asiako

15 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

If you have 3,000 grafts left in the bank then personally I wouldn't touch them. They are finite. You may need them down the track. All the best.

Right! I'm 46 now, so hoping it's a gradual loss to retirement

34 minutes ago, NARMAK said:

Realistically i think if you have been told you have 3000 grafts left, you need to reach out to some proper doctors for an estimation of what you're looking to doo. Lowering 1cm doesn't sound like a lot, but to get the density you're requesting in that image is probably going to be 2k.

Understood. I'll really look into what I can do (realistically) with those remaining grafts.

Yes, that's correct. I should have been more specific. I'm looking for both a density boost and a slight lowering of 1cm (give or take). 
Thanks for the feedback!

My main issue has been along the hairline.
A lot of improvement with the first HT, but I'd like to get it to the attached GIF (animated comparison)

I'm told I have about 3000 grafts left, and I don't want to use them all on the hairline. Ideally I can get a revision with max 1200 grafts, and save the rest for down the line!

Nine-and-a-half month update! 
I'm happy with the hairline design. I was hoping for more density. I will consider adding more grafts in the future, depending on how it looks at 12 months. 

Here are before/after GIFs to show the comparison more clearly: 

https://imgur.com/a/4pqE6cF
https://imgur.com/a/8EufuIV
https://imgur.com/a/OuSLUGe
https://imgur.com/a/kqpYdJ5

8 month progress update! Hope these photos are clearer. 

Unfortunately, I'm seeing very little difference between this and the 4-month mark.
Still hoping for another boost before 12 months hits. 

Three months-ish update! 
Starting to see some growth of fine hair where there was none before.

Pretty happy with progress so far and hope it continues.

Looks like I didn't post a 1-month update! (2 months as of today, following..)

6 weeks, and then 8 weeks --> 

Overhead, 2 months --> 

45 minutes ago, Curious25 said:

I’m sure different doctors will give you different opinions - eg in Canada, where you are . . Dr Hasson has shown to be quite a bit more confidently aggressive in his extraction patterns, and is often found to extract from outside a typical NW6 safe zone if he feels confident a patient is unlikely to progress to that level - without knowing your age, but given your limited level of hairloss at what I presume to be over the age of 27, going off the maths from your initial post, you could be one of the ‘safe bets’ in his eyes. 

Makes sense! I do think Dr Rahal was being conservative, given my profile.  I appreciate that because.. it's easier for a surgeon to aim high and increase profits, right? But we all know the patient will call the shots at the end of the day (within safety measures). 

I'm 44, but there was some 'later in life' hair loss on my maternal side. I think I've already surpassed that (more hair than expected!) but my plan is to maintain for the next 4 or so years. If things are holding, I will look at another procedure-- possibly with a more aggressive donor plan.  I also haven't been on fin/min all that long, so I'm hoping they will remain effective for a while yet. 

I'm not sure about the per/cm density of my donor area, but was informed my shaft density is 48 (average). 

I would definitely consider beard grafts for my crown, now that I've defined my hairline for the future. @Zoomster's results are hugely impressive!  I would also consider SMP on my donor area, if it allowed for 7-8k grafts. 

2 minutes ago, Curious25 said:

So only 4800 total donor capacity? This seems a very conservative number - unless you’ve already had previous procedures that I’ve failed to pick up on?
 

Nice hairline design by the way, will look forward to seeing how you are in 6 months time 😊

Correct! The estimate is 4800 total including this current operation. I was hoping for 7000 tbh.
I also noticed with this op that I had more singles/doubles vs. triple/quad grafts than the average I've seen...
so I'll have to be conservative going forward. 

Two week check-in! 
I asked about my total grafts available. It was suggested I could have one procedure with 2000 more grafts, and a final with 1000 (before over-harvesting, I think)

Post surgery update! Day 0/1/2: 

Everything went well and the staff made me feel really comfortable. Dr Rahal is very 'to the point', but I like that.. I don't want to feel I'm being sold something, and he offered his suggestions that didn't always result in a higher cost-- which is awesome.

The only hitch was that I have scalp eczema. It used to be very bad, and has left scars. That made the numbing injections ineffective, and they had to inject me a LOT. The actual needles were not painful for me, but when you can feel the graft removal... yikes! I should have said something earlier, but they picked up on my wincing. In the end I felt nothing. 

I think I had more swelling that is typical (at least from what I've seen -Day 1 photo below) but it looks like it went down a lot this morning. I just have a ton of itching, and may try out allergy meds as they suggested. 
 

