1978matt

It all has to be considered on a case by case basis. If you're a Norwood 3 and not likely to progress beyond a 4 (for whatever reason: on meds, family history, age etc), then FUE could be the way to go. However, if you're looking to maximise the lifetime number of grafts you need as baldness progresses then FUT may be better to start with. FUE can compromise future FUT because it puts a lot of scar tissue in the donor making dissection more difficult. It also depends on what you hope to achieve long term. If you're lucky you may be able to get 7,000+ grafts FUT to cover your entire scalp. With FUE the maximim you can get is usually less unless you want to take Body hair.

4.5cm? It works because your nose-eyebrows and nose-chin are similar distances.

Your situation sounds like dreamland as far as concealment goes, assuming it is a complete no-shave transplant. I'm no expert but I would have thought shockloss of native hair may be a bit less likely in the crown assuming the target density is not too high. But then again, there are no guarantees in this game!

Amazing coverage considering the number of grafts. It looks like a 7000 graft result!

Great write up and great philosophies from the Dr. I've met Mick myself a couple of times as well. A true gent.

I was trying to think of someone famous who has a hairine like yours. As luck would have it, Matthew Fox was interviewed live on TV this morning. I think you would end up with something similar. It was always going to look not all that nice until it had grown out (12 months).

Go to HG's profile instead and the photos link. That worked for me...

Some very good points, hence the value of patients posting their results on website such as this whether they are good or bad outcomes. I suspect there are non-English websites with a lot of good Dr Erdogan feedback. However, sadly I do not speak German or Turkish! Maybe others can PM you links to other forums.

Nice work. You look pretty young and that looks like a maturing hairline. As it's hairline work I'd do at least 50 grafts per cm2 multiplied by the area. Maybe add on 20% for implanting into thinning areas as well.

Those with a thin donor area should probably do neither! It is generally regarded as much harder to switch from FUE to FUT than the other way around, th reason being that graft disection is hampered by all the FUE scar tissue contained within the strip.

Ppboi, The answer is....neither!...until you have tried at least 6 months on Finasteride (Finpecia or similar brand). There's little point in filling in the temples when the rest of your hair will just disappear leaving you with 'horns'. Using Rogaine Foam alone is not that effective long term.

Agreed. The safest part of the 'Safe Zone' is the area shaded black below. All these 25yr olds taking 6000 FUE from outside this area run the risk of that hair thinning out over time. People can be NW2s at 40 and end up a NW6/7 at 60. My personal view is that everyone should consider at least one good strip procedure. If you need a top up 20 years later and still got great hair on the back and sides then maybe that is the time to go FUE. There's no one size fits all approach.

You can type pretty much any drug into Google with the words ED and you will find claims that it is a side effect. I even typed in Ibuprofen and found some!

That's very nice but where's the email from the Doctor? Is it Dr Path? Best of luck and I look forward to reading the Blog.

I looked at it like this: Flights could get delayed, e.g. remember the volcanic ash thing a few years back? I decided to fly out 3 days early. I arrived on the evening of -3 day (surgery day = day 0) and had two full days to pick up prescriptions etc and familiarise myself with the local area. If it is a fairly big hairline case then with the swelling I think 4-5 days post op is advisable. If it is small work, or crown only work then perhaps you could get away with 2 or 3 days post op. If you're flying a long time (e.g. Australia to Europe) then maybe add another day for good measure. I told the lady at the Immigration desk I was there for a minor surgical procedure. She did not ask what it was, only the location and 'did we not have any doctors in the UK who could do it?!'

Have you actually had any consultations with Dr Path or any other Dr? They will turn you away in a flash. On the rare occasions I've seen 18/19 year olds operated on the Doctors tend to get the parents involved in the decision making (people in their teens tend to lack maturity and common sense - I should know, I used to be one:D). The risk is you will find a Dr willing to do the work who butchers your scalp, achieves poor yield, wastes 40% of your donor hair and makes you look like a freak. It's all very well saying you don't mind bad hair beyond your 20s but there are countless 30,40,50...even 80 year olds who care about their hair enough to get a hair transplant. Can you imagine 70 years of your life appearing in photo albums as "the guy who looks like a freak"? Your hair still looks quite decent to me and you should stick with the finasteride for a couple of years to see if it stops or slows down the rot. It could just mature to a low norwood pattern. I've seen a lot of Umar repair cases and while it is admirable what he can achieve with BHT, quite franky being bald from day one is a better option.

Hair greed strikes again! It looks from your profile that you're pretty young and not on finasteride. Is than still the case? I'd save those precious grafts for further recession behind the hairline. It's gonna happen and some point.

Great write up. You can tell this will be a good un. Any idea what the purple dye is for? I've seen it used by at least 3 other Drs and always wondered.

I was just going to reply with the same sentiments. Most people would give their right follicle for what you've got! It doesn't look like an overly high hairline either. A good thing to do is check the Michaelangelo rule of thirds: The distance from hairline to eyebrows = eyebrows to nostrils = nostrils to chin. Obviously we cant see the rest of your features but if you deviate from the above it will look goofy. For the hairline I would do the calculation: area you want covered in sq cm x 60. The density of the outcome is unlikely to be as dense as your current hairline - something to bear in mind.

Seeing as you're in SC I would schedule a visit with Drs Umar and Diep, not because I'm saying you should have your procedure with them, but mainly so they can assess your FUE-candidacy. If they say it looks great then you can be a lot more comfortable travelling half way across the world.

..and another school of thought is to not do anything at all, especially if you are a NW1. There are a lot of examples on here of people chasing the perfect hairline and, for one reason or another, being sorely disappointed.

It's a bit like a spray paint of hair fibres. A bit like wet Dermatch which has been put into a spray can. Completely useless for the hairline but pretty decent elsewhere. It goes on very quick and you can seal it with a hairspray.

I don't have any pre-op shaved photos. Here's some post-haircut. I put a bit of Nanogen on the top and used Mane to disguise the scar area.

Aren't you a bit old to be going to school? It would be good if you could cut the rest of your hair as short as possible. I bought some 'Mane' from their shop in Camden (N. London) and spray it lightly over the scar region. It really works well and takes seconds.

None at the moment but I'll request from the Doc nearer the 12 month mark I think.