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He's not bad relative to hairmills, but given your level of loss, you need someone elite -- and while he is recommended I remain unimpressed by his results. If you're going to go to Turkey, I'd suggest Pekiner foremost. That said, you should not let travel distance dictate your decision - go to the best doctor you can for your case. Laorwong is a very good and budget friendly choice. Perhaps you can look into Nader as well in Mexico. I don't know your budget, but if you could go to around $4 a graft, I'd contemplate doctors in Spain/Portugal as well. Pinto, Couto and Ferudini specifically are exceptional.

You look good with a shaved head. Between the two doctors you have in mind, go for Laorwong, no question about it. He's an all-around good option.

Bro, just shave. IMO not worth the extended surgery duration + higher risk transection (which some doctors seemingly cite and others are less worried about). Just maintain a buzzcut for a few months. Even if co-workers see, don't worry about it. Jobs and co-workers are temporary; most people don't last more than 3 years before changing things up. A transplant is meant to last you a long time, and that's what you are going to see in the mirror day in day out.

Agree with both of the above. See a doctor ASAP. FWIW, I also had irregular heart issues and pretty bad effects eyebags/puffy face when using minoxidil. Ultimately had to drop it

I'd give it 2 more months to grow in (at least for the front) before panicking. Many of us remain below the transplant baseline until month 6 - some even up to month 7 (and even longer for crown...), so I'd recommend holding out a bit more. That said, I don't like the planning in this case either. Was it made clear that by leaving the lateral humps empty that you'll need to return for a second pass? Once the growth kicks in, I'm a bit concerned the remaining bare areas won't look natural. If the plan was for you to return and handle the lower crown and humps after, that's a different story and completely fine, but hopefully you had been informed of this.

Damn man - well deserved. This is an exceptional result; planned well with very, very good growth. I'm envious that hair loss is a thing of the past for you. Many congrats!!

How's it looking at the halfway mark now?

My two cents: Growth was solid where planted, but planning carefully is imperative at this stage. Where @GeneralNorwood highlighted on the humps, imo, would be my priority, if I were in your shoes. I'd absolutely drop temples at this point and accept some balding in the lower crown. As others said, the only thing worse than a naturally balding look is an unnaturally balding look. Most men lose hair on their crown, but it's not normal to have a disconnect at the humps when you have hair on top. I'd do something like 2,000 -2,500 for the humps (1,000-1,250 each side) and 1,000 to shore up the top of the crown. It'll still be bare at the back, but at least it'll be most natural that way. You can always use fibers or style the hair up to cover that bald patch.

Gur strikes me as a safe, budget-friendly doctor in Turkey. While I'm not thrilled with his results, I don't see any harm in recommending him. He doesn't see more than 2 patients a day (from what I hear) and I haven't seen a true "botch" job from him + his results are very predictable, so he has consistency and ethics going for him. There's other Turkish doctors who ought to be recommended before him (Pekiner / Kesser), but in the scheme of things, this is fine.

I agree with this and would follow Vann's advice. I've done both FUT and FUE now, and I don't regret the scar (though it's quite a painful procedure, and you'll be out a few additional weeks than you would for FUE). On average, people have between 6k - 9k lifetime grafts (more if you have beard, of course), depending on your Norwood level -- diffuse thinning is usually best captured in the class V, such as 3V and then it jumps to 6 usually, imo. Sadly, the higher the Norwood, the fewer you have to work with. According to many reputable doctors, you can get an additional 1 - 3k grafts if you do a larger FUT and then opt into FUE. Keep in mind that beard grafts have a higher transaction rate than scalp hair, and if used incorrectly, don't look very good (and should only be used for midscalp + crown). You can also use beard grafts to replenish donor or into the FUT scar. 90%+ of the time just FUE is sufficient. BUT in a diffuse thinner's case, who is maxed out on meds and can only really lose hair going forward, preserving these additional grafts is a good idea mate. I don't really understand people who complain that you can't shave afterwards...if you were fine being bald at age 40 or 50, there's no reason to get a transplant in the first place lmao. Just keep in mind that certain styles (e.g. skin-fades) will reveal the scar. I'd also be a bit wary of all 6,000 grafts coming from FUT -- the benefits of additional grafts don't apply if your scar is stretched, which renders surrounding hair unusable. There was a recent H&W case where that unfortunately occurred, though Wong's FUT has historically been quite good, so not sure what went wrong.

