Ash1390

I also got a procedure done with Dr.Sethi and Dr.Bansal this past Thursday (will be posting soon) ….just wanted to say that I couldn’t agree more with what @Bb111says. 
It was also great to meet you and get to know you @Bb111….I am excited for your results. Have a safe flight back! 

My ~8month update posted.

Hi All, 
Posting a ~8month update. I am happy with the results so far. Curious to hear you guy's thoughts...thank you all! I am so glad I found this community.

@JC71 @Melvin- Moderator@Dr. Suhail Khokhar what do you think? 
6month post link: 

Some Pics taken on the day of the hair transplant for reference,
 

Hi All, 

Just dropping in to provide my 6month update. Curious to know what you all think! I am happy with the progress so far and I am hoping to see more growth *fingers crossed*

Original Post: 

Also, for some reference ...the below pics were taken the day of my transplant.
 

6 month Update:

Hi All, 

Just dropping in to provide my 6month update. Curious to know what you all think! I am happy with the progress so far and I am hoping to see more growth *fingers crossed*

Thanks for sharing @Melvin- Moderator…definitely calms some nerves coming from you. 
I might be violating rule #1 that you set, but I am thinking of getting a fade on the sides as I have to be someone’s date for a wedding coming up…also for rule #2 I tend to sweat a lot at times so don’t want the concealer running down my forehead …is that a thing? Does it happen?

Update 10/09 (after slightly over a month)

what do you folks think? Doesn't look great at this point...but I am hoping (from seeing other cases and hearing from my doctor) that it will get better and soon growth will happen.

Hi All, 
I wanted to give a quick update regarding my procedure with Dr.Panine that happened last week on the 31st of August,2021. The total grafts transplanted were 2814. The breakdown is as follows:
1 hair grafts - 1,306
2 hair grafts - 1187
3 hair grafts - 300
4 hair grafts - 21

Days leading to the Procedure: Stuart from Dr.Panine's office was extremely helpful and was always available to answer any of my questions/comments/concerns. He was very methodical in preparing me for my procedure(writing prescriptions that I need beforehand and following it up with a call to discuss, sharing expectations etc). He was very responsive. He also shared recommendations for places to stay in the area and I ended up picking a hotel that was a stone throw away from the clinic which turned out to be a big plus.

Day of the Procedure: I arrived at the clinic at 830 am and was greeted by one of the assistants' who was super friendly and completed all of the pre-requisites(filling forms, medication pre-surgery, checking vitals, blood work etc). Dr.Panine then arrived and shared the details of the surgery and the duration it would take( this was also shared earlier with me by Stuart so no surprises there). The total surgery took about ~10.5hrs. Pre-surgery Dr.Panine worked with me to construct a hairline that I wanted ...we iterated through it a couple of times and ended up with one that the Dr mentioned was conservative but this is what I had in mind ...I am not super concerned about recession and I feel it looks more natural and suits my facial structure. The doctor put me on local anesthesia and at every point made sure that I was comfortable.The assistant's also made sure that my comfort and care was utmost priority. The extraction took about 4hrs and then they provided me with lunch(thanks Stuart for taking care of this for me)...after with the sorting/creating slits(I think) took another 2hrs. This was followed by placement which took about 3hrs ....Dr.Panine mentioned that it typically takes longer but because I was willing (and wanted to) shave my head(just wanted to see how I look bald)....it helped them(Dr. and one of his assistant's) place the grafts faster.After the surgery, my head was wrapped in bandage and Stuart gave me a ride back to my hotel. For some reason(maybe the drugs) I was wide awake and felt energetic and was able to walk and get myself some dinner and went to bed after watching some trash cookshow tv. Not a whole lot of pain (masked by anesthesia/meds).

Day 1 after Procedure: I felt pretty normal and was able to go about my day 2 day. The surprise for the day was the swelling of my face. Stuart had mentioned that swelling would happen but I was a bit taken aback by the extent of it. The person that stared back at me from the mirror felt like a bruised boxer / extra-terrestrial hybrid. I wanted to laugh out loud but that felt a tad bit weird as well. I met with Stuart and Dr.Panine and they took a look at my head to make sure it all looked good and the bruising was healing. The pain seemed like a headache in the back of the head(extracted area).

