DartDaric

Can you provide some more insight on the correlation between not shaving and shock loss? How would it be more beneficial in this regard if the doctor did a shaved procedure? Also the one that I went to and the others that do perform no-shave procedures haven't mentioned it as getting in their way or having an impact. I wonder what the actual details are.

Hi, I've had 2 HT's with Dr. Bernstein, with my second being around 2 years ago. I'm looking for a 3rd HT from a doctor (preferably New York / East Coast) that does not require you to shave your head. Ideally I'd like to get back to work in 4 days post surgery without it being too obvious. My first two were were FUT's and I'm dreading the post op recovery period and discomfort from my 3rd HT. I'm mostly looking to get coverage in my crown area (70% crown and 30% front) with the 3rd HT because the first 2 did very little to help the crown area. I've read a few people post here that they did FUT for their first HT and FUE for the crown area in the 2nd HT. Is there any logic to this? Just trying to get through my 3rd HT with the least post op hassle. Yeah, in hindsight I'm regretting not doing a mega / larger HT but no one can really predict how that could have gone too. Thanks!

Wow, thanks for all the replies! @Louisjams Good point about burning grafts with a megesession and the results are unsatisfactory. I guess there are two factors here. First, if the doctor didn't do a good job one has the opportunity to find an different one for the second HT. Secondly if my scalp / body doesn't respond well to the HT and if this is the case, doing two HT's instead of a megasession might not necessarily help. I'll try to consult with both @hairlosscpa Getting the desired results with one HT is obviously the more attractive option, just trying to weigh the pros and cons. Interesting thought about staffing costs in NYC that might limit him from doing megasessions. Feels like someone who has spent a career on this and is probably pretty wealthy would not consider this tradeoff if they believed there was a better option. Having said that I believe Dr Bernstien uses only 3 technicians (please correct me if I'm wrong) while I've read and seen videos of doctors in Turkey use over 12 assistants. Is there a correlation to the end result? I don't know.. @KO I do have front and crown work to be worked on. I thought that's what NW4 (as opposed to NW4 A) was. Excellent point about larger scar. On these forums I recall reading some of the megasessions with Dr H&W had 70 staples or around 35cm. Dr Bernsteins strips are in the 24 cm / 50 staples range for 2500-2800 grafts. This reminds me of a H&W post op staples picture, the strip length was somewhat scary and went from the back of the head to way up on the head above the ears. I narrowed my search down to these two because in the megasessions FUT category of doctors Dr H&W seems highly recommended on this forum. I heard about Dr Bernstien through a friend of a friend but he had no personal experience. He fell in the conservative category. Lots of his articles on google and tons of info on his site. His ability to do a FUT without shaving the recipient area is a huge plus for me. I know some doctors like Feller and Bloxham insist on shaving the recipient area. @BeHappy What you say makes total sense but I want to make sure I'm not overlooking any non-obvious details. Are there any circumstances under which results of 2 smaller 2500 graft HT's is inferior to a megasession? Will the density / laxity after the first HT affect the second HT to a degree where it's less fertile than the grafts obtained from a megasession? Would shock loss of more permanent hair with 2 HT's be greater than one? Dr. Bernstein does say in one of his videos that for some reason the results of the second HT seem to take longer and in the range of 18 months while the results of the first HT are fully seen after 12 months. @Bill Thanks and I really appreciate the service to the community you're providing I would also like to bring up the topic of "art". I've read that with the number of grafts being equal, Dr Bernstein is good with the "art" of the HT hairline to produce the most pleasing appearance. Initially my naive thinking was that I want my receding hair on temples filled up with hair but the more I read, the more I appreciated that it's important to maintain a natural look and an artificially low hairline might not necessarily look the best when the same grafts could be used elsewhere or preserved for the future. I would love to hear what your personal experience (good or bad) with the "art" aspect has been. Thanks! DartDeric

Hi all, Long time reader but it's now time for me to get a Hair Transplant. I'm over 40, Norwood 4 and have been doing a lot of reading and trying to narrow down a surgeon. Cost or travel are not a factor. I know I need a FUT after consulting a few local doctors and doing online consults. I've read good reviews for Dr Hasson and Wong on this site and the patient profiles on his site are impressive. There does not seem to be much mention of Dr. Bernstein on these forums or patient testimonial however going through his history and wealth of information on this website its clear that he's a luminary in the field. A few questions I have that will help me decide and I'd appreciate your opinions. My biggest confusion is in the basic philosophy that the two doctors seem to differ in. Dr. Bernstein strongly favors two smaller FUT's for someone in the Norwood 4 scale (around 2500 / 2000 based on patient profiles). His approach which is documented on his site is to try to get the best results with a single smaller (2500 range) HT and then consider a second based on the outcome of the first. He acknowledges that the effect after the first HT will be less "fuller" than a megasession like 6000 grafts but feels that it leaves more room to plan for the future and also that the second HT can be crafted based on the results of the first. Dr H&W seem to prefer the one and done approach of megasessions. For example a Norwood 4 patient on his showcase page got a HT with 6500 grafts. The results look good and fuller in contrast to NW4 testimonials after the first transplant by Dr. Bernstein but it's that the better long term decision? Or perhaps some pics were taken in better lighting or styling than others? I'd imagine having a single 6500 graft FUT rules out all possibility of a second FUT should the results not be optimal. I think I read Dr. Lindsay say that in his opinion larger number of grafts is generally better but no larger than 3000 for single session (forgive me if the number is a little off). From an end results perspective, and if cost wasn't a concern, is there any disadvantage to having two HT's spaced by a 1 - 1.5 yrs period over a single megasession of say, 6500 grafts? (besides the fact that you have to wait a year or so longer to see full effect of second HT). Do people chose on a single megasesion (for NW4 level range) because they prefer to only go though this once? Or if they have a long distance to travel to get the HT? Is scarring more with a single megasession or two sessions in the 2000 - 2500 range? I'm also curious to know why there is so little mention of Dr. Bernstein on the forums, despite being one the list of recommended surgeons. Is it any indication that not as many people go to him compared to the others that are more frequently mentioned or recommended? Is it because he may be more expensive. I'm not certain he is in all cases, just mentioning it based on the math of $6-$7 / graft. It adds up to more than a single megassion with most surgeons I looked up for the same number of grafts. There is mention of him and Dr Rassman being the ones that introduced FUT in 1995. Is that an indication that he's currently one of the best or has newer technology and more aggressive surgeons that produce faster results taken over? Apologies for the long first post and thanks in advance! DartDeric