Mike1J

I've done pretty much the same during my first FUE, I gently pulled off pieces of scab without realizing it, thinking I am just itching.
I paniced and worried, but looking back now it was for nothing, it turned out ok

To me based on the photos I'd say you shouldn't worry, and just be careful 

Wow.. quite shocking honestly, with that pretty tough norwood stage you had, that wide area of coverage with RELATIVELY not extremely density and small amount of grafts, you achieved such incredible results. 
Really, wow, enjoy this man, salute

Wow, that's honestly an incredible change in 1-2 months and to me this looks like a great result.
I am so hopeful mine will also turn out better soon

5 minutes ago, WhereIsMyMind said:

I guess im lucky on that department then. But, the days he does this is always the first one where he implants less graft + consultation afaik (correct me if im wrong).

Exactly, it was the previous' patient final hours, and did not consume too long of Mwamba's time, maybe about 4 hours of nett operating time which is when his team prepared stuff and did extractions and implantations. 
So at least that, and not a butcher shop

2 minutes ago, FITA said:

I first read about it on another forum and then Mwamba admitted it himself on @Ajamilo’s thread (screenshot below). It might not be every day, but it’s certainly a regular thing.

I can also attest that there was another patient on the 1st day of my surgery, who shared the facility and Dr. Mwamba while doing mine

Just now, WhereIsMyMind said:

Fwiw I think people confuse a lot "survivality/poor growth" with the doctor directly not implanting enough density to begin with. Those two aspects should be closely tracked for a good assesment

Agreed, it can be the best doctor with the best tools and overall circumstances, but if the grafts are planted with far enough gaps it will eventually result to pluggy looking hair, regardless of how well planned that was. 

Some members here are genuine recent patients of the same Dr., and all seem to have similar concerns, this is why I am closely following this thread

5 minutes ago, HappyMan2021 said:

All this recent talk about Mwamba is making me nervous 😬. I have my own 2nd repair procedure with him in less than 2 weeks!

1st surgery summary:

-Mwamba did remove/re-implant many badly angled grafts, but a fair amount still remain (I primarily chose Mwamba because he said he could do a "one and done" repair surgery for me)

-He lowered my hairline very slightly, am seeing 50% density of what is should be (I am at 6.5 months currently)

-Mwamba did in fact greatly successfully fix my primary pain point, which was an artificially created cowlick in my hairline. It's very easy for me to fixate on the existing problems, and forget about how I had this massive ugly fake cowlick in my right side hairline, which Mwamba 100% repaired.

 

For me specifically, my main issue is bad angles - I think Mwamba is greatly skilled. But the lack of density is concerning. 

I personally still am confident in Mwamba, but realize I need to be very inquisitive and advocate for myself when I am in person at the clinic, and very very very specifically engage with him and understand what he can do. 

It also rubs me that I am paying full price for this 2nd surgery. More than anything I feel Mwamba should fix the lowered hairline density for free. I will bring that up when I am in person in Brussels.

We all seem to share similar concerns, I really hope we all find our most suitable solution guys, I will definitely contact the clinic when I hit 6 month In March

3 minutes ago, Ajamilo said:

He is In a good hands? I have seen 3 real patients cases of people with Afro hair in 2022 that went to mwamba and  that has got little bit growth or nothing at all.  The problem is the propaganda Mustang and some people have done here that has tricked the brothers with Afro hair. So please keep the nonsense to yourself.

How is that nonesense? 
If he is atleast willing to fix his own failed procedure at no cost, that's already better than a "free PRP" after a botch in Turkey and a whipe off.

It is unfortunate if others have got terrible results, I am a patient myself and also am very concerned. 

24 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

I can see it doesn’t look that good, this is unfortunately the nature of repairs. It can be a multi-step process. The good news is the side profiles and donor look much better. 

One bad surgery can lead to multiple repairs. Dr. Mwamba is one of the most ethical surgeons, I’m sure he’ll suggest a further surgery at no cost. He may have been conservative removing too many pluggy grafts. But it definitely looks like more need to be removed, I’m sure that’s what he’ll propose.

