HappyMan2021

I had a repair hair transplant last month. Many badly angled grafts were extracted, thereby leaving my temples with pretty low density. They will remain low-density until my next surgery. 

Wondering how soon post-op I can use Toppik?

*If I can use Toppik post-op, I plan on applying 4-5 times a week, and washing out everynight. 

**these pictures are a week or so old, I just can't be bothered to take more pictures at the moment. There are no more scabs and everything seems to be healing nicely. 

31 minutes ago, Z-- said:

This is very damning - really sorry to hear bro. Apologies if I missed it, but do you have a thread? Have you decided on a new doctor to complete your transplants (if you’re going to go for another)

I don't have a thread. While I do comment a ton on this forum, I like to keep my own personal surgeries under-the-radar lol. 

I am consulting with new doctors. I dont want to name names but they are all doctors you have heard of.... Importantly, they have all have impressive cases recently with both repairs and density. 

31 minutes ago, Z-- said:

I’m definitely going to advise against this doctor going forward. Imagine charging thousands (arbitrarily at that) per day and not having the decency to bother honoring a promise of a rebate. Disgraceful. 

yes it is quite sad. For me personally, the breaking point with Mwamba are the rebate and subjective, arbitrary, and fly-by-night pricing. It's not even about density (which is just a minor issue in my specific case)

Ironically, doctors I am consulting with for my next surgery are significantly more expensive than Mwamba, or pretty much an equal price. 

But I would rather pay a doctor a larger sum as long as it is transparently advertised upfront and not prone to arbitrary and inexplicable, unjustified changes. 

It is sad that this rebate, pricing, lack of discounts has become an issue. 

The clinic simply could have not offered a rebate in the 1st place, and no patients would have cared at all 🤣

But by promising a rebate they had no serious intention of fulfilling, they created an issue for themselves. 

3 hours ago, Z-- said:

Bro - this is absolutely ridiculous. After reading this and @Ajamilo's experience, I can't say it's worth recommending Mwamba at this point.

From your story, it appears he doesn't honor his commitments nor does he seem to care about patient well-being. Based on online testimonals, it seems his communication -- or rather lack of -- seems to be a universal problem the clinic has had for years.

Sad to see such a fall from grace.

as another former Mwamba patient, just validating and giving support to the claims that:

-the rebates are a broken promise and they will literally go out of their way to avoid or obstruct paying it. 

-at least for repair pricing, the pricing structure lacks explanation and seems to be arbitrary. There is no standard pricing. The final cost will ultimately be however much money the clinic thinks they can get away with charging you. I have experienced this firsthand

Surgery issues aside, the personal qualms and ethical issues I experienced from the rebate and fly-by-night pricing structure alone are enough negativity to no longer consider Mwamba as an option

-I have experienced density issues that others have experienced as well

-Clinic communication is actually great and fast as long as it involves booking your next surgery and giving them tens of thousands of dollars 🤣. Mwamba's communication is also totally fine in-person/during surgery

But if any of your communication will not profit the clinic and it is moreso about patient concerns (rebate, post-op issues), then yes communication will be sub-par

-I personally have not experienced cobblestoning or any other "botched" issues. In fact I would say - density aside - I am fairly satisfied with the repair work Mwamba has done

But....as a marketed repair surgeon....its a tough pill to swallow that there are at least 2 very recent patients in the community who have experienced cobblestoning

The hair transplant industry has so many bad doctors that the litmus test of a good doctor can simply be one who doesn't botch you. Especially if you are a repair patient - at minimum you have the basic expectation that you won't get any more botched than you already are.

5 minutes ago, rumblefish7194 said:

Hi. thanks for the replies. 1,700 grafts. I will get the pre pop picts asap. 

