jjsrader

Looks like you have very fine hair. Give it time. It is my opinion that those w/thinner diameter hair & straighter hair take longer for initial shock to wear off and begin the growth process.

18 months is 18 months. You can either spend the money and have it corrected properly by a very experienced/caring doctor that knows FUT/FUE & repair (like Shapiro Medical Group or another clinic that is experienced in all types of hair transplantation and corrective procedures) and then can live the rest of your life properly or Go back to Turkey, the machine/factory of Erdogan will NOT take out your grafts and pack in a bunch more (mostly by his techs) - sure they may use microscopes now, but that might be just another promise and they don't do it consistently. He's bullshitting you and you know it. You are a number/paycheck to that guy. You need at least 50% of the incorrectly angled grafts removed and many of the multi-hair grafts at/near frontal hairline zone taken out. Don't go back to Turkey - this guy's operation is purely a business to him at this point. Ramping up to 8 surgeries a day - probably 12-16 a day w/n another few years so he can retire sooner. Good luck.

If you want to do this right you can probably have the 1st two rows fue'd out and microscopically dissected into proper follicular units and placed back in behind the hairline. Maybe it takes 3 procedures every 4-6 months? I would consult w/Shapiro Medical Group guys. They know what they are doing. You'll begin to look better once the big plugs are mostly gone. Then when enough healing has occurred you can dense pack a new hairline (might take 2 more sessions). In 18 months you could be almost done. I would begin now and mentally prepare. It will be worth it in the long run. Don't go back to Turkey - you will regret it.

FUE out the 1st 2 rows in two separate procedures. Have a top-notch clinic re-pack your frontal zone properly. This is 2-3 surgery process.

HLC Hair Clinic. Manual FUE extraction - stick and place. Small sessions. Compared to the factory Erdogan is now doing - this clinic is leaps and bounds better for about the same price.

I also had a transplant w/Dr. Feller when I was 37 and began losing alot more hair about 6 years after at age 43. 16 year user of dutasteride here. I do use systemic oral rogaine and spiro (yea, I know - don't go there). As well as overmachogrande.com laser helmet 440 diode and 2X's weekly Nizoral. I think I RIVAL you for very very fine/straight hair. Guys like us literally need 7K in our frontal 1/3rd to have a natural hairline zone that 'appears' to be near normal. Not to mention (if you have the donor) another up to 5-8K for mid-vertex and near the crown. The crown you 'dust' lightly. Since you are new to dut (but an older guy) - I would stick with it even if you are losing ground. Think how much more you would be losing without dut? Sometimes us thin haired/fine hair guys w/very straight hair 'max' out our donor (fut/fue) and even then - we just have to work with what we have and accept it. I still have a couple surgeries left at nearly 9k of grafts done and will probably throw permanent SMP into the mix along w/PRP w/Acell in the next 2 years and that will probably be it for me. Good luck & you have had good surgeons thus far.

This is like the anecdotal stories of men who wear hairpieces and the person they sleep with every night never notices. Sure buddy - okay. I'm sure she's a very observant woman in real life. This is typical of the WORST type of posting on this website in my opinion. Yes, the results are very good but the hyperbolic 'copy' in your headline actually makes your clinic appear to be a bit schlocky. Again, great results but I don't see the need for the extra 'copy' about the gf. Maybe I'm being a bit of a pisser though.

Still; good points are being made on both sides. Let it continue if it must.

Also, imho if you are spending 6 figures for Med School (likely) - why are you concerned with cost and flying to Turkey? C'mon - you are a smart guy and for 2K of grafts if you spend top dollar with Konior or Rahal or even Devroye that's not even an extra 15K. This smacks of typical new poster with okay - not body dysmorphia but massive OCD and instead of going to IN-PERSON consults w/top surgeons, basically does a probably email consult w/Erdogan (who would never turn down any patient w/alot of hair) and then comes and posts here. If you are going to be a physician why would you not further consult w/experts in their field, in person w/ALL the facts before coming here and being verbally chided by a poster like me (which is inevitable)? I'm sure you believe you have enough hairloss to warrant elective cosmetic surgery but even after being told by the most knowledgeable posters in this thread (not me, btw) that you are not a candidate - you continue to engage. I wonder why that is. Finally, you are just neurotic about your hair - every single person in this thread and website are as well - so you are among friends. Even if I am a humorless bore when dumping ice water in this thread. Good luck!