Day 2 after Procedure: This was the day with the worst swelling ...it got to a point where my eyes were about completely shut and vision became challenging. I started to get more diligent about icing and and also laying vertical mostly to let gravity be my ally in dealing with the swelling.

Day 3 & Day 4 after Procedure: The swelling is getting better ...it is coming down a bit. Day 3 was the first time I washed my head super carefully with foam (baby shampoo) and luke warm water gently.  This felt pretty good. 

I am planning to add more details into this post as I realize that I may have glossed over some details...the goal here is to help folks considering a procedure  and also provide an honest description of my experience. It will also be great if folks who have tread this path before can provide thoughts/comments/suggestions. 

Again, super grateful for this community and happy and eager to pay it forward.




 

Hi All, 

Apologies for the long lull from my end - had a full plate with insane amount of work and personal stuff w/ the pandemic to deal with. All good now!
After talking to a few reputable surgeons I decided to narrow down my options to Eugenix and @Dr. Vladimir Panine. Both are awesome and I decided to pick Dr.Panine because it makes things simple from a logistics perspective and I am slated to get the procedure on the 31st of August.

First, thanks to all the reps from Eugenix...they were super helpful and also made sure I had a chat with @Dr. Sethi & Dr. Bansal himself. He is a very learned man and an artist (as you all already know) , I hope to get a procedure some day from him as my gut tells me I need more than one.

@Dr. Suhail Khokharthank you for the recommendation....I am a bit nervous as it is my first one but I feel like I am in good hands. Stuart from Dr.Panine's office has been stellar so far and on top of everything.

I will be getting about 2500-2800FUE procedure done. To be honest I don't have crazy expectations and I am hoping for a realistic hairline that also looks natural and doesn't look super sharp at the front. I will keep everyone updated.

I also have a few questions,
1. how does one effectively collaborate w/ the Dr. to come up with a hairline? I guess there are 2 pieces to it and the most important is the communication on what you want.

2. I am a bit nervous about shock loss and how much of that will be permanent !?

I also switched to topical finesteride in the past couple months and did initally notice some increased loss with stabilised and I felt like some of it was coming back...but I have had to stop it during this surgery time as it has minoxidil in it....I will be taking oral for the next few weeks again. Not so stoked about that. Man! also the topical stuff is expensive compared to oral. 

Anyway, will keep you all updated.

Finally, thanks to all the folks here for all the pointers @JohnAC71 @Dr. Suhail Khokhar @mustang
 

Update: 

Dr. Bisanga - his rep reached out to me saying that they would need an in-person consultation to know for sure that I am a good candidate. Unfortunately, till COVID subsides he won’t be traveling to the US - so bummed that this possibility is basically eliminated. 
 

Dr. Panine - rep reached out to me as well, I am going to have a video consultation with the Dr. soon. I asked if the doc would need an in person consult and the assistant said no. Makes me feel a bit wary that two well reputed Dr’s have different opinions (guess that happens?) 

Eugenix - had a very illuminating call with Dr. Sethi …. Very wise man! Again due to COVID I think traveling to India is not advisable… I am bummed I did not know them 2 yes ago when I was there. 
 

Dr Ahmet/ Long Hair Center - I think I am going to rule them out based on what I have heard about them here. 
 

Dr. Carman - trying to schedule sometime this week.

On 4/30/2021 at 8:31 AM, BADB-BROS said:

You clearly have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. I’m one of 3 people in my immediate circle who’ve all had hair transplants done by Dr. Panine, and he’s done a remarkable job on all of us. My Barber’s have asked for business cards requesting his information because of how great of a job he’s done. 
Do your research before speaking out of your ass. Here’s my photos 3 years post op for proof.

Wow! Amazing result - I am considering doctor Panine myself - mind sharing your before/ after or a link to the thread where you have?

3 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

The more you research the more you will find a not so good result from every single clinic/Dr. This includes the most elite/best names anywhere worldwide.

Whats important is how they manage the not so good results. After all results are not actually guaranteed. All we can do is try and choose a decent clinic who have a consistent track record and good after care/follow up. Eugenix really do look after their patients before/during and after. In the case of @MNIKthey are supporting him. 

thats fair - yes, my best wishes to brother @MNIK ..... he will have a full head of hair! 
The big deterrent now is that Eugenix is in India and the covid situation there. So looking at other options.....but if Eugenix is truly way better then I will wait.

