hadenough2014

I like it. I read the write-up and the plan, and I think you nailed it based on what he wanted. He wants it to look real as he ages, and I think that is often missed by some patients and docs, especially younger ones like this fella. I also thought 4000+ grafts was a huge amount for the front half alone, but then I see how many 1's he had, so it was needed for density behind the hairline. He has 5+ more months of density and thickening to come, so his happiness should continue to increase! Congrats, buddy! Great job on the scar too. I hope mine ends up like that in 3-4 months. He sure has his hair short in the back and that is great that he has that choice.

Some heads look great shaved, especially if the person is in great shape. Whether I am in great shape or not, my head shape looks terrible shaved and it is boney in all the wrong spots. You never know what really lies underneath until you shave it. I think people should try a shaved head to see if its fits them before they go into a HT decision. No woman in the civilized world has a right to be critical of a man going for a HT, unless she wants to strip herself of makeup, hair coloring, high heels, push-up bras, and all the other visual enhancers/deceptors most use. Fortunately, the majority of women are good and do not care whether or not her man has hair!

I agree. Hairweare - you need to back up such silly comments with further explanation of your position if you expect anyone to take it seriously. People come here for real real help, and this is not a statement anyone should believe is accurate, especially when we are talking about the recipient zone specifically.

So you went forward. I give you credit for making a decision, and I am sure you'll be happy with the SMG results. Be prepared for another procedure down the road, which is almost a requirement now that you did a front 1/3 procedure at a young age. Fin is not a silver bullet and it may not work for you or you may develop sides. Since you are only 23, in 10 years when you need another, the industry may have finally developed a better alternative such as cloning or stem cell therapy. I waited too long for them to develop a better, more reliable, and less invasive solution, and now I am 43 before I finally stopped waiting and had my first procedure. So happy growing to you, and keep us posted on how things are coming along.

Or I could just say you're over 40...haha Actually, age can bring a lot of these things too, and it so difficult to pinpoint what may be causing the body's changes. If you don't want to take the risk, you're not alone. There are plenty who have said no to the side effect risks.

This type of repair case truly distinguishes the great from the average or poor doctors. Lorenzo and his team are truly great, and they change lives for the better. I can't imagine how much better you must feel about life now, Pepe. Congratulations on a truly great result.

You have a result in the top 5% I have ever seen. A very effective result for 2500 grafts. Congratulations on your home run decision and result!

Excellent result. The doc had a great slate to start with, but I like that he went after this in a way that anticipates future loss of native hair and the graft hairs will continue to mask it. By doing a large session now (and hopefully still on meds) he may be a one-and-done case for the next 30 years+. I do wonder, however, how the doc thinks he still has 3000 donor grafts remaining. Looks to me like he scattered through the whole donor zone pretty thoroughly. Thanks for posting the phots. This young fella has a good head of hair now.

Agree. A woman who loves you does not love you for your hair. Hair dependency is lust, not love. Hair may be part of an initial attraction, but after time its value to a mate decreases and your other qualities take precedent (ie: will you be a good father? will you be a kind and caring husband?...etc). IMHO - most women really do look at the big picture better than men. Most of us men will immediately turn our head to a pretty girl, but most women are not wired the same way in my experience.

I feel your pain and had hair similar to yours about 6-8 years ago. Everyday was a battle just to have a hair style. I just cut it pretty short and stopped trying to comb it eventually - ended up looking just unkept and frustrating. I agree with the poster above, though I would also recommend you speak to some more docs who do both FUT and FUE on a regular basis (some of the above do both). Docs who do both are most objective in developing a solution for your specific desires, in my opinion. You look like a 3000+ graft candidate to me.

Thanks for coming back and posting photos. Great result and solid coverage. Are you on any meds? Just curious if your crown improved due tot he HT or if meds helped at all. Your curly hair really helps add to the density, IMHO

1978Matt - It is hard to argue with those results for Slickers. Most people just don't give a damn about a well-hidden scar in the back when the front looks that good. While I am an advocate for FUE in certain cases, I have just seen so many good FUT cases (usually large ones) that seem to result in a much better yield (1978Matt's rock star results included) while also preserving donor. I wish everyone well in making their own decision for their specific desires and risk appetite, and this debate, while heated at times, still helps people a great deal.

