RyanVodka

Hi sean thanks for the response. The last picture I posted was of my hair was a bit longer than a #5 guard. It appears from your picture that we have similar spots behind the ears where hair was either damaged or over extracted. It is my opinion that our Dr's extraction process is flawed. The donor extraction area is too condensed and not enough time was spent determining if there would be enough hair left for adequate coverage. It seems the doctors in Europe take much more care in making sure only a certain percentage of the donor is extracted from each area. The person responsible for contacting me from the doctors office says the Dr, is willing to try to help make things right, however I'm not sure its even worth going through the process of using donor to cover the over extractions.

The clinic said thinness at low buzz length is to be expected with my hair type, they offered a free smp session. I emailed them back and said Its not thin at low buzz, its nearly transparent at an inch. It doesn't make sense for me to fly across the country for a free smp session. I feel it is the clinics job regardless of hair type to make sure the donor will be acceptable density following the procedure. I basically got the "whoops, guess you didnt have as much hair left as we thought" come get some tattoos put on. Even with unfavorable hair characteristics I dont see how 2300 total grafts could tap out my donor. Not sure what to do at this point but I know that SMP is not going to give me the results im looking for.

I was told prior to the procedure that I had "plenty of donor left". My first procedure was only 1200 and my second was 1000. Notice this picture here how insanely thin it is in certain spots it is noticeable at basically ANY length. The whole donor looks thin but mostly there are two spots behind each ear that are most noticeable, its been 9 months since my procedure so basically there is zero chance of it being shock loss. I look at the pictures and honestly cant believe the amount of money I spent to get this kind of result.

Hi sean, none of my posts are awaiting moderation. I was going to post and update and ended up deleting it. As you know I'm just having another rough day. Dr. R had his assistant email me somewhat recently and basically said my thinness is a result of my hair characteristics which is complete bullshit. I had an average to above average density and medium caliber dark hair. There is no way I should be having people commenting on the thinness of my donor when its 1/2 inch and longer after 2200 grafts. During my second procedure there was a different extractor other than mike doing a portion of my grafts who was clearly less experienced than mike was. I am convinced that it was bad extracting or a severe reaction to a second FUE procedure that caused my donor issues. I am just heart broken that I spent all this money and here I am 9 months post op with a donor way worse than what a FUT procedure would have gave me. Honestly don't know what else to say but obviously you know how it feels. Just went to my barber and even at 5/8ths of an inch he was staring at the back of my head confused asking why the hair was so thin. When I take pictures of the donor close up it seems like there is a decent amount of hairs that aren't as thick as the rest. I am still trying to hold out hope that some how the second procedure caused some hairs to weaken and that they will eventually return.

Don't do it, either get used to the bald head or wait for an alternative in 5-10 years.

hello everyone, I am sorry to revive this thread again but it seems I was wrong about the improved donor. It believe my hair was just longer than I previously thought. I just had my hair buzzed down to a 3 guard two days ago and it appears it is basically just as thin as it was 3 months ago. I am now over 7 months post op, any hope that this was shock loss is basically gone. Ultimately I believe that my donor area was just too conservative and was over harvested as a result of it. I've noticed that nearly all the top surgeons in Europe go outside of the 100% safe zone in order to give the best cosmetic result. I understand the logic behind being ultra conservative but in my case I think it was a mistake to extract like I was going to become a norwood 7 at the expense of density. I really wish more of my donor would have been utilized including the back and sides of my head. Here is an image of a lorenzo procedure simliar to mine, notice how much larger of an area the grafts have been extracted from. At this point in time I would recommended going elsewhere for FUE.

donor update 10 days until 7 months. Length is 1/2 inch

Hey guys just thought Id update this thread. I am 2 weeks away from 7 months (just got a haircut) and I am pretty sure the donor has significantly improved recently. Its looking like it will end up being an acceptable density. I will update in 2 weeks with pictures.

the third picture you recently posted of your donor looks fine, wouldnt even be able to tell anything was done. It may be shock loss or you may just need to grow your hair out to that length.

Thanks for your response, I am going to update them in about 2 months to show them where I am at and see if there is any improvement. It is really strange, I remember taking photos shortly after the procedure and not noticing anything out of the ordinary as far as donor depletion. Then after I got the haircut at like 4 months it seemed like it came out of nowhere. I wonder if its possible to slowly lose hair in the donor even months after the procedure. Can propecia cause you to shed in the donor area as well? Gillenator, that is definitely a valid point. I think just overall I have noticed Dr. R is a lot more conservative where he takes donor hair from in his patients. Ive looked at many donor images from surgeon in europe and they seem to be a lot more comfortable taking hair from areas that have a high chance of thinning as the patient ages. I must say I do wish they had been spread out more but then again maybe that would come back to bite me if those hairs eventually thinned down the line.

Well today is just one of those days, went outside and took a picture of my donor and it looks terrible to say the least. I am trying to stay optimistic but it is rather difficult. I am about 3 weeks away from the 5 month mark. I never thought it could possibly be this noticeable with a 1/2 inch of growth and only 2200 grafts extracted. I also dont understand why the inch of donor space below where my grafts were taken wasnt used. What has me really down is the fact that Im starting to realize that on most of the donors of similar sized procedures the hairs were taken from a lot larger area than mine were. It has me really worried that this is in fact an over harvested area and not late shock loss.

