Clive McQuire

Senal Not 100% sure what you are referring to? but if your question relates to the time it takes for transplanted hair to grow out, then i think you will find it varies from person to person. Some people are really lucky and never lose their grafts, but the majority seem to find that they will grow back in 3-12 months, with thickening at up to 18 months. The crown seems to take longer than the hairline. All the best Clive.

Agony I recently had a transplant , and, luckily for me found this site, before i made any rash dec isions. The guys on here really have your best interests at heart!! and the advice you will get is based on experiences good and bad, that they have had. You have had several replies, one even from a top surgeon, so my advice is take them on board, before you make your decision. My advice for what it's worth, is don't even think about a hair transplant at your age!! if you lost hair as a result of trauma or illness, the chances are it will grow back naturally, do a search on shock loss on this forum. All the best Clive.

Hoper There was a recent discussion on the subject of staples v's stitches on this forum, in which some doc's participated, and it comes down to being a decision of the individual doc (Use the search) However i would suggest than all the top docs will give you a small thin scar, which can usually be concealed down to a #2 or #3 buzz. And i feel sure that you could expect an improvement over your current one. All the best Clive.

Hoper Think you will find it called that not because of lack of growth of transplanted grafts, but purely because of the huge numbers of grafts required to fill it to a decent density! For this reason a lot of Docs will advocate the treatment of the hairline and front 1/3rd before going into the "Black hole!" Obviously dependant on your donor supply. All the best Clive.

Billonny I think you will find that this will vary from Dr to Dr! I went to Dr Feller, and he prices his sessions in categories (See his website for prices) i initially paid for 3000 grafts, but due to a sparser than anticpated donor strip, fell down a bracket, so was refunded $1000. I have seen posts on here where people have paid for a set number, and have actually got free grafts if their Doc was able to harvest more. So do your research, and when you make your choice, i'm sure your doc will price them up front. All the best. Clive.

Imp Totally empathise with you, as will all the guys on here!! When i lost mine i hated looking at photograhs, and the worst was downward looking CCTV cameras! However put it in perspective, you are young and healthy! so enjoy life, as Bill says, a lot of woman like bald guys!! All the best Clive.

Exchange They were my first consult, and i felt dissapointed, as i dealt with a "Sales person" who after 5 minutes told me i needed 3000 "hairs" to cover my bald head!! and that was by just looking at me from across a desk. I then went to numerous other local consults, before coming onto this forum, and hearing the real story from the guys on here. The bottom line is, all the top surgeons as recomended on here, live on their reputations, and you WILL get the best from them. So forget distance, get in your online consults, and pick one the best doctor for you!! Good luck in your search. Clive.

London you could go on a poster advertising the change in appearance that can be achieved by a good h/t!! Fantastic!!

Bllorayne Don't even go down the "Cheapest "Route!!! This is your body your talking about, not a second hand car!!! You want the best surgeon for you!! totally irrespective of price or location. I flew half way round the world to Dr Feller for my h/t, and don't regret a single mile/cent of it. Get in loads of consults, and if money is ever an issue, delay and save up!! All the best. Clive.

Bllorayne I was probably your age when i started losing hair, but if i had gone for a h/t at that time, i would now, 22 years later, have had transplanted hair surrounded by bald spots!! The bottom line is that hair loss for the majority of us progresses, so at an early stage you must be conservative in how many of your precious follicles to use. Seek advice via consults with the top docs on this site, as they will look at the bigger picture, and steer you on the right route for your particular case. All the best. Clive.

HAIR OF THE DOG When i first considered a h/t i was fully sold on the idea of "Scarless" FUE. However when you do your research you will find that the growth yield of FUE, even when done by a top doc, is considerably less than a strip, due to the increased chance of damage to the follicle during extraction. So add this to the huge cost of the procedure, it really is not as attractive as it first appears!! I went for a strip with DR Feller, confident that the yield would be very high , and the strip scar would be very small and neat. After all you only have a finite number of grafts spare, so why waste them on a lower yield procedure. All the best. Clive.

Cottonhc Confusing is'nt it!! As PJ said a lot of factors involved, but also you must decide on density v's coverage!! If you are lucky and have a small area of loss, then for a relatively low graft count , i.e 2000 grafts you can "Dense pack" the area. If however like me you have a relatively sparse donor and a large area of loss, then you must , with the guidance of your surgeon, decide what area to cover and how dense you can go. Dr Feller got 2700 from my strip, and instead of sprinkling all over, dense packed a smaller area. So the bottom line is large area less density, obviously dependant on your donor supply. All the best. Clive.

