HarryHonolulu

Hey all

when should one expect the most growth after FUE? Months 1-6 or 7-12? 

I’m in month 6 and definitely growing well - just curious if I should expect new hair in the next few months or if all the follicles should have sprouted by now

53 minutes ago, JeanLDD said:

When I see people look at a case like this and say its all fine when clearly there are ample multis in the hairline, the density is bad, the placement is unnatural and all over the place with hairs placed in at random at the front in a low density fashion for no particular reason, the angles are off and there is obvious cobblestone scarring, I continue to scratch my head at the people losing their minds saying that ASMED can't produce a good hairline. This thread is proof that people have zero ability to objectively judge hairline aesthetics as much as they want to pretend, period. If this was produced anywhere in Turkey, people would be shitting on this result. 

I mean for god sake, at least on the multigraft issue I'd expect people to be able to see an issue.

if you're so frustrated by how people react to results to the point of cursing and throwing a tantrum, why even bother? surely it's not worth your time? 

this patient had a botched surgery that gave him awful doll-like hair. 

he had it fixed which a) is brave, b) is expensive. 

the result is WAY better. no reason to bring up ASMED or whoever else. we're talking about THIS dude. 

be a little more sensitive. I've said this to you in private, I'll say it on here. I'm no mod but if it were up to me I'd tell you where to go (and it's not turkey)

I’m in month 5.5 and it’s starting to really grow. I love my new hairline because... it’s my old hairline! It just feels like me again. I don’t have to mess with concealers , wipe down the pillow or spend time styling my hair to try and thicken things up.

truthfully I’ve never had a huge complex about my hair loss because I used concealers reaaaally well so if you were to look at photos pre-HT (with concealers) vs now you’d be hard pressed to notice a difference.

but of course I’m more comfortable. That’s the word i would use for my specific situation.

the biggest thrill of all is that I did FUE and my donor looks super thick with almost zero visible scarring. I could buzz it tomorrow and nobody would know the difference. That’s a huge win for me. With FUT the confidence gained by having new hair would be offset by my anxiety at the scar. In the pool. At the barber. Wearing a short haircut. At the gym etc.

but that’s just me

You’ll look way better with half a head of hair than with no hair. 

You can add concealer to the balding area or address it at a later date

most guys who do have hair are balding in the crown anyway so you’ll basically “upgrade” to that status 

the new hairline looks brilliant!

hey guys

I'm 5 months post-op: I had 1800 grafts FUE (I'm a Norwood IV/Va) and I am thrilled. It's exactly the hairline I wanted and the density is really starting to come in.

of course, this first surgery only addressed the front part of my scalp, leaving the crown untouched. 

my donor is good. Doc said I could easily go back for another 1500-2000 grafts to address the rest of my head. 

question for those of you who did multiple procedures and had a "Good" donor (not an AWESOME donor) :

was it worth doing the second procedure or did you really notice the difference in your donor between round 1 and round 2? like... "great, i got hair on my crown but my donor looks like shit"

because right now I am considering staying like this and using caboki on the crown instead of pillaging my donor again. 

just curious!!

14 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Ok I understand now. It would be very rare that all of the hair on the sides would be miniaturized. This would mean you’d be an extreme norwood 7. I would say its more likely that a small amount of hairs are miniaturized. 

thanks Melvin.

are miniaturization and DHT hair loss the same thing?

On 1/26/2019 at 3:26 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

When doctors are performing extractions they have on high magnification glasses, this enables them to choose the healthiest hair for transplantation. 

Not sure what you mean by the second question, if thinning hairs are extracted and transplanted, there is a risk of them thinning. 

Here is what I meant. Let’s say you have visible miniaturization in a specific part of your scalp - the sides. Would all the hairs in that area also suffer from miniaturization or is it a “hair by hair” situation?

and if the hairs are all indeed affected by miniaturization, then should that area be avoided altogether as a potential harvesting site ?

24 minutes ago, home1212 said:

donor hairs used for transplantation are extracted from the "safe zone" on the back of the head where they are not susceptible to DHT and therefore should not miniaturize and die off ..  

They are also extracted from the side 

Hey all

Some questions that have crossed my mind...

- can a doctor determine whether a follicular unit shows signs of miniaturization/DHT before transplanting it? In other words can they look at the hairs during the operation and pick the best, healthiest looking follicular units ? 

- do miniaturized hairs usually grow in the same area of the scalp, and if so would harvesting ANY hair from that area present a risk ? Eg if you have a thinner area on the sides and the doctor harvests from that area, how likely is it that the transplanted grafts also show signs of miniaturization? 

21 hours ago, PlzRespond said:

Looks good. Did u use electric clippers on the recipient? Do u have pics from now?

I went to a barber who barely touched the recipient because this was 1.5 months post op and there was virtually no growth to deal with in the recipient.

my photos now are not of a shaved head so they wouldn’t address your question 

1 hour ago, wheretogo said:

Hey mate,

in my opinion if everything is looking good don't take unnecessary risks, just wait.

my clinic also told me 6 months post op no direct sun, i also bought UPF50 hat.

wait for how long??

here you go.

these were taken 1.5 months post-op.

had 1800 grafts done via FUE.

