TommyLucchese

19 hours ago, iKelia said:

Thank you ! Unfortunately, I won't be able to find any quality photos with head profile from 16 years ago we didn't have digital cameras that time ( 
   
Center point for me is a point where the last fully grown living hair follicle of mine sits. I use it as a base and draw horizontal line across it to make my face appear like it's having somewhat straightish hairline. Because that's how I perceive myself being of the age when i was young.  
Also a couple friends of mine have a straight hairline when looking at their face from the front and I quite enjoy the look. 

     

That is a very excellent frontal hair piece. This is confirmed by how he looks in the pics where he's holding his newborn daughter from a few years ago, with the complete recession that he had in the early 2000s. He's held on to his hair very well but it's nothing like how he appears when he's working.

I can see why you would want a surgery. Seems like a 1,500 FUE could work well for you, but the doctors know more than me. Maybe try to schedule an in-person consultation so they can assess your donor and everything?

Nice. I like that hairline design, it seems Dr Farjo is being a little more aggressive nowadays than before? I don't remember seeing hairlines as low as this and with the straight lines down connecting the sides to the new hair. 

Haven't seen this used for a while but going for a "second pass" was a very common phrase on here for a long time. And the phrase "hair greed". 

After a while you forget how bad it was before and start to think about adding to it. Now after over 10 years of being happy I'm starting to get jealous of people who have that straight line up connecting the sides/temples to the new hairline. 

It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the original result.....we just always want more!

14 hours ago, CMaso99 said:

Thanks much for your response. I'm 55, and I'm not on any medication. I wasn't even aware of how bad my hair loss was until I recently noticed it from a top/rear video shot. I've attached shots of my hair (2 from top, plus front/back/left/right).

Seems to be an ongoing problem, because I've also noticed hair comes out every time it's brushed. So you think I should get on medication before doing an HT? That was my very next question, in fact--if my hair is falling out, won't it keep coming out after the HT?

Either way, yes, I definitely want to do this the informed and calm way, not the quick and panicked way. I've since read this promising GQ article (https://www.gq.com/story/how-istanbul-became-the-global-capital-of-the-hair-transplant). HOI doesn't sound like it would be a bad option, but I saw from the list of best surgeons that you linked that a few of them are based there in Istanbul, as well. That seems to be the best location for finding a low-cost/high-quality provider. My wife really wants to visit there, too, so it looks like Istanbul's a likely location for my HT. Hopefully I can send pics to one of the surgeons there, start a dialog, and that'll be sufficient for them to diagnose and determine what I need, yes?

There's still the question of medications, though, as far as if I should use and which I should use. So I may still take a trip to someone here in the U.S. that's on the recommended list, first. These pics are hard for me to look at, but they are what they are, and I have hope. I'll definitely be giving your book a read. Thanks again!

 

You're in a similar position to where I was a decade ago.....long hair that's balding. The good news is you are 55 and I was 20! Thanks to propecia, minoxidil and a great transplant I am back to rocking the long hair and looking good.....so trust me it is possible. 

You definitely need to be on medication to stop the hair loss. Otherwise you could have a great transplant but the hair around it will continue to thin. You can get finasteride that you massage into the scalp or take the pill.....if you take the pill, start slow. Cut it into quarters and take a quarter every few days. Basically to give your body a long time to adjust to it. I avoided the side effects by doing it this way. It's when you go from nothing to 1 pill per day that it can shock your body into having side effects.

My opinion is that although there is some good work in Turkey, there are way too many snakes and therefore i would avoid it completely. They've been great at social media marketing but the reality is not always so good. A good plan for you would be to get on finasteride and minoxidil and take these same photos again in one year to compare them. If your loss has stopped and maybe even improved, then you can think about a transplant. A lot of research and patience is required in order to make the right decision but it's worth it. 

In the meantime, you can use concealer to cover up your crown loss if you're feel self-conscious. Toppik fibres, dermmatch, mane spray etc. these concealers offer a temporary masking of the bald areas. 

Firstly - you've come to the best place for research. Congrats! To get the best advice here, it's best to post multiple clear photos of your hair....front, back, top down etc. as best as you can. How old are you? Are you on medication like finasteride/propecia or minoxidil?

Generally it's best to make sure your hair loss has stabilised through medication before having a HT. But it all depends on your situation. Age and level of hair loss plays a big part.

