Rootz

Much appreciated for your comments. May i know the reason and what should i look for? I meant what should i research for ? is it the doctors or the procedure itself?

I think the biggest reason to wait is so you can get a better idea if a HT really something you want to do. Ever think something is a great idea for a few days, weeks, months, etc... then look back and think, "Wow I can't believe I almost did that". A HT is a big decision, you don't want to regret it.

You need to let the idea really sink in and marinate, sort of speak. Are you sure you want to take hairloss meds for the rest of your life? Are you sure you're OK with the risks? Is this really something you want to do? Can you live it? Etc, etc, there are many concerns to ponder and figure out.

lessthanme, there are some pics of him in a hospital when his wife was giving birth with a very obvious balding head. The problem is, it was fairly recent and took place long after his hair had already magically improved. So the only logical explanation is it isn't a HT but rather a removal hair system.

He's apparently very religious on the use of his wig because most people who suspect anything think he had a HT. And of course, most people just think he has great, natural hair. But it's actually a wig. I have no idea why he doesn't get a HT, personally I would think the burden of dealing with a wig would be a lot more than just taking a month off for FUE with a top surgeon, concealing the HT for a few months with a wig, and not worrying about hair again for a long long time. Worst case scenario after a HT, his hair is better but he's not entirely satisfied and keeps using hair systems. Seems like a win-win to me. Who knows, maybe he's made poor HT decisions in the past and is not going near it again.

Yeah, you'd think a rich guy who is concerned enough about his hair to routinely wear wigs for many years would just get on meds and get a HT with a top FUE surgeon already. I'm sure a lot more actors than we know about have done this... it's just strange Travolta hasn't. Wonder what his reasons are, or if he's even aware how effective today's HTs can be.

The risk with FUT is significantly higher IMO. With a good result, you will have a noticeable line/scar on the back of your head when shaved. You will not be able to cut your hair very short because of this. It is much easier to get depressed at your result when you feel disfigured, and a long scar on the back of your head can accomplish that. Then there is also a possibility you will scar aggressively (it will stretch) and you can end up with a disaster on the back of your head. There are many happy people with FUT, but again... the risk is a lot higher than with FUE.

The main advantage with FUT over FUE is... arguably a few percent higher yield. I used the word "arguably" beacuse while it may be true in general, it varies from surgeon to surgeon. You also cannot really see the difference between a 95% yield and 98% yield. The other advantage is you can harvest a larger amount of maximum hair... and it shows, because again there is a noticeable scar on the back of your head with 0 density.

I personally do not believe there is any situation where FUT is warranted. Even in some hypothetical scenario where you needed FUT to harvest maximum hairs, I would still argue either compromise with FUE... or don't get a HT.

My 2 cents.

I'm gonna be honest, I don't know how this case required 1200 grafts and I think the comparison pictures are a bit one sided. The pictures to really focus on are 1 and 3, which show the drawn hairline before the recipient area is shaved. The drawn hairline does not actually extend past his existing hairline, and he had pretty decent density there to begin with.

Based on pictures 1 and 3, I feel like if he had not have had a HT at all his hair could have been styled pretty easily to look the same as his post op result from the front. In all these pictures, the only real difference that stands out to me is his temporal areas are... slightly denser. But for 1200 grafts?

In general I think is it bad practice to show an "after" picture highlighting the result (his frontal shot) with no accompanying "before" shot.

I think it is too bad that every media outlet and blog that I have read about him and the Oscars mentions his hair in a derogatory manner. It's a cheap shot and scummy journalism.

Unfortunately I think this is a case of media reflecting society, and society has deemed men wearing a wig taboo... so the topic is controversial and juicy for media outlets to poke at.

I think it's taboo because sadly men aren't supposed to care about hairloss enough to try to hide it with a hair piece. That's considered extreme, weird, and vain... except, society also places high value on hair. So go figure.

I feel for you, this can be fixed but like others said it's going to be a long wait. Based on what I'm seeing in your pics your result is going to end up looking pretty pluggy with low denstiy. The doctor who worked on you is absolutely terrible and should not be permitted to operate on people. This is the equivalent of looking at a surgeon's post op incision... and discovering instead of using sutures, he used duct tape. What he did should be illegal. It's unethical.

I gotta ask, why/how did you end up going with this joke of a doctor? Did you see his result pics? If the pics he showed you actually looked good, you might have a good shot at getting your money back because that would be misleading. As mentioned, your best bet is to try to get your money back, then move on. The doc will probably have you wait for the "final result" before any type of compensation, but don't let em off easy. Be persistent.

I don't think this person is a troll, just a typical clueless and stubborn kid. Didn't like the answers and doesn't want to accept them.

There is only one piece of advice I have for you that I hope you take to heart and that is if you consult with all the recommended doctors and they all turn you down, whatever you do, do not search for some random unknown doctor that agrees to take your money it will ruin your life.

OP read this advice posted by greatjob. Read it as many times as possible until it clicks. No reputable doc should do what you're asking, but if you look hard enough you will find someone out there who will... when the reputable docs say no, and trust me they will, just move on. You can always look into this again later on down the road.

