andrewfaliro

Some photos from the clinic

1 hour ago, Raphael84 said:

@andrewfaliro

Congratulations on completing your recent surgery. I am excited for the next 12 months ahead. Much to look forward to.

I would agree with some of the other comments regarding improvement achieved through treatment of oral minoxidil and this is a great example of the importance and impact of medication. In general, your hair quality is good and you had retained a good amount of hair at your age and so many may have preferred not to consider meds because they may deem it unnecessary, but this shows the impact that it can have and shows how medication and surgery can supplement one another.

Design looks great. The surface area of restoration is more than meets the eye. If you look at the depth of the restoration in the laterals to reinforce thinning in and behind the temple, this transitions back behind the temple point and inline with the front of the ear which is into the mid scalp and so graft count based on surface area is not actually particularly high and based on the quality of native hair behind, any lesser density in the hairline would have presented a weaker density than native hair behind.

As you know these initial months can feel as though they may pass slowly as you are awaiting growth to occur and so patience is key, but come next summer you will be feeling quite differently about your hair.

Heal well.

Thank you Ian for all of your help and the thorough explanation.

5 minutes ago, Festa said:

He recommended to stop oral minoxidil a week before surgery? I wasn't sure if that was just for topical minoxidil only.

No, he said oral minoxidil and finasteride were ok.

16 minutes ago, Mike10 said:

on the regrowth, it si impossible to say. you can't compare wet with dry hair pics

I agree with you, they aren't the best comparison photos but that's all I have to share. 

4 minutes ago, Calihome1 said:

Did you shed at all when you went on oral minox?

Yes, I had a shed that lasted 3 weeks or so, I can't remember exactly how long. Could have also been seasonal but I feel like it was heavier than usual.

Hello everyone!

I have been a lurking on this forum for the last 1.5 years and I finally made the plunge last week with Dr. Bisanga in Brussels. Time to pay it forward!

I am 38 years old and from Greece. I have been slowly receding for the last 10 years but my hair characteristics (voluminous) hid some of the recession until the last two years where the recession in the temples was getting more noticeable and I started toying with the idea of a hair transplant. My father had old school plugs in the 90's and my older brother has had two procedures, so it wasn't a completely foreign idea to me. Luckily, I have more of my mother's genes and not nearly as bad as my brother and father.

Started taking finasteride 1.5 years ago and have been on oral minoxidil for 8 months with stabilization, some regrowth, but more importantly improvement in hair quality (probably from the minoxidil). No sides.

I did online consultations with McGrath, Feriduni, Bicer, Maras, Freitas, HLC and Pekiner before committing to Bisanga. I narrowed it down between Freitas and Bisanga but ultimately went with Bisanga for his reputation, cases similar to mine with stellar results, and the fact that I was able to get an in person consultation with him in Athens a little over a year ago.

Here are the stats from the original consult:

Hair colour - Brown

Hair Character - Straight

Thickness -  Medium Fine

Donor Density  - 75/75/80 Average: 77 

Dermoscopy - Normal

Miniaturisation - N/A

Hair Groupings - Favourable Hair Groupings

Consultation Summary

Dr Bisanga has determined the following from your consultation -

• A good candidate for surgery
• Above average density of 77 follicles per cm2 (patient average is 70)
• Good hair groupings
• A rectangular face shape that requires a broader hairline design

Last week I flew to Belgium and had another consultation with him the day before surgery. He said he thinks that I had some regrowth which I was happy to hear. He did his measurements, drew exactly what I wanted on the first pass. Ok, maybe slightly lower on the hairline that I was thinking but it looked good so I trusted him with it since it was conservative at 7cm above the glabella, which is what I wanted.

The plan was 2400 dense pack (not sure what cm2) to lower the hairline, fill in the temples, and strengthen the forelock.

Surgery was from 7:30 AM - 5 PM and it went by pretty smoothly. 

Here is the surgery report:

1s: 415

2s: 945

3s: 752

4s: 298

Total: 2410

Hairs: 5753

Average: 2.38

I will post clinic photos once they are sent over to get a better idea of things. In the meantime, see below for assortment photos to get an idea of where I started.

Looking forward to sharing my (hopefully successul) journey and looking forward to any questions/comments.

Hairline about a year ago

Wet hair after a run 1.5 years ago

Hairline drawing at clinic before day before surgery

Hairline drawing at clinic before day before surgery

Hairline drawing at clinic before day before surgery

A few hours after surgery at my Airbnb

On 9/27/2022 at 2:45 AM, HairTrippin said:

Any sides? I just started 2.5mg and might up it to 5 mg soon. 

