Spaceman

Generally speaking, yes. Hairs can take 18 months or more to fully mature.

Its good that you are aware. Many clinics downplay the likelihood of lingering redness and yet it is common in patient posted pictures on this site. After the first few weeks or so, you can use a small amount makeup (the kind that women use as foundation) to reduce the redness where visible. It only takes a minute to apply and it works surprisingly well. There are loads of YouTube videos on concealing skin issues, but you’re better off going to any department store beauty counter and asking for help. They can try a few different products to see what works best and show you how to apply it.

Its a huge improvement. A game changer for you. Its a great example of why one should consider meds before surgery. Thanks for posting.

There is no problem. Erdogan is probably best known for FUE mega-sessions, but he does a lot of first rate hairline work. He can and does create mature hairlines when appropriate. Check out HG1’s thread. That said, hairlines are about artistry and personal preference so if your hairline is your primary concern then choose a surgeon who consistently creates hairlines to your taste.

Its a fantastic result. It looks very natural and age appropriate. Congratulations!

Its a very good use of grafts, given his very fine hair and level of baldness. Even light coverage in a crown that size takes a lot of grafts. But that light coverage gives him the option of using concealer on the crown when desired. I agree that it looks natural and age appropriate.

FUT has different staffing and equipment requirements than FUE. Maybe Diep has only one team of techs trained to process the strip, and one operating room fitted with microscopes for dissection. It might not be about money. Best of luck Legend.

Completely agree. And that is really why I spoke out on this thread. I don't want anyone else to end up in Dutchie's position, so I thought I should speak up about it. Its easy to look at pictures of great results from a similar Norwood level as onesellf and say, hey, that can be me with the same number of grafts. But it doesn't necessarily work that way. Heads vary quite a bit in size and shape. You really can't say that if an NW7 got a great result with 5000 grafts, then a different NW6 with 5000 grafts should get the same or better result. That kind of thinking can get someone into trouble.

Totally agree that the grafts were spread out too thin to provide the cosmetic benefit that Dutchie was looking for. Maybe Hasson didn’t make that clear. Dr Hasson said he told Dutchie he’d have no expectation of density and said that Dutchie wanted to proceed with whatever was possible. Dutchie may remember the conversation differently and only those two know what was said. Consider this exchange from Dutchie’s thread about a Lorenzo patient somewhat similar to Dutchie that he thought was a poor result. https://vimeopro.com/user23345553/norwood-5-6-7/video/82244306 Dutchie had 20% fewer grafts transplanted than the Lorenzo patient with similar characteristics as himself over a similarly sized area. Makes me wonder if Dutchie fully understood his situation. I’m definitely not trying to beat the guy up. I feel bad for him. Its just that the results of the Lorenzo patient are better than what he should have expected, not worse. If someone looking for a transplant reads this, develop realistic goals for your situation over consultations with multiple top doctors and walkway from any procedure if your goals are not very likely to be met.

He definitely did not get the cosmetic benefit he was looking for. Its really shit for him considering the time money, and stress involved. But I just can’t get past the fact that even if 90% of his grafts grew, he’d still only have 18.9 graft/cm2 average density over that really large treated area. That is extremely thin. And that was the likely outcome before the surgery began. And that was the result.

@Mick50 You look great! Your result makes even good results pale in comparison.? I agree that most people with NW5/6 would expect a better result, especially from Hasson and Wong. However, the math is tough in Dutchie’s case. His head is very large. He had 4200 grafts placed in an almost completely bald area measuring 200cm2. His average post op density in the treated area would be 21cm2, a bit more if you include the hair in the tuft and margins. With thin diameter hair Dutchie would need 50cm2 to provide an illusion of density. My opinion is that Dutchie’s math was never going to give him a result like yours, or anywhere close. This was all known ahead of time and should have been discussed before his strip was cut. Perhaps Hasson didn’t say it, or perhaps Dutchie didn’t want to hear it.

@Sean Dutchie’s thread is old, but in his initial post on the thread Dutchie wrote that his disadvantages were having a very large head and very thin diameter hair. The result is not what he expected, but 4200 was never going to be enough. Couldn’t agree more. Hopefully Dutchie is better shape these days.

