asterix0

would you mind sharing a top down view? From your angles it is impossible to get some notion of the yield. 

Considering you were slick bald and a norwood 6 or so, this is an amazing recovery so far!

Harsh light will always be tough on transplants, especially in bathrooms where it's directly on top of your head. 

I would like to hear Dr. Pinto's opinion on the true growth timeline, is there such a concept as slow growers and how rare are they in his estimation, some say that by 6 months your transplant (especially the hairline and midscalp) will pretty much be what you get. 

7 hours ago, Shadman said:

I saw one of your podcasts with Dr. Zarev. I think he’s a great surgeon. Yes, from my side. Punch tool that he developed I think is one of the reasons behind his success, causes no scars at all. Moreover, looks like no extraction actually happened in the donor area. I wonder when that tool would be available for other surgeons to use. 

You will get scars if you shave your head, everyone scars differently but the good thing is that with the homogenous extraction and smaller punch size, it is much, much less noticeable than one would think if the donor is grown out to like a 1-2 guard. 

However, some donor scars are still much, much better as a trade off with having hair on top 😀

Looking great, congratulations and enjoy your hair 🙂

1 hour ago, Armin said:

Well glad that i schedule my consult last month at 5 euros/graft.. and even that way was only to 12/26 lol

 

So when would your surgery be, sometime in 2027?

1 hour ago, Stewie said:

its not rocket science, the results are great, what he Is doing is no different from anyone else in terms of technique, but what is different is his and a few other docs approach to this SAFE area your only suppose to take from, I went aggressively bald very early like many on the forum and dont see a problem going right up to the borders, but many docs just won't do it, and thats the difference, nothing mind boggling, just he sees and trust the process himself

A bit wrong but think what you want. Just look at how the donor heals a day or two after surgery, very very few can replicate this. 

You are getting significantly less trauma to the donor, the combination of homogenous extraction and this increases the amount of available grafts drastically. 

You were resurrected from the dead man, congratulations. 

4 hours ago, GeneralNorwood said:

where did you read this? 

I unfortunately don't have the source, I think I was talking to someone on reddit who mentioned a well known hair transplant doctor told him this.

However, I will say looking on some threads with micro needling, the growth factors angle is interesting as a scientific concept but in practice, I think all it is doing is enhancing the absorption of minoxidil, so you could pretty much get the same results by say taking a low dose oral minoxidil rather than risking infection by not cleaning your scalp properly after micro needling.

For myself, I did not notice any benefits with micro needling after doing it religiously for a year, and I was already on finasteride and minoxidil a long time at that point. 

I would just recommend to not do microneedling if you plan on another transplant. I read it may damage your scalp and compromise future transplant yields. 

Your temples are fine and obviously completely natural, do not risk temple point surgery as it is very tricky, be happy you got a good result and a good head of hair now!

A video can give a rough estimate on a virgin scalp, but nevertheless the donor quality needs to be examined in person ultimately. This is why Dr. Zarev requires his patients to fly to Bulgaria for the consultation for example. 

Temple points are the hardest to get right. They are the finest caliber hair, there are many natural irregularities, the directions can naturally be different. Probably only hair right above the ear and around the nape area are suitable for temple points.

My own temple points, my right side grows at completely different angles than my left. They are clearly not straight when you look at them. Yet, these individual irregularities still look natural because practically everyone displays some level of these variations.

The same can be said for the hairline, which is why it is the next hardest thing to get right in hair transplantation. Also, there is nuance to having not enough density, to having too much density, of course it goes without saying to not have doubles/triples in the front. 

33 minutes ago, duchaine said:

This is not an argument from you.
I talked with a lot of doctors: they literally do not know what is behind their suggestions.
They go for safety. STOP
But sometimes the safer choice is not the better or is simply useless.

Don't think, if someone is going through all the hassle, paying all this money to get a hair transplant, a few more days in the hotel just to be safe would be a problem. 

But maybe that's just me.

12 minutes ago, duchaine said:

This are simple statements taken from a website.
It is not a scientific research

If you aggregate the majority of hair transplant doctors websites, they will tell you similar information.

Is everyone conspiring against a single article against dr.bernstein, why would they have any reason to do that?

Have you even had a transplant yourself and talked to your doctor, what did they tell you?

10 hours ago, duchaine said:

The only research on the topic is from Bernestain, 2006
"The study showed that for the first two days, pulling on a hair always resulted in a lost graft, but the chance of the graft being removed started to decrease by the third day. By the sixth day pulling on a hair would no longer dislodge the graft. Pulling on an adherent scab always resulted in a lost graft through day five, with the incidence decreasing through day eight. However, by nine days post-op, grafts were no longer at risk of being dislodged."
After 3 days, excpet you do not try to stretch your hair out, you are perfectly sage.
After 5 days, you won't dislodge the graft even if you try to pull out your hair.

https://fellermedical.com/what-to-expect-after-a-hair-transplant/

https://wimpoleclinic.com/blog/how-long-after-hair-transplant-are-grafts-secure/#:~:text=Generally%2C hair grafts are fully,heal around each new graft.

