MrZennie

Did they give you an estimate on how many donors you have left for future procedures?

This is a great result, wow! It's good to see the temples were worked on too.  I know some places avoid doing temple work when possible.  

I learned recently on the forum that some doctors require the patient to sign an NDA (Non-disclosure agreement).  I'd like to know more about these NDAs, and what they include.  Does it mean you're not allowed to leave a negative review for the doctor if your procedure goes bad?  Or just no posting photos?  

Personally, I'd be really hesitant to go to a place that requires a strict NDA. It seems this would take all accountability away.  And it would make me suspicious of their online reviews. 

"Managing expectations isn’t spoken about enough and I’m going to make it my mission to educate the masses. "

Melvin, I appreciate that you admit to using fibers even after your HT. I've tried Toppick on my crown and it's amazing stuff for sure, but I have so little hair overall that I don't bother with it anymore.  If I get a HT, I'll be prepared to use it again.

I just skimmed through this thread, great results!  I'm impressed you faced/conquered so many fears and got this procedure done.  Congrats! 

If you watch the video Melvin you'll hear him say he got the transplant for the exact reason you mentioned.  

He acknowledges at 2:07 that people with thick follicles can have dramatic HT results.

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Do you know if Dr. Mohebi be working at the SF location, or will there be other surgeons performing the procedures there?  I have a consultation scheduled for there next week, looking forward to it.

I'd love to see a doctor chime in on this one. 

Amazing right up, thank you! Super well written and detailed, well done.  And that's great you have so much hair to comb over the recipient area, and your linear scar is totally invisible, nice!  Congrats man.  

Maybe when Diep says manual, he means non-Artas?  

How can so many doctors be responsible for inventing the Artas system? Lol

What reasons did they give you for it not working?

I love his line about his transplant: "..it’s like taking a bunch of really healthy people and you move them into a neighborhood where everyone’s dying"  LOL

This has probably been posted already (I'm pretty new here) but in case you missed it, this contains the census statistics from the International Society of Hair Restoration.  The results are for the year 2016, but there is still lots of relevant/interesting stuff in here.  Most interesting to me:  3.4% of FUE procedures get cancelled for reasons including: 'High transection rate' and 'Inability to remove graphs from donor area'.  I'm curious what kind of reasons fall under the "OTHER" category: https://ishrs.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/report_2017_ishrs_practice_census-08-21-17.pdf

... And Mick50, I've been sober over 20 years and have a really good nose, and I actually had the thought that I would be really disappointed if I showed up for my procedure and smelled alcohol on the doctor's breath from the night before, or worse, from that morning. 

off the top of my head I would say a good result would be that most of the implanted hairs survive and grow, the hairline looks natural, and the donor area shows no signs of a hair transplant trimmed at 3 and above.

I'd like to add two related questions: Is it okay to shave the recipient area during the ugly duckling phase? Also, does PRP during surgery help reduce the pink skin effect? Thanks.

12 hours ago, jj51702 said:

How does this help answer the OPs question?

Well it helps show that my estimated donor supply of 4000-4500 is probably not "better than average". I am 49 though so maybe at my age it's a reasonable amount?

Does anyone know the exact odds of a good result? I'm talking about the odds you can expect at a high end, well respected clinic. What are the odds of a bad result?  I assume the work of the doctors/techs at the best places is excellent/consistent, and that the failed results come from the patient's genetics, or poor post-op care by the patient. 

And I'm sure the doctors all the know the answer to this, wondering if any of them will be willing to share?

Thanks for your replies everyone.  I'll definitely ask my future consultations the same question.  "

7000-9000 total FUE graphs sounds like enough for virtually any job!

You're right, I should have asked how he came up with that number.  They used a magnifier on my scalp, and we were all looking at my magnified hairs on a monitor.  They pointed to a couple of 2's and 3's and said "that's good" and when I asked if my donor region is average or better than average, the Dr. said "better than average".  But the hairs looked pretty spaced apart, though I have no way of knowing what's normal.  Maybe my graphs themselves are better than average, but total number is not so good? I was hoping for something like 5000+ total possible graphs.  I'm definitely prepared with questions for my next consultation! 

I had my first ever HT consultation yesterday!  The Dr. recommended FUE and predicted that I'll need about 3000 graphs for the job.  Afterward, I'll have 1000-1500 left for a future procedure.  They told me I had a "better than average" donor region, but 4000-4500 total graphs doesn't sound as good as others I've heard.  Thoughts? 

How are things looking these days Javier1234?  I just had a consultation with Dr. Canales at SVHI and I'm curious to hear how things ended up with your situation?

Thanks.  

I'd rather not link to the patient's review just in case he peruses this forum. That wouldn't be a nice thing for him to stumble on.