TheEnd890

Your hair looks super dense. The crown doesn't even look that bad, I imagine its easier to not even notice it. When its short and not swept back, does it still retain a decent look in the back?

The sutures are pretty misleading for strip size. They usually always look similar because of how he sows you up. It's a pretty tight/refined technique, which is why (at least for me) it was super uncomfortable for 2 weeks.

Did your hair continue to thin a bit over the years? Or is this addressing the midscalp which was already thinning? Looks good either way. I wonder why almost all of the grafts were put midscalp, unless the frontal third had the density you wanted? Sorry for all the questions, I actually had two procedures with Rahal as well, currently on month 4.

Good luck man! Do you have any pre-op pics? Did you have crown work done previously? "Dr Rahal said that my grafts were not viable via FUE (something about the bulbs kept disintegrating during extraction)" How does that even happen? What characteristics limit FUE?

No, I don't, but it was the frontal 2/3rds. There's still an area of thinness from the crown going to the front half, so it wasn't "finished" and I believe not many grafts were placed there. It's not a big area however, and I believe grafts were placed in the surrounding area. I do plan a second pass in the frontal third in the future. I'm going back to work on my crown and hairline in a week (November 8th). I will try to get better photos for immediate post OP and results (since I will have a much better camera then). As far as the hairline goes, it's medium density and you really don't notice its thin unless you inspect it closely; fully exposed it looks normal from a distance and thinning when face to face. This surgery will bring my density to the 50% mark in the hairline area, so pending those results, I will be sure to get some good shots. Thanks.

My next procedure is scheduled for the crown area on January 8th. Will post pictures when I can.

How big was the recipient site?

Thanks Matt. I did kind of rush into the decision to meet a date, so I guess my expectations on growth timings were a bit skewed. 5A doesn't even dip which is nice, it just looks weirder having full coverage in the front and an odd "streak" down the back, which is why I want to deal with it. I don't know if this is common, but I had trouble finding people who are actually 5A patients. A lot of people have midscalp hair and much wider, regular Norwood 5 crowns and are designated as 5A. It's pretty hard to get ideas on procedures with this pattern when I feel its often mislabeled. I think those of us that lose hair in the "A" pattern are pretty rare overall. I can only find maybe a handful of examples of patients with similar hair loss.

Just an update. I'm now over a year post-op, and I'm pretty satisfied with what was accomplished. I know I am still not at my goal, but I am looking forward to reaching it. My hair is messy in the pictures, sorry about that. I have scheduled another surgery for January to address mainly the crown and the posterior midscalp, with some touch ups on Zone 1 (hairline area) Rahal post op care was excellent, and I went to talk to him a while back. It was nice having a discussion with him about the current results and what needs work. I have already recommended him to many people who are curious in performing the surgery. I think I pose as a good example on Rahal's work dealing with a high norwood case, as I feel there aren't too many examples on his site. I was pretty much completely bald prior, but fortunate enough to have high caliber hair, a rare hairloss pattern (5A), and a great surgeon. I will keep you guys updated.

I'm just worried a ton, jackblack. 4k grafts on the front with 8k plus hairs, well, I've seen much much better results on other patients. I know it varies, but pound for pound, I should be at an advantage with my hair type. I see some people get 4k across their entire balding area and have decent coverage with haircounts very similar as well. I'm honestly not sure what to do. I see marginal improvement 6 months and beyond in most, so I'm worried about the future. I don't know if I can accomplish my goals with these kind of results, even with this higher hairline and being a norwood 5a with an established pattern. I do still want coverage and good density in the back, while improving the front, and this was to be my baseline. I'm just extremely anxious and unsure atm and I wouldn't mind maybe some input.

Hey Jackblack, I was wondering, what is your hair caliber? and about how many hairs did he transplant? I'm asking because I had a procedure done with him recently as well and have the same hair loss pattern. At the moment, I think its pretty thin, so I'm hoping to go back as well eventually to address the crown area, as well as increase density upfront.

I would like to add, how much more thickness is expected post month 6? The reason being is that the transplanted area is still really see-through, and I'm curious how much more I would need to have good coverage on the front, as well as finishing the back with moderate coverage. Under any decent light, it looks really patchy and contrasts heavily with my much thicker sides. I'm not really sure where I should focus my efforts with another procedure.

Hey guys. I'm almost at 6 months, thought I would update. Hoping it will thicken up as I approach the full year, as it is still very sparse in some areas. I will be happy when I can finish up and address the crown area which is a thinning 'streak' and bulk up the front. Was hoping for 3500 more grafts to achieve this, with 2k ish up front. I guess I'll have to see but one more surgery should satisfy. Its hard to play around with the front, it has some thin spots, so im hoping to address that. What do you guys think? Do you think the crown area will be difficult to take care of?

To be honest, your before pic isn't really telling. I feel like that's a lot of grafts, and it didn't translate to anything but a semi-solid hairline. What doctor was it?

https://www.minoxidilmax.com/products

Sorry about that, I filled out the profile half thinking about my next planned surgery, which I was aiming for November 2017. It was in May 2016.

Hey guys, Just signed up after lurking for a long while. A little about me... I've been suffering from hair loss since I went to college, and with the stress and added pressures, I quickly began losing my hair right where I am today, a norwood 5 at the age of 27. It's extremely stressful, it ruined any confidence I had, and made me basically avoid most social settings. If I ever do go out, it would be with a hat, and I'm honestly sick of being dependent on them. It really does suck and it makes you feel like shit; so I worked my ass off and saved for my first HT. What really inspired me to take the plunge was people like can't_decide and agenteye who had pretty nice results. As of right now, I'm waiting to see how this turns out before I decide on getting more procedures or just giving up. I honestly don't wish anyone my age to experience this, its awful, and despite being super healthy (eating well, consistent gym use, etc. you just can't help looking so malnourished and unhealthy. Anyways, I'm a super private person when it comes to this, but I appreciate any feedback or advice. Now the juicy bits: Did a procedure at Rahal in November, I am currently 3 months post-op. Grats- 4068 Hairs - 8295 Right now, I know its early, but I can definitely see growth, moreso along the hairline and temples which were really sparse previously. So far, it doesn't really have any cosmetic difference, still very bald unfortunately. I may also want to lower the hairline, if I manage to have enough donor, just a tinge. Wider scar on right side, might be that it healed weird or is just a result of shock loss. Still pretty numb. Hair is about a number 2-3. Hair is curly and coarse. Average donor and laxity. Only front work was done. Been using minoxidil 5%, some of it mixed with Finasteride [dissolved]. Thanks.