elicochin

Thank you @Sam818 for your assuring words and @transplantedphil for sharing your post, quite informative and thought provoking.

Just wanted to share my frustration here. While I am excited about the upcoming surgery, one thing keep turning me off is Dr. Lindsey's communication style. He is very very short (few words) with his responses and hesitant to get into the details. Is this normal? Most of the time his response is 'will do our best'.

Honestly, I started freaking out since I paid the advance and scheduled the surgery. This surgery is a big deal for me and years in the making. Am I asking too much and being too sensitive here? I would appreciate your comments.

Regards,

@logansays your hair restoration journey is quite amazing and thank you for sharing it with us. I think my hair-loss pattern is very similar to yours and your story is very encouraging to someone like me. I am planning my first HT (FUT) with Dr. Lindsey, Virginia, USA, in July. If everything goes as planned I will do my second surgery to restore my back and crown area. Please post updates whenever you can. Good Luck to you.

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker here. I have a procedure scheduled with Dr. Lindsey in Virginia on July 8, so I'm about two and half weeks out from the surgery. I intend on documenting it as much and as well as I can. This forum has been a great source of information for me and I want to pass along the help by trying to document whatever I can about the experience, my progress and results. I will try to post pictures at the major milestones, i.e., before (Link), after surgery, 1st & 2nd weeks, 1st month, and then monthly beyond that.

I'm 53 years old, although my hair loss began around 25 and I think I'm now a NW6+. I believe that my hair loss/balding has been stable for more than 6 years or so. I've never taken any hair loss medication of any kind ever and not planning to take any in the future as well. I have been trimming my hair to zero for more than 8 years or so.

Throughout my research, I was leaning towards FUE method and consulted multiple FUE surgeons. However, during the last few months, it became clear to me that an FUT as the first surgery would give me better options in the future; I could choose to have another FUT or FUE as a second surgery if I wanted.

I had reached out to Hasson and Wong in Canada, Dr. Bloxham in NY and Dr Lindsey in Virginia since they are all highly recommended on this forum. I met with Dr. Lindsey in person about two weeks ago and was impressed by his straightforward approach and the facility. His clinic is very close to where I live and another consideration during the time of a pandemic.

Details of Consultation/Recommendation by Dr. Lindsey

• Norwood scale: VI+
• Hair type: Fine/Thin
• Suggested/Estimated number of Grafts: 2500 - 2700  
• Target Recipient area: Conservative Hairline with coverage on mid-scalp (I originally wanted the temples restored, but Dr. Lindsey is not offering that option to me)
• Supplemental: PRFM (Platelet-Rich Fibrin Matrix)

I may need at least one additional procedure for coverage towards the back and the crown. I hope is to come out of this with good results and emerge from the quarantine with something achieved.

Regardless, I just wanted to put my long-awaited procedure and experience on interested parties' radar in case they're interested in following along as a source of info and also to get any feedback from the forum members to get the most out of the procedure.

Thank you.

Dear all,

Just reaching out to the forum members one more time to see if anyone had a procedure with Dr. William Lindsey recently.

Thank you and regards,

Thank you Melvin!

It's my understanding that he predominately performs FUT than FUE even though the clinic website mentions both. Makes it difficult for someone like me to reach a decision when a surgeon claims to be performing both. I would greatly appreciate comments from anyone on this forum who has done a procedure with Dr. Lindsey in 2019. 

Regards,

Hello all,

I know that Dr. Lindsey is a highly regarded and a recommended surgeon on this forum. I have been consulting with many surgeons in-person and online until the COVID-19 changed everything. I have built up momentum and knowledge (thanks to this forum and it's members) and do not want to give up because of the current quarantine and related closures. I was thinking of consulting surgeons that are located in the east coast where I can drive to. One of them is Dr. Lindsey in Virginia. My question is why am I not seeing many stories shared by his patients on this forum? interestingly, nothing is mentioned or discussed about Dr. Lindsey or his patient experiences lately. I would appreciate any input you can provide.

Regards,

On 3/16/2020 at 12:46 PM, LaserCap said:

From the photos, it seems, your scalp is fine.  I don't see any flaking - signs of dryness. First thought is check the ingredients of the shampoo.  If you see any class of organic compound belonging to the alcohol family, glycol - for example - avoid it.  Change to baby shampoo.  Alcohol promotes dryness. This, by the way, has nothing to do with the behavior of a graft.  The donor will dictate if a graft will remain or eventually miniaturize and wither away.  If permanent in the donor, it will be permanent wherever it's placed.  The follicle does retain a memory and will behave as if it was still in the donor.  But wait......you are not asking this.  You are asking about fallout...particularly right after an intervention.

