Thomas2012

My choice woutd be Dr Konior. He and his staff are nothing short of phenomenal. I recently had my second procedure done by him, third overall. It was to add density to my hairline. You have to keep in mind that even though you are a 2.5 or so now, you will continue to lose density on native hairs. If the doctor get you great density to start with, overtime your native hairs will fall out so I would plan on future procedures dependent on your future hair loss.

I think temporal points are way overlooked in the importance of framing a persons face. I have had two procedures done now and believe the temporal areas have given me a fantastic impact on my overall appearance.

I would highly recommend Konior for two reasons. First of all he places all the grafts on both sides. My first surgery at another clinic one tech did one side and another did opposite and there was a considerable difference. The hairs laid flat on one side and were wild on the other, thus my second reason for Konior...his graft placement is impeccable.

Lastly, be careful on underestimating how many grafts you will need in the long run. Currently between the two procedures I probably have over 600 combined, I believe all singles. Where the temporal region meets the hairline, i.e. where the lines connect for a "V" thins out overtime, at least mine did, and additional work may be needed.

Matt 3480,

I couldn't agree more with your comments regarding Dr Konior. When I first was introduced to this form there were so many good comments and results coming from a lot of recommended doctors. It was easy to choose my first surgery because I was close to their clinic and they do great work. Before my second procedure I had a lot of time to research some of my deciding factors to go with Dr K. were the ones you mentioned:

1. He only does one surgery at a time and is there throughout the whole procedure. That in itself tells you

he is fully accountable for everything that happens. Other clinics choose to to mufltple procdures, but

that is their choice to let techs do the planting. On my first procedure there were two techs working

each side of my temporal points and they came out different because of that, much different.

2. There is no negatives on him. It seems some other clinics doing a lot of procedures have more

negatives than positives, but maybe that comes with the shear volume. Again, it is a choice other

doctors and clinics make. Dr K. has chose to control all outcomes because he the work himself and

stay small.

3. Like I said in a previous post. There are average, good, and gifted doctors....just like any profession.

You look at his results, his care, and his professionalism and I think is is gifted. Period.

Spanker and TOC,

Thanks for the comments. I am trying to add some thickness to my crown. I have been on Fin for 8 plus years and it helped tremendously the initial 5 years and no sides. I believe it may be losing efficiency and want to start on Duta in the near future. I would be curious to know and get feedback on men plus 50 that have made a switch and what their experience has been.

Thanks Matt. Really tried to get long term goals established with this transplant. After my last procedure my front area hairline was extremly thick, but I was losing density behind that over time. We concentrated on my parting side and frontal forelock. As you can tell from your result Dr Konior is second to none with his results and density achieved.

Here is a 10 day post op. A little bit of dried area, but just starting to shed. Overall healing nicely and clean work.

thanks for the well wishes, I will try to post my 10 day post op later. I am starting to shed a bit.

Spanker, I will try to post some pics. I couldn't have asked for a thicker head of hair after my last transplant before Dr. Konior, with exception of tiny see thru in way back of crown. I am very picky and my hair started to receed back a bit and lose density in the mid scalp. Ultimately thru research and viewing a lot of pics, I don't think there is anyone better than him in creating density within existing hairlines and especially in the upper front region. Meticulous work.

First of all I want to thank this forum for providing me with so much information to make two educated decisons in regards to my two hair transplants. I view a lot, but don't post much. I am one week post up of 2100 FUT procedure with Dr Konior.

I had my first procedure done by another coalition recommended doctor, FUT 3100 grafts. He did a great job of framing my face and provided as much density as possbile at time. I thought a very good result, very happy. Over the past two years, even though on meds, have been the past 8 years, my frontal region continued, and will continue to lose density. i was looking to add density, not really lower hairline at all.

I did two consults, one with my first surgeon, and second with Dr Konior. Unbelievable difference in the thoroughness with the latter. I also chose him because of information, photos, and feedback from this forum. He doesn't miss. I think he is Elite in this whole field of coalition doctors. I have seen average, good, really good and elite results on this forum. A week post up and comparing consult, pre-op, post op, and follow thru, I have no doubt he is one of the best, if not the best in this field. I will try to post some pics in near future.

TJK,

Your hair looks similar to mine before my first transplant. I would highly recommend getting some opinions from at least two doctors. It looks like you have quite a bit of hair so the surgeon who performs would have to have a great skill set to perform stick and place method Matt mentioned above. Get referrals on similar cases and review past pictures of clients of the surgeon you choose. I have been extremely happy with my first result and going back in to thicken up areas that have receded and lost density. On a final note, though Propecia doesn't stop frontal hair lose and recession, it has worked great for me the past 8 years in stabilizing crown loss. Best of luck.

I had a procedure done about 1.5 years ago by Dr. Paul about 3k grafts. A game changer. He did a great job and was good about going over hair design and adding to my temporal points. I would highly recommend a FUT with him.

GFI, Ok, that makes sense. Thanks for the info.

With that said I would not be inclined to do a motorized FUE for the sole reason of margin of error. A doctor who is talented could be off a bit on a certain amount of grafts, human error, lets just call 5%, he or she is accountable. What if the machine is off? who is accountable? The doctor? The staff? The input person? I really think it reduces accountability of the physician's true skill set and ultimately liability. True the clinic ultimately takes a "marketing" hit, but ultimately the physician can say " the machine just wasn't good".

I do agree with you that yield should be monitored every time after a one year check up and results posted. I agree with you we only see a huge majority of good ones.

Goforit,

I agree with you, but how can even a FUT be monitored with accuracy compared to a FUE transplant? Lets say you get 2500 grafts either way, how can any hair clinic determine if 90 percent actually grow?? Counting hairs a year later? Maybe I am missing something here. Not trying to be sarcastic. Thanks.

