cargo65

I'm looking at that patient and his results like it could have been me; same hair color; same diffuse thinning Norwood pattern; same skin tone; same straight hair texture; et cetera. I'm excited to see what can be done with a diffuse thinner such as myself. I've actually consulted with Dr. Rahal and am further convinced he's the right Doc for me.

After reading and re-reading your post to try to make sense of it, I find there is great irony in it. All of your criticisms and calls to be critical and ponder not only the "possible," but also the "probable" can literally be said about hair transplant surgery. Again, this whole notion of "one-size fits all" is silly. Perhaps you've simply concluded that because 99% of the patients who receive the procedure are guys that are going to have to shave their heads the rest of their lives. In that way, yes, they will be the same. But every patient has control over what they want their hairlines to look like; whether the sides will be distinct or faded in, and how dark an ink and how dense they want the SMP to look like. A simple look through the message board and gallery fly in the face of your claim.

It's sounds like you saw Damien, who is one of the originators of the procedure. He has a very defined contrast and look to his which he obviously prefers. Here's what I don't understand judging by your comments, you seem to think there is a one-size fits all approach by the clinics which couldn't be farther from the truth. At least with HIS Hair they use gradients of color ink to match your natural hair color. Further, a patient typically goes to 3-4 sessions until the ink is matched to ther liking. Have you been on their website? Pictures are pictures just like any hair transplant clinic, but I'm surprised you say the things you've said with the sheer number of patient photos and the unique results of each person. What you don't have is a bunch patients looking like Damien clones. I think if there is a criticism to be made its that they give patients exactly what they want in terms of hairlines. If you're 50 years old but want a straight, low, juvenile hairline, they'll give it to you. But in saying that it doesn't take away from the actual quality of the work they're doing. I should mention they have a forum on their website just like this where patients and prospective patients can ask questions, show results, air grievences, concerns, praise, et cetera.

What location and who was the practioner? What didn't you like about it?

That's funny because I feel quite the opposite. I've seen the work of three different clinics (HIS, Good Look Ink, and NHI) and HIS is by far and away the best and most consistent in my opinion, especially with hairline work. As an aside, I think NHIs work is pretty disappointing. Folks have to remember, getting good SMP work is no different than getting a good transplant. You have to research and conclude who is the best practioner to perform your perform your procedure; you don't just go to the nearest doctor who does HT surgery would you? There are certain practitioners at HIS I would definitely use to do my work. Conversly, I've seen work done by other HIS clinicians I wouldn't let touch my head. Because you've seen a bad transplant did you totally nix the idea of a HT altogether? Likely not. Same for SMP. F

Lol, that is complete nonsense. They can "fade" in the sides as well as give it a natural looking hairline. A lot of folks that get the procedure like the distinct contrast of the hairline and ask for it that way, while others prefer a more natural gradual blending from the front hairline back. It's totally up to the patient's preference and prerogative. They do not just draw a line and fill in dots. Do yourself a favor and checkout HIS Hair clinic website and patient forum.

Just a guess, but I think even if it was true that you should reserve the trichophytic closure for your last procedure, I really think any loss in potential grafts would be negligible if you chose to go with the suture beforehand.

azazelgs, I understand what you're asking now. Yes, I'm very interested in the procedure myself and have researched for about a year and a half now. I was scheduled to have a consult with a clinician from HIS in Los Angeles. I ended up cancelling the appointment but plan to reschedule when the time permits. I've consulted with NHI and they forwarded me a patient contact who had the procedure done. I talked to him and requested photos that I'm still waiting to receive/hear back from. I'm looking at SMP as a legitimate alternative for me down the road. Some people find it off-putting that you have to shave your head the rest of your life if you get it. I don't find that any less restrictive than having to always have your hair grown out to a certain length if you have a strip (FUT) procedure done to hide your scar. For me, I would much rather just shave my head than be a guy with a Norwood 6-7 with a few thousand whispy transplanted hair. Some are okay with that, I'm not. It's personal preference; I had my head shaved for most of my youth and early twenties (even before I realized I was balding), so the idea of shaving my head again isn't daunting for me as it is others.

Good question. I'd like to know myself.

The best thing to do is book a consultation with the clinic you're considering (preferably a few different ones). You should ask to have someone that has had the actual procedure done to be present for you to examine. With most of these clinics, the clinician is usually someone who has had the procedure done on themselves (at least it typically is with HIS hair clinic and GLI I believe). I see a lot of ignorant bias as well on the boards. I had one person try to persuade me arguing from silence "nobody knows what it will look like five years from now...it may just be a blob." They speak from ignorance in thinking that it's the same tattoo inks that you would put in your arms or that the ink is even placed at the same depth in the dermis as a normal tattoo, which it isn't. If they find that logic reasonable, what do we know about someone who has been on finasteride for 20 years...30 years? Also, keep in mind that it's all subjective. What you may find asthetically pleasing, someone else may think is ugly. It doesn't matter, however it makes you feel is what is paramount. Seriously, we've all seen bad hair transplant jobs that the patient himself may be perfectly content with. Same rationale. As an aside, one of the creators of HIS hair clinic from the UK (I believe his name is Ian) has had his head "tatooed" for close to five years. His results look fantastic.

