hair70

Thanks qpq82, Sorry you donor area was over harvested in one area? Hopefully it was just shaven more in that rectangular area and not unevenly harvested. Lets hope for the best in the months to come.

Check out dr DIEP in Los Gatos, CA. Look at my posts under my user name.

Agree with Spanker. Hard to tell. . .but I can tell you at 5 months, my growth was not sparse my second time around. Sorry man, I feel for your pain and obsession about the surgery and its outcome. I also wondered if I got cheated my first time around concerning number of grafts but I realized at about 6 months that being shorted grafts was only one major concern. You also start wondering if the grafts that were placed, 1500 or not, will ever take and if the angles of implantation of grafts matches your natural hairline. What's the point of putting in 1500 or more grafts when only 1/2 of them grow and then grow at terrible angles that don't match your existing hairline? You'd be worse off then when you started. . . Thank goodness only 50 grafts out of 1000 FUE grafts grew my first time around with North Valley Plastic Surgery in AZ as the technician but them at terrible angles making things worse then when I started. PM me and I will be happy to share my experiences with you. I hope you get some significant growth soon.

Hello HairKlepto, I had big plans to document week to week my progress but dropped my trusty camera in the sink at week two while snapping pics. It stopped working and I forgot about my grand plans. I got my nice new SLR camera out the other day and snapped a picture at about month 7. . . I am setting up another procedure to get more density and filling in my temple areas also.

you are welcome hairz, only if someone warned me of North Valley Plastic Surgery! they were on the local news and even Rachel Ray with beautiful pictures and lingo. . .don't get sucked in!!

hi stinger99, the 2 procedures were a world of difference! where do i even start? for first procedure. . . http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/167928-fue-transplant-care-neograft.html second procedure was done by dr DIEP in los gatos. he manually punched / extracted 1500 grafts with his special extraction tools and then poked 1500 holes in the recipient area. thereafter, his 2 techs spent hours placing the grafts into the recipient area. the whole meticulous procedure was very time consuming and took all day. with regards to punch size and depth, etc. . .i think every scalp is different. i think dr Diep takes a few different punches and looks at the follicles under the microscope to see which method and punch size and depth yields a healthy looking graft. . .then he knows exactly what to use on your scalp.

Thanks for reviving post GreatPelo I wanted to post this to warn others of this practice so no one gets "jacked" like I did. Definitely should be illegal and definitely unethical! Didn't "wait and see" like the plastic surgery center suggested. . .just went with a real HT doctor and happy ever since. I don't know how to warn other people of this place other than posting on forums. . .any suggestions?

Hey hairybadger, Was reading your post and what looks to be a poor outcome. Sorry about that! I feel your pain. I was in your shoes last September / about 8 months after getting a FUE procedure at north valley plastic surgery in Jan 2012. . .dr Gitt. . .who still hasn't called me back after several requests. I am glad your doctor agreed to see you and agreed it was a poor result. Some peace of mind there? Can't believe he didn't give you some money back or at least offer a free redo, but you and I wouldn't go for that as we know nothing will change the second time around. They will tell you to wait a full year, etc. . .bunch of bull in my opinion. I went with dr DIEP in October and at 3 months had at least 80% of hairs transplanted growing nicely. Now at past 4 months the growth is tremendous! In both our cases, waiting any more time and praying for a tiny bit more hair growth at best is the most frustrating thing ever. You know you not going to be happy in the end and have to get a redo anyways. Don't waste your time, cut your loses, and move onto a surgeon who knows what they are doing!

sorry sunny55, i feel your pain man. i was in the same boat at 8 months after north valley plastic surgery in AZ "practiced" on my scalp. hope you are not a victim of the same place! there seems to be a lot of reputable surgeons recommended on this website so i hope you get the results you want the next time around.

Appreciate all the good info exchange. I am glad there are moderators on this forum moderating all this info and passion. We could only make an educated guess as to what criteria our moderators use to set a doc in that highly recommended category? It is nice it doesn't involve funding / money contributions and probably doesn't involve analysis of youtube videos or professional videos either. Only carefull research and time will tell. Keep up the good moderating and investigating people.

