Concord75

Just watched the instagram live, thought it was great. Thank you!

I’m in almost same exact situation as you, decided to go with True and Dorin. I think it’s nice to not have to leave the city for follow up visits, or for second surgery, etc. The other thing that struck me was speaking to patients that told me they traveled here from elsewhere to go to T&D or surgeons you mentioned. It seemed to me that there aren’t that many surgeons that do “mega sessions” (3000 graft+ in one session) in NYC. Also, as I’m sure you know, surgeons here charge consultation fess. If I could go *anywhere*, the other option I was strongly considering was Hasson and Wong, but with the borders closed right now, staying local just made sense (also we don’t have tax on cosmetic procedures - I think they do in Canada, I could be wrong).

I’m definitely interested in SMP for my crown, because my surgeon said I don’t have enough donor hair to cover my entire head. I can’t decide how natural it would look, the goal would be to act as a permanent concealer. I think you have to have a good amount of hair. I found Ahead Ink in NJ post on this forum and they have some before and afters or longer hair smp: https://www.aheadink.com/gallery/thickening-effect-before-and-after. Obviously these are probably only the best results ever if they are on the site. It might look strange at angles if your scalp is dark but there is no hair. They have tricopigmentation (sp?) which is temporary but you have to get it touched up every 6 months to a year. So I’m thinking that would be one way to test.

Thank you for taking the time to draw that Taken4Granted! I agree this approach is probably most prudent & will look most natural. I also think that the angle of the photo is awkward because I'm leaning my head forward so it's hard to say what would look best if my head were facing straight on. You make a salient point - I'm not planning on wearing my hair buzzed (do not have head shape for it), so the high arches might be the way to go for most natural look. It's challenging to make the decision, because my first inclination is to ask for the lowest/straightest hairline possible after years of losing hair.

I definitely will! I already started a presurgery thread (probably too soon haha): .

Thank you for the insight, BeHappy. That logic definitely makes sense to me, part of the reason I decided to go with True and Dorin. I like the idea of being able to reevaluate progress after seeing results of first procedure and then pivot accordingly for second procedure. This is a marathon, not a sprint! Some of my family had concerns if the lower hairline in the first picture I posted was too low or too straight (didn't have enough mature hairline recession built in - wouldn't look natural), but I'm going to trust in the surgeon with experience - I think they're crazy, and might just be used to seeing me with a receded hairline. Also, the line might be slightly different on surgery day. As you pointed out, I like that Dr. Dorin doesn't do an entirely straight hairline - the line has more curves which I think looks more natural in final result. I hope Dr. Dorin gets a chance to see my face without a mask on surgery day when drawing my new hairline. I understand we live in crazy times, but this is a permanent change to my head! I checked out the hairline you sent - phenomenal. I know that this is an atypical outcome, I would be ecstatic if I had that kind of result. Check out this recent hairline from Dr. Dorin, it also has a straighter line and I think it looks perfect:

Wow, amazing results! I have a procedure booked with Dr. Dorin for next month and this makes me feel confident in that decision.

I’m risk adverse but I would probably go for it in this case. They’re going to work extra hard to make it perfect because it’s trainee doctor’s first time, and you get 15% discount off entire procedure? Would probably need a little more info to make decision, but at face value, does not sound horrible IMO.

Awesome, thanks for the info.

I totally agree! I was expecting 2500-3000 grafts minimum for first procedure, and I don't necessarily want to immediately do 2 back to back procedures for obvious convenience purposes, but I'm trusting that Dr. Dorin is an expert. They said that he might be able to get 2200 grafts on surgery day. I think he also wants to be conservative with donor supply. He mentioned my age (33) and the fact that I could lose more hair and said I have above average density/scalp laxity but the donor area is narrow so lifetime 5500-6000 grafts. I also want to be conservative, but at the same time don't want to go through an entire first hair transplant, and have thin outcome (if that is preventable). The other thing I have questions about is 8 month timeline after first surgery for second surgery. Seems optimistic that growth would be completed by that time? But again, I'm not a surgeon, so kind of trusting the expert. Here are pictures of top/crown/donor. These pictures are mostly indirect sunlight, so I think that my hair actually looks a bit worse/thinner IRL on a day to day basis. I also have some thinning on the middle of my head so you can see sparsity when I turn sideways. I'll get pics pre surgery. I'm not sure what the best way to take pictures is? (harsh indoor lighting, sunlight, etc.) Pics: Crown: Top: You can see I had a high forehead to begin with and it's augmented by recession: Donor: Direct sunlight:

I'm planning for FUT surgery and a little bit concerned about being able to sleep the first few nights. I know you can't sleep on your back or side, but the back of your head obviously is healing from FUT extraction, so I was thinking about sleeping in my recliner with a neck pillow for the first 3-7 nights. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good post surgery travel pillow? I was looking at this one.

Hey all, I'm a long time lurker, first time poster. I love this site! I've been doing so much research over the last few months on surgeons, procedures, everything. Very excited to say I booked a procedure with True and Dorin in NYC for September 19th. It's only for 1800-2000 grafts but I'm planning on doing a follow up FUT procedure of another 1800-2000 8 months after the first to increase density. He said my lifetime donor supply is only 5500-6000, and I'm between a Norwood 3V to 4 with likely progression to 5/6 over lifetime. Sadly the crown won't be completely covered, but I'm considered scalp micropigmentation to give the illusion of density on the crown, and possibly to improve appearance of scar. I also decided to add PRP to the procedure, because Dr. Dorin said due to my fair skin it is likely that I will have redness in implant site after procedure and PRP might reduce redness time and increase time for new hairs to grow (I figure it can't hurt). For some background, I've been taking finasteride for 1 year (one of the lucky ones with no sides) and Rogaine foam for 1 year as well. Sorry for looking like biggest creeper ever in photo, but it's the only one I have with the hairline lines that I snapped quickly in the office. I'm going for lower hairline in the picture, and Dr. Dorin is going to build some small temples on the side of my head so that the lower hairline looks natural. If anyone is or knows a recent patient of Dr. Dorin please feel free to reach out! Will document more in this thread after I have the procedure.

Your hair looks great! Best video yet.