Fozzie

Just to correct myself, it seems as though the hair that has grown back in the hairline is also transplanted hair (from you previous ARTAS procedure where it looks like the hairline was lowered)

I'd agree, you do seem to be in a position similar to baseline. One thing I would say in your case though is you did have a a lot of hair going into the procedure and you may have to wait a little longer to notice a real difference. Going by your pre-op pics, I personally wouldn't instantly have had you down as a 5000 graft case however it looks like at least 600 of those grafts were used on making a real difference in the temple point region. How do you feel about progress in the temple point area? With 600 of the 2600 frontal grafts being used the temple points, leaves the remaining 2000 being used on reinforcing the hairline you had going into the procedure (doesn't seem the hair line was lowered if I'm not mistaken?). The native hair in that area has obviously grown back but that may also help show up the lagging transplanted hair in that area a bit more too. I'd probably look to reevaluate things in that region around the 7-8 month mark and obviously if things haven't approved by then, then I'd be concerned. The last picture you've provided is a bit blurry, so not so easy to gauge how the other 2400 grafts are getting on in the mid-scalp and crown.

If you don't mind me asking, who did you go with? Or if you don't want to disclose, which country was it done in?

It really isn't stupid. People from certain parts of the world can have hair characteristics that are more conducive to producing a good result compared to people from other parts of the world. Spanish, south asian people for example generally have thicker hair with a higher hair caliber, which not only gives them a good chance of a good result on top but also helps the donor area look look relatively unscathed when it comes to FUE procedures. Now that doesn't mean someone is guaranteed a great procedure but it increases the percentages in their favour.

Fair play to him, even though he rocks the shaven head great, he wasn't happy and did something about it. In Dr Reddy, he went to probably one of only 2 FUE surgeons in the UK worth considering imo.

You're still fairly young and if there is aggressive baldness in your family, I suppose the question is will the topical finasteride in MORR-5 be enough to stabilise your hair loss. How long have you been using it and do you feel it has done anything for you? You have to ask yourself what if you find yourself in a situation where the topical finasteride doesn't prove to be potent enough to halt/slow down hair loss and it progresses and you don't/can't take oral fin. You could end up getting a HT now with 2000-2400 grafts in the frontal region but good chance of you losing hair behind it as you get older, especially if there is a history aggressive balding in your family. If you lower the hairline, you've in effect increased the real estate that needs covering when further loss behind the hairline sets in. Not sure where you are located but personally if I was in your shoes, I'd be tempted in getting at least one consultation with a reputable surgeon and get your hair checked out for miniaturisation before commiting to any procedure.

Interesting point. Recently I was looking at Yaz89's thread where he documented his first procedure with Asmed somewhere in 2013. At 7-9 months, when he exposed his temple areas on the odd occasion, it seemed to be lagging somewhat. However his hair caliber was around 70 microns and with his hair styled generally styled downwards, the lagging areas were not always as obvious. Think he went on to mention it took a very long time for the hair to mature.

Looking at the pre-op pictures, he had already lost quite a lot of hair and to be honest not sure a reduced number of grafts would have given him the cosmetic improvement that would make a HT worthwhile. Not sure what the graft distribution is but I'd imagine it's probably something around 3500 in the frontal region and the remaining 800 or so in the vertex which would be the right way to go about it. That coupled with keeping a high, conservative hairline and no grafts being used up in the temple points, don't think it's the worst donor management in the world for a FUE procedure.

Are you prepared to have multiple sessions? Say for example 2500-3500 in the first session and then after a year or possibly even earlier return for the the second procedure for another 1500-2500 grafts. If so, someone like Dr Lorenzo in Spain would be a good bet if you are are a NW5. I'd guess you'd be looking at upwards of 17k Euros for the procedure with him but not 100% sure. Obviously ASMED seem to regularly perform 5000 over 2 days but got a hunch they may be one of the clinics you've already consulted with. Hasson&Wong are a great shout to but sounds as though cost looks to have ruled them out Also wondering how a surgeon/clinic managed to determine you have 6500-7000 grafts available via an online consultation?

