Saul Goodman

Planning on scheduling something for the new year. I have some concerns about going to Mexico for the transplant. I’ve been contemplating scheduling a consultation with Dr. Arocha. Could you explain why you removed your recommendation for him? I appreciate the advice!

Hello, I posted my situation with Dr. McGrath back in 2021. The thread is in the link below. To summarize where I’m at now, I sent McGrath my 1 year update in Jan 2022 and explained I was dissatisfied by the obvious gap on the right side, as well as clear over harvesting on the back right side. In the email, he acknowledged that he had messed up, was very apologetic, and asked me to come in ASAP for a repair job. It was very difficult for me to set aside time with work & my social life to have a noticeable procedure done like an FUE HT, and I didn’t feel like going through it for the second year in a row, so I did not respond to his offer to repair my botched job. Further, although it would be a lot cheaper to have McGrath do the repair, I feel like going back to the same surgeon who I was unhappy with previously is a mistake given my limited donor hair. We’re now 2.5 years down the road and I am contemplating getting the situation fixed. The gap is quite noticeable and while there’s likely been some additional hair loss, I feel like a HT is obvious given the gap that was left. Multiple barbers have asked when I got my procedure done, so it’s clearly noticeable to some… Which leads me to my question. My apologies if this is not proper etiquette on this forum, but considering I wished I had found this place before choosing a doctor last time, I wonder if any of you have Austin surgeons you’d recommend. The closest on the “forum recommended surgeons” list is in Houston and that’s less ideal, but I would be willing to travel some. I really appreciate all the advice!

Day 133 (4 months & 13 days) It seems to be about right for the timeframe, but I’m curious to hear what you all think. Sorry for missing a month or two with posting. I recently moved and it’s been a hectic time. You can still see the gap on the right side that I previously complained about from an aerial view. I chose the 2 pics where it was most apparent. Hoping it blends soon as there’s nothing I can do at this time. What do y’all think?

Haha I know. I’m pretty realistic about everything and have looked at so many progression threads that I know it won’t be great in 3 weeks. Not too worried about it either way.

8th Week Update - Things are going pretty well. Each week looks a little bit better than the last. - Starting to be a little concerned about the right side being over harvested. Still pretty thin and red on that side of the donor. - I’m going to a wedding in 3 weeks, and I’m hoping I’ll have some decent improvement before then. I bought DermMatch because hair fibers are very noticeable at this stage. Only tried the DermMatch once and it’s not a great color match, but I may still use it for the wedding. - I had to go to Chicago for work, so I had the sides trimmed to a 2” a week and a half ago. Nothing off the front. - Every day I get 2-3 of the little pimples (in the pic below) on my donor area. Is this normal? Any recommendations on how to treat this? I’m waiting on a folliculitis treatment to arrive from Amazon that I ordered yesterday. How do y’all think this looks for the 2 month mark?

When I complained about it, he said we would add grafts there, but that he thinks it will turn out good and not be necessary. Nevertheless, it clearly could've used a few hundred more grafts on the right side that I gladly would've paid for. I will say, the gap was not very evident when I was fully shaved and the donor area was drawn.

Your guess is as good as mine. Thankfully, the gap is less noticeable in the photos I just posted. It still bothers the hell out of me though.

Oh, I know. I’m just hoping it’ll look better in early March than now. Some of my native hair will hopefully be back and I’ll at least be able to cover it up with Toppik.

1 month update — These photos are under very harsh lighting and look worse than usual. The redness isn’t as noticeable in person, but I am continuing to wear a hat at work until it looks quasi normal. The right side is a little more bare than the left, but I’m starting to see some new hairs sprout. I had a lot of shedding between day 12 and day 24, but it has slowed down since then, with only a few hairs noticed after shampooing. the right side of the donor area is also more noticeable than the left, but hopefully recovering. A couple questions — when is it okay to start using minoxidil on the recipient area? Generally, when do you think I’ll be able to use hair fibers without it being noticeable? Everything looks about right for the 1 month mark, and I’m hoping to see big gains in the next month. What do y’all think?

Yeah, that's the plan. I figure there isn't much I can do right now anyway. The gap is starting to fill in a little bit, and while I'm obviously still not happy about it, I'm thankful for that. I figure I will wait until the real growth starts (month 3-6) before planning something to fix the issue, if that is even necessary. The aftermath of the FUE has been very difficult with work, so I desperately don't want to go through this again any time soon. I also didn't have any big social event until late March this year, so the date of my FUE was ideal to get this done. I don't know if I'll have that much time in between events to do this all again. I'm hopeful it will turn out okay.

3 weeks - day 21 update I have been shedding in the shower every morning since day 12 and I believe it’s getting worse. The gap is still pretty noticeable on my right side, behind the recipient area. The right side of my donor area looks a little rough still too. What do y’all think?

Is 2 weeks too soon to use aloe vera on the recipient area to help reduce the redness?

I emailed him last night and he immediately responded. He believes I have nothing to worry about. He said it's still very early and that the native hair and transplanted hair will melt together as it continues to grow. He wants to have a call today to talk about it. I will say, he has been very responsive and reassuring throughout this entire process, but it doesn't change that I believe we should've gone further back on the right side.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my issue, doctor. Ideally it'll blend decently and I won't have to go back for another procedure. I don't need incredible hair, I just didn't want to be so bald at 28. Taking the plunge that is getting a HT is a huge decision and I would've loved to not have this issue, but I suppose there's nothing I can do now. The gap is not a completely bald area. It is just much thinner than the native hair behind it, so like you said, I imagine it will blend and be much less noticeable once the hair is grown out. It's just upsetting to spend $10K+ and go through something that is socially and internally tolling, only to have an issue that could've easily been fixed during surgery. I suppose I should be happy that it's not a larger issue but I'm certainly not pleased at this point. It seems like common sense to make all of the sites before extracting like you do, but I guess that's what I get for not finding this site sooner and being more diligent with my research prior to my procedure. Thanks again for your thoughts.

Thank you for the thorough response, even though it isn't exactly what I want to hear. I was quoted at 2000 grafts upon inspection of my head pre-op and like you, I would have gladly paid for more for proper coverage. I received 2263 during the procedure, which is great to get those extra 263, but it appears I needed more. I was slightly balder on the right side and my recipient area is symmetrical rather than being heavier on the balder side. I part my hair to the right, so I imagine it'll look decent once it's full grown, but it's just bullshit I wish I didn't need to deal with. Dealing with the social aspect of a HT is enough to not want to go through it again, let alone the fact it's a pretty invasive procedure. Do you have photos you could share with me from your first procedure that show the gap? Does this forum have a list of reputable doctors who would be willing to give me their opinion on the topic? I have yet to bring it up with my doctor although I probably will tonight when I get home from work.