Why did i choose Dr. Gabel. Well. I spoke to some people on here about him. Then i spoke with Dr. Konior who recommended him along with two other surgeons. At the time i didn't know he was trained under him.  Did some more research. Spoke to some people directly on here. My expierence was pretty much perfect. He did 99 percent of the work himself. Was in constant communication with me before and after the procedure. If i emailed him today i would here from him most likely tomorrow. The work he did was very clean and i've looked pretty normal since. At this point i can only speak about my expierence with him since i'm only 5 weeks out. But he was extremely enthusiastic, he constantly wanted to see how i was doing, he has some techs helping him out but like i said he did most of the work himself. Only time a tech was involved, he did most of the graft placement himself, but he did have a tech put in some grafts but he stood by her making sure she did exactly how he wanted. I'm not doing a great job promoting for him at the moment. But that's just cause i'm tired. But i also feel what matters most is the result. In terms of his work i can only go what i think and the people i've spoken on here about. That it's excellent. More than anything he seemed very concerned and passionate about wanting the results to be perfect.

When i speak with him I will try to get the Photos from his office of pictures before and after the procedure. 

Personally, I thought it was a positive thing that he didn't ask or hope if i would write up some review. 

I'm confused @rumblefish7194 are you the same person as @jamesosterberg ????

Regardless this was a very helpful review of Dr. Gabel, thanks. 

Take Dutasteride every day just like you did with Fin. 

@jamesosterberg what made you go with Dr. Gabel in the first place? Do you recommend him?

Most of his reviews are good, but most of the reviews are from years ago...its hard finding anything past 2021 from the forums.

I am considering him, and validation from one of his very recent patients would be helpful. 

@Ajamilo can you please clarify how things ended between you and Dr. Mwamba?

I could be wrong but it seems like you put a lot of effort in  trying to discuss your poor growth directly with Mwamba and his clinic for some time, only to get an unsatisfactory resolution. 

For all your effort you put in I guess I'm a bit surprised they didnt offer a free touch up, or at the very least a discount if you went back to him. 

50 minutes ago, Ajamilo said:

When it comes to cobblestoning

Can you please clarify - your cobblestoning was a result of your Mwamba surgery? 

It is really surprising to hear of someone getting cobblestoning from a repair surgeon. No one gets a repair surgery expecting even more issues to occur...

You also aren't the first case I've seen recently from Mwamba where cobblestoning was a side effect. 

For what its worth I think your hair looks great and totally natural when its grown out. I suspect no one else but you notices the temple density issues. 

But yes I totally would want a touch-up/repair surgery if I were in your shoes too. 

if I was looking for a 1st time HT and/or it is a pretty straightforward implant procedure, HLC would be at the top of my list. 

In terms of 'quality of doctor in relation to budget' options, I'd say HLC is pound for pound the best clinic if you are on a budget but still looking for quality results. 

1 hour ago, Aspect said:

I have been to 4 so far and they all seemed to have relatively shallow knowledge concerning hair loss. I recently met with the head dr of the cosmetic department of SpringHill dermatology (which is apparently one of the best clinics for hair) and they essentially brushed it off.

i've had a similar experience with dermatologists. They are useless when it comes to hair restoration. 

you may not be looking for a hair transplant, but id say a hair transplant doctor is going to be the best kind to diagnose you with whatever it is going on. 

2 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

For 800 grafts I don’t think you should proceed. Trying to match mother nature’s hairline surgically and to blend it in with your own is a challenge unless you get it right. Why risk it? Can you provide better pics of your hair from the front, sides, etc without the markings? All the best. 👍

I agree, surgery is always a bit of a dicey choice with these NW 1.5, NW2 cases

On the one hand surgery is less-challenging, on the other hand surgery inherently carries risk and the prospective patient must assume the risk that their end-result will be worse than their baseline starting point. 

to clarify, you do not suffer from male pattern baldness at all?

I dont think permanent native shock loss should be an issue for you. As long as you go to a quality surgeon this should be easy peasy. 

Many HT patients who do not have male pattern baldness seem to be fairly straightforward and layup cases. 

7 hours ago, BaldAndBold said:

I'm 29. I'm not using any meds. I would prefer not to make any meds part of my daily routine. How do I know for sure that the thinning has stabilized?