I presume it would only look better now since I am 5 months post-op and all the healing is complete.

as you can see there is absolutely zero noticeable scarring. this was SUPER important to me. I wanted to have to option of being able to buzz my head. 

hey all

it's winter here on the East Coast and I am starting to look like the stay puft marshmallow man.

I had my FUE procedure exactly 5 months ago and things are going swimmingly. I have been very diligent about post-op care and the hair is coming in thick and fast now. Yay!

I would like to get some sun but there are many differing opinions about when and how one should approach tanning after a hair transplant.

specifically: 

- is 6 months post-op enough time ? 

- should I cover my transplanted area with a SPF-50 bandana ? if I don't, should I apply sunscreen on the transplanted area? 

- are sunbeds an absolute no-no? interestingly my primary care doctor has no issue with them- he wrote me back saying "they're generally safe and they make one look better"! haha. I thought I was being trolled, but he is a brilliant doctor and it was a very surprising answer considering 99% of people would agree they're dangerous. I would only go a handful of times but still... it's scary to think that you could go once and walk out with melanoma.

14 hours ago, BjornBorg said:

Looks like an infinite donor.

Good result!

I was thinking the same thing !!

On 12/4/2018 at 3:16 AM, Phil36fromaus said:

I know theres been a debate about whether 2000 grafts is enough for this level of balding, but even the OP stated explicitly at the beginning of his post "I needed around 3,000 grafts in the frontal region but if I wanted a more conservative approach I should get 2,000."

I was in the exact same situation and underwent a 2000 graft surgery with Konior in 2015 for my first HT and can say I had ZERO regrets from that experience. Obviously i was always going to need more to accomodate any future balding, but as far as thinking long term and accommodating any future recession just that modest improvement was enough to make me happy and substantially alter my quality of life. 

I might be in the minority but the 5000 mega-sessions offered elsewhere just make me nervous. Plus it's Dr Konior ... he's incredibly judicious and meticulous ... has anyone ever seen a bad result from his clinic? 

So while OP won't get "miracles", Im still utterly looking forward to the results, If they were anything like mine Im sure he'll be happy. 

I feel exactly the same re: mega sessions

4 hours ago, PlzRespond said:

I’ve seen several stories on here where she recommended 1500 during consult and these people had varying amounts of loss. She also recommended 1500 for me too. But you’re right, the actual number seems to differ during surgery

Both her and Konior cap their FUE at 2000 grafts. They think anything more jeopardizes the donor area and that grafts are less likely to survive. They also think it’s in the patients best interest to preserve more donor for potential surgeries in the future.

I got 1800 from Nadimi and I’m a NW4/5. I’m just 3 months out and I’m starting to see growth. I’m so happy and really glad I didn’t panic and try to get the problem solved with a 5000 bad grafts somewhere else. I’m in my mid 30s.

6 minutes ago, JeanLDD said:

lol from a guy who literally starts *explicitly* negative threads about other doctors and then spreads negative comments across various other threads that's a little rich. I think a lot of people would have considered this question, and not just to be negative.

OP is obviously very early in the process and I haven't seen a poor case from Konior, but the reality is that its a fair question to ask if a 2000 graft FUT and spread across a larger than average area for the number is an optimal approach because its no doubt different to what we usually see. Saying this as someone who would consider Konior for a future procedure too.  

Some people definitely feel pressured into having lower graft numbers or being conservative due to believing they have no other options, when the reality is that via FUT or FUE there are most certainly surgeons who could have with zero issues covered a larger area and with more density, I suspect Konior could have too. Based on Konior's typical work probably 95%+ grafts will grow, but realistically a larger cosmetic improvement from a single procedure would have been possible with higher graft numbers, there's no question of it. I'm sure many surgeons would have different opinions on FUE/FUT due to linear scar risks even for a small graft number, not to mention I've seen some suggest a first strip procedure should be as large as possible for maximising long term graft numbers. Its no secret that outside of the US surgeons tend to be less conservative, but no less successful, so people shouldn't feel they have to go one method or another.

Its fair to have discussion on the issue, if OP or any other poster made the decision to go this route then I don't really see how they can be offended, quite frankly its ridiculous to pretend that's anything remotely offensive. Presumably there is good reason behind it and if they're doing long term research like OP then they'd easily be able to give insight into their choice. Basic questions like this help people make informed judgements, especially when perspectives differ so drastically from surgeon to surgeon.

Questioning one specific surgeon’s results (Erdogan) is different than going on threads and asking the same question over and over (“why so few grafts”) without even considering what the patient’s strategy or donor situation is first

1 hour ago, PeloDinero said:

seems like a low number of grafts for the amount of hair loss. What was the reason for that?

I was waiting for this guy! I knew it was coming the moment I saw he had  commented... 

It’s probably an exercise in futility but I’ll try anyway:

1) not all grafts are created equal.

2) different doctors = different results with same amount of grafts. 

