ichigo

7 hours ago, Kixinit said:

if you don't mind me asking how much is Laorwong charging these days per graft?

I think 80 baht per graft?

15 hours ago, Hairwolf said:

Glad to hear it! I’ve booked in with Dr Laorwong again for the summer but have been unable to reach him again since. I’ll try Line I guess. 

He must be busy and probably clearing the backlog of work. Not sure why there wouldn't be some administrative staff that would be able to handle the bookings etc?

15 hours ago, ev1l said:

Hi @ichigo,

Since you are taking Finasteride for 10 years now, did you find any improvement in your hair density, hairline, Crown or fin just stabilized your MPB?

 

Also can you distinguish between some year for MPB. For example in year 2 you get most result or may be year 3. Year 5 improvement declines??

 

Thanks 

To be honest, I'm not too sure. I never really paid close attention over the years but I think for now it has stabilised somewhat.

So in an interesting turn of fate, I have secured a surgery date with Dr Laorwong in early December. I finally received a reply to my LINE messages late last night requesting to send some more information via email, to which I did this morning and after a few emails back and forth, the date was secured and deposit sent. I was actually very close to booking Dr Patty (at Hairtran), but as much as I like her work, Dr Laorwong has a more extensive track record. I am over the moon that this is finally going to happen!

6 hours ago, Gatsby said:

@ichigo you dodged a huge bullet by not having surgery here in Australia. Dr Laorwong is a sensible choice. 

I agree also!

4 hours ago, Melvin- Admin said:

I would also consider @Dr.Ratchathorn Panchaprate

Ah yes, great idea!

1 hour ago, wr1015 said:

How are you contacting Laorwong? I tried via the “line” app on his website and WhatsApp. I had better success on line so maybe try that. 

I have been contacting him on the Line app. My messages have been 'read' but just not replied to.

4 hours ago, Bucky O Hair said:

I'll throw in my (heavily biased) opinion.

#1 - Do not go with FUT.  Go with FUE only.  I'm biased against FUT, as I think that in the long term, the scar will become more trouble than it's worth.
#2 - Do not factor cost too much into your decision.  If you cannot afford the HT, then don't do it.  Save up, and do it in the future.
#3 - Do not base your decision on things that do not matter (i.e. the friendliness of staff, familiarity with a specific country, strict December time frame).  This should not matter in the least bit.

I know that #2 seems like a dumb thing to say because money is important...but it seems like you had picked your desired doctor, and are now looking for reasons to go with the others due to cost.  This could impact quality, and if it goes wrong, then you'll spend a lot more money trying to fix a bad procedure. 

With #3...it seems like you've narrowed your requirements to a specific country and a specific timeframe.  This cuts down your options drastically.  A flight away, is a flight away (whether it is Thailand or Europe) and your recovery time will still be 3-6 months whether or not you have a couple of months off work or not.  

If you can subjectively look at your current option and say that you would go with that doctor, even if you had limitless funds and limitless time off to recover...would they still be your pick?

Thank you for your insight! These are all very good points for me to consider. 

After much deliberation, I think I've decided not to go with Dr Path. Despite him being an excellent surgeon with great staff, I just cannot stomach the cost. It is above my price range. But now I have another decision to make - do I keep hounding Dr Laorwong until I get an answer, or, I have found another doctor who seems to be up and coming, and is doing some really good work - Dr Patty at Hairtran (also in Bangkok). Her price point is much more affordable, also cheaper than Dr Laorwong. The surgery won't be until early December but I have very specific dates, so I want to book as soon as possible. Right now, in this moment in time, I'm leaning towards Dr Patty.

I keep flip flopping my decision in between choosing Dr Laorwong or Dr Path. It's been a little difficult getting in contact with Dr Laorwong to book my surgery, understandably he is busy, but my gut feeling is to choose Dr Path, despite the higher cost. They both do excellent work.

