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Hey guys, I had my second hair transplant with Dr. Bruno Ferreira 5 months ago and I want to share my results so far with you. I feel it's only fair considering I've been using this forum to research and make decisions, and I want to give back by providing my review and experience. I'm turning 26 soon, and I've experienced hair loss since I was around 19 in 2018. My hair is thin, so the loss was visible quite soon. The loss started slowly at the crown, and I did caught it early, but was foolish to jump only on Minoxidil, and not Finasteride, after reading too much stuff online about it. Still the only regret in my life so far. Fast forward to 2021, I've finally mustered the courage to jump on Finasteride, but the damage was already done, as I was already a Norwood 5, with a bald spot and a thinned out front... In 2022, after giving Finasteride almost a full year, I've noticed stabilization in my hair loss, which was a win, but there was too much loss to ignore. So I've decided to look into hair transplants. This forum was and still is a one-stop shop for anything hair related, so I've found a bunch of reviews for a bunch of surgeons. I was 24 at the time, so naturally some surgeons rejected me because of my age. There were a few top surgeons who did think I was a candidate, one of them was Dr. Bruno Ferreira. I've seen some results of his on this forum, but not too many. But he did have some knock outs with thin hair, one of them Mr. Rolandas of course. And I also found that his plan matched my vision of restoring the whole head, front and crown. Other surgeons were hesitant on touching my front. So after a bit of back and forth with him via e-mails, I've decided to bite the bullet and book the first surgery for November 2023. Luckily, I didn't have to wait that long, as there was a cancellation for January 2023, which I jumped on. On the surgery day, I met the team and Dr. Bruno Ferreira. They were all super professional and friendly. Also extremely caring, making sure that I'm comfortable. Ferreira categorized me as a Norwood 5V. We did some measurements, I've had: Around 10000 grafts available for extraction. Quite a bit. ~48-49 micron hair. Fine hair. The plan was: 1st surgery. ~3200 grafts to the crown. I was much more consious about my crown. 2nd surgery. ~3000 grafts to the front, do not lower the hairline. ~800 more grafts to the crown, if needed. 3rd surgery, if needed. A touchup to the front of ~500 grafts. The plan stayed roughly the same as we decided via e-mail. It was go time. I was shaved and my blood pressure was taken. It was quite high because of nerves, so they gave me some valium. Which relaxed me. It was smooth sailing from there. The initial injections were a bit painful, but a dentist appointment is usually much worse lol. Ferreira did the injections, extractions and implantations. The surgery was over 2 days. The lunches tasted awesome and were filling. The team was extremely caring. The most professional and friendly medical personnel I've ever met. After the surgery I went to my hotel to relax. It was done. Then it was the waiting game. The donor healed quickly. The crown was looking good at 5 months already. I'll let the pictures do the talking. Then in December 2023 it was round 2. From the initial plan of 800 grafts to the crown on the 2nd go, we lowered it to 200, to preserve grafts, as it was looking pretty good. I think that's the rationale for being more conservative and doing touch-ups - we save grafts that way. We also did around 3300 grafts to the front. It's looking good at 5 months I think! So that's how it went. I'm very happy with my choice of going with Dr. Bruno Ferreira. I think he did a fantastic job. The personnel was also super accommodating, professional, friendly and helpful. The results I think are looking very good, and I feel much more confident, everyone around me also says that the results are looking awesome. Pictures (if you need more at different angles/conditions, feel free to ask):

Meds can potentially do wonders for you

@Jig123 What does your clinic say? My clinic told me, if the scabs aren't coming off, to let water run over your recipient area for 10 minutes, that should soften the scabs and they should be easier to remove.

Only 1 regret with it. Not starting sooner. No side effects. Completely halted the progression, for the time being.

Hey, I'm currently day 7 post FUE. The past 24 hours I've developed a mild dry cough and a sore throat. Can this affect the results of hair transplant? Obviously I've asked this question to my surgeon, and waiting for a response, but curious what others think.

Mr Rolandas is inactive these days. From the video I think he went to: Laboratório Moderno de Análises Clínicas de Espinho

Ask Dr Pinto if they have a local clinic doing it there the day before. Like Mr Rolandas, who had his surgery in Porto too: https://youtu.be/4l-0juJ_vDQ?si=A02CDEB2EPieWMZ5&t=19

My case is extremely similar to yours. Bald crown, severely thinned midscalp and front. First, get on meds, finasteride especially, to save the midscalp and front and prevent progression to NW6-7. I've had ~3200 grafts just for the crown this year, and it filled really nicely. And will be doing another for the midscalp and front in a couple of weeks. Around 3000 grafts. This should give me a pretty nice illusion of density. I suspect a similar graft requirement for you too.

Looks right on track, the fun part should start soon.

Any updates?

What is this fearmongering? Cyprus is a neutral country and far enough geographically. Moreover, Cyprus is part of EU, which has a defense clause. Why would anyone mess with them? Might as well live in a bunker...

Dr. Munib Ahmad is an incredible doctor. Also, he probably has the highest quality pictures showing off his work in all conditions, which just shows how how honest and confident he is in his work.

I would play it safe and just eat at maintenance calories for the first couple of weeks at least to get your nutrients. Eating at a deficit while NOT working out could lead to muscle loss. You probably can return to deficit after 2 weeks, when you start hitting the weights again. Also, ask what your surgeon thinks.

Hi. The area of loss is not Norwood 3 or 4, it's a diffused Norwood 5. Quite likely heading towards Norwood 6. No ethical doctor would operate on you right now without you taking any medications, as you're only 21, and a lot of hair loss is still left. Rushing to a hair transplant right now would be a bad idea. The best course of action would be to get on a DHT blocker (finasteride, dutasteride) and minoxidil. Give it at least 1 year, you might make a decent recovery. The meds also might only stabilize your loss, which is a win also. It's the best course of action right now. Can't really comment on the topical mix of finasteride/minoxidil, as I use oral finasteride and topical minoxidil separately. Don't delay the meds, get on them ASAP. Good luck

Could it be synced shedding?

I see thinning all over the top. First course of action would be to get on a DHT blocker (finasteride, dutasteride) to stop further progression. You can also try minoxidil to thicken up your existing hair. Give the meds at least 1 year, you might make a good recovery. Rushing for a hair transplant right now would be a bad idea. The clinics that have no waiting list are like that for a good reason, you probably understand why. Give the meds 1 year and then reassess. Also, spend quite a bit of time researching this whole industry while you wait for the meds to work. This forum is a good source of information. Good luck.

What does your clinic say? In my instructions it said that if your scabs are not coming off and they are pretty hard, you should let low pressure water run over your recipient area for +-10 minutes for the scabs to soften. That helped me and then the scabs started flying.

Hey, any tips on getting my hands on oral minoxidil in Europe? Dermatologists are pretty hesitant on prescribing it where I live.

Nice write-up. Work looks really good. I've also had surgery with Dr. Bruno Ferreira just days before yours.

Also, I have some thin spots above ears. Is that DUPA? Is it concerning in my case?

Hey, I'm 24, male. Hair loss started around age 19~, started thinning in the crown. Over the years the crown bald spot grew, front started thinning as well. On minoxidil for ~4 years, started finasteride 10 months ago. Big mistake not going on fin from the get go, probably would have avoided this situation 😔. Finasteride thickened my existing hair, but no major change in the crown. Also started dermarolling. Not really interested in hair pieces or Toppik. Started looking into a hair transplant. Crown is where I would personally like a transplant for decent density. I think front is risky at this stage, because of shock loss, and it doesn't look bad at this stage. Would stay on fin. My donor seems ok I think? What do you think?