ArochaHair

Thank you for the kind words and consideration of Arocha Hair Restoration! Thought that this link to Dr Arocha's Utube channel might shed some light on this topic: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLeggs1nWt_pdsqQTrFe6w/feed

Having a consultation with the doctor is one of the most important aspects of the research process. While it is not absolutely a must, it does add a dimension to the decision making process not found in online only consultations. I know of many cases where a patient came to the clinic and the photos provided during previous online consultations did not show the details that only can be revealed in person. Donor density can be a tricky thing to judge through photos or even via Skype. Always see the doctor in person first if at all possible.

Any ATM in Europe where you can use your CC to withdraw cash. Typically the exchange rate will be the best without having to jump through hoops.

Hi Hassler, I like the "biscuit tin" reference:) Your point is well taken. This is the difference between clinics that work to educate their patients versus those that are seeking undeserved glory and recognition. Had we been a new clinic without a history to back up our responsible approach for our patients, then there would be good reason for concern, but this is a unicorn case in that very few other patients would be able to achieve this type of result. As I stated before, the patient isn't that young, he's in his late 30's, and combined with his minimal existing loss and his strong family history of minimal long term loss, the approach made sense, and more importantly it worked. We see no reason for this to be a long term problem. JeanLDD, Thank you for your comment. You are correct regarding the racial characteristics, or rather, the genetic proponent. He is of Hispanic background where this type of hairline is more commonly found on adult males.

Hi Thomas, We offer tricopigmentation as originally developed by Beauty Medical and Milena Lardi in Milan, Italy. We are fully trained in her techniques which are considered to be among the best in the industry. In fact, her technique is being used by more hair transplant clinics worldwide than any other technique. In order to learn more, please contact our clinic. 1.888.723.4247

Is that so? We appreciate the concern, but Dr. Arocha went over the patient's family history in detail in addition to a full examination of his hair. Given the amount of density and the lack of miniaturization found during the initial consultation, Dr. Arocha felt strongly that the odds of aggressive future loss was very minimal. Will the patient need more work in the future? Maybe, but he has more than enough donor supply to meet the expected minimal future loss. Also, the patient is in his late thirties so while he is young, he's not that young.

Thanks for your comment, Gasthoerer. You have to realize that the hairline design was already set by the patient's genetics. Dr. Arocha addressed the thinning of the hairline and the front few centimeters with the density improvement you see. Thanks again for your comment.

You should go with the clinic that you feel most comfortable with, just as long as the doctor you want to have is the doctor you get. Regarding a second FUT, you've had one so most patients will opt for another and continue until they are stripped out before they switch to FUE but this sometimes gets cut short if a donor scar isn't as good as the previous one so while the laxity may still be good for more surgery a wider donor scar can turn FUT patients into future FUE patients. No one can or should guarantee the width of any donor scar from FUT so you need to find a surgeon, if you opt for FUT, that has demonstrated a level of consistency that shows they know what they're doing.

Shale1, Dr. Arocha's surgical office is in Houston but in case you are not in Houston yourself we offer local consultations with Dr. Arocha in San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas as well. Of course there is the online option to consider via our online consultation form. If you have any questions or wish to set up a consultation please contact us at 1-888-723-4247.

This patient was experiencing thinning in and behind his hairline and want to reinforce the density and shape. After consulting extensively regarding his family history and his medical intervention Dr. Arocha agreed to perform a 1500 graft FUE procedure. In this video you'll see the hairline, the density achieved, the pristine donor zone one year post as well as the patient's comments regarding his procedure and his experience overall.

We have completed the video edit to show the patient's result along with a testimonial.

If placed strategically it can make a very big improvement. However, due to your stated physiological limitation it would be best to get qualified opinions from multiple clinics. Just because your donor was determined to be "tight" by your current physician does not mean that another might agree or disagree, and some physicians may be better at utilizing the FUT donor than others so you may have more hair to take. With 2000 grafts in your first procedure and "only" 1700 grafts available in a second procedure, you would be in a very rare position. I don't believe I've ever heard Dr. Arocha tell a patient he has only 3700 grafts available via strip (or close to that range) in two or more procedures unless they were being told they were not a candidate for strip to begin with. Call more clinics, send photos, and get more opinions. You may need to visit clinics in person or at least send video showing your scalp laxity.