He is an FUE doctor. Read his prior posts and patient cases posted on this site. Why would he say something in an attempt to discredit his golden goose in Turkey? He is just being honest and saying what most any ethical doctor will tell a prospective patient about taking care to preserve donor follicles properly. I find his posts on this topic to be entirely consistent with the advice of many doctors with whom I consulted in the USA, who also do both FUT and FUE. By the way, many of them are now doing more and more FUE in the USA due to patient demand, but it remains a laborious task for doctors (and expensive for patients) as technicians are NOT allowed to do extractions under the medical laws in many US states. IMHO - If preserving large donor area for the future is a priority for a patient, FUT first is the way to go without question. If a patient wants to take a chance that a single FUE session will cure his baldness for all time, then go for the FUE and be able to wear short hair. FUE is also good for touch-up and small sessions where the patient likely will not have much future hair loss by way of genetics.

Nice job, Sunny. Covers very well.

It was definitely a dull, throbbing headache. Not sharp. It did subside also after I started a regiment of multivitamin and biotin at week 6. Not sure if they were related, but I agree with 1978Matt that maybe a supplement such as vitamin D or multivitamin could help.

My crown started thinning about 3-4 years ago and I started on Rogaine a year later. I think Rogaine accelerated my crown loss and mid scalp as well. Almost like I shed and what I shed never came back. If I were to do it again, I would go on finasteride right away and skip Rogaine. Then again, I am 40+ and you are 25...starting fin at 40 is much different than 25. The side effect risks would worry me more at 25 than 40. But I would still probably try it and just be very mindful of signs of side effects.

I had mild headaches every day for the first 4-6 weeks that I took fin. The amount of sleep didn't seem to matter. They went away and I have not had any in the last 5-6 weeks. I have not taken it nearly as long as you.

I agree that physician fatigue is an issue with FUE, so switching off makes sense as long they are well qualified and trained so transection risk does not increase with the switch. From all I have read about Loerenzo, I suspect everyone under his clinic and supervision is well-trained.

Again, it is refreshing to hear a doc talk about FUT and FUE in this way on the forum, as these are some of exact reasons I chose FUT first, as I expect to need a small-to-moderate size FUE session sometime in the future to supplement my 4000 FUT grafts a bit, and I wanted to make sure I had enough high quality donor left, so I did FUT first. I believe in the value of each procedure for certain circumstances, but for higher balding classes like mine, I very much believe FUT first with FUE follow-up is best.

Good post, Doc. This is what many of us believe after lots of research, but it's good to hear a practical confirmation from a Doc who sees many people every week. As much as I may have wanted FUE and could afford to pay for it, donor area is too precious to risk waste. I wanted maximium yield to correct my NW5. I believe my Dr. and his partners at the Shapiro Medical Group would agree with your comments based on a similar FUT vs. FUE write-up on their website and their advice to me.

Super natural result! What a plus that you could place the hairline behind his naturally-occurring micro irregularities.

Very true, Sunny!

I am now starting to believe the early growth I saw between weeks 8 and 9 post op is due to Propecia. I believe it allowed a mixture of a few grafts and mostly native hairs to bloom. I have not seen any new growth in a little more than 2 weeks but those that poked through in 8 and 9 are growing longer. The early growth is also all within areas where I have had some hair in recent years, and nothing from the "new" slightly lower hairline created by the Dr. is coming through. I actually hope this is the case, because it not only proves that propecia is working for me, but it means I could see a final result that yields HT hairs plus propecia hairs for even more density than I bargained for... I guess I may not really know until I start seeing more HT hairs coming through.

Cancel. In my opinion, no one should do this unless they are 100% certain. There are risks, and they can serve to devastate people if they are not ready for the risks or have their expectations too high.

This result is simply incredible from a photo standpoint. You took 15 years off your appearance. I am normally not a huge fan of many FUE hairline results coming out of Turkey as they often look very rigid and the Dr.s are less focused on the artistry of a soft hairline. In this case, however, the Dr. and his team did an exceptional job of not only creating density on the top of the head but also developing an extremely natural hairline. What a result for 6 months.