2bornot2b Realism is the key to hair transplants!! My hair went first on the crown then the hairline, and now at 48, i have a spattering on the centre top but not a lot else. I recently had 2700 grafts with DR Feller, and as other posters have said all the top doc's will tell you straight, you can only cover so much scalp with what you have in your donor area. Sounds like you have a fairly thick donor, so you may well be able to get 3-4000 grafts out of it, but that will only realistically enable you to have a decent hairline density, with some covering in the centre, but not as far back as your crown. So the choice is yours, i went for it and hopefully in 12 months will have my hairline back, which as Dr Feller pointed out frames the face, so will give a straight on significant cosmetic improvement. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you get consults in with top doc's. As for cloning, as far as i can see you are talking many years off, and no idea of price or effectiveness. All the best. Clive.

Rmenichini I Went for a consult with their patient adviser in London while i was researching for my h/t. I found the consult to be probably the best of the 5 that i had, although i do feel that you need to see the man who is doing the job in person!! I opted for Dr Feller in the end, because i found that the top surgeons you will find on this site, live on their reputations, and as such will always try to give their best result and back it up with posted photographs!! I was also slightly cautious of going to a "Company" as opposed to a named surgeon, as lets face it, you are in the hands of an individual in the chair!! and it is HIS results that you need to be aware of, not just those posted by the organisation. Best of luck. Clive.

Thomas Keep going with the research, and get a lot of consults in!! With regards to your age, be very aware that although you may feel concerned that you have started to lose hair, you are very far from at the end of the road, so look at your dad/grandad/mums dad, and see what might be at the end of your Norwood scale, that way you can decide if you might like to leave it a while, or at the very least be cautious about the number of grafts you place at the front of your hairline!! You only have so many to move so use them wisely!! All the top docs on here would give you good advice!! Best of luck. Clive.

Jojo Don't even think about a D.I.Y removal!! I flew back from the states, and had the practice nurse at the doctors remove them for me. There are no questions asked, and obviously patient confidentiality applies!! All the best. Clive.

Well in the UK they say you can sell anything on E Bay!! I'm thinking of selling all my new grafts as they fall out!! One carefull owner?? or is it technically two?? Any offers??

Thinman Did'nt your mum tell you not to pick!!!! Wash your scalp a big more vigorously and use Spex's Aloe Vera!! They will come off when they are ready, mine are all gone at 2 weeks post op, using this method. All the best Clive.

Rambler I'm now at 2 weeks post op, and i found that i had what you describe week one, but mine has now gone down. I put this down to the ammount of fluid injected into the scalp during the op, and the fact that this how now dissipated. Clive.

Bruce I recently went to Dr Feller for a transplant, and initially as i am UK based was looking at surgeons local to me. However having been on this site for research, i found that the guys on here are on YOUR side!! in that they despite all probably having favourite surgeons, are genuinely interested in you getting unbiased advice. I must agree with them on the point of seeing grown out pictures at 6 months to a year!! because in 2 of my consultations the surgeons/advisers seemed very professional and competent, however they had a noticeable lack of after photo's!! and you have to ask why? But ultimately you pay your money and takes your choice!! I do however feel strongly that if money is a reason for not chosing a top doc, then just put off for 6 months and save up!!! As stated you only have so many follicles spare, and you can't get them back if they are wasted!! Good luck in your procedure!! All the best Clive.

N.Y.C It looks great!! Hope mine looks as good as yours in a years time!!!

Thanks Bill!! Will post some update photo's later on, once my new buzz cut all falls out (Gutted!!) and then regrows twice as thick??? I hope!! All the best. Clive.

Balody Yes the Doc had hoped for 3000+ but unfortunately we only ended up with the 2700! so the plan to go further back into the crown was shelved! However that is why you go to a top doc, because he went for good density in the hairline, rather than just spread a thin sprinkling over the whole area, and lets be realistic, was i ever gonna get away with one procedure to cover that lot!! Cheers mate, all the best Clive.

2700 grafts by Dr Feller 2nd June 2008 from strip procedure. My own camera pics, no doubt the shots taken by Dr Feller will be clearer.

Cheers guys!! Will post my pics, though Dr Feller took better ones which he said he will post. Seems strange having a hairline again!! but not for long All the best Clive