14 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

So it’s possible to use scalp hair (FUE) and augment beard grafts which is something Eugenix do very well. Or in the case of Bisanga he’s pretty adept in any kind of FUT/FUE/BHT transplants. Scarring from taking beard grafts is barely noticeable. FUE scarring  is dependent on how many grafts are taken/size of punch etc. FUT scar in the best possible scenario is one that’s barely visible/pencil thin. All depends on the skill of the Dr and your own scalp laxity etc. 

Thanks! I have been on this site for 4hrs now haha ....I was researching Eugenix . The @Zoomsterresult looks good and is the one advertised on the website as well as their website but @MNIK's thread makes me a little bit scared/worried/mixed. I think I am in a similar situation.

@Abhinay SinghI have reached out to Eugenix, hoping to hear back soon.

1 minute ago, JohnAC71 said:

I can understand that. But you may struggle to get the graft numbers you need by scalp FUE alone. How is your beard ? That would be another good source.

As your probably aware if we want to really maximise our donor area then FUT does really help. 

I did not know that - TIL.
My beard game is STRONG ....like really really STRONG lol...get a ton of compliments on it and guys ask me my secret all the time.
 

Is there a way to cover up the scar at all?

Thanks Suhail - reached out to Dr.Panine
No, I haven't had any in-person consults yet .....I am hoping to have some soon. I am looking for Dr. that are honest and upfront about the results .... I dont have unrealistic expectations myself and I am open to a "no" from the Dr. 

Also, trying to stay away from FUT as I like to keep my hair short on the side and don't want a scar

Thank you! Great pointers for me to further dig into.

Reached out to Dr.Bisanga - will keep you updated once I get a consult. 
Will reach out to Eugenix & Hattingen as well....I am really hoping to get it this year so maybe Eugenix is looking slim.

Yes using fin+min for a while now ....hoping to get off of it at some point in my life haha

Am I a Norwood 6/7 - dang  - my dad is a 7 I think. 
I was just looking at Dr. Timothy Carman ...any thoughts on him?

Also, looking to see if anyone here was in a similar situation as me(in terms of hair loss) and they have had a successful transplant - thanks!

Apologies for not having the pics first up - I prematurely hit enter(noob)
I am currently in Oakland,California and I am willing to travel (if the surgeon indeed is worth it).

And, thanks for the pointer on the research

First off - this website/network is genius, whoever thought of this "hats off to you" ...you are a savior. So many helpful people and the moderators are truly top notch.

About Me: 31 YO, first started noticing hair loss at 22 and have been on Fin (every other day) and Minox(2X a day) since then. Balding runs on my dad's side and my dad is a norwood 6/7.

I am looking to get a hair transplant this year and have started to do some research(for the past 1 month) - I previously just googled "top hair transplant in X" and would get hits that looked pretty sketchy. I currently have narrowed down to the following( of course this is not my final list ...hence this post).

The following I have reached out to, some have gotten back to me & we are actively chatting....some have not yet(so hoping they will).

1. Long Hair Center
Dr. Ahmet - I read some good reviews about him on Reddit & on here ...but then suddenly read threads calling places like the Long Hair Center(cheap price) "hair mills" - so this makes me very unsure. Of course, I am no tech millionaire/movie star but I don't mind spending the $$ once and getting a good HT. They have said I need 400-4500.

2. Dr. Jae Pak, LA 
Also seems to have good online reviews and trained by the same Dr. who trained Dr.Diep apparently.....he classified me as a 3A or 4A and said that I need 2000 grafts. This number is drastically different to the one I shared above. Also, he is pretty pricey.

3. Dr. Bisanga

Just shared my pics w/ him via online portal.

4.Dr.Cinik

Haven't reached out to him yet - but read threads here saying that his clinic is a "hair mill"

5. Dr.Bicer

Based on my research this Dr. seems to me to be the most legit. I have reached out to her and am waiting(somewhat anxiously) to hear back.

6.Hair Centre Mexico

Shared pics and am waiting to hear back.

7. Dr.Diep

Seems to be a very good Dr. But the threads here are quite a bit polarizing and he isn't cheap(this isn't much of a factor if its worth it)

Since a lot of you here have had success & also fairly knowledgeable on the subject ...would be great if you could help a newbie out.