Bro his prices are a steal too. I don't think he does higher Norwoods, so he probably wouldn't take me on as a patient, but it's not to late for you... Think Pekiner and Keser aren't promoted on this forum. Instead we've got Yaman, Turin and Bicer as the only recommended Turkey doctors

It changes from year to year bro. 5+ years back no one would bat an eye if you listed ASMED or Lorenzo or, in the case of two years ago, Eugenix. These days, I'd avoid the former two, and I'm no longer a fan of the latter given the severe planning problems. For the results I've seen for 2022-2023, Couto, Konior, Munib, Pinto and Pekiner are doctors I'd blindly trust. The running thread is that all have high involvement and accountability towards their patients. There's other trustworthy doctors, like Bisanga or Hattengen, but the above are my personal favorites.

Personally Munib is currently a top five doctor for me. Belongs with the best of the best. I used to really love Bisanga’s work, but the threads around his failed FUT procedures are highly concerning. He’s still a very safe option if you’re doing FUE.

Echoing this sentiment. I think crown not crowing in at this time is fine, but the front is indeed concerning. However, @mister_25 you’ve got the perfect attitude — I’d say if month 8 hits and it’s still lacking/see-through, a serious discussion around a touch-up (on H&W) or refund need to be had. It’s important to emphasize that any lack of growth isn’t due anything you’ve done; you’re on all the right medication, you’ve researched well and selected an elite clinic, and you’ve followed their instructions to a T. It’s good to hear the clinic is responding - and it may be helpful to get their perspective on the possible shock loss + gray hair (this is particularly strange). On the bright side, if your donors on the side are anything to go by, you probably have many hairs remaining for any future needs. Hope you keep updating - some people really do take longer to grow and hope that’s the case with your brother.

Man, 2.5k grafts and exceptional coverage. Dr. Munib is certainly one of the best doc, if recent results are anything to go by. Not looking for an exact figure, but do you pay by the graft amount or does Dr. Munib charge a day rate?

Pekiner and it isn't even close. He's by far the best in Turkey at the moment. His worst involves minimal to no growth; HLC's worst as seen above is a fully botched donor. HLC is still a relatively good Turkish clinic, but they don't compare.

Most common thing is that native hairs around the transplanted hairs have fallen. Plus, donor area hair is not DHT immune, but DHT resistant. Also, keep in mind that transplanted hair has shedding phases like "normal" hair, so you may also be undergoing that phase and it's not terribly abnormal.

Wishing you great growth brother.

Couto remains so far ahead of his competition it’s insane. There’s maybe only 5 doctors that come anywhere near this quality. Congrats on this killer result.

Completely agreed. Laorwong has been churning out consistent and very solid results. At worst, you may wish for a denser transplant. He’s done a few recent repairs that look promising too. HLC is good for a budget clinic. My issue is that you don’t even know which doctor you’ll get at HLC - and their worst is really, really bad. Donor depletion, 0 growth - irreparable bad. Yaman shouldn’t even be recommended. Poor presentation. I haven’t been impressed with results.

Do you have photos which are pre-OP before the second transplant, but after the first? It's hard to tell if there's overharvesting right after surgery (and the extent of it) because the hair may grow back in the extraction locations. Cosmedica is just like Asli Tarcan - avoid at all costs. Like someone mentioned, reach out to Bisanga and Mwamba, who specialize in afro hair to get their feedback, though I wouldn't be surprised if they asked you to wait and send photos like 6 months in.

Couto is phenominal, but I agree, it would be helpful to see post-op pics, if available. Thanks!

Can you confirm who the doctor was?

Sounds like your scalp donor was around 6k total. Think in a worst case scenario, if you pull 2k from scalp and say 1.5k from beard, I'd guess that should get you good coverage in the crown. You also have a bunch of multiples (as compared to singles), which is also ideal for the crown. Good luck man - hope the front grows in well!

How many grafts in the donor did Laorwong estimate that you have? I honestly think a two-session approach is a great approach when both the crown and front need repair.