shadowcast

First of all, thanks for posting this. Very interesting thread. I have some immediate reactions. You're very lucky you had the presence of mind to stop the surgery. I think most people would panic and freeze, at least initially. Your decision making probably saved you from ending up with a larger issue. This is interesting, my surgeon advised me the opposite - that as you get older, hormones decrease, and you can actually eventually stop taking finasteride/dutasteride. I see that you're 40, so obviously if this is true, then it will apply to you in the near-term. But I think the takeaway here is that different doctors have different beliefs, and it's important to remember that hair loss is still poorly understood, and that every person's hair loss is different and impossible to predict. Always remember that. Doctors will never shy away from making definitive statements about medication but it is impossible to predict future hairloss for a given person, even if on medication. One aspect of surgeons that seems to get ignored a lot here is years of experience. I don't know exactly when Couto started his clinic, but obviously there are a slew of accomplished doctors that have been around for a whole hell of a lot longer. In the "standard" transplant, it probably doesn't matter. In a case like this, it could make all the difference. 1. They should grow. You don't mention when in September you had your surgery, but even if it was September 1st, it's still early enough that you might not be able to notice what is likely a tiny bit of growth. I see you're 2 weeks post-op, that's way too early to expect to see hair get longer. Hair grows incredibly slow as it is, it might grow even slower after it's just been yanked out of the body and injected in a different spot. I can tell you my hair didn't gain any real appreciable length before it shed (around the 3-4 week mark) 2. There's no "usual". Look around this forum, you'll see some cases where the donor looks a little weak even at 3-4 months. Consider that just the length of your donor hair can make a huge difference. Final thought: even shaved all the way down, your donor doesn't look that bad. I think the worst case scenario here is you end up with a thicker crown, and are simply disqualified from further surgeries. Having only mid/frontal hair loss isn't unnatural. I did my crown first and when it grew in, it looked fine. Actually it grew forward and covered much of my mid scalp too, made everything look better, and I just looked like the typical guy with a bad hairline.

Why don't you post your case?

Yep, everyone's skin is different but you'll see plenty of FUEs on this forum where people buzz down pretty far on their donor without issue. I can notice dots on some of them, but only because I know to look for them. I don't think the average person would notice. I like my hair a bit longer now, but I've never had donor issues, even after 6k+ grafts (many of those taken by techs).

Probably because a good surgery usually means there's nothing of interest happening in the donor area after a few weeks. I had no noticeable scarring or thinning after a week or so. Let's be honest, the area of interest is growth in the recipient, not potential loss in the donor, even though the latter is a very important detail of transplants.

Thick hair is better, any good surgeon will tell you this. Still, we're talking a difference of maybe 10 microns between "thick" and "thin" hair, I don't think it makes a difference in terms of surgery difficulty. I could be wrong. If you're looking for a silver lining to having thin hair, I don't think there is one.

How's it going? I had surgery with Pinto the week before you and everything is already coming in so fast for me. Amazing doctor.

$$$

You're going to a great doctor, why would you ask a bunch of random people on an internet forum? Just talk over your questions/concerns with him before the surgery. That's what you're paying him for. Good surgeons like Couto do a lot more than just throw some grafts on your head, they understand everything about reinforcing exposed areas due to hair style/length/direction, etc.

I had the same thought, something is really off about the grafts in those photos.

Well, yeah. I mean this is pretty well known, isn't it? By the way, I've been taking minoxidil for years, way before I had surgery, and used to see this same sort of denial in minoxidil threads where guys would get great regrowth from minoxidil, then get lazy, quit, and lose their hair. No one EVER ADMITS they screwed up by quitting meds. I also wonder how many people return to their doctor for more surgery years later and lie about having continued their medication. It's like when your dentist asks if you've been flossing every day - "of course I have!". Meds are part of the deal with hair transplants. I take dutasteride and loniten every day and don't plan on ever quitting, even when I start to take my hair for granted.

I love how this guy mentions in passing that he dropped all medication, as if it's a minor detail. This is an example of someone who is in denial about why they are in their current state.

Amazing! One of the best results on the forum, for sure. Thanks for updating!

Yes, his clinic won't book you until he's reviewed your case, even if it's just the photos/video/information you send over. Then if/when you go there in person, he'll do another consultation/review with you before the procedure starts.

It's up to you to tell your doctor which areas you want to tackle in the first surgery. Did you tell Freitas you want your crown done? I'm a little surprised that Pinto doesn't want to implant into your midscalp. He implanted into my forelock, which is probably about as thick as your midscalp, and I didn't lose any native hair there as far as I can tell. Did you send him dark or flattering photos? Maybe he can't really see your hair loss. Of course he could easily be seeing something that me or your average forum poster can't. I would trust his opinion 100%, as long as you sent him clear photos.

Holy crap.

@Falconary How's it going?

I have no doubt your result is already looking great, but need pics with harsh lighting and no concealer!

I'm also about 2 months post-op with Pinto. It should only get better from here. Good luck.

3,600. Again, you have no idea how my balding area compares to yours. You haven't seen my photos, and I haven't seen yours. Start contacting surgeons. I spent a bunch of time after my first surgery with only the crown fixed, and I looked fine. Having thinning only in the front is a common natural pattern. And believe me, going from friar tuck to "maybe thinning a bit" under very bright lighting is so completely worth it.

Dr. Pinto implanted 3,000 grafts in a similar-sized area of my frontal third/hairline a few months ago. If he says you're a candidate for surgery, you should trust him on that. If your hairloss is bothering you, then have the surgery. I'm 37 and wish I had surgery at 27. Too early to tell on my result, but Dr. Pinto is for sure an ethical and trustworthy doctor. Regarding meds, I'm on dut and oral minoxidil. No sides. Take a chance or not, it's up to you.

I don't think a reputable surgeon will prioritize any area. The surgery is for you, not for the surgeon. I think patients tend to prioritize the front, since this is what others see when they're having a conversation. I actually had my crown done first, like you it's the part that bothered me the most. There's no point in asking about number of grafts here, you should send photos to surgeons of your choice. They should be able to give you a good estimate. That being said, as long as you have a decent donor, then your crown can likely be fixed. I had a very large slick bald crown. It's not "thick" now by any means, especially when the hair is very short, but if my hair has a decent amount of length to it, then nobody would ever know that I was bald.

I have a high-def photo of my buzzed scalp where there's literally an area of Lorenzo implant directly next to an area of Pinto implant. The density is basically the same - and this was Lorenzo implanting on slick bald skin vs. Pinto implanting into a diffuse area. In my opinion, Pinto is the better doctor all around, but to say Lorenzo isn't competent enough to give "real" density is ridiculous.

I had a hair transplant with Lorenzo, the post-op stats are a little hard to follow but it looks like I have anywhere from 38 to 51 g/cm2. I don't know what % of grafts grew, but visually it looks close to 100%. I'd say visually I pass the eye test for hair loss (better than the two videos posted above), with the thickest area looking pretty dense, but I don't know that any of it would be considered a "dense pack". In my mind, dense packing is a situation where you risk graft survival because of competition for blood flow. My result just looks like a "regular" good hair transplant. I'd say @Fue3361 is a dense pack. That's a seriously amazing transplant.

Thanks for updating, looks really good! I can actually see some room for density improvement, but you have probably about 3 more months of thickening to go. I'm ~1 month post-op with Pinto, can't wait to get to your point!

By 1,500 grafts? Come on.