Mike03980

OP Update - Final Resolution As promised, I am updating you on how my case was finally resolved. I met with Dr. Edmond Griffin again yesterday to discuss some of the areas I was not happy with. We had differing opinions on how my results looked. I left with a 100% refund. His staff was as always exceptionally respectful and courteous. Thank you for helping me get this resolved. In no small part, I attribute this community and your detailed feedback for helping me achieve this result. Now it's time to start researching another surgeon.

I know this has not been a popular answer but I am sticking with my guns on this one; I don’t think it’s fair to post the surgeon’s name until he’s had the chance to address my concerns and the issue has been resolved. I didn’t just walk into a discount hairPlugsRUs store to get the procedure done, this surgeon has been in business for decades and his reputation is stellar. I have no reason to believe that he’s cranking out this type of work all day and just sweeping it under the rug. The thing with trashing someone’s business online is not just that you’re messing with their livelihood, it’s that once something is posted online, it is there forever. Especially in this field where just about every single one of us starts the decision-making process by looking up the surgeon’s name online. So even if this guy goes above and beyond to make me happy, and I honestly believe that he will, he would continue to pay the price by what could have been his one in a thousand bad procedures. I promise to post before and final after pictures if the rework is done with the same surgeon. Rant over! I do have more questions please. I’m trying to educate myself more on the details of what constitutes a good procedure. I came across some information on hair density (FU/cm^2) in a white paper by Dr. Shapiro and that raised a few questions: 1. So if I had a 1500 graft FUT to cover a 75 cm^2 area, I can assume that my density would be 20 FU/cm^2, right? Assuming uniform distribution of course. 2. But, each FU could be 1-4 hairs so I could have more than 20 hairs in a cm^2, right? 3. Does 20 FU/cm^2 mean 20 small incisions in 1 cm^2? Seems like that would require a lot of precision to place. 4. Can you estimate my hair density by looking at my final result pictures? In the frontal area. 5. I’m trying to get a better idea for how the 1500 FUs could have been distributed on my head and I superimposed a 1 cm^2 grid to scale on top of my post-op picture. Is this a valid way to estimate density? My grafts were placed mostly here and some along the temporal lines and the temples. Thanks again guys.

OP Update I met with my surgeon a couple of weeks ago. I think it went pretty well. I had my "case" all laid out with before and after pictures to help explain my concerns but didn't even need to go over any of that with him. In less than 5 minutes he looked at my hair, acknowledged there were low density spots, apologized and offered a no charge touch up to help fix. His surgery assistant was also there for the followup and he was great. It was obvious he has a lot of experience and I felt good that he will be there for the touch-up FUE procedure. He asked me to show him where my areas of concern were. My main goal now is to ensure I communicate my concerns/expectations clearly pre-procedure so I don't end up waiting another 18 months to see final results that fall short of what I would consider reasonable expectations. This is where I need your help please. 1. Do my current results look unnatural? Sometimes the transplanted hairs look obvious to me because they have a thicker shaft than the surrounding hairs. Also the lower density areas show some of the 2-3 hair grafts in the back and those look unnatural to me in the temple and center hairline area. This should be fixed if more individual hairs were added, right? 2. I took three pictures of my hairline and marked up areas I am not happy with. Should this be enough to give me reasonably good final results once the tough-up is done? I'm in my late 30s and I don't expect a densely packed hairline but I also would like to stop wearing hats everywhere I go because I'm more self-conscious now about my hairline than ever before. 3. I was OK with doing the touch-up under local anesthesia. That should be fine, right? Thanks again. Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm meeting with my doctor tomorrow to see what he thinks. Any suggestions on how you would handle it? Is simply stating that I'm not happy with final result enough to get the ball rolling on some kind of fix?

Thank you for all the feedback, guys. I deliberately left out the surgeon's name because I think it would be unfair to post a negative review without at least giving him the opportunity to see the results in person and hearing what he proposes for a resolution. I will update after I meet with him. For now, I made this post to get your help articulating my concerns for when I do meet with my surgeon. Can you elaborate more on what appears to be subpar with the results and how it could be repaired please? For months I was just unhappy with that thin patch because you can see a lot of scalp and 2-3 hair grafts through it. The temple hairs also seemed to be growing outwards. Is it common for a clinic to touchup a procedure or even issue a refund if a resolution cannot be reached. My daily maintenance regimen includes Propecia and Rogaine along with Nizoral shampoo twice a week. I have been on Propecia for years before I got the transplant and it significantly slowed down my hair loss. As to my post-op care, I was very careful to follow the given instructions and avoided alcohol for weeks before and after procedure. I even opted to work from home for two weeks post procedure to avoid the stress of hats and the Sun. I posted another picture, this one should be the day after I believe. Does the lack of redness in that thin area indicate that few hairs were transplanted there which is why it looks sparse now? Thanks again. Edit: Forgot to answer question about my family history and age. I'm 39. My hair started thinning around 25 or so. I got on Propecia and Rogaine about 8 years ago which slowed the loss down significantly. The primary reason I still opted for the transplant even though I had decent coverage for my age was to help fill out my hairline some particularly towards the center. My dad went bald very early, I would say he looked like a Norwood 4/4A before hitting 30 and a 6 by 40. My mom's side of family don't lose their hair. Her dad passed away at 75 with a full head of hair.

I had a 1500 graft FUT procedure 18 months ago with a very highly reviewed surgeon that was recommended by this site. The surgery went very well, the staff was phenomenal and in about 6 months I started seeing growth. Overall I am ok with results I guess but it's not quite what I expected. I am very self-conscious about a very thin patch right in the middle of my hairline. For one, it looks like a bald spot and I still have to comb-over hair from left to right to help cover it. Two, since there aren't enough small transplanted hairs in the front of this area for decent coverage, you can see sparse 2-4 hair grafts that to me look obviously darker at the base which gives them a "club" look. Bottom line, I wear more hats now than ever. Looking at my before and after pictures, does it look like I had unrealistic expectations? I never expected a dense-packed teenager's hairline but I was hoping to at least get away from having to comb over for coverage. The surgeon recommended 1200-1500 grafts after my consultation and I went with the high end of the recommendation. I haven't gone in for my 1 year followup yet. Is it possible to fix a small patch like this if I'm not happy with it? The surgeon and his staff have been very courteous and seemed genuinely caring so far and I'm optimistic that something can be done if I bring up valid concerns.