HLPToronto

28 minutes ago, CosmoKramer said:

Ive believe I’ve seen your recent photos as well and for your 3-months progress its looking good, and sure to improve over the next 3-6months and possibly beyond.

Happy Growing!

Thanks Cosmokramer.

Quick question : My assumption based on what was told :

Shedding phase due to shock and minoxidil rightafter HT should be first 3 months only. But , i am into 4th month and still see some baby new hairs on my hands after I rub minox nicely each night

When did you start feeling no more shedding ? Which month ? ( even after intense oil massage, no more hair stuck on hands/fallen into the sink ) 

I hate to see hair shedding and think minoxidil is still contributing towards shedding  

Great Journey. Many congratulations for achieving a great successful result. 

All your hard work, patience seems to  pay off nicely for the very first HT with 5000 grafts, its day and night difference where you were when you started. I mean the flashback was great to see to compare for myself and your results provide positive hope to patients like me who are at 3 months post op right now

your 3 month vs 6 month comparison is the best I 've seen lately and I am hopeful that I also see something similar on my scalp in the next 3 months ( done first 3 months , so ideally shedding /shock loss should be over now )

thanks for sharing good details also. Much appreciated 

Afro hair T needs a skillful surgeon. I think Asmed in turkey is very good and got some proven results in this area.

or Dr cinink, if you get in touch with them and enquire. good luck in your search

In India, Dr Bhatti is good if your friend is referring based on his firsthand experience. I am myself his patient and awaiting my results anxiously 

Keep in mind, density is also dependent on this main factor alone :

if 60 per cm2 but majority is double, triple and quads then you are good

if 75 per cm2 but majority is singles, doubles only, then you get less density 

I think surgeons should solely focus on extracting/identifying beforehand using magnifiers if possible as to how much doubles, triples they could  extract. Avoid pulling too many singles ( only 200-500 required in  most cases for soft frontal hairline - 2/3 rows in the front )

science should focus on this aspect alone and it will impact density in a positive way if there is a foolproof way of identifying spots in the donor  where more doubles,trips are present. 

its like when scientist discovered oil under that sand. not all areas but some are full of oil. 

Depends on variety of factors - how grafts were extracted, placed, how much out of body time for grafts, if most grafts were destroyed during implantation or extracting/sorting phase since in FUT , a magnifier is a must . did the doctor and team used all of those precautions. Also, it hugely depends on your native hair caliber - how strong /weak is your donor area. 

also, very important to get a breakdown on # of singles, doubles and trips after the HT so you can track/assess/assume your results accordingly. Not sure if you received this count from the clinic  ? Its your luck at the end of the day if majority of extracted grafts comes out to be doubles,trips, quads since 1 graft could sprout 3 hairs then and it adds up to that total hair count when result is solid in 1 year or so.

also, Minoxidil should be added to your routine. at least for the first 6 months - 1 year. 

Who was the doctor? Is he recommended here or other forums ? any past results from patients if you reviewed beforehand. 

Yes, it could be true that you are a really slow grower but my gut instinct says otherwise. I think its more to do with the clinic, procedure and grafts survival here 

For a 4 month mark, I am sorry to say it's not the ideal picture anyone would like to see especially after getting 5000 grafts implanted ( how ever I DOUBT 5000 were implanted)

do you mind sharing pics immediately taken post op for a better understanding of your case. 

are you applying minoxidil to boost your ht results ? 

Hello, i have a question :

If someone would like to wear hair longer than 4 inches, but would like to create the illusion of density  - will smp work for them ? 

i always thought smp is suitable only for people who wears a buzz cut as small hair size blends in with smp tattoo nicely 

35 minutes ago, Lennney said:

Your shock loss was pretty bad, but it looks like the transplanted hairs are mingling with the native hairs just fine! With < 40% of the expected grafts maturing, it looks great! It will look fantastic at the 9-15 month mark when it is complete. 

Glad to see everything is going well! You had me worried without the updates! It seems like this last month you applied Miracle Gro on your scalp. 

Thanks Lennney !   Last 2 pics were after my first hair cut at 2 month 20th day. ( trimmed sides) 

I noticed the opposite, i  thought I suffered minimal shock loss, all those before HT pics - my hair is matured at 4 inches, 3 inches long and overlapping each other giving that illusion else my crown was pretty bad before the surgery too.