16 hours ago, Dr. Wipawan Vathananai said:

Hello ichigo,

Regarding your concern about medication, I recommend switching to oral dutasteride 0.5 mg once daily and oral minoxidil 2.5 mg daily due to your youth and apparent acceleration in hair loss progression. Additionally, conducting blood tests to exclude other correctable causes such as anemia, thyroid disorder, and vitamin/mineral deficiency (ferritin, vitamin D) would be prudent. The reason I prefer a daily dosage of both dutasteride and oral minoxidil is that, at 39 years old, I typically aim to preserve existing hair before adjusting the dosage if side effects arise.

As for shampoo, I'm uncertain if you can find ISDIN Lambdapil, but based on positive experiences from my patients, it's worth considering. Alternatively, you might be interested in other brands like DERCOS by Loreal (the red variant).

Regarding your choice of surgeon, as a hair transplant surgeon, I believe it's best not to offer opinions on specific doctors. However, both Dr. Laorwong and Dr. Pathomvanich are esteemed in their field.

I hope this help

Best,

Dr. Wunny

Hair transplant surgeon and dermatologist

BHI Clinic, Bangkok, Thailand

Thank you for your advice!

So after more research, and seeing some really decent results, I'm now kinda leaning towards booking with Dr Laorwong, over Dr Path. I know that price shouldn't be my main factor, but when considering he produces decent results for a lower price, I'm definitely going to consider it. Plus he offered FUE, whilst Dr Path opted for a combination FUT/FUE. I'm not opposed to having FUT, but I think I would much rather go down the FUE route. And I don't think my case is particularly complicated. I think I'm NW3(v) leaning towards NW4. I also want to book quite soon before he gets booked out for December. Thoughts?

On 3/6/2024 at 12:13 AM, Lewis Horsley said:

Do you have any photos just before you started finasteride out of curiosity? 

I don't sorry.

On 3/5/2024 at 3:52 AM, eladnm said:

I initially wanted to book with Dr Laorwong but he avoid scheduling the surgery so I stopped messaging him and choose dr Path(booked for this July) who really impressed me in our video consultation. I think Dr Laorwong is more popular due to his lower price and he produces good results but Dr Path is more expriened and seems like the clinic is more upscale. 

That's a shame, Dr Laorwong does great work at a decent price point. But I think you won't go wrong with Dr Path. Let us know how it all goes.

Hi all,

I've wanted a hair transplant ever since I discovered they were actually a thing, but back then I didn't have the money and then when I did, I didn't have the time. This coming December, I will have time so I am going to jump on it. I have 2 months off from work so I will be able to spend plenty of time recovering. I've been suffering from hair loss since age 19, and I am 39 now.

In terms of a doctor, I had a consultation here in Australia a number of years ago during my research stages, and if I had the money I probably would have jumped on it back then. In hindsight, probably a good idea I didn't have the money considering I have read that there are no decent hair transplant doctors here.

I'm not interested in travelling to Turkey, so instead have decided Thailand as my destination considering I travel there often. I've had consultations with Dr Laorwong and Dr Pathomvanich. Dr Laorwong suggested 3500 grafts FUE (around 10k AUD), and Dr Path suggested a combination FUT/FUE of 4000 grafts (around 18k AUD). Despite the more expensive cost, I am leaning towards Dr Path. The premises is beautiful, all staff I encountered were friendly and spoke excellent English, and all questions I had were answered. And I know that Dr Path has been in the game for a long time. I didn't get the same level of reception at Dr Laorwong's consultation, but then again, it's the results which is most important. I guess my question would be who would you choose, and why one over the other.

Regarding medication, I have been on finasteride for quite a while (probably over 10 years) and was currently taking 1.25mg (splitting a 5mg tablet) 3 times a week (Mon/Wed/Fri). As of late I have found that there has been a lot more hair fall than usual which makes me think perhaps it is not working so well anymore, so I have added another 1.25mg each week (on Sun) so 5mg total per week. Or should I add more? Dr Path did recommend getting on dutasteride even just replacing one of my finasteride doses with dutasteride once a week. I've taken oral minoxidil in the past but not for a long time, so this may also be an option. Can oral minoxidil be taken every other day like finasteride or does it need to be a daily thing? I'll need to keep researching this before talking to my doctor to get a prescription for either dutasteride or oral minoxidil.

And just one more question - what shampoo/conditioner does everyone use (mainly those in Australia). I'm using an Australian brand called Patrick's and it's good, but just seeing if there was anything better.