Holy cow man. That little baldspot is ruining your life? Yes, pretty much any hair restoration clinic would be able to help you in the crown.

Sorry I forgot to ask in my last response to you, but does the double-whorl in my crown make a transplant problematic back there?

Assuming I wouldn't want anything done to my hairline, would a megasession to address my thinning middle third and crown help? Would it be too much a risk with the amount of native hair (relatively speaking) I presently have?

Hi Matt, actually, I was quoted 2500 by Dr. Rahal for my frontal 1/3 area. That will suit my current need right now. You have my pictures on file, I'll be glad to give you my name if you want to private message me. I'm asking my question in terms of future need. I'm anticipating I'll need more as my hair loss progresses on top and the crown. To be clear, my question isn't really "hey, do you guys think I need X amount of grafts?" Rather, if you have a virgin scalp, will a smaller surgery (ie. 2500 grafts) prohibit you from doing a 'megasession' down the road due to scalp laxity issues or any other issues of having a previous surgery may cause?

I have a "virgin" scalp and I'm wondering what would be the best approach for my first surgery assuming I'd be going FUT. Is it better to go for a 'megasession' for your first procedure, or should I go with 2,500 (which I've been recommended) grafts? Is it harder to do a megasession if you've already had a relatively large procedure done previously?

I believe he was saying his original scar (from another doctor) was 8 mm, but Rahal was able to get the scar down to 5 mm after revision.

But with the surgery(ies) you had 20 years ago, did the surgeons use a trichophytic closure? If not, could that have been part of the problem ("ridges and valleys")?

I think that's kind of the point I'm making. Assuming that certain clinics are showing patient scars a mere 4-6 months post surgery, the scars look good aesthetically (which is the deceptive part) at that point in time, but as the healing process continues the scar eventually widens out with time. I'm not rigidly sticking to my speculation about the 4-6 month time frame either. It's merely a conclusion I've come to from gathering information from reading through threads on this and other forums. I'm guessing the individual doctor's skills, the patient's physiology and other contributing factors all play a major role in scar appearance.

To clarify, the "4-6 months" comment is not referencing the look of the entire wound area or including redness, surrounding hair (shockloss), et cetera. The comment is strictly speaking of the appearance of the linear scar line at around that time range. Is it not accurate to say that the linear scar left after the excision will be pretty much healed by that point if not weeks earlier?

Do you have hair growing within that scar or is just hairless scar material?

I would really like to know the real deal about FUT scarring. We've all seen the videos/photos from various clinics including many reputable ones that show patients with almost imperceptible scar lines in the back of their heads. Having researched and read many threads and comments, it seems scars look their best 4-6 months post operation (which I'm assuming is when a lot of these photos are taken) but have the tendency to stretch-out/widen as time continues on. Are we being misled by the doctors a bit regarding what we can truly expect in terms of scarring? I understand individual physiology, contributing factors by the patient (not complying with post-op instructions), doctor's skill in closing wounds, et cetera all can play a role. But generally speaking, what can one expect from a typical FUT procedure with a trichophytic suture? Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

Sorry to be redundant, but Dr. Reed from La Jolla is pretty well-respected on the forum for his work? I'd love to use H&W, but I simply can't drop the nearly $17K it would end up costing (including flight, canadian tax, etc.). Dr. Reed would be around $7-8K and he seems to have done good work from what I can tell.

Wow, really? No responses.

Hi folks, I'll thank you in advance for any useful info/opinions/advice you can provide. Let's jump right into it. I'm 34 years old, I've been dealing with slow but progressive hairloss since I was in my early 20s. I believe I would be classified as a Norwood 3v. Although, I'm always confused whether the Norwood classifcation is supposed to reflect where you're currently at or what your balding pattern will ultimately end up at. Regardless, I've been on finasteride for roughly 10 years and on again, off again with minoxidil for the same time period. I've been getting by with Toppik/Nanogen with good success, but my thinning has progressed to the point that it's becoming too much of a hassle to create an undectable masterpiece everytime I choose not to wear a hat. GOALS- I'm ready to pull the trigger on a HT. My money is straight and ready to be spent, lol. My HT goals are as follows: 1. Slightly lower my hairline 1 cm. 2. Restore symmetry (hairline currently receding crooked, rightside higher than left). 3. Add density to my front 1/3 of scalp, 2-3 inches back from front hairline. Doctors I've Consulted With- I've consulted with in person with Dr. Pak, Dr. Hasson/Wong's office, and Dr. Reed in La Jolla. Dr. Pak recommends apx. 1000-1200 graphs regardless of FUE or FUT method. Hasson & Wong recommend a 3,300 graphs via FUT. Dr. Reed recommended apx. 2,200 graphs via FUT. Questions for the Forum- I. I think I'm going to go with Dr. Reed in La Jolla, California. I see that he is recommended on this website which weighed heavily on my decision. Is he still considered a reputable HT doctor? II. I can't make heads or tails of the descripancies in graph estimates (from 1000 to 3300?) between the different doctors. Any ideas regarding this fellas? III. Regardless of the estimates given by the doctors, using your judgment in contrast to what my HT goals are, what would you estimate in graph count to fulfill my goals? Thanks again for your feedback!