Nope, no sides

I'm on 5mg for 6 months now. The first thing I noticed was that my beard hair came in thicker and possibly darker. As Melvin mentioned it also grew faster.

Eyebrows and eyelashes got thicker as well. No other body hair growth that i've noticed.

1 hour ago, irin said:

I live in Greece, what is BHR??? I asked at the pharmacies and they told me there is no oral minoxidil....

Hello, BHR stands for Bisanga Hair Restoration although I don't know how much involvement he has with the clinic nowadays.

You can email maria@bhrclinicathens.gr for the prescription.

I have my procedure with Bisanga at the end of the month and I was told that I don't need to stop oral minoxidil or finasteride before or after surgery.

42 minutes ago, HairTrippin said:

Dr. Bisanga takes OM himself, did he tell you to get on it? I wonder how many of his patients are on it

Yes, he recommended I begin using it during my consult with him at BHR Athens last year.

Just now, thetdog666 said:

How is the hair on your scalp? Improving?

Difficult to say at this point to be completely honest. I also forgot to mentioned that I had a shed phase which I read was normal. That lasted about 3 weeks and was a bit annoying. 

I see a lot of smaller hairs growing on the hair line but not sure if those are vellus or new hairs. 

I have my first surgery with Dr. Bisanga on Sept 27th so i'll jump off a week or two before per the instructions from the clinic and resume after of course.

Been on 5mg daily for almost 6 months. Only sides are a much thicker beard, eyelashes, and eyebrows. No other body hair was affected (arms, etc) which was weird.

2 hours ago, Tiger2050 said:

It’s really not that hard to get an oral min prescription in the US. I called up a few local dermatologists and easily found several who have experience prescribing oral min. Oral min is free through my insurance but also dirt cheap without insurance.

Ah ok, thats good to hear. I wasn't aware it was that easy.

I'm guessing yeah, it's probably for convenience. 

Hey everyone,

I have seen quite a few comments about not being able to get oral minoxidil that easily in various threads.

I can get it pretty easily here in Greece from BHR but I just wanted to share for those of you living the US, McGrath Medical based in Austin, TX does a compound of 1 mg finasteride, 5mg oral minoxidil, and 1 mg biotin all in one single pill. I believe it's $120 for a 90 day supply with free shipping.

I know this because I did one of my very first consultations (online) with him a few years ago and he suggested I try that out for a while before committing to surgery. 

Before someone asks, I am not getting paid or anything I just wanted to pass it along for those who were on the hunt!

Wow. that's about 1000 more than you were quoted!! I am a bit worried now since i've also booked Bisanga and was quoted around 2500.

What's even more disconcerting is the consultation, drawing of the hairline, and some punching with Dr. Kostis?!?! I'm sure he's a fine surgeon but you paid for Dr. Bisanga..

Everything looks great from the photos but man, I would have protested if I were you.

I'm curious about some people reporting premature signs of facial/skin aging. Has anyone experienced this?

Just now, Melvin- Moderator said:

Great question, I would even ask what is the appropriate cm length from eyebrows to the hairline, and whether it differs for men of different ethnicities. 

For sure! 

On one of the bitesize by Bisanga episdoes he discusses his approach to drawing hairlines but I would like to hear more about his technique and how it goes during a consult before surgery.

Does he measure the face to determine square, oval, etc? Is this a hard and fast rule for him (face shape) or does he take patients opinions on whether they might want more of a v shape rather than a straighter hairline?

Looks great!

Ian, can you tell us what calibre his hair is and what cm from the glabella his hairline was restored to?

2 hours ago, capillus incrementum said:

No, they did measure it with a device before drawing the hairline but I didn't ask any details.

No worries!

32 minutes ago, capillus incrementum said:

As you can see in the first pictures of my post, my hairline receded a good amount over the last years. Also a lot of thinning in the front. Styling was still possible but became harder due to temple recession.

but they didnt tell you whether you were at 7,8 or 9 cm from the glabella? 

Looks great, happy growing!

Question: How low was your hairline before/after the procedure?

When I first started researching I had the same issue: Feriduni or Bisanga? I trawled this and other forums (Italian) looking for reviews but I just couldn't seem to find that many reviews for Feriduni that were recent. Most were a few years old.

I just wondered why such a world renowned doctor all of a sudden didn't have so many reviews. Was it the €5 graft price? Was it the recent flood of "cheaper" alternatives. 

Ultimately I decided on Bisanga due having more recent reviews and finding similar cases to mine on this forum that were very successful. I have booked my surgery for Oct 22'

I don't think you can go wrong with either of them but Bisanga just felt right to me. I am also a NW3 by the way.