JeffC45

I am close to booking a surgery date with a recommended surgeon on this site for an FUT procedure. Prior to making this decision, I was pretty adamant about doing FUE over FUT because a major priority for me is being able to seamlessly return to work a few weeks after the procedure without the HT being noticed. Since I am about a NW 2, I initially believed that I would need to shave my entire head for an FUT procedure, exposing the scar. Therefore, I ruled it out. However, after meeting with this particular recommended doctor, he told me that during his FUT procedure, the entire head is not shaved. Therefore, within 10 days of the procedure, not only is the strip scar mostly covered by the hair in the donor area, but the unshaven hair in the recipient area will mostly mask the implanted grafts. This is exactly what I was hoping for and changed my mind back to doing FUT. However, there is a lingering doubt in my mind that this seems too good to be true. Every other doctor I've consulted with has told me that for an FUT procedure, I need to at least shave the recipient area-- a deal breaker for me. Is there a consensus on this? Is it possible to do an FUT transplant effectively while keeping both the donor and recipient area at close to full length? Is anything compromised by keeping the donor and recipient area at full length, rather than shaving down one or both areas?

Definitely. He has a strip scar that is at times quite noticeable, depending on how short he has his hair.

HTSoon, I was curious to read in a different thread that, while you are very happy with your results, that you would not go to Dr. Diep for future procedures. I think your results are great and to me Diep seems to produce the best FUE results around. Is there a particular reason why you wouldn't use him again? Are there any other FUE specialists in North America you would recommend?

Any update?

fueguy, been about 11 months now. Any update?

So far, I have been choosing between Konior, Rahal, Wesley (all for FUE or FUT) and Feller (FUT only). Although, I have to say, I am probably leaning more toward FUE at this time. Any thoughts?

I was told recently, directly from the clinic, that Rahal uses a motorized punch. So unless these are the same thing (pardon my ignorance) I believe Rahal does NOT use a manual punch for FUE.

Dutchie: That is a pretty brilliant idea. Although instead of the office gossip being "Remember those few months when Joe Schmoe showed up to work bald with a huge Frankenstein scar across the back of his head?" it will be: "Remember those few months when Joe Schmoe converted to Islam out of no where, then suddenly just quit the religion about 5 months later?"

HTSoon, can always rely on you for helpful info. If my hair grew in like yours did by week three, I'd be completely happy with it. I have to say, after a very long internal debate between Strip and FUE, I may be back on the fence. (Not trying to start another debate in this thread). The idea of a smoother transition to post-operative normalcy is a pretty major bonus for me. Particularly since I've been told I have a fairly strong donor supply. I'm pretty fair-skinned, with dark hair. Perhaps I should look into a mild spray tan (not on the scalp, obviously) to lessen the contrast with the reddened areas. Esrec, never really considered shaving only the recipient area. If a hat is an option, that seems reasonable, as you won't have a huge linear scar exposed. But as someone who does not have the option of wearing a hat at work, I definitely could not walk around with only the top of my head shaved, particularly since I still have most of my hair on top. So it sounds as if with FUT, my options are: Uniformly-shaved with a scar completely exposed, or the Bozo look with the scar hidden. FUE's sounding more and more appealing.

Okay, I know the topic of returning to a normal work routine has been heavily discussed in past threads. But many of the threads seem a bit older and I thought it could use some new discussion. I'm pretty close to taking the leap on a HT, but I have to say, the closer I get to the date, the biggest fear I have is returning to work and looking completely ridiculous. At this point, this has become the biggest obstacle to me going through with it. I work in a high-pressure, office setting and a substantial amount (about a third) of my work is comprised of public speaking in front of numerous people. Obviously, except for my commute in and out, a hat is not an option in a stuffy, white-shoe office setting. I've figured out that the maximum time I could probably get off is about 21 days. I intend on having the procedure on day #1 and taking a low-effort vacation for the last 7 days or so of my time off, after the sutures come out (if I opt for Strip). I'm pretty sure my surgeon recommends shaving of both the donor and recipient area, so I planned to basically shave my entire head down to about a #3 about a week or two before taking work leave to lessen the contrast when I return. I guess I have a couple of questions. First, is there a big difference between FUE and Strip procedure with regard to how presentable you look in the weeks and months immediately following surgery? Since there's no linear scar, do people who've had FUE find they've had an easier time hiding the fact that they had a HT when they returned to work. (I realize this is not priority #1 in such a major decision, but it's just a factor I want to put on the scale). Secondly, how noticeable did you find your HT was by day #22? What was worse, donor or recipient? Are the advantages of shaving the recipient area worth the Bozo the Clown look? Overall, what were your general experiences returning to work by about week 3? I'd like to hear from both Strip and FUE patients. Week 3 pics would be great, too.

