Curious25

Thankyou for the photos Matt - I think its fair to say you've came an incredibly long way, and have hair alot of guys in their 20's would envy!

Looking amazing matt, both for 6 months and 763 grafts! Really happy for you, and shows promise for the future direction of HT artistry, utilising such few grafts! Do you have an idea of how many grafts you have left for the future (if needed)? What is your current medication routine, if any? Do you have any pictures of what you looked like before your first surgery in 2013 (I checked your thread, however could only see post op pics)?

Thankyou for your reply and picture. I actually think your beard donor looks amazing, and wouldn’t think anything from looking at it. If you continue to grow your beard out I’d be interested in seeing what the Density looks like after 5-7 days growth, as this tends to be the length I like to keep it - if that isn’t your style, don’t worry about it though , I will look out for another thread down the line. Do you have any ambition on having your donor re-assessed by another surgeon to see how many more potential grafts you have to play with? I’d be inclined to say there are more than you first thought!

Hi @Portugal25 You are looking absolutely fantastic for 6 months, its hard to believe considering where you started from, because you had quite a large surface area to cover! IMO looking at your 4 months pics, when your donor was grown out, I imagine there would be other FUE surgeons able to deplete that further more, and you should be in good stead to proceed for a further pass if ever you felt the need in the future. You're a big advocate of Dr Ferreira - why did you not choose to have your surgery with him? Could you also post a picture of your beard grown out, I'd be interested to see what under the chin looks like grown out after having grafts taken from it. Thankyou, and I wish you continued success with your brilliant results!

I would offset his extra cost with what he is able to do with a lower amount of grafts compared to other clinics. Not only will that contribute to possibly evening things out in terms of the overall price on a $/graft price plan - but your donor grafts are invaluable, therefore should equally be viewed as an expense. Eg. 3000 grafts with clinic A = $30,000 2000 grafts with Dr Konior = $30,000 Same price, same illusion of density, however an extra 1000 grafts in the bank.

Surgery looks clean and well planned, I’m sure you will have fantastic results with a HGI of 2.4, combined with Hattingen being the European masters of FUT. Please keep us updated.

Hi Dr Arocha, 1) In your experience, do continuous PRP treatments alone (3x every 4 weeks initial loading - followed by maintenance every 4-6 months) restore and maintain miniaturised follicles for a full 3-5 year anagen cycle? 2) What, if any differences, have so far been noted by exosome therapy, to suggest it is superior to PRP, and why? 3) Do you support a certain doctors claims that PRP into a freshly extracted donor region can regrow grafts that have just been extracted for implantation to the recipient? Thankyou very much for taking the time out of your schedule to answer some of the communities questions - and thankyou @Melvin-Moderator for facilitating it. It would be great to have some more forum user - doctor interaction.

Yea I'm not debating the numbers of singles required for a hairline, but the point was more in relation to the ratio of singular:multis within the donor. If a hairline restoration has already taken place from a patient with a donor consisting predominantly of multi hair grafts, and where the emphasis has been to specifically go looking for, and cherry pick singles - If FUT is utilised for a second surgery, the chances of the strip containing a plethora of singles will, if anything be reduced, than if it was taken from a virgin scalp.

Looking at this guys hair in the 1 year post op pics, I’m gonna take a guess that he has a considerable above average donor, and that was one of the key considerations that was meant when Doug stated ‘considering all factors’. Also, when a patients native hair density is such, you have to resource more grafts to match as closely as you can, to blend the procedure in with the remaining frontal forelock, otherwise it’d stand out. The end result is beautiful. What I want to know is how a guy in his mid 20’s can afford 4000 FUE with H&W 😂

This is tends to be true for the majority of cases, however there are exceptions after an evenly harvested FUE on a patient with a higher than average multi : singular graft ratio. In this instance , if the first procedure via FUE intervention was for hairline restoration, where a large degree of singles were purposely selected by the surgeon, amidst a donor region of predominantly multi hair grafts - a second procedure via strip should still amass to a decent HGI count.

NW7 pattern loss is actually a pretty uncommon stage to reach, for the majority of AA sufferers. A decent donor region, with good hair characteristics and groupings, combined with 750-1000 BHT grafts should provide a NW6 patient with a visually nice head of hair under a skilled surgeon, FUT or FUE.

You are more than welcome, and I am glad you have been of some help. Dermarolling is something that I myself am not very well read up on, I’ve mainly been a back seat observer of certain threads etc - @CosmoKramer has a good thread, and I believe within that thread there are some detailed discussions surrounding optimum frequency, length of needles etc. I use an old model laser helmet I purchased years ago now, so I have no doubt there are likely much begged alternatives available on the market. Again, I am not the most informed on the topic, however I believe the greater the number of diodes the better, more or less. I think @LaserCap may be in a better position to advice on this, Keep us all updated ! You should perhaps create a thread monitoring your progress, I imagine there would be a great deal of interest from within the community, given your results.

Very interesting case, I’d love to see your recipient area, and before/after pictures. Did you have above average Donor to achieve 9000 grafts from fue? Also, if you plan to have another procedure down the line, utilising scalp donor, will the doctor be able to distinguish between the nape/BHT grafts, to that of your native scalp Donor grafts?

Hey @Taken4Granted I've never taken it, because I'm very much against messing with your bodies hormones - something which stemmed from watching close friends of mine using AS's whilst we were in our teens/early twenties, and the catastrophic effects it had on them. Something which perplexes me, is the casual attitude many doctors in this industry seem to place on it, and I don't know whether it is because there are financial incentives from the drug companies manufacturing and selling it, or whether it is simply because it compliments their work, and facilitates an added enhancement of results by strengthening native hair, creating an after image with fuller density and increased hair health - that they are then technically able to allude and attribute to as an after surgery result. Hair restoration is an illusion in more ways than one!