If shock loss would be there, my frontal hairline wouldn't look this decent in last few pictures if you notice. again my observation but i could be wrong. But yes, whenever I wear longer hair, it always looks like I have more hair on my head. when I cut them short, it seems to show that I am balding. 

Technically, I am still considered to be in ugly D phase as tomorrow is my 3rd month completion. 

For a 2.5 to 3 month mark,  i am very much satisfied as least redness, frontal look is fine without a hat .. looks decent enough so i can go out.

for a NW  5 A case like mine,  aerial shots are always going to be horrible, i wish after few months, i take an aerial shot under the sun and no scalp is visible. that is the ultimate dream  

Here is my 3 month timeline  

I can only speak about Dr Bhatti, myself got HT done at darling buds in march 2019, its been 3 months post HT and  i am quite satisfied with the progress so far

heard about Dr Dua as he is also one recommended surgeon. good luck in your journey

11 hours ago, ThomasMatthews said:

I am also from Canada and not looking to spend more than 10,000 $ what was your entire cost if you don’t mind me asking ? And would you recommend this dr.

Hello, I think my total expense was 6700 cad.

this includes bi directional flight , hotel stay for 5 days ( best room I paid for ),  cab , food, miscellaneous stuff, operation, 6 months supplies of 3 supplements - fin, minox, biotin.

fyi - I spent more than 8200 CAD on this 5 day trip to india but some stuff was not required .... so not counting that.. it was just over spending/shopping/upgrading flight tickets 

yes, i would recommend dr. bhatti as i am already seeing good improvements in my hair  ... its just 3 months post ht. 

Great results, looks very natural with relatively small # of grafts used, it seems perfectly implanted and all grafts survived 

yes i would say  approx. 200 grafts less/more should be fine but if it seems they have quoted 4000 grafts and implanted only 2000, then its cheating. But again its very common especially in turkish side of assembly line clinics 

but they have discovered a new formula to erase this issue, most clinics from turkey will quote you flat package 2500 Euro for example which includes " max. grafts" and will tell you, they will do mega session in one day or 2, implant |" max grafts which is 5000 and everything is covered. no need to pay per graft as its a flat rate. Most patients fall for it 

think instead of paying per graft , its max grafts covered and sign up with them but in the end, they also end up implanting 3000 or so 

20 minutes ago, Lennney said:

https://www.belgraviacentre.com/blog/is-there-such-a-thing-as-finasteride-shedding/

I too didn't hear much about the fin shedding. For me, it would coincide with my ugly duckling phase so it never produced noticable shedding for me. 

I am actually saving those 1mg pills from Bhatti for travel, as I've bought Mexican brand fin when I visited. I bought Mexican brand 5mg which I cut into 1/4s for a 1.25 dose. This increased dose didn't give me any side effects either. I don't want to worry about cutting pills when traveling, so a nice, packaged pill pack will be ideal when I'm away from the house.

I too have heard about minox shedding. I don't think I've had much success with minox, but treated the dose as a post care mandate from Bhatti, and everything seems to be coming together. I figure he knows what he is doing, so follow an experts advice. I don't know if I will keep applying minox daily after 6 months. I feel like I'll slowly go down to once every other day with minox after 12 months or so. I've had no ill effects with fin, so I will continue to use it indefinitely. 

But i heard if you cut pills, it looses its effect on scalp to some degree. So 1 mg pill holds more strength as per some research. Anyways, your body knows what's the best way to react to different things and these case studies are not done per person but thousands of ppl. 

for minoxidil, i think we should rather start applying twice daily as most ppl recommend, its 3 months for me and i know Dr Bhatti said apply once per night upto 6 months, but I think i will start morning too. Only then it should produce some significant results as recommended by Minoxidil makers themselves, it say apply TWICE  

@LennneyHi Lennney,

Just curious as you said Finastride will also contribute towards shedding during first 3/4 months ? ?? 

