freakin

I feel for you, John. Everytime I see his name brought up, or hear his radio jingle played, I get a gnawing ache in the pit of my stomach. I went to him for a repair, can you imagine? Do you care to post any photos to get some feedback? Freakin

If you are expected to sign a highly leveraged contract without time afforded for legal review (minutes prior to surgery) raises a HUGE red flag. This is especially compounded if you are under psychological and financial duress. Has anyone not agreed to the terms and what was the outcome?

One of many lessons to be learned from this newbies, would be to ask for any legal documents forthright. Request any papers that require your signature to be presented to your legal counsel (for interpretation and clarification) prior to making any commitment. The frequent M.O. is to present them minutes before you enter the surgical arena. Good luck brother, appreciate your candor.

If you want to feel confident around women, just crop the remaining hair or shave it. Also, you MUST remember that you will more than likely need future HT's to add density and fill in areas that countinue to recede. Unless you have 'discretionary' savings or see yourself with the thousands of dollars needed for future work, don't even think about the first. The last thing you want is to be a slave to this if the finances are out of reach.

Atomic, this thread also reeks of politics and agendas, and I really don't see where TakingThePlunge benefits from any of it.

I really do hope that the next 5 mons or so bring the final result this patient so desires. It has been my experience that at the 6 mons mark, my appearance was the most natural and appealing due to the transplanted hairs being close to natural in caliber. Any added thickening that occured thereafter, made the hairline too coarse and drew unwanted attention.

Let's just say I have to wear a hat everywhere, and my friends and neighbors are catching on that there is something wrong. I feel that there are a lot of *white lies* and smoke and mirrors in progress. I have yet to hear of a physician taking the blame for a poor outcome (red flag). A house of cards if you will. If I come across crass, I apologize, I just don't care anymore.

It is not hard to see how an ill-natured surgeon and his staff can take on a cavalier attitude when you signed waivers relieving them of responsibility. Furthermore, they can, and will, make you feel that you are the one with the problem. Human nature at its worst. Sorry that you have to go through this.

Adrian, Those photos that you entered on my blog are not me and may lead to an inaccurate portrayal of my situation. Kindly remove them as soon as possible. Thank you, Freakin

I would like to say I mentioned to the doctor I would like this to be my last surgery and money was no object. The doctor made the suggestion to leave the area alone, I followed his advice which obviously proved to be a poor approach; Is not this what you pay an expert for? Everyone has a crystal ball on when my native hair would start to fallout. Remarkable! How about Thanksgiving 5 mons after the HT the spot was very obvious. Did 2150 pricks of a needle and a very red scalp have anything to do with it? I did not want to get in a snowball fight, I was just looking for advice on an approach. Dr Rahal suggested 1000 more grafts to fill in the area, that is almost 50% of my original surgery. Go figure your self folks..

Forrest, my post op photos are all a little blurry, I had a problem with the camera lens. These after photos should be clearer for viewing.

This a post-op and 15 months after 2150 graft Dr Rahal transplant. The photo clearly shows permanent shockloss to the forelock that became very noticeable just 5 months post. I have been advised it will take an additional 1000 grafts to fill this region. I only have at most 2000 grafts left to harvest via strip from the donor and seek the safest way to fill/repair this area. Does anyone have an opinion on an approach to fill this region? This was to be a final 3rd HT to cover some micro/minis from other doctors. Not a happy camper.

This a post-op and 15 months after 2150 graft Dr Rahal transplant. The photo clearly shows permanent shockloss to the forelock that became very noticeable just 5 months post. I have been advised it will take an additional 1000 grafts to fill this region. I only have at most 2000 grafts left to harvest via strip from the donor and seek the safest way to fill/repair this area. Does anyone have an opinion on an approach to fill this region? This was to be a final 3rd HT to cover some micro/minis from other doctors. Not a happy camper.

Buy a dreadlock wig, have your girlfriend punch you in the groin and don't look back! Seriously, I think you answered your own question after some good input. How about concentrate on your studies/career, and revisit it in 10 yrs or so when a new method for hairloss may be in existence. You may very well look fine with some recession and this will become a non issue.

One issue is, you can pretty much make a result look flattering in an office photo, but view the same one after running up and down a basketball court or on a windy rainy day outdoors for a true assessment.