harryforreal

Very nice.

Hariri, Why did you not include Dr. Koray in that last post with Dr. Hakan and Dr. Bhatti?

Ok, thanks, Nick - especially for the quote from Dr. Doganay. Anyone else who wants to chime in - especially as to when implanter pens were invented - is welcome. - Harry

One thing I get confused about is the difference between Sagital/Coronal Slits made with small blades versus how Implanter Pens work. From Hasson and Wong's website they write: Does implantation with implanter pens use Sagital/Coronal slits? I'm concerned that "In other methods" (which I've highlighted in bold) may refer to implanter pens and that implanter pens produce hairs growing "randomly and on top one another, producing redundant coverage and unnatural results". Thoughts, please, I know Dr. Lorenzo uses such pens.... And please don't say, "Well there's your answer!"....

It is not true that you have to shave your entire head for FUE or even an amount that would be obvious. Actually, if you have long enough hair and depending on the amount of grafts required (that is, not too many), the doctor can pin back long locks that will not be shaved, then shave in specific areas to extract hair via FUE, and then let the longer locks that were not shaven fall back and cover up the shaven areas. No one will see the shaven areas.

Yeah - I figured that ^^

That's a very interesting technique; I wonder if and how many other doctors do this. Mickey, that sentence sounds to me a bit like Bisanga and Mwamba are not among the world's best - but I don't believe that's how you meant it to sound...?

I would say I was a poorly informed patient without much pre-op research and a slick "educational" marketing brochure from the doctor. To be fair, researching hair transplants, doctors, techniques, etc., is a VERY time consuming endeavor. No doctor should be allowed to offer a "special price for the next two weeks" in order to rush a patient to make a decision about a lifer altering event when they first come on for a simple consultation about hair loss and treatment options. Also, although I am grateful for this forum, it's quite a difficult forum to navigate and research in. It can be quite confusing just to navigate, much less trying to keep in mind all the doctors, techniques, etc... Dating sites are far more simpler to navigate even with their thousands and thousands of members...

Hi, Spanker, Yes, I've started talking with a couple of people about it - and it does help. And being on here talking with people helps. I will post the photos - just not yet. I am trying to tread much more cautiously than I initially did - and that includes making sure I am not making false or misleading claims about any particular doctor in a public forum. By the way, is that you in your profile pic with the beard? It's a comforting photo, "dad". But seriously, I understand that there are indeed some top notch doctors out there, and I want to clarify that my HT doc is not a "Coalition" doc - not that I trust that title completely after my experience. If I had the money, time, and chance to do it all again, I would probably go to Belgium as it seems Dr. Bisanga and Dr. Firendi are doing amazing work and their photos of younger patients look more like my hair rather than some of the older patients in their 50's + with all gray hair and "thinner" hair transplants that are age appropriate. I am also wondering about Dr. Cooley, as some of his recent pics were nice, and I appreciate his response, but again, I feel like his pictures tend to be of older patients (not that I'm some spring chicken, mind you - but most people would not guess my age even before my H.T.). I have blonde/light brown hair that is wavy/curly. There are by far more 2-hair follicles in my hairline than 1 I would guess; however, I have tried to tell myself that 2-hair units in the hair line can be naturally occurring, but I am obsessive now about looking at hairlines of people I meet every day and don't really see it. I am certainly hoping that with time these hairs soften more - the full cycle can take 3 years? I have a lot of hair on my head - always had - never IMAGINED that I would loose so much hair at my hairline that I would opt for a HT! God....when I was a kid I used to think, "I can't wait until I get older and my hair thins so it will be more manageable." Be careful of what you wish for! A month ago I started using Kelo-cote scar gel to help with the redness and, quite frankly though i have not mentioned it previously, what appeared to be ridging in the front of the hairline on one side. It seems to have helped with the redness and certainly with the raised bumps around the hair follicles some, though they are not completely flat it is much improved and not really noticeable from the front, though more "easily" viewable from behind within the hairline....almost impossible to get the bumps to show up in the pics, though, as I have tried... Overall I have been quite impressed with Kelo-cote, and was wondering if anyone else has ever tried it?

