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mattj

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Everything posted by mattj

  1. mattj
    I'm curious why you would lean towards ARTAS. What you want is a satisfying hair transplant result and the main choice you have to make is between FUE and FUT. ARTAS is just one method of making FUE extractions.
  2. mattj
    It's best to allow time to go by for all healing to occur. Although at six weeks, you should be fully healed. You may have heard of shockloss. It's more common with patients who have strip surgery, but isn't unheard of with FUE patients. It's hard to tell exactly what the problem is based only on your description, but I wouldn't expect 550 grafts, spread out, to leave you with a patchy donor.
  3. mattj
    Hi Power2. I just sent you a PM. Feel free to email me at the address in my signature. Would be good to touch base with you as a patient from back then!
  4. mattj
    I wouldn't expect there to be any effect to follicles surrounding the extracted grafts, especially with a relatively small procedure that was spread out. 6 weeks is too soon to judge.
  5. mattj
    It must be exciting to be taking this next step. FUE this time, I believe?
  6. mattj
    SMP will make the HT process more difficult, but not possible, which is testament to how convincing SMP results really are! Photos are normally enough to make an assessment, as long as they're clear photos, but SMP will make that process harder. It will also make it more difficult for FUE extractions. Not impossible, but harder than it would normally be. So that's another reason for choosing SMP after getting the surgical options out of the way.
  7. mattj
    Massive head of hair! I'm glad you're enjoying it.
  8. mattj
    Photos would be great as we could give you feedback about whether you really are a suitable HT patient or not - but I can see that what you really want is to understand why some doctors will accept you as a patient and some won't. You say you're a challenging case, so it's possible that some doctors aren't up to that challenge (whatever it is). It's possible that your case is so challenging that no doctor can give you a result that meets your expectations. So it could be a question of skill, but it could be the case that the doctors who are willing to have you as a patient are the type who don't care about the patient and just want to get the maximum number of customers through the door. So the difference between a yes and a no could be all about skill or all about ethics. I've tried to set that out as clear as possible. Photos would tell us more.
  9. mattj
    Do you have any photos pre-op photos? It's hard to tell how much is transplant and how much is native hairs. The transplanted hairs are, if anything, less susceptible to permanent shockloss than the native hairs in the area. The native hairs which are miniaturizing and destined to be lost are weaker than transplanted hairs. I think you could benefit from a procedure that is larger and covers more area, but you could also have a satisfying result with a smaller number of grafts concentrated at your hairline. Any doctor's concern would be your donor area, which doesn't look especially dense. You hair is a lot like mine: quite fine and straight which isn't ideal for coverage. Any flaws in a haircut are more obvious with this hair type.
  10. mattj
    From what I've seen, SMP is giving some amazing results and it's a subject I'm really getting interested in. I think we'll be seeing more and more people using it in combination with HTs for scar coverage. As long as SMP comes last, I don't see it mattering which order you have FUT and FUE.
  11. mattj
    This 47-year-old patient underwent an FUT procedure with Dr Rahal. Grafts were placed to restore his hairline and frontal zones as well as to cover the loss that extended back into his midscalp area. Surgery Type: FUT Recipient Area Treated - 69cm Total Grafts - 3321 Total Hairs - 6832 Recipient Graft Density - 48.13 grafts/cm Recipient Hair Density - 99 hairs/cm Graft Breakdown: Single Hairs - 613 grafts Two Hairs - 1905 grafts Three Hairs - 803 grafts Four Hairs - 0 grafts Average Hairs Per Graft - 2.05
  12. mattj
    I just had a read of your blog and looked and the photos and video. Huge difference before and after. Do you notice any difference in the texture and thickness of the transplanted beard and body hairs, compared to scalp hairs? Gillenator mentioned that the characteristics of the hair can change and that's something I've heard about but not really seen.
