hadenough2014

For 5400 grafts, this is not a good result at all. I have seen very few FUT results that come out like this. The reasons behind the poor results could be many (including any and all of: doc supervision/tech training and execution/patient post-op care), and I won't take guesses as to what they are. If it bothers you that much, I would suggest you look at Europe (closer to you), select a great FUE doc who can assess your remaining donor, and get your frontal 1/3 fixed with 2000-2500 grafts. You went with FUT first, so hopefully you have at least 2000 grafts remaining for FUE. IMHO - At this point, money cannot be the object. You will lose a lot more money by continuing to live in a cave than you will by getting this fixed properly and regaining your self-confidence. You have to really consider it more of an investment at this point than just a self-image improvement. If you are not comfortable returning to Rahal, then don't. There are great FUE docs in Europe who can probably help you with this (Bisanga, Erdogan, Lorenzo, etc).

Your hair is quite short for a strip patient, but yes I see the dark as well. It actually looks like the hair itself is darker color, not just shadows or cross-grown hairs that give a difference of appearance. I have not seen that before. You may need to wear it a little longer for while to see if the roots normalize color over time. I suspect the body will heal itself with time and the hair will start to blend. Good to hear your scar is so invisible...that is normally the bigger concern for folks.

I can understand why you are worried, but it is very early. Those tiny non-colored hairs are probably the next round of growth. Everything should be pretty even (have emerged enough to see) by end of month 6 and then density improves from 6 to 12. Looks like you've had some good growth by month 4. It is coming along nicely I would say.

Good decision and great result. Congratulations, and thanks for returning to post your photos.

I agree. I was initially going to say it was not appropriate to deplete a donor for 4000 grafts on the hairline and preserve almost nothing for future loss, which is a certainty with the patient's pattern. But it looks more like 1400 were packed and that should leave plenty in the donor for round 2 in about 5-7 years. It looks very nice right now and as long as the Dr. disclosed prior to the procedure his need for a second procedure down the road (likely with or without meds), then he should be happy.

Thanks for posting the 10 month photos. It may be getting a little more dense on top, but the hairline is still a disappointment. In the end, this is not the result you should be expecting at 10 months. There are, however, several posters on this forum who have documented substantial growth after month 12. But that is the very rare exception and not the rule, and who knows what other changes in their life may have caused better growth to start so late (other illness cleared up, stress reduced, etc). Stay positive and I hope you can get it worked out with the clinic. Even if they give you enough $ back to get the hairline done (1200-1500 grafts?) somewhere else, that may be a fair solution. I always think it is unreasonable for a clinic to think an unhappy customer should return to their hands again for re-work. This is a medical procedure not a kitchen remodel...just give them some money back and call it done with.

Being as damaged as he was, I have no doubt he is cautious with his optimism and waiting for some real results before posting. We may need to wait a while based on his surgery date. I personally think Dr. K will get him sorted out, and we will see some amazing results. Dr. K is not satisfied with anything less from what I have seen and read - a classic perfectionist. I recently ran across BoulderBalder's original post with his pictures from the first hack procedure, and what a mess that Colorado place made of him. I am really pulling for him to come out of this repair with a big win.

One more thing - if he is going back in for the crown work in a year, maybe hit those temple peaks with a few as well. Can still see the outline of where they once were, so I bet 50 single grafts per side would do the trick. I have sides a lot like his and if I go back in for procedure 2, I would like to add some soft temple peaks. I think they really frame the face nicely with hair on top again.

Good look at 10 months. Hopefully a little more thickening coming. Yield might be a little low, but I see he only had 1.66 hairs per graft, which is well below average. So I think his result is pretty good considering the donor. I think he should be happy - he looks looks younger and yet more distinguished with this look. He does not have strong temple peaks, so the hairline (which is also very natural) is well placed and the whole look is quite appropriate for his age. Losing the hoodie for the after pic helps too...

Good story about your experience and a wonderful result. Perfectly placed hairline and it just looks so natural. You have excellent hair-to-skin-tone ratio, which makes the result even more undetectable. I have a similar ratio and hope for similar result with my 3988 grafts. I am just in late stages of month 2, but already seeing growth. I agree with your comments about the FUT scar - if you get a good scar result, who cares what is back there. It is way overblown on this forum, but unfortunately some people who had very bad FUT scar results from hack docs maintain a certain noise level here. I feel bad for them, but not many experience what they experienced.

Thanks for posting updated pics, Squatch. Looking great. Your war zone will soon be a plush lawn. I love the close-up pics - what kind of camera do you use??

