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.

On 1/30/2024 at 5:11 PM, GeneralNorwood said:

 

I must say that extractions from the hairline is not my biggest wish since i don't see many benefits

I think it won't change much in terms of appearance, because my desired hairstyle is not slickback, but natural forward growth, something like in this post:  Eugenix 3514 grafts (720 on the temples) May 2022 Dr Priyadarshini Das - Page 2 - Hair Transplant Reviews - Hair Restoration Network - Community For and By Hair Loss Patients

 

And in recent interview that Melvin did, dr Bruno Pinto provided information that relocating the grafts has only 40-60% survival rate. 

 

For now, I don't public the names of the clinics I visit to not create any dramas

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.

On 8/16/2023 at 6:12 PM, HappyMan2021 said:

I do think it is time for a review of Mwamba's place on the recommended list

1) hypothetically if Mwamba was not already on the recommended list and he was up for a 1st evaluation, i doubt he  would be placed on the list

There are multiple cases on here that should have been really straightforward, where Mwamba has failed with growth

2) there are very concerning ethical issues regarding the rebate. This is not simply a communication issue or human error. The clinic intentionally and purposefully puts effort into denying the rebate. 

I just want to reiterate that I am a former Mwamba patient and stand with @RTC and corroborate his rebate issues, as I have literally experienced the same

The clinic has shown they are willing to destroy patient relationships over a few thousand dollars, or even just a few hundred dollars depending in surgery cost. 

In @RTC case correct me if im wrong but his rebate is less than $1k. 

This is chump change for the clinic, but they are still willing to burn the bridge...

One does have to wonder if this unethical behavior seeps into the surgery room

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.

1 hour ago, HappyMan2021 said:

as another former Mwamba patient, just validating and giving support to the claims that:

-the rebates are a broken promise and they will literally go out of their way to avoid or obstruct paying it. 

-at least for repair pricing, the pricing structure lacks explanation and seems to be arbitrary. There is no standard pricing. The final cost will ultimately be however much money the clinic thinks they can get away with charging you. I have experienced this firsthand

The hair transplant industry has so many bad doctors that the litmus test of a good doctor can simply be one who doesn't botch you. Especially if you are a repair patient - at minimum you have the basic expectation that you won't get any more botched than you already are.

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. 

3 hours ago, RTC said:

My main issue here is that I was not offered a free or significantly discounted touch up. At all. To be fair, I did not ask for a free touch up. But I did ask for a discounted touch up, but the best I got was an offer to remove 100 grafts (and to implant 100-150 fresh ones from the dark band at the bottom of my donor) for 4000 euros.

Far too expensive for such a small amount of work imo, ESPECIALLY considering I am a former patient who had spent just under 10k a year prior.

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.

On 5/18/2023 at 8:17 PM, Bb111 said:

@GoliGoliGoli and @MazABthank you both for your thoughtful responses. I asked Dr. Sethi and he felt that the density and strength of the forelock was good. He felt that putting grafts there at the time would be using up grafts that I may need later. He was hopeful that fin would hope the forelock for a long time.

In terms of another transplant I am definitely going to wait a while and reassess. The earliest I would go back for a 2nd pass would be spring or summer 2024 which would be 2 years after this transplant. 

In terms of duasteride, it's something I've been considering. I'm going to wait until I'm 12 to 14 months out of the transplant and make a decision at that time. 

For now a very light sprinkle of fibers makes the density unnoticeable and I'm very happy with the result.

 

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.

37 minutes ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

Sorry, it's the left temple that's too square, not the right. The right actually looks really good and natural when the hair is grown out. 

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

8 minutes ago, GeneralNorwood said:

 

Wow, that's harsh opinion, but i agree that on the last pictures that i presented temples don't look natural. 

What do you mean by saying that temples need to stay shaved down? Like cut them with 0mm ?

 

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.

12 minutes ago, GeneralNorwood said:

This is my biggest complaint about the Eugenix. 

Before the surgery, For 31 years of my life I had never styled my hair as slickback. They didn't inform me that after HT I will be limited to this slickback style. If i knew this, i would push for totally different plan of surgery, certainly not so aggressive.

 

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.