Tentpole91

Also, since I'm putting grafts closer together than they normally are with a first surgery, should there be any concerns at 3.5 months about avoiding activities/substances/etc? I can't find a lot of documentation online about repair surgeries, and whether the typical guidance found here and in post-op instructions from the surgeon applies Example: is it still possible for a graft to just ...die? Or is that almost always constrained to the first month (conservatively)

Hi all, Any tips on how to measure growth if it's a repair to a previous surgery? There is existing hair on the transplant site, so it's difficult to see -- even with a camera and mirror.

Actually still waiting to hear back i from him if a pound a week is okay. I suspect he will green light it but always good to check with the forum

JCT, what would you consider to be extreme dieting? And would you suspect that faster weight loss may have an impact during recovery? (2-3lbs per week is what I was initially targeting when I reached out to my surgeon)

Won’t reveal name other than it’s a top 3 clinic in NA commonly used by members of this forum. The reason I’m posting here is that he recommended caution with weight loss during the recovery phase, especially at a faster rate than 1lb per week. That caught me by surprise.

Hi everyone, I am just over 2 months post op and would like to go on a diet to lose a pound a week. Assuming I eat healthy, are there any concerns with recovering at a caloric deficit? Weight loss journeys take a while, so I’d rather not wait for full recovery before beginning mine (looking to lose around 40lbs). Ideally, if I stick with it, I’d hit the 12 month mark on surgery around the time my body is around where I want it to be weight-wise. That would be awesome.

This was a fun thread to read. Being constrained by budget sucks, as others have stated you had a lot of area to cover with not a ton of grafts. The transplant isn't perfect, but as you stated at the onset, you weren't looking for perfection. I will say, your view from the front is pretty great, especially combed back. It's amazing how much of a difference lighting makes, though. From the same set of photos, it's hard to believe I'm looking at the same transplant. 2 Photos From The Same Post (1 Year Out Exactly) a End of day, though, you got what you wanted and are happy. Edit: The only thing I don't really understand is the FUE/FUT combo. I can't see why it wouldn't work, but it's definitely not that common.

It's been quite the journey, everyone. This will be my last post on this thread, and I apologize for not answering several PMs. I'm 5 days post-op from a 1337 graft repair that did not exceed any part of the region that was originally operated on. I'm not posting the name of the doctor who did the repairs, sorry. Here's what I can say, and I hope some of you find it useful. This is a TLDR of what I've learned over the last 18 months getting quotes from 10+ doctors, and going through another transplant: As others have said multiple times in the thread, my right side grew out to be pluggy and unnatural. Let's dive deeper here: what constitutes a pluggy, unnatural appearance? The main factors in my case were the overuse of higher caliber hairs at the hairline, and unnaturally even spacing between the grafts. Those two things done in combination will never look natural, because it's not how hair grows. In nature, hair grows randomly, and you can see from my day 1 photos that the grafts were not implanted randomly. My recent repair made Dr. Diep's extraction feel like 19th century technology. Yes, yes, I know it's all about results, but it's unbelievable how much faster my body recovered from the more recent surgery. You couldn't even see the extraction marks after day 4, and I removed my bandage in <24hrs with no subsequent bleeding. When you're evaluating doctors, ask them hard questions. Things like: How do you judge the depth and angle with which to implant a graft? What trade-offs do you consider when making that decision? How many different extraction tools do you use on a typical surgery? Do you vary the size of your extraction tool based on the size of the folicule? What is, in your view, the most important outcome of a procedure? For hairline work: Do you typically incorporate napes into your surgery? Do you find them valuable to extract, or too much work for the heightened risk of graft failure? When doing hairline work, how many napes would you say you extract on a typical procedure? If you're doing hairline work, I'd recommend finding someone who can give you a very thoughtful and detailed explanation of why they do or do not use napes. There are legitimate concerns when using them because they don't generally have as high a survival rate, but they can do wonders to soften a hairline. The answer to the question isn't important IMO, it's more how they answer it -- do they talk about the risks and rewards? Or just brush it off? Typically, nape extraction requires more effort, so that's one reason alone that some doctors won't use them. (Or if they do, not a lot of them) What's your average rate of graft loss? It's been a while, but I think doctors should know this, and the answer they give you should be realistic. How many patients do you, personally, perform surgery on each day? I would really, really only go with doctors that do one a day unless it's a relatively small procedure that can be done in a morning. What you don't want is a doctor "supervising" multiple large surgeries at once, because you'll get a lot less attention, and a lot more of your surgery delegated to assistants. How far out are you scheduling new surgeries? Don't forget to ask this one. Sometimes you can get pretty far along with a doctor only to discover that their waiting list is 3-4 years. What's the average tenure of your assistants? Of your current staff, who has been with you the longest? Good doctors hire good assistants, know their value, and pay them well enough to keep them around. If someone has an assistant they've been working with for 10+ years, that's a really good sign, because the assistants tend to do a lot of the work (depending on the doctor: graft separation, graft implantation, etc). What factors do you consider when determining whether a transplant requires multiple procedures? Good question to ask if you're higher on the Norwood scale. You might need multiple surgeries, but if you do, you should be getting them for the right reasons. If you are looking to learn from my mistakes, here are my top 3 pieces of advice: 1. Get at least 5 quotes from different clinics. You will be able to see pretty quickly which ones take their craft seriously based on the questions they ask, their general demeanor, and how they discuss the potential surgery. When doing the consultation, don't be afraid to ask a sampling of the questions I posted above (you probably won't have time for all of them + the ones you already have). 2. Don't look at YouTube. Don't look at YouTube. Don't look at YouTube. There is no positive incentive for a doctor to upload a bad result. Trust what you see on the forums, because they are the real deal. I got sold by the YouTube videos, and you all know how my surgery turned out. 3. If there is a doctor you're particularly interested in, PM a few people on HRN who got surgery there and ask them questions. I've found people here to be friendly and responsive to direct PMs, and people will be way more candid with you about the good, the bad and the ugly. Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way. It's been a long journey, and I still have a ways to go.

