TrixGlendevon

It is not odd but you haven't told us anything like where you want the hairline etc. Typically somewhere between 1500-2000 would give you a very good result. I think FUT is the way forwards for you - I was on track to be a NW5 too (see my thread) and went with FUT. The scar is a non-issue at a top clinic. Bloxham is also great but I still think if you can choose between H&W and Bloxham, I would go with H&W. That is nothing against Feller and Bloxham at all, they do great work and Bloxham posts a lot on this board, but I can't think of many (any?) clinics that would beat H&W.

Ask for pain meds before the injections. This will be a common issue, I am sure.

Difficult to say, hence why people are recommending you visit doctors for consultations. To be honest, with Hasson and Wong, just flip a coin. You will get a stellar result either way.

FUT then FUE - no question about it. Speak to the ethical doctors who do both procedures. They will admit the transection rates for FUE are higher than for FUT.

I consulted with most of the major hair clinics in Europe, either online or in person, also avoided the UK and Turkey for the same reasons as you. There is also nothing in Ireland. Two more for you to consider before you make the plunge: Dr Feriduni and Hattingen Hair. Dr Feriduni has 100s of patient reviews (as opposed to clinic posted reviews) on this site alone. Hattingen Hair is not reviewed that much on this site as their market is typically the German and then the French market (check their forums out) but I was the first to do a review of them on this site (see my post) and others have followed suit. We all have great results. Both are ethical and both have worldwide reputations, including with other surgeons.

As far as I am aware, none of these people telling you to start on powerful medication that can alter your hormone balance, potentially forever, are doctors and none of them have seen you in person, given you an in person consultation or done any bloodwork to give this expert medical opinion. Google Post-Finasteride Syndrome. Even Feriduni does not recommend meds and laughs at the amount of non-medical professionals on forums giving this advice. Everybody online is an expert I suppose. What do the men in your family look like? This will give you an insight into what your hairline destiny is. If it is just to fill in those temples with no real risk of it getting worse, why take meds? My advice is to go to several top clinics and get their opinion. If you don't live near any, many do online consultations and given that you are not even sure if you want a transplant yet, I think an online consultation at this stage will suffice. They will have to shave the donor area (the bit at the back where they take the grafts from). How much they have to shave it depends on if you have an FUE or FUT procedure done (FUT will be less shaving, FUE will mean shaving most of the back). It is a relatively small area so I think most doctors will recommend FUE but given you like your hair long, an FUT scar will easily be covered by the hair. I don't think they will need to shave the front. Your hair will grow back afterwards, yes. It is still your hair, just in a different place on the head.

I agree with the above. Shortlist about 3-5 clinics and go and have an in-person consultation with them, even if you have to travel. I visited four, three of which are recommended on here. You're going to spend a lot of money on this so an extra few hundred dollars/euros/pounds/whatever to make sure you make the right choice is not a lot of money and the benefit/reward is massive. Hasson and Wong is arguably the best clinic in the world. I think they are going to tell you that as you have a small area to fill that you should go FUE. However, I still think you need to have an in-person consultation with them first (and another couple of clinics to get a balanced opinion).

Thanks for the compliment! Yeah I wasn't overly happy at the time when he drew the hairline but the logic was that I am not taking any meds and so it is better to have a more conservative hairline and have more density plus Sever pointed out the same thing, when brushed down/forward, you will never know how conservative it is. I am glad I went with his advice as I am very pleased with the result. Because of lockdown and now travel restrictions (quarantine etc.), I still haven't been to the clinic to get the final check-up and final pics but I do intend to have a second procedure on the crown. I will post the final pics when I finally make it out to the clinic and will give an update on what we discuss for the second procedure. I am having one more and then I am done, irrespective of what it looks like after. We have talked on Skype already and would like to do a 2,500 graft procedure but I want a 3,000 one as I am just having one more procedure and that is it. We will have to see if my scalp has the laxity to do a 3,000 procedure or not though.

Thanks! It was honestly one of the best decisions I have ever made and they are a fantastic clinic, as you say

Sorry I have not been using the forum as much since getting a warning for something stupid. At 6 months it was an improvement on pre-surgery but still pretty shitty and thin looking. How did your result turn out?

Great result! We are both happy customers it seems then

@HisHairnessI would not worry. Do not judge your case by other people and their progress. Everybody's physiology is different.

Thanks for the feedback. I only have a picture from not quite 5 months (4 months 3 weeks maybe?). Happy to share if you like? It is just one though and I can't find any more from around that time period. I do remember thinking at around the 6 month mark period though that I am behind from where I should be.

