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Hi Dave, The actual hairline placement doesn't look too bad, I would just go for a 1200 or so graft top up surgery to strengthen the hairline. A very straightforward surgery that'll take no more than a day. Your donor looks good to go. Also, lots of Australians go to Dr Bhatti for their surgery, in fact the following Aussie patient's posts convinced me to go over 4 years ago. https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/31508-hair-transplant-with-dr-tejinder-bhatti-of-darling-buds-chandigarh-india/ I hope it all works out for you, feel free to contact me anytime.

Mohan Singh, The first thing you need to do is post some clear pics of your scalp at all angles. Only then can you be given an accurate assessment as to what your options are.

Hi, I think you should wait another 6 months to let your hair return to its natural state and then reassess. As for only taking 1500 grafts, I have seen this numerous times before where a so called minor procedure of 1500 grafts totally ravages the donor area. I'm afraid some clinics take a lot lot more than 1500 grafts, maybe for a number of reasons. One theory being that the more they implant using their crude methods the more chance the paid for amount will grow out. You're not the first to fall for a slick youtube and and certainly won't be the last! Anyway going back to the repair, if your hair stays the same after 18 months then I would go for about 1200 additional grafts to shore up your hairline which will I'm afraid leave your donor looking slightly more sparse than sparse. SMP in the donor area a few months after extraction is one solution you can look at to rectify this. I can't see the point of removing any of the implanted grafts.

Looking good Mr Voxman, all the best to you and all others on the forum too. Enjoy!!!!

Hi Petroholic, Congratulations on fixing your surgery date with the clinic and welcome on board. If you need any further help or guidance from me then please feel free to ask, you have my details. I wish you all the best and I look forward to following your progress.

Hi Rjn5, As mentioned by Melvin I was a Norwood 4/5 and would probably have looked a lot worse than you right now if I hadn't had my transplant over 4 years ago. With regards to the Indian hair quality it is true that a little does go a long way. You can check out my past progress pics in the link below, they could provide you with a approx. guideline to perhaps see how your own journey will go. If I can help you in any way, then please just ask.

Hi Curious, I deal with many patients in a similar position to you and many continue to wear the turban or patka until their hair grows out. It is of course important to address the way you actually tie the hair under the turban. It is likely that your hair loss is down to Sikh Traction Alopecia caused by the constant tight pulling of the hair over a long period of time. After 2.5 weeks you will be OK to wear the hair covering of your choice but you may need to wear it loose because it is very likely your scalp may still be sore and irritable in places. Get in touch with me if you wish me to elaborate.

There is no way to know for sure but it is very unlikely you have caused any damage. Stop panicking and move on.

Hi Follicles, Your mid hairline still looks strong so you should go with filling in your temple areas and also try to get your temple points redefined. The line you have drawn should in my opinion be flatter unless of course you are going for the Ming the Merciless skullcap look:) A maximum of 2000-2200 grafts should be sufficient for these areas.

Hey Legend, Great to hear it all worked out well in the end. Looking forward to following your story, all the best.

At 10 months post surgery you should be fine with a little sunburn.

Hi KiwiGuy. Scalp to beard is not ideal, beard to beard is the best way forward to get the best result. You can thicken/fill parts of your beard/mustache using grafts taken beneath your chin area, the beard shadow area. Many of Dr Bhatti's patients have hair and beard transplants simultaneously, it is not uncommon.

No, as Melvin said earlier, it's a myth.

KaranKumar, Take that last post seriously at your own peril. You can get a world class hair transplant in India at a cheaper price simply because of world economies being very different in different geographical regions. In India wages are generally lower, and living and running costs are very much cheaper than say the western world, this accounts largely for the price difference. Believe me you can have the thickest and most dense hair on the planet but if your grafts are not treated with skill and expertise you will end up with a bodge job, of that there is no doubt.

Hi Bronte, Dr Bhatti does many cases where beard and chest grafts are used to compensate for the lack of scalp donor grafts. Get in touch and I''ll see what he can do for you.

Hi Petroholic, Without talking to Dr Bhatti directly about your case but having dealt with numerous similar cases I would like to make the following points. The procedure recommended by Dr Bhatti is to rebuild your hairline, strengthen your mid scalp and redefine your temple points. You still have lots of hairs in your mid scalp but could do with more volume. Approximately 2500 grafts should be sufficient to achieve this goal. There does appear to be some thinning in your crown too but this may appear more prominent due to the parting of your hair in your second pic. You have been taking Finasteride for the past 5 years so you have already prepared your native hair against possible shock loss. Dr Bhatti will not implant densely in this area therefore the trauma from surgery will be minimal to your native grafts therefore further alleviating the risk of shock loss (which itself is quite rare). Hair loss is progressive therefore your native hair will continue to recede albeit at a much slower pace due to your commitment to meds. You may well need a further surgery to address future loss (crown area?) but if all goes well you can look forward to enjoying your hair for the foreseeable future. To conclude, I can't see anything overly complicated about your procedure, its pretty straight forward. I hope that clarifies things for you. If you need any more help please feel free to contact me or any of the team direct.

Hi, Dr Bhatti does many repair cases. Get in touch and I'll see what he can do for you.

Whereas Bollywood refers to the booming film industry in Mumbai (Bombay), Pollywood is a term that refers to cinema and film from the Punjab region of India. This is the region where Dr Bhatti's clinic hospital is based in nearby Chandigarh. Approximately 2 hours drive north of Chandigarh is Shimla located in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is the where senior British officers of the Raj were based because of its cooler climate and for many years a quarter of the worlds people and land was managed from this small town during the height of the British Empire. A bit of history for you guys!

At 4.5 months it is likely you are just experiencing the start of your growth, be patient. You should start to see a noticeable difference now month by month. It's way way to early to start panicking.

Good signs of early growth there. You should start to see a continuous improvement now month by month. The fun starts here, enjoy the ride.

I have to agree with the others, your hair is still very strong and you do not need a hair transplant. However, you do appear to have some recession to the temple areas which looks perfectly natural and on some folk actually looks good. You might want to compare historical photos of your hairline to see if this area has in fact receded. Hold fire on the transplant, keep up with the meds and monitor your hair for now.

At 20 there may be other options for you besides a hair system. Your first option should be to try and prevent any future loss and assess whether the current loss can be recovered. Once you go down the hair system route, there's no way back..... Post some pictures and the forum will help you.

No, the feeling in the recipient area will always take longer, several months perhaps to get full sensation back.

As with all medications there is a risk that ones own physiology might not take to them and side effects might occur. It is also true that most family doctors will shy away from prescribing Finasteride to their patients due to their personal ethics, why prescribe a drug (with possible side effects) to a perfectly healthy person? However the fact remains that millions use the the drug worldwide with little or manageable side effects to help keep their hair. They are willing to take a small hit if it means not being bald. I myself have been taking Finasteride for the past 4 years, 1mg a day and now 1mg every other day if I remember and I strongly believe it has helped preserve my native hair meaning I have not had to go for a further surgical procedure. I've not experienced any of the side effects sometimes associated with the drug. I have yet to meet a patient who has the symptoms described above.

Your donor area will take a good few weeks (months) to heal back to it's natural state as the the small wounds heal and the nerves repair themselves. The pain/sensation will die down gradually, this is normal.