Hi all, I've been lurking on this forum for the past couple of months. Tremendous resource and I know so much more than I did just a few months ago.
I have decided that I am going to get a hair transplant to restore density to my hairline and fill in some of my temple angles - although I would be interested if folks here think I am doing this at too young of an age/stage of hair loss...
First the basics:
Age: 29
Location: Virginia, USA (East Coast / Mid-Atlantic area)
Age I started losing hair: Probably really started to notice it around 20 years old.
Past Surgeries: None
Treatment: Taken Propecia for the past 3 years. It definitely helped. I think it probably added some density in the crown and mid-scalp areas but the temples are still continuing to recede, albeit at a slower pace compared to when I wasn't on propecia.
I've used Rogaine on and off but I never felt like it was doing much and it would sometimes give me an itchy scalp so I haven't used it in about 12 months.
Ideally I'd like to get off Propecia because I don't like messing with my body's hormones like that and I've felt like the libido side effects have hit me at times (but never bad enough to stop taking the meds). But I am pretty sure that if I were ever to do that then my hair loss would come back with a vengeance...so I'm sort of on the fence about future propecia usage.
Most likely procedure: I'm leaning towards FUT Strip at this point
Based on a lot of research and consultations I've narrowed my list down to four top doctors (all prices have been converted to $USD so these prices will fluctuate a little bit with exchange rates). Also each doctor's treatment plan / pricing structure is slightly different but I assumed 2,500 grafts so that I could do an apples to apples comparison:
All Prices converted to $USD:
Dr. Pathomvanich in Thailand - $2.66 per graft for a total cost of $6,700
Drs. Hasson & Wong in Vancouver - $3.91 per graft. Total cost of $9,500 (this price factors in a $800 travel credit)
Dr Rahal in Canada - $3.88 per graft. Total cost of $9,700 (this price factors in a $1,000 travel credit and $1,500 in taxes)
Dr Gabel in Portland, OR USA - $4 per graft + $500 setup fee = total cost of $10,500
I'm basically looking to balance price with skill/quality. As far as I can tell all of these doctors are very skilled and widely respected. Dr Path is significantly cheaper than the other three (and I go to vacation in Thailand once a year so I was thinking I could kill two birds with one stone and do the surgery while I'm there anyways.) That being said, if the consensus is that one of the other three doctors is far and away a much better surgeon then perhaps I'd reconsider and spend the extra money...
I'm leaning towards Dr Path and just scheduled a surgery date for mid Feb'17 (I still have ~10 days to cancel without any penalty though). The price is right and he seems to be quite well respected but I have some concerns:
1. It sounds like his nurses do all of the graft placement - he only handles the strip removal and lateral slit incisions. I would prefer that my doctor is involved in every step of the process (even though I understand it would be impossible for him to plant every single graft)
2. I came across this very negative HT experience that someone had: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/175559-dr-path-poor-results-stay-away-him-3.html
3. In that same thread there are a number of people chiming in saying that Dr Path's results have gone downhill in the past year or two.
4. On the other hand, I have gone through countless threads posted by both patients and by Dr Path himself and the results seem good so I may be allowing a few negative experience to stress me out too much
5. Dr Path received very strong endorsements from Dr Wong (2006) and Dr Parsley (2002)
I'd love to get some feedback on (1) How appropriate a HT would be for me at this point in time (2) Which doctor to go with.
Thanks everyone!
Also, a quick guide to the photos:
The ones with a buzzed head are from 2013 and 2014 - As you can see it looks like I'm destined to be a Norwood 6..but Propecia has been very helpful in halting and reversing some of this. Still, noticeable receding hairline and miniaturization of hairs in the front.
The one taken outdoors in a grey t shirt was done with pretty wet hair to fully showcase my hair loss
The ones outdoors/indoors in a brown jacket were taken at a BBQ so they are showing what the hair looks like in the wild when it is recently cut and styled (hair doesn't look nearly as bad in these angles). No concealers.
The selfie style with a sweater on (taken while I'm seated) is probably the best representation of what my hair looks like these days when it is dry and styled normally (no concealers or anything else were used in this photo). The mid-scalp and crown are perfectly acceptable but the front third, hairline, and temples, are what bother me at this point.
Lastly, the selfies with no shirt on are what the hair looks like when I comb the hair forward to illustrate the hair loss (I never style my hair like this though)
Thanks for the input. So when you talk about donor region impact are you referring to the FUT linear scar versus FUE scarring? Two of the doctors I've had consults with have said I most likely will not have enough donor hair for the crown so I should be mentally prepared for that (donor hair would've been used up to address hairline and mid-scalp)