delancey

This guy was not a candidate to begin with. In fact, his advanced hair loss pattern and diffused donor zone, along with retrograde alopecia is really a worst case scenario for anyone who has had a hair transplant. The hair Gods were not on his side, that's for sure!

Hi Lalit, Could you update your progress, please? Cheers!

Congratulations PMA. Your result is life changing. Could you post some pictures with you standing outside in daylight please? (With the sun light behind you and the camera.) Many thanks in advance.

I second that! Brilliant result. Do you have a picture of the back? Microns? Area covered in cm2? Thanks for sharing.

Interesting case. Thanks for sharing.

You need to carry on with your research! You could start with the Doctors that I have mentioned below. In addition, check out the italian forum. It has 100s of patient testimonials with excellent photos detailing the experiences and results. This may give you a better idea of what to expect. You have lost a lot of hair, therefore having realistic expectations is very important. 1. Choose an excellent Doctor. 2. Understand what you may expect from getting a hair transplant. After you've chosen the best to work on your head, understand that the result will depend on growth, your hair characteristics, and donor supply. I haven't seen your crown area, but if it's dipping, you'll need to ratchet down your expectations significantly. Crown restoration at a high density is impossible for most REAL Norwood 5s and 6s. Would you be happy with a bald or weak crown? 3. Design and artistic ability of the Dr. This is so very important. Do you like how the Doctor designs hairlines? 4. Right now your head is untouched. Once you have surgery, you can never go back. Are you ok with having a long scar on your head? Everyone is different, just be damn sure before committing to anything. Finally, I'm gonna give you a different solution. Have you considered getting a hair system instead? Hair systems are an affordable option for men with significant hair loss. And in my opinion, when done right, can look excellent and very natural. Finally, for North America, here you go! Best of luck to you! H&W, Dr. Konior, Dr. Gabel, Dr. Ron Shapiro, & Dr. Rahal!

It hardly inspires confidence that Dr. Doganay's clinic doesn't take the time to respond to you unless you send out a reminder. I can only imagine the aftercare frustration that many patients may experience with this clinic. Aftercare communication is critical, especially if a complication occurs.

Hi Ahmed, Can you share some pictures of your hair loss situation with the community?

I always get these wrong, but I'll give it a go!The recipient area appears to be larger than what is usually found on a traditional NW 5A. Even though you've lost all of your hair on top, you still have high sides and your crown has yet to open up in a NW6 pattern. I would say that you're a Norwood 5 (perhaps going on 6 in the future). Is your father's hair loss pattern similar to yours? Best of luck!

Your donor area, unfortunately, looks very weak. That coupled with the fact that you have a very large area to cover, I recommend moving forward carefully. Body hair can be a good option for men who have exhausted their scalp donor, however, it has different characteristics( color, thickness, growth cycle); therefore, it needs to be blended with scalp hair in order to look natural. Like I mentioned, you have a very large area to cover and your donor area appears to be thinning significantly. Make sure that you meet with several patients who are in a similar situation as your own who have undergone surgery with body hair. With that said, if I were you, I would look into getting a good hair system. Many of them are very convincing nowadays. Best of luck to you.

Very nice result and very natural. Congratulations.

Could the barber tell that it was a hair transplant?

Thanks for sharing. What NW level did Dr. Erdogan classify you as?

Do you recommend "BUTCHER ME RIGHT NOW" clinic??? They are running a promotion on Groupon for 95% off! Should I do it? They are using a technique referred to as "plugs." Has anyone heard of it? It seems like a great deal.

At this point Sam, all you can do is wait, unfortunately. It looks like your donor zone is going through shock loss. If you are worried about it, perhaps you can seek out a skilled dermatologist or hair transplant surgeon in your region. Get a second professional opinion. That may stop you from worrying about it? Stay positive and active, eat healthy, and in a few months you can reevaluate. Best of luck to you Sam.

What level of Norwood pattern does your father have? Other family members? Also, did your surgeon talk to you about Propecia?

Who is your Doctor Sam?

I love this hairline. Great job!

Wwizz, you should start threads more often. You've got a knack for it. haha

Blake, it's been a pleasure. Have a nice evening. I enjoy how you inserted the image of the pencil. I don't see a lot of those "pencil thin" scars. "Pencil thin scar" does have a nice ring to it, though. hehe

