kirkland

Here's my before pics taken today. You can see the red shadow on my scalp in the first pic. That's the result of an SMP gone wrong. It's called Post-Inflammatory Erythema (PIE) and it's been like this since I had the treatment in 2015. In 2018, I had the pigment removed by laser but the blush remained. You can still see in the circled area that not all of pigment was removed. That's what SMP looks like after a few years - a uniform grey shadow across the area. I'm fortunate to still have a lot of crown left given how much I lost up front. Plus my lateral humps are prominent. This pattern has been stable for many years but you can see in the second picture where I will be ending up. I've been on dutasteride (0.5mg x3/week) for almost 3 years and oral minox (2.5 mg/day) for over a year. I can definitely see my crown area, particularly the lower part, thickening up. For me this transplant is more than just boosting my ego - the red blush has been humiliating for me over these past 6 years. I'm looking forward to covering it up and moving on with my life.

I am all for a dedicated podcast for hair transplants and Melvin, you would be a great host. It would extend the reach of this forum and there is definitely an audience out there for it.

Haha - thanks @Gatsby. 😁

Full blown NW6 so lots of ground to cover. Will only be there for less than a week. Slipping in the day before surgery and gave myself enough time to have at least two days post-surgery to make sure everything is healing properly. Definitely look forward to posting my story and, just like @Zoomster, hope to be a poster-boy for high Norwood success.

I am scheduled for my first HT surgery with Eugenix on Monday, October 11. Will be traveling from Canada to Delhi. If you have any specific questions about the clinic prior to my arrival, I will gladly answer them when I am there. Otherwise, I hope to be posting about my experience in about two weeks time after my return.

There is just an overwhelming amount of information out there now that it's hard to know who to trust. I think the best thing that this forum can do is remain true to its principles of transparency, accountability and trust-building. To quote Dr. Sethi from the article: "Two things are essential here - education of the doctor/clinic & education of the patients." This forum does a good job in providing the education for prospective patients and promoting experienced and ethical hair restoration surgeons/clinics like Dr. Sethi/Dr. Bansal and Eugenix. How come there is no podcast dedicated to hairloss? Or is there?

I agree with Doron in this assessment. Since the crown is the 'black hole' of the scalp, and if you have a majority of single FU's in the bank, including beard hair, I would be cautious in using too many of them to fill the crown. I think it would be better to improve the density in the hairline and, since you are going to Eugenix, they can extract a lot from your beard for the crown.

Looking good. Keep us updated.

I guess this could be a drawback of the DHT version of FUE, where the newly excised graft is almost immediately inserted into the recipient slit without quality control. I would love to see side by side magnified pics of a surgically removed hair follicles - one that is traumatized by the excision and one that remains healthy.

If you did an FUT treatment after your third transplant, I don't think you would have to harvest that much and your scar should be minimal. I like how your first two FUE surgeries worked out. Your hairloss was not quite extensive as mine but your videos have given me hope that 6500 grafts are viable from the donor and that it can cover a lot of area with good density.

Thanks @rob7331 I was not aware about this thread. Thanks for that!

Can anyone provide a suggestion on the best way to pay for a HT surgery in India? Did you pay by credit card, cash, traveller's checks?

I have just successfully re-submitted my medical visa application to the Canadian Consular General of India (CGI) in Toronto and I did confirm that there are 2 additional requirements for a medical visa application that are not listed on relevant websites (CGI and BLS): a letter from a physician in Canada confirming a patient's travel to India for a HT and a recent bank statement. For Canadians who have either booked or wish to book a HT surgery with @Eugenix Hair Sciences or another clinic in India, it is likely easier to apply for a regular travel visa to India. I did not try this route because I was told by a Consulate official that a medical visa would increase my chances of travelling to India while travel restrictions were in place. Those restrictions are lifting and you should be able to get a regular visa to travel just like in the good ol' days (pre-pandemic). For those who are using the Indian visa services in Toronto or Brampton, DM me and I can tell you more details on how best to expedite the process. Thanks @Melvin- Moderatorand @Eugenix Hair Sciences

At the clinic's end in India, Abhinay and Mr. Maudit have both been very helpful. Really impressed with their customer service. Thanks, Melvin, for linking @Eugenix Hair Sciences into the conversation. For Canadians who have to use the third-party company, BLS, to secure a medical visa for a HT clinic in India, they are asking for a note from a family doctor in Canada as part of the document requirements. Both the website of the Consulate and BLS do not mention this additional requirement.

I am scheduled for my surgery at Eugenix in Delhi on October 11 and 12. Flying out of Toronto on October 8. Early last week, I attempted to submit all of my medical visa documents to the Consulate (or the third-party company currently handling all Indian visas in Canada) and was told I was missing a note from my family physician in Canada, which was not listed as one of the required documents on the website of both the Consulate and the third-party company (BLS). It's been a frustrating process so if you are a Canuck who is going the medical visa route to get to India for a HT, be prepared to have both a document completed and signed by Eugenix (that particular form is on the Consulate website - you need to use that specific form and not just a general letter from the clinic) AND have a signed note by a Canadian physician. I go back tomorrow morning to the BLS centre to re-submit my application with about two weeks to go for approval. If you have any questions, DM me.

I still believe that FUT is the better option for those who are younger and have extensive hairloss. You need the max number of grafts over the longer period of time you want hair. At my age, having a more conservative hairline and thinness in the crown is expected. FUE and BHT, in skilled hands, is going to give me a result beyond what I previously hoped for.

Yes, I know. But the scar, Melvin, the scar....

After doing lots of research on Norwood patterns that are similar, and with a conscious decision to forego the crown area altogether with a conservative hairline, I believe that 5-6000 grafts will satisfy me. My donor area has good caliber, and though I don't know my average FU size, I feel confident that I have more than enough beard hair and donor supply to go with FUE only.

That's a pretty good looking result to date.

And I agree with @Gatsby - another surgery to add density (and the use of fibers) would give you a really incredible final result. It already looks good. The hairline looks great.

With the fibers, it looks really good! Without having seen the other colours, it looks like the gray fibers are the right shade for you. How do you feel about it?

Post a pic with the fibers and we'll give you some feedback.

Yeah - this is a straight up incel post with the signature 'chad must be tall or hung' to date a beautiful woman. Dude, perhaps personality is important to most women?

I applied for a medical visa from Canada. Eugenix forwarded a letter of confirmation of the surgery for my visa application. I asked for Dr. Bansal to be involved in the surgery. The cost is about 400,000 rupees. About $7k CDN.

International travel, in general, is still challenging. Each country, including India, has restrictions particularly if you aren't vaccinated. I am scheduled at Eugenix next month. Flying from Toronto to Heathrow to Delhi. I have to have a neg PCR test before I leave Toronto to get into the UK and India and another negative PCR test prior to leaving India. In London, both inbound and outbound, I have to pay for an antigen test at the airport and, upon arrival in India, I have to test again. It's adding about another $500 US to my expenses. Not to mention there are more declaration forms to complete, more docs to upload. Yeah - travelling sucks right now.