Z--

I think you ought to seek out the view of doctors who can do both. FUT-only doctors and FUE-only doctors tend to have biased views and will obviously push for what they can do. That said, in the majority of cases (maybe 90%+), FUE alone is sufficient, but for diffuse thinners, FUT + FUE is a wonderful alternative. Most avoid it because FUT is rather painful and fear of the scar (which can limit shaving the sides, if you don't want people to know you've had work done), but if neither deters you, I'd reach out to Konior, Hattingen, Shapiro, Laorwong and H&W to get an unbiased perspective. I understand that Zarev, Pitella and Eugenix are all pulling 10k grafts these days, but I honestly am not a huge man of how the donor looks after such a large extraction, and, excluding the first in the list, they often require a mix of beard/body grafts as well, which are suboptimal in terms of survival. Personally, I think the FUE / FUT combo works. I personally did over 4,000 grafts of FUT and roughly 800 FUE, and my donor looks completely untouched when my hair is around a 2.5 grade (any lower and the scar is visible). I've seen many that have done 4,000 grafts from FUE and the donor is noticeable in thinness, imo. The idea is that with FUE/FUT combo, you should be able to achieve an additional 1 - 3k grafts, depending on whether you have sufficient laxity. If the scar stretches, you would obviously lose that benefit, so it's critical to go to a doctor that understands what they're doing.

Middle Eastern here as well with diffuse thinning like yourself and same loss pattern. My advice is to avoid lowering the hairline. Work in a way that is conservative and plan for 2 / 3 surgeries. I'd probably go fewer grafts in your fast pass. Maybe 3 - 4k just to see how it would grow.

When is your next procedure planned? I know you are often unfairly accused of creating issues, but I don't think it's creating drama to let people know who you've considered. If anything, I think you'll be helping people (plus, I don't think we should have much sympathy for doctors who botch or plan badly). I don't want to push you, of course, but I hope you're able to provide a list of doctors you've consulted when all is said and done.

Returned to congratulate you brother. I remember your case was a very tough one. Thrilled that you're getting the desired results after years of struggle. Wishing you all the best.

He's one one of the best as of 2023 (and I thought was already a member). Very deserving.

Agreed. Doctors should be re-evaluated on an annual basis.

That is incredible for four months. Couto still easily amongst the best of the best.

Both are excellent. I personally like Pinto's work a bit more -- he's so hands on and involved. It's hard to beat that!

Don't bother worrying until you hit around the 6 month mark. It's way too early.

Agreed - great choice! Nader has more involvement, and I haven't read any reports on him here or elsewhere where he leaves his patients out to dry.

Four rules: 1 Doctor should be in the room at all times. 2. You should be the only patient at the time of your procedure. 3. The more doctor involvement the better. Incisions are a must. Preferably doctor is involved with both that and extractions. Planning should be meticulous - rushing this or a sub-30 min plan is unacceptable. 4. You should know who your doctor is beforehand (avoid clinics with multiple doctors on a rotational basis). If the above isn’t adhered to, please ask for a compelling reason. Tech-driven clinics or doctors seeing multiple patients at once (or doing the bare minimum, if not less) are a blight in this industry.

How can anyone deny that Zarev is the best doctor for high Norwoods? Those people must be blind. GOAT result. Congrats mate!

It doesn't set a good precedent that Mwamba will only respond to patient complaints when Melvin reaches out. If Mwamba actually cared, he and his clinic would have honored RTC / HappyMan's rebates when requested by them. If he's done that to multiple members here, one can only wonder what he's also doing to non-members (who don't have the benefit of Melvin or someone else advocate for them). It's sad.

Freitas is not only the best out of these three, but he's the only one worth visiting out of them. Disregard the rest.

How many times do I have to repeat that the sign of an ethical doctor is how they treat their failed patients...? It doesn't matter how well @Eugenix Hair Sciences handled Gatsby's or Melvin's cases or any of their other great results. All that means is that Sethi is competent / skilled surgeon. BUT the point is that he's clearly not an ethical one. Just like Mwamba, Dr. D (certain Bay Area), ASMED and others, greed got the better of him. This isn't even a grey area case, where the patient has unreasonable expectations or desiring a miracle. Anyone with eyes can see it's just unbelievable poor for $25,000.

This is very damning - really sorry to hear bro. Apologies if I missed it, but do you have a thread? Have you decided on a new doctor to complete your transplants (if you’re going to go for another) I’m definitely going to advise against this doctor going forward. Imagine charging thousands (arbitrarily at that) per day and not having the decency to bother honoring a promise of a rebate. Disgraceful.

Bro - this is absolutely ridiculous. After reading this and @Ajamilo's experience, I can't say it's worth recommending Mwamba at this point. From your story, it appears he doesn't honor his commitments nor does he seem to care about patient well-being. Based on online testimonals, it seems his communication -- or rather lack of -- seems to be a universal problem the clinic has had for years. Sad to see such a fall from grace.

Couto is #1. The rest are very good though. If Bisanga is outsourcing the procedure, I'd opt for the other three as well.

I have the same pattern of loss as you - though you're more diffused. I'd do this over two or three surgeries of 3k grafts each. Start with your hairline/midscalp and move backward. You may never get full coverage, but if you opt for a conservative hairline, I think you can get a pretty good look. Def consult with elite doctors; you can't afford to waste precious grafts from a botch job. At the budget you've got, check out some European doctors like Pinto or Hattingen. Alternatively Laorwong is quite good and reasonably priced.

Disgraceful work. At least it's only 1,500 grafts - you'd be in a much worse position if they'd pulled more. You should now do research for a few months and select a top-tier repair surgeon. Best of luck.

Congrats on this result! Very natural and perfectly planned.

Congrats this is a massive improvement!!

I did a second surgery 9 months after the first. Unless your doctor is fine with you doing sooner, seems like it's best to wait and let things heal first.

Exactly this. Right side is actually pretty natural; near impossible to detect transplant. Left side is too squarish.

Apologies, I don't mean to cause further upset -- just to be clear: this isn't on you at all. 0%. You trusted the doctor and they ought to have done a much better job. I'm frankly disgusted in this thread that anyone defends your treatment or your outcome. You have every right to be disappointed. I think the temples just look like a different texture than the surrounding hair. It just looks too squarish in a way that I've never seen any temples. They tend to round out or be softer. They also don't fully connect to the original temples, so they appear to be like random floating blocks on the side of your head. It looks okayish from the front perspective, but it's noticeable from the side. Again, I'm very sorry man - if I were in your shoes, I'd contemplate moving those grafts as @asterix0 suggested. Yeah this is total bs - most men don't even like slicking their hair back. I've noticed this is unfortunately many Eugenix patients are forced to wear. As I said, while they get good growth, it comes at the expense of many grafts and poor planning. I think Zarev is your best bet. I'd also seek out Hattingen, who are quite good in Europe and perhaps near you. For you to not need to slick your hair back, you'll need to fill in the lateral humps and the midscalp. Otherwise, there will be kind of an unnatural gap after the hairline.