Tankndozer

Just want to specify that the main point is that Devroye discusses this thoroughly with the patient, not that just one procedure is the best alternative for all patients. I discussed this with him and being a NW5, probably going on NW6 at the age of 32 it would be best to have [at least] two procedure and leave the crown for a second round and focus on the frontal 2/3ds first.

I’m justsix weeks from my HT so waiting for the results but I’m very happy with the experience so far.

Fair point BaldWhisky- I just meant that he doesn#t leave you in a situation where you get one transplant thinking that#s all you need and then discover in a few years you#ll need another unexpectedly. As he explained it to me, he tries to leave the lines from each one such that if more of your original hair falls out, it still looks natural. Thanks for your clarification and best of luck with your procedure!

Hi there, firstly want to congratulate you on your results, the outcome is really remarkable. I am also considering a HT with Dr Devroye after reading and hearing a lot of positive feedback from him, I live in the uk and it seems you have to look abroad for the best results. May I ask how old you were when you had the procedure? Was your young age a concern for you? I will be 23 this year so I'm still pretty young for a transplant however I am happy to come to a solution to preserve donor hair for the future.

 

My aim is to thicken up the central core area of my hair and re-establish the hairline so I think the best way to do this is probably a transplant followed by propecia to avoid future loss.

 

I see you are also using propecia, have you experienced any side effects?

 

I really appreciate any advice you can provide and once again congrats on your results!

Thanks very much! I really appreciate it. It is 16 months on now (since the op) so I#ll stick up some more photos soon.

I looked all over Europe and just found that in the UK and Ireland they charge 3 or 4 times as much for a surgeon with less experience that Dr. Devroye.

I was 27 when I got the procedure done and I did consider the age thing, just as you are. Everyone needs to draw their own conclusions for themselves but for me I decided that I would get it done younger so I could get close to my original hairline back and then take Finasteride (the active ingredient of Propecia) to ensure no further hair loss. If I got it done later, I would have lost more hair and not have been able to recover as much.

A lot of people have concerns that if you do that, you could end up needing a second transplant. The idea is that if you get all transplanted hair to thicken up the front, then the back continues to thin (for example if you#re not taking your Finasteride) it can end up looking strange. However this is another reason why I chose Dr. Devroye. His philosophy is that every transplant should be treated as your last. Therefore while the focus will be on thinner areas, he tends to transplant hair to all parts of your head (almost). He#ll discuss with you which areas you#re most worried about and come up with a strategy that means you#ll never need another transplant, even if you no longer take Finasteride and start thinning again.

To answer your concern, I may as well be honest about the effects of finasteride in my case. I have had no lasting side effects (been taking it for nearly 2 years) but in the first month my sex drive was way higher and in the first month and a half my levels of ejaculate were lower (nothing drastic but it was noticeable). This was all completely back to normal after two months. (Can#t believe I#ve just openly admitted that).

One note on Finasteride in the UK and Ireland. The dosage for Male Pattern Baldness is typically 1 mg. However it is very expensive to get it made up to that small a size here. Also you can only use pharmacies with a male pharmacist (women can#t handle Finasteride). A much cheaper solution is to check with your surgeon if it would be OK in your case to take ~1.25 mg. If so, then 5 mg dosages are far cheaper because it is used for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia. You can then use a pill cutter to cut the doses into ~1.25 mg.

I hope this all helps you with your decision.

Thanks all for the positive responses.

Anyone that has any questions I'd be glad to help!

Hi Tankndozer

 

I have been reading the forums for a while now and like yourself after some long research i decided to go to Dr Devroye 2 1/2 months ago for a transplant. Ive noticed recently on the forum alot of less than happy customers after HT's, so its nice to see a great result especially from the same Doctor i went to. If i get the same results as yourself i will be thrilled.

 

Best of luck with your future growth.

Thanks very much! Best of luck with the results of your own transplant!

Hi All,

I've had absolutely fantastic experience since my hair transplant 9 months ago with Dr. Jean Devroye in Brussels, Belgium. You really have the see the photos to believe it! I've attached a couple of samples below, but for the full collection please take a look at my profile!

Hair Restoration Social Network ? Community for and by Hair Loss Patients - Tankndozer's Profile

Here's my story where you can find out a little more about Dr. Devroye:

As a young guy I always prided myself on my very thick dark hair. At the age of 22 I suddenly starting losing hair becoming very thin all throughout the top with quite a severe receding hairline, and particularly thin on the crown. This affected my confidence hugely as suddenly everyone thought I was in my 30s when still barely in my mid twenties.

I was trying all sorts of treatments such as Nourkrin and Viviscal, as well trying to style my hair to hide my receding hairline, all to very little avail. About 2 years ago (April 2009) I resolved to get a hair transplant. I decided however that it was something that I really needed to be sure about, really needed to fully understand all my options and really needed to ensure I got the right physician.

I therefore spent a year researching different techniques, technologies and Physicians. In terms of understanding the techniques I went as far as examining the current research papers (seeing as I come from a scientific background) before settling on FUT (I can offer my reasoning on this in full to anyone who's interesting).

More particularly I settled on Dr. Jean Devroye's technique of placing the transplanted hairs in angled incisions made using an angled blade; he has designed this blade himself to ensure a natural look to the transplanted hair without damaging your scalp (although he also does FUE).

The point that sealed my decision is that during my research I found so many cases of failed transplants from all over the world that I became worried- how can I be more sure that mine won't fail miserably? The answer to that question for me was to ensure that I got an opinion from someone that was willing to say 'No' if he didn't feel the surgery was appropriate. I found several cases of Dr. Devroye identifying cases where a transplant was not appropriate so I resolved to visit him (after getting an online consultancy showing the potential results of my transplant - an excellent aid in my decision!!).

In September 2010 I got a transplant by Dr Devroye having been identified as an ideal candidate in May 2010 (very thick hair at the back, very high elasticity in my scalp and my balding was due to male pattern balding). Dr Devroye managed to, staggeringly, get just over 4000 grafts, transplanting just over 10,000 hairs. I was astounded at the result!

Here I am 9 months later and I am ecstatic with the outcome! Everyone I know tells me I look 10 years younger. I'm so happy with it that I openly admit to people that I've gotten a hair transplant. I've gotten nothing but a positive reception for it: reactions applauding my honesty and even those people I would have expected to make jokes couldn't once I was so honest. In fact it turns out several people I know had secretly been thinking of doing the same!

To any of your thinking of getting a transplant I really can't recommend Dr. Devroye enough for his technique, his honesty and his excellent and continuous aftercare.