Palmerplanet

Hello again! Yesterday I had my surgery with Dr. Bloxham. I asked him about the Verteporfin - he said he was cautiously optimistic about it, and was starting a trial in March and April if he can get his hands on it. The surgery went very much like other's experiences on this forum - very professional, technician's were experienced, I was kept comfortable the entire time. Honestly, night and day from the Dr. Lopresti experience (Leonard Hair in Boston). Another thing that was interesting: After the strip was taken and harvested yesterday, there was much less grafts than expected (only 850, we expected 1200). Dr. Bloxham had to go back to the strip site and extend it further to get the additional grafts). Dr. Bloxham guessed that this also happened with my surgery at Dr. Lopresti's - which is why they never told me how many grafts, and also why my density was very low for my first surgery. I'm not upset or anything with Lopresti's office, but I will say the professionalism, skill level, communication and level of care was far superior at Dr. Bloxham's office. Here are the pictures from yesterday post-op. Dr. Bloxham said the graft placement looked 'phenomenal', which made me feel really hopeful Also note that they did shave the frontal area - My prior hairline was approximately where the grafts are placed currently. They are not not attempting to lower my hairline

I'll ask him tomorrow at the surgery! Thank you everyone!

A few updates: First of all, these are my 17 month follow-up photos from my initial surgery with Dr. Lopresti. The rest of my hair has gotten a lot thicker from the Min/Fin, but my hair transplant obviously didn't give me the greatest results. Taking the advice from this thread, I contacted Dr. Bloxham and have a second surgery scheduled for Monday! I'm nervous to start this whole journey over again, but excited too! Sorry about the weird photos, I'm really not great at this, lol

Thanks for the response! I appreciate your thoughts. I’ve gone ahead and added my original pre-op photos taken at my consult and pre-surgery. My main concern is adding density to the mid frontal region. I’ll post a pic at my next month mark of an up-close wet, slicked back look. I think a lot of my gains have been from the Min/Fin/Stemox

Just another update: It's been 10 months now. Last month I reached out to Dr. Bloxham in NYC and had a virtual consult. I sent him my photos and we discussed his thoughts on my surgery with Dr. Lopresti. He agreed that the density looked inadequate for completely repairing the hairline, and wanted to see me at around the 12-18 month-mark for an in-person evaluation. To quote his email: "It looks like the hairline height, shape, etc, was good, but likely will need a dense pack pass to get the density up to where it needs to be. However, it really does deserve the full maturation before making a final assessment." My wife took a picture of me from a farther away angle to show how the hairline looks in natural lighting. I tend to be overly critical and take photos with harsh lighting, which gets me bummed out. She insists that the hairline looks better from social distance. I'll continue to update periodically here, including after my in-person consult with Dr. Bloxham (who was really responsive, knowledgable, well-spoken and kind FWIW) Happy Summer everyone!

Turns out my wife isn't crazy about the idea of going to Chicago. So I'm looking for someone in NY. I'll try Dr. Bloxham. Thank you all. I think the best part about this thread is confirming it's not "all in my head". Dr. Lopresti and co keep saying to give it more time, my wife says "it looks so much better than before". But I know something's not right. Thank you all for your replies!

Thanks for the encouraging words! I will check out Dr. Konior. I don't mind traveling, I would just rather not travel out of the country.

I've actually gotten the Charlie from Sunny comment a few times before! I guess there are worse people to be compared to, lol. JAC, thanks for the compliment on the beard! I'm still trying to dial in the length that I like best. As far as the transplant: Any ideas on what went wrong? I've been on Min/Fin, Stemoxydine, Ketoconazole shampoo and have recently added in Fluridil to the mix. Personally I feel like most of my gains have been from those adjuncts instead the HT itself. Being a doctor myself that does a lot of grafting (dentist, bone grafting/dental implants) I understand that things happen. But I have to believe something was awry with the insertion of the grafts...I can't say for sure, but that's my theory. I'd love to hear some recommendations for doctors that could fix this and improve my situation. It's very frustrating to have spent every day for the last 8 months following a strict protocol, only to get poor results. Thanks again everyone! Aaron

Just thought I'd share an update and see what everyone thinks. I've just completed month 8 and am 2 weeks into month 9. I've added pictures of harsh and natural lighting for you all to check out. I spoke with Dr. Lopresti at the six month mark, and he didn't seem worried. But I'm still very concerned about the outcome. Starting month 10 I am going to seek out a second opinion and possibly schedule another HT - unless I see some dramatic improvement.

The total cost for my treatment was around $13,000 as well (which included 2 PRP sessions and the capillus cap) Lopresti said I didn’t have a lot of density in my FUT strip, but gave no other details. It’s hard to tell if my hair loss has stabilized. I definitely had a big shed when I started fin/min (started in September). So I haven’t really been on treatment all that long. But for sure not as much hair is falling out now. For now I’m going to wait it out, maybe until the 10 month mark and see how it goes. I’ll continue with my follow-ups with Lopresti until then. If it’s still dicey at the 10 month mark, I’ll seek out the other doc you all recommended. thank you all for the insight! Much appreciated!

I am absolutely willing to pay for a top surgeon and travel. I will look into Konior in Chicago, and if things aren’t on the up-and-up in a few months I will give him a call. I do have a 6 month follow up scheduled with Dr. Lopresti in February (as well as my next PRP appointment). I will pick his brain as well.

That was my thought as well. I don’t mind having another transplant, I just want it done correctly and with a high degree of skill. I also don’t mind traveling or paying for good work. Do you think it’s too early to schedule a consult with another doctor for their opinion? Or should I just wait the 12-18 months for this transplant to fully mature? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Here is a photo from 10 days post op

Thank you both! We are talking about Dr. Lopresti, correct? To be honest, I didn’t get a very “experienced” vibe from him. Although he has always been pleasant and responsive. I would love to hear about some of the experiences you’ve heard about there. No need to be tactful, I appreciate the candor. I wasn’t told how many grafts were placed. Just that they had taken a strip and were using everything they could. I did ask one of the technicians as she was placing the grafts, and she said “about 1200”, but there was never a formal number. They did graft back onto the top of my scalp as well, which is not visible in the photos.

Hello everyone! I’m new to the Network, and hope I’m not creating a faux pas by asking you all to help me assess how things are going. I had my transplant (FUT, Leonard Hair Transplant Associates, Boston US) in August 2021. Since then, I’ve had very little growth; which I understand is to be expected. However, I can’t help but to think something is wrong, especially seeing other transplants. (Hair loss regimen: 1 session PRP every 3 months, LLLT nightly, Finsateride 1mg daily, Ketoconazole 2% 2x/week, Minoxidil 5% nightly, Stemoxydine nightly, microneedling weekly, just started Fluridil daily) This picture is before my hair transplant This picture is the day of my hair transplant This picture was taken on Dec 4th, which would complete month number four following my transplant. I suppose I’m looking for some reassurance from people more experienced than I am. Also, how does the initial transplant look? Any red flags? Thank you all so much!!