Agree, for the area marked out pre-op, struggling to see how 1700 grafts was going to be enough for adequate density. Temple area looked pretty barren pre-op and if i'm not mistake, hair line seems to have been lowered at the temples to? End's up becoming a significant area to cover. Still have to play the waiting game and hair should mature and thicken up and so improve things but again struggling to equate the area marked with 1700 grafts when after density so you may have to go in for another procedure to top things up in that area.

Gone through this thread and struggling to work out what has happened here what with things seemingly going well and then suddenly thinning in the transplanted area where there seemed to be little native hair. Think you should be having a few consultations with some of the top surgeons to firstly work out what exactly happened with your first surgery in their opinion. Personally, would be inclined to get the opinion of the top surgeons from North America i.e Konior, H&W etc and maybe some of the ones based in Belgium. Not sure how many grafts you have left after the first procedure but they need to used extremely wisely and for that reason, I'd probably only consider the elite surgeons who pretty much do all the work themselves even if it costs more. Again, think it's advisable turning to someone like Dr Konior if you are considering another procedure. Even though your crown is thinning, focus should be on the frontal area and really think getting back on finasteride would be good idea in your case (maybe try experimenting with dose if you've suffered sides in the past) to try and stop the crown from getting worse. How old are you?

I may be wrong, but recently I think it's Payam and Planetstephen who have reached the 12 month+ mark and what we can call final results and haven't received a satisfactory result, mainly due to poor growth/density issues. A lot of the other recent cases here are where the patients have concerns with their progress (i.e abysmo,MHR84, Kingbilla, kw877, Munich) and they seem to be in and around the 7-8 month mark if I'm not mistaken. Now once they reach that 12 month mark and if things haven't improved, then obviously it would be a cause for concern so many patients are not happy with the final results from their procedures by the clinic.

For 7.5 months, your progress is concerning but suppose just have to hang in there for now. Can still see some redness in the scalp. Not sure if you already take them, but it might be worthwhile adding MSM and Biotin to your regime. Not a miracle aid by any means but may help nudge growth along a little. Both are also good for skin. Maybe also consider washing scalp with sulphar soap with salicylic acid for the redness. In any case, hoping things improve for you.

There's only 3 surgeons I'd consider in the UK...Farjo, Reddy and Ball. I've recently come across an absolutely shocking account and result by a patient who had his procedure at a UK clinic and shows that there are plenty of very dodgy clinic even in the UK.

Considering growth in the crown can often be slow compared to the frontal areas, think that's some decent progress at 5 and half months.

General consensus seems to be that ideally you should be scab free in and around the 10 days post surgery. Just follow the clinics advise and in all likelihood, the scabs will gradually be gone in another week or so which is fine.

Been some links to Sertaline (Zoloft) usage and hair loss however seeing as the area that is thinning out seems to be the area that was transplanted in, it may not be the cause in your case. Have you noticed any thinning on any other parts of the scalp?

Very impressive progress at 7 months. Massive improvement from where you were pre-procedure. Congrats.

The work and also the donor area afterwards carries ASMED hallmarks. One thing I have continually noticed about them is the donor area looks very clean afterwards, even in pictures patients take themselves. Hope things go well and you get the result you are after.

Look's like a procedure at ASMED....

Looks like clean work. Donor area especially looks to have healed up fast. Probably want to look to remove the remaining scabs in the next few days. Looking at the work, think 90% sure on who carried out the procedure.

Work looks good and clean. Think you are in good hands with Dr Reddy, his work always impresses me and think he is one of probably only three surgeon's in the UK I'd consider. Sensible hairline and with your level of hair loss, Dr Reddy was a sensible choice imo. Good luck.

Ah yes, so it's 4500 euros for 1400 grafts. Think the clinic charges 3.5 Euros for the first 1000 grafts and then 2.5 Euros for any grafts after that. Seen some very impressive results from Dr De Freitas, although granted a lot of them have been mainly spanish patients with good donor characteristics but still doesn't take anything away from the work which has looked very good.

Just to be clear, thats 4500 euros for 2800 hairs, not 2800 grafts?

Ah OK. If I decide to go abroad, I was planning on staying 7 nights post-op but sometimes think maybe few more nights might be better. Saying that, Istanbul would be just under a 4 hour flight for me, so not too long.