Melvin- Admin

There's a red flag to me, two 3,000 procedures and one 2,000 procedure that's 8,000 grafts, without him thoroughly inspecting your donor capacity and measure out the balding area to find out how many grafts are necessary, it doesn't sound like a well thought out plan. Never heard of this physician before, but for FUT why not consult hasson and Wong, or Shapiro, or konoir? How many doctors have you consulted with? What area do you live in? Dr. Gabel is reasonably priced and is in Oregon. Since you're Norwood 6 at a young age you need to be very smart and think out your plan very well prior to commiting to surgery.

I don't think 3,000 is a good idea with FUT either your donor doesn't look strong enough, they would have to take a considerable chunk from the back of your head in order to get 3,000 grafts then you risk the scar being visible because of the sparse density in the back. I don't want to sound negative, but I want to be honest with you, full coverage and good density is not likely in your case, you'll have to sacrifice one or the other, either get coverage to the whole scalp but the density will be low, or leave the crown bald and get good density from the hairline to midscalp. That's the route I would take if I were you, framing the face is the most important thing, as you get older a bald crown will be less important, you could always get some beard grafts to the crown just enough so that you could use toppik. Which Doctor are you considering? Are you on finasteride or minoxidil? Did he/she inspect your donor density? How many grafts did he/she say you have available to use? This information is necessary in order to have a proper game plan for you.

Currently you're a Norwood 6, but the pictures aren't really good, we need the top view, back view and both left and right side profile to really asses you, I will say that you're donor area looks a bit weak, you will have to be very smart with how you approach this surgery, I would say conservative is better right now, 3,000 grafts seems high especially if you're getting FUE, your donor doesn't look strong enough to take 3,000 grafts all at once, id say 1,800-2,000 to the hairline and midscalp, it's probably wise for you to start thinking of potentially using body hair as well, I know a lot of doctors on here mainly one very young FUT doctor says it's not a good idea, but in your case I think it will be necessary and something worth considering, there have been documented cases showing good success when mixed body hair with scalp grafts. What are you're expectations? What do you want out of this procedure?

Your bias for FUT is incredible, if this were an FUT Doctor you'd be shouting that it's only been 4 months to allow time, but since it's an FUE physician and procedure you're damning the procedure as a whole on one persons unfinished results. I prefer and try and help this guy out by looking at things from a better perspective rather than use his misery to push my pro FUT agenda, but that's just me.

No surprise to see you posting this Matt, you're probably rejoicing in your chair, first of all the result hasn't even been established not sure how that could be a "nail in the coffin" when you're basing the FUE procedure as a whole off of 4 months and one procedure, secondly, how do you know OP is ok with a scar from ear to ear for the rest of his life, thirdly, there is no guarantee in any surgical procedure, even the best FUT physicians have had poor results except with FUT you have a poor result plus a scar from ear to ear.

How many months post op are you with doganay? So many negative things have been said about Dr. Doganay lately it's completely changing my perception of him.

Paleo man, I know you're feeling terrible, you're questioning everything, but you're feeling bad about having a bad result when the results hasn't matured yet, I would urge you to try and keep your mind occupied with other things, all is not lost even if you have a bad result, it's not the end of the world, I know it feels that way but it's not, I would recommend waiting until 6 months then if you're not happy scheduling an in person consult with a physician so they could thoroughly examine your donor area and current hairloss, at that point you can set up a long term plan. Worst case scenario you lost 2,500 lifetime grafts, assuming your donor is strong, you probably have another 4,000 grafts that could be implanted in a way that wouldn't look bad in the years to come, look up Sam B on YouTube, he was Norwood 6 completely he's gotten 3,700 grafts and it looks pretty good All is not lost.

I think that's the best way to plan it, I don't think you'll be Norwood 7 Dr. Rassman states that the majority of Norwood 7 men have the pattern by age 26, is say you're prone to Norwood 6 but still best to plan for future hairloss just in case, 2,500 grafts to hairline mid scalp would make a big difference I wouldn't lower the hairline if only bring in the temples a bit.

You don't have to take finasteride, minoxidil works great for me, lipogaine to be exact, ever since I've been on it I rarely see hairs that are shed, I think you're a candidate for hair restoration, I also don't think you're doomed unless you take finasteride, I would take minoxidil for a year and see how you respond, you said your hairloss has been slow and gradual which is a good sign. The best thing to do is to be personally assessed by a hair restoration physician in person.

