy temporary lipo you mentioned as well - I forget the many trendy name-brands it keeps hiding behind, but it's the kind with no actual surgery involved that "melts" or "freezes" away the fat, but it's actually not removing any fat cells and only temporarily emptying the cells in the area where it is applied. Cheap charlatan gimmicks and a total waste of money; avoid that stuff lol.

I read up on bone resorption and most implants won't significantly degrade a person's bone structure unless it's a result of friction from either the implant being too big (or not a shape that correctly matches up to the bone shape - which is common among the older, non-custom, generic off-the-shelf implants) and thus causing constant pressure on the bone, or if the implants are "floating" unsecured and hence move around. A well-made custom wrap-around implant would not have these issues due to being moulded to the bones and screwed into place as described above. The implant also would not really "break off", as they are fairly flexible silicone and won't snap upon bending. Your bones would break first. Like I said above though, taking a hit hard enough to break your jaw bone would cause big problems, and also getting a deep enough cut to expose the implant could definitely cause infection problems, so I guess if you're a pro MMA fighter that doesn't use any kind of face protection then this might not be for you. Most regular sports would be fine though - even football or rugby or whatever, since although they're definitely rough, they don't tend to involve extremely hard, sharp knuckle-shots directed specifically at your face/jawline like fighting does. These implants aren't invincible, but they're definitely not delicate either; they can survive real life.

There was mild scarring (like little pink lines) way back when I first got it in 2014, but it has since become almost invisible and the scars are only on the backsides of my ears (facing inward toward my head) anyway, so no one would ever be able to see it regardless. Very small incisions in a very obscure location. It's not a high-profile or intrusive surgery at all.

They are medical grade silicone and mildly flexible; they do not fuse with your bones, but they are custom-fabricated using your 3D CT-scans so they mould to your bone shape and fit like a glove. This alone would keep them from moving around much, plus they are situated underneath your masseteric sling muscles which cover a large part of your jaw bone (almost halfway down to your chin in fact). On top of all this, they are bolted to your jaw bone in 3 places using titanium screws. Now I'm not going to try and take up a career as a boxer or anything, but they're pretty secure, and if anything they probably would act as a sort of wrap-around rubber bumper for your jawline. I imagine if I got hit so crazy-hard that it actually broke my jaw, the implant would probably have to come out so the jaw bone could be wired back together and heal, but that's a whole situation I'm really trying to avoid for the remainder of life. Plus I'm 38 (so basically 40😥) and I'm a lot more worried about retiring as early as possible in the next 3-4 years, so I'm not trying to go out in the clubs or bars and get into fist-fights with random idiots like I'm 19 or whatever.

I did another one, and I've been wanting this one for a long, long time but couldn't afford it. I opted to go for the full setup of a custom-made bespoke wrap-around chin and jawline implant and ocular rim cheek implants (I had to get a CT-scan of my skull for a 3D model that they designed the implants around) with the world-renowned (and often controversial) Dr. Barry Eppley, in mid October 2021. I'm posting links to my IMGUR galleries because there are way, way too many pictures to post in one thread here. Here is me at various stages of life before. Initial implant design suggestion from Dr. Eppley without having met me first, just based on some facial pictures and the scans of my skull structure. I wanted MORE Second implant design, drafted by the doc after our first live Zoom planning session. In this rendition he accommodated my wild requests of increased size and angularity. Third (Final) implant design settled upon after our second Zoom session - a compromise between his common sense/surgical experience and my wild ambitions of metamorphosing into Kratos: God of Jawline The Day Before - The Eppley office and some neat prototype 3D printouts of my implants Days 1 and 2 Post-Op - Not pretty haha, brutal first 2 days, but worth it. Days 4 and 6 Post-Op - Better, but still look like a bloated pumpkin 7 Weeks Post-Op - Much much better, but not quite final form 9 Weeks Post-Op - Most recent pics, with a 10 Week pic at the end So yeah. Been waiting years to get this one, and it just so happened that I got a time-window of opportunity of about 35 days while moving from San Diego to Hawaii to start a new life and job with a bunch of people who had never seen me before (and hence, conveniently wouldn't notice anything "different"). Pretty happy overall! Questions/comment welcome.

Quick update, still going strong 4 years later! I'm no longer as bulky as I was in these pics which were taken in late 2021 - I was about 180lbs then, and I'm back down to about 170lbs now (I was in a bulk phase at the time).

Thanks! I keep it either a 3 or 4 guard now. 3 is a little iffy, but I can pull it off and it's slowly getting better every month. I did not know there was even a such thing as laxity exercises lol, maybe I should've been doing those! Feeling it right now with my hands as I lean my head forward, my scalp doesn't feel "tight" per se, or like is is stretching really. Scar stretching wasn't the reason I went back in the first place though - it was because, in order to avoid stretching in the first place, Dr. Gabel did not remove the entire scar with each subsequent procedure, instead only removing maybe ~50% of the previous scar each time, so the laxity/tightness didn't really significantly change but the scar grew wider each time. Then, this time he just removed the scar tissue alone and did a nice trichophytic enclosure to complete it (which is why there is now thin hair scattered throughout what remains of the scar area. I hope it gets a little more subtle, but I think it's just about almost at its pinnacle now; like I said, when I inevitably go back for another procedure sometime in the future I'll toss a few FUE grafts into it just to finalize it, but as of right now it's quite manageable with basically zero effort!