That is not what I said at all. Most clinics are not looking to "cash in". They won't last long if that is their approach. I have no problem with FUE being more costly - it is for good reason. Both FUE and FUT have a place in today's industry, and the right one to use is dependent on each patient's situation and goals. As I have said a number of times on this forum, FUT and and FUE are what the industry currently has to offer, but the best solution will probably look different in 10 years. I waited 10 years for a better solution, and while FUE got better, it is still not the ultimate answer. Hopefully stem cell and cloning will be the answer for the next generation. I chose not to wait any longer for the perfect solution.

Fatigue was my biggest worry about FUE for my 4000+ planned grafts needed, and I didn't want 3-4 techs switching off all day to do the work. Believe me, I wanted FUE but pretty quickly realized that single-procedure recipient zone success was more likely with FUT. I don't really like the idea that I have to endure a scar with FUT, but I was certainly willing to tolerate a good donor scar rather than a poor FUE recipient zone result. No one has ever scoured through the back of my head looking for anything underneath the hair, and I don't expect they will in the future either. I just thought my case was too big for FUE. I like FUE for 2000 grafts and under, where the doc can do the work without getting burned out. It's expensive, but worth it. Techs or docs, people get fatigued and then they get sloppy. To protect their brand, docs may just know where that limit is a little bit better.

I am guessing your wife knows and she is too sweet to say anything. Women know lots of stuff. I agree that you need to go see a doc. No one on this site can help through a keyboard. Seeing a doc in person is what is needed for your concerns. Also, if you are 28 and you look good with a shaved head, why not shave? If you lost most hair at 12, that sounds pretty doubtful that you could be a HT candidate 16 years later.

Outstanding results, and thank you for sharing your photos and journey with us. This has to fall into the "forum top 10". In fact, I think it would be great to have a nomination and voting process for the top 10 when they pass the 12 month post-op mark within the calendar voting year. I know...flash vs. no flash...bad angles, other photo factors, etc. but I would still vote for your results Scooter!

I don't think it's so much about questioning the skill of a great technician. I suppose some of them are even better than the doc. But how am I, as a patient, to know who is the great technician on staff vs. the one who started performing extractions just yesterday? Is their reputation on the line with a bad result? No, it is the doc. The doc is always the brand, regardless of who does the work. So I think a good doc would always do everything possible to protect that brand. Many technicians may as well, but some may not...and I would not want to roll the dice that I get that one technician out of 100 who doesn't really care that much about the brand or is in the learning process. So yes, I want the doc doing my FUE extractions, incisions, and hairline design. Techs can do placement.

I think he did a lot with 2365 grafts. Also very age appropriate and looks natural with his face. I like the plan.

I can't imagine what the advancements may be...but I believe there will be some that are much better than things like micro-pigmentation. The experts will figure out what they will be, because there is a market for it and each year it grows. I think Europe has some great FUE surgeons, Lorenzo being the best IMHO. But there are a number of others too, possibly here in North America. To me, the best means: #1 - recommended by this site, #2 - surgeon does the extractions, incisions, and hairline design, not technicians, #3 - surgeon has many, many FUE examples of success and virtually none of failure both on his own website and here on this site. I only give my personal perspective/opinion on this topic, as I was very split between FUE and FUT before I went forward and I looked into both pretty extensively.

I think your concerns about FUE yield are well-founded. There are some great FUE docs, but I believe FUE is very dependent on the doc and his abilities and team, much moreso than FUT. Transecting grafts or adjacent donor follicles is easy to do in the hands of a lesser FUE technician or even doc. For FUE, I would only risk my head to the absolute best out there. Strip leaves a scar, sure, but I ultimately felt in my case that I would only get the yield necessary through FUT on my 4000 needed grafts. For 2000-2500 grafts, I would surely consider FUE, but only with the best. I don't believe FUE session larger than that are worth the risk due to doctor fatigue and the fact those sessions involve too many technicians with varying skills - graft transaction and donor area damage is more likely. I believe the advancements in the next 5-10 years will help me reduce or completely eliminate my strip scar (which is now perfectly fine hidden under my hair and quite thin). Look how far it has come in the past 10 years.

Thanks for the pics, Sunny. Mine looks like yours in many ways. One more month and we should be having a lot of fun!

Thanks for sharing the photos, Pepe. Always encouraging to see that poor work CAN be fixed. The fixing of your scars is really incredible.

7.5 looking much better than 5.5. Still have a couple months of additional density coming, and it needs it in the front, but you are already better off than pre-op. I would like to see Erdogan and other Turkish docs vary the hairline a little more with use of micro-irregularities. This fella has nice temple peaks, so the straighter hairline works ok for him, but for others with less temple peak showing, the HT becomes more apparent.

Looks great! Love the style at month 6 as well. What a treat to be able to style like that now!

Any new updates?

Very impressive indeed. I wasn't sure when I saw the post op photo first, but wow what a final result.