VladRojas

Yes @SXP92 @CharlesBarkley @Etownone i will share my experience here. Ill try to post pictures of the before and after the repair procedures. I think im in good hands with Dr.Mwamba.

Hi @A_4_Archan Yes, i mean i think ill go with what he suggested of 1k grafts to fix my donor from beard and chest. Also 500 grafts from donor to improve the hairline. Hopefully, if things go well. If i want to improve the looks on my donor i might do SMP.

Obviously I decided to do the repair procedure with Dr.Mwamba bc of his great reputation. Nevertheless, if I ask questions here is bc I already made a bad decision on my previous FUE by not doing enough research or not asking people for suggestions. @gillenator @Etownone thank you very much for your feedback. Yes, I can see the difference of your hairline under different Lightning. Do you have pics of your donor before and after the repair ?

Hi @gillenator @mustang @Etownone May i ask your feedback on this post? About my future repair with Dr.Mwamba? Also the fact that he suggested to fix my hairline w/ 500 grafts, but I’m afraid to run out of grafts for the future.

@Gatsby @Mr Sinister Thank you for your response. I agree with both of you. What's my priority right? I think that id like to improve the right side of my donor and if possible the density of the hairline. Actually, Dr. Mwamba mentioned that the position and design of the hairline is not bad, but he recommended extracting the multiple grafts with bad angles and repositioning them. I wonder if using a smaller quantity of grafts, such as 300, would improve the appearance of the hairline.

@mustangi see that you replied, but I couldn’t see your answer for some reason 🤷‍♂️it said something like doing only my right side so I can sleep on my left? If you could please respond again

Hello, I ended up seeing Dr. Mwamba this past February. After a two-hour examination, he told me that my donor area, mainly the right side, was over-harvested. He also mentioned that the see-through of my new hairline could be fixed with 500 grafts, as he noticed bad angled and multiple grafts. His approach to repair the donor area is a combo of donor restocking + BHT Beard and chest. He said that we would need about 1200 grafts to homogenize to give it a better look to my donor. On the bright side, he noticed that the scarring on my skin was good and didn't look as white, likely because of my skin color. Dr. Mwamba and I agreed to repair my donor area next month, by then it will be a bit more than 7 months from my original FUE, but after sharing my recent pictures with Dr.Mwamba we are considering repairing the hairline at the same time with my donor repair. If this is the case. How am I supposed to sleep after the procedure? In the long term, i would like to have grafts in the bank for future procedures because i know my baldness will keep progressing. After his examination this is my total graft available: Scalp: 1k ; Beard:1.5k; Chest/belly: 1k-2k He will extract 500 grafts from the scalp to repair the hairline and 1.2k grafts from the beard and chest. He will remove those 500 grafts from the scalp, mainly from areas with major contrast with overharvested patches. What do you guys think of the approach mentioned above, where the hairline and donor area are repaired during the same procedure? Additionally, if the donor repair is successful and the area looks more homogeneous, does it increase the likelihood to extract more grafts from the donor area in a more planned pattern way for future procedures? im also @gillenator @Etownone @mustang @Gatsby @Melvin- Moderator @Mr Sinister I attached the latest pictures so you can take a look, By the way, i asked my barber to do a fade haircut from the bottom to top, trying to minimize the visual effect of my overharvested area. So far your feedback has been very helpful. I really appreciate it.

@Melvin- Moderatorwould Dr. Mwamba be able to repair this? Or you would say for this type of repair Dr.Cooley is better.

@mustang Thank you for the information. I'll see Dr. Mwamba in Atlanta this Saturday. To clarify, you suggested patch testing for growth. Can the low-density pass work as a patch test, or do they have to be separate procedures? Based on this, which option would you recommend? Option A: Patch test first, then low-density pass for vessel creation, followed by the second pass at higher density. OR Option B: Low-density pass first for vessel creation and growth assessment, then decide on the second pass at a higher density after six months. In your experience, are there any other measures I can take to increase the survival rate of the first pass or patch test? you mentioned using PRP during the slit creation, but what about using PRP weeks before and/or between procedures or taking finasteride? I'm asking because I want to do what I can to improve the success of the graft survival.

