Cant decide

I agree with Lorenzo. Saying Rahal is the dense packing king is not doing him any favors as it almost implies that he is very agressive when he is not particularly agressive in all cases. He certanly knows when to be and when not to be. That is part of what makes a good doctor.

I had a procedure with Rahal 5 months ago. It was over 5000 grafts and I was about a NW 5. I think I know what you mean by broad hairline which you think Rahal does. I assume you mean a wider arc as opposed to a smaller arc with more recession. For me, he put my hairline pretty conservative. Well above where my true hairline was. The arc is broad but because it was placed at an appropriate hight, it looks extremely natural, age appropriate and somewhat youthful all at the same time. It is very very natural and you would never suspect a HT. I know what you mean by going too agressive with risk of losing it down the road. I had nothing much left to lose on the front 2/3 and the vertex was about half gone. I am 5 months now and I am pretty floored at the results so far. It has come in pretty dense and I was able to get allot of coverage out of it with the front 2/3 done, vertex and the "crown "Dips" done. It did help that I had a density of 2.3 for a total of about 12000 hairs Anyway, all of this is to say that I agree that going too agressive when there is risk of losing alot more is certainly bad but in my expierience, I did not have much more to lose and I was able to get pretty complete coverage with very good density in one pass with Rahal. This did not include the crown but its only thinning and the area is not very large so it does not bother me, I have over 5000 left in supply I am told so if/when I need to, I can get that done. Just because the hairline arc is wide does not necessarily mean it is agressive. Take Care

I have brought up this topic before. I am always amazed at how many sports figures, actors, politicians, etc get HT from big chains or from plastic surgeons whose majority of time is not spent on HT and it is not their specialty. I mean it does not take much research to determine who are the best in the industry and why in the world would you not go to them? This is your appearance and something that is not reversible. How can they just be so lazy about where they get surgery done??? I will forever be perplexed by this.....

I definately see the start of some growth. I believe that you will be fine. I know its hard but hang in there. The growth comes in phases and you dont even notice anything happening until you look back. A month from now, you will look at these pics and know what I am talking about. Good luck!!

Expectations and frame of reference are a funny thing. I would be thrilled with this hairline (At 10 or 12 months Good Luck

Dr. B is very very good. He is just very conservative in my opinion which is not a bad thing. It is just his philosophy. If your looking for a 5000+ mega session, I would say look elsewhere. He does do a great job with the number of hairs he does move. I would say he does more with less better than anyone.

The work looks very clean!! Good Luck

I not sure if the studeo you are talking about is hair transplantation or a hair system. If it is HT, please go to Hyderabad and see Dr. Madhu who is the best in India hands down. You are 18 which is usually far too young to be a good candidate for HT but considering your a NW IV, most likely an exception would be made. Dr. Madhu will be able to tell you for sure once he has had a chance to take a look. Good Luck

Per my docs instructions, I started using it one month post op. I cant say if it is due to the minoxidil but I am a week shy of 5 months and having very good growth.

Very very nice. Great job Dr. Rahal and team!! You all truely give people more back than just their hair. I am sure this patient is thrilled beyond words!!!

I am also 4.5 months and having good growth. My right side hairline is ahead of my left and behind my left hairline is ahead of behind my right Overall, I am thrilled with my result so far but definately keeping fingers crossed that it will even out. From what I have read, this is very normal so I am confident that it will even out with time. Over the last week of so, I have been able to feel a substantial amount of new stubble coming in all over so I know the growth is still coming which is a good feeling. Good Luck

By the way, my strip surgery was over 5000 grafts.

I know you said you only want to hear from those at 24 months post op but.....I am 4.5 months post op and my donor is only slightly numb and tender. I expect it to fully go away over the next coupld of months.

Depends on the person but best case would be a #2 and worst case would be a #6 so on average, a #4 would be fine.

Good luck. Your in good hands!!! How many grafts are you shooting for?

4 months is super early and more than likely, you will start seeing decent growth in a few weeks. I cant tell you how many people I have read about that did not start seeing any growth until 5 plus months so try to relax. I think we all slip into the thinking that we have to see growith like pictures we saw of patient x or patient Y. Its hard not to. I do it myself. I always have Eman's resullts at 5 months plastered in my brain even though I know you cant compare any two poople. Try not to do that as there are many many patients who are slow growers such as yourslef who simply do not post pictures on this web site. Dr. Hasson's web site specially states that at 3 months, growth STARTS so if you are 4 months, you are not far off the mark. Good luck. You will be fine my friend.

I must say, it is strange that many people think its ok to point it out as if they are poiting out a new haircut. I dont get why people do not see it as rude and something you would just not do. I mean, imagine if somone says to a fat girl, "Oh, I see your getting fat" in front of a group of people. That person would be seen as rude by the entire crowd. But, for some reason, its ok to do the same thing to a balding guy. I seriously do not get it. My brother did that to me a few months ago and embarassed be in front of 10+ people. When I later approached him about it, he was stunned at my reaction. He could not fathem why it would bother me and why I thought it was rude. He said, "whats the big deal, I made fun of so and so about their sweater and he did not care". How in the world do you compare the two? It just goes to show how clueless non balding people are to the whole thing. My assistent looked at a pic of me from a few years ago and said, wow, you had allot of hair. When was that pic taken? Again, rude in my opinion. Fortunaltely and thanks to Dr. Rahal, I am on the road to significant improvement and hopfully will not need to listed to as many of these comments in the future.