Dude - you should have a great life! You are way smarter than I am, so please disregard my comments as inconsequential and please, engage away with many other knowledgeable guys on a hair forum instead of um, I don't know - going to several well-regarded surgeons in America and get PROFESSIONAL opinions. Haha!

Oh but wait! I've seen at least 20 surgeries on here that were cheered on w/guys that have less hairloss than this guy - right into the frontal hairline and temple areas. So he shouldn't have surgery 'cause he is only considering a doctor in Turkey? So if he spent more with Rahal or Konoir or someone of that caliber - now he's magically a candidate? One thing is obvious - if you have this miniscule amount of hairloss you better choose wisely and go with the best of the best. It appears this is a case of body dysmorphia - based on the original posters replies, imo. Let me emphatically state this guy has no worries - but in other threads I would be hearing from other posters let him do what he wants to do 'cause it's his own perception of hairloss. I'm beginning to think the format of asking questions means nothing at this website. Why not just have threads of before & afters and 'case studies' - since any answer is subjective at best.

It is ironic yet true that when provocative topics are raised - we tend to get answers. Do you really think Dr. Erdogan would have EVER bothered to come here on the board and give his explanation of tech training at his facility if there wasn't a real reason to do so? Frankly, he should have a section about that on his website - since he's such the promoter, eh? Yet we only get a personal long explanation when enough doubt or noise was created. Let me tell you something; my entire extended family is in the healthcare industry (doctors/pharmacists/physician assistants/nurses) and I can tell you with absolute certainty they are just like anyone else. Certainly nothing more but often much less than the rest of the masses. Yea, they are usually very intelligent and take tests well - that's not everything. Bedside manner is relevant too - and truly wanting to heal. Plastic surgeons usually don't go into their field 'cause it's a 'calling' - it's detailed and demanding but very lucrative. Now, to the point. There are so many doctor's that are challenged on this website and we never get a clear answer. Oh, it will mess up my refund, I don't want to out my doctor, blah blah blah. Most of them have a rep on this board or I can guarantee you someone on their staff looking for mention's of their name on this forum. What do we normally get? An echo chamber and then mods begging for more info so they can open a dialogue with the doctor. I'd like to hear more about that. Website gets paid big bucks from doctor's and then I see alot of half-assed excuses about resolution. I often wonder what the story is behind the scenes (outside of the website mission statement). Case in point. I bet at least the vast majority of doctor's aren't showing the required work on this website they are supposed to be accountable for. Oh, but the moderator didn't keep up on that for the last 6 months - 'cause hey, I'm getting paid and I have to moderate all these posts and keep replies on topic. Doctor's should be required to interact on at least a limited basis here in order to stay recommended. In fact I saw a couple very nice/detailed and informative replies from Dr. Bhatti today - thank you doctor for your insight to a regular poster(s). I realize doctor's are busy but surely they can step up and reply to at least the most interesting questions on this forum. Many do, more need to do so. It's called good standard of care. Perhaps I'm most disappointed in newbies who don't use the search function and spend REAL time studying and reading months and months (years and years) of QUALITY and in-depth threads before they come on here and ask the same uninformed questions. It would be better to charge an initial small registration fee to post in order keep out utterly clueless that don't bother to really approach major surgery investigation with the respect it deserves. But what do I know? The majority in here are into hair porn and can't emotionally handle going bald as nature intended; it's flaccid and weak & I have no bloody use for it. Yet, here I am posting like an idiot!! ; )