It depends on the size of the incision, regardless of how many hairs are in the graft. Smaller grafts means smaller incisions which in turn do not bleed as much if irritated or if a graft is lost. The itching is part of the healing process. If your clinic did not provide one, you can consider a spray bottle with saline water to spray on the recipient area. The result is a cooling down feeling that helps to deal with itchiness. Always confirm with your clinic before you do this as no clinic instructions should supersede those of your own clinic.

Hi Dolph, Keep in mind the same shape for this hairline existed before Dr. Arocha touched it, as it was the patient's from birth. He simply wished for a slight lowering and reinforcement of density. While there are similarities to the basic natural shape to a female hairline it is more akin to a juvenile male hairline as many men maintain their juvenile temple closure well into adulthood. Thank you as always for your comments.

Dr. Bernard Arocha of Arocha Hair Restoration in Houston, Texas will be traveling to these Texas cities in the next few weeks to conduct complimentary, no obligation consultations. During these consultations you will be able to meet with Dr. Arocha, one on one, and receive a personalized hair restoration treatment plan. Dallas, Tx. - Monday, February 19th. San Antonio, Tx. - Monday, February 26. To schedule your visit with Dr. Arocha call 1-888-723-4247.

Thanks, thatoldchestnut! Longer term results seem to be more valuable as it gives us a stronger picture of the reality of hair restoration and what it means for patients. It isn't uncommon to hear patients talk about how the procedure has been the best investment they've ever made, and this sometimes comes from the mouths of investment bankers:)

Losing a graft is a very obvious event. You will have a trickle of blood coming out of the incision site. At the very least, if you've dislodged you don't notice immediately then it may show as a splotch of blood. Regardless, blood indicated a dislodged graft. The best thing to do is to simply follow your clinic's post-op instructions to the letter, including how to handle sleeping afterward. If you have any questions, you should be able to call them and get quick answers. Don't hesitate to call them.

Scars can never truly be "removed", only replaced, because every time the skin is cut a scar will form. They can however be reduced, cosmetically speaking, by cutting them out in various ways or inserting hair into them using the FUE technique. The latter is what most clinics mean by "correcting" old scars. There is also the option of scalp micro-pigmentation, which is similar to tattoo, but putting real hair into the scar is the best way to camouflage them. In fact, some of the hairs in the front that you have considered shaving could be placed into these scars so you can potentially kill two birds with one stone.

Congratulations on your hair transplant. The best thing to do at this point is to consult with your clinic and ask them these same questions. It is in your best interest to do so as THEY know your case better than we do and you do not want to add anything to your post-op recovery that may contradict with their recommended protocols.

You have what looks to be a very nice donor area. The hair is straight, medium coarseness, and is easier to create naturalness. Your future pattern of loss is easily seen but my question is, how has finasteride worked for you for the past 12 years. Did you have this same level of loss when you were 18, when you started finasteride, or did you gradually progress to this point? What is your family history and whom in your family has similar or greater hair loss? Regarding doctors, you should look to the list of Coalition members and submit your photos and information for consultation. If you can visit doctors in person that is even better, and of course try to speak with patients.

No doctor should touch you at this point as you have to understand that if you're going to commit to surgery you must first commit to prevention, in the form of medical therapy. It is unrealistic to expect that you can get a hair transplant at the age of 21, being a diffused thinner, and think you can safely stop any treatments such as minoxidil. It is like replacing some of your teeth with crowns and saying "I'll just stop brushing my teeth every day.". It doesn't work like that. You'll eventually lose the hair you have still and then you'll need more surgery, and more surgery, etc. etc. You should re-evaluate your priorities and consider the reality of your situation. Commit to medical therapy, including possibly using finasteride, either oral or topical, and attack your problem safely and responsibly. If you don't you risk being far more unhappy than you may be now.

