JeffC45

Out of curiosity, who did your FUE procedure and how many grafts? Good luck.

When you said if you could do it over again, you would have gone directly to Dr. Bhatti, do you mean that you wish you had never had FUT done and had done all FUE? Has your FUT scar been your biggest regret?

So, on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being essentially useless, 5 being hit or miss, 10 being miracle solution), would you rate the effectiveness of having an FUE-into-scar procedure for a scar that is visible after a strip procedure? Also, does FUE-into-scar allow someone to wear their hair shorter on the sides? For example, if someone can get away with a #4 guard with their scar, could a procedure such as this allow them to get away with a #3 guard?

But won't such thinning also result in FUE scars being revealed by a thinning donor? Also, I would think a good doctor would take into account current density and age in projecting whether a patient is a good long term FUT candidate. I'm willing to guess the older people you saw had diffuse thinning and were not good candidates for FUT to begin with.

Another excellent result by Dr. Wesley. Very impressive. Wondering how this gentleman's strip scar turned out and if there are any pictures.

Answered my own question with a little Googling. No, it is not available yet in the U.S. as of April 21, 2016. Wonder if H&W have any updates in this regard. Also, they list the price as $255 (Canadian). I wonder how much of a supply the cost covers. If it's only 1 month, it is extremely expensive and perhaps cost-prohibitive for most. https://hassonandwong.com/topical-finasteride-solution-prescription/

As someone who is hoping and praying to live to a ripe, old age, I am trying to consider the consequences of my upcoming FUT procedure long-term. We all know the "safe zone" is LESS susceptible to DHT, but not necessarily immune. I assume that even the safe zone thins over time. As the area where the strip was taken thins out in old age, does a patient have to worry about a previously concealed FUT scar becoming obviously visible? Is this one of the downsides of FUT? Has the procedure been around long enough for people to experience this?

Don't know much about H&W's liposomal topical finasteride. What dosage is it? What type of fluid is it: spray, gel, etc.? I know that Dr. Carlos Wesley offers, among other things, a .5mg topical finasteride spray. I'm not sure how H&W's differs from Dr. Wesley. Being somewhat ignorant of chemistry, I'm not sure what "liposomal" means. Do H&W offer their topical finasteride to non-patients in the United States? Does it require a prescription?

I've never heard that heat would be a problem post-op. Was planning on spending a long day outside (~6 hours) with a wide-brimmed hat which completely blocks the sun about 2 weeks after my procedure. I expect the temperature to be about 80 degrees F (26 degrees C). It will be December in the Caribbean. Any issues with this? Should I break the day up with periods in the air conditioned indoors?

These are really helpful responses. Especially the "if you can see the scalp, you'll see the scar" rule of thumb. I happen to have less density on the lower sides of my hair than I do on the upper sides and back. So I may have a discussion with my surgeon about tracking the scar along the denser parts of my head as long as it remains in the "safe area."

So I am scheduled for an FUT procedure with a highly reputable, recommended surgeon and I am experiencing the (probably typical) nervousness and cold feet. I go back and forth between being comfortable and at-peace with my decision, to wanting to back out. What's worried me specifically is that over the past month I have seen three people, two out and about on the streets and one at work, who had obvious, awful strip scars across their head. These were so bad that I would characterize these people as essentially permanently disfigured. This of course gave me pause-- is this something that could happen to me? One thing I did notice about all 3 of these guys was that they all seemed to be "diffuse" balders. Their donor area seemed to be really thin, making the scar impossible to hide. I guess these people had their procedures at a younger age before diffuse thinning set in as they got older. I cannot see an ethical doctor making a linear incision on these patients if their donor area was this thin at the time of their procedure. I can think of 3 factors that might dictate whether a scar is visible post-ht. 1) Skill of the surgeon; 2) Density of donor; 3) Patient's own scarring tendency. If someone can answer the above 3 issues positively, does this make them a good bet to have a good scar? Are there any other factors I'm leaving out?

First, I think the work on Buck's hair is pretty damn excellent. Especially since he started balding at 23. Secondly, I'd bet a good amount of money that his vocal cord paralysis had absolutely nothing to do with his hair transplant procedure. From his description it sounds like an obvious case of what the great Dr. John Sarno would call Tension Myositis syndrome (TMS). When a person is going through conscious or unconscious turmoil, the body will do some very odd and painful things. It's usually back pain, but can be anything. Now, if only there was a surgery that can make Buck a tolerable sports commentator...

For a surgeon of Dr. Wesley's quality, this type of consult fee should be expected. An hour of his time is valuable and he offers a fairly in depth consult.

Also, a few of these subjects (#'s 1, 3, 5) look like they have two parallel strip scars. Is that unusual? I always thought subsequent procedures followed the exact scar of an initial procedure.

I've been using a low dose (.1mg) finasteride spray daily for about 2 months after experiencing sexual side effects from systemic 1.25mg finasteride about 10 years ago. I've experienced no side effects, but also have not not noticed any improvement. If anything, it may have caused me to shed a bit. Will continue to use it.

Out of curiosity, were these scars the result of FUT procedures from other doctors or Dr. Wesley?

Just saw Reince Prieubus, the chairman of the RNC, from behind and he definitely had a hair transplant. He has the unfortunate Mel Gibson-style, full hairline up front, but bald as a cue ball from behind.

Wondering if the advice would change if he was 40 and a NW 3?

Has anyone on this forum ever experienced sexual side effects from finasteride, then cut their dosage of finasteride, and had their sexual side effects subside with the lower dosage? I am considering a HT in the near future, but the biggest mental hurdle I have is a fear that my HT will be ineffective long term without the use of finasteride. I took 1.25 mg daily finasteride about 10 years ago (quartered Proscar) and within 3 months experienced terrible bouts of impotence and sexual dysfunction. I stopped taking finasteride immediately and my sexual function returned 100%. I would really like to address my hair loss with a HT and am considering trying perhaps .5 mg finasteride daily to make it worthwhile. Is this too risky? Is there any evidence that reducing the finasteride intake by about 60% would lessen or eliminate side effects? Anyone have any experiences with this?

I suggest you grow a pair.

Are scars like this common among elite surgeons, or is this guy a miracle case? Looks like he could easily sport a #2 guard.

I'm guessing a very, very expensive (and good) piece rather than what would be the greatest hair transplant in history, this side of Elon Musk (no chance).

This is a very impressive result. Would there happen to be any photos of the back of this patient's head showing the status of the linear scar?

Kind of crazy since as recently as a year or two ago his hair looked pretty full. I mean, he had some recession but no where near the point when you would imagine he'd bic his entire head bald. I wonder if he really did lose it all at once or he was just being very aggressive in getting in front of it by shaving it.

I am scheduled for a HT and have some questions on what to expect in the styling of my hair. Currently, I wear my hair down and to the side on my forehead (although there's less and less of it to speak of-- thus, the HT). It seems to me that practically all of the "after" photos for HT's, seem to show the patient wearing their hair "up" or pushed back to expose the hair line. Is this generally because in these pictures the doctors want to expose or show off the hair line in the photograph to show their work? I rarely see a HT picture where the the patient wears their hair pushed down or to the side as I do. I just want to make sure that there is not something in the nature of transplanted hair that makes it sort of stick up rather than lay flat. It might be odd if all of a sudden, not only do I have more hair but I am styling in completely different by wearing it up.