Borromeo1517

Hi, everyone.

Below are my photos taken early this week at approximately 4.75 months after my FUT transplant with Dr. Dorin in New York on August 12, 2015. I am sorry for the quality; I know they are not nearly as clear and nice as the photos True and Dorin's office took in my previous post. I was hoping to meet with Dr. True, Dr. Dorin's associate, in Boston, closer to where I live, for my four-month follow up; but my teaching schedule made that impossible. I therefore had these new photos taken so I could e-mail them to Dr. Dorin.

What have I noticed since the surgery in August? I saw definite new growth as soon as the three-month period. It was right along the hairline, and principally in the right temple area, where my hair loss is worse. I have continued to see growth up to the present, but nothing spectacular. I understand that I am still early in the game, so I am trying (rather unsuccessfully!) to keep calm and carry one with a positive attitude. (This is especially hard after my previous two traumatic hair transplant experiences.) Dr. Dorin believes I am right where I should be at this point post-op.

I wanted to comment on some of the products I am using these days.

First off, I have been taking Proscar (non-generic) for the last two months or so. I am noticing less hair shedding these days, and am really pleased. Dr. Dorin urged me to get off the generic I had been taking, and I think I am seeing why.

I use Dr. Dorin's "Scientific Essentials" shampoo and conditioner, and love both products. I also use Lipogaine Big 3 shampoo twice a week.

I am using my Capillus 272 three times a week - not sure if it is doing anything!

I use Toppik daily in the frontal third of my head, and make sure to wash it out each morning when I shower. I also use hairspray to keep my ravaged bangs (that's how I perceive them) off my forehead, and use it at a minimum. I have not been in the habit of washing the products out at night as I have not noticed any serious irritation, black heads, etc. I am assuming they have not blocked any growth thus far, as I have been observing growth.

I hope everyone is doing well. I always appreciate words of wisdom and encouragement; so feel free to be in touch.

Hi, everyone. Thanks for reading.

This post is really overdue. I had an FUT surgery of 2,144 grafts with Dr. Dorin in New York City back in August - on Wednesday, August 12, 2015. I left a post in my blog, but never here, where there is more traffic. Right after surgery, I was swept away by an incredible teaching course load at the local university, where I teach, which prevented me from maintaining contact here. Better late than never with posting my review and experience.

I have been suffering with hair loss in the frontal third of my head since 2008, when I was twenty-four years old. I think you can consider me Norwood 3A. I am one of those people who did not think traveling was necessary in order to get a hair transplant, so I stuck around in Massachusetts, and got two smaller, definitely sub-par transplants.

The first was with Dr. Robert Leonard of Newton Centre. He never revealed the number of grafts, and the results were pluggy and disappointing, as I had "sprinkles" of hair rather than something significant. This doctor had no bedside personality, even raised his voice at me one during the procedure, and frequently made me feel rushed while I was visiting with him.

The second procedure was with Dr. Mark DiStefano of Worcester. While DiStefano is a friendlier and more generous man, the FUE of 1,100 grafts produced barely any yield - and I mean barely - after more than 10 months. The majority of both procedures was entrusted primarily to technicians. After the second procedure, I was emotionally devastated, and have not felt right emotionally for a looong time.

Let my story be an example to all of you thinking about "settling" on a non-coalition doctor: DO NOT DO IT. I repeat: DO NOT DO IT. Do your research (I did not do the proper research), and be prepared to travel, whether that is to Vancouver, Ottawa, New York City, or wherever. Never let distance you back.

