mattj

My personal preference was to avoid the linear scar as I keep my hair short. Although I was only in my early twenties when my hairloss began, it was never very aggressive and therefore it could be addressed with a 2500 graft FUE procedure. I haven't required any further work. If I'd had much more advanced hairloss, I may have opted for FUT.

I can see this being a concern before the procedure, as it seems like a long time doing nothing, but in reality it passes quite quickly. During the extractions I fell asleep as I was face down. During the incisions and graft placement, I paid little attention to the TV and just chatted a bit and (like voxman said) I zoned out.

That amount of grafts would help you out, but you could do with more to be honest. But as you've met with a doctor who has cautioned that your scalp laxity is a limiting factor, then that has to be taken into account. I think you'd be best off taking those steps to improve your laxity which would hopefully result in a higher number of grafts being available. That makes more sense than just going for it now and not getting the final result that you want.

5000 grafts is a large session, but these days sessions of that size are routine and since you have enough ground to cover with those grafts then I see no reason not to do it in one.

3000 grafts sounds about right for the degree of hairloss I see in your photo. You have quite deep recession plus the frontal zone looks thin and would benefit from increased density. Frankly, I'm not surprised by that cost. That works out at ?2.50 per grafts which is probably pretty standard for London.

Bleeding is the usual sign, although there was a guy posting last week about lost grafts and he reported no bleeding. His photos did appear to show complete units had been lost and I believe his doctor confirmed this.

The photos appear to show normal shed hairs, but five months is rather late for that to be happening. It's also late to be actually losing a graft. I don't think we can be totally certain what has happened to them.

This Asian patient, aged 38, came to Dr Rahal to restore his hairline and frontal zones via FUE. He had a below average hair to graft ratio (meaning he had fewer 3-hair grafts available) but his above average hair caliber and a density of 50 grafts/cm (94 hairs/cm) gave him a satisfyingly dense result. Surgery Type: FUE Recipient Area Treated - 40cm Total Grafts - 2008 Total Hairs - 3757 Recipient Graft Density - 50 grafts/cm Recipient Hair Density - 94 hairs/cm Graft Breakdown: Single Hairs - 466 grafts Two Hairs - 1340 grafts Three Hairs - 197 grafts Four Hairs - 5 grafts Average Hairs Per Graft - 1.87

Follicles don't regrow from the extraction site. They are being transplanted from one place (donor area) to another (recipient area). 5000 is a lot of grafts to transplant in one FUE procedure. Most doctors prefer to keep the procedures smaller. Whether or not 5000 extractions will leave your donor area noticeably thinner will depend on your density in the area. For some people it will.

At this stage the grafts are secure and you can gently remove the scabs while washing. Moistened scabs come away very easily and yours look very ready to. I'm not sure if that's a lost graft or just a shed hair with the crust attached. You will be seeing lots of those being shed once you start massaging away the scabs.

You are most likely fine. Can you see evidence of the bump? Has it left a mark?

I'm glad you're remaining positive about this. I do think that you saw some lost follicles as they look exactly like grafts before they are placed into the incisions. It sounds like your doctor thinks the same. Normally bleeding occurs when grafts are lost, but I suppose there can be exceptions. I count five or six. Even if there were more, you most likely haven't lost enough to make a significant difference to your final result.

Hi Eden, you don't mention whether you're looking for an FUE procedure, and FUT procedure or don't mind which. Your loss is relatively advanced and is a diffuse pattern. How much do you know about hairloss and HT surgery? You've been taking Propecia for a long time and it's probably allowed you to hold on to hair that you would have lost without it.

And did you have any bleeding?

Just to clarify: how many days after surgery did you start seeing these hairs?

You're correct that most happy HT patients who post on the forums in the lead-up to their procedure just go on their way and don't feel the need to post anymore. A successful HT procedure depends greatly on the skill of the doctor and technicians, but the patient's physiology is always going to play a part. It's the same for any surgery. There are factors way beyond the control of any doctor and they are usually also beyond any human understanding. So when a procedure doesn't lead to a good result, the reasons can be a mystery. Thankfully those cases are rare and patient satisfaction is high.

I haven't had FUT or a second procedure, and I don't know the particulars of your case, so my advice can only be limited, but I can say that scalp laxity exercises are of genuine use in increasing the 'slack' in the scalp of the donor area. Did you do these prior to your first procedure? Has your doctor advised you to do them before your 2nd surgery? 1500 grafts is a small procedure, but could be enough if the first op gave you a good result and all you have is some relatively minor loss since then. It would help to see photos.

It's been a couple of weeks. How is it looking now?

It's important to note that a clinic which performs FUT will be using microscopes while taking the follicles from the strip. Those microscopes will be put to use while sorting and inspecting the grafts during an FUE procedure. Through this process, the quality of the grafts can be established and transection will be kept to an absolute minimum. Some clinics that have started to do FUE might not have invested in the microscopes that well-established FUT doctors already have.

Heading east or west on the plane is only a small difference. Are you familiar with the Norwood scale? I'm guessing from your description that you're about a Norwood 3V. Would you be able to share some photos with us?

If lasers do have any benefit at all, they still can't be expected to halt hairloss and like the more established treatments (Finasteride, etc.) the laser might work better for some people than others. So basically, what I'm saying is, continued hairloss isn't necessarily proof that lasers don't work. But I still don't think they that they do.

Multiple angles are definitely needed in order for anyone to make a proper assessment. If you can get help from someone to take the photos then you'll find that easier. It's also important to know other details, such as your age and whether you're taking any medications to treat your hairloss.

Your donor area looks good to me and I'm guessing you got similar feedback from your doctor. 3000+ grafts sounds like a good figure to frame your face with a dense hairline and cover the frontal third and perhaps the whole front half of the balding area. Your hair being on the wavy/curly side will really help with covering your scalp. Nobody can predict when your hairloss will stop, but you have an obvious outline of a Norwood 5A pattern. The crown loss isn't dipping down at the back and this is a good thing.

To expand on what I said: the choice is often one of matching your needs to a particular doctor's approach to hair restoration and their skill set. I chose Dr Rahal for his very natural, dense hairlines which are considered to be the best. You'll often hear talk of a "Rahal hairline" - that's what I wanted and that's what I got.

These days there is a nice selection of doctors who are considered to be at the top of the industry. Personal requirements or preferences are what make us choose one over another.