Hi @Gatsbyand @Mr Sinister , I really appreciate both of your responses. Yes, I agree with both of you that I should wait until the 12-month mark before doing anything. This will allow enough time for me to heal and get used to my new look. Although I am happy with how my recipient area is progressing, it still feels a bit strange to see hair where it was once bald. I was disappointed that Dr. Bisanga rejected me as a patient without even seeing me in person, but it's okay. Mr. Sinister's point makes sense that Dr. Bisanga may prefer regular FUE/FUT procedures over repair procedures. While I was initially against SMP, I like the approach of doing some donor farming, beard, and SMP. I started using topical finasteride and minoxidil right after the procedure. I had used finasteride many years ago but stopped due to side effects. Instead, I used a laser hat for years, which I think helped. However, I am now considering going back to oral finasteride. My only concern with the repair procedure is related to Dr. Bisanga's assistant's comment in an email and what I've read about it. He said, "When grafts are taken from one focused area, overharvesting suggests that also blood vessels have been disrupted, and scarring will have occurred in the skin tissue, even if not visible, meaning the scalp's response will be unique, and there is no guarantee of growth." This worries me because if we put beard grafts or scalp hair in these scarred areas, the chances of growth are not high, and I might lose those grafts in trying to repair those areas. When these grafts could have been used for a future hair transplant in the top area. What are your thoughts or knowledge on this? Mr. Sinister, i thought your repair was done by Dr.Mwamba. Also, You did it on the right side, right? Gatsby, who did your repair procedure? Thank you again for your responses.

Hi @Ricardo Pizzolatto & @Mr Sinister These posts helped me a lot. Would you mind checking my post? id really appreciate it. I was overharvested almost 5 months ago. I am considering getting Beard to scalp transplant with Dr.Mwamba. Ill wait until 7 months, is that a fair amount of time? What do you guys think of my donor? thank you

Hi @gillenatorand @mustang thank you both for your answers. @gillenator May I ask for the name of the Doctor you mentioned who is an expert in repair procedures (DRT) based in Georgia? Yes, I also read that the yield of beard hair is great, especially for the donor area where we want to achieve density. I have had consultations with Dr. Umar and Dr. Mwamba. They both suggested that I would need around 1500 to 1750 grafts to make it look decent in my donor area. They suggested extracting hair from virgin areas on the scalp (Nape and Temples) and also from the beard, stating that this repair procedure would help a lot to make it less obvious that my donor was overharvested. They both said that SMP would give the final touch to make it look great. However, I am not a big fan of SMP because I do not want ink in my body. Therefore, I am trying to seek other resources before resorting to SMP. Dr. Bisanga said that he would not perform any procedure and that only SMP would help. I felt a bit annoyed by his response, given that I saw he has helped worse cases than mine. What do you think of this? It makes me wonder if Dr. Mwamba and Dr. Umar are not truly honest. However, it makes no sense because they are top surgeons. My realistic expectation for the repair procedure is to minimize the evidence that I had a procedure done on my donor area. As long as it looks better than it does right now, I would be happy. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. @Archan @Melvin- Moderator @Tiger2050 Thank you

@mustang I saw your whole process on getting repaired your donor area. Incredible! What is your experience in terms of success from beard to donor area? Can you take a look at my pictures and give me your opinion?

@ArchanNo he did not, but im on finasteride and minoxidil. So ill continue with that. Dr. Lorenzo's office said to me that they dont repair donor areas from work of other clinics. They specialized on the recipient area. I read here that Dr.Lorenzo could be like that. I was reading more about restocking procedures to fix a botched donor area. I didnt know that the response to restocking hair is uncertain and there is no guarantee of growth, given the scar tissue. Which makes me wonder how worthy it is to go through that procedure. Because i wouldn't like to waste more hair on a donor area that is going to reject the transplant. Dr.Mwamba suggested mixing the extraction from the nape & temporal zones with beard hair. So we preserve some scalp hairs. for future procedures. @Tiger2050 @Melvin- Moderator @RTC @Britalian @Gatsby @gillenator Thoughts?

I agree with everyone, I am planning to wait 12 months before I do another HT. I had a consultation with Dr. Bisanga, he said that there is a chance of improvement, but it’s obvios that my donor was over harvested. He told me that managing expectation will be key, since I don’t have a virgin scalp anymore. The response to restocking hair is unique and there is no guarantee of growth. Especially because when the grafts were removed, the blood vessels were disrupted so it changes the whole skin condition. After that explanation, it makes sense why many people who went under a donor area repair was not successful . Obviously I’m a bit frustrated with regrets of choosing the previous surgeon. Which is why I’ll try to go with the best possible surgeon to repair my donor. What do you guys think of what Dr.Bisanga said? Bc in that case I’d be afraid to waste more hair that once implanted might not grow. If anybody here had a repair donor procedure, I’d appreciate if I can hear about his/her experience. Also, between Dr.Mwamba and Dr.Bisanga.which one do you guys think is better? My impression with Dr.Bisanga is that he is more cautious and he requires in person conslultation to make a good assessments. Dr.Mwamba didn’t explain all the risks of no growth and didn’t require an in person visit. This makes me wonder how good Dr.Mwamba is thoughts ?