s2thoudriver: That is a very good question, and I'm glad you asked it. To be honest it was only a month ago that I had became "enlightened" about the placement of 1, 2, 3, & 4 hair units in specific regions of the scalp: that is, only 1's in the hairline, gradually becoming 2's further back, and so forth - and that was after months of looking in this forum for months in hope of a better outcome than what seemed to be developing. Honestly, I don't know how anyone could be "properly" educated or self-informed about HT's without spending MONTHS of research independent of whatever slick marketing brochures the doctor is handing to you to take home to "learn more about it". But to answer your question, I have a lot of 2's - that is, 2 hairs coming out of the same follicle, splitting like a "V" or TV antennae; also there are grafts where the 2 hairs are so close together that I am quite sure they are part of the same graft - whether they technically are growing out of the same hair follicle I can't say; my sense is they are not the same hair follicle, but rather a 2 hair unit graft (or in some cases a 3 or 4, possibly 5 or 6) where the hairs in the graft are clumped very close together. But I believe that I am talking about single grafts with multiple hairs. Several weeks ago I asked Dr. Cooley (who was NOT my HT doc) for clarification, and this is what he replied: Based on that statement I don't think one can place multiple grafts into each incision site, but then I'm not a medical person. I have taken probably over 50 pictures in the last two weeks with my new Iphone 5 and the HD camera in it, and will post a couple pics soon I think as I would like feedback - I'm just not ready yet for several reasons, mainly because I want to understand better this procedure and current medical practice so as not to cast unjust aspersions onto my HT doctor, and I would like nothing better than for my HT to suddenly look "Amazing!" and never have to think about it again, but since I think the primary problem is one of crappy technique I can't see how it will improve... No blood/skin tests that I know of were performed - I pretty much just showed up and they got busy, so unless they did it after giving me anesthesia I am unaware of any such blood tests performed. However, I can say that my health is quite good: my last physical was in April and my blood pressure at the time was 102/72. Is it current medical practice to give blood/skin tests prior to a procedure? I am hoping that the coarser hair will soften and that the scars/redness at each incision site will improve - I am now at month 17, and I have been very patient and might as well wait one more month, but honestly, can't see how it will change all the 2 hair units in my hairline.... But thanks for replying, Rob. I wouldn't have come this far in my understanding if not for people posting on this forum.

It's not for you to tell someone that they are exaggerating when it comes to their feelings. He was obvious insecure enough from the outset to seriously question his results at only day 6 of his first HT. And now he has gone back for a second HT. Perhaps this patient was never a good candidate for a HT based on his emotional/psychological state alone, regardless of how "good" the transplant looks to the average person. For me in part there is a sense that I have done something deceptive to the people I meet and see everyday - trying to deceive them, and hoping they don't see through my deception. But even if they don't see through it (and I've got a decent comb over going on to hide the gnarly hairline), it doesn't change the sense that I'm trying to be dishonest about my appearance - just like someone wearing a toupee....

This is me...and I can't understand why the hell they were placed there. I am so angry at the doctor for this. 17 months now and there is still redness - particularly at these 2 and 3 unit hair grafts in the hair line. I feel constant pain in my chest over my decision to have a HT... Otherwise for people considering a HT, I agree with what CHB811 wrote and what Mickey85 wrote. Those considering a HT should definitely read their posts repeatedly. I wish I had just done the meds FIRST (that's what I asked for), but the doctor said the only thing that would work for me was 1000 grafts - his minimum charge: how coincidental!!! And there was a "special" going on - special price that is - but only for the next two weeks. That may be true, Spanker, but my doc is a "recommended" doc on this forum - and I've got multi-unit hair grafts in my F**(#@! hairline!!! I also wonder what percentage of HT patients feel that their HT looks real or is undetectable. It may well be that there are a few doctors out there, or possibly a few patients who possess just the "right" physical traits, to pull off a "natural" looking HT but that these are few and far between. Like going to the craps table at a casino - some will win, but most will loose because the odds are stacked against you... The multiple unit pluggy hair grafts in my hairline, the continued redness, and the weird crisscrossing angles of my hairs not withstanding (in part due no doubt to the multiple unit hair grafts with hairs growing out in different directions), if all these elements had been come together like they were "supposed" to, I wonder how a HT can look natural if the caliber of the transplanted hairs don't match the native hairs next to them in the hairline. I mean - that's something I keep coming back to - even if the rest looked fine, the transplanted hairs don't match in caliber, so how can it look natural? I also wonder if it looks more natural for people who have a lot of coarse, gray hair; or for people who have had such significant hair loss that there are very few native hairs to cause glaring contrast in caliber/texture/color. Myself, I'm not sure I was a Norwood 2A, but I can tell you my side hairs are soft, fine, blonde hair. I can't help but feel that propecia might have thickened up my existing hairline without all this...At the very least, I feel i should have been counseled to give meds a try first rather than be subjected to a high pressure sales pitch to make a deposit within two weeks in order to benefit from the "special price" being run that month....

Hariri, I'd like to hear your answer to Ff305 Also, what about Nape hair not surviving or lasting once transplanted into recipient site?

Looks good from the front - I would not have even thought you had a HT from the front pic, so looks like the recipient area is healing great. We're all waiting and watching with you!