New York City is where I went to seek the assistance of Dr. Robert Dorin. After consulting with coalition doctors in the States and in Canada, I decided Dr. Dorin was the one I wanted to entrust with my hair. I was impressed with his published results and his clear knowledge of the latest developments in hair restoration. I felt like I had a good rapport with him on the phone, and definitely did in person. He expected 1,800 to 2,000 grafts would greatly improve the condition of my hairline and behind it. He and his amazing staff removed the old scar left by Dr. Leonard, and were able to extract 2,144 grafts from it! He decided that the best course of action for the multi-grafts hairs moved into the immediate hairline was to camouflage them rather than remove them and place them elsewhere. You can see in the photographs what my hair condition looked like at that point, and what Dr. Dorin did with it. Peter at True and Dorin informed me that they removed the following numbers of grafts:

786 singles

1,328 doubles

30 threes

Dr. Dorin and his staff were amazing. Dr. Dorin was intimately involved in pretty much each and every step of the transplant process. He must have spent an hour or so making the 2,000+ incisions; the other doctors took maybe ten minutes at most doing that. He was very careful with the scar, and able to remove most of the old one. He was letting a doctor-in-training shadow him, and I remember how he was explaining to this young man how imperative it was while making the incisions that they be made in certain ways so that the hair could grow just so. Dr. Dorin is clearly an artist and scientist all in one. He struck the perfect balance of friendliness and professionalism. His staff was extra-supportive and caring. I purchased the ATP spray, and used it when I was supposed to. Dr. Dorin and the others urged me to come the morning after the surgery for the scalp cleansing (something great do do post-op), which removed a lot of the bloody guck from the scalp, and readied me for my long bus ride home.

I was very impressed with True and Dorin. You can see my photographs. I'll be posting my 4+-month photos ASAP.

PupDaddy, thanks for the response. I appreciate your kind words and sage advice. You are right - I am frantic. I am just so devastated about how I have gone through two hair surgeries and still have all this thinness up front, which I am able to hide better one some days than others. I have felt frantic and even consumed with all that has happened.

I am still keeping my appointment with Dr. True, and plan to also return to see my present surgeon to see what his take is on the poor growth thus far. He told me last time that sometimes he sees patients whose growth is amazing by six months, while there are others who have to wait twelve to fourteen months before the hair shows up. To be truthful, I don't know what to believe anymore.

Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for the responses. I felt better, for a little while anyway, after reading them.

Part of my problem is I have to spend a good deal of time positioning my hair so it hides and covers just how thin it is toward the front. Unfortunately, I do not have any pre-op photos of my own, though my present doctor took photographs before the surgery in October 2014. I had never really thought of taking pre-op photos of my own, and did not realize that people even did this until visiting this website a few months back.

As some of you have noted, while I do have a defined hairline (that is a development post-surgery), it is still quite thin behind it, with that thinness extending into the 2 area, and perhaps a little behind there. (Dr. Rahal identified me as a Norwood 2 based on my photographs, but I am concerned it may be a little worse than that.) But the doctor did transplanting behind the hairline too - but the results thus far are, in my opinion, subpar.

And to note, I am on Proscar, which I take every day, use Lipgaine Big 3 shampoo twice a week, and have been using the Capillus 272 for a year. THANKFULLY, the hair loss seems to have stabilized, though I have not detected a great deal of growth where the doctor and his team placed the grafts from surgery 2, the FUE. I am 31 years old; one of you was asking me about that.

One thing that I can say is that I continue to feel to this day what I would identify as ingrown hairs in the recipient area. They have pretty much never burst through the surface of the skin, though I can still feel them - and the soreness I feel feels like ingrown hairs. Just no whiteheads coming through. Might this be a good sign, that more growth is on the way? Could it be the growth is taking longer because it is surgery 2, covering the same area that my first doctor had no intention of filling completely during the first procedure? Or could it be that, 8.5 months post surgery 2, this is as good as it is going to get?

And I mentioned previously, I have a consultation scheduled with Dr. True of New York next month. Any thoughts?

Thanks, everyone!

Hi, everyone,

So far I have had two hair transplants. The first was an FUT by Dr. Robert Leonard in October 2013 (unknown number of grafts, since he does not reveal the number ). The second transplant was an FUE in October 2014 (graft number 1,100). I am really disappointed with the results thus far; and neither doctor who worked on me is recommended on this site. (I have learned my lesson.)