During a procedure the doctor makes recipient sites.  By puncturing the skin, there will be some blood involved. Eventually this blood will dry and form into a crust.  Upon washing, 7-10 days later, depending on protocol, the crust will fall - along with the hair the follicle came with.  (This short stub is what the clinical staff will grab when transporting the graft to its new home). The follicular unit will be under the skin. 3-4 month later the new hair will start growing.  From time to time the stub can start growing.  This just means you are ahead of everyone else by 3-4 months but it means nothing.  This hair will eventually resume shedding - which is normal.  (You will randomly shed every hair on your head, (not all at the same time).  The follicle gets tired of producing hair and it takes a vacation.  The hair will typically return 3-4 months later). 

From time to time a doctor will go a bit too deep and cut nerve endings.  When these ends re-connect, the numbness goes away.  This is more of a nuisance than anything else.  

With regards to the donor being over-harvested, difficult to say based on photos.  Return to the clinic 6-12 months and have the doctor give you the answer.  

If you still have crusts, get in the shower and scrub away. You need to get this stuff out of your head to avoid infections, etc.

Hygiene is very important as bacteria can crawl into any of the apertures.  I am truly amazed you were asked to wash every other day. Who did the work for you?  At this point, WASH! Again, avoid alcohol and use some type of moisturizing conditioner.

Just loved your write-up. I enjoy reading your posts. Thank you!

On 5/12/2020 at 9:13 AM, Gatsby said:

Have a look at Eugenix Hair Science. Especially the latest video put out on YouTube today. It addresses Norwood 7 and the many aspects involved in surgery. 

Thank you. I will check it out.

Thank you for the prompt response Melvin!

On 5/7/2020 at 2:15 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

FUT hands down is the best way to maximize your donor capacity, there is no disputing this fact. However, that doesn't mean you cannot achieve great results with FUE and BHT combined.  That said, keep in mind, hair texture is different for everyone, if you have a similar texture of beard and scalp hair, the results will look a lot better. I only showed you this result, because I wanted to highlight the best possible scenario for a NW7, by no means am I saying you will end up looking like this. 

Lastly, listen, i'm not here to convince you to get surgery, quite the contrary, if you're adamant on getting full coverage, DO NOT GET SURGERY! Your best bet is to either A. shave your head, or B. Get a hair system. Hair transplants are not perfect, and you will 100% have scarring, regardless of the procedure. Also, the video I posted, even though his results are amazing, there's no doubt that he is using the 'illusion of density' he does not have true density. If you need to be "convinced" to get surgery, surgery is not for you period.Theres more to life than hair.

Best wishes,

 

On 5/7/2020 at 3:06 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

That's a complicated question, but the short answer is no.

Dear Melvin,  I have a follow-up question on this FUE Vs. FUT topic. I was under the impression that you were supportive of FUT as the first surgery, then FUE(s) for subsequent surgeries if/as needed. I also understood the logic here was that the donor will not be completely depleted with the first FUT. I am a high Norwood (VI+) case and have been reading quite a lot on this forum for the last couple of years and was struggling to make a choice between FUT and FUE. However, now I think I am sensing that you may be actually supporting FUE even as a first surgery. I consulted with Dr. Sethi couple of months ago in NY and recently reached out to H&W and Dr. Bloxham. Obviously you can see my confusion here at this point if I should get an FUT first and then an FUE later, or just go for a mega FUE session with someone like Dr. Sethi. I would greatly appreciate any light you can shed here.  

Thank you!

Hello Abhinay,

Congratulations! Your results are one of the best in terms of the overall transformation for a NW VI. I see that you are also a representative of Euginex which is interesting to me because I had reached out to them few months ago. I am adding the links to couple of my threads on this forum. I think I am very closer to a decision, but I am still uncertain about the extent of the HT (and the look) that I need or I want or I can get based on my donor supply. Any advise you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

-Josh

Thank you again Lenny for your response and sharing the recent case from Euginex; looks very encouraging.

If my memory serves me well, I didn't have the best looks with my hair. As far as I remember, It was wavy and difficult to style. What bothers me the most right now is the overall appearance of bald and especially the view from behind. While I can certainly try to have a bit longer hairstyle,  my immediate desire is to reduced the appearance of full-blown bald.

-Josh

7 hours ago, jjsrader said:

Shapiro group if you want both done at the same place.  You'll surely pay 'top-shelf' prices for it though.

 

Thank you jjsrader! I have come across the name and will certainly look them up.

10 hours ago, azazelgs said:

This is one of my initial thoughts while I first started researching for a ht. 

