PizzaWolf

I don't think the "E" in FUE should be delegated. If some dentist had a tech do the drilling portion of his fillings, I wouldn't trust him, and that's a much less significant procedure than a HT. Having techs do actual surgical portions of a HT allows doctors to schedule more patients per day which equals more $$$. They never frame it that way, but we as prospective customers/patients don't have to play dumb.

Your hair looks great and completely natural. Why did Dr. Feriduni think that area on your temple was "high risk/low reward"? I've seen cases from Feriduni where he lowered or altered hairlines on people who weren't even balding. Why is your little touchup a big deal? Seriously asking as I'm no expert and want to have a better understanding of these issues. Thanks.

Same.

No. I think all of those are viable alternatives to obsessing about his hair. Every moment you spend worrying about your hair is a moment you aren't enjoying life to its fullest. If I had suggested something like "gender reassignment surgery with complete estrogen supplementation" then I would agree that was too extreme.

@jami I don't think the hairline adjustment you've proposed in these recent photos is even worth doing. There's "conservative" and there's "why bother"?

• RU58841 • CB-03-01 • Topical Finasteride or Dutasteride. You can get the topical Fin off Ebay. • PRP. Some claim this has given them positive results, but treatment has to be continued or the benefits fade. • Specialty topical mixes from a compounding pharmacy. Medical Wellness Center offers these, as do other online pharmacies. • Dermarolling • Shave your head • Hair systems

Would you mind telling me why you rate them like that? You have some HT superstar names in there.

I'd recommend Finasteride and a gym membership.

Of your 10 surgeries, who was the best?

Dr. Villa has techs do 100% of her extractions. This whole thing about Turkey BAD, [this area] of the world GOOD is starting to enter into the territory of offensive. It's "who" you go to, not "where" you go to that matters. Belgium isn't performing your surgery. Spain isn't performing your surgery.

I use 1mg of Fin per day. Minoxidil foam mixed with a small amount of tretinoin once per day. 15mg of MK-677 once per day. I tried Dutasteride for 1 year to see if it gave me any noticeable benefit. It didn't. There's limited research that suggests topical finasteride may be almost as effective as taking it orally. Might be worth a try. I'm not recommending you treat yourself like a science experiment, and I don't want anyone to get horrible side effects. I just don't think there's any way around DHT being the worst enemy of our hair follicles.

You have to do what's right for you, but if I might make a suggestion: Try the regimen you're proposing before your HT. I dropped 2 Norwood levels in 3 years after getting on a treatment protocol that worked for me. You might be surprised at what a reversal can be made. This also affects your HT options and puts you in a more advantageous position moving forward.

Are you willing to use a DHT blocker stronger than saw palmetto? It could make huge difference because you still have a lot of diffuse hair left, and I bet your donor would strengthen as well. As far as the choices of doctor, I would probably go with Eugenix. They've been cranking out good results on a diverse range of cases, and you won't need to remortgage your home like one of those names might require.

@T95good What made you decide against doing temple points?

How did your 45 minute consult go, and what was your input into the design? Did they give you donor numbers and things of that nature?

@T95good I think HLC's work looks stellar. You made a good choice. Do you have any info on the doctors' background or training? They don't give bios on their website for anyone but the head doctor.

@Peezus I don't think your photos display the severity of issues you're describing, but you seem to be looking for validation of your worst fears vs. honest feedback. Then follow your own advice. @BuddyX didn't omit the things you said he did, and I'm offering a viewpoint that differs from what you seem to be looking for right now.

@Peezus I gotta be real here, brother. I think you're prematurely flipping out. Your photos are too fresh from surgery to really know what the end result is going to be. Even in the short amount of time I've been on this forum, there seems to be monthly panic attacks from guys who just went through surgery and are positive they have been maimed. Go look at some of Dr. Diep's threads. You would think from the first few months of many of his patient threads that he's the worst surgeon on the planet. By the end of those same threads, the mood shifts to a congratulations on the amazing result. I don't know if your surgery will ultimately be a failure or not, but I don't think you really do either. As far as @BuddyX is concerned, I watched some of his videos and read his comments on those. He did show his donor area, he did comment on the clinic being technician run and how the doctor of the clinic is really only there in name only. He also gave the name of the doctor, so I'm sure that can be Googled for more info. Quite frankly, I think I know more about HOI than you do from watching a couple of his videos and reading the comments. Chill out and make an objective assessment of your hair in 2021.

More testosterone, more potential for conversion to DHT, which is by far the most destructive hormone to scalp follicles. Testosterone is also slightly damaging in and of itself to hair follicles over time, according to various research I've read over the years. Basically, TRT is likely to accelerate your natural propensity for hair loss. IMO, it would be wise to take Finasteride before jumping on TRT if MPB is a major concern.

@Peezus Can you take some clearer photos of your hair? Maybe some with your hair wet and slicked back. Also some current photos of your donor. I'm very sorry about your miserable experience with a shoddy clinic.

I'm not scheduled with HLC until February. Dr. BF was uncomfortable operating on me because I have CVG. It's mild, but definitely there.

@Londoner7 Good luck and best wishes on your results. Work looks very clean, similar to other Dr. BF cases that have been posted. Was there a reason you opted not to do temple points? I also consulted with Dr. BF and ultimately decided to go with HLC. Although in my case that decision was made easier since Dr.BF was uncomfortable operating on me 😩 Good luck with your upcoming procedure.

That would be great.

My question was pretty weak considering you asked for honest feedback, I was just trying to verify some things that sounded off to me. Your hair loss doesn't look like standard MPB, and the age that it started for you (50 right?) is weird. The doctor giving you Dutasteride at the six month mark of your transplant sounds like he was panicking about your results, since, let's be real, if he thought your MPB was severe enough to require Dut that should have been prescribed before the transplant, not after. As others have suggested, I don't think you have MPB, but some kind of scalp condition. IMO, you were rushed into a transplant by the doctor.

Is there an appropriate way for a surgeon to determine proper density of a transplant? Lack of density seems to be the most common complaint I see, but most surgeons advertise the 50 Grafts/cm2 as some kind of universal happy density.