TC17

A few weeks ago a member posted a comment allegedly made by Dr. Epstein regarding hair and hair loss, and how the relationship of those factors to power/authority. Most of the people that jumped in thought Dr. Epstein's commentwas out of line. I, on the other hand, did not. I viewed it as an accurate commentary on our society. When it comes to politicians, I do not believe that a voter consciously considers the amount of hair the person has. And yet, for some reason the percentage of politicans who have retained their hair is significantly higher than that of the general population. Perhaps voters do have a bias towards hair, or perhaps it's simply that those with hair have more confidence, which in turn leads them to pursue careers in politics. I don't think anyone will ever know the answer for sure. And for the record, as a trial laywer, I can say that hair is EXTREMELY important in my profession.

Dr. Lindsey, my thoughts are with you and your family.

My friend's grandpa died a few years back in his late 80's and he was a solid NW 2, yet his neckline had what I know now to be retorgrade alopecia. It was the only time I've ever seen that on a person who otherwise had no MPB. The weird part is that my friend's dad, the grandfather's son, is a full blown NW 7, and he too is experiencing hair loss from the neck up. Must run in families and it must be independent from traditional MPB.

That's possible. Dr. Feller is always remindful of the fact that FUE grafts undergo far more trauma than FUT, even when the doctor is very careful. Out of curiosity though, how densely were you packed by Dr. Armani, and how densely did Dr. Bisanga plant?

Good luck! Talent wise, Dr. Rahal is unquestionably one of the best in this field.

Great result! Did Dr. Armani provide any reason for why his transplant failed to grow? Clearly it wasn't "patient physiology", because Dr. Bisanga managed to do just fine with your physiology.

Buddy, you're already showing a NW 5 pattern. It's very possible that you inherited a pattern that you haven't been able to locate in your family, but you are absolutely experiencing MPB. For the vast majority of people, hair loss is progressive. Perhaps you will be fortunate and maintain what you have for the next 50 years, but it's far more likely that you're going to be at least a NW 5, and perhaps even a NW 6 or 7.

I've never been impressed with SMP in anything other than as a scar filler, and I don't think that doctors should be moonlighting as tattoo parlors.

Wow is right, this looks great! Can you take some pics of the donor?

aaron, good luck to you! It's no secret that I'm a HUGE fan of SMG and your previous work with Dr. Paul was world class. I look forward to being able to chart your progress with this latest surgery.

What an amazing result! Janna, one of the photos does not have the patient's face blocked out, though.

BHR. He's inexpensive and has posted as many examples of FUE as any doctor out there.

It sounds as though your boyfriend has a strong family history of advanced balding. That fact, when combined with his early onset of MPB leads a reasonable person to conclude that he too will suffer from advanced balding. I would tread cautiously before making the decision to undergo surgery. He should post some pics of his hair on this forum, and more importantly, he should send some photos of his loss to high quality, ethical doctors for a proper opinion.

Good enough for me, Janna! How old is this patient? Also, how would you classify this patient's hair characteristics?

Billy, Congrats! I've enjoyed following your progress this past year and I'm very happy that you are pleased with your result. In my opinion, it looks very good for a man your age. If I were in your shoes I would not go any deeper into the crown or lower the hairline at all. Instead, I'd simply thicken up the area that you've already transplanted because your current hairline placement and thin crown are very age appropriate.

Looks great! Why is the blue in the background different in some of the photos?

Strip is NOT better than FUE. FUE is NOT better than strip. The fact of the matter is that few people who have had high quality strip procedures complain about the scar and the limitations of the surgery. Blanket statements about each method are absurd and illogical. Simply because a person is high on the Norwood scale does not mean that he is only a candidate for strip. Likewise, a patient with very minimal balding and requiring only 1,000 grafts is not just a candidate for FUE. If a person is aware of the pros and cons of each procedure, then he should undergo whichever surgery he believes suits him best. I would not be so bold as to say that this forum has a strip agenda, because I honestly do not believe that to be the case. I think this forum is very fair. What I will say, however, is that many people on this site do not seem to appreciate the long term possible benefits of FUE.

Dr. Parsley, Thank you for responding. I'm certain that you did a thorough examination of this patient before agreeing to perform surgery on him, and that you made the decision to operate only after careful consideration. I'm not trying to impugn your credibility or throw you under the bus here with these questions, I'm just curious. Isn't the fact that this patient is already showing some signs of donor site problems a big red flag? Granted, it may not be severe (yet), but how is it that you can be confident that his donor site won't turn into a bigger problem in 10 or 20 years? Perhaps my own observations have clouded my judgment, but I look at my own dad who had MUCH more hair than many people I see getting transplants on this site at comparable ages, and yet at age 60 he is still losing hair and he is almost a NW 7. Obviously I don't know what his hair looked like upon magnification, but I can see that when he was 40, he had more hair than this gentleman. Should I take from this patient that at age 40 it is possible to accurately predict the extent to which a man will bald? Or, was this transplant done not knowing the future, but planning for a worst case scenario of NW 7?

Wow, that artificial hair did a number on his crown. Thankfully Dr. Wong was able to fix hiim up. The only place I've heard of offering artificial hair is India. Is that where this patient has his procedure?

Dr. Parsley, perhaps I'm misunderstanding your write up, but is this man experiencing miniaturization throughout his entire donor? If so, with his relatively young age, relatively high degree of present balding and what appears to be fine donor hair, why decide to operate on him at all?

First, and most importantly, neither you, nor anyone needs a hair transplant. It's an elective procedure. If you decide that you want one, well then as mattj said, a skilled doctor can work around your existing hair without a problem.

I've seen a lot of great results from him on an Italian forum, but I don't know enough about him to offer an opinion worth anything.

WOW! This is yet one more example of why Dr. Rahal is considered to be one of the very best in this field.

TE, My opinion is of little consequence, but for what it is worth, I think your face is adequately blocked out. It seems as though you are so angry with Joe and H&W that you are blowing small issues out of proportion. One of the problems with doing that is that it detracts from the man thrust of this topic, and paints you in a bad light. This topic should stay focused on your result. I believe if that is done, you will find that the vast majority of community members will support you.

This is a beautiful example of a true master at work.