If you follow the surgeon’s recovery and aftercare advice, after around five to seven days, the hair grafts should be secure enough for you to gently wash your hair although you should not touch it by hand. Generally, hair grafts are fully secure between 10 and 14 days after the hair transplant procedure. This is usually the time it takes for the scalp to heal around each new graft.

30 minutes ago, duchaine said:

Grafts are completely safe after 48-72 post op.

 

They are not.

It takes about a week for them to be secure, after you wash the crusts off at day 8 or 9 depending on doctors instructions.

It is maybe being overly cautious, but I bumped my head in the taxi on the way home and lost a graft or two, fortunately I was close to the clinic and the doctor could help me.

But being in a plane and accidentally bumping your head, would be more problematic. Also you want to make sure the environment is clean as much as possible since you have open wounds on your head post surgery, and we know planes and airports arent so clean. 

Take a few extra days to make sure the grafts are secure in my opinion, hotels in porto shouldn't be too expensive. 

33 minutes ago, GeneralNorwood said:

I just saw your topic when you mentioned your surgery with dr Turan. It saddens me that he told cobblestoning is permanent. 

I remember there was a video, where Dr Sethi said that no matter which package you chose at Eugenix, you get same highest quality of HT. Well, clearly it is not true and i can't find this video anymore.

 

I didn't talk to Dr. Pitella, but that's good idea. 

I think it is similar to how ASMED was doing great work, really ahead of their time with Dr. Erdogan, and then just went full blown business operation based on reputation of past work. 

59 minutes ago, consequence said:

When we throw around percentages, what are we even talking about? Percentage of the "illusion of density"? Percentage of scalp covered? Percentage of looking like you were never bald in the first place? What about results where 100% of follicles grow but they stay thin in caliber?

I don't know what percentage of his follicles grew, or to what caliber, but yes it is a fairly middle of the road result. This is why I think he should be careful with new procedures and maximize medical therapy first. 

% of how many grafts grew successfully after the conventionally understood period of time to evaluate a result, i.e. 9-12 months after the transplant. 

I dont think they can grow but stay thin in caliber, can you give some examples of that? A graft can thin over time however in some patients. 

I would estimate OP got about 70% yield, but with long hair combed it really is difficult to say. I could absolutely be wrong. 

31 minutes ago, consequence said:

No one's saying the results aren't perfect. They are an improvement however.

The basic point is this: OP is still a kid at the beginning of his life. He's not on maximum medical therapy with aggressive hairless at a young age. Getting another surgery without upgrading his rx regimen and when he's already had subpar results with one of the best in the world is just asking for trouble.

Plus he's unfortunately dealing with some pretty severe psychiatric issues it seems. If down the line he's in a place where he's blown out all his grafts and doesn't have a Colin Farrell level hairline, I worry that he might hurt himself. Mental stability is as much a prerequisite for successful procedure as an optimal medical regimen.

OP doesn't want to see this and there's nothing I can do about that. You get all sorts on these forums and the hyperneurotic 20 year old with advanced hair loss at a young age is a textbook personality I've seen dozens of times. He will regret the path he's taking now but ultimately not my monkey, not my circus.

And to the OP: You came on here looking for feedback, but became very emotional when it wasn't what you wanted to hear. I agree -- no more comments from me on your thread because, frankly, it's like talking to a brick wall. This is not a thoughtful approach to life that you've developed.

You will find a doc to cut you because someone's eventually going to say yes to free money. Will it be an ethical doctor? I don't think so. You'll have your procedure, and another middling result, and then you'll come on here and post about it how unfair the world is again. The exact same sequence of events. This Sysiphean wrestling back and forth will consume your 20s. I hope not, but I've seen your story so often it's a no-brainer at this point.

Either way, good luck. Remember it's just hair. Don't ruin your life over it. There is a time in the future where you will look back and be profoundly jealous of where you are right now.

Having a "not perfect" result is much different than a pretty much failed transplant.

I don't think his transplant failed, but looking at this pre-op and post-op photos, for 4000 grafts I don't see a lot of improvement. 

Have you gone under the knife yourself personally? What is your criteria for a successful transplant, 90% yield, 80%? Give a ballpark number. 

What do you think OP's yield was?

You have had a lot of progress 🙂, it will only improve now going into month 6 and beyond, so don't worry.