3) everybody has different goals and expectations.

4) head size is different from person to person

sometimes it really does feel like you just plant the seed of doubt in people’s minds just to mess with them. I hope I’m wrong.

On 11/29/2018 at 5:14 PM, Bigcity said:

Good afternoon! I wanted to write about  my experience with Dr Steven Gabel in Portland, Oregon.

I am a 34 year old male and I have been experiencing hair loss since I was about 22-23. I was freaked out at the time, but if memory serves me correct,  Propecia was $200 a month then and unaffordable. Over the years my front and crown continued to lose hair.

about three years ago I started looking at options. By 2016, I was looking at the surgery option. I briefly considered going to the Dominican Republic for a vacation/surgery, but was too hesitant to pursue that option.

I had a phone consultation with Dr. Gabel in 2016 after finding reviews of him on this site. I sent pictures and we had a discussion about my hair loss experience. Dr. Gabel suggested focusing on the frontal part of my scalp at this time and see where things continued in the future. He also recommended laser and Finasteride. 1500-2000 grafts were suggested, as my done area is thin as well. Dr Gabel never tried to upsell me on anything and was upfront about what I could expect. I was excited after speaking with Dr. Gabel , but due to a prolonged illness of cancer with my mother, I put things on hold. 

My mother passed this July, on my birthday no less, and I decided to do something for myself and restore my hairline. I had a few follow-up questions, which Dr. Gabel answered via email. My main goals were to not look like I was 20 and to preserve options for the future, including no other procedures if Finasteride was successful. My mind was put at rest and I scheduled the procedure in October for November 27th.

the clinic was communicative with me and sent instructions prior to the procedure. My wife I stayed in Portland the night before and tried to get a good nights rest. I settled on 1700 grafts for the procedure.

I arrived at the clinic about 6:15 am and was warmly greeted by Dea, who is wonderful. After filling out paperwork etc. I was made comfortable and relaxed. My wife and I, along with Dr. Gabel and Dea, designed the hairline. Again, I wanted to be realistic about what I could achieve, As was Dr. Ganel. A design was agreed upon and my head was shaved and my day began.

Apparently I burn through local numbing injections, so I required quite a bit to keep pain with the FUE extraction under control. Everyone was attentive and I made as comfortable as possible. The sites were made after the extraction and then lunch, provided by the clinic. After lunch, off to the graft placement! Dr. Gabel placed the frontal grafts, while Courtney and Jess placed the others. I could take breaks as needed and enjoyed talking with them and listening to Bob Dylan. Once everything was checked, bandaged and instructions gone over, I was done for the day. We went back to the hotel, Fairfield Inn which was wonderful, and I was prepared for a long night.

to my surprise, I had no pain that night. I took a pain med at 10 to prepare for pain overnight and to help me sleep, but it wasn't because I was experiencing pain. I slept alright, about as good as I have the passed few months since my mother passed. I sprayed my head every two hours and showered in the morning before my follow-up appointment at 10.

my hair was washed by Jess and Emily and sights were inspected by Aileen. Dr Gabel came in and checked over the sights was was happy with how things looked. After care instructions were conveniently placed on a calendar type format, which made it easy to follow the days ahead. 

I am currently on day 2 and am doing well. I have 2 weeks off so I can focus on taking it easy. I will be updating this as I go along and welcome any questions anyone might have.

Dr. Gabel and his staff are wonderful, friendly, and knowledgeable. If you are thinking about going there, do it!

First two photos are my consultation pictures. The others are currently day 2.

Buddy it’s gonna look like a good, conservative hairline and I’m happy for you. Gabel is such a judicious dude, if he did what he did it’s 100% the right strategy for you.

21 hours ago, hanginginthewire said:

Very sorry about your mom.  

Looks good but surprised it’s so few grafts.  Are you taking the slow and steady route? 

READ THE POST. So tired of the “why so few grafts” thing.

the fella clearly said that Gabel advised him to focus on the hairline because his donor is thin!

13 minutes ago, jj51702 said:

Hi harry

do u have any pics?

PMd you

22 hours ago, det9925 said:

Harry how are things going??

Hi Det!

things are going really well... I’m starting to see growth ! 94 days post op. I feel it when I run my hand over the transplanted area and it’s so nice to sense hair there again. 

I only addressed the front and mid so I am obviously not bothered that the crown looks pretty much the same way as pre-op.

i am able to put concealer on now since I let my hair grow out a little bit, so I’m basically back to normal.

if I feel good after less than 3 months I can’t imagine how I’ll feel in 6!

:))

22 hours ago, Jamothee said:

Hi Harry, 

I am considering Nadimi myself, can you send me some pics please mate

Yes! Check your pm

I didn't put any concealer on my head (recipient or otherwise) for 2 1/2 months post-op.

I rocked the buzzcut during that time and only started applying concealer 3 months later when I let everything grow out.

you obviously need hair for the concealer to work so it really depends on how severe your hair loss is to begin with.

my advice would be to leave the scalp completely untouched for at least 2 months and only use a concealer if you plan on growing your hair out.