A little confused by this. Isn't the conventional (although not undisputed) wisdom that the FUT method is the best way to maximize donor grafts? Is there a commonly held formula for the order/ number of procedures to maximize donor grafts? (For example, maybe 2 FUT procedures, followed by multiple FUE procedures, etc.).

:confused:

Appreciate the feedback. My last two cents would be just to say that all HT patients take the risk that they may someday be without the aid of medication. To me, every HT should be done with the consideration that the patient may someday have to stop taking the medication because being permanently tethered to a pill isn't necessarily realistic for most. So, in some ways, getting a HT with the understanding that the crown will shed further may provide a safer, albeit more conservative result. Secondly, with regard to the placebo effect, while I acknowledge that it is a very real phenomenon in medicine, I am certain that it is not the driving force behind finasteride side effects. I am a classic example of someone who (sort of ignorantly) had no clue about these potential side effects before taking the pill. The side effects came and I had no idea what was causing them. I actually doubted my doctor when he implicated the finasteride. It was not a situation where I anticipated the sides because I had no idea they were even a possibility.

It seems to be a fairly common practice for people to travel across the US and even internationally for a HT. This makes sense, as the quality of the surgeon should be a more important factor than location. However, for those who have traveled for a HT before ever having an in-person consultation with your surgeon, how did you know, before traveling, that you were a suitable candidate for a HT? I read a recent statement from Dr. Wesley that 30-35% of the people he sees for consults aren't suitable HT candidates. I found this number to be sort of shocking. If someone is flying from NYC to Chicago (or Istanbul, for that matter) to have surgery, are they just crossing their fingers that when they get there, the surgeon won't turn them down as a poor candidate after the in-person consultation?

I took a quick stroll through some of your pictures and it looks like you got some excellent results. You should be very pleased. Finasteride is great for anyone lucky enough to have no sides (although the stories of people experiencing PFS 10+ years later would still scare the hell out of me). For me though, the temporary side effects probably scared me off of it for good. Reluctant to ever mess with my body's hormonal balance again. Though if I didn't experience those side effects, I'd probably still be taking it today. Now I just go into my first consult in a few weeks and cross my fingers that my donor hair makes me a candidate.

HTsoon, thanks for the encouraging reply. I was actually starting to become discouraged based on how much I've read doctors on this forum stress the importance of finasteride. I should have also mentioned I also use Nizoral 2% shampoo 2-3x/ week and have for about 5 years. For a long time the Minoxidil + Nizoral really slowed the pace of my hair loss, but unfortunately over about the past year, I feel like the party is over. The loss has either accelerated or has simply reached that critical point when it has become quite noticeable. How satisfied with your procedures have you been? Did you do FUT or FUE? At what ages did you have the HT's? Thanks so much for your response.

Hello. Long-time lurker, first time poster. Quick re-cap of my history. In about 2007, at about 30 years old, I had some noticeable thinning at my temples and front third. As a preventative measure, I got some generic 5 mg Proscar (Dr. Reddy) online and began taking one-quarter (1.25 mg) daily. I didn't really notice any change (like I said, I was taking it preventatively and my loss was concentrated to my temples and frontal third-- the area least likely to be improved with finasteride). However, about 2-3 months into taking the pills I experienced a pretty severe sexual side effect. I am someone who has never had the slightest issue in "that department" yet suddenly, I found myself having a very difficult time getting an erection. I had actually just started dating a girl, so this was majorly stressful to me. I was sufficiently enough freaked out to go to my doctor over the issue. To be honest, at this stage I had no idea that finasteride was associated with this type of side effect, so didn't even realize this was the cause until my doctor told me that he suspected the finasteride was the issue. He told me to stop taking them immediately, which I did. Thank heavens, within weeks of ceasing the Proscar, my sexual function returned in its entirety. I have since read nightmare stories of people who have become permanently impotent even after they stop taking the finasteride. I actually consider myself quite lucky to have had the side effects cease. Now, fast forward to 2016. I have been on 2/day Rogaine foam for ~5 yrs but my MPB has steadily continued. I now have significantly more thinning in my frontal third and a bit on the crown. I probably have transitioned from a NW2 to a NW3 in the past year and I am reaching the critical point where I will no longer be able to hide my hair loss much longer. I have consultations scheduled and have decided that I definitely want to take the plunge and go for a HT this year. I have researched it for a long time and am firm in my desire for a HT. However, based on my past experience with finasteride I am EXTREMELY reluctant to ever try it again. I would, frankly, prefer to never touch it. I understand that surgeons certainly prefer that the patient hold onto any native crown and vortex hair with finasteride. But I'm still terrified of the stuff. Does anyone have any take on doing an HT with Rogaine only and no finasteride? I understand that I will likely shed more from the crown and need further procedures down the road. My other question is, since I took online, generic Proscar and my side effects ceased when I cut it off, should I give name brand Propecia another try and hope for the best? I am 99.9% against touching it again, but there is a small part of me that is so stressed about my hair loss that I may try to take a smaller amount of it, if I really need it.