Speegs

Fine hair is always tricky, but this looks very natural.

At 15 months that is close to the final result, will be curious to see if any additional thickening occurred up to the 18 to 20-month mark.

DO NOT allow a cheap price in a developing country dictate whether or not you will pursue hair restoration there.

Medical standards are not uniform around the world and you must be the one that protects yourself by practicing discernment and proceeding with caution.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/news/2018/11/24/dallas-woman-dead-after-botched-nose-job-mexico

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3 hours ago, win200 said:

Small update--the tension in the closure is easing a bit as the tumescing goes down.  Feeling better about that part; it's just natural that your risk of a wide scar goes up when you're on your third strip, so it's good to feel things loosening up a bit.

You'll be fine, you're in good hands. I had three FUT as well, including two with Dr. Gabel.

Gabel did touch up work on me after unsatisfying results from another doctor, he's pretty adept at tweaking the work of surgeons that didn't get the best result before him.

Seems on track, the subtle changes ahead will last at least a year. Happy growing, after month 8 or 9 you'll see significant differences.

Can't really compare your early growth too intensely with others as everyone is a little different.

But your patience will probably be rewarded so don't sweat it.

On 10/18/2018 at 12:22 PM, Recedinggenes said:

Do you know what Dr. Gabel charges per graft for fue? 

I'd reach out to the Gabel people with that question as variables change prices sometimes for physicians in demand.

Looking good, you're well on your way.

Most people wait at least a year between surgeries, it's smart and mandatory for ethical medical practitioners.

And most choose a single surgeon, only going to a second if they can't book their first one or are dissatisfied with the initial results.

Age appropriate is always key, a doc that creates a hairline that will look good at both 28 and 58 is the one that was forward thinking and did you right.

A juvenile hairline can look a little out of place or suspicious as we age, especially if the hair behind it thins.

Finasteride was initially used to shrink the prostate and as a happy byproduct, it was discovered that it had a positive impact on keeping DHT from attacking susceptible hair follicles by reducing the presence of DHT in the bloodstream.

So the idea of it exacerbating prostate issues is counter to the very reason finasteride was under clinical study in the first place, which was to shrink the prostate.

5mg finasteride is still prescribed by physicians to treat enlarged prostates and to help prostate cancer survivors keep their prostate size in check.

42 minutes ago, Skeeter said:

4 months post op...

Pretty strong first third of it all, you're gonna look great circa February through June.

1 hour ago, Skeeter said:

Hi kelmf01,

Progresding really well. Redness subsided within about two months, shockloss...I didn’t really notice any as far as I could tell. 

I wore a hat sporadically starting about two months before surgery, sort of got everyone used to seeing me in it. Wore the hat for about three months and now wear it only if I’m in the sun for a period of time such as in the field or at the beach to protect my head.

Just use a hat and you’ll be fine, here is a pic from today right after a haircut, this is exactly 4 months and three days from surgery. (But who’s counting)  No. 2 blade, high fade, top left longer. 

My head is still a bit numb in the recipient area, other than that no issues. Everything has been flawless, Dr. Gabel knows what he is doing...

Best of luck to all!

Mark

How many month post op is this? Looks good.

On 10/14/2018 at 1:09 PM, twf123 said:

I seem to be in the exact same situation as you are. I also had a procedure with Mcgrath and I am at my 11 month mark, and they also offered me a free surgery to fix this. This sounded like a great option to me, as I am not someone who can just throw down some cash to go to a new doctor easily(I can.... but wouldn't a free one be better than having to spend another 10k to another doctor in order to fix it?). I am really stressing out here now. Should I take the free surgery to repair it, and express my concerns to Mcgrath that it was not dense enough, and have him try to pack them denser? Or should I also go with the route of getting a refund? I currently have the free surgery scheduled for early 2019, but now after reading your entire thread I am not sure what I should do. Try asking for a refund? Continue with the second free surgery? Or just dish out 10k to another reputable doctor to fix it? I have a great donor area. Please anything you can provide. 

I live in Austin, wish you'd come here before going to Mcgrath, I would've warned you to stay clear.

Feel free to reach out to me about my opinion of Texas hair doctors in a PM, personally, I chose to go to Portland.