I have attached photographs of my hairline (my primary concern) and hair. (The hair loss has mostly been at the hairline and a little further back, as you can see more clearly in my "after shower" photo.) I reached out to Dr. Rahal, who feels a third transplant is necessary, and felt that was so based on looking at my results eight months post surgery 2. (The nine month mark for surgery 2 is right around the corner in early July.) Dr. Rahal recommends 2,000 grafts, which would be done with FUT since I cannot afford an FUE. Any thoughts? I just do not want to rush into anything anymore since I have been let down more than once now. I am also scared about depleting my donor area. Dr. Rahal may be able to see me in August. The problem is I may have to come up with a final decision on that within the next few hours; I do not have time to think about it since it is so close to now.

I also have a consultation scheduled with Dr. True next month. Any thoughts on him?

Thanks, everyone.

Thank you!

Hi, everyone. I had an FUE hair transplant of 1,100 grafts in early October 2014. Periodically, since the procedure, I have experienced tender, sore, spots in the areas where the grafts were transplanted. Seven months later, I am still experiencing them. They feel sort of like ingrown hairs (especially one that I have today), but without large pimples and whiteheads. These spots are sensitive for a few days, and then the soreness goes away. In your opinion, what might this mean? Is this a good sign, that hair is growing? Is it a sign of possible problems in the scalp?

In my opinion, my second procedure in October (my first was in October 2013) has been coming in slowly; although I have to confess that I still had a lot of hair toward the front, and the results may not be as obvious as they would have been had I been completely bald.

Any insight would be appreciated! Thank you!

Hi, everyone. Thanks for reading. Here is my situation regarding my first and second hair transplants to take care of my receding hairline.

In 2013, I went to go see Dr. Leonard in Newton, Massachusetts, who got me on Propecia in March 2013. He charged me $6,200 for an FUT procedure in October 2013 that did not accomplish much at all. He also never revealed to me how many grafts he was going to transplant. He had a poor beside manner too, in my opinion. I always felt like he was in a rush to get me out of his office whenever I would go in to see him - and that was after driving for nearly an hour to get to his office in Newton Centre. During my procedure, he even raised his voice at me over something. I think he overcharges for mediocre-at-best work.

In August 2014, realizing that the first hair transplant was not going to take care of my hairline, I went to see another doctor, also in Massachusetts. (I'll call him "Dr. DiS" for now.) He believed he could fill in the rest of the thin areas Leonard did not address with an FUE procedure (called the "IGT") of 1,100 grafts. Dr. DiS and his very pleasant staff did the procedure in early October 2014. It was a superior experience compared to Leonard's office. I felt like I was actually part of the decision-making process there, and they even showed me how many of my follicles contained like three and four hairs in them. They treated me very well during the surgery. The price for the surgery was much more reasonable. Because I took a spot they needed to fill quickly, I only paid approximately $4,300.

But that was seven months ago. At present, there is not much growth. I started to see scattered hairs around the hairline and temples sprout last month and maybe in late March, but nothing else. There is no cosmetic change, even at this point. I look very much like how I did when I first went to see DiS. I called his office to express my concern, and I was told by him and his consultant that I should not be too concerned, that the full results would not appear until twelve to eighteen months. I found this very unsettling as it seems to me that I should at least see some sort of cosmetic change by now. Attached is a photograph of my hairline taken in December 2014, shortly after surgery two.

The confusion and trauma I have been going through with hair loss affects all aspects of my life. Have any of you ever stopped "feeling like yourself"? That's where I am. Hair loss haunts me all day long. I am plagued with anxiety and depression. I am becoming concerned that I have blown all sorts of money that could have been better spent elsewhere. Any thoughts? Might the delay in this second procedure be that some second procedures simply take longer to grow?