If that's true and as a failed patient you have the option to go through a second procedure, that would indeed be a great resolution and comfort knowing that you are in good hands and money well spent. 

I really hope that's the reality

48 minutes ago, asterix0 said:

At least, if you comb the hair forward instead of up at the hairline, you can look like you have a full head of hair.

Not an ideal styling choice but at least something to make the best of the situation. 

As much as I agree with you, for the price we paid we cannot settle for such result, if it were a 3,000 Euro FUE in Turkey I'd say yeah better than being butchered, but for 3-4 time the price I honestly expect something above "ok" 😕

Wow, @RTCI can totally understand you, and I can imagine that looking closer (as shown in 1 of the images) makes it really noticeable.
Yes you still have more time to go and if the "in between" grafts which are singles and softer take longer to grow and eventually it will all mix up together and give you a natural appearance will work - that does sound logical to me though 

My concern is the gaps patterns of Mwamba's work, which I did find to be repeating in recent works, including mine
I am very hopeful that this is not the cause of the pluggy appearance 

Hang in there man, hopefully you will find a good resolution one way or another

19 hours ago, HappyMan2021 said:

Well I am a repair patient. I had my 1st repair with Mwamba and I was really really REALLY hoping it could have been a one-and-done repair. It is unfortunate it was not, but I realize the reality of repairs is the majority of people need 2 procedures. 

The 1st surgery was a very big improvement, so I feel like I got a fair shake and I'm not really owed a free touch up or discount. The thought has absolutely crossed my mind, as Id prefer to not pay through the nose for this 2nd surgery, but the massive amount of stress involved in getting tangled up in a dispute just isnt worth it, and I think it would ultimately be pointless too. 

On HRN and elsewhere, I have really only seen people get discounts or free touch ups if they were botched or otherwise really badly affected in a way that is clearly the result of the clinic. 

But in those cases, it then begs the question why would you go back to the clinic that botched you in the 1st place?

That being said, if the only way you would ever see Mwamba again is for a free or discounted price, then I say shoot your shot and ask. You have nothing to lose I suppose. Keep me updated 👍

Thanks alot for sharing your input on this matter.

I am refraining from making a post and including images until I am certain 100% that something isn't right, which right now is still not validated since it's still early.
However, yes, I will contact the clinic later down the road and see how I proceed from there. Thanks again and good luck to you as well. 

@HappyMan2021 or anyone, 
did Dr Mwamba offer you a free touch up as a resolution to the outcome? or you are returning back on your own initiative and paying full price to fill the empty areas? 

I am now month 4 post-op after a 2000 graft FUE fix with Dr. Mwamba, I am a slow grower as this is my 2nd FUE, but honestly I am starting to be abit concerned as I am spotting multiple empty areas across the recipient. Will have to wait for 6 months to reach out for a review and check-up, as suggested by his team.

Wow! big difference from month 2-3 to 5
I am now month 3 post-op after an FUE fix with Mwamba, and I still see little to no signs of growth, unfortunately. 

Good luck to you! and this looks like it's going to be a success for you

Well mostly the difference was the native hairs in those areas which after 2-3 years post-op, became bald as opposed to thin (where no transplanted hairs were planted)
Coming into the 5th year post-op, in my 2nd FUE just 2 months ago, I had about 1000 grafts added to the previously transplanted areas (Dr Mwamba's clinic, who viewed my hairline carefully and it was evident that it needs a fix)

I would say I lost just a little bit of the area where the transplanted hairline was made in the first FUE, which originally had no native hair in them, meaning the transplanted hairs were those that thinned out
Again, not by much, but it wasn't the same as first year post-op.