My observations: Dr Diep openly shares and shows millions of people on youtube his personal work and results. He has nothing to hide! Who here hasn't learned something from watching his youtube videos? Which other FUE specialists show live / uncut / raw videos of their actual techinques?. . .not professional video productions with beautiful lighting, music, angles, etc. . . How do you compare extraction techniques / bleeding / etc between one doc to the next when only one doctor (dr Diep) has the guts to show you how bloody these things get sometimes? Like others have insinuated. . .THE RESULTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES!! In the end, I feel he doesn't have to show anyone his extractions techniques or how he gets his results. . .they are his very own secrets he has learned and tools he has designed from doing countless precedures during training with one of the best FUE docs and countless more procedures in private practice. Why should he have to share his techniques? Can the lay person really understand or compare or appreciate the complexity of how to extract a healthy follicle and care for it? Punch size, depth of punch, angle of attack, type of anaesthetics and additives used in it, etc. . .and his technicians have years of experience in caring for and cleaning of the follicles also. . .don't forget about that! Dr Diep IS down to earth, highly invested in HT, and choses to show and educate the public and is not afraid to do soo and I am appreciative of that. If he just posted all his pictures his before and after shots or made a beautiful video with flowery music, etc. . .I would guess one could care less what he uses to take out the ones follicles or how much bleeding one had during the procedure, etc. ONE WOULD JUST TRUST HIM and HIS RESULTS and TAKE THE PLUNGE! Sorry for the long post. . .

that is funny Yiddo. i went to a surgical center that does "everything"and was extremely disappointed soo listen to these wise members warning against it! it was the most painful 8 months of waiting for nothing to happen. . .

I had my NEOGRAFT at North Valley Plastic Surgery a large plastic surgery center in AZ on the news, Rachel Ray, etc, etc. . . Check out my posts: hair70 Total waste of time and money not mentioning frustration, etc. They will show you fancy pictures of what NEOGRAFT can potentially do. . . They will tell you their technicians have years of experience doing hundreds of transplants and are instructors and teachers to those below them. . . They will even give you a discount on your procedure. . . Trust me buddy, go with a known surgeon and hair transplant team using known and proven extraction techniques, documented results, positive feedback, etc, etc. Don't trust your precious follicles to a NEOGRAFT machine sucking them out, down a series of long tubes, finally slammed onto a petri dish piled on top of eachother, drying them out, etc, etc. There is no quick and dirty to the careful and delicate process of hair extraction. Don't even waste your 100 bucks and time and be sucked into a procedure that you will regret in the end. I am glad you found these forums. Wish I did prior to listening to those neograft advertisements. . .

I would give dr Diep a call in los gatos, ca MHTA clinic He is all over youtube and his results are awesome to say the least. Just had my FUE with his team. . .over 90% of my grafts are growing and have not fallen out. . .I think a testament to quality of his extraction techniques and viability of his extractions. Best of luck on your search and future transplant. Do not go to anyone who uses that NEOGRAFT machine or does anything other than hair transplants, just two bits of advice.

I am sure he will be one of the "GO TO" docs on this website very soon. I can't believe he is not well known on the hair transplant forums with the amazing results he gets. He is an innovator and has gone beyond just doing people with straight hair shafts / follicles. . .he has designed special extraction tools for african american people also. He has gone beyond the scalp and does eyebrows, beards, etc. . .a true hair specialist! Just had my FUE with him and his team this month. Great experience. No doubts my transplant will come out awesome.

Can the NeoGraft Hair Transplant Machine Revolutionize Follicular Unit Extraction? | Hair Loss Q & A

There is some great advice on these forums about picking a transplant place. Couple things I learned from personal experience. . .just research my blogs under my user name. . .hair70 1. Don't go to a place that does hair transplants on the side. Hair transplants require a dedicated transplant doc and techs to get the results everyone wants. It is really a specialty in itself and requires lots of artistry and experience. 2. Don't do NEOGRAFT. I believe most of my grafts were damaged using that automated machine. There is a nice article somewhere on this forum about how it may dry out / damage follicles during extraction process. . .it happened to me. Don't let it happen to you. If you can travel to CA. I would recommend Dr Diep in los gatos, CA. Simply, one of the best! You can find him on youtube and also on these forums. Please don't fall into the same traps I did. Good luck with your search.

You guessed the outcome expected Spanker! Just posted 8 month results. Scalp still red from likely being traumatized in all different directions with whatever he was using to make recipient sites. You are totally right about the expertise it takes. . .NOW I KNOW! If I could prevent one person from going through what I went through by posting on this blog. . .it will be worth it!