This is the list of doctors recommended on this forum https://hairtransplantnetwork.com/best-hair-transplant-surgeons

I would avoid finding simply the nearest clinic to you because this is such a dangerous industry full of people looking to take advantage. And even if they have good intentions, hair transplants are such a difficult surgery that also require a doctor to have a team of highly qualified and experienced technicians. There aren't many around that perform it to a high level. Luckily, this forum can point you in the direction of the ones that do.

It's also something you can't afford to get wrong - you only have so much hair at the back of your head (known as the donor hair) that can be redistributed across your head. If you go to a subpar clinic, you can risk having a large portion of that donor hair ruined and you can never get it back.

So take some time here to read and understand things. If there is a doctor on that recommended list that's near then it'd be a great idea to go for a consultation. Every case is different so meeting a recommended doctor will give you a better idea of where you're at. Don't rush into anything though.

On 10/10/2022 at 8:44 AM, parsia said:

True , Just want to add that According to my consultation with DR.Shapiro you can also do FUE first and for second or even third Surgery you can also consider FUT ( depends on your donor) 

Melvin had a interview with DR.Ron Shapiro he also mentioned this point as well that you can do FUE first and then combined it with FUT later on to maximize your donor , It may varies between 1500-3000 according to study ( So its more than few grafts ). 

Thanks for sharing. Dr Muresanu from Hattingen told me this on a video consultation too because he recommended I have a smaller FUE on my crown to save my laxity for a large FUT down the line if it's needed. I trust his judgement but hadn't heard anyone else say it, so it's good to see other top doctors feel this way too.

Nice write up. Looking forward to more pics.

Doesn't look like you retained too many of those original 2100 grafts, what did Dr Cooley say about it? 

Please (for your own sake) reconsider your plans and expectations.

You need to be on propecia and monixidil and to save up money then go to Eugenix, Hasson and Wong, or Hattingen.

If you're in Europe, go to Switzerland for an in-person consultation with Hattingen. They will do a thorough analysis of your hair and have the ethics to tell you whether or not you are a candidate. Plenty of clinics in Turkey will take your money and leave you worse off - you have a lot of hair loss and it will take a certain type of doctor to get you a good result (if you're a suitable candidate).

8 minutes ago, SoSoz said:

yes

Had a feeling that would be the case.

Minoxidil is a good addition but other than that, you don't need anything else. I've taken about 5 propecia pills and done topical fin/minoxidil combo around 10 or 15 times at most this entire year and my hair is in very good shape. If you have money to burn than you can try other things because why not, but it isn't necessary.

Yes mine was a big success and improved my self confidence a lot. I didn't 100% go back to the "old me" because the hair loss had messed me up mentally so much, plus I've still had to use concealer on the crown and go through the headache of that routine every day. But overall fixing the frontal third was a massive improvement and I am so glad I found this place which led me to a great surgeon. Can't wait to get the crown done next and live freely again.

Still early days but interested to follow this!

Looks like a good result but how familiar with you are other UK surgeons in order to make the claim that this doctor is the best?

As disappointing as it is, you're very lucky. You'll always earn more money but getting a bad hair transplant can send you down a miserable road. 

Right now it's lose 3k and walk away with your scalp intact....or take a huge risk that will probably cost you way more in the long term.

Between months 12 and 18 my hair 'matured' a lot and got thicker. I would give it the full 18 months before assessing it. 

This company has just made the UK press with a celebrity endorsement. I hadn't heard of them so searched the name....why am I not surprised?

Wow. Amazing work! Congrats

My FUT scar is the 'pencil thin' type but it's difficult to take a photo of and the hair grew back fast. The front was my only concern so I never really thought about the back. You are right though, it's important.

I have watched some of your video and respect your honesty about why you wanted a kickback for sending people to that doctor.

We're a bit more traditional here though. Post your pre and post op pics, number of grafts, and your patient experience with the doctor. 

You need to build credibility with your presence here - not just "rocking up" with a few links and saying "DM me for your discount!".

11 hours ago, Everyday_Platypus said:

Thanks for the breakdown.  Yeah I don't think I can go wrong with either surgeon but somehow that makes the decison harder haha.  But I'm glad to hear the scar isn't that big of a deal for the ppl that went the FUT route. 