Make yourself a good hairline with fue and keep your head buzzed/shaved. I thought that only smp would achieve this however as a smp user, it does not.(I will write that up in another thread.)

I really don't see any approach like this since many nw6 can use their shaved head with a hairline that frames the face . As for the fue scarring, I myself wouldn't care anything about it since i believe it does not good bad at all. (Again, my opinion.) I have a friend who had fue who razor shaves once a week and don't mind the fue scar at all and have the shade of a hairline.  

Thank you Azazelgs! I would love hear your SMP experience. Did you combined SMP with FUE? Did you get both done at same place? Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

I am 52 years old. I have been doing the research for few years now. I am not fan FUT and if I do a HT, that would be an FUE.

19 hours ago, Toubey said:

Elicochin, I get what you mean - and I am very sad to hear about your wife.. Personally though, I don't think I would advise you to do an HT as you have so little donor hair left. - What happens if you need more surgeries down the line? A bald head suits you, man. And believe me when I say that women don't care about hair or no hair. - They care about their overall impression of a man, not small details like the hair.

Dear Toubey, Thanks for your kind words. Trust me I am very well aware of the fact that I have limited donor supply. That's why I am also considering a second option of getting low density FUE with SMP that would allow me to keep the current short hair style. What would you think of a very low density FUE hair transplant with like 100 - 200 grafts in the hairline and even less grafts for the mid-scap/crown zone. And add SMP to enhance the overall look?

What I was aiming for an improved less bald look with a matured hairline that would give a decent frame to my face. And because of the the number of hairs extracted from the scalp are less, the scarring would be less allowing me to keep the short hairstyle. And may be even use SMP to tone down whatever scar I may end up with. Euginex in India had mentioned that I should be able to utilize beard grafts for the mid-scalp and crown.

I have also started a separate thread on this topic. Link below for your convenience

-Josh

20 hours ago, Lennney said:

Damn.

I'm a little surprised that Eugenix can get 2500 grafts from your beard in one go (1 or 2 days). If that's possible, I don't think you'll ever have to shave your neck or under-chin again haha! I personally agree with another poster that a shaved/buzzed look looks good on you, but I would urge you to consider growing your hair out longer than that. @LaserCap made several good points, especially about not worrying too much about the whirl area. 

I would push you to use as much beard/body hair as possible, and like LaserCap said, put that mostly on top, use your donor to solidify/shape your hairline, and grow your hair out. A thinning whirl is normal and doesn't have the same negative connotations that thinning top/front have. You could always address this in another procedure down the line, which will be much less involved than this current (considered) HT.

If you're also attempting to move on from grieving process, I would make another change, and grow your hair and try something new. You're getting an HT after being "discouraged" from getting one, and you had a buzzed haircut because your wife loved it. I would still push through with Eugenix (good clinic and solid results on advanced cases like yours), and grow your hair out to a new style that "fits" your new hair. You say that you want to be with friends and be active, but lack confidence (or see confidence you can get from improving your appearance). A large part of that confidence comes from genuinely being who you are, and having an identity. I don't imagine you want to disrespect the memory of your wife, but it is normal, natural and expected that you forge your own identity. I think at some [sizable] level, you are carrying an identity around that doesn't fit who you are, you subconsciously know this, and thus feel some imposter syndrome. Pretty difficult to speak to women when you're subconsciously thinking that you should not flirt while "married." I think with a change of appearance, a following change of style will lead to a shift in your identity which will allow you to be more "free." I'm not a psychologist, but I can see a pattern.

For reference, my SO liked my hair and also discouraged me from getting an HT. I also looked "good" with a hair part hairstyle.  After convincing, I was finally able to get the HT, even though the SO was nervous. Now, everyone is happy with the results, SO especially. I mean to say this as: The people who love you don't want you to "feel bad" about your appearance. If you're fat, your family won't push you or say you should get lipo. They support you, but are rightfully nervous about surgical options. It's only when you do research, present your case of why you need it and how the surgeon is top-tier that your family will agree to letting you go through with it. 

We're all here for you should you go through with HT or not.

Dear Lennney, Thank you so much for the detailed response and analysis. I came to this forum seeking practical advice from experienced people like you. You say you are not a psychologist, but what you are alluding to makes sense to me and I clearly understand the point you were making. I never excepted to read this sort of analysis on a HT forum. Thank you and keep doing what you are doing.

-Josh

On 12/12/2019 at 12:35 PM, Toubey said:

Why would you want a HT in the first place? I'm not saying you shouldn't do it - but the relatively bald head looks pretty good on you, plus you don't have that much donor hair left..

Thank you for your thought provoking comment Toubey!