Check out his web site. All the prices are listed.

I am 4.5 months and thought that I would provide a quick update. My hair continues to grow in nicely and pretty even although some areas are a bit ahead of others. It is considerably fuller and more mature than it was at my last update of 3.25 months. At this stage, I am looking much better than pre-surgery and very pleased so far; especially for being at 4.5 months. I am anticipating more density which I am sure will come with time. I just came back from a 12 day international business trip and my wife could not believe how much it has filled in just the 12 days that I have been gone. In terms of growth time, I believe that I am not a particularly fast grower (Ala Epileptic Skeptic, Eman, etc) and nor am I slow. I think I am about average and where I should be at this stage. The shock loss I wrote about previously is essentially a non issue at this point as the previously shocked hair continues to grow and lengthen. The donor numbness and tenderness is 90% gone with some still lingering. This should go away over the next month or two. The naturalness is pretty amazing actually and exceeded my expectations. The hairline placement and design is perfect for me. I am thinking about making the drive out to see Dr. Rahal at the six month point to get some pics taken, thank him, and get his feedback on my progress. Thanks and any questions, just ask.

HFlynn - I know what you mean about obsessing ) Its easy for me to say now but just hang in there. Now that the donor is getting better, I dont even think about it anymore. It is still not fully grown back but its getting there and yesterday was the first day I felt fine leaving the house without some dermatch on it. Its funny how when you look at it each day, you dont realize anything is happening and you get bummed but then boom, you realize it has gotton better and you wonder how you did not notice along the way. I think the growth on top is the same way!!! Good luck with everything!!!

I thought that I would provide a three month update (Actually three months and about a week). 1. Hair growing in nicely. It is growing in pretty evenly which is good. It will take time for the density to come in by it gets thicker each day. I can’t wait to see where I am at in a couple of months. 2. The work was impeccable. There is absolutely no sign that anything was done to the top of my head (No redness, pitting, etc). Maybe a slight red tinge in some lighting but thats about it. 3. Numbness: In the recipient area, went away at about 7 weeks. Still have a little in the donor area along with some tenderness. However, it is minimal and dissipating day by day. 4. Shock loss: This has been the worst part for me. I had allot of shock loss in the donor area as well as the recipient area. The recipient area hair that was weak, never really came back (nor did I expect it to) but the other hair in the recipient area which I was keeping my fingers crossed would come back since it was fairly strong has 75% returned and I am hoping that even more comes back. The donor area shock loss was pretty bad but has been coming in over the last couple of weeks. I am confident that it will fully return over the next couple of months. Scar: As far as I can tell, the scar looks great. Redness pretty much gone and pretty thin. Overall, I am very pleased so far and feel that I am right where I should be. I could have done without the shock loss but as I said, it is getting much better. I am surprised at just how natural it looks. I knew it would look natural but the placement of the hairline and the way the hair is growing would never give anyone the slightest clue of what was done. Dr. Rahal and the team did a great job. I will keep my fingers crossed in the coming months. Thanks

Great result Joe. What is this patients hair caliber?

I cant resist but get involved in this thread. Of course, various docs have strengths over others and one great doc may not be the best fit for all but on balance, here are mine: Drs. 1. Hasson and Rahal 2. Ron Shapiro 3. Wong 4. True 5. Bernstein

Honestly, if I were doing a session over 4500 (Which I have done), I would go to Hasson and Wong or Rahal period. Others may have a different opinion on it. Thats not to say that the surgeons in NY cant do it, but I dont see it as their strength. Also remember that most people cant get 4500 or more in one pass anyway due to density/laxity but these docs are better than most at extracting the highest number possible in one sitting. It may not just come down to surgeon skill but also some docs just dont feel such large sessions are the best route or they are not set up for it. Why do you feel you need to stay in NY anyway. I am from CT and drove to Ottawa for my consultation and procedure to get what I wanted. I was told by one recommended surgeon in the US that I would be lucky to get 3500 in one sitting. Dr. Rahal pulled 5200 and could of gotton more but I made him stop at 5200 due to financial reasons By the way, my scar 5 weeks post op is healing very well with no issues.

Here are my opinions. Please dont anyone attack me if they disagree Feller: Good overall balance. I cant say one thing stands out over another. One of the best at FUE. Bernstein: Knows the science of HT better than almost anyone. Very natural hairlines but is extermely conservative as far as how many grafts he plants in one session. True and Dorin: Great thin scars and good hairlines. In my opinion, if you need over 4500 grfats, I would think none of these guys would be optimal for you. They all have certainly done procedures over 4500 but that is not the rotuine for them. If you need under 3500, than any of these guys would be a good choice. Good luck.