Well Sean - hasn't H&W and Rahal always quoted prices for their services in the loonie (CAD)? If so, you know that going in as long as CAD is way above par you are paying a premium. Same w/European doctors quoting their prices in EUR/USD. Do you think any of these doctors would lower their prices if EUR/USD popped back up to 1.45 against the dollar? Haha! So, the Rupee just hit all-time highs USD/INR. If surgeons like Bhatti quote consistently in Rupees - you know you will have to pay a premium right now. And he's passing on the 18% GST tax! Oh boy. Since local workers are paid in local currency ALL payments should be made in local currency. But of course, go to Turkey and get a quote - any good doctor is quoting EUR/USD or USD. Let's say the EURUSD falls back to .9 against the USD? You think Erdogan is going to ask for EUR/USD in payment or USD? Hmm... There will always be currency fluctuations - though in my humble opinion if prices fluctuate year over year more than 5% I believe customers should be offered price breaks to keep things consistent every 6-12 months. My last surgery I was quoted USD as payment but the surgery was not in the U.S.

I say let him rant and obsess. It makes for great reading and obviously he can't stop himself from posting. The replies are great as well - informative too. It's his process - great theatre!

But nobody cares about FUE being advisable for 'limited balding' anymore - guys are having 5-7K FUE early in life and then say they'll do FUT down the road if they are still bothered by progressive hair loss. FUE is rapidly gaining acceptance as the norm - not the exception. But whatever - people can do what they want - it's their money, their head/scalp.

Haha! All surgeons weigh their currency vs USD and/or EURUSD. What will they do if the EURUSD drops below par again? Oh, they'll say no, we don't take the Euro anymore for payment, we want your U.S. dollars. It's somewhat deceptive if they bait/switch payment currencies over time. And they will.

We all know what a pain in the ass transplants are to schedule/undergo/endure/wait out results/2nd & perhaps later surgeries - wash/repeat (I don't even recommend them to regular people in my day to day dealings). That's a fact I think we are all acutely aware of. Um, hairloss surgery is a unique decision for every person; reasons for doing so are as varied as the person who gets one done. And yes, there is evidence that pretty much 99%+ of men in society do just fine w/hair as-is, balding or otherwise. In 2012 about 310,000 procedures worldwide would suggest that nearly 100% of men don't resort to cosmetic hair-restoration surgery. However, that written - when done on suitable candidates w/good hair characteristics and moderate balding, well, you've seen alot of results here in the forum that are frankly quite extraordinary for those of us w/hair fetishes. ; ) ; )

JeanLDD 'breaking it down' point by point to Payam - oh yes! But seriously, yea - 3.2K is not like 5.5K grafts and he's lagging some but has a good base. Erdogan should work with him and I would not be surprised to see total satisfaction from this patient down the road when he does a 2nd session. He's being honest, patient, showing very clear consistent pictures and communicating with his doctor (and us forum posters). This is the reality of hair-restoration surgery. Each surgery is unique and for many, time & repeated procedures w/a clear focus on the overall plan for now and the future serves them best.

Looks great and very good pics. Looks like you have good hair characteristics and that frontal BIG tuft probably saved you at least 500+ grafts - always good to have some frontal hair that is terminal right in the middle if you are losing - I think it helps in the overall transition of the frontal hairline from side to side and straight on. Good luck and enjoy your journey back to more hair!

