hairthere

orion, thanks for coming back to update. hair looks great!

there's another clinic (HDC I believe) in Cypress that has been showing some pretty great results over on HLH.

My first "doc" Joseph Karamikian is doing mini and micros on a daily basis right off of madison avenue in new york and getting away with it. he's also charging by the area so you might think you're getting a megasession when in fact you're getting a "mini" session. I paid $7k for roughly 600-700 grafts.

john, i'm still not sure why, especially knowing you're at only 40%, you sound so doubtful that you will experience more growth. looking at your growth it is identical to what i experienced my first ht. it actually wasn't until the 8-9 month mark that i started to see a more significant cosmetic change. PATIENCE!!!!

jd, you can sell a car...an ht is on your head for life...

i was swayed by cost and it ended up costing me twice as much because i had to get a 2nd procedure that would have been totally uneeded had i done it right the first time. choose wisely...

jd, have you decided on a doc?

How many months along are you?

In addition to sounding like an ad, these posts without pics are basically useless.

Post some pics. You will get better/more accurate responses...

My short list of docs was: Feller, Alexander, Rahal, H&W, Shapiro. Look into Alexander's work. He does some of the most natural looking hairlines around, imo...

JD,

Rahal and H&W are experts. They do tons of online consults and I bet they come pretty darn close with their estimates. Now everyone in this thread, aside from Bill, has guestimated 2-3000 grafts. And then two of the TOP docs told you 3500. And yet you're still thinking you're gonna be satisfied with 1500 grafts?

All I'm saying is you're gambling a bit (although any cosmetic surgery is a risk). Take your time, see Dr.S's patients in person. Alright that's all from me folks....

Bill,

The doc already told him he might need a 2nd procedure for density. Not a good sign in my opinion. I'd shoot for a higher number of grafts. Also, another 500-1000 grafts shouldn't kill his donor supply for future HTs but it might make the density acceptable so he doesn't need that 2nd pass....

JD, I understand how anxious you are to get this done. I was the same exact way, and as a result made a rash decision. Now, you are lucky: you have the advice of the vets on this forum. I did not.

I have two opinions which would make me continue to consult with other docs. One, I do not believe in the 2 HTs for density approach. It makes no sense to me to have a surgery like this twice when you could accomplish the desired density in a single pass. Trust me, an HT is no walk in the park. The surgery itself is not terrible, but the waiting game afterwards is tough. There are still very few docs who can do megasessions succesfully.

That brings me to opinion number two: while I think the majority of the forum-recommended docs do modern, ultra-refined work, there are only a handful I would say meet TOP doc status. And when you are reconstructing a hairline you especially want a TOP doc. IMO, top docs are the ones regularly doing megasessions (read Feller's web site section on the importance of megasessions), dense packing, and very natural designs.

It seems you are considering your surgeon choices for all the wrong reasons: proximity and cost.

Again if I were you I'd save up, travel to see a top doctor, and do a one-pass surgery. With your hairline requirments and NW pattern it's totally possible.

The only docs I would consider are: Feller, Alexander, Rahal, Shapiro, H&W. Are there other docs out there that could do a good job? Of course. Could Dr.S give you a great result that you're happy with? Quite possibly. But these docs I've listed have proven themselves time and again with the aforementioned qualities and 1500 grafts just doesn't sound right. (Also don't compare your case to another of 1500 grafts--everyone has different donor quality.)

Again, these are just my opinions, and the bottom line is you have to make the decision that's right for you. Good luck.

Shockloss means that your native/existing hairs fall out due to shock from the trauma of surgery. It is typically temporary and the hair will grow back around 3-4 months. However, if the hair is weak and destined to fall out soon from MPB, the shockloss could be permanent.

JD,

You should really try and see some patients of Dr.S's in person. Just because he is recommended on the forum doesn't mean you should just go with a doc. See his work in person. I'd also consult with a few other docs first--you may find you get very different opinions on graft counts etc. You also seem to be limiting yourself to doctor's in your area which is another mistake.

Anyhow, I've given you as much advice as I can, so again, best of luck in whichever path you choose.

You're fine. After 8 days those grafts have taken root...

Dr.Pateel,

Please STOP TRANSPLANTING. You clearly need to study under a doctor who knows what they are doing. Contact Dr.Feller in New York, his office seems to be open to other docs who want to learn.

JD, Use that tax rebate and save a little longer. Remember, a repair job will cost you far more than airfare to new york. Dr.Feller is one of the best there is. you should also check out dr. gable who is a feller protege and has some of his work on this site--it looks pretty good.

JD, You look like a NW2-3. I'd say roughly 2-2.5k grafts would restore and lower your hairline. I would say forget Diep. You want an artist to design a hairline for you like Alexander, Feller or Hasson.

Honestly man, I know it's tough not to have an in-person consult. Not sure how I would have felt without seeing Dr. Feller in person. But I do know that if Feller wasn't in my backyard I'd be traveling to Arizona, to see Alexander, or Canada, to see Rahal or H&W. I would have done my best to see patients of theirs in person. But if that was not an option I still would have traveled because I know these docs do top work from the research I've done. I have to agree with the other posters too that going to a guy because he made you feel comfortable and based on ethnic background is ridiculous. Please do not be one of these guys that gets all kinds of advanced warnings and then goes ahead with the surgery anyway. At the very least take the proper steps to ensure this doc meets the criteria to perform an ultra-refined, high-standard, modern HT. There are far more docs performing below par than above. You've been thoroughly warned.....good luck!

Not so sure hair characteristics plays a part. My hair is curly like my mom's, dad's is pretty straight, yet i have his badling pattern.

have you seen any of his patients in person? i went with my first HT doc based on the fact that I liked him personally and felt comfortable with him. He was the only doc aside from MHR I consulted with and had a better feeling from him. WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE! Now I'm not saying Diep isn't a good doc, I know nothing about him. And maybe that's the point--I googled his name and nothing came up. Going with a doc not mentioned on here or HLH positively is a risk. I went to Feller for my 2nd HT because I knew how much great feedback he got from the HT community. And I saw his work in person. So the risk was minimal.

Before you do go with Diep, make sure you:

1)See patients IN PERSON

2)See that he has stereo microscopes to dissect the grafts

3)Has a large staff of techs (that means more than 2-3)

I personally would never go with a relatively unknown doc again. I hope you are not making a mistake....

Sorry, but that does not look like dense packing at all. The spacing between grafts is quite large and they don't look like true FUs but minigrafts.

Pick up some stylish hats--the cabbie cap is in right now. bloomingdales has a good selection of hip caps, or check out kangol or baileys of hollywood online....

Saw that Men's Health issue. The article was about as useful as a Bosley infomercial. Goes to show that if you want the real deal on hairloss and Hts these forums are the ONLY place to go....

Very tough to tell from those pics...how many grafts did you get?