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Mythek1

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  1. Here are a couple of pictures of the results of my H/T with Dr Mwamba 6 months on. The confidence it has given me is amazing. Some of the hairs in the hairline have just started to grow in places.
  2. This is what the NOBEL CLINIC left me with at the back:
  3. Hi Beanz There's no cloak and dagger stuff here. I can understand your suspiscions. I am not under any obligation to Dr Mwamba at all. This is a copy of my introdustory post on another forum: THE NOBEL CLINIC Ok, here we go: I started to feel self-conscious about my hairloss at around 18-20 years old, and some 25 years ago I decided to do something about it. The internet wasn't really available in those days so options were very limited . So I acted on an article in the paper by 'THE NOBEL CLINIC' in Horley, Surrey! At that stage hairloss was just minimal in the temple region. So a private doctor in Guildford who was paid by Nobel Clinic recommended Minoxidil. I was on this for a couple of years until I felt more drastic action was needed. He said that if a transplant was required in the future the Nobel Clinic was the place to go To be honest the dates are a bit fuzzy. I probably blanked them out of my mind due to the trauma of the experiences. I went for my first transplant 20 odd years ago. I will have to look for the original paperwork. But the first op was for a couple hundred grafts and cost 2 or 3 grand. The first one was pretty scary. The clinic was in a 4 storey victorian detached building in Horley with its own car park. The staff were friendly enough and I think they thought they were doing a good job. I went throught the paperwork, they assessed me and I payed the money. The thing that gave me false confidence was the certificate they gave me. 'We guarantee that the transplanted hair will grow for the rest of the patients life'. I didn't realise at the time that any grafts that failed to grow would just be discounted off the amount I owe in any subsequent transplant. I had a medical by a doctor from a local surgery. They gave me a valium and they numbed me up - flippin' ouch! The clinician was not qualified as a doctor, I think she was a nurse. My hair was only cut in the donor area so hair would cover the surgey. They anaesthetised me front and back and set to work punching out 3 and 4mm grafts. This was quite traumatic to the scalp. I remember her getting frustrated when I sunk into the chair, under the force of her plunging the tool into my head. And had to keep pulling me back up! The holes were then sutured shut. They then punched 4mm holes in the recipient area the 3mm ones towards the front. How they could have believed 3mm plugs could look natural in a hairline is beyond me! They then bandaged up my head really tightly. The whole thing took only a couple of hours...it felt longer! At that time the clinic had hotel facilities. So I was able to have a meal there. Unfortunately I had a really bad night. The trauma made me throw up, and the tight bandage made my head really throb all night. The next day I had the bandage removed and went home. A couple of years later after I lost some more hair so I went back for more, a similar amount of grafts again. I was given a discount for the previous grafts which had failed to grow. I was so nervous this time that I had a panic attack on route to the clinic. I had to stop the car and get my courage back enough to go through with it. I arrived a bit late and was faced with the 'surgeon' who was pretty pissed off with me. The procedure was pretty much the same as last time. The last op was in 2001. The plugs were starting to be betrayed by my hairloss even more. There were gaps in my hairline and this was not remedied by this last go by the Nobel Clinic. This time the op was done by the nurse of the previous 'surgeon', (in affect the nurses nurse!). She had obviously risen up the ranks. RECENT YEARS Things looked ok with my hair brushed forward for a while but my confidence was waning year by year. As I started to lose hair from my crown my plugginess was starting to become even more obvious. I started to retreat into my shell. I didn't want to go out and meet people, but when I did I would wonder if they were looking at my hairline. I found it hard holding a conversation when I was thinking they might consider me a bit 'freakish.' After all a bad hair transplant isn't like a disfiguring illness it's the result of a lifestyle choice. I had some useful conversations with Spex. I did a lot of research and considered my options. I had previously had a consultation with DR MWAMBA in London. He works in Brussells but consults throughout Europe. He recommended 1000-1500 grafts in the frontal 1/3. He said the scarring means that blood supply isn't guaranteed. So a staged approach would be sensible. Also after three op's the back of my head lacked laxity. I emailed some pictures of my hair to Spex and he reconed I would need at least 3,000 grafts. He said that a strip procedure was the best way to get good results more quickly. He said money and geography shouldn't be a factor in making a decision. He is obviously right. But my concern was the strip scar. I will attach an image of my 'shot gun blasted' back of my head to illustrate my point. Spex had only seen a picture with my hair covering the area so He could not have known how mutilated it was. I considered that I needed FUE. So I decided to go to DR MWAMBA in Brussells. And he has given me my life back. Dr Mwamba is a highly skilled surgeon and a real gentleman. The whole team were unbelievably attentive, skillful and competent. They worked from 9am to 11pm in rotation on two consecutive days. I can't express how fantastic they were. Chris My aims were discussed and I expressed my desire for a more natural hairline and more density in the middle of the frontal 1/3 rd. It's been 5 months since the op. Most of the hairs are growing but there are a couple of lazy areas. Dr Mwamba filled in around the grafts. Because of the pluginess of the hairline he used single hairs to surround the existing tufts. He put 2200 hairs in the frontal 1/3 rd and just around 150 in the crown. With hindsight I should have asked him to place them forward of the crown as there is a bit of a gap there, (he gave me the choice). I had no swelling after the op. He said from the outset that I would benefit from a 'touching up' procedure later on. In an ideal world I would want more grafts to fill in between the frontal and the crown, but the credit crunch won't make that possible for a while. A shaved recipient area combined with the graft hairs falling out and shockloss revealed the cobblestoning and plugs. So there was no eureka moment when I suddenly had new hair. It was 3 months of little joy after the procedure. I know I'm not destined to have a head of hair like Shrek's Prince Charming, BUT For the first time for some 15 odd years I now have a hairline! This is the recipient site 6 days post op
  4. The research I did on Dr Mwamba prior to going to him brought up the issue of him not having the relevant paperwork to practice in the US. He is however a qualified doctor and regardless of his role with Dr Cole he is his own man, and has the necessary skills. It's a shame that Dr Mwamba's rep should be tarnished by another Doc's reported misadventures. Can you PM me the details about the patient you mentioned that Dr Cole butchered? Regards Chris
  5. Hi nw2 I had a 2,350 FUE procedure with Dr Mwamba back in the end of July 2008. I have had 3 previous H/T's in the uk and was left in a pretty poor state. Dr Mwamba was a real gentleman. He and his team worked on me over two consecutive days 9am - 11pm. They were competent, skillful and caring. The first thing that gave me confidence was the amount of time Dr Mwamba spent planning my hairline. He had to try to disguise the plugs from the previous transplants. I am now 5 months post op so I will take some pictures to show the results so far. My objective was for him to restore a more natural looking hairline to frame my face. I don't mind so much about my crown. All I can say is that Dr Mwamba has given me my life back. I am over the moon with the results so far. But I guess others will better judge the results when I post them. I will post my whole experience with Dr Mwamba later. Chris
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