Completed my initial consultation with Dr Rahal today and I think it went well! 

He and Sarah touched on all my questions pretty much immediately.. donor density, shock loss, etc. 

My donor shaft thickness is at '48' (50 being average thickness). Could be thicker, but enough to use for this operation. 

Fin and min did bring back my overall density + some growth on the hairline,...but he said much of it could be gone due to shock loss-- and if some do make it, hey even better! But he wanted to accommodate so we didn't rely on that.

He did quote 1500 initially and increased to 1800 grafts for that 50g/cm density. I had a feeling this might be the case. My hairline is eroded and doesn't really have a shape. The lack of density goes quite far back as you can see in today's photos. 

He broke it down into four regions where the highest graft count will be up front. He also adjusted the hairline against my uneven skull bones
I think the unevenness will help with a natural appearance. 

I asked if he could use nape hairs at the very front for a softer transition, but he said they tend to die out. But they do aim for the finer hairs lower in the donor area. 

 

8 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

In my opinion, you should hold off. You don’t have much hair loss at all. You’re better off waiting until your hair loss progresses or try to maintain with meds. Just my opinion, but Rahal is an excellent choice.

Thanks for the honest feedback! 
The truth is my hairline has been like this for almost twenty years. I lost density over the last 5 years, and medication brought much of it back. 

I'd like to just fill in my hairline-- even if it's fewer than 1500 grafts in the end. The initial consultation was 1000 grafts, so let's see how the pre-op appointment ends up!

Thanks both! 
JDEE0 - totally agree. I figured I should show the 'worst case scenario' to get a real handle on things. If I do progressively diffuse (which I will try my best to avoid) I may have a thicker hairline than anywhere else. 

What I'm not ready to do quite yet is use those precious grafts all over my scalp. I agree that it won't be very noticeable, even when swimming -- if I get that frontal density. We shall see! 

I have my first HT surgery booked in three weeks, and plan on documenting everything in this thread. 

I've had diffuse thinning since 25.  Being on Fin/Min/Stemoxydine/Alfatradiol and Microneedling has improved overall density over the past two years or so.

I plan to continue various treatments with an 'overall density' goal, but I would like to focus on my hairline in this first operation. 

Video of diffuse thinning here (wet hair, strongest overhead lighting): https://imgur.com/a/u6AVaao

I'm concentrating on the 'mid forelock' area and aiming for a dense hairline that I can push back with confidence. 
My biggest worries are shock loss (since I'd like the diffuse hairline filled in) and a natural placement that matches the current direction of my hairs.

Next up: the pre-operation session! 

Dry, Left Side:

Dry, Right Side

Dry, Pulled Back:

Wet hair, mid brightness

Wet hair, max brightness

Wet hair, overhead lamp

8 minutes ago, Dr. Suhail Khokhar said:

Are you on any medications?

Yes! I have been on finasteride for about 6 months, and minoxidil for over a year. 

Just now, JohnAC71 said:

I think your in a excellent position. Who are the clinics your consulting with ? 🙏

Good to hear! I'm starting with H&W and Rahal since I am in Canada. 

1 minute ago, JohnAC71 said:

Great for 44 ! Was the line you drew where your hairline used to be ?

I actually should check that, and dig through some old photos. I've always had a larger forehead though. 

7 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Could you please post some pics directly on here ? Thanks 🙏 

For sure, here you go! (although the video links above show it better I think)

7 minutes ago, Dr. Suhail Khokhar said:

How old are you? Your hair looks great buddy.

Thanks! I am 44. 

I'm just starting to consult with HT surgeons, but open to any thoughts on what I might be able to get out of my donor area. 
I've had severe scalp irritation for years, which resulted in a loss in density-- although it has grown back some in the past year. 

https://imgur.com/a/Ye1M01E

My current hairline and crown: 
https://imgur.com/a/O9la3pg 

First two are my proposed hairlines.. and then I felt I went to low, and adjusted the final one seen here: 
https://imgur.com/a/O2V64X1

Ok thank you! That makes sense. I will look at recreating it entirely then (if the donor area is sufficient)

44yo male, diffuse thinning. 
- Minoxidil for over a year
- Fin and dermarolling for about 8 months
- Seeing some progress!

I'd like to reshape my hairline to be a more straight across, possibly lower it slightly. 

Is it possible for an HT to use some of that finer frontline hair that exists? Shift it down, and then FUE/FUT to 'fill in' the gap left behind. 
I'd like to avoid that telling transplant pattern. 

Please see https://imgur.com/a/O1PY411 for the before/after I have in mind.