I recently looked at a picture from 10 years ago and I can honestly say I have lost very little ground since I have been taking Fin. I started taking it about 8 years ago and it made an immediate impact on my crown area, both in thickness and maintaining hairs. Fin doesn't impact a receding hairline, that is where I had some work done, but I can attest over the years it does help the crown area.

stupid question, but why wouldn't scalp laxity excercises help out, or maybe in this case and others, the scalp is just that tight.

Hairless, I have been taking generic Fin the past 6 years and started Rogaine 3 years ago. The Fin definetely helped thicken my crown area over all. I think the impact was definetely noticeable. By adding the Rogaine I really feel it has helped my hair not miniturize as fast. Spex had a great post a while back on the benefits of Rogaine. Keep this in mind. A person experiencing MPB and does nothing his hairs go thru a miniturization s.p. phases. Basically they get finer and finer then fall out. The Fin and Rogaine help thicken a certain amount of hairs, making them more dense and actually promote growth in certain areas like the crown. Some guys swear it has worked well on temporal areas and in the front of scalp, but I personally haven't seen any improvements in these areas. Without batting an eye, Fin has worked for me and Rogaine has too.

Some great posts. Dwight you had a question earlier if I had any experience with SMP. I have not, but thinking of it within the next year. I just had a 3 k procedure, but overall I have a lot of native hairs and minor thinning. I want to see the outcome on the over all density on this last one and fill in areas that may be a little light. My only challenge is that I am going about a third gray right now and would probably have to dye my hair.

Northwest, thanks for the great posts and updates. It looks like you will get a great result. A couple of questions for you. Without any procedures where would you rate yourself on a Norwood Scale, 6-7? If you fast forwarded to today's progress in hair transplanting how would have done each session and how many grafts do you think you lost in donor hair with the plug technique? The reason I am asking is there was a recent post stated" is transplanting worth it for a 50 year old guy at a Norwood 6-7" Your a great example of why I posted yes. You're gonna look great with this last procedure. Thanks, Tom

I agree with Blake. It also shows just with a moderate amount of grafts what an impact a transplant can have. When he is done with a second procedure and ages another 10 years his hairline at 56 will probably look twice as nice as it was at 36 before he had the first procedure. ! just a bit lighter! Great job and post Dr. Beehner. For younger guys thinking of getting a transplant this shows a moderate progression on the benefits of transplants as they would advance in age.

No doubt 2-4 k is a lot of money. I agree with with you that the doctors on this forum are good, but their are ones more skilled at thier craft. Secondly, get a long term plan in place. If you are already a Norwood 5 / 6 you will probably want another procedure down the road. Choose a doctor you feel comfortable down the road and plan on a second one with them. As I mentioned earlier it is a life long decision. I am sure that a doctor would be willing to work with you on some type of payment plan for 2-3 k. Do this:

1. Try to stablize your hair loss with Meds (Propecia and Rogaine) if possible. So you can

you predict, with some degree where you will look down the road.

2. Meet and go with a doctor you feel good about and discuss a long term plan based on

on the following: Ask and write these down.

- How much donor hair will be available based on hair loss projection.

- Determine the diameter of your donor hair, it will have an impact on expectation based

on the number of grafts.

- Determine the density of the donor hair. i.e. the number of grafts in a given

sq.centimeter.

- What is the future plan and based on that how many grafts can be harvested in a first

procedure. Personally I would recommend a FUT, but there are ton of opinions out

there that may say FUE.

- What can you expect. Go thru a lot of posts and talk to others your age that have

gone thru a procedure and look at photos and talk to guys in their 30s and 40's to get

even a better perspective on waht to expect in the future.

Your a young man an obviously hair loss is bothering you. You have taken the first steps and doing something about it. It takes a lot of courage and I admire you for this. Bottom line is a transplant will make most likely feel better and more confident about yourself and the knowledge you are doing something about an issue that is bothering you. I wish you the best of luck, but for know gain more information I listed above before making your decision. Tom

Dwight great post. The expectation of a full head of hair for a Norwood 6 or 7 it unrealistic, but with SMG, and other concealers a person can really feel confident and feel good about themselves. The biggest attribute of this forum is educating others who have not had a procedure and gaining knowledge to make a decision and have realistice expectations!

Pakid, DONT PRICE SHOP and go with Dr. Lindsay if you felt comfortable with him. It is a lifelong investment. I never shopped, but I believe the going rate is about 5 per graft with a reputable doctor. Maybe location of where they are located will save you a bit, but then you have travel costs. It is a life long decision. Maybe you could save 5k from another clinic, but what if you don't like it. You'll have to live with it, or at least partial for rest of your life. Take that 5 k "extra" and amortize it over 40 years. Its 125 addtional per year. Chicken Fodder. Save until you can afford to. i.e. you'll spend a lot more on a new vehicle than a transplant and will never get the same satisfaction! Keep that in mind or maybe not taking a expensive vacation. Best of luck, Tom

Spiral, I think your temporal points look great. Personally I think you would achieve a nicer result with a transplant, but would go for the most grafts possible. Though some doctors opinions differ, you would get an optimum result with shaving your head before procedure. I wrestled with this question before I did, shaved recipient area. My reasoning is that it cannot hurt, and only help. Except for the addtional time in the ugly duckling phase, there are no drawbacks. Dr. Hasson had a good article Bill (publisher) just replied to on a very recent post. Really take the time to interview doctors. I don't know if your on meds or not, but that in conjunction with realizing you will probably lose a majority of your existing hair over time without will have a huge bearing on achieving realistic expectations. You look like your hair is relatively thick or coarse so that will be a big advantage. Best of luck. Tom