newpatient99

One of the best 8 month results I've seen. Would love to see his final result now if this patient is ok with sharing them.

Dream HT candidate for a doctor. NW 2 patient with naturally thick hair turning into a NW 1. This is pretty much my dream result lol. 

In my last pics, my hair was pulled back so I decided to comb my hair up and see how it looks and I'm encouraged to see that it definitely looks better. Multi-grafts and density are still an issue but most of the grafts look a lot softer and more natural. My biggest concern is the hair in the temporal points don't blend in well and look too rough, I've heard recreating the temporal points is the hardest challenge for even skilled doctors and only a handful of doctors are able to make them look good. With that being said, these pics are more encouraging now for a good final result. I do feel obligated to point out this was taken with a 2k camera so flaws will definitely be more prominent than in person.

#bigforeheadproblems

My redness is more visible in pics than in real life, plus those pics are close up in HD. The redness looks pretty normal. 

On 2/12/2018 at 3:37 AM, JeanLDD said:

 

OP made it clear it was his choice so one cannot blame Gabel. He was providing a service asked for by the patient who asked for it adamantly and did that effectively, it just wasn't the best solution.

 

And I've seen plenty and plenty of "professionals" with years of experience in hair transplants butcher, scam, and harm people such as in a recent Beehner case and of course Doganay, both of which are very competent doctors and have had a track record of strong results and knowledge. There are a number of "professional" surgeons recommended here who believe FUE cannot achieve the same results consistently as FUT as well as shouldn't be used for megassessions and to do so is unethical. Other surgeons on the recommended list here believe that FUT is no longer a procedure worth opting for in the vast majority of cases and FUE results can reach the same high standards of the best FUT. They can't all be right, so clearly being a professional doesn't make you infallible. The initial doctor who operated on him did a horrible job, would you take their "professional" advice or results? What an idiotic mentality. Truth doesn't care about the one who is saying it. This is an appeal to authority fallacy plain and simple.

 

The fact is that this doesn't look good currently, he's on the hook for an expensive, lengthy and non-guaranteed recovery and there was a better, more simple solution. His hairline is so high at this point that it doesn't look natural in itself, on top of the issue of where the grafts were removed. Again, if your forehead looked like that even if it was "only" for 12-24 months would you be comfortable going on dates or business meetings? I very much doubt you would.

 

Anyway, you do you and believe what you like, I've made my point and won't say any more on this. I don't want to upset anyone my point was simply that removing the grafts was a poor solution, and it doesn't look good. That is my opinion.

I don't think it looks that bad, I'm sure it'll get better with time and if he took some practice at applying make up, it won't be noticeable. I do agree that filling in the hairline would have been the better choice. Despite the terrible density, the grafts that actually grew looked pretty soft and natural, and with an elite doctor, a touch up would have turned out a favorable result. Plus the idea of wasting any precious grafts is hard to swallow for me. 

Why didn't you elect to just fill in the hairline a little? Obviously the density was terrible but the grafts that did grow looked soft and natural so Dr. Gabel didn't recommend just touching up the new hairline?

On 9/6/2018 at 7:56 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

I'm glad yiur surgeon reached out to you, did he explain what happened with your specific case? It would be great if your surgeon could respond to the community to shed some light on what may have occurred during your procedure that led to multi-follicular units being placed in your hairline. As it has been known for quite some time that only single follicular unit grafts are to be placed in the front of the hairline.  Either way, I am glad you are on working this out directly with your surgeon.

I don't want the doctor to feel cornered so I'm going to post the pre-op and immediate post-op pics first to allow a better assessment. Unless some of my single hair grafts magically grew into multi-grafts post-op, I guess the techs weren't on their A-game that night. My donor is strong, but not that strong lol. 

Hey everyone,

Thank you for all your input, I do want to be fair and let you all know that my surgeon did reach out to me after finding out who I was and we had a good conversation in person. I'll give another update once my surgeon gets back with me via email with the pre-op and immediate post-op pics. I forgot to mention that I am 30 years old and Asian, I know different ethnicities have different hair textures. Long story short, we've talked about moving down the hairline just a tad bit in about 2-3 months so none of the multi-grafts are visible. That way I'll be creeping up on that one year mark before a touch up is performed. 

On 9/6/2018 at 10:17 AM, jimbrann said:

Wow, did we have our HTs on exactly the same day (Dec 20th)?

Can you share immediate post OP pics?

Not trying to be a downer but the hairline work doesn't look very good (lack of density + pluggy appearance due to several multi FUs at the hairline).

Not quite, I had mine beginning of January

Yes, my surgeon is going to email me my pre-op and same day post-op pics and I'm going to post them here. 

How's your result looking so far? 

1 hour ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I understand, taking finasteride is a personal decision to be honest. Are you sure you had side effects? Perhaps, you were experiencing side effects, because you were thinking about it. Now I'm not going to say side effects do not occur, because they certainly do, but it might be worth trying again. Either way, I don't think you should get surgery just yet. Try a different hair style, I can guarantee that 99% of people do not look at you and think that you are a bald man trust me. 

His hair is actually very thick and even though his hairline is receding, his temporal points are still in tact. The right hairstyle would look good with that hairline. You're right that he doesn't need a HT but if he decides to get one, I'd say a 1800 graft session would almost guarantee him a knock out result. 

34 minutes ago, jj51702 said:

Roughly how long after a transplant can one use harsh shampoos like nizoral and tgel?

That I'm not sure, I was very careful during my post-op, so I was using baby shampoo for the first 2 months. 

On 8/16/2018 at 3:46 PM, Spidey said:

Where is this guy these days anyways. ... ?