  13. mattj
    The difference between 2500 and 3500 grafts is a big one and if your intention is to cover the area you outlined in the photos then the lower figure is almost certainly not enough. However, I have to say that when hair is buzzed short, it's very difficult to accurately judge the density in either the recipient or donor areas. Having SMP will make the photos even harder to assess. I know that when I've shown photos like yours to Dr Rahal, he has declined to give any kind of graft quote and asks that the patient send more photos once they've let their hair grow out a bit. BTW, SMP is a subject that I'm really getting an interest in, so if you can't upload the photos here, you can always send them to me via the email in my signature.
  14. mattj
    I'm sorry you had such a disappointing experience with SMP. It's a subject I'm still learning about and I'm not sure how typical your experience is. Has the faded effect lingered long term?
  15. mattj
    These are the type of unusual, technical questions that I always enjoy seeing. There are variables at play: e.g. the number of single hairs which have been harvested from the donor, the size of the recipient area being treated, the intended density and also hair characteristics. Single hairs will normally be placed in the first 2-4 rows, which covers a bit under 1cm of depth into the hairline. Around 10-15% of hairs are dormant (in the telogen phase) at any one time, so there can be dormant hairs within a graft that aren't visible at the time of surgery. These hairs can end up growing, but if they do then you're talking about a very small number of hairs and this really isn't going to make a difference to how your result looks.
  16. mattj
    It's amazing that maxbale and voxman have exactly the same lives.
  17. mattj
    Sounds like a pretty good day. I'm glad you aren't neglecting the Hibiscus.
  18. mattj
    Have you thought about dying the whites? I have my fair share of those and although they don't keep me up at night, I have considered colouring them. Nobody can tell I've had an HT and nobody has ever commented on my hairloss (before or after HT), but they have decided they need to point out my greys. (Like I wasn't already aware!) I've had a HT and I keep my hair quite short. TBH I don't see what hair length has to do with it. My short hair looks better as a result of the HT, so that's solid justification for doing it. It's all about improving our appearance.
  19. mattj
    I just re-read what I said back in March and since then others have offered the same kind of advice. You need 3000+ grafts so I think you've done the right thing by booking a procedure of that size. The last thing you want is to undergo a procedure and end up with "too little hair on too much bald head" (to quote Dr Lindsey). You've lived with a shaved head and even though you obviously aren't happy that way (hence why you've booked the HT), the fact is that you'd look better sticking with the shaved head that you would with an inadequate HT result.
  20. mattj
    2500 is the approximate number of grafts that can be removed safely in one FUE procedure, as well as being a suitable number of grafts for patients who want to restore frontal recession. Sometimes doctors will go higher if they decide that the patient's donor area can support more extractions.
  21. mattj
    A man's hairline can creep upwards a bit into what Djlazerblue refers to above - a mature hairline. But there's really no way to tell if it will progress any further. You have to just keep an eye on it and see what happens. Unfortunately, there is no way that anyone can give you a more certain answer as hairloss is very unpredictable. I can say that your hair still looks to be in good shape and I don't see any immediate need to worry. You will still have all of the same styling options open to you.
  22. mattj
    Hi Jimmy86. Do you have any photos of what it currently looks like?
  23. mattj
    The 'A' pattern is definitely less common and seems to advance in a distinct way. I found this diagram below which I found interesting as it shows the pattern as a specific variant. The important thing is that it terminates at a 5A and doesn't seem to go any further.
  24. mattj
    The grafts should have been secure by then and you're unlikely to have actually dislodged any - and you would have almost certainly noticed the bleeding if you had. So I think you're safe. It is completely normal to have shed the grafts by this stage and looking worse than pre-op is a common and unavoidable part of the hair transplant process. I am curious how you feel you look worse. As your beard area was treated, I wouldn't have thought that the usual ways in which a scalp HT patient can look worse post-op would be as applicable. Have you lost some of the already existing hair due to shockloss? I repeat that I think you'll be fine. You don't describe any signs of lost grafts and what you do describe sounds very typical for this early stage.
  25. mattj
    Looking good! Definitely an example of how the 6 month mark is too soon to judge the final result. I agree that if you're going to progress past a NW4, the NW5A is a more fortunate pattern. The fact that the crown loss doesn't extend down towards the donor (as it does in a typical NW5 or 6) means that there is more potential to cover the balding area. I hope you keep us updated on round 2.
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