phil mascallpen

Azazelgs you need to realize that just because it might look like you have a pattern of loss your hair could stay the same for the next 10 years or more. Since you are on propecia you have an even better chance of maintaining what you have. My advice would be to hold off on this for several years as like mattj said as you get older a slightly higher hairline actually becomes more desirable. Be content for now knowing that H&W can give you a meg session down the road IF you end up needing it.

Not looking bad should not be your goal for an HT. But like the other guys have said the main reason is that you have no idea how you're hair loss will progress. Another factor is that in your early 20s hair loss first manifests itself, usually, in temporal recession. This results in the appearance of a mature hairline. A mature hairline is what most good HT doctors will try to establish for a patient. So initially you recognize your hair loss in the temporal region but a responsible HT can not address that area. This is where the waiting comes in to see what would be a placement for a hairline that leaves you enough donor to use for loss behind that point. If, at a young age, you are seeing more than temporal recession, like diffuse thinning or crown loss, this would suggest aggressive MPB and you are probably not a good candidate for HT.

ES I believe I had the biggest gains between months 6-10. Thanks Joe. And Hal you are thinking of a different patient.

Hey Aaron, Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, proscar is key, I take 1.25mg MWF and sometimes Sat. No plans to stop As for another round I have no plans right now but maybe at some point down the road.

Hey ES, Those injections were only to a section of the donor that was in a lot of pain. The recipient area felt fine post-op and received no further injections so I don't think it could have been a factor. Also Dr. Hasson told me both pre and post-op that he expected full growth and there was no reason to expect anything less. More importantly I realize that not everybody bats 100%. I still believe Dr. Hasson is one of the best if not the best HT surgeons in the world. Even with the stated drawbacks I'm still glad I did it and would not undo it even if I could. It's not a perfect world so even though it didn't turn out exactly the way I envisioned I still feel better off. On a side note I'm glad that you are very happy with your results so far and I wish you continued good growth!

Am I a satisfied customer and how is the scar? Those are complicated questions. So I'll try to break it down into several points. 1. Do I have the density I thought I would have? No. I wish it was thicker but it's also not so thin as to bother me too much. I think you can see from some of the photos, particularly the front bed-head shot that if I had that density over my entire head it would not look good. Luckily I have sufficient hair behind that front 1/2 inch to make it look much better but in general, yes, I would have expected more. 2. Does it look natural? I believe it looks natural and I'm very satisfied with that aspect. There is a slight directional difference from native hair to HT hair but it's a tough job and I understand that it's not going to be completely perfect. 3. If I did not have the hair I started with and gained with proscar behind and mixed with the HT I do believe the naturalness and lack of density would not meet my standard of acceptability. That is to say that I can understand how many patients who start from a worse off point are disappointed because you just can't put HT hair alone over a great area and expect it to look dense enough IMHO. But I do have that advantage and I think that makes a huge difference. Bottom line: if you want an HT the reality is you'll probably have to be on proscar. 4. The scar looks pretty good from what I can see. There is about a 2 inch section that stretched to perhaps 3 mm but the rest appears to be no more than 2. In all honesty I'm one of those patients that does not care much about the scar. The main reason is that I am a repair patient with open donor scarring and could never go below a 4 guard anyway and even that would be pushing it. 5. The most important question, I suppose, is am I glad that I did it? Unequivocally the answer is yes. It's funny how many times I've read this from other patients but I truly wish I had done it sooner. As a repair patient the difference in constantly wondering if your hairline is showing and if someone has noticed your HT to now not really worrying about it is a huge weight off my shoulders. For me it has been worth every single penny. But it's important to realize that as a repair patient I felt like I had to do this. 6. Is there anything that worries me? If the proscar loses its efficacy the thought of going through this again does not thrill me. As glad as I am that I did it, it is a very long first 6 months. 7. Would I recommend HT? Tough call and that I would leave up to each individual to decide because the factors that make someone a good candidate vary greatly from person to person. 8. Would I recommend Dr. Hasson to someone who has ALREADY decided to get an HT? Yes.

Hey Everyone, I just updated my blog with 13 month photos. There are 3 separate entries for crown, front and side shots. Take a look and if you have any questions please feel free to ask. Phil Mascallpen Flogs Al O'pecia Bill, would you please update the title of this thread to "UPDATED: Phil Mascallpen, 13 Months, ~4700 Grafts, Dr. Hasson"

This is one of those results you have to look at a couple of times to realize just how good it is. He looks a good 10 years younger.