1. A FUT transfer can have more people working simultaneously on extracting grafts as opposed to FUE which would lead to reduction in fatigue and human error resulting in better quality of grafts This depends on how many technicians work in the clinic. There are FUT clinics that also perform a lot of FUE and so these technicians will be used to examine and refine the grafts as necessary, regardless of the procedure being performed. If the FUE procedure is performed in an FUE only clinic, you are likely to have fewer technicians so when dealing with an equal # of grafts, it would be logical to assume more fatigue. But, most FUE only clinics aren't spending the same amount of time on the grafts as they do in FUT clinics because they aren't using microscopes to inspect and refine the grafts. In the end, it could be a toss up with regards to the fatigue factor. 2. A FUE extract is made blind since the dermal layer is in place and the hair is cut short which means it may be possible that the bulb is at an angle which the punch cuts into as it cannot be visually seen. A FUT extract on the other hand lays open the bulb which makes this a non possibility. Yes and no. Both procedures are blind at the beginning because the scalpel that cuts the strip is also going in blind and potentially destroying some follicles. With FUE each extraction is blind but it is not uncommon for the majority of grafts to have a similar degree of angle so the first few test grafts, that most clinics will extract, helps to determine how the grafts are angled in general. If there is a strong variance then a larger punch will be considered but it's not a black and white issue. 3. The drill used in FUE can cause damage to adjacent follicles both because of heat generated via friction and close proximity to the graft being extracted. The heat issue is non-existent. The punch is not in the tissue long enough to create enough hea for follicular death. They can damage neighboring grafts due to their promity, but this is a skillset issue dictated by experience. 4. Thickness of follicular cells (fat grafts/skinny grafts) in FUE depends more on luck than skill . In other words a FUT extraction will result in more fat grafts than FUE 90% of times. This in part is similar to point 2 above I don' know where the number of 90% comes from but this too depends on the operator, the tool, and the goals. Some clinics want to have skinny grafts so they will use a smaller punch, as this also leaves a smaller scar, while some clinics will purposely use a larger punch to get fatter grafts and then they'll subdivide them after they're extracted. Same with FUT, some clinics will divide the grafts down to skinny grafts and some will use MUGS that have more fat. Luck has nothing to do with it. 5. If any of the above points are true then apart from quality of grafts FUE results in higher transection than FUT , the percentage depending on skill level of the extractor. This last point is more about quantity than quality In general, FUE does have a higher transection rate but the difference in better clinics is so minimal that there is no cosmetic difference whatsoever. The problem with FUE is that there are more clinics than ever performing hair transplantation and FUE is the way in which the procedures are being carried out and this introduces the commodity factor in that these clinics have little to no experience with hair restoration and are taking it on as an adjunct to their existing practice where they perform tummy tucks and butt lifts. Expect very high transection rates in such establishments.

This patient came to visit Dr. Bernard Arocha at Arocha Hair Restoration in Houston, Texas due to his receding hairline concerns. The patient wanted to maintain and adult appearance but one that was younger and less receded. Dr. Arocha and the team at Arocha Hair restoration used 2070 grafts by the FUT method for the result you see here. The final result is documented 7 years after the single procedure.

Actually, no, you can't count the patients that are turned away because the question of how many "happy" patients a doctor has is assuming patients that have had surgery are included in the question. Your analogy is like asking how many customers are happy with their car purchases and including those that were turned away due to bad credit. They don't factor into the relative pertinent information. Regarding the permanency of donor hair, the majority of people do in fact have donor hair that is permanent but with all things in life, and biology, few things are certain and those that identify early on as having a weak donor supply will be informed and advised of this potential limitation. Do all clinics exercise this level of caution and education? No but there is a growing amount of information online that warns against this blanket assumption of all donor hair being permanent.

The hairs that shed will traditionally look "wonky" or unusual with regards to how they appear compared to the native hair around them. They tend to have an kinky appearance because they have essentially gone into the catagen phase where the follicle itself has separated from it's blood supply. The "J shape" appearance can be attributed to this but it can possible be due to the grafts being stuffed too deeply into their incisions. If you went to a reputable clinic this should not really be a point of concern and is most likely due to the former explanation. Have you taken any photos of these hairs to share with the group?