tluser

Definitely! Fingers crossed something like this could be developed moving forward 🤞

Thanks. I think it could help everyone find something similar to what they're looking for, or what they can expect. If there can be a search field made that targets a range < X grafts >, it could go a really long way.

Wow. This is exactly what I was looking for. Dr. True or Dr. Dorin are even a couple of the surgeons I'm considering! Keep it coming, folks. Thank you so much!

Hi everyone, It has been a good long while since I was last on the site, but I knew the day would come when I'd return to it. I believe I first joined when I was 23 or 24, and now four years later I know that it is time. It's time for me to take the plunge and have a procedure. My hair loss has been relatively minimal in the grand scheme of things. The loss is definitely apparent in the temples. Waiting these four years has given me a great idea of how much hair loss I can expect. Over the last year or so, it has definitely stabilized. I'll be having a consultation or two in the next month, and I believe I won't need a surgery that is more than 1000 grafts. To be honest, I feel fairly confident that I won't need more than 850 grafts — which I know, I am fortunate to say. That said, I have been really curious about seeing smaller procedural work to get an idea of what is realistic but it has been extremely difficult to find on this site. A tool that would help people search for surgeries < or > X number of grafts would be incredibly helpful, but that unfortunately does not exist. I would love if anyone can point me to surgeries between the 600-900 graft ballpark. Maybe there's a thread you've commented on, or remember specifically. I would love any input and pictures from surgeons who are lurking on the forums as well. With your help, I'll be one step closer to my hair restoration goals. Thank you all!

I think Dr. Bhatti's work is great. I just wish he made use of a more irregular hairline.

Hey Johndoe, Any updates you can give us about your hair? I'd especially love to see that donor area! That's the biggest issue that's keeping me from getting a HT.

Looks great, m0d. Any pics you can snap of the donor area? Especially while it's so short

Hello everyone, It's been quite a while since I've posted here (not that I posted very much at all). But I've recently been looking into hair transplants more, now that I can visibly see my temporal regions start to thin more. I've already decided on my transplant surgeon and method (FUE) for the future, should I decide to get one. Still, the only thing that really gives me any hesitation is the subsequent scarring. We know how much of a role punch sizes and the doctor's skill play a role in both strip scars and "white dot" scarring. But I've been looking into the ways that we as transplant patients could possibly minimize the scars beyond those two variables. The search led me to all the options you already know about: ACell, Dr. Wesley's proposed Piloscopy, etc.. These are not topics that I will be visiting in this post. I will however be talking about the options below. It has also led me to revisit the topic of LLLT (Low Level Laser Therapy), which I know is a controversial topic that has just as well been ruled out as bogus in the HT community. More on that later. Continuing down the trail of lasers, I came across information about treating Psoriasis and Vitiligo (the disease and skin condition that afflicted Michael Jackson). Both conditions have treatments that use something called an Excimer Laser to reintroduce pigment into hypopigmented areas. Another exciting treatment for Vitiligo uses a layer of your own skin cells that are removed, centrifuged in a concoction of some sort, and transplanted to areas where Vitiligo exists. This is called Non Cultured M-K. I believe these may hold great potential for minimizing the transplant scars that affect all HT patients. However, I am no scientist, nor do I know the specifics of these technologies or techniques to determine whether they will truly help scar-repair/minimization. That is where you all come in. Let's discuss. LLLT It is a common belief in the HT community that LLLT does nothing for regrowth of old hair that has been lost, or has miniaturized. I am not here to contest that. No magic lasers or powder can get back the hair that has already been lost. However, it is well documented that the application of LLLT on open-wounds speeds the healing process and assists in the creation of fibrous tissues that more effectively closes those wounds and minimizes the appearance of scars than leaving them without. The exact process is not understood, but a quick Google search will yield several studies in medical journals. Here are some of those: Low-Level Laser Therapy Facilitates Superficial Wound Healing in Humans: A Triple-Blind, Sham-Controlled Study Effects of a low level laser on the acceleration of wound healing in rabbits If HT patients would subject themselves to LLLT immediately following surgery for several sessions until healing is completed (or possibly even beyond completion of healing), it seems that there would a few benefits: 1) faster healing, 2) reduced size of wounds, 3) reduced appearance of scars. Excimer Lasers Dermatologists have reported success in repigmentation of areas affected by hypopigmentation through use of excimer lasers. The application is much the same as traditional LLLT therapy, except for the treatment being on wounds that have already healed (of course). Below is a study conducted on three patients, with pictures included: Rapid Response of Facial Vitiligo to 308nm Excimer Laser and Topical Calcipotriene For those with visible scars - either a strip or white dots - would it be possible to undergo a few excimer laser treatments to bring back natural color to scarred areas? My only concern is if the excimer laser would actually have the adverse affect of removing hair. I'm not sure what wavelengths or power output is needed for a laser to cross into that territory of removing hair. Non Cultured M-K Finally, there is Non Cultured M-K. This truly seems like the most reasonable option that would yield results - at least in the common sense nature of the application. With this procedure, you literally remove your own skin from another part of the body and graft it into areas where pigmentation is needed. The skin is broken up into smaller pieces, centrifuged in a trypsin solution, spread on the area where it is needed, and covered with a collagen dressing that would be removed after one week. Here is a study with pictures included. The images in Figure 1 are confusing, as it seems the patient had actually lost more pigment before gaining it back, but this may be a mistake in the order the images are listed. Figure 2 shows a much better result. Non-cultured melanocyte/keratinocyte transplantation for the treatment of stable vitiligo on the face: report of two cases With a combination of these options, or just single approaches using these options, I believe scarring could possibly be drastically minimized. Does anyone see any plausability in this, or holes in the theory? EDIT: If this is in the wrong section of the forum, or if it would better be served or read in another part - please, moderators, feel free to move it.

