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Congrats Wylie. Looks awesome buddy! Must feel great to have such a big change. I understand all too well how a hair restoration totally changes the way you look and feel about yourself.....so very happy to see that the result turned out well for you! Best, Mike

Martin, Looking really great at 5 months buddy, and still so much to come. For me, Month 5-7 was when I saw some HUGE changes, and everything looks to be right where it should be. Given where you started from, you should be very happy already!! Best, Mike

Realdeal- Hey buddy, welcome to the forum. You have come to a great place for advice and support. I will try and answer some of your questions above, although I will start by saying that all of the guys have given you excellent advice when they tell you NOT TO GO TO BOSLEY for a hair restoration procedure. Bosley uses several "physicians" for hair transplantation. Most likely, they are not highly trained and specialized specifically in hair restoration; and it would certainly be a gamble on what kind of result you were going to get in the end. Especially at $10/graft. That's a lot of money to throw away if it doesn't go according to plan!!! Bosley is essentially an "assembly line" hair transplantation company....and frankly, that isn't the kind of business that works well for patients trying to get an outstanding result! Hairthere is correct in saying that Dr. Rahal doesn't do procedures in New York at this time. He specifically has his California and New York offices setup for consultations and patient aftercare. All surgeries are performed by Dr. Rahal in Ottawa, Canada (which is still a very short trip in for you if you are in New York). Dr. Rahal charges $8/graft for his FUE work, and produces consistently excellent results. You should never rule out a location for your surgery when your end-goal is a satisfied hair transplant result!!!! Now onto your specific questions: 1.) It is tough to say why Bosley and T&D are giving you different treatment numbers. But I would assume that True and Dorin are probably more accurate in the assessment than Bosley is. Bosley is happy to get patients in their door for treatment to get your money.....and are far less concerned that you leave their clinics satisfied. 2.) I think it is important to consider a hairline design that is both age-appropriate and achievable. An excellent hair restoration surgeon isn't going to suggest something that wouldn't ultimately work with your face/features, and yet isn't going to give you a low hairline that will ultimately not work for you later on. 3.) Again, this is where a lot of patients end up unhappy. Someone who is considering a hair restoration AND achieving the results they want to achieve, shouldn't place a pre-determined budget per se ($10,000 in your instance). The problem in doing this, is that you may need 2000 grafts in order to achieve the appearance YOU want, and yet the cost of grafts may not allow this result to be created. If T&D suggested that you need 1500-2000 grafts for the hairline they originally drew, and you wanted an even lower hairline.....well, you may need to consider even more grafts to achieve that. Keep in mind, lowering your hairline is not always a great idea..... 4.) In general, if you choose a surgeon who specializes in hair restoration (a recommended physician from the Hair Restoration Network), the procedure is very safe, with consistently great results. A cosmetic procedure of any kind isn't completely risk free.....however a good physician will essentially ensure that you have zero complications. The clinics are state of the art, the physicians and teams are highly trained, and hair restoration in general is minimally invasive. Especially if you go with an FUE procedure where there won't be an incision in your donor area! 5.) I can't comment about overseas work and any medical care that you might need afterwards. I imagine if there was a complication (however rare), it could get quite expensive.....as your insurance in the US wouldn't cover any medical emergencies or care that you may need from a cosmetic procedure gone wrong, overseas. That is part of the gamble with going abroad for a restoration. I saw a documentary where all of these women (and men) went to Mexico to save money on some sort of a body reconstruction....and they were left disfigured and ill! It ended up being way worse for them in the long run....as it not only ruined their figure, but left them with insane hospital bills! Your risk of something like this happening with a hair transplant is obviously significantly less...but you should be knowledgable and aware of ALL possibilities. If you would like to email me some photos of your hair (and even if you wanted to draw the hairline you're looking to achieve on them), I would be happy to get them over to Dr. Rahal to see what he would recommend for a treatment plan for you. It would give you a better idea of how many grafts he would think were needed....and would help to determine roughly what the procedure would cost! Again, welcome to the forum. It is great that you are starting to do your research, and that you didn't jump into anything too quickly. There are a lot of guys on these forums who have had bad results in their first (sometimes second) procedure because they didn't do proper research, and were "convinced" by the clinic to just jump right in. I'm sure a lot of them here would tell you the same thing.....that it pays to choose an excellent surgeon and to do your research before you take the plunge! I am here to help in any way I can, so please make sure to reach out to me if you need anything at all! Best, Mike

Mrpredictable. Hey buddy. How's the ugly ducking phase treating you?! The growth is definitely going to be here before you know it. I'm guessing by looking at your information sheet above that Dr. Rahal placed your follicles in your frontal and mid-scalp at a fairly high density?! While it reads as a percentage, mine was similar yet the density is indicative of cm ^2 on my info sheet. If that is true of your procedure, I'm guessing the 65% may be 65 cm^2, which would give you a very dense result. My frontal region received roughly 55 cm ^ 2......and usually 50 + is needed to give the illusion of density. So if I am reading your sheet correctly, you got above average graft placement for density up front, and this should produce an amazing result. I could be wrong, but again.....that is my guess!! Hope the healing is going well and you are beginning to get excited for what lies ahead! :-) Best, Mike

Looks really great! No surprise from H & W. Thanks for sharing this fantastic result!

Hey jpthind, 3 weeks already, huh? Man....does time fly by. Have you contacted the clinic with any photos to see if they know what you're describing might be?! Although it is natural to worry about every little thing that seems wrong so soon after a hair restoration, what you're describing here does not sound like an infection to me. If you had an infection, you would most likely be having additional complications; such as pain and fever. Maybe your scalp is just slightly irritated? Have you been wearing a hat or did you change your shampoo/conditioner? Again, nothing to worry about most likely. Contact your clinic and I'm sure they'll advise you appropriately. Best, Mike

I think you'll find that all of us in this forum are a little photo-crazy....so you wouldn't hear any complaints if you wanted to share your current photos with us! I always like to see the work from different clinics, regardless in what stage the patient is pre/post-op. With that said, if the only reason you were planning on sharing was to highlight your concerns (and the "problem" area you speak of has already shed and wouldn't be visible to illustrate your point), then I wouldn't worry too much about posting photos until your hair begins to grow in. What your describing could very well be something that looked funny immediately post-op, but won't be a concern once the recipient area begins to grow in. Whatever you decide to do, you are in a great place for support and feedback! Looking forward to seeing some photos of your experience in the near future! Best, Mike

Baldie, Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your decision to have a hair transplant by a Hair Restoration Network recommended surgeon!! I think everyone here has answered your questions satisfactorily, so please keep us posted how everything goes. A 4500 graft session should make a phenomenal transformation to whatever your hair looks like currently, and I look forward to following your journey. I imagine you will be documenting your experiences with a write-up and photos, so I will keep my eyes peeled for that. Best of luck on your big day! Mike

I think photos will definitely help us assess your situation a little better HairKlepto, but I can assure you that you were in very good hands at SMG. Dr. Shapiro(s) take pride in their work and results, and I'm sure they would be happy to address any concerns you have with your outcome. Wishing you the best! Mike