I am taking finpecia brand 1 mg per day as sold by Dr Bhatti's clinic ( for 6 months ) and then I will buy Propecia ( FDA approved North american brand) 

I always thought Minoxidil only contribute towards shedding and all brands of Finastride simply wouldn't 

Its very hard to determine exact number of grafts. this is where you have to trust the clinic and give some extra room for 100 to 500 grafts less/more

there is no accurate way of counting grafts although many says use a software, scalp pics, when Dr performs incisions count it, or when dr. perform extractions count them.... etc etc.  this is all illogical IMO, you just can't do it. 

its a rough estimate, 99.999999 % of clinics would give you a number just to keep you happy with official records, its very hard to challenge them back after you count and highlight the discrepancies if any. 

7 hours ago, Petroholic said:

@HLPToronto

No pics even after 3 months .

Come on we deserve that much atleast.Eagerly waiting to see your progress.

Hi Petroholic,

Although I thought of posting pics in a timeline format all together from 1st month to 4th/5th/6th month, 

but i can post 1st to 3rd month timeline as i am very much satisfied with my progress of 3 months

Stay tuned ! 

Its all normal my friend, you seem to be on the right track. Additionally, if you are also using minoxidil and finastride, they would contribute more to the shedding.... but its always said to be a good sign. It means your scalp is going to be regrowing hair after shedding during the first phase. 

good luck 

i am in the same boat ( 3 months post HT ) 

Its quite possible so have to be always extra careful. Hair loss, HTs and hair regrowth is all a very complex science and needs utmost care. good luck 

both compliment each other and performs different functions. go with both at the same time

1mg finas tab in the morning and 5% minoxidil rub in the night  2 hours before going to bed 

EVERYDAY 

do for 1 year and see results for yourself - miraculous for some folks 

That is very unfortunate, makes me think about my upcoming results ( I am at 3 month phase post HT with Dr. Bhatti, done on March 18 2019 )

Yes it seems your results are pretty bad however for me when I see my growth, it seems decent enough for me to keep thinking positively until now 

Dr Bhatti or Shera should be in touch with you by now ....i hope 

good luck with the repair process, you would definitely  need one last final chance or SMP is also a great option if you can keep your hair short always 

i am sorry to see this as I am also dr. Bhattis patient and results like these could be a negative impact on us patients who are following your footsteps 

On 6/11/2019 at 5:58 PM, LaserCap said:

Back in the day we could offer to do a 2nd procedure as soon as 4 months later.  Back then it was professed that a certain separation between grafts was required to safeguard the survival of grafts, (grafts competing for blood supply).  This was appealing for the patient that knew he wanted as much density as possible in the shortest amount of time.  The fact that we also allowed a 10% reduction in fees helped promote the idea. The problem with this approach, in my opinion, is the fact that you are going back to a tender wound in the donor. Why not let things heal before moving forward?  2nd, many believe not all grafts come in at the same time.  At 4 months the doctor, inadvertently, could damage some of the grafts that were implanted during the first procedure.  Why not allow everything to mature to then repeat?

A 2 day procedure is NOT considered 2 procedures, unless the doctor harvests from the entire donor area on the first go-round.  Say he is doing FUE, he should do 1/2 of the back and complete the next 1/2 the next day.  Or, FUT one day and a small FUE the next day.  The idea is to harvest from a different area.

But in most recent years I've found true geniuses.  They can achieve unbelievable density in a single procedure.  I call it the 3D effect.  It has something to do with the way the incisions are made and grafts placed.  By allowing a shingling effect, the results are fantastic.

Hair restoration sure is evolving.  Things keep improving...We'll see what the next few years bring.

good points Lasercap but I still feel  a surgery is a surgery and for 2 days in one go,   one after the next its inevitable that you do end up touching those sensitive areas again as its just one head a man got  

IMHO,  Like Melvin asked - 12 months should be the minimum gap between 2 HT sessions but like I said, it makes sense to consider those 2 day sessions also in the same relevance ( to some extent)

I think 12 months is good 

Also, if you look at it another way, most large sessions are done in consecutive 2 days or sometimes, 3 days with a day in between as a gap. that should be also considered 2 HT " surgical sessions"  in a row. i mean donor just bled and it bleeds again next day. I just can't do 2 days in a row 

hairline is coming out looking very natural and suits your facial frame perfectly. good results for 5 month mark,  they say 4 to 6 month mark is the initiation for thickness in transplanted areas. 

Also, i believe if you grow your hair in length, it will really suit you facially and will look nice on you ( not sure if you prefer to keep them short/medium always )

what is this, some giggle attack