You need to understand there are a lot of clinics out there that produce sub-standard, shoddy results. If you can't find much about them online, I hate to say it, but chances are high they're not particularly good. People's lives have been destroyed by novice work, so tread carefully.

You should go with ones of the doctors supported by this site.

Impressive, I can't even make out where the incision was in the after pictures. A close up would have been nice though. Is he wearing any kind of makeup etc to conceal the scar?

I've seen some impressive large scale FUE transformations from Lorenzo where a NW6 has become NW2. No particular case comes to mind but check out some of his videos (on his website or here). He tends to accomplishes this over two procedures but the results are very impressive and natural looking in the end.

You'll be hard pressed to find a NW7 to NW1 transformation with high density as not many doctors would agree to attempt that, not to mention most people probably don't have enough available donor grafts without using body hair. But I'd be curious to see a good one.

I haven't seen FUE results from a US doctor that paralleled the best in Europe. The closest might be Feller, but what's the point of staying in the US if you'd spend about as much or possibly more anyways.

Surprised Feriduni's name hasn't come up yet. This is like a discusison on the best basketball player, and no one said MJ.

I think you might be blowing this a bit of out proportion, if they make you take off your hat when coming back through in Belgium, it'll be off for what... 10 or 15 seconds? The chances of someone you know being in the airport in Beligum (a different country), and just happening to see you during that brief moment, is basically 0%.

And who cares if a person in a different country you don't know and will never see again looks at your head and think "hmmm, wonder what happened"

Also interested to hear from people who have done this. I imagine there would be little or no scarring in the transplanted area.

I was being silly, sounds like you're getting good results and are happy. Are you going to post pics here or in your journal?

Also, how long should I be on the finasteride prior to surgery?

Ideally about a year, but around 6 months would probably be good enough. Some people experience shedding that can last a long time, if that's the case with you then obviously you wouldn't want to proceed with a HT until the shedding has stopped and your hair has stabilized.

I don't know that I have a whole lot left to stabilize!

See all that hair between your frontal hairline and crown? That's the main thing left you want to hold on to. That's probably 10,000+ hairs. More than likely if you do not get on treatment this will happen: the hair between the frontal forelock and crown will disappear, the crown will become bigger, your frontal forelock will form an island, and that island will shrink to a much smaller size. This is just speculation, but it is a very strong possibility IMO.

I did talk to a doc's rep who told me maternal family history is a factor

That factor is just an indicator of liklihood. I like the philosophy prepare for the worst, hope for the best. Don't prepare for the best.

I think that is a good idea and I bet people don't do this enough. The less details you specify, the more the doctor will fill in the blanks... and you may not necessarily like how the blanks are filled in.

I was just about to say this result doesn't look good because the donor hair has limited growth... then I realized this is 3 months post op? This is quite a weird time to post results, why now?

I think this is a good example of how not a whole lot can fundamentally change, but by styling the hair differently and with a good angle you can give the impression it has. When comparing the before pic (#6) to the after (#4) it seems like the guy basically just grew out his hair (over 3 months) then it was combed nicely.

Overall I must say the comparison with the pictures is disappointing. The only decent before picture is #6 and by itself this not very demonstrative of his pre-condition. The only other before picture is presumably #1, but his head is already shaved and the angle leaves a lot to be desired... and it looks like he already has grafts placed in this picture? I'm confused. Because his hair was kept relatively long for the transplant and it was not moved out of the way, it's hard to see the transplanted area immediately post op. The pics attempting to show this, #3 and #5, also seem to be identical.

I'm assuming these pictures were taken by the clinic, and I feel like not a lot of care was done to show an accurate comparison.

Pics or didn't happen!

I don't see any reason to declare it.

here seem to be LOTS of guys who get a good result with a NW5... But that doesn't seem to be the opinion here.

I think you can get a fantastic, long lasting result so long as you choose the right doctor and stabilize your hairloss. Lorenzo and Bisanga come to mind as producing wonderful large scale FUE results.

As for skipping the crown and only doing the hairline, I don't think that is necessary if you have enough donor grafts available and you are able to get on treatment (preferably Fin) for a period beforehand and stabilize your hair. No matter what you do you need to stabilize your hair though otherwise you'll be losing a one sided battle over the next 10-20+ years.

You're going to have to choose between your hair or your job. What's more important?

Kidding. You're fine. The Fin will show up in your urine/blood but it's not illegal and highly unlikely your company will even be looking for it anyways.

I think Fin might be a banned substance for sports, but I'm assuming you're not a professional athlete and this is just a regular job. So worst case scenario, for some reason they actually pick up on the fact you take Finasteride... and don't care.

Without treatment I think there's a good chance the rest of his hair on top will fade or disappear, and he still has quite a bit of hair on top. He may be one of the lucky ones who experiences noticeable regrowth too. At the very least OP I think you should try Minoxidil / Nizoral, and if you're really serious about this consider giving Fin a try.