To avoid or minimize the risk of sides, and test myself if I am prone to side effects, to be able to stop with minimal effect, I started taking 0.5MG Fin every other day, and slowly increase over time so long I felt good
Right now taking 0,5MG daily, literally 0 sides effects

Hi @Canyon62
Firstly good job on trying to manage your hairloss, thats already a step in the right direction

Based on my own experience, and research I've done, I wouldn't rely on Fin to "solve" your hairloss regardless of how severe it is right now
Yes it's a good decision to slow it down using meds, but after 2 years on it, with no sides (thankfully) it is far from solving me for having to improve my hairline with a hair transplant.

If I were you I'd already plan a procedure which on it's on would take time, probably months, before you will choose the right clinic and get it done.
Finasteride should be administered parallel to that, and the sooner you do that before getting a transplant, the better, as it would thicken your grafts, yield more volume int he donor to be used to transplant, and slow down your balding areas from expanding.

After  2 FUE's I can attest that long-term yes, the native hair in the recipient area will keep falling, and the transplanted hairs weaken over time, although much longer than your native hair, but still. 

The sooner the better, to both, is my honest opinion and advice 

Nice density! wow 
And no swelling either, looking good!!

Hey @conquer1991
Firstly, I hope that you don't take this situation too harsh on yourself, alot of members on this forum have been in similar position during their HT journey, it is a long and stressful journey that spans over years.

Pre\post pics would be very helpful to tell how damaged is the result, I wouldn't say wait longer since at month 8 you should be seeing atleast some of the results you can expect by month 12+, however, in this case, something seems wrong to me

Nice clean looking work, and density looking like it's going to boom 

Damnnn man that's some sick looking post-op pics, I like the hairline and symmetry, looking good!
Donor looking nice as well, healthy looking

3 hours ago, NARMAK said:

Personally i don't think there's enough science to back it up that PRP alone does anything effective by itself for hair loss and for the cost, it's basically modern day snake oil. 

That said, i did get it with my HT and there is evidence to suggest some benefits in particular situations but paying through the nose isn't a good idea. 

You are better off with Finasteride, Minoxidil and Microneedling as your core protocols and using Nizoral with 2% ketoconazole and making sure your vitamin levels and scalp health is maintained at an optimum. That's the real "fertiliser" if you ask me. Making sure your scalp health is good. 

Definitely agreed, all other alternatives may unfortunately just be marketing gimmicks 
Unless ofcourse circumstances force you not to use any of these products\ingredients 

I wouldn't volunteer this info when talking to someone like hey nice to meet you, my hair's transplanted BTW lol
Unless it's not someone who has known you before your operation and see you one day with some new hairline, I wouldn't bother mentioning.
Also put your results to the test, if nobody notices - means you had a good job done!

6 hours ago, Capnmod said:

Anyone got ideas on hairstyles in between ? Thinking of zeroing the sides up until it gets even again and leaving the top basically 

I agree that this would be the best styling to mask this situation
I'd not use topical minoxidil, I know it's a pretty useful treatment but keep in mind that when applying this first month or two, you'll experience further shedding, and if you don't apply it VERY carefully, the shedding is going to spread a little further around the area you apply it to, and eventually you'll be applying Minox all over your head and keep seeing balding areas 
Just my own opinion, based on experience! I think Finasteride would be better and nothing topical. 
And would definitely document the journey here and when the time comes, confront the clinic well prepared. 

10 hours ago, JP28 said:

How come there is so much space in between the grafts? Is it a budget reason? 

I am also concerned with this, I have the exact same spacing ratio and I did 2000 grafts. Too early to judge though, I can't say I am confident in the results but as this is an FUE repair, and not on virgin hair, the goal is to achieve coverage with the double and triple grafts once hair has grown out.

I was unhappy with the first 2 weeks where the grafts are kind of "showing" what the density is going to look like, and when addressed this to Dr. Mwamaba he wrote that it's way too early to tell, and often misleading.

So, I'm optimistic, and so should @Dillpickle123be
BTW no I haven't posted my pics or anything yet, I'm waiting to see what kind of post will it be based on the results. 
Still, will say this again, have to bow down to Mwamba and his team for the entire process, they do pay full attention when extracting, grafting, etc.