You’re very well educated on this topic @Taken4Granted . . Do you have a background in pharma/science, or is it all from personal research relating from your experiences? Do you/Would you recommend finasteride to anyone at all?

Some good advice here posted here. In layman’s terms, and to my understanding (I stand to be corrected) an inhibition of the conversion of Testosterone to DHT, results in an increase in the bodies free Testosterone. This excess of testosterone overwhelms the bodies requirement, and is broken down and converted into Estrogen - resulting in female related processes such as the enlargement and grown of breast tissue ie. gynocamastia. I’ve read a few times now, that it is hypothesised the adverse side effects related to using finasteride, are sub-consequences of the increase of estrogen in the body, as opposed to the reduction in DHT. I am unable to comment on the accuracy of this, however theoretically I guess it seems plausible. I’ve previously likened finasteride to Anabolic Steroids, and there are similar crossovers with the side effects profiles for each, (loss of sex drive, lowered mood, ED, gyno, ejaculation issues) - AS side effects usually always a consequence of the Increased estrogen production.

First of all, I would like to mention that your rationalising is as excellent as your response has been to the meds. As has been earlier mentioned, you appear to have a very composed and analytical thought process behind this decision, so from that alone I feel you will be victorious in your battle against hair loss. Once you have experienced hair loss, it is always natural to want more hair, and you have clearly been Inspired to continue with the pursuit of ‘perfection’ from witnessing first hand the impressive results you have gained over the last 9 months. You are now at a point where you’ve probably reached (or reaching) the upper limit of results to be expected from the meds, as it is unlikely your recession will grow back from your current routine, so I do understand both the logic and desire to undergoe a HT. ‘Hey we’ve came this far, so why not finish it off and go stick the icing on the cake?’ Not only this, but combined with the logistical benefits whilst having the 8-9 month period of down time to have the intervention now, as opposed to 2 and a bit years due to work commitments - it really is as though all ducks are lining up, and you have an even further motive to pull the trigger and go for it! But let’s break it down. There is no denying the fact that your hair loss has unfortunately been aggressive for your age, and the medications are merely just masking this. So what I mean by this, is that you need to make your decisions based on your before photos, not your current situation. I’d be inclined to suggest that right now, you’re in a pretty liveable situation, not just because of the fact of how vast an improvement you’ve experienced - but because aside from the temple recession, you now have a decent head of hair, which the majority of the population wouldn’t look twice at. The types of questions I would be asking myself , would be along the lines of, what would October 2019 you have said to yourself, if you were sporting back then, the hair you have today? I imagine you’d have been jumping for joy. That alone , is a victory - without the financial expense of surgery, or usage of grafts. I would advise to continue with the current routine, and see how you get on over the next two years. Efficacy can sometimes reduce after prolonged usage, and DHT sensitivity can also increase. The older you are, the more accurately one can establish final patterns and likelihood of future loss, which ultimately means you can implement a better informed strategy in relation to usage and placement of grafts. Your goals, equally, are likely to change as you age. So, in the meantime you could up the anti with some further non surgical treatment options, and perhaps add in some dermarolling, some laser, and PRP. There are quite a few online testimonies floating around demonstrating temple regrowth from dermarolling, so given your already evident propensity to respond and regrow, this could well be another option that you benefit from. I wish you well, and congrats on the progress you have made so far, it’s fantastic.

No idea who that is - have you seen many of his patient posted results ? Who else have you consulted with? You are in a very strong position because of your minimal hair loss and age, so it’d be a shame to mess it up by chasing perfection but with a poor surgeon. I’d recommend doing some more research on this site and consult with a few more top surgeons (probably outside of the UK).

It’s normal to shed upto 100 hairs a day. Some days I don’t wash my hair or comb it, so I don’t physically see any shed hair, Others days when I wash and comb, I see a lot more. It’s six and two threes, and will average out.

Your hairs fantastic for 50 years old, and your current hairline suits you well. I wouldn’t touch a HT if I was in your shoes, however each to their own. As has been said, your proposed hairline is too low and straight, and 1500 grafts for that design wouldn’t be enough to match up with your native density, leaving you looking weird at the front. I would recommend following your current hairline shape, however lowering it slightly, and perhaps bringing the temple points out a bit - however these are notoriously very difficult to get right, so I would only trust a very few select doctors if you were to proceed with this course of action. Who is your procedure booked with, and what advice are you looking for if your surgery is already planned ?

Everyone’s body reacts differently, some shed early, some shed late, some don’t shed at all. I’ve seen guys shed up until 3 months in some cases. If there was no bleeding, it’s likely that everything is fine and you are entering the ugly duck phase ‘earlier than average’. Look at the positives, your results will grow in quicker.

That’s a perfectly normal amount of hair to shed after washing your hair.

I guess it was Dr Reddy then! Very surprised

I have been researching exosome treatments for the last year, and although there are some big name docs behind it, IMO there still isn’t a sufficient amount of scientific evidence or large enough sample ranges in studies to support the claims, that would warrant the price of the treatment (roughly $5000 per treatment). I like to think that it could certainly become a useful treatment to have available in months/years to come - however I would hold fire before parting with your cash just yet, and get in touch with the surgeons and clinics who are offering it, demanding to see evidence of their patients results, solely from exosome therapy, and not in conjunction with anything else. To my knowledge Dr C*** was intending to start various trials this year, however I’m not sure whether they have been affected by the pandemic. On a side note, I am surprised there hasn’t been more mention of them on these boards, especially when some recommended docs on here are already offering the treatment.

+1 for wanting to know why there were seemingly a considerable number of grafts extracted outside of the safe zone ?