Let me play the devil's (or in this case, the patient's) advocate I could easily ask the reverse. How do you know this result is mainly from the 4200 grafts? I can look at his overall hair thickness (sides, front third and crown) now compared to how thin he was overall before. It is consistently fuller and thicker in almost his entire scalp. Of course it would help a lot to see a post op photo to see where the 4200 grafts were placed. 4200 over a large area would not do this much. 4200 over a small area might look great but that would leave the rest of the growth in other areas to the proscar. As a patient that feels H&W are one of the best in the world and might have a 2nd surgery with Dr. Hasson I'm just trying to keep it real Joe. Proscar effect and immediate post op photos go a long way toward helping prospective patients make an educated decision. In this case we have a patient that has had a hugely successful transformation and is rightfully very happy. My opinion is that the complete facts of the transformation should be made as transparent as possible. That's all.

I think he has had amazing growth from the proscar. His hair looks much thicker all over.

You would be making a huge mistake to get an HT. At 25 you have very aggressive MPB and a HT is just going to look like you're still balding but only very slightly less. Bu then you will have lost thousands of dollars and the chance to just have a normal looking head. Thin hair transplants don't look good, period. Listen to H&W.

I agree with ES. If you get an HT without finding out if meds work for you first you are setting yourself up for disaster. The amount of stand alone/no meds high quality HTs that have lasted the test of time are few and far between.

I think you should stop taking it. At age 20 it's completely normal to get a little recession but you don't even seem to have that beyond losing your adolescent hairline from age 10. I would stop and if you start to see any further progression beyond that then start taking it again.

It's kind of hard to tell much from these tiny photos.

I like this result although the comb over effect is a little strong.

Bauman is a horrible HT surgeon and an unscrupulous man.

For me it's the simple fact that I've discovered keeping your private life private is better than sharing everything with everybody. As slaps stated you might think someone is a friend and be completely wrong. I've only shared it with people I completely trust and see zero benefit to share it with others unless it's to help another patient. Of course for the guys like Bill and Joe this is their job so it makes perfect sense there.

Thanks for the clarification Dr. Lindsey. My only concern was that the OP, who seems to be struggling financially, might take that suggestion only at face value and find himself behind the eight ball after a small surgery. Sparky I agree that some HT clinics take advantage of the desperation of some patients (particularly younger patients where the initial stress of hairloss is great). But the ethical clinics, who sadly are in the minority, do not and in that situation the patient does have to realize that elective cosmetic surgery is, as Dr. Lindsey pointed out, a luxury.

It depends on your situation. I think keeping as much hair as possible is better and wearing a hat until you can cut/style it to hide the HT until it grows in.

I strongly disagree with this suggestion. One never knows if/when hair-loss will accelerate. Doing a small session (because of economics) will give minimal real change and will only put one at the risk of not having the means to continue if the hair behind the HT recedes. As for the reference that HT is a luxury and not a staple that is one of the best comments on this subject so far Dr. Lindsey.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record...I would bet dollars to donuts that this patient is on proscar. The overall thickness of his hair strongly suggests a great response to drug treatment in addition to a fine HT.

I feel for you thunderball so I'll give you a serious answer. Coming up with 20 grand hardly means you are the nouveau rich. Yes, it's a lot of money. But $10 an hour puts you squarely in the lower income bracket. It's not like you're knocking on the middle class door and this is still out of reach. At $10 an hour after taxes you're not even bringing home 20 grand a year. Find a better job, go back to school, do whatever it takes to improve your economic situation and then, maybe, think about getting an HT. An HT can be a good thing but it can also be a disaster. If you're not financially prepared for more surgery and a lifelong proscar prescription you shouldn't even be considering it.

This is his second surgery I believe. I seriously doubt most doctors tell patients who are getting a second surgery that a 1/2 inch stretched scar in 1/3 of the scar length is "quite common." Yes they have them sign the consent forms but they certainly don't spend much time on them and they certainly don't have the "quite common" part written into them. If that is written in yours Dr. Feller and then weeks before you did point it out to him then you are in a small minority and I applaud you. As for his photos being unflattering, well, he took them outside in what would seem a normal life situation. That's what patients want to see, not photos perfectly styled in controlled lighting. And in real life people look at your hair from all angles, not just the most complementary ones. So I'm not sure about the validity of this complaint. And please forgive me Dr. Feller, because I do think you are one of the good guys in this field, but I do find it slightly amusing to hear a clinic complain about the "realness" of photos. Bottom line for me: John's recipient looks better, the scar unfortunately does not. I think Dr. Feller has been trying his best to make John happy.

EV your results look very good at this point. I had twice the grafts as you in the same amount of area, my surgery was 9 days before yours and I don't have that kind of growth yet. I also like how your hairline has the slight undulations in it, making it slightly nonlinear. You should be very pleased.