Yea, this forum is pro-transplants for sure. Anything beyond NW5 is mostly about 'reasonable expectations' after all there is only so much hair you can replace that is lost - however, those w/very favorable hair characteristics who are NW5 or NW6 'skew' the results in my opinion. For example, on hair forums the vast amount of photograph evidence is from doctors or patients that get very good cosmetic results (even w/advanced baldness) vs the amount of pics we see that are not so good. That's a fact. For example, take a look at Dr. Bernstein and a few other doctor's websites (Shapiro/H&W) that feature ALOT of NW5/NW6 results and take a good hard look and think to yourself w/your own hair characteristics and long-term hairloss pattern if those are results that would seem good to you if you did 3 FUE surgeries? I don't recommend hair transplants to anyone - but that doesn't mean my opinion is any more valid than the many people who have had hair-restoration surgery and been completely satisfied with it. My entire family male history on both sides are all NW5's/6's and 7's - someone like me who began losing his hair at age 21 should probably not ever start going down the hair transplant road. I waited until I was 23 years old to begin. Even w/the arsenal of meds & stuff I am on (in my profile) I have only managed to slow down my long-term hairloss slightly (and I have been on alot of stuff for 20+ years). 8.6K+ hair transplants w/fine straight hair doesn't look NEARLY as full as someone like Bill (managing publisher) who has wavy thick hair. That's just a fact. My expectations have diminished as I have gotten older, yet I will be having another surgery in Feb '19 because I want enough hair in my frontal hairband and 1/3rd of my head to have enough hair to create the illusion of a near-normal head of hair. After that final FUT I'll finish off w/FUE - but this is my personal journey and the FUE will be for my midscalp to the back of my mid-vertex. I'll have to let my crown slowly lose but have a 'base' of grafts to keep the natural crown whirl. Even w/13K of grafts w/my type of hair (fine/straight on very white skin) the contrast created doesn't create the illusion of a full head of hair throughout my entire head of hair. Of course w/a bit of dermmatch and/or hair volumizing fibers and such it looks pretty near normal - but that can be a pain in the ass everyday as well (which I don't do on a regular basis). Even w/temporary SMP or even permanent ink via Mark Weston that is NOT exactly like natural regular density hair - there is no magic bullet. PRP and laser helmets are still not well documented. So, it never really ends, in a manner of speaking. It is all about personal perspective and realistic expectations under all lighting conditions etc... All I know is that if you are commited to the long haul and are not taking any systemic meds/topicals/hair laser/prp or whatever to slow down hairloss - is that hairloss is progressive (the severity depending on your genetics and family history) and anything can happen when you are much older.

I think if you do several more consults you'll get a 'baseline' for what is reasonable vs what some surgeons say that want to do possibly (in your opinion) an excessive amount of grafts. Cosmetic hair-loss surgery is NOT for everyone - it takes so long for results and even then you are not guaranteed good results. Most people do well but there are probably way over 50% of patients that regret their decision longer term. This is a fact and keep in mind on a hair forum we are seeing the VAST amount of posters either shortly after their surgeries or within a year or two - never to be heard from again. Hairloss in nearly 100% of patients is progressive and often it can accelerate greatly after age 40 or 45 years old. One never knows. These are all valid reasons NOT to have surgery. There are also many many reasons to have surgery and it can be very satisfying in the short-medium AND long term as well. In the end it is completely personal and win/lose/draw your hair should not be the most important thing in your life as you age. Seriously. It can be something you do the best you can with but like all things in life as we age perspective should be the great equalizer. peace...

Well, we are seeing things OBJECTIVELY - so would a hair-loss restoration surgeon. As well as Bill (managing publisher). You've had consults and don't know what/who to trust? That means you are not in a position to have hair surgery yet (imho). Maybe I'm completely wrong. I know it can be very difficult - I've had alot of grafts (8.7K) and will be doing more again this winter - I have a certain 'base' of hair. But when you consider how many original hairs are in the frontal zone to the back of the mid-vertex, it's easy to lose perspective on how much real estate we are trying to cover w/the 'illusion' of hair at less than 50% of total density. Especially if one has straight and/or fine hair. Losing one's hair is not easy. It's why we come to this forum and look for objectivity; it is easy to lose that when it's personal. I'm not satisfied w/my hair but others see coverage and don't really think of me as balding. Finally, it is sometimes difficult if we don't accept the aging process that EVERYTHING in/on our body is moving steadily (although slowly) towards entropy. Give yourself a break and get all the facts and then make an objective decision on how and if you want to move forward. Good luck.

Yea, now you have a good 'base' - finish off w/another surgery and with your hair characteristics I think you'll be mostly pleased.

I don't know - for the type of hair you have (straight and looks like fine hair) it looks just fine to me. Some recession - but it doesn't look bad at all. I suppose if you threw 5-7K grafts in there it would look alot more full, but frankly as is - seems normal. Maybe I'm missing something. You are 39 so, you've kept most of your hair which is way better off than 90% of balding men. Good luck on whatever you decide.