Scree

You should post pictures with the same angles and lighting if at all possible and we will be the judge.

I would be very surprised if those guys arent on some kind of DHT blocker.

Super nervous and paranoid sounds about right. I'm the same about 2 months post-op. Stiff upper lip and trust the process.

Vera clinic is a tech-based hair mill. You should avoid these types of clinics because the risk of a bad outcome, in terms of donor management, graft survival, and hairline design and placement, is high. There are good clinics in Turkey, but they are good despite being in Turkey not because of it.

5 week update (pictures were taken last weekend). My left side is holding up better than the right—fewer hairs have shed there. The temple peaks are looking a bit thin compared to my pre-op pics. Still got a bit of an itch going on in the recipient but overall, everything seems to be healing well. The shedding seems to have stopped. For the donor area, it's pretty much healed up. Still a tiny bit sore, but visually, it's looking really good. Overall, I think I'm doing a bit better than before the op. My forelock isn't as thick as I'd like, but that was the case even before the surgery. Mentally I've had ups and downs. I've invested in a couple of hats and use Toppik occasionally. I expect growth to start in around 2 months but the existing hair should give decent coverage of the recipient in about a month.

Excellent. Did you end up getting on medication? If so, have you noticed any additional thickening?

I am sure you will do great. Consistency is key.

Excellent results. I have a consult with Dr. Feriduni in November next year, looking forward to the discussion.

The protocol that worked for me is finasteride for the first 4 months as a trial and then dutasteride afterwards. There doesn't seem to be a significant difference in rates of adverse events between the two drugs, while dutasteride is 40-60% more potent in terms of hair regrowth. It does have a longer half-life though so if you get side effects you are stuck with them for longer, hence the test with finasteride.

Life just changes, especially in 10 years. Sometimes it gets harder. It will get harder still if you let yourself go bald.

Beautiful, can already tell this will be a home run. Do not worry if the crown grows in a bit later. Less blood flow at the back of the head so can take up to 18 months to fully mature.

Thank you for your contribution. Two questions: Is this patient currently on any hair loss prevention treatment? If so, what? What is the surgical plan for the second procedure?

This is an insane statement to make.

Just because we evolved with something doesn't mean it's useful. It just means that it doesn't seriously detract from getting laid. 5AR inhibitors are incredibly safe as far as hormone therapy is concerned. Hormonal birth control pills come with some pretty outrageous side effects and are prescribed to literal 15 year olds yet nobody cares. Ultimately, the drug gets a lot of flak because it's for hair loss and being worried about hair loss is considered vain and pointless.

This is somewhat of a myth. According to clinical data, dutasteride is the most effective treatment for hair regrowth we have apart from the system anti-androgens..

Update. I worked out most of the scabs. There is redness present. Anyone more experienced willing to comment on the transplant now that the recipient is clear?

Looking great, and not even halfway there! Your results are so fast partly due to oral minoxidil I think. I bet the crown will get better too with time.

I would not consider a transplant without taking some sort of preventative indefinitely. If taking oral medication for life makes you uncomfortable, consider topicals form. They are usually more expensive and harder to stay consistent with, but some people swear by them. Finasteride, dutasteride and minoxidil all come in topicals formulations.

He mentioned it in passing. More in the sense of "if you are ever interested, let me know", no pressure. Regarding hair loss prevention, I'm on the strongest stuff (oral minoxidil, oral dutasteride) in existence apart from straight-up E2 and bicalutamide. The over-the-counter stuff probably can't hurt to consider if you are side-effect averse. But this is the big leagues - I'll go bald when I'm dead if I can help it.

No. The doctor did not volunteer that information. I will ask him in our next correspondence and let you know. I'm not an expert, but to my eyes, it looks good density-wise. There's also the hair caliber, the hair type, the angulation and the skin-hair color contrast to consider. The next batch of pictures I will post in about a week, when I shed all the scabs.

The doctor seemed satisfied with the work. As he made the final incision via stick and place he exclaimed "work of art". I hope he is right. I like the design of the hairline, I can't stop looking at myself in the mirror. 😁 Apparently, I had some minor loss in the forelock that he wanted to patch up with thicker hairs. He doesn't think I will lose too much hair in the future but as you know, these things are unpredictable.

Did anyone comment on the proceeding growth spurt?

It is unfortunate to hear dutasteride is not working out for you. It's a life saver.

150 euros or thereabouts. As the doctor was making incisions into the recipient a nurse came and drew my blood. The doctor then injected the CGF right before the nurses started implanting the grafts. Good luck with everything. Someone escorted me as well, because I expected I would need a ride home. On the contrary, I felt great and had 0 issues on the return journey. As far as I can tell you have made a good decision - of course my final verdict will be in about a year from now.

I claim that a hair transplant does not need to be perfect. People don't focus on your hair nearly as much as you think. Hell, if your forelock is good, you can have severely receded temples and most people won't think of you as bald. If you decide on a surgeon intelligently, based on sound research, you have done everything you can to make your result optimal. Ultimately, it doesn't have to be perfect it just has to be (significantly) better than it used to be. You can always go back for a touch up.