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Basically, I'm curious if there is a list in this forum or somewhere else, where you can find how long you have to wait to for a HT with most of the recommended surgeons? I'm from Bulgaria, so for dr. Zarev its: 9-10 months for consultation 1.5 years for a transplant, but I feel like I don't want to wait so much and am considering other options. I was wondering about Bicer, because she is close and also Eugenix, maybe? Are Couto, Pinto, Ferreira also 1-2 years or even more? Thank you.

2-3 days ago I've booked a date for a transplant for 18th of September, 2023, so about year and a half is the waiting period.

I've read a lot about HT's, but I'm not an expert and yesterday I thought about something, so I would like other opinions. Maybe I'm wrong, but from my experience the most difficult parts of the HT are the hairline and crown. And that is also where the best surgeons make a difference. So, is it a good option to go to someone like Couto, Ferreira, Bisanga for those specific parts, who will charge you more, but then go to someone cheaper like Yaman for example (who is also a very good surgeon) for filling the middle of the scalp? Would you consider doing things that way or when you have a surgeon you trust, you will always go to him for the second/third/fourth transplant?

The maximum grafts he can extract is 14,500. He said, that obviously if I come at 50, probably I will have slightly less, but he is taking such things into consideration.

I've had a consultation with dr. Zarev a couple of days ago. I'll share my opinion of him, but have in mind that it was a long consultation (about a hour and a half) and some of the more technical stuff he said to me, I just didn't understand completely due to my lack of knowledge. So, the first thing as I said is that the consultation was long. He really takes time to listen to you and doesn't treat you just as a patient, but as a person. The questions that he first asks are - When did you first notice hair loss? What pattern of hair loss runs through your family? Are you taking something to prevent it (medications). When it comes to medications, he says that the majority of his patients have some sort of side effects from finasteride and was surprised that I didn't have any. He doesn't say that they have severe side effects, but some (brain fog, etc.). Around 15% don't have. He believes that, if he can make a good conservative opinion, meaning - analyzing your donor, your hair loss and making a worse case scenario (what NW you will end) - age is not that important. I was surprised from that as I know that other surgeons are cautious to transplant on young patients. I suggested, if it will be a good option to go FUT first, as I've heard that it can spare your donor hair, but for him FUT is an outdated way of doing the things. It usually ends up with poor growth and the current methods are so advanced, that FUT is not necessary anymore. After all the talking, he takes pictures of you from all angles and then watches you on a micro camera. He showed me pictures of very hard cases. One of them was a NW6 with retrograde alopecia that he managed to repair. I think he said, that he managed to extract more grafts due to the patient wanting to shave their donor completely. (I'm not sure about that information. Perhaps there are some youtube videos of him, as he suggested that he has uploaded some of his patients). My case: He said that besides my receding hairline and family history of hair loss, he could take around 14 500 grafts from my donor currently. Those will be enough even for the worst case scenario (NW6), which he suggested as highly unlikely. From his experience, the best HT results are the ones who grow early (4-5 months) and typically a HT will look better after the first 1-2 years and it will worsen slightly after a few years. Also, he is clear that HT isn't a guarantee, meaning that you can't predict 100% how a human organism will react (especially, if done incorrectly). If you want to contact him, perhaps e-mail is not the best option (he said, he has around 1200). There is a phone number when you type his name, but it probably is easier to get to him, if you are from Bulgaria. The waiting for a consultation is typically around 1 year, but they probably will call you earlier, as their schedule changes. Once you have the consultation, it becomes easier to get to him. You become their patient and he even gave me his phone number, as I have to send him my blood tests. Note: This was a long consultation and the best way to understand his opinions/views is to actually meet him or watch some of his videos. I have tried to remember most of what he said to me, but there is a chance that I have misunderstood him on some topics. Take it with a grain of salt. TLDR: From what I've seen from the opinions about him, he seems like the real deal. He was very friendly and informative about his views and how he does his work. If you have a big budget and are a high NW, perhaps he will be a good option for you.

This is something I've been thinking about recently. I've seen people do an SMP after a hair transplant to make it look more dense. But what about making your thinning hair look more dense in order to buy yourself more time before you do a hair transplant and eventually needing less grafts to achieve a good result? Has someone in here done it this way and is that even an option?

Yeah, I don't have problems with the way my hair looks now. Therefore, I am not considering a hair transplant in the next year. But, I can only guess that my recession won't stop and that I will eventually need one in the next few years. As regarding to the finasteride. I started with 1 mg a day for 7-8 months. It felt as if the medication was working and it stopped my receding for the first 6-7 months, but then it suddenly it stopped working and I've lost a lot in the next 1-2 months. Like, all the hair that it was keeping in the first couple of months was gone. After that, I had to switch to 5mg (breaking it 1.25 mg a day), because they stopped producing 1mg in my country. I can't get dutasteride as we don't have it here either. I will consider microneedling, but I know that this is not a long term solution. As for the crown, when I went to a dermatologist, she said that I don't have loss there, but I'll see what dr. Zarev will say in two months. Its possible that I will start losing ground there too in the future.

Hello. I've been lurking around this forum for the past year and I have to thank the people who are posting as you have saved me from 1-2 wrong choices at least. My hair loss started at around 19. Ever since then my hairline started to recede with slow, but steady pace. I started finasteride around 23 and a half and it helped me for 7-8 months to stop the receding, but then I've had a major loss in about 1-2 months. I can only guess that it was because the medication was generic as we don't have any branded in my country. I am still taking it as it may help with a potential loss in the crown or the middle. The things that worry me are: I'm almost 25 and due to my age I know the risks with an eventual hair transplant below 28-30 My receding doesn't seem to slow down. One of my sides is NW3? and the other is a little bit better. I've also lost a little bit from the base of my hairline. My family has a history of hair loss. My father is doing well - at almost 50 he is barely NW 1.5, but my grandfathers were/are bald (NW 7/ NW 5) Finasteride and Minoxidil so far have little visible effect at least on the hairline. I've managed to book a consultation with Dr. Zarev for the end of March. I want him to evaluate my situation and especially my donor as I have very little knowledge about that. After that I'm considering to book a consultation with Dr. Bicer, as she is close to me and to my knowledge she still does FUT, which I've heard is better for young patients as it spares the donor more. I want to have good hair, but I'm also very conservative and I want to make the best decisions regarding the treatment. That is why I will probably wait at least 2 years before I do anything. Also, I don't have problems to be NW2.5 for the rest of my life, so it's not like I want to get back to my hair when I was 19. Any opinions will be appreciated, thanks.