Hey Johndoe, Any updates on how the transplant has been going?

Hi newlook, I haven't had any procedures done with Dr. Diep, but I'm considering him myself. If you do go through with the procedure, would you mind if we stayed in touch? I live in San Jose (actually just about 10-15 minutes away from where Dr. Diep is located). If you go through with the procedure, it would be excellent if we could meet in person.

Hey JohnDoe, I appreciate the pictures. Dr. Diep is someone I've been considering for a while now too. The only reason I haven't taken the plunge is because I'd like to wait a bit longer to see how advanced my hair loss gets, and because I want to see some more examples of donor area scarring with FUE. We've all seen the really terrible pictures of FUE scars, but those are of the extreme. I'd like to see pictures to get an idea of the average - if the donor area is noticeably thinned, and how the scarring looks. Keep taking those pictures! It would be good to see your donor area in a month or two when things have kind of settled. Do you usually keep your hair cut that short? If so, even better. I usually go for a taper at the nape of my neck, and I'm interesting to see how well it would all fade together.

Hello fellow hair loss fighters, I've been going around hair loss forums on the internet, looking through all the threads for the past 6 months now. I've posted here and there, but I've finally decided to step my game up and dedicate myself to posting to a forum regularly. You can see my hair loss story in my profile but here it is as well: "The only signs of hair loss come from my father's side of the family. He himself is probably between a Norwood 3 and a 3 with a vertex. My brother on the other hand is practically bald. He however was a pretty heavy drug abuser earlier in his life, which I suspect only contributed to his hair loss. To put this into perspective, my father is 75 and has better hair than my 35 year old brother. My mother's side of the family has the thickest hair imaginable, and it's extremely abundant too. There are no signs of hair loss at all on her side. I had a memorable hair shed when I was 16 or so. I shed an insane amount of hair, but I didn't give much thought to it because I was wearing my hair very long at the time. By the time the shedding subsided, I still had great thickness and coverage because I was born with hair more like my mothers. Slowly since then, my temples have been receding but they went unnoticed. It wasn't until my hairline (particularly the upper corners where the temples meet the hairline) started to recede, that I noticed my hair was getting thinner and thinner." I'm 22 years old and right now, I'd identify myself as a Norwood 2, or maybe a 1.5. I'm still early on in the hair loss stages, but it's definitely getting more and more apparent. My goal is to maintain and try to stabilize my hair until I can get a transplant - which I am hoping I could get as soon as I can given the age limitations. If I am able to stabilize and maintain by say the age of 26 or 27, would it be reasonable to get a hair transplant and plan for the future after that, or is it still too young? The only issue is that I'm extremely worried about the side effects with Propecia and Minoxidil - what with all these recent reports of more men having longer lasting/permanent side effects. I've read about getting on Regenepure or Nizoral. Besides that though, there generally isn't much else that is suggested in fighting hair loss other than the "Big 2." But is there anything else? I do massage my scalp nightly, in hopes that that will help. Laser is widely regarded as snake oil, although there have been pictures with fairly considerable results by some posters on this forum (Carly being one). But I also hear that there is a study being done by Dr. Wasserbauer, who I know most of you are familiar with after a debacle on the forums and with an angry e-mailer. So in a year we should hear how that goes, and maybe that will put the final nail in the coffin. Other than that, what else is there for me that can be done? And how many of you have personally felt the side effects of Propecia and Minoxidil? Is the "2% of those tested" a realistic number representing those who have been effected by the medications? And would a hair restoration surgeon even operate (FUE) on a Norwood 2 - again assuming if I could manage to keep it a Norwood 2? Also, on a slight side note - I'd consider Dr. Nakatsui, H&W, SMG for a future transplant. Dr. Nakatsui's results in terms of naturalness are superb, and H&W and SMG's work are consistently excellent. EDIT: Oh, I probably posted this in the wrong thread. I only posted here because I'm considering an FUE for my future transplant, as I've been reading that FUE is recommended for young patients who only wish to do minor work at one time, then future work if it needs to be done.