You can wear hats, you can buzz your head but scars will be visible, there's no procedure that's scarless, but it's not really noticeable, I'm 3 months post op with Dr. Diep pm me I'll share my experience with you.

I agree were all here to helpe eachother out and share our experiences, being vague provides no help at all.

I took a second look at your donor pictures, there is a section that seems to be a bit lighter, could be over harvesting could be shock loss it's too soon to tell, however your scarring doesn't look bad, in most of the photos your hair seems to be at a 1 guard and it's not really noticeable, try adding lipogaine to your routine, it can help with shock loss if it is shock loss. But either way I definitely don't see your donor area being a problem, it doesn't look bad to me, that's not to say your concerns aren't valid, I'm just saying looking at it from the outside your donor doesn't look like its ravaged but if you want get a second opinion from a hair professional through a one on one consultation.

I didn't like that the dr didn't check on me before I left, I believe he was going out of the country but still at least a bye would have sufficed, I also didn't like that I was basically knocked out for most of the procedure, how much he did himself is unknown I know he designed my hairline, how much of the extraction is a mystery can't say it was him or his techs cause I was out. Overall it lacked good bedside manner, don't need to be treated like a baby, but don't like to feel like a number either, but that's not to say the result will be bad, I'm hopeful it's going to be good, he certainly has the portfolio to show he's a very skilled surgeon and one of the best. But I will not be making a thread about everything unless the final result is available, at that point if I'm unhappy no doubt a detailed thread will be made, but if ppl ask about my experience I'm willing to share it.

This thread is very unsettling, I will say this though, I'm in a similar situation myself I had my procedure on July 16th with Dr. Diep, if you do the math it's been 3 months not 4, but neither here nor there, I have some similar complaints, but I'm going to withhold judgment until 12 months, if at that point the result is not satisfactory I'll be for sure making a thread about it, but as for now I think it's a bit unfair to say the doctor wasted grafts unless you have the result to back the claim, I definitely understand where your coming from though, and these complaints even if they have no bearing on the results itself should be addressed. It's not ok to be dropping things cursing, and being unprofessional during a surgical procedure, not sure if Dr. Doganay is aware that happens but he needs to fix it right away that's bad business, it's imperative he hires staff with some sense of professionalism. Op I do feel though that your letting your emotions and doubt poison your mind, try not e negative, even if you had a negative experience your result may be good, also your donor area looks ok, you definitely have enough for another procedure in the future, I recommend getting on lipogaine asap to slow your hairloss, pm me if you need someone to talk to, I know how hard it can be, and trust me I have the same negative thoughts enter my mind as well, it's not good to let those negative thoughts manifest, wait he 12 months at that point if your not happy re-asses and I'm sure you can still get a favorable outcome.

The ugly duckling phase sucks, density looks really good, makes you wish you could just stay like that. Everything's looking good romp

2,000 grafts is a high number but I feel like that number would leave you with a satisfied result, you could get away with 1,200 but the density is not gonna be as good, I don't recommend having a procedure though with out first getting on some sort of medication to slow hair loss, because you have a lot of hair that puts you at a higher risk for shock loss and id hate for you to look worse after the procedure. Minoxidil worked great for me, and I get no side effects other than occasional itchy scalp or greasy hair texture, but thats nothing compared to finasteride side effects. I recommend growing your hair out, I honestly think that with some good styling and the SMP you might not even need an HT yet, some thickening hair product and the SMP might be enough try it out before you really consider going the surgical route, I will say this, once you commit to surgery, you're basically committing yourself to more than one, its just the way it is, you'll always need to get more procedures to make up for continued hair loss, even those on finasteride end up getting more than one procedure, something to consider.

I was in a similar situation, i'm also 30 with comparable hairloss, I don't think its a smart game plan to attempt to fully cover the crown, I think you should have just enough so that the transition from your midscalp to crown is seamless. The good thing is that you have your hairline pretty much intact, I would follow that existing hairline and build up to the midscalp, personally, I chose FUE that was a personal decision based on my hairstyle preference, honestly if you go to a good FUE doctor I feel the yield will be comparable to FUT, but its completely up to you, things to consider is price, obviously FUT is going to be cheaper than FUE in most cases, downtime you will have a significantly longer down time getting FUT, hairstyles, do you ever plan on cutting your hair short on the sides if so I would not choose FUT, doctors to look out for Dr. Bisanga, Dr. Mwamba, Dr. Feriduni, Dr. Villnow, Dr. De Reys some of these physicians perform both procedures.