You're pretty much a dream candidate for every doctor. A NW2 turning into a NW1. Despite the small case, this is what a HT should look like. Amazing result man! 

Have you considered a mini 500 graft touch up in the future? Not that you need it, but you'll probably get your old high school hairline back with one hah. 

OP, obviously the density is poor but the good news is the quality of the hair actually looks very soft and natural. The problem wasn't that you yielded a poor result, the problem was that you should have had a lot more grafts, obviously that's not your fault, but my point is your HT wasn't a complete lost cause. Another 1200-1500 grafts and I think it will look really good. 

OP, did the doctor ever get back with you?

3 minutes ago, Optimistic1 said:

Thanks for your help.

What about using finasteride and minoxidil? May I get the best outcome without using them?

Do you mind uploading pics so we can see how aggressive you're balding? Fin is for stopping/slowing down future hair loss but in many cases, it does regrow some hair. Even with a great transplant, if you elect to not take fin, you could continue to bald in the future.  Due to potential side effects, I cannot tell you if you should take it or not, that is completely up to you. The side effects are statistically low, but you could end up being one of the unlucky ones. Speaking from personal experience, I've been on Fin for about 3 weeks and the only noticeable side effect so far was back pain in the first week that has since went away. I haven't experienced the notorious "soft wood" yet. I'm taking generic 1 mg a day.

I was on minoxidil (I think the brand was Lipogaine) for 2 years from 2014-2016. I mainly used in the corner temples and noticed better density...however it does have side effects on your skin, I noticed my face was getting puffy, my skin wasn't as youthful looking, and dark circles under my eyes became more prominent. At first I contributed it to maybe a poor diet and lack of sleep, but I was always heavy into exercising and my sleep schedule didn't change but it was definitely the minoxidil. About a year after discontinuing minoxidil, I noticed my face wasn't as bloated, skin got smoother, and the dark circles weren't as noticeable anymore. 

Keep in mind if you do start fin or minoxidil, once you stop, all results you achieved will be lost as well. Be ready to be committed to long-term usage if you decide to go with either. 

The good news is other than your receded hairline, your hair looks very thick and don't appear to have any signs of balding. The other good news is that though even your hairline has receded to a NW 3, your temporal points are still pretty in tact and that is a huge advantage for you since many doctors have trouble rebuilding the temporal points. The tip of your hairline is still very low which is another plus for you. Honestly, if you opt for a NW 1.5, with a top tier surgeon, you will have an amazing result with 2000 grafts. Most U.S doctors charge $6.50 to $7 (please correct me if I'm wrong) per graft, so if you can shell out a few more grand, you'll be set to go. 

2 hours ago, Speegs said:

Welcome, young man.

Pictures, please.

Let's get you on finasteride asap, you''re young and can possibly halt hair loss in its tracks with finasteride use, or at least mitigate it so that future surgery can be explored without dealing with total hair loss.

Please go to a general practitioner or dermatologist and get finasteride (brand name Propecia) as soon as you can.

A generic finasteride will save you money, so you should ask for that.

To echo what you said, If MPB runs in your family and you're already losing your hair at 18, look into Fin asap.  I won't tell you whether you should take it or not, because you need to talk to your doctor about the potential side effects and if it's worth taking it. With that being said, Fin can literally save your hair moving forward. If not, it should at least subdue your hair loss and a less aggressive transplant in the future could be an option. 

Don't hit your head right after the surgery

Don't pick at grafts

Remove scabs carefully when it's safe to touch the grafts

Don't be out in the sun too long

Avoid shampoos with harsh chemicals for a while after your surgery

And you'll be fine. 

4 hours ago, jj51702 said:

Interesting, I thought in the US the doctor had to do all the harvesting.

Some only do the incisions, some will do the harvesting with a tech, most doctors I believe don't do the implanting. 

2 hours ago, jj51702 said:

Wait so the doctor didn’t do the harvesting?

No, one tech extracted all the grafts. And then two different techs did the implants. 

Looking good man, great hairline outline by your doctor btw. 

You're way ahead of schedule man, this is going to be a 10/10 result in another 6 months, 

On 9/4/2018 at 10:44 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

Hi Newpatient99, 

Thank you for sharing those pictures, I can certainly see what you mean about how the hair looks. Have you reached out to your surgeon, for his input on your case? Also, to confirm your surgeon, did not extract the hair follicles? I am assuming that the hair follicles were extracted by both the surgeon and a technician in tandem am I correct?

Hi Melvin,

I went in for a follow up a month ago and my surgeon did agree with me that the density in the temporal points were lacking at 7 months and 3 weeks. He said to wait until after 11 months and see where I'm at before deciding if a touch up procedure is necessary. As far as the lump goes, he said it looked and felt like ingrown hair, however my hair was long at the time and it was hard to see it. I scheduled an appointment to go in this Thursday for another follow up. 

My surgeon did not extract the grafts, one of his techs extracted all of them. 

1 hour ago, jj51702 said:

Also what kind of fur is this, manual or artas?

A tech harvested my grafts one by one with a tool that resembled a nail gun, I think that's manual?

1 hour ago, jj51702 said:

Is that spot totally bare? I had a spot like that last year that was totally bare (literally just skin) and it was diagnosed as alopecia areata. It definitely didn’t have a jelly like consistency tho.

I'm not sure if it's totally bare, from the pic and from feeling it, there appears to be a few strands of hair. Was yours a lump/bump though? Like I said, mine is a lump which has a jelly/fatty texture. There's a little pain if I put pressure on it, if I press too hard, it feels like it will pop.