Curious25

I would probably deep down favour Wong, based on his years in industry, and having came across more patient posted results of his (I don't use the spanish forums). Why did they recommend Wong over Hasson out of interest, I assumed Hasson was the more obvious choice for hairline work?

If it was me, and I had to choose between the two, I would probably go with which ever date and timing suits you the most. And if the dates were pretty similar - - if De Freitas really is half the price, even after flights and accomodation, that would probably make up my mind.

Beard looks great, and your scalp HGI of 2.6 is super impressive given you’ve already had 3x previous surgeries. Were all beard extractions taken from under the chin and neck, so you were able to avoid extracting from the facial part of the beard ?

Coming on nicely Kirkland. What is your medical regime at the moment, oral minoxidil and RU?

You have fantastic hair calibre, so I’m surprised 7000 grafts hasn’t got you to a pretty bullet proof point coverage wise, given the area that I can pretty confidently determine as the previously balding/bald areas. Who was your surgeon? Oh well, not to worry - if you do indeed have 3000 scalp hair grafts vía FUE, then this will be more than enough to finish you off and looking like a full head, in the right surgeons hands. . . Depending on what is most bothersome for you, I would look to allocate 1500 grafts into the hairline and frontal 1/3 to bolster this area . . And then return to place a further 1500 into your vertex/crown area. From the slight sneak peek in the corner of the first photo, I can see your beard looks pretty decent, albeit a different colour, so this should also be an option you can look to utilise before considering SMP.

I always advocate baby step surgeries, even more so for patients under your particular circumstances. Why don't you post up some pics of your whole head, and show the areas you wish to address, which give you the most cause for concern, and we can help talk about different types of strategies you could opt for, which will help achieve both end result satisfaction, and donor harvesting safety?

This is very disappointing, and raises huge red flags in my eyes. It goes without saying, that it would not only be in the consumers interest, but also the businesses interest to share data, if it is as good as what they have reported. Regardless of Dr Hasson's status and reputation within the hair loss industry, being told to take his word on the efficacy of a product that he is personally financially invested in, because the company are reluctant to share data, is as good as trusting the old snake oil merchants down at the markets in historical times. The only positive spin I can think to put onto this, is that they haven't really conducted very accurate forms of research within large enough sample sizes of their patients for it to be of any scientific use and withstand criticism . . . and for the most part have heavily relied on anecdotal feedback from their patients. Eg. out of 600 of their patients they have trialled it with - they ran bloodwork and trichoscopic analysis for 5 of them, which showed roughly 30% serum DHT decline on average between the group, with noticeable improvements in their trichoscopy exams - acquired verbal feedback from the remaining 595 patients that all was good, and felt this was enough to come out and make these claims.

Search for ‘LiverKing’ on Instagram , that’s an eye opener for sure 😂

No other angles are required - It is perfectly clear to even a novice on these boards that no where near 2200 grafts have grown in. Unfortunately a doctors enthusiasm for always wishing the very best outcomes for his patients, as nice as that is, doesn't compensate for lack of execution, which is IMO what has been consistently cropping up from this clinic over the last 12 months. I'd expect to see those comparative pictures between pre surgery and 3 months post op.

No, you are not balding. This is your crowns natural whorl - I have found that it is often more pronounced amongst men with the same ethnicity as yourself, so nothing to worry about or concern yourself with at all 😊

Hey, how did you get on?

Probably this yes - set up a multi stage strategy of restoration over the course of a few years. Wouldn't it be amazing to have this option! Back on topic - Something that I thought to add is the psychological impact of having a scar on the back of your head. I met a guy at a meet up with my old surgeon a few years ago, and he had opted for FUT when he was younger due to budget, and he told me that the biggest challenge he had faced post op, was the knowledge of having a scar at the back of his head now, not that it was particularly noticeable (he had since SMP'd into it) however I kind of got the impression he felt the same way about it, as what I would imagine people who wear hair systems sometimes have that feeling of worry in case someone uncovers their system. Anyway - like always, its down to the individual. Individual cases call for individual plans of action. If you are comfortable with FUT, then it is a tried and tested procedure that produces great results in the right hands.