22 minutes ago, chillgazer said:

Damn, I guess I was delusional for thinking he was legitimate because of his Hollywood reputation. I figured ARTAS is a state of the art robot that is more efficient than the standard FUE hand punch. Oops! 

ARTAS is an expensive gimmick robot that has encouraged a lot of hacks to get into HT because you don't have to have any skill to own one.

A true surgeon does it delicately by hand because every scalp is too nuanced to calibrate with a robot.

ARTAS is a red flag all the way, and any other robot or automation machine for that matter, such as Neo Graft.

As for celebs, their money doesn't make them all smart, they get duped by their ignorance or else given free surgery for an endorsement.

Not all of them may end up butchered, I'm sure they're given special attention, but they aren't going to the best if they're actually going to Ziering.

8 minutes ago, chillgazer said:

If $4 is competitive, how much are top tier surgeons charging per graft? $10 a pop?

 

Ok, here’s my current predicament. I’ve got lots of square footage to fill up, so I know it’s going to be a debt sentence. Do you have pictures of your final results from Gabel?

4 to 6 is pretty normal, depends on the doc.

Lesser docs are usually asking 4 as if they were elite, so when a good doc asks 4 it's competitive.

Hair restoration is pricey, that's why it's important you do your homework and get the right physician.

Please PM me and I'll share pics, for privacy reasons I tend not to post them.

On 10/14/2018 at 2:30 PM, Spanker said:

That's pretty terrible.

McGrath is a product of the Ziering hair mill, also employs hackneyed sales consultants in the model of Hair Club and MHR, his background.

His present sales guy was even formerly with that bat crazy Florida physician famous on youtube who uses two ludicrous blades to extract donor and does untold harm in the process, that crackpot lost his license in Tennessee and proclaimed himself Jesus Christ in a blog rant.

Can't make this stuff up, run, don't walk from such people.

It's why even though I live in Austin I traveled to Portland!

32 minutes ago, chillgazer said:

Isn’t there some kind of plastic surgery insurance coverage you can buy just in case the surgeon slips the scalpel? Or are you screwed once you sign the patient consent forms?

I don't know how enforceable that stuff is outside of American jurisdiction.

23 minutes ago, chillgazer said:

I also wanted Dr. Gabel to provide my first FUT since I live here in Portland Oregon, but $13,000 for one time just isn’t reasonable. How was your experience? Did you have to get a credit line or did you just have the means to save up?

I don't know how large your case was. Budgets are always a factor,  I understand that. I traveled from Austin to him, so envy you had him local.

I financed my first procedure and paid outright for my second.

I think Dr. Gabel used to employ a sliding scale for the price, based on case size, but because his demand became so high altered his price structure to $4 a graft, which is still pretty competitive for a top tier doctor.

24 minutes ago, chillgazer said:

Wait, what??? I’ve talked with him several times and he didn’t seem like a scam artist. Is it because he has a chain of surgery centers across the U.S.?

He has a shady hair mill background, uses a glitzy ad campaign and celebrity endorsements to sex up his appeal.

He also employs that horrid ARTAS robot any FUE surgeon worth their salt has abandoned even if they tried it out.

28 minutes ago, voxman said:

It's not a far trip since he is already in India!

If I were a local, Bhatti would be my choice as he is recommended and well known with many, many positive results. 

I misunderstood, I thought he had traveled to India and that's why he was presently there.

Certainly an item worthy of keeping an eye on.

Why are you considering such a far trip for medical tourism, is it really that great a cost saver?

Please be very careful, I can't speak on Bhatti, but I've seen some very heartbreaking results out of clinics in that part of the world.

Do your homework.

Head to North America.

Dr. Gabel is on the West Coast in Portland, Oregon and Hasson & Wong in Vancouver, those are elite surgeons easily accessible from Australia in a single non-stop plane ride.

Hard not to be impressed so far.

It astounds me that outdated methods such as mini grafts by Huebner are still practiced, speaks volumes about the lack of good educational materials about hair restoration. The idea that such time warped procedures are still being successfully marketed by some dinosaur "surgeons" is bothersome.

Hair restoration is very lightly regulated in most places, but it does bring into question whether or not archaic, outmoded and semi-barbaric techniques such as flap surgery and to a lesser extent mini grafts ought to be banned by state legislatures in the US and by other legislative bodies elsewhere.

That's a can of worms to discuss.