Hello good people,
my journey started about 2 years ago and I have seen quite a few surgeons and narrowed it down to either Dr. Bisanga or Dr. Mwamba.
My current situation is the following: I am 31 years old, a norwood 4, starting norwood 5. My donor area is very weak with an average of 60 grafts / cm². I am blonde so aparently there is still a little bit of hope because a good result requires less density than for people with darker hair. However, my hairline has to be on the higher end. Also, if the hairloss continues and my scalp goes completely bald I am basically screwed. I started taking medication (oral minox + topcial dutasteride). I have about 4000-4500 grafts available with FUE.
I went and got a personal consultation with Dr. Mwamba and Dr. Bisanga and I would like to share my thoughts and impressions.
Dr. Mwamba:
Staff:
I was there with my girlfriend and the staff was very caring. They took pictures of me in a small room and I almost got a panic attack because I suffer from claustrophobia but they treated me very kindly and I think noone noticed.
Doctor & Consultation:
Then we went to the doctors office and we got to meet Dr. Mwamba. He was just incredible. He took a lot of time and exact measurements of my head. It took him surprisingly long to draw the hairline but I immediately liked his suggestion. After that he procceded and drew the entire recipent area very detailed onto my scalp. He even advised to put a few grafts on the frontal sides for a perfect result and drew that too.
He took the time to explain everything in detail, also regarding medication and how it works. I got a lesson about hairloss and he showed me my dead and weakened hair folicules with the camera.
He ended up suggesting 2 surgeries, the second one ideally a fear years later. Once we have a first result with a nice hairline and we know if the medication is working I could come in whenever I feel like I want a second treatment.
For now he wants to do 2600 grafts which is quite a low amount in my opinion. I immediatly asked for 3000 (that's what other Doctors suggested) and he does not see a reason because of my blonde hair and my weak donor. However, he would improve the number of grafts if needed.
The procedure is split into 3 sessions, each 10-12 hours. That's an awfully long amount of time and I am not sure if I can do it. The main problem for me is having to sit there for DAYS and not being able to move or leave.
Clinic:
I didn't see alot of it but it's not fancy and not as modern as some other places.
Dr. Bisanga:
First of all: I had to wait about 30 minutes because Dr. Bisanga was late. No big deal but it felt like he was in a hurry during the consultation, more down below.
Staff:
We got offered a drink and the staff was very friendly.
Doctor and Consultation:
Dr. Bisanga is a little different than Dr. Mwamba. He didn't have much time and got right to my head. He took measures, cut some hair down so his camera got better pictures, told me that my donor was weak and I would have to pray to not lose any more hair. He could perform a surgery but if the hairloss continued I should just shave it off... LOL.
He took FUT into account and told me that we would have roughly arround 500 to 1000 more grafts if we perform a combination of FUE + FUT. Alternatively I would need two FUE surgeries, the second one about 6 months after the first one (if I want a perfect result).
For FUE only he would start with 3000 grafts in one session.
I asked him for advice regarding the 2 different options and he just said: "It's your head, you decide"... not exactly the answer I was hoping for.
He didn't take much time for the hairline design and basically just drew a line. The hight was similar to Dr. Mwamba, maybe a tiny bit higher.
He then told me to take medication but didn't explain how it worked like Dr. Mwamba did. To be fair, he asked me if I had questions and I said no.
The whole process took about 15 minutes max.
Clinic:
Very well designed, very clean and modern. The tools he used to scan my head were top notch and I have not seen such a high standard in any other clinic. Parking is also very good (just in front of the elevator).
Summary:
The consultation from Dr. Mwamba was leagues above Dr. Bisangas.
However, Dr. Bisanga is an amazing surgeon, the clinic looks more modern and the procedure is done in 1 day. I appreciate people who don't talk too much but I was expecting a little more input or suggestions.
I am wondering if Dr. Mwamba is the better choice for long term treatment, since he seems to care quite a lot about his patients and their wishes. 2600 grafts are just a little low imo, especially after Dr. Bisanga also suggested 3000. I also don't think I can do surgery 3 days in a row.
With Dr. Bisanga I feel more like a customer than a patient. Also, will I have a choice regarding the hairline if I go with Dr. Bisanga?
Are there any people who were in a similar situation and can maybe explain what influenced their decision?
Thank you guys!
