GoForIt

Most doctors will shave the donor area, many the recipient. Though it seems easy in principle - the number of people posting poorly designed transplants to transplants with poor growth would give me pause about doing it myself. Which physician told you were too bald? I would be very careful before doing a transplant if you do not have a good donor.

You sound like you have realistic expectations and a reasonable plan. If you have not done so, visit a few more physicians before making a final decision. First - you look fine now. Second 2400 would make a difference in your appearance. If it is done well, it could stand alone or you could expand the transplant in the future if your donor supports it. Staying on the fin is a great idea.

I did not know you could do that with toppik. I do not know that you should do that with toppik. Many of the doctors here offer free in person consultations and free internet consultations. Before doing anything rash why not meet with them first?

Every clinic has poor results - just some have more than others. There are some clinics where you almost never hear of bad results, and when they happen the clinic does what is right by the patient. When doing my research, there seems to be some discussion as to yield with the larger megasessions. A few physicians seems to do pretty well, but it would be interesting to see comparisons of patients with two smaller procedures versus one large procedure. So what do people think would look better . . . two procedures of 2500 units each (total 5000 FU) or one 5000 FU procedure?

$199/month * 72 months = $14,328. Any clinic offering a 'special' to book in the next three weeks - I would run for the hills. Putting someone on a waiting list in case of a cancellation and offering a discount for that is fine. Just remember, this is your head, not a car. You can't trade in for a newer model in a few years.

Agreed! When I was looking I wanted at least 5-10 years of experience. If they are working with a more experienced physician then the shorter end was ok. Another question - how many procedures should they be doing a year? 2-3 transplants /week would be 100-150/year..

For people thinking about it - Just do your research - some people will have side effects. I could not find any report of side effects affecting more than about 5%. If a million people take a drug that is 50,000 who will have side effects. That can be a lot of posts. In terms of long term - it has been around for over 20 years. Not bad - longer than a lot of what we take.

When I started finasteride, I looked into the research behind it. Two of the most recent studies are not funded by pharma companies. I can't remember where the first was published, but the authors were Sato for one, and Rossi (Dermatologic Therapy, Vol. 24, 2011, 455–461) for another. Bottom line - <5% of men experienced side effects, and many of those went away with continued use. 7/8 men at 5 and even at 10 years either looked the same or better in terms of their hair. You can have hair transplants without using finasteride, but the goal is to use every means possible to restore a full (appearing) head of hair and medical treatment is an important consideration. 7 months into finasteride - no side effects except for hair growth:). I guess I'm one of the 95% from the studies who experience no side effects.

Hi, I wanted to echo that you should really listen to the people here - I would worry that the hair transplant clinic is taking advantage of you. We know how distressing hair loss is - that's why we're here . While finasteride will help, there is no guarantee what will happen in 20 or 30 years, which is a long time to ask the medication to work. Maybe there will be hair cloning, but no guarantees on that either. Despite what you think now - you will care what you look like when you're 40 or 50. To be honest, you look better now that you would after a bad hair transplant. If you think a proper HT is expensive - a repair is even more expensive. Have you ever tried buzzing your hair down? You could even augment it with temporary scalp micropigmentation. If in a few years, your hair loss is stable or there is a better sense of where you are going with your hair loss - go for the transplant with the resources to do it right. Some HT physicians will plan a very conservative transplant to improve how your hair looks, with the knowledge that even if you were to progress to a Norwood VII you would still look o.k., and if you don't progress they can advance it in the future.

I am a 3V as well - I have been on propecia for about 6 months. So far it has thickened up my hair in the front and the crown - to the point where the crown has improved enough that it does not bother me anymore . . . and this is only 6 months on it. I am going to have a transplant in a couple months in the front and the top to thicken it a bit. Where there is hair propecia has really improved things - but I think/know only a HT will fix the temporal recession. I am really glad I waited as I won't have to deal with the crown. In your 20's is more difficult - but.at 40 a majority of my male friends have thinning hair or bald crowns, if they are not frankly bald. I think you are smart to think about the future when deciding what to do. Good luck!

If you have hair on your crown think about waiting to make any decisions until you have been on propecia for a year. If you look on Dr Bernstein's web site (he is one of the recommended surgeons here) you can see what propecia can do in the crown.

Also, a good doctor will know when it's time to retire.

There is no easy way, but if talking with him/her the surgeon seems fine, if when you watch them move they seem fine . . . Essentially what they have to do is cut a strip of flesh from your scalp, close it well, and make thousands of holes in your head :rolleyes:. The techs trim the grafts, and implant them. For manual (but not robotic) FUE I would be a little more worried. To put things in a little perspective - a 5 year old probably has more dexterity and better vision than most of us, but would you let a 5 year old near your head with a scalpel:eek:? There is probably a sweet spot between experience and youth, but as long as they appear in good health, especially if under 70 I personally did not worry too much about age.

I am not sure that what was done was all that bad . . . the surgeon put a conservative number of grafts in, something which they could keep up with the density regardless of the future hair loss pattern. If the front were to recede and the crown to open up, the crown would not suck all available grafts at the expense of transplanting the front. I think it may still look like it is thinner afterwards, but it will look better.

