I expect cloning to be out by the early 2030s. Stemson has made huge strides compared to any other cloning company. Lots of companies doing a lot of cool things in preclinical/phase 1/2 such as hmi115, GT, tdm, jxl, etc.
I'm gonna be honest dude. Yes, it looks failed. 5500 grafts were definitely not enough to fill this area but this looks like the work of closer to 1500-2000 grafts.
I do not think it is worth the medication as a NW7, especially if your body doesn't tolerate it. There's not much more you can save and there is a risk-reward tradeoff -- meds aren't a "free" option. I instead think its more important to find a doctor who also uses beard hair and be conservative in your expectations (maybe a NW3).
I think it doesn't hurt to try -- say you are the doctor's assistant and looking to order verteporfin. I think the main issue is I don't know if most doctors would be comfortable using research-grade verteporfin.
Here are some links:
https://www.medchemexpress.com/Verteporfin.html
https://www.adooq.com/verteporfin.html
https://www.selleckchem.com/products/Verteporfin(Visudyne).html
https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/NL/en/product/sigma/sml0534
lol people are never happy. A few months ago, people were complaining that a second trial wasn't being done. Now people are complaining that a full FUE wasn't done. People should be extremely grateful for what is being done, and if they want to see more, they need to either volunteer their own scalps or their own money.
In the US, a doctor can just order from Bausch and Lomb. Internationally, I only know how to get verteporfin (research-grade), and you would need to claim you are a doctor. I know several people who have done this successfully.
I think the issue is that besides Bausch and Lomb (who have been giving visudyne to several doctors for vert Ie Dr. Qazi), all other sources of Verteporfin are research grade and would require you to be unethical about acquiring (ie you would need to say you are a doctor)
It is not difficult to order verteporfin is someone is determined. Many sites sell it and you can just claim you are a clinic if you truly want it. It's more that people aren't willing to go the extra mile to acquire verteporfin. I am in a discord and telegram with several people who have done this for scarring (no one has done it for AGA yet though iirc)
However, I don't see why to waste a doctor's time doing this when any individual can just try this at home via deep microneedling. All the evidence supports that the highest chance of success is the way Dr. Barghouthi is doing it currently, so I would rather optimize that first.
I think the answer is we just don't know. I am sure that any new follicles that will be created would be DHT susceptible as those surrounding it if verteporfin is put in the recipient zone. The question is whether they start over from "scratch" or damaged like surrounding hair.
It also depends how much you want hair. If you're generally fine with a balding look, then probably not worth the hassle. But if having hair is something that would make your life better, then it's probably worth considering. I do think that Dr. Pittella would be the best for your case.
I don't see the point of oral minoxidil -- just apply topical minoxidil all across the scalp. Why use an oral drug when topical can do the job almost just as well? Convenience is always the argument but I'd prioritize safety over convenience always.