Yea I totally agree. A homogenous scalp is the way forward in my book 😎

Hairs looking good by the way Melvin - donor in particular. Reminds me a little of @HugoX’s coverage post second op,

Unfortunately science doesn’t work like that - you’re comparing apples to oranges. I know MPMD claimed that this was the case for him not experiencing sides when he ran dutasteride and got had almost 99% of his serum DHT suppressed, however each and everyone of us are unique, some can get back by with reductions in DHT, others not so well. Equally, some can have higher levels of free test compensate for lower saturation levels of DHT, others can’t.

FUE FTW

Nice. And you don’t use the drops topically at all? Have you considered upping your oral dosage and terminating the drops altogether ?

I just thought it would be important to clarify whether you were a physician or not, seeing as though you stated you weren’t comfortable recommending oral minoxidil to others - so writing posts such as that on a board in a hair loss community, we need to establish what your background is to ascertain whether this is something we should take on board or not. Considering we now know that you are in the same boat as us, and are just interpreting the available studies online (which is fine) to come to this conclusion - personally I think I’d stick to listening to the world class surgeons and dermatologists inputs, given they have access to not only the studies that we have seen, but their in clinic evidence from patients response, and peer shared evidence within their professional networks. If I were you, I’d probably start recommending your layman friends to consult with relevant doctors such as hair surgeons, dermatologists, urologists, cardiologists etc - best way to keep everything safe 👍🏻

What dosage do you take, and when did you start to notice results with your hair?

Are you a prescribing physician? A lot of renowned surgeons are actually contradicting what you have stated, and believe low doses of oral minoxidil to be more efficacious than the topical, such as Dr Bisanga and Dr Mwamba. It is also the go to in the spanish hair loss industry, and both Dr Konior and Dr Nadimi told Melvin they prescribe it on their insta live.

Have you started using the finasteride gel Melvin?

100%

I was thinking about this earlier when reading the thread - and I think it boils down to youthfulness in appearance. The post op shaven head photos essentially look like a purposefully styled buz cut hairstyle , with a juvenile hairline and lovely framing temple points - combined with a shorter beard length (stubble) and of course the smile . . It’s just a generally more youthful and aesthetically pleasing appearance than the before pictures. Head shape is very important - I think a 3D/SMP buzz cut style in the future would be a very viable option in Melvins case - however with soon to be denser hair, and a new frame of the face, I’m sure there will be plenty new longer haired styles that will look even better! The stubble is an interesting one, depending on cheekbone structure and jawline strength, a few mm in facial hair length either way can make or break an appearance.

Love your new hairline and temple point design Melvin, it really looks great on you, and grown out will make for a much more youthful aesthetic - think was a very wise move by you and Dr Sethi. As for the crown coverage, there was a lot of real estate, however the post op photos show promising coverage, and your beard hair has fantastic attributes, so I’m excited to see this one play out. Great write up as expected, and wishing you all the best over the coming months - you deserve this more than anyone! All the best.

I agree - Whilst De Freitas often showcases impressive results, its often the yield that is the 'wow factor' that jumps out at people. I have noticed on a few of his clinic posted results, unnatural looking hairlines, despite impressive growth. That said, I love the job he did on @BjornBorg Diep for me, has a lot of very unaesthetic hairline results - however weirdly, there are some great ones from him. The famous case of the NW5 asian guy is one of the best results on the net. Hairlines are ultimately subjective - and certain surgeons work better with certain hair types. I would advise OP to study patient posted cases from patients with a similar loss pattern, and hair type to his own. Dr Hasson's hairline restoration on @Aftermath is a forum favourite. Another personal favourite was Dr Koniors aggressive restoration on the ginger guy, who had great density, and minor loss. Maybe someone could share the link on this case?