I took an interest in Dutchie’s case as I was researching Dr. Hasson before ultimately selecting him as my surgeon. Dutchie was beyond NW5 @Mick50. It would be generous to call him NW6. Here are pre/post op pics from Dr Hasson, along with Dutchie’s own pics. Dutchie’s first pic is from1 month post op. His second was taken sometime between 6 and 12 months, definitely before the final result. Maybe someone else remembers when. At the time, I didn’t assess this as a surgical failure by Dr Hasson. It looked like the grafts grew and covered as much as one can reasonably expect with 4200 light-colored grafts spread out over a very large and nearly entirely bald head. Perhaps Dr Hasson failed to properly set Dutchie’s expectations, or perhaps Dutchie may have heard what he wanted to hear during the consultation, but IMO, the result is what one would expect. He has very light hair, a very large dome and was very bald. Hasson could have put twice as many (8400) grafts in the recipient area and still not achieved full illusion of density throughout. Hopefully it progressed somewhat and Dutchie is happy with it.

@djohnson while all of the doctors mentioned by others are capable of giving you a great result I think Feriduni is a great choice for your situation. Something like this, but with additional strengthening of the forelock so maybe 2000-2500 grafts. Maybe a bit more as Jean said, but Feriduni seems to maximize graft coverage really well.

Thanks @Melvin-Moderator and @Steeeve, I really appreciate it.

7 months and one week post-op.

Thanks Max, appreciate the clarification. Yes, early hair growth tends to be very thin and lighter in color, and the hair thickens and often darkens as it matures. Also, for many people the donor hair color can be subtly different than the native hair in the recipient area. That difference persists after transplant but can diminish over subsequent hair cycles..

This does not sound right to me. Not for a procedure focused on the temples and hairline with your starting situation. There was no reason not to design a dense hairline in the temple area. Furthermore, if low density in the temples was intentional then the surgeon should have set this expectation with you up front. During your consultation did he show you other results in his results gallery featuring a low-density temple design? I’m guessing the answer is no. Obviously you’re still at 8 months, and your density may improve somewhat in the months ahead. You may see additional growth and what has already grown will thicken and mature. And you may end up satisfied with the result. At the same time, what that the patient advisor is telling you does not make sense.

Congratulations @Joel1! You look fantastic. Thanks for sharing your result.

Some of the longest threads on this board are dedicated to the topic of FUT vs FUE, with advantages and disadvantages proposed and debated. It really depends on your situation, goals, and personal preferences. For example, if a patient with 11000 donor grafts available was NW7 and he wanted to transplant all of them he would probably want to consider FUT.

You are wrong that FUE is the best choice simply because of your prodigious donor and hair caliber. It means that you may be a candidate for either surgery (depending on laxity) and you should use other criteria to make the decision between FUE and FUT. I’m not saying you made the wrong decision though, not at all. FUE is a great procedure. It’s just that there are other factors to consider as well. Regardless, you made a good choice for you and your procedure looks like it is on track for success.

I can’t say I know anything about the Denas SCENAR @zealander but perhaps you may be interested in this delightfully similarly named Delux Scannar:

Regarding potential shock loss in the hairline, if you are not taking Finasteride, then consider starting it now. It will strengthen miniaturized hairs in your hairline and in doing so it can help prevent shock loss as a result of the HT. It will also help preserve your current situation.

Silent, I understand that you tried Finasteride and you said it didn’t go well. In case you don’t know, you can sometimes avoid initial side effects if you titrate up slowly. For example: Day 1-12: 0.5 mg every third day Day 13-24: 0.5 mg every other day Day 25-36: 0.5 mg every day Day 37-48: 0.5 mg every day plus 0.5 mg every third day Day 49-60: 0.5 mg every day plus 0.5 mg every other day 1 mg every day thereafter You can even use increments of 0.25 mg over a longer time period if necessary and stop/decrease whenever sides persist for more than a couple days. I mention this because in your situation you are likely to benefit from Finasteride more than anything else if you could avoid the sides.

You certainly don’t need to have any procedure right now. You look great for 37. However, if you’re going to get a HT and can afford Konior’s no-shave FUE fees, the procedure you’re planning sounds reasonable and Konior is a fantastic choice for the detailed hairline work.