Even though I have thought about why I want an HT many times over the years, your question still got me thinking; why do I want a HT?

To be honest, this would be the first time I share the reasons why I want an HT now even though I have been considering it for the last 10 years or so. My wife loved the buzz-cut style when I started doing it more than 8 years ago. She had always assured me that I look good and discouraged me from going for HT. For me I was fine with it, If my wife was happy I was happy. But, tragedy struck my life 2 years ago, my wife of 22 years died of a heart failure. As you can imagine, this changed everything about my life. I went into some kind of hibernation and withdrew myself from social life for more than a year. Now for the last one year or so, I am trying to become active by going out with friends and participating more and more in social activities. I also realized this incident also brought out all of my insecurities including being bald. Even though I am more active than before, I tend to shy away from activities that require close contact with women who are not my friends. I believe this may have something to do with my level of confidence and any improvement in my appearance may give me a confidence boost in general. I could be completely wrong here, but with my current life situation I am willing to take that chance even though I am afraid of any kind of surgery. So there you go I said it.

BTW, I red your HT story and I hope things are a lot better for you now. 

-Josh

On 12/12/2019 at 7:55 AM, paddyirishman said:

@elicochin . Hello Josh. I have posted a thread about my recent experience for scalp and beard doner with information and tips and pictures you will find usefull for your journey.

............Paddy........

Hi Paddy,

I have red your thread multiple times and they were immensely useful! Thank you for your time and effort.

Josh

8 hours ago, BeHappy said:

Just thinking here, but I wonder what would happen if you used a thousand beard grafts instead of head grafts to give you the low density hair transplant that you are talking about and then went with SMP as you are thinking. This way you would not have any FUE scars at all on your head and would not have to worry about being able to buzz down due to that, yet you still get the 3D appearance and feel of having hair that SMP alone can't give you.

 

WoW! Thanks for that out-of-the-box thinking BeHappy!

Beard grafts were definitely a consideration for me, but I always thought of using them along with scalp grafts. With your logic, I could keep the same short-hair style without having to worry about the FUE scars. I was considering this short-hair path mainly because of the fact that I do not have enough donor supply to restore a long hair style. However, I am not sure if beard grafts alone can be used to restore hairline and temples and this needs to be confirmed with a surgeon. May be I can use scalp grafts just enough for the hairline and temples so that whatever scars it may leave would be minimal.

On 12/12/2019 at 9:41 AM, paddyirishman said:

In my opinion you would be only dancing around the issue. When you are on the table you should give it your best shot. No point in half going it.The amount of grafts you mentioned would be only for a tiny tiny area. I think you should push forward and discuss everything with your Doctor. As you are going to go there eventually .

All the best Josh .

.......Paddy.....

 

....

Dear Paddy, Many thanks for your prompt response!

The main reason I was considering this route because of the fact (based on the feedback from this forum) that I do not have enough donor supply to restore a long hair style. Even if I go with your suggestions of 'best shot' utilizing the maximum donor supply,  I think I will still not be able to achieve a 'full hair' look (and I beg to be wrong in this case). I also think that (based on the feedback from people around me) I do not look that bad with my current short hairstyle. So what I was aiming for an improved less bald look with a receded hairline that would give a decent frame to my face. And because of the the number of hairs extracted from the scalp are less, the scarring would be less allowing me to keep the short hairstyle. And may be even use SMP to tone down whatever scar I may end up with.

Dear Forum Members,

After years of walking around the issue, I have decided to go for an FUE surgery to address my NW6 pattern baldness. One of the options I am considering is to get low density FUE with SMP considering I have been buzz-cutting my hair for more than 8 years now. What would you think of a very low density FUE hair transplant with like 100 - 200 grafts in the hairline and mid-scalp to have a thicker, better and more realistic hairline and even less grafts  for the crown zone like 15 grafts/cm^2 ? Then get an SMP to improve the look.

Any response would be greatly appreciated; Thank you in advance.

Link to my Profile pictures

16 hours ago, Dr. Glenn Charles said:

I hope things turn out well for you. I know there are some very good clinics over seas as well as many more not so good clinics. However, one of my concerns would be if a patients was having a problem they would not be able to just go back to clinic to have their doctor take a look and treat the problem. However, I have been contacted on several occasions by doctore from other countries to see their patients here in Florida and try to help them with any problems they have. 

Thank you for your comments Dr. Glenn. I am very much aware of this situation. Some of the forum members stayed back after the surgery (in the same area/country) for post-op/care by the clinics for a week or so. I am considering this as an option.

-Josh

Thank You Paddy!

I think we are on the same in terms of approaching it in multiple steps.

-Josh