Just snapped this! The scar area is more white now and matches my scalp better, plus there are some hairs scattered throughout which helps with camouflage, and you can see on the right side of the scar where the hair isn't held up it gets significantly better coverage than before. Still, if/when I do another procedure (FUE this time!), I will probably toss a few hundred grafts at it just to rid myself of it once and for all - but overall it's much better now than it was and I'm glad I no longer have to cultivate a weird sort of "curtain" of longer hair above it in order to hide it!

No, I don't believe so, but I could be wrong... I'm pretty sure he's just a fat guy who got ab-etching but didn't do any of the fitness or weight-loss to match it. Also I think, rather than simply sucking all the fat out from the abdominal wall and detailing the cracks between the muscles like my doc did, I think his doctor actually used the lipo-wand to sort of creatively "sculpt" this guy's fat into the shape of abs (sort of like a butter-sculpture), so you're not actually even seeing ab muscle per se, just little muscle-shaped fat-blobs where the muscles should be. Interestingly, here are some actual implants, where a Canadian couple apparently entered a bodybuilding competition with actual silicone ab-implants; notice how their doctor, for some unfathomable reason, thought it would look anatomically correct to place the ab implants on top of their rib-cages, where ab muscles don't exactly naturally grow. They did not win the bodybuilding competition, as far as I am aware. But yeah, the results of these kinds of procedures can go hella sideways, which is why I thoroughly researched my doc and his methodology beforehand; I didn't wanna end up getting laughed at on the Joe Rogan Podcast on YouTube like these people.

I feel I should mention that I only have moderate density in the mid-scalp with a heavier density placed in the frontal-most rows to give me a solid phalanx of frontal hairline density for people to see; I have, however, augmented it significantly with some good ole' SMP, done in late 2019. This stuff works wonders in darkening your scalp to emulate density, especially if you have a pale-ass scalp like mine that strongly contrasts the color of your brown hair. Before - you can see how thin it looks even with somewhat longer hair to try and mask my glowing scalp: And after - with density appearing higher even with shorter-shaved hair: And after I grew it out a little (3 or 4-guard I think?):

It certainly seems that way - as the swelling went down completely (it took months) and my skin reattached itself more firmly to my torso and sort of sank into the troughs between the abdominal muscles and molded to my shape, the look became sharper and more "finalized" I guess. I know this procedure isn't the best for everyone and is not a "fix-all" for most people, but if you're a fairly slim/fit person to begin with and just want a more defined torso, it can turn out very well. Definitely want to get the rest of your body slim and fit before the procedure though, or you could end up like Darryn Lyons from Celebrity Big Brother:

I don't do a lot of ab exercises, just situps and crunches here and there to be honest! With very minimal fat cells left on my front abdomen, I just have to keep my torso in decent shape (so it doesn't get flabby or bloated) and it just keeps looking like this. In the weeks following the surgery I promptly dropped ~10lbs (not due to having it physically sucked out, but more just due to the bodily stress of a major surgery I think), then slowly gained it back in visceral fat over the next ~3 years largely due to a semi-sedentary lifestyle because I work in tech and sat at a desk all day, drinking sugary energy drinks to stay awake. Ugh. Weirdly my abs stayed ripped-looking even when bloated - it just sort of looked like I got a mild version of that bulging "bubble-gut" gorilla-belly effect that bodybuilders get from taking too much Human Growth Hormone and Special Sauce (i.e. - the 'roids), and it looked a bit odd. Then, within the last 3-4 months I have moved to a much more physically active position, and also switched to zero-calorie energy drinks and stopped eating basically any candy/snacks except occasionally, and I'm down ~10lbs again (sitting at about 162lbs right now). I also got a rhinoplasty and gynecomastia surgery ~2 months ago as well, which caused me to lose several pounds since I couldn't smell or taste anything for almost a week afterwards so I ate very little. It's been a ride to say the least, but a successful one that has yielded results I'm very happy with!

Thanks, and here are a few pics from over a decade ago, back before I got anything done; I'd basically be a hard Norwood 4 or 5 by now without the expert intervention of Dr. Gabel and the patience of the members on this forum teaching me the ways!

OK, updated both threads and here's some links. Promise I'll stop hijacking this thread now!

As an update from more recently for anyone wondering if these things last, I'm still doing good and keeping in shape!

Yep! I keep my hair at roughly a 3 to 4 guard in the back now, instead of a 5 or 6 guard like before. The scar is still slightly visible under brighter lights if you know what you're looking for, but no one has ever commented or asked about it in real life. Overall much happier than before! I threw in a few pics (under bright vanity light) below as well just as a comprehensive update, ~4 years since my last actual HT.

Thanks; without hijacking this thread, I'll snap a few pics and make an update thread shortly

Wow this result is almost obscenely good! Don't listen to the haters either, I'm 37 and I've also used about ~4,500 total grafts (also all via FUT like you); I think I read on here that the typical donor has 7K to 8K total donor grafts available, and if (like me) you've already covered the entire frontal third of your head with transplanted hair that will likely last for decades, then even if some hair back near the crown starts to thin and fall out in the future we'll still have thousands of grafts to transplant there if necessary. And that's not even taking into account how far body-hair transplantation has come, if it comes to that. You'll be fine. Congrats on the home run!

⏫ This right here haha, go enjoy your life man, you look great

Holy hell this thread blew up while I wasn't paying attention, RIP my Inbox 😧

I dunno man, I wouldn't worry; looks fantastic overall and I'm sure anyone without an eye specifically trained to look for the subtleties of hair transplants would never even notice. Besides, you can always go back for a way smaller and less expensive procedure to touch up the unforeseen things like some of the grafts not taking so well in that one little area near the right temple, and blending more grafts back into the native hair to make the transition flow better. Still looks like a home run to me, man! Congrats!