AlexMeister21

I flew to him from America and I believe the total travel time was about 26 hours with a layover in Seoul. Looking back on it, the only times I felt uncomfortable was going through customs and security because I had to take my headgear off. Other than that, the traveling was fine. I also made sure to book seats in the very last row of the planes so I wouldn't feel as self-conscious exposing my head and I even got the rows all to myself for all of my flights. I don't think the number of grafts should decide whether you should fly over to Bangkok or not. You'd be in good hands with Laorwong.

You can tell this is going to be a homerun result. The outline and growth is there. Just need to wait a few more months for full thickening, but it already looks great for just four months.

Thanks. Yeah, I'm happy with the result. I actually got to see Dr. Laorwong yesterday to discuss a future surgery for my crown. He took some photos and measured the area of my crown that would be operated on. It's like the size of a baseball now. He quoted 1,300 grafts for my crown and said I have about 2,500 - 3,000 in my donor. I also asked him how many grafts it would take to cover my midscalp if that completely goes in the future and he said about 2,500. Definitely want to get my crown done, but not sure how well I'd be able to prepare for future hair loss, especially if I'm continuing to lose ground while on medication.

Ah, thank you, thank you very much 😏 I came across a GoPro video of me right around when COVID started and I had a nasty combover going on. Really a big difference now.

Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm a little over 9 months now and things look good. I still wear hats most of the time to cover up my crown area, but I don't worry much about my hairline anymore. Here are some recent photos. Also, I most likely won't be providing any further updates other than a final assessment at the 12-month mark. Harsher Lighting Front: Left: Right: Scar: Softer Lighting Front: Left: Right: Outdoor Front: Left: Right:

Clean work

I remember seeing other Laorwong patients being given all-black bandanas, but when I had surgery, they were giving out black ones with white patterns on them. Would see others walking around the area or in the 7-11s nearby wearing the same bandanas.

I think survival was pretty good in my scar area and it seems like I had an expected level of growth there. Not as many grafts were implanted so there's still room for improvement.

@A_4_Archan @disTressedHairline I've been traveling so haven't been too focused on my hair recently. I don't think there has been much change since my previous post, but things still look pretty good. I'll post an update soon.

Had surgery with Laorwong as well. They provide you with most everything you need. Only other thing I wish I had before the trip was an all-black bandana to wear. They provided me with a patterned bandana, but I thought it looked kind of conspicuous on me so I didn't use it much.

Not sure if I see baby hairs. I see some areas where it looks like incisions were made, but I don't see sprouting yet. I wish I could shave my hair so I could get a better look at the growth, but I don't want my FUT scar to be visible for two months.

I think the beard hairs have grown properly, but the scar is still noticeable, as expected since not enough grafts were used for the wideness of the scar. The texture of the beard hair feels more frizzy and curly, so it's pretty easy for me to pinpoint where my scar is now based on feel. Would like to get my scar repaired further, but not sure if I have the grafts to spare for it.

I think the thinness on my right side looks better in photos, but when I look at it in the mirror, it looks "artificial" to me. I guess since my previous doctor D in Los Gatos planted it all in rows, it looks pretty see-through in harsh lighting. I'm able to cover it up pretty well though by just taking a few seconds to brush my hair over that area. Would be nice to not worry about it though, so hoping growth will be better there in the coming months.

If I didn't have my first transplants with Dr. D****, I would definitely go back for a touch-up with Laorwong if needed. Unfortunately, I don't know if I have the grafts to spare. I'd like to get my crown filled one day and I'm not sure how the hair loss is going to progress there in the future. Also not sure if my transplanted hair will thin out over time.

I used topical minoxidil for about 1.5 years but never saw an improvement in my crown. Used oral for about 5 months before stopping and only noticed like stray hairs on my back get thicker. Still have about 120 tablets left from when I bought them from Laorwong. Want to have them? 😄

At 6 months now and things are looking pretty good. I was feeling like there hasn't been much growth, but after comparing past photos, there is visible progress. Before surgery with Laorwong, I used to have to comb over my left side to hide thin patches, but I don't have to do that anymore. Currently, my right side is still behind in growth and looks see-through, but I can cover that up by brushing my hair forward. I also saw Dr. Laorwong in person at around my 4.5 month mark and he spent about 40 minutes looking over my hair and taking pictures of the grafts up close. The pictures showed that the grafts that sprouted were still thin and needed time to thicken. He also looked over my donor and said I probably have around 2,500 grafts for future operations. Would also like to note that I stopped taking oral minoxidil about a month ago. Was feeling super lethargic after just 20 minutes of walking outside and I never had that before. I also felt like bags under my eyes were becoming more pronounced. Got off the OM, and I can walk all day long again and I feel my skin has improved as well. Currently just taking finasteride and dutasteride. Wet hair: Front: Left: Right: Dry Hair Front: Left: Right: Scar Daytime interior

Wow, you sure you didn't get a hair transplant 10 months ago? Looks pretty complete already.

Hi, I will post an update with pics in a few days. Was thinking of making an update at 5.5 months, but figured I would just wait until the 6-month mark.

Well, if you go to Turkey you have to make sure you aren't going to a hair mill and are going to a good doc like Pekiner or Gur. I feel like there are much better docs available outside of the United States. Dr. Nader is a great doc near the US in Mexico. You could stay in Texas and have his staff drive you over the border for surgery.

Damn, other than the post-op redness, you don't look like you've had any work done at all.

Nice. I personally prefer Freitas as I think he's a very good surgeon and a safe bet.

Laorwong's clinic is pretty much right by Krung Thon Bori BTS station, so any accommodation near there is good if you're planning on staying for the five days of after-care. There are also various Airbnbs near Krung Thon Bori station. I got an Airbnb that was about a 5-minute walk from the clinic for about $30/night with a washing machine and kitchen. https://www.booking.com/landmark/th/krung-thonburi-bts-skytrain-station.html

Hmm, the two PRP sessions may have benefited here. Really good results so far and from a good, affordable doc. You may never have to worry about hair loss again and can drive off into the sunset, top down and hair blowing in the wind.

From the photos I saw, you definitely have good donor. I think they wanted you to do FUT because maybe it would have been easier on their end since FUE requires more labor. Do you know if they do multiple surgeries a day?

Not too sure how long grafts can be outside of body for. For me, I had procedures that lasted 14 hours and I had poor growth. I had a repair that lasted about 7-8 hours using same amount of grafts, but it's too early for me to determine growth on it at the moment. Natural density is about 90 per sq cm and most surgeons do around 40-60 to achieve good density. It can be higher if you're a proper candidate with good donor and your hair loss isn't too aggressive. Here's a good thread regarding punch size