fortune11

Very impressive result, Shera. Looks like a huge transformation and very fast paced growth too at just 5 months . Hope it continues to get better !

johny2000 -- you actually have quite a decent head of hair pre op (I know everything is relative) , so definitely don't feel depressed about going out , etc. The situation is also quite fixable as some others have commented , and while the scars are quite visible to those of us (like in this forum) who are scanning for such things , to a lay person it will not be as obvious if you were to grow your hair even slightly longer . All that being said, this is indeed a subpar result -- whether to switch surgeons or not depends on how serious do you think they are about fixing their reputation . A lack of response by the doctors clinic on this board would seem to indicate they are not , at least so far .

Good luck with your procedure, you have made the right choice of surgeon and the procedure and the number of grafts should get you decent coverage in the front and mid scalp , assuming thats what you want to focus on. I personally hate trying to mask the thinning as well, as the mask / concealment tends to come off at the worst possible times and makes you more nervous about your looks than you need to be .

Joe I agree you said that about coarse hair, --- what I meant is , his haircut is a lot shorter in the pre op photos compared to post op so I am not sure if I can really make out whether there is any meaningful difference at all in the areas (crown) that were not operated on . Maybe if the post op haircut was kept at a similar clip, any further growth (or the lack of it) in the non transplanted areas would be more obvious.

I started using it after my stitches came out (day 14) . The only concern is irritation in the grafted area, if you don't have that problem, I would think it should be fine. You can always email your doctor and ask this question, whatever he says should supersede any responses here, including mine. Who did you go to ?

The point Chadley makes about importance of aesthetics cannot be overstated . It is not just about raw number of grafts , but how they are placed . This is one less talked about aspect of hair surgery that can make or break the outcome. Experienced and talented surgeons are able to provide more "bang for your hair follicles" using their artistic hair placement skills , they are also able to plan longer term for further surgeries that you may need down the road.

Baldie -- Congratulations on the results so far and hope the growth continues. As a fellow NW5/6 and being of same age, I totally get your viewpoint. I have been through 3 HTs now for a total of ~6k grafts (all FUTs) and will probably go for another last one down the road which will be FUE to cover the crown area. Like you , my goal is also to just "frame my face " and avoid a slick bald crown. I am not all the way there yet but hoping that when my current HT # 3 develops fully in ~ 8 months from now , my hair will look very similar to yours !

Can you post an updated picture so we can get a better idea . I had a tiny bald spot when I was 21 , it stayed the same size for the next 5 or so years , but in the meantime the hair around it towards the front (frontal and mid scalp area) started thinning out in a diffuse pattern . After that damage, the crown blad spot started expanding again. Everyone has a different balding pattern. One of my friends who had a similar bald spot as I did back then , never thinned out anywhere else and he is happy with his hair as is , no meds or transplants . My dad is a NW6 , and he reached that stage before 40, so I knew when I first began balding that I likely had a lot more hairloss to come . Family history is KEY as that goes a long way in determining the make up of your hair follicles, how resistant they are to DHT -- which is the primary cause of male hair loss.

ontop - well said. i think at least at my age (40) , the trade off is worth it in my opinion , as long as the crown area hair grows and stabilizes . When I was younger I was definitely more concerned about side effects than I am now.

Maybe because the hair is cut shorter in the pre op photos but is fully grown in the post op ? With the coarseness of the hair here, that itself can make a dramatic difference in the pictures.

Success story ! Congratulations

Jin - Garageland's detailed response is on the money, including the number of grafts needed. Hard to see from the pictures how thick your donor is but if it is average or above average , you should be able to target some decent results from a mega session (5k + at least ) . In my opinion, the surgeon would likely focus on "framing your face " i .e frontal scalp and mid scalp work to get the best bang for the buck. The crown may need some more / separate work down the road.

You raise some very important points . I started losing my hair at an early age (I was 19 when my college roommate pointed out emerging bald spot on the crown) and god knows it was all I could think about when I would be in public . Thinking back now , I realize how silly that obsession was. Thankfully for me I waited till 28 to get my first HT , if for no other reason than I didn't think I could afford it before then. By that time the follicular grafting technique was in full vogue (FUT not FUE) and I was lucky that my first and only interaction was with Shapiro Medical Group . Matt Zupan bluntly told me being a diffuse thinner I was heading towards a NW5-6 and even if they took all my donor supply and placed it on my scalp, my eventual appearance decades from then, would be no better than it was now . I was disappointed but very glad to hear the truth upfront. Dr Ron designed a very conservative hairline (receded NW 2) and one which looks very natural on me as I am nearing 40. Now pretty much all the hair I have on the front and mid scalp is transplanted hair from HTs #1 and #2 . One thing I have learned is HT hair is better than my natural hair in the sense that the way Dr Ron (and then Dr ZIering) placed the grafts , the optical illusion it creates in the front makes the density look like 1.5-2x than what it naturally would be otherwise . This one fact , besides just # of grafts , is a major item that can make or break a hair transplant.

I am assuming this comment was directed at me. The obvious reason , as you yourself point out , is possible change in metabolism from drug usage. Isn't that exactly what I am saying ? I will obviously have to work harder to lose the 4 lbs, it is just common sense. Ultimately if i can enhance my crown hair thanks to propecia I am perfectly fine with the added weight if thats the price to pay -- the benefits will have outweighed the small weight gain from my perspective. But people need to be able to document experiences without being "preached to " every time .

