HappyMan2021

I'm actually not sure if your hairline is too low. If your only true worry is your remaining level of grafts, but this is your 1st surgery, no family history of balding and you are only a NW3, there is not that much to worry about.

I wonder if Finasteride really is banned in prison though. It's not a controlled substance and has zero recreational value.

surgeon name?

can you clarify this? do you mean you have met with him in-person over the years, but for some reason in the past you never pulled the trigger on surgery?

When adding new grafts near thinning/miniaturized hair, even in the best of hands there is a risk of permanent shockloss. I dont think anyone would really be happy say, for example, you add 1k grafts to a very thinning crown and get 500 existing hairs shock lossed out. That is a bad deal. It seems like in your personal case the nyc surgeon thought the risk was too great. If that is the case he may advice PRP or Rogaine. Shockloss can be unpredictable and when deciding to implant in thinning hair or not, at the end of the day it cones down to both the doctor and the patients' risk threshold.

you did not get scammed. you got a HT from a sub-par clinic, that's all.

Specifically, a sunburn on the recipient area (scalp) in the first few months post op

that's a pretty big number for a 'touch up' lol. Good move on moving on from him.

I'm confused on the very specific damage a sunburn can do to the surgery in the 1-3 month post op period? I have read a variety of sources with quite different answers. Some say it can lead to permanent skin discoloration and permanent freckles, but won't affect graft growth or survival since those are 100% secure by Day 10. Other sources say the entire hair transplant can fail due to a sunburn, including the failing/killing of grafts. I want to get to the bottom of this and understand - once grafts are already secure by Day 10 - what specific damage/threat is there from getting a sunburn in the first few months?

Takes a ton of discipline to wait an agonizing 6 months and then cancel, but you made the right decision cancelling on Diep. Doing nothing at all, or extending your HT journey longer than youd like, are both still 1000x better than having to deal with a botched result.

thanks man 🙌

I am going on a date tomorrow. It will be sunny and we will likely be walking outside for an hour or so. I am 28 days post op. I plan on wearing a hat, but even with a hat on, a portion of my temple points will still be showing (my temple points were worked on during the surgery) My question is can I put sunscreen directly on the recipient area/temple points at 1 month post op? If so, are there any recommended sunscreen brands, and what is the minimum SPF the sunscreen should be? Thanks.

Very honorable and ethical to resist the $2.5k. Stinks when patients have to act with more ethics than the clinic. Have an internet beer on me, friend.

Ditto update request please. Thanks.

Yes.

Can you please clarify, you had a bad procedure 12 years ago and to this very day you are still looking for a follow up/repair procedure? Why havent you consulted with other docs or otherwise just moved on with a repair HT elsewhere? I have gotten a botched result before and even after a few months post-op I was incredibly eager to get back into the operating room asap to get it repaired, price be d*mned. 12 years is a very long time to live with a bad result.

interesting. Most good/elite doctors implant grafts (donor permitting) into the neighboring bordering native hair. A) It's a safeguard for future hairloss B) blends the transplant hair with the existing hair C) avoiding gaps such as this

I was told I could sleep normally after 3 days.

This is a bit unusual as the hairloss does not follow the MPB pattern. You appear to have a strong hairline and the thinning starts behind that. I agree with others to consult with a dermatologist to get a diagnosis. I feel like fiber will work very well for you, if you want to use it for a temporary (or even long-term) solution.

I personally have seen 100cm/2 growth from a patient from one procedure alone. I would informally say the sky is the limit. I imagine at some point (200cm, 250cm) the grafts may not have enough physical space to exist side by side. Don't quote me on the specific density #, but I imagine there is a ceiling # of density where the grafts run out of physical space. But in general....as long as a patient has a generous donor and is willing to go through as many surgeries as needed, there is no reason patient can't have a super strong density. I would say 70-80cm would be the dream spot, getting more density than this is unnecessary for the illusion of density. Having a 80cm density transplant would be enough for even the most hair greedy patients, perhaps too much even. Goes without saying there is the obligatory statement that you need to look at the holistic/aesthetic big picture, don't focus on the density #, most patients would have zero complaints with 50cm/2, even 40cm/2 may cut it for some people.

Interested in an update as well 🙌

Sure thing!

have you even had 1 hair transplant? Even a consultation? You sure comment a lot on here for never haven gotten a hair transplant. All I ever see from you are out-of-the-blue and irrelevant comments. I don't recall anything from you about firsthand experience. I have never claimed to be an "expert" and I'm here for the same reasons everyone else is. Your latest comments make it seem like you have been personally triggered. For the record I have zero interest in your own hair situation. I think I'm going to just block you my guy. I am here to peacefully share my own personal experiences as a patient, not to get into arguments or lower myself to petty name calling. Id rather only interact with constructive people on the forum. Best of luck with the SMP or whatever non-hair transplant solution you are considering.

While I agree that many patients and clinics alike are too liberal in their use of repair (someone who had sub-par density in a 1st round and just needs a 2nd pass density fill-in is not a repair IMO even though they may describe themselves as a repair), there are many legitimate repair patients. How can you say someone with hundreds of badly angled grafts, a junevile hairline, or an overharvested donor is not a 'repair'? I'm not sure what other word you would use. You cannot simply implant more grafts in many of these scenarios and call it a day - they require repair techniques.

Perhaps Mwamba charges more for repairs because they require a lot more surgical planning, skill/expertise, and are more time-consuming. Extracting and reimplanting badly angled grafts requires a lot more skill and is alot different than straightforward implantation on a virgin scalp.