asterix0

Intuitively, an FUT cross section of a sparse donor area would not seem to yield good results. Also, keep in mind the scar stretches, which seems to happen more often than not, that is more potential donor that is compromised which could have been used to extract good FUE grafts. I think in 2023 FUT really is an outdated procedure.

Pimples are normal, just do not deliberately go popping them and make sure your head stays clean so they don't get infected.

You don't understand, Dr. Zarev will only over harvest the donor with the patients consent if he is a Norwood 7 with a below average donor area, if conventional wisdom to transplants is applied, to get adequate coverage. He will never deliberately over harvest the donor. His surgical technique, surgical tools, and attention to detail allow him to obtain more grafts than other surgeons can.

@GeneralNorwood if you are happy with your results do not listen to me, but my humble recommendation is to get a skin level fade for your temples or some electrolysis. They are too straight and the grafts are too thick in my opinion, something looks off even for a complete hair transplant layman or person on the street. Also, brush your hair forward I think it looks better than the slick back style. See for example Beckham here: His hairline has that natural softness in the front and unevenness.

Yes, by 6-7 months particularly in the front and midscalp it will be pretty noticeable if you will have good growth or not. Back part and crown around 9-10 months.

@mustang I will let you know, when my mpb started I tried every single natural ingredient under the sun, with various levels of dosage strength. I tried topical "natural" anti androgens much stronger than what you are trying and it did not help me. Granted, I was in my early twenties and balding in a Norwood 6 pattern.

Thanks for documenting this, I will be following closely!

In my opinion Dr. Konior and his apprentice Dr. Nadimi are some of the best US options. Also Dr. Shapiro.

GeneralNorwood seems like a fun guy to have a sleepover with but I think I'll pass 😃. The point is, your thread has attracted a lot of attention because your case is very interesting, any hair transplant enthusiasts would be interested to see your result, which I think has been very good so far. Sorry if you got offended by the insinuation of fiber use, I think from the discrepancy of the pictures it is not out of the realm of reasonability to wonder how there can be that much of a contrast in the various lighting conditions. I do think the use of grafts for your temple points is interesting also, normally in such high Norwood cases it is preferred to use the grafts for the limited coverage on top. I am (was) a Norwood 6 before my transplant, so I understand this thinking.

I also didn't think GeneralNorwood had bad intentions. I thought the difference between that picture and where the lateral humps were barren were because he used fibers as well. Regardless if he did or not, I think using fibers in that area would be a good plan, and the other grafts can then be used to fortify the hairline and other areas that people will directly interact with/see. I think OP has already come a long way from where he started and he should be over the moon with his results. I'm personally happy for him that things look to have turned out brilliantly, he looks a lot better and younger.

Not everyone goes to Norwood 7. The Norwood 6 zone is perfectly harvestable for many patients, see @Melvin- Moderator

Good that you aren't a fan...one less person to go on the long waiting list 😀

I know I understand your frustration. There are some doctors that get close though, but are very expensive. Dr. Konior in the USA for instance, if you do not need a gigasession.

He has said he wants to but has found it hard to find medical students who are good enough I think.

A combination of extreme surgical skill, innovative technology he uses in his practice, and he is simply a genius.

@general-etwan There is no reason to stop finasteride prior to your procedure, or after. You can (and I believe should) continuously use it, unless you experience side effects.

Always consult with multiple doctors, preferably top clinics. You can also do some estimates yourself. Take a tape measure and find the square cm area you want to implant. When you consider a transplanted density of about 40 grafts per cm^2, you can approximate how many you'll need.

If I were you, I would consider getting on a DHT blocker either topical or oral to protect your transplanted hair. You have weaknesses in your donor area unfortunately that indicate your recipient may thin over time.

If I shave the recipient how can I conceal it? Shaving the donor is a must so that I know I would have to do.

Already had one bigger 4k+ graft session where I shaved so I know how the whole rodeo goes. This is more of a touch up procedure, but was hoping to just conceal it a bit more...but what's a bit with a buzzcut in the long run, not a big deal I suppose...

I've already had one transplant where I shaved my head so I know how it goes...but fortunately I worked from home during the ugly duckling stage so no one saw me haha. This will be a little trickier, but I don't look terrible with a shaved head either way. I was hoping to just conceal it better.

I have an upcoming FUE procedure where I was told in theory that not shaving the recipient area will not affect my yield, it will just make the surgery last longer. I anticipate it will be something in the 1500-2000 graft range. My question is, since I recently changed jobs I really did not want to shave my recipient area and sort of hide what was done as much as possible. What I am concerned with is keeping my head clean post op, and that having longer recipient hair will make it more difficult to follow proper post op care. Is this concern valid? Also, I will take a week+ off from work, so when I come back it will look like a buzzcut mostly. The main issue is the ugly duckling stage when all the grafts fall out, where then it will be obvious and my appearance won't able to be fixed even with fibers, since the hair length wont be long enough. To add, I will just be adding density to the hairline and midscale, not lowering the hairline.

Yes you did, unfortunately you are going to Norwood 7 now, sorry this is common knowledge.

It is a two way street to be a well informed patient and communicate to the doctor what you want as clearly as possible. If this is the guy who went to Dr. Konior earlier, he does seem to have issues of not quite understanding what the possibilities and limitations of hair transplantation are. Nevertheless, I do agree that the clinic should be able to respond to the claims before any judgement is cast. If what he said is true, it is a disappointing result indeed and I understand his frustration.

Watch this video from Eugenix to get an idea about transplanted long term maintenance: https://youtu.be/rJctY_jvd6U