I think at that point (when comparing legitimate top quality clinics) it's safe to consider the things we normally say not to consider: cost and location. If you're in NYC it would be a lot easier to go with Bloxham.

Actually one other factor is Wong's stellar reputation for crown work. If you want work done on the crown then that would tip it to Wong's favour for me.

Good luck, either way it's very likely to be a great result!

20 hours ago, BaldV said:

You can also try Hattingen in Switzerland

What i like about Hattingen is they offer both and go with the method that suits the individual's case. This makes it an unbiased opinion.

A clinic that only does one type of surgery will not recommend you going somewhere else that offers the other method. 

To the point of the thread: if you want FUT, I don't think you can go wrong with either of them. Wong is obviously much more experienced but Bloxham has been around for a while now and the transparency on his youtube channel is great. 

From what I hear, Wong will suggest either FUT or FUE depending on the case so that's obviously a plus.

You reasoning for choosing FUT makes sense. I can't speak for other people but my scar has been a complete non issue over the last 10 years. 

On 9/7/2022 at 9:15 AM, jxlegend said:

So far, every transplant I have seen has acheived >80% of final results/density by 6 months. Sure, length increases, follicles "soften", mature, whatever and give the illusion of "more", but after 6 months, improvements seem to only be marginal.

 

I will amend this statement: Crown grows slower, can't comment on crown growth maturity timeline.

I can't prove it because I didn't take progress photos but I can tell you I saw lots of growth from month 6 to 12 and then it went from good to great between month 12 and 18.

Try topical fin once every few days

4 hours ago, baldbalderbaldest said:

Thanks..a good suggestion to search for the doctors reviews instead of clinics.. i have tried to search for reviews for Assure Clinic but found few..they did have a list of celebs who have done HT at their clinics with video as well and the Infra does seem good. Just vary of the number of reviews if the 17k transplants have been done.

The dr's at the location where i will be going is Dr Mohsina Dastan and Dr. Rishi Patel. Just found basic search hits for them instead of full fledged reviews apart from the Google reviews.

Also its actually 5-6 sitting for upto 8k grafts, i frankly was not concerned about my hair going from the fore-scalpe area as it is thinning but not at the stage where my crown is but they did say that i would need another HT for that area and this would cover the full hair restoration.

This is just the start of the journey..will be checking other avenues as well.

Here's what i found on Mohsina Dastan. This person was a dentist and 2 years later a hair transplant doctor? Another big thing to look out for is whether a doctor offers any other types of surgery. To be an expert in hair transplants you need to do ONLY hair transplants for 10 years or more....you can't do a hair transplant today and spend the next day doing root canals in people's mouths.  

My advice would be to avoid the clinic and check out the recommended list here. Eugenix is the logical choice in your part of the world.

Oh and another thing, although it's easy to be impressed by, celebrity endorsements don't really mean much. Of course a celebrity will get the best treatment - because it's free advertising. Find clinics who treat every patient like a celebrity - which means lots and lots of great results.

https://www.apollo.io/people/Mohsina/Dastan/56524dcca6da98183d026eae 

https://curofy.com/doctor/dr-mohsina-dastan-dentistry-drmohsinadastan

I would google every variation you can think of for "assure hair transplant review" as well as searching for the name of the doctor....if you know the name of the doctor that would perform your surgery. 

The problem with clinics having multiple locations is they often work based on the brand name rather than a doctor. I went to Feller Medical and my transplant was done by Dr Feller - there was a clear 10+ year track record of results, reviews and industry expertise online. 

If you go with a brand name, who is the person putting their name to your result? I'm not saying that brand names or multiple locations are necessarily bad things, but it's something to be very cautious about and requires more research and verification.

If you can't find anything online and can't be told anything about the doctor, that would be a red flag. 5-6 sittings for 3,500 grafts sounds strange.

The advice I got from Dr Muresanu (Hattingen) is that FUT is best for when you need 3,500 grafts or more. That's because you lose scalp elasticity with each FUT so it doesn't make sense to waste the laxity for smaller surgeries. He also said that you can switch back and forth between FUT and FUE no problem.

The length you plan to have your hair will also come into it and if you are on fin/minox.

I had an FUT when I was 23 and 10 years later everything is great so far....FUE has come a long way since then so who knows if I'd have made that same decision today.

Consulting with doctors who offer both options would be best so you can get an unbiased view.