I would not recommend a HT without meds.

Given you already have significant hairloss and 29 is still pretty young, without meds you are likely to have even more hairloss. 

And who knows when it will end? Maybe you are naturally destined for an advanced balding pattern. 

Without meds, you are setting yourself up for multiple HTs down the road. 

Also please consider than even for patients who are on meds and have relatively small hairloss, the vast majority of patients need 2 or more procedures to be happy. 

Nothing about hair transplants should be considered a quick or easy fix. 

this seems like it will be a fairly minor surgery. How many grafts are you getting?

At most all you can do is pray that the grafts implanted wont grow out badly angled and that your donor is not overharvested. 

It looks like not enough grafts were implanted to make any aesthetic difference, not really anything to move the needle. 

So at very best case - you hopefully are not botched and I guess for your 2nd procedure there will be some groundwork already done.

But yea don't really expect anything significant at all with this HT...

3 hours ago, BaldAndBold said:

My problem area is relatively small

you are firmly a NW3. if you aren't stable you could easily slip into NW4. I'd say your hair restoration needs are solidly "average". 

Also your hairline mockup design is flawed. Rounded, non-blunt corners are for women hairlines. You will want something that has a more blunt, pronounced corners in the design. 

17 minutes ago, jfally said:

He’s currently booked thru Sept ‘24. 

ugh thats disappointing :/. Nader is on my list for my next surgery. 

Very frustrating how in 2022 he was somewhat of an unknown guy with a short wait time to suddenly blowing up this year and getting massively popular. 

3 minutes ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

Not so much. Cartel higher ups highly discourage their underlings from targeting American's. They don't want the US government on their back causing issues for their business, and they know going after American's is a surefire way to bring that sort of heat down on them. The last thing they want is some American getting killed or robbed. 

true true. 

I remember a few months ago 3 or so American medical tourists were mistaken for rival cartel members and killed. I think the cartel actually killed the members who carried out the hit because it was a big mistake and caused so much publicity. 

On 7/26/2023 at 10:09 AM, jfally said:

-If you follow US headlines, Reynosa is where you go to mingle with the cartel, get kidnapped, get murdered, get held for ransom, etc.

when you think about it, being a hair transplant patient actually would put you at higher risk for the above 🤣. In general getting a hair transplant implies you have more $$$ than the average person

What was your wait time for surgery?

17 minutes ago, BeHappy said:

He doesn't look like a NW 5 to me.

 

true. But still significantly and clearly worse off than Cillian Murphy's portrayal. 

No

Anyone else notice how Cillian Murphy had a killer hairline and no MPB in this movie, but the real life Oppenheimer seemed to have been a NW 5 at best?

True, there was the one "old man Oppenheimer" scene in the White House where Cillian Murphy was really recessed, but other than that his hair was perfect and I would gladly trade Hollywood Oppenheimer's hair with my own. 

I couldn't enjoy the movie because of this huge historical inaccuracy. 

im just jealous you have a completely full and natural crown 🤷‍♂️

I think you are overstressing about all of this. if you are going to a good doctor just listen to their plan. 

You seem to be a very stabilized 35 yr old and you are only having your 1st HT - your case is relatively small potatoes compared to a lot of guys on here.

Id say its effective in the majority of cases, but there are certainly many many cases where meds are not effective. Meds are certainly not a sure thing

Some men are just destined to be bald

Your "Before" pictures were totally fine!!!! Yes you had the faintest bit of temple recession, but it actually looked really good/natural/genuine. You had just the right amount of temple recession that it actually complimented you I'd say. 

All you needed was to hop on Fin and you'd be done 🤷‍♂️

Oh well, whats done is done and I'm glad you are now on the repair path. 

Which doctor is doing your repair?

Take my word with a grain of salt - I don't really follow Eugenix - but I heard Dr. Sethi is more of a backseat administrator these days and really only works on VIP cases. 

Again a random stab in the dark, but with enough money I'm sure you can get him to operate on you 🤷‍♂️