Thanks for the input sean!

thank you voxman, much appreciated.

I believe the punch size was between .8 and .9 depending on graft size and it was motor. I considered going to europe to have a manual punch procedure done but just couldnt stomach traveling that far.

Thanks Blake, I'll admit I am very concerned that this is here to stay, however I have begun applying minox on the donor area and plan to update in the next month or two. I still have faith that my surgeon knew exactly what he was doing and that I'll come out looking just fine. The good news though is that today is exactly 4 months from the procedure and 6 months since I started propecia and I have to say the recipient looks incredible. Here is the difference 2200 grafts and 6 months of propecia has made.

thanks for the responses. I am honestly not sure when or if shock loss has occured. I didnt even notice the terrible lack in density until I cut my hair recently. I guess I am a bit shocked because this what my donor looked like prior to my recent 1000 fue procedure. It seems odd that i would lose so much density from only 1000 more grafts. On the other hand it may just be because the graft removals were not spread out as well as they could have been, which is what i am worried about. Notice the sides and lower part of the donor area that were left untouched. AB2000, I think it was pretty much assumed by my surgeon that I would have future procedures given my age (30). The only thing that is really giving me hope that it is temporary shock loss is that fact that there are sections of the donor that are a dense as I would expect it to be after 2000 grafts, notice the area I circled in the final picture.

I guess its just wishful thinking at this point, I have a feeling it is here to stay and that the removal of my grafts were not spread out enough throughout the donor zone.

Hello everyone, I am nearing 4 months post op and have had a total of 2200 grafts removed from my donor. I am very concerned because certain areas of my donor appear to be half as dense as the rest of my hair. I am looking for your honest opinion. Is it possible that I am still experiencing shock loss nearly 4 months out or am I stuck with this density for good? It seems odd that my donor would look this exhausted with only 2200 grafts used.

Fellow Rahal patient here. Just wanted to say your hair looks amazing Sugar you must be ecstatic.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. If i have some free time this weekend Ill try to get a closer photo of the hairline. I have to say I definitely appreciate Dr. Rahal not turning me away. I have honestly had the most fun of my entire life the last 8 months and even the small change in my hairline gave me a huge boost in confidence. I definitely dont think we have to peak in our 20s but it definitely helps to have that extra bit of confidence. Ive decided to include some unedited pictures of myself. I would appreciate if these photos stay private on this website. Thanks again for your guys support.

The hair in that area was definitely thinning but it wasn't bald. Had it been nearly bald I dont think 1200 grafts would have produced the hairline that I have now given the size of the area that was worked on.

Thanks for your guys interest in my procedure. I was on minoxidil for a few years prior to my procedure but did not see any results. In fact I felt like the alcohol in the particular solution I was using was actually making my hair worse. I have never taken propecia or any of the other synthetic reductase inhibitors, I do however take Grape seed extract, Soy Extract and Maca Root Extract. I also use Revita Shampoo nearly every day. I do agree that any hair transplant to a patient in their 20s in a risk, however Dr. Rahal and I were relatively conservative in our approach. Every graft he placed was within native hair that I still had. One of the reasons the hairline looks dense, other than Rahals good work, is that the hair line was in fact not lowered at all. The end result combined with my clever way of styling my hair makes it look like I was basically restored back to my youth hairline. In the end I definitely acknowledge that the decision to have surgery was a risk given how young I am, however if you assume that I have 2 more operations of this size in my 30s that will put me at 3600 grafts by the time I am 40. At the end of the day you really have to do what is going to make you happy. Recently a friend of mine told me she was getting breast implants and I tried to talk her out of it. I told her that she was already beautiful and that she didn't need it. I was in mid sentence when I realized how hypocritical I was being. It really doesnt matter if I think she needs it or not, if it is going to make her happy and more confident then that is really all that matters. I'm including a few more photos of me 6 days post op.

Hello everyone, last may I had 1200 FUE done with Dr. Rahal. Here are my results nearly 11 months later. I am 29 years old and had a receding frontal hairline and decided to have a small procedure to begin to build the new hairline. I am aware that my hair loss was minor and that I am still relatively young however I was bothered by my hair and am glad I made the decision to do something about it. I have nothing but good things to say about Dr Rahal and all his staff. I stayed at Rahals guest house for a week after my procedure and loved every minute of it. I honestly felt like I was on a vacation that happened to include a hair transplant. Overall I am very pleased with the experience.

I just found a website that confirms what you said about the right side typically being more recessed. http://www.hairscientists.org/asymmetrical-hairloss.html according to their study only 23% were more recessed on the left. I guess I am one of the few The more I read into it the more I believe that the final design was the product of a surgeon that knew was he was doing rather than the opposite.

my left side was definitely more recessed than the right prior to surgery. I remember the doctor telling me that my bone structure was asymmetrical when we were designing the hairline. I guess I am just wondering what the logic is behind design of an asymmetrical hairline. Would a perfectly symmetrical hairline make the asymmetry of ones face become more apparent?