You are absolutely correct about NEOGRAFT machine and its intended purposes. They are putting these machines in the hands of technicians to perform hair transplant procedures who undergo some sort of training and mentoring program before they are on their own. One could argue the technician has more experience than the plastic surgeon or office doc who wants to provide this service in his practice also. This is still surgery in my opinion and technicians should not be allowed to perform surgery. . .especially unsupervised in my case. During my procedure, even the nurse? took the machine and practiced on me while the solo techician was counting. . .soo unprofessional! When scheduling, they had to call some sort of central dispatcher to find a technician that was available for my surgery date. First it was one person scheduled who I tried to research and then she had family issues last minute soo they sent someone else. . . Doesn't sound promising huh? I was stupid and impatient and should've done more research especially on THIS FORUM. My procedure was over 8 months ago at NVPS in AZ. 8 month result attached. . . .less than 100 hairs out of a supposed 1000 FUE implants and most pointing at un natural angles to my hairline. . .it is worst then being bald in recipient area. . .I hoped no more hairs showed up actually! I am sure the transplant gurus will refine extraction techniques in the future whether automated or not but it is going to be almost impossible to teach the artistry of natural hairline creation depending on age, race, facial characteristics, etc, etc. . . Some people are just naturally going to be better than others. For those of you who are looking to get a transplant procedure. . .take it from me after loosing thousands of dollars and even more in sleep, frustration, anxiety, etc, etc. . .don't go to an office that does FUE "on the side" like North Valley Plastic Surgery in AZ who calls a NEOGRAFT dispatch center to send out a "trained" technician to do your transplant. That may work well for getting your car towed when it breaks down but not for your hair surgery!

I am glad you are on the posting on forums now dr DIEP. You are a true hidden gem on the west coast. I am glad I found you and your staff. Professional, meticulous, confident, caring, down to earth, super educated and trained, innovator, recognized in Newsweek, no frills, no BS, just RESULTS! Thanx again for my recent FUE fixing a previous transplant done at NVPS in AZ. I have no doubts it will come out just as awesome as all your other transplants all over youtube. It is nice to have a transplant and not have to wonder or worry if something is going to happen which many of us have been through on this website. . .It WILL happen with dr DIEP and it will look natural and full. His hairlines are simply artistic works of beauty. Thanx again DOC DIEP!

FUE using NEOGRAFT machine at NORTH VALLEY PLASTIC SURGERY in AZ Ran into the doctor / plastic surgeon for a few minutes before surgery and he took off not to be seen again and the 20 something year old hair technician (who flew in from somewhere) started "working" on my transplant SOLO. Excuse me. . .their was a nurse? giving anaesthesia shots also soo I guess he wasn't SOLO. Less than 7 hours later including break for lunch. . . I would appreciate comments on what the forum thinks? How many grafts? Angles of implants? Gaps in coverage? THANX

NEOGRAFT? I can not imagine the follicles do not undergo undue trauma being sucked out, vacuumed and dragged and banged up against a long tube on its way to being slammed onto a petri dish in the middle of the NEOGRAFT machine. Any highly recommended surgeons on this website using it? ? with success ? ? If you are in California or are willing to travel. . .give dr DIEP a call at MHTA clinic. You will be in good hands. Thanx for link future HT doc. . .just read it. . .agree totally!

that is really neat you see some new hairs whether newly transplanted ones growing or existing hairs that were on their way out kinda revived by propecia, etc. it probably is a bit early for transplanted hairs to grow yet but you and i know the quick results dr DIEP usually achieves. i am not a transplant surgeon but i think when follicles are traumatized by poor extraction methods / poor extraction angles / improper size of extractors used / improper depth of extraction / etc, you get slow and poor growth of transplants and hence the varying results people are getting. . . dr DIEP does all his extractions with his special tools and meticulous nature which i believe makes a huge difference. . .you will see results quicker. the "ten" page post op instructions have the office number if you have any questions during regular business hours and also the evening number if there are questions during non office hours which i believe is his direct number. congrats on being over one month out.

XLNT advice shampoo! I would add Dr Diep in los gatos, ca in your list above ;-)

Sorry you had to go through that 1Review. I had a similar experience and feel your pain and frustration.