mattj

Your grafts are fine. I hope Legand007 didn't scare the crap out of you with his joke.

This 31 year old patient came to Dr Rahal to restore his receded hairline and frontal zones. The plan was to do a conservative hairline and add density where required on top, all without exhausting donor supply for future work. Surgery Type: FUT Recipient Area Treated - 78cm Total Grafts - 3459 Total Hairs - 7308 Recipient Graft Density - 44. 34 grafts/cm Recipient Hair Density - 93.7 hairs/cm Graft Breakdown: Single Hairs - 609 grafts Two Hairs - 1894 grafts Three Hairs - 913 grafts Four Hairs - 43 grafts Average Hairs Per Graft - 2.11

Yes, I advise sharing photos. We'll give you our honest opinions.

The good thing is that it looks natural. You currently look like someone who is thinning on top and you can make the most of that. With concealers I imagine it looks like a full head of hair. I would enjoy that for now and hold off on taking any other surgical steps. You're still very young, you need to see how this is going to progress.

That does sound like quite a lot of hairs to see when just shaking your hair over the sink. But how often do you do it? How often do you wash your hair? Every time you wash your hair, you'll rinse away a lot of shed hairs. If you only wash it every other day or perhaps even less, then brushing it over a sink will result in more hairs. I hope this makes sense. Ultimately, the important thing is whether the shed hairs are growing back or not. If you haven't noticed a loss of density or any frontal recession or a bald spot, then you aren't balding.

This is sad news. I remember really liking his results and he was at the top of my list when I first started researching this subject.

Any differences in yield are very small, therefore I do believe that FUE will give you just as good of a result. If the FUT scar doesn't bother you then the main benefit of FUE isn't really applicable and there's no reason why you shouldn't go for FUT. Although the recovery is not as easy.

If I thought you'd look bad with a shaved head, I'd simply stay quiet. On the basis of what you've shown us (which is somewhat incomplete without facial features) I would say that you're someone who would look good with a shaved head. SMP can give some great results but I don't see it as essential for looking good buzzed down.

I think Bill is looking at your donor area. With the rotated photos, it does look like we're seeing the top of your head. Your hairloss isn't as severe as I was expecting (on the basis of you saying elsewhere that you're a NW5) but you're still probably looking at in excess of 4000 grafts to achieve a reconstructed hairline and good density throughout. It really depends upon how far back to the crown you want to go.

Speaking generally, I think most doctors would agree with him. I am definitely of the opinion that, if your donor can support it, then FUE should give you the same result. I just think that 3000 or 3500 grafts won't be enough if you are truly a NW5.

I have seen those cracks many times over the years and I can't recall it ever causing a problem with the final result. You probably have some swelling at this time which could make it seem worse. Unrelated: I'm guessing the fever you reported in another thread came to nothing.

I'm not saying that Finasteride cannot cause anxiety, but on balance it would seem that stopping an anxiety medication would be more likely to cause those sorts of problems. But of course, a doctor ought to be involved.

Stopping an anxiety medication is far more likely than Finasteride to be the cause of your increased anxiety. They often have very bad withdrawal/rebound effects. Finasteride doesn't suit everyone, so I'm hesitant to suggest with too much enthusiasm that you jump back on it, but it's worth trying as it can be very effective for diffuse thinners like yourself.

Here we have a nice hairline transformation. The patient is a Norwood 3 and had 1757 grafts FUT.

Your hair is actually better than I was expecting. It's debatable whether your recession has reached the NW3 stage yet and your crown isn't too bad. You have some diffuse thinning on top but I don't think that or the crown is thin enough to treat surgically. It's really only the temples that could be improved at this point. I forgot to mention before that using Rogaine on and off isn't a good idea. You have to be consistent with it for it to work.

Also, if the doctor who examined you said that FUE is a bad idea due to donor concerns, then that might be because your donor is below average in density. It's impossible for me to say whether that is the case or not. Here is a recent example of a patient who had a high number of grafts (5754) extracted via FUE, over two procedures. His donor area looks fine. He doesn't represent all patients, but serves as an example of how it can be done. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/189104-dr-rahal-video-presentation-5754-grafts-fue.html

I would go with the 'Trailhead Boonie' as there's no doubt regarding the SPF protection - plus I think it looks better. It looks like there would be enough space that there wouldn't be pressure on the grafted area. I don't know how important the ventilation is in your climate.

If the idea of scars doesn't bother you then you're better off choosing FUT simply because more can be done in one procedure, and as a Norwood 5 you undoubtedly require a high number of grafts. The linear scar shouldn't be an issue as long as you don't plan to ever cut your hair very short. FUE does procedure scarring and if a lot of grafts are extracted then the donor area might be visibly thinner. It all depends on your actual donor density. FUE isn't a bad idea if you are happy to split the surgery into two, spaced apart by the better part of a year and if cost isn't an issue. It's an easier procedure in terms of recovery.

Not every Norwood 5 patient will require the same number of grafts. The physical size of the balding area can vary and hair texture and thickness play a role. As long as your donor area can provide enough grafts then there's no reason why you can't undergo FUE, you just have to accept that you'll be having more than one procedure (3000 grafts are unlikely to be enough), not to mention the higher costs involved.

I think appearance matters to some people and not to others and this is completely separate to intelligence. Of course in the case of Peterson, he has gone from being an academic to a media personality, so the decision to have HT surgery might be seen as a career move.

17 is a young age for this to begin, but having made it to 25 as a NW3V is a good sign. You're right that being willing to travel is important - going with the first name given isn't wise in this field. I would suggest taking some photos when you can (after you've washed the Toppik away!) and uploading them here. I've got a picture in my head of what your hair might be like, but often verbal description and reality are very different.

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I can recall the bandana I was given being made of quite thick fabric. My surgery was in winter, but as surgery is year-round, the bandanas have to be substantial enough for patients to be outdoors literally on the day of surgery.

That is exactly what I found. People are intrigued and might ask questions, but others are so casual about it that you might as well have told them you've had your tonsils out. It really isn't a big deal these days.

A second FUT isn't a bad idea. Contrary to what some say, it isn't an outdated surgical method, especially for larger procedures. Your procedure was on the smaller side so you could've had FUE, but the important thing is that you do have 1500 transplanted grafts (or thereabouts) growing and once this number is increased you can have an incredible result. A smaller strip surgery wouldn't normally result in the kind of stress that would cause a wider scar, so it's possible that your surgery wasn't performed to the best of standards. A second FUT surgery could revise the scar as well as provide ample grafts to give you a nice, dense result. Ultimately you have both FUE and FUT available as options and I would ask about both during consultations and see what the doctor recommends.