Please allow me to correct the quote below: "when an experienced FUE surgeon does FUE and takes care of all nuances, you may get and do get, actually, a close or equivalent result with strip surgery.” Dr. Karadeniz is unequivocally stating that when performed by an experienced FUE surgeon, FUE results are close or equivalent to strip results. Watch the video and you will clearly notice that he corrects himself. Again, without a doubt, he is clearly stating that FUE results are close or equivalent with strip surgery. Close or equivalent does not mean 80%. Secondly, in case the first point raises any doubt, he states the following at the very end of the interview, “FUE only clinics will emphasize that they can get the equivalent result in one session with more or less the same yield. They emphasize this so that you forget about this very important concept of lifetime hair potential. It is a deception. Because the strip surgeons fall into it as the opponents. They say no, our yield is better. And then the FUE surgeons come in and show excellent yield, and then the strip surgeons are busted.” Again, FUE results speak for themselves, and I strongly agree with Dr. Karadeniz about FUE surgeons demonstrating excellent yield, in both surgeon and patient provided videos and pictures, on a consistent basis, on the many international forums. I feel that this is why your argument of 80% FUE yield is getting a lot of resistance. Dr. Karadeniz comes across as a well-rounded surgeon, who provides both FUE and FUT to his patients, which makes his argument all the more interesting, in my opinion. In regards to your point concerning the order of procedures, has any reputable Doctor ever recommended that a patient get FUE before strip? If the strategy is to maximize available donor, it seems only logical to start with strip and then finish off with FUE. However, many patients do not need 8,000-10,000 follicular units. Yes, some do, but most patients fall in between. In reference to your comment about FUE mega sessions, I couldn’t agree more. I believe in a slow and steady approach, and feel that it is very risky to put all of your eggs in the same basket by having a 4000 FUE mega session over two days. This is not to say that surgeons, such as Dr. Lorenzo, haven’t clearly demonstrated that we can pull 6000 FUE grafts over 2-4 procedures, without this affecting the result. This has been done, over and over again. I believe Dr. Ron Shapiro discusses this in one of his most recent interviews. The next challenge will be to extract above the 6,000 fu mark on a consistent basis when donor characteristics permit (over several procedures). I am also not convinced that FUT mega sessions of 6-8,000 grafts is a good thing. From my understanding, lower yield seems to be more related with dense packing than with the number of grafts transplanted. However, my research has indicated that it’s better to go with a slow and safe approach. What is your clinic’s opinion on this? Do you set an upper limit for how many grafts can be taken in one surgery? And if so, why? Do I find it unethical that clinics do not offer both FUE and strip? No, I don’t. A Cost Accountant doesn’t work as a Financial Accountant. So why should an FUE surgeon have to perform FUT in order to be ethical? A patient is free to go to a Doctor who provides both. Truth be told, many clinics nowadays offer both. However, I do also believe that the strong shift in demand for FUE is driving a lot of strip outfits to offer FUE. At the end of the day, if a company has a strong demand for its service, it should continue to offer what it does best. That is what I would pay top dollar for. The marketplace will eventually create change and make businesses adapt. Finally, it is also important to point out that there is always a risk with any form of cosmetic surgery, whether it be via FUE or FUT. Poor yield occurs with both methods. There are very reputable doctors who believe that FUE yield is getting very close, or already is equivalent to strip yield. Patients shouldn’t automatically assume that a strip procedure will automatically give a great result. On a side note, I am always confused when Doctors use the term “pencil thin scar” because I am unsure whether they are referencing the thin or thick part of the pencil. Many scars seem to be around 3 mm, and perhaps thicker in other areas. I have above average donor density, and I feel that guard 3 would not be able to cover a 3 mm scar. This is something to think about, especially for men who prefer shorter hair styles. Many men like their hair long, so then it is not a concern. Thanks for the discussion. This got a bit longer than I was expecting. lol Best, D

According to a recent interview with IAHRS accepted member Dr. Ali Emre Karadeniz, "when an experienced FUE surgeon does FUE and takes care of all nuances, you may get and do get a close or equivalent result with strip surgery." Note that Dr. Ali Emre Karadeniz is an IAHRS member who practices both FUE and FUT. In the interview, he speaks well about both procedures. Since the thread is about FUE yield, I will refrain from quoting other parts of the interview. However, it is a great interview. Private message me and I'll send you a link. Edit: You may find the interview by googling the following keywords: FUE Vs. FUT - Why FUE Alone Might Not Be The Perfect Solution Dr. Blake, you seem like an ambitious man who is trying to help other people. I like that. However, there is a lot of information floating around and it must be very confusing for newbies coming on here for the very first time and getting exposed to all of the contrasting viewpoints and philosophies that exist. I happen to believe that FUE will grow to dominate the market in a few years. Thanks for the discussion. Best, D

This is a fantastic result. And look at that naturalness. Congratulations.

You are plugging and chugging and coming up with some numbers that support your argument. I can do the same thing: 80% of the time * 95 yield = 76 % 20% of the time * 75 yield = 15% 76% + 15% = 91%. All of a sudden we have a 91% weighted average FUE yield. We can easily bump this up by a few more percent by changing some of the inputs. Let me ask you this. Have you spoken to any of the clinics that I mentioned above? Do they agree with your conclusion? I.e., that their clinics produce an average FUE yield of 80%? Best, D

It depends. When I had hair on top, I enjoyed changing hairstyles from time to time....