Came across this thread while searching for symptoms. I started propecia on a regular basis for the first time (1 mg every other day) ever and I have gained a quick 4 pounds. My diet has not changed, nor has the exercise routine . The weight gain is just hard to shake off . I was counting on some alteration given this pill affects the endocrine system but weight gain side effect totally sucks -- I guess on one hand we are trying to improve our outward appearance via hair transplants and using finasteride and on the other hand weight gain takes away some of that upside !

jbaxter --- I have had three FUTs, the third most recent one being 6 weeks ago w Dr Ron Shapiro. I have documented my experience under a different thread. Bottomline is --- scalp does get tighter with every HT and removal of strip but as JoeTillman points out, everyone's physiology is different. My scar this time is taking longer to heal than the first two HTs, so maybe the physiology also does change with time . Then again I am early in the process and want to give it the full benefit of time , nothing of major concern as of yet . One thing that is indisputable, at least from my perspective, is the top notch professionalism and post operative follow up care that you get when you sign up with SMG. No complaints there so far. On the FUE vs FUT for an existing FUT patient --- I seriously considered FUE but was discouraged from it by Matt Zupan and I eventually agreed with the logic . For someone who already has a linear scar , if you are shaving your head down for FUE , you just can't go back to work in 2 weeks -- you will need at least a full month or more off to make your hair look reasonable (without wearing a hat) and for my line of work, that simply was not an option . Secondly, previous two FUTs generally worked for me yield wise, and I didn't want to take a chance with FUE since I don't have that much left in terms of decent donor supply.

Looks awesome NueFueGuy . Great transformation for 3k grafts, and the best part is you are not done growing yet at 8 months. In my first two HTs I saw growth all the way past one year mark.

Here are a few picture after getting my hair cut (scissors only, but equivalent to #4 to #5 ) . The scar area is somewhat visible without concealers as you can see in the pics below (all pics taken without concealers) , but i use fill-in powder to cover up the left side where it seems more prominent . As expected, most of the grafts have shed by now . I have also started taking propecia for the last 2 weeks now and hoping that the little bit of shock loss that has happened near the donor region and the mid scalp area can reverse itself in a few months . The donor has taken longer to heal this time around (FUT #3) as I mentioned before . Dr Ron and Janna have been extremely helpful in terms of post op monitoring and follow up . If my previous two surgeries are any guide, I am hoping the scar follows a similar path and becomes less prominent in the months to come. Also, once the transplanted hair starts growing , I will have more styling options that will enable me to grow my hair longer for better concealment.

Sorry to go off topic here but -- David -- I just took a look at your blog and the pics from recent HT #3 (FUE) . Noticed you chose not to plant any grafts into the prior FUT scar . Just curious --- was that Dr Bhatti's recommendation or you felt your scar was fairly hidden even at short buzz cuts so you didn't need to camoflague it any further ?

Fantastic work ! In addition, this guy's result is actually a good counter argument to the suggestion that "just shave your head and make peace with it " . Now imagine if he had just given up on himself and shaved his head . Compare that to how he possibly looks now almost like an 80's movie star (of course we don't know how his facial features are) with nearly a full head of hair . The "creep factor" is a lot lower in comparison .

I actually agree with this . Waiting for your hair loss to stabilize while life passes you by is no fun and not everyone wants to be on meds . I think this person is an excellent candidate for an HT. He has nice thick coarse hair and hair loss is generally confined to the frontal scalp area. Great result by Dr Bisanga . Rare that we get to see such colorful life size pictures from an HT patient -- the guy sure is having a ball : )

Yes thats pretty much the standard protocol with a slight modification to step 2 , where techs may inject anesthesia but under the surgeons supervision -- at least this is what I went through for my 3 FUT procedures over the past 11 years.

Beautiful hairline work Dr Konior. Just curious -- how much donor supply does the patient have left given his previous HTs and this 2500 grafts session. Thx.

Those living in the US/Canada and thinking about HT abroad , especially in locales where patients rights don't amount to much should also consider the following -- What happens if there are complications during or immediately after surgery ? What about post op care once you have flown back home and need urgent follow up ? If this was not a cosmetic surgery , would you still be itching to fly to Europe or India ? Ultimately this is an invasive procedure (FUT or FUE) and should be treated with some seriousness. During my three HTs , I have needed post op care and every time the surgeons have been extremely helpful whether it be multiple post op visits to the clinic , personal follow up over the phone, calling in a prescription within minutes when I needed one while traveling , etc. I understand everyone has their own preference and others who have traveled abroad and had a good experience will vehemently disagree with my post here. But the quality and skill of top tier US HT specialists (and other cosmetic surgeons) is second to none and I personally cannot see my self ever traveling abroad for any such procedure.

My hair actually thinned out in a patten very similar to yours -- diffuse NW5+ or I guess 5A as 1978matt put it. I underwent the first HT when I was 28 (w Dr Ron Shapiro) and then two more HTs after that , progressively chasing my hair loss. All the while I had enough diffuse donor hair to hide my transplants from colleagues and friends . Thats the one positive I guess of this NW pattern that it makes for easier concealment post op and also there is less of a surprise to people who know you -- it just appears to them that your hair got thicker with time , instead of a new crop suddenly popping up in barren land. The one thing I would say is if you are truly a diffuse thinner NW 5-6, you better hope that finasteride works for your crown , or learn to live with a bald spot as you will never have enough donor supply to adequately frame your face and fill in the crown.