Thanks Legend and good to see you back! Yeah I am impressed. The crown does need more work on it and I am looking at a second transplant which I have Skyped with the clinic about but really, needs to be done in person. I just need to wait for travel restrictions to be lifted first. My hair helps give the illusion of density too as it is thick and wavy/curly. Overall I am very pleased though. Thanks! No, I never style it to be honest. I am too lazy truth be told. Maybe I should though....... I will definitely post more pics when I get out there after I can fly again. I have found some of the clinic and another older one of my hair pre-surgery.I will post them in a few mins. Not what you want though (just yet)

This guy, for example, does not have a great donor or hair characteristics and he went to a top clinic and got a great result with far fewer grafts: There is actually another case I was looking for which highlights my point even better but I can't find it - I find the search feature on this site clumsy. Hattingen and H&W can deliver in cases like these and there are numerous cases on this forum and others to prove it.

Is there any evidence to suggest you have poor genes for scarring? Do you have scars elsewhere on your body that haven't healed well? Going to a top clinic will limit the risk of getting a bad scar. Depending on where in the world you are based, or where you are willing to travel to, we can give you recommendations. Having in-person consultations then would be the best way forward.

Also a fair point and I agree with using normal people as an indicator and not cherry picked amazing cases on the websites. 2 counter points: 1) I was just replying to your comment that implied this size of surgery is extraordinarily rare and I don't think it is at certain clinics. There are other fora too with cases. H&W also now do FUE which I think is more popular, rightly or wrongly, which also reduces the amount of these megasessions they do as it eats into the amount of FUTs they do. It does not mean they can't and don't still do them though. 2) this is why I suggest in-person appointments with top clinics to determine where they are on the scale of good candidates and that way can adapt their expectations accordingly. Without going back through the thread, I can't remember off the top of my head if the OP has had any consultations yet or not.

Completely agree! I have said this to people via PMs - don't look at my hair and expect the same result even going to the same surgeon with the same pattern. My hair calibre is about average, I was told, but it is wavy/curly. Which helps with coverage. I was also told, as we are discussing density, by a couple of clinics (including mine) that the number isn't necessarily important as you can use some small tricks like putting hairs in at certain angles etc. to give even more illusion of density. I think having in-person consultations with top clinics that are ethical and get consistently good results over an extended period of time will 1) inform you about how good your donor is and what your expectations can be and 2) what kind of density you will need

Hasson and Wong have 3 pages of results on their website alone of patients with 5000 or more grafts done with them with good results. Hattingen regularly go above this number too but their website is limited in showing cases because of Swiss law. Both clinics get great results. It does depend on laxity, obviously, but I had average laxity overall (quite tight in the corners he said) and still got 4500 with no complications and a great scar. Just because most clinics can't do it does not mean it cannot be done and isn't done relatively regularly. I have seen more than a couple of very large FUEs from Eugenix too. If I go back for 2500-3000 grafts now, that will mean I have had 7000-7500 grafts as a NW5 which is pretty much what most people will have across their lifetime (if it needs that many grafts - lower NWs may not). I agree with your point about expectations but going to a world class clinic that specialises in doing work this size means you can are negating some of this risk and taking advantage of the virgin scalp with a huge amount of grafts and then touch up for increased density on a second pass.

Exactly this. Either pay the same on the Continent and get a stellar result or get the same result as in the UK but for a much cheaper price. The UK is overpriced relatively to markets that are a couple of hours away by plane or train.

Hattingen costs are on the website and are transparent

They won't do it because they pay to be on the recommended list

If you go to a top clinic, you don't have to worry about about scarring unless you are an outlier and have especially poor genes for scarring but this will be such a low % of the population. Mine is a pencil line. Where are you considering? In theory, you could yes. However, your scalp will no longer be virgin and I do not think this small insight outweighs the benefit of working on a virgin scalp. All else being equal, yes it should be an indicator. i.e. if you go to the same clinic and have a similar sized or smaller procedure as the first time, then yes. Different clinic etc. maybe but not as clear cut as there are other factors at play. Feller and Bloxham have a video on their website of work they did on a black patient. They did several small FUTs essentially cut from different parts of the scalp. The result was good. I suppose this is the nearest thing I have seen to what you are suggesting. The patient was a special case though. As I said, if you go to a decent clinic then you will have no issues with the scar. Again, where are you considering?

Which doctor and what did they say your donor was? 5000+ in one go will be pushing it and you will need to have very good laxity for this to happen. I had 4400. I disagree with needing 4 operations. You can do two FUT megasessions and you will be fine. You could look at H&W in North America and Hattingen in Europe, depending where you are based, as these are probably the best two clinics in the world for FUT megasessions. If you look at my thread, I had one mega session, at Hattingen, and the result is good. However, your hair is quite fine, especially in comparison to mine, and you may not get the same result. I echo what others say about not looking at other people online and expecting your result to be the same when you may not share characteristics with that person. This is what happens with the Spanish clinic results - Spanish hair is perfect for transplants.