Thanks for reading, and I'm excited that this all will be finally happening soon. Below are some photos taken at my consultation with Dr Path.

11 minutes ago, Archan said:

Yeh he was based in phuket long time back..bt nw he has his clinic in Bangkok 

Ah got it! Cheers!

Thanks for your report! I'm possibly looking at getting surgery in Thailand one of these days. I thought that Dr Laorwong was based in Phuket now? Or maybe I am getting mixed up with someone else..

Australian here also. I had a consultation with Dr Path back in 2016, but just didn't have the funds to do it. Few years later when I did have the funds, covid happened lol. I haven't been on this forum for a while, but a hair transplant has always been at the back of my mind and I was probably going to go to Turkey to get one done.

What inspired me to visit this site again is that I was on a flight from Bangkok to Perth yesterday and I saw a guy with a fresh transplant - it was the first time seeing one live, and not in a photo. I really wanted to go and talk to him about it, which surgeon he used etc but I thought that may have been a bit rude.

Anyhow, so now I'm researching again and saw your amazing results and now I'm just thinking maybe I should just get the surgery done in Thailand since it's nearby and also because I go to Thailand regularly (well, pre-pandemic). Definitely some food for thought! Just one question, how did you pay for it? Did you just carry a huge stack of Australian cash over?

9 hours ago, watterot said:

I think you can't go wrong with the doctor's you're thinking off. It's great that you're planning so far in advance. Wishing you a home run by June 2021!

thank you!  

Hi guys.

I've been lurking on this forum ever since I found out that hair transplants were actually a thing. A bit of background: 35 years old, noticed that I was thinning at age 19, which kinda sucks unfortunately but life goes on. In about 2007 I started a program with a local hair loss company, where they bundled up finasteride, loniten, topical minoxidil, laser therapy, and scalp massage into a neat little package for an exorbitant price. I was with them for a few years until I found out that I could buy generic finasteride for much less. So I've been taking finasteride pretty consistently since then (excluding a few gaps of a few weeks here and there), at the moment 1.25mg 3 times a week. I don't think I have any side effects. At the moment I think I'm a NW 3/4 vertex. Before this year I was always pretty set to go with FUT but after seeing a few healed FUT scars I've decided that I would like to go down the FUE route as I've seen some really good results.

I've had a live consultation with Dr Martinick (well, not with her but her trichologist) here in Australia, and another with Dr Pathomvanich in Thailand (both a few years ago now). I've also had an online/email consultation with Hasson and Wong. My plans for a hair transplant were always put on the back burner as I thought I would probably never have that amount of money available all at once. 

I've always read about the so called "Turkish hair mills" and would always dismiss it as an option, however, during my research I found out that there is actually a handful of decent doctors there. And because the price is lower I would be able to afford it. I know full well that I shouldn't go by price, but when I compare, let's say 4000 grafts for example, Dr Demirsoy would be around 8000AUD compared to Dr Hasson/Wong would be around 24000AUD (and that was from an FUT quote, so the actual price would be much higher). That sort of price difference is really quite significant and if I could get a decent job for a more affordable job, then I'm going to go for it (obviously dismissing the Turkish hair mills).

Anyway, so at the moment my doctors of choice would be Demirsoy, Pekiner, and Ferreira, but I've yet to do consultations yet - will get onto it soon. And I'm planning it for December. I have a 2 month holiday period over that time, and I don't want anyone to know I've had any work done, so I'm planning to stay in Turkey (or wherever I go) for a couple of weeks, and then just visit a few more places around the general area (maybe Santorini, Porto, etc) to have a bit of a relaxing time and heal a bit before I go back to work. All under the guise of a 'holiday', no-one will know any better. I plan to fill in my crown, temples, and define my hairline a little. I've attached a couple of photos of my current state.

At the moment I've become pretty good with a hairdryer to make my front area look like there is more hair there than there actually is, however I can't always cover up the crown - but I use Toppik from time to time if I know I'm going to be photographed. This procedure is something that is on my mind every day and I think the possibility of getting it done is becoming more and more a reality. Thanks for reading! I don't really talk to anyone about this, so it's good to have this forum