I'd say 2,000 grafts would make a huge difference on you especially with the smp, are you on any hairloss meds like fin or minoxidil? Also have you ever thought of growing your hair out? I think you'd be surprised if you did, your hair looks pretty good probably even better if you grew it out.

You truly are a sad and pathetic person, I'm on here to give advice and help other balding men like myself which I have, unlike you Mr. Obsessive compulsive with an agenda of vengeance, this will be my last time addressing you, enjoy your second trip to turkey the first place that according to feller ravaged your donor area, I'm sure it'll work out great for you;)

Politics eh, well politicians are fake and phony, the fact that you attacked me for something that you completely misunderstood shows your character (vindictive), I guess I've made it to your little vengeance list along with feller and bloxham. So along with feller and bloxham I guess I should come to expect these little unwarranted attacks from you, but in the future please read the thread, if you're going to be malicious get your facts straight, it makes you look sad and foolish in the end.

Lmao this is brilliant, I'm a house of cards fan too, I can totally picture frank

If you're going to call me out, do me a favor and read the thread, if you were to go to the previous page you'll see where I advised him to get 1,500 grafts, my post was not in reference to him not getting an HT, my post was in reference to him wanting to be conservative when he's nearly 40 with minimal hairloss, the chances of him progressing to Norwood 6 in 10-15 years is highly unlikely if he's been balding for over 20 years at a slow rate. I'm bitter lol that's the pot calling the kettle black, you're the pathetic one bad mouthing Dr. Feller and bloxham in every other post, yet you were quite quiet when they were gonna give you a procedure free that's pathetic.

Hairline is looking really good, what's the donor look like?

Minoxidil does not inhibit hormone production, it does not remove DHT from the body, if you're taking minoxidil and having ED it's more than likely either mental or some other hormonal issue perhaps caused by deficincies like vitamin D. Correlation does not imply causation sexual dysfunction is a common problem amongst men of all ages ranging from actual organic physical problems to hormonal problems to mental problems. You can not say I take minoxidil and have ED therefore minoxidil causes ED, the makers of minoxidil are required to list the side effects from common to uncommon ED is not a listed side effect. You can google literally anything on the Internet and someone will be claiming it gave them ED. Google aspirin ED, Google Tylenol ED, hell Google Vicks ED I'm sure you'll find someone claiming it caused them ED.

Hey ramboshair, I saw your photos, it's hard to say where you will end up, personally I don't think Norwood 7, Dr. Rassman, states that the majority of Norwood 7 have the clear pattern by age 26, you're 28, and still have a fairly good amount of hair, but I definitely think Norwood 6 in the future, the single most important thing in your case is to stabilize your hairloss, I use lipogaine a form of minoxidil I also use nizoral, I can't tolerate finasteride, but you can give it a shot if you're willing to risk it with the sides. Now PLANNING is key with your case, you need to have your surgery as if you were full blown Norwood 6 that's how you need to approach it, conservative right now, in these cases I think less is more, for example, getting 3,000 grafts to your hairline would be disastrous. You're going to have to sacrifice either density or coverage, in your case unfortunately that's the reality. Also, try not think of what looks good now at 28 but what will look good at 38,48,58. A bald crown may look bad now, but when you're older it won't look bad and social stigma won't be bad either. My personal approach is to frame the face with a conservative hairline but not in the middle of your head so you have an 8 head not a forehead, make sure you reinforce the lateral humps this is ABSOLUTELY key in having a natural result, you probably won't have enough grafts to do the crown but that's to be expected. Dr. Diep has a lot of high Norwood patients, but they've been FUT not FUE, Dr. Umar has a lot of high Norwood patients, he utilizes FUE+BHT with success, he's probably my next surgeon. I suggest consulting with as many surgeons as possible in person. This will give you a good idea of how many grafts you have and they'll be able to more accurately guess where you'll end up.