I had somewhat of a similar experience when I was looking for HT docs. As long as they are healthy and have their dexterity intact, I think experience is key in choosing a hair transplant surgeon. If a surgeon has been doing hair transplants for a few decades, he/she knows what works and what does not work . . . seeing a 30 year old when they're 50 for a touch up helps them get a sense of how MPB works, and how to plan for future hair loss (even with the advent of meds). On the flip side, hair restoration is a journey and can take several procedures over a decade. If I found an excellent surgeon I'd want him/her doing my next procedure as well. I think what stands out, is for quite a few of the more established HT surgeons who have been doing this for decades, you NEVER see their patients having repairs - the growth or the density might not be perfect in rare cases, but the results look completely natural and the patient's appearance is improved, and they work with the patients to fix any issues. I would say if they're going to be practicing for the next 10 years, I would have no hesitation about an older surgeon, and in fact would prefer it. If they have a junior partner they're training and the surgeon is retiring in the next few years and I like them both, I'd be o.k. with this as well.

Hi, You could be having some shock loss as well. This should grow back in a few months especially if you stay on finasteride. The thinning was very noticeable to me. I don't know if it was obvious to anyone else. My hair over the past few years started getting finer and straggley. After a few months on finasteride the texture returned to how it was 10 years ago, and the hairs in the front are much thicker. The comments were because of how much better my hair is looking, not for any change in my look. You have had a HT and started finasteride. Both may make things look worse for the next few months. As a consolation - no one thinks a man with thinning hair is anything unusual. Just think how much more hair you will have for 2015

This is par for the course. Finasteride can take up to 6 months to even see a decrease in thinning and the full effect may take 1 to 2 years. I started about 6 months ago. For the first 3 months my hair thinned dramatically. At about 4 months people kept on complementing my haircut and now at six months my hair is much thicker than when I started finasteride - and I even have some small hairs growing in the temporal recession area. Be patient and stay on if you are not having any side effects!

Just quarter it and you will save even more money. Buy a good pill cutter, and only cut up one tablet at a time. I have to laugh as it seems half the people here (well, perhaps an exaggeration) take minuscule doses and you are willing to take 5 times the dose for hair loss!

They should be doing this for everyone - regardless of their HIVStatus. HIV is not the only thing you can transmit via blood. Personally if a clinic will not operate on HIV patients regardless of their health status or has 'special' procedures other than standard universal precautions I do not think they should be recommended here.

Thank you - is your recovery going well . . . And how was your flight back from India post HT?

Thanks - I am not really sure what the entire FUT vs. FUE debate.is about. They are both tools to treat MPB and I am going to use every tool I have in a sensible manner. I think it is a little insincere saying if you go to a FUT surgeon they will recommend FUT - the same is true for those surgeons who do FUE only. I consulted with surgeons who do both - they see the advantages and disadvantages of each procedure. The surgeons I visited are also well known for their repair work - I feel this gives them a good insight into the pitfalls of hair transplants. For the original question - I am going between the plane and the train/automobile route. Both take about the same time overall (accounting for getting to the airport etc.) - but the train will be more comfortable, especially if I go first class (which is cheaper than economy on the plane). The 6 hour drive was never much of a consideration!

Hi, To each their own. I don't form keloids. While that scar looks horrible - can you imagine what he would look like with thousands of keloid scars? The physicians laid out a good case for strip rather than FUE - mainly the total number of grafts available over time. I discussed with them my goals, and we discussed what was best for me. I might be a 3V now, but even with the meds working, my age, and medical progress I still want to be as conservative as possible with my donor. I have no desire to buzz my hair down, if I did I would consider FUE, or if I was having a smaller session. These are my reasons, but obviously everyone has different priorities. So - planes, trains, or automobiles?

Hi, Thanks. I was going to stay in NYC for a few days at least and have a bit over 2 weeks off work. For the strip vs FUE . . . I debated that as well. The surgeons I visited do both, and are well known. They recommended FUT. While I do exercise, everything I do I can do a week or two afterwards (well, except skiing, but my transplant will be after ski season!). There are a couple of reasons I chose FUT. 1. I have never worn my hair short (well, once and I could not wait to grow it out again!). 2. My donor is really good, but though I am a 3V now and responding to meds I think I would eventually become a 6 with time (though with a limited area of crown balding). So if/when my balding progresses I want as many grafts as possible. 3. Not to get into a FUE vs FUT debate, all the surgeons I went explained it this way: A. FUT accesses your best donor hair. B. if you do FUE first and the donor becomes too thin to hide a strip scar (after removing the hair) then you cannot have FUT. C. After you max out FUT you can still do FUE in areas with good density. So bottom line is that I think this strategy gives me the best chance of having a pretty good head of hair for most of my life, and maximizes my donor supply with the available techniques. Of course a year after I do this they will discover a cure for MPB or how to do hair cloning and I will have a strip scar .

Happy Holidays everyone! I have decided to have a HT in the New Year. Currently I am 40 and a 3V. I have been on finasteride for about 6 months and am thickening up quite a bit (and having no side effects). Most of the transplanted area will be covered by hair or have hair brushed over it. I am planning on getting 3000 FU via strip. I took the advise of this forum and did not let geography influence my decision - now I have to deal with the geography! My question is what the best way to get to and from the HT, in NYC. I plan to stay a few days there afterwards. My options are: 1. Drive: this would be a six hour drive. I hate the thought of driving in NYC. 2. Fly: direct flight, about 1 hour. I worry about being self conscious especially going through security. I fly a lot, but I am not keen on flying and try and avoid it . Also it will take about an hour at least to get to the hotel from the airport and vice versa. Total journey time about 4 1/2 hours with transport to the airport. 3. Train / automobile: I could drive 3 hours and then take the train to NYC (3 hours). The train station in NYC is not far from my hotel or where I am having the HT. I am leaning towards this option for the convenience and flexibility. Also no airport security to go through! I would appreciate any thoughts from people who have travelled for their HT. Thanks!