Dr. Diep offered a free repair. There are several reasons I chose not to take that path, mainly donor treatment and ensuring hairs are placed in the right directions. There are other surgeons who are more skilled in both of these areas, and getting it right is worth the extra cost to me. I will be going significantly upmarket for this repair, and pay for the best.

Oh, and one more thing: I haven't seen any notable growth since my last post. No late-stage growth of singles on the right side to save the day, or anything like that. It is what it is, and the best I can do now is to get it repaired as best as possible.

Apologies for radio silence. I'm pretty much waiting for the year mark to schedule a follow-up surgery with a different surgeon for repair. The main things I'm looking to address with follow-up surgery: Covering up the corn row appearance on the right side. I'm pushing my hair to the side to disguise this, but if I were to push my hair straight back, it would be obvious & unnatural. Putting a layer of grafts in front of the transplant with a more natural angle and appearance. Right now when I grow out my hair, the directions are a bit of a mess: the transplanted areas stick straight up, while the middle part of my hair does not. Explore doing SMP on the donor area, since there are parts of the donor that had too much concentrated extraction Overall, my assessment of the surgery isn't changed since the last time I posted. I've gotten density and a hairline, but all of the other considerations -- angle, natural appearance, and donor management -- continue to be problematic and will require repair.

I feel like we keep getting side tracked from this central issue into debates about overall quality — which are valuable, but not as important as figuring out what the hell happened to Violinist.

Buffalo it sounds like you’ve made your decision, so I’m going to bring the thread back to the earlier topic. I really appreciate the folks in this thread who are pushing hard for the truth here. The story can’t end with just what the surgeon tells Melvin in a phone call. The photographic evidence needs to be addressed. This has nothing to do with the quality of Violinist’s end result, and everything to do with the way the donor was harvested + Dr. Diep’s response to the patient (as documented by @LonelyGraft) I’m glad that Melvin has reached out about that specific issue.

That is absurd. Cancel the surgery ASAP. Wait a bit longer, go with a more reputable surgeon, and thanks us all later for the rest of your life. Like, I’m not sure if you need a kick in the balls or something but just cancel it.

Basically agree with this. Diep has some awesome results on YT, but he is riskier and you don’t get any do-overs in this industry. To be clear, I am someone who GOT surgery with him. I’m not just some random shill one the internet. I am actively seeking repair work right now for my February surgery.