El Nino

If this is what you want then the man for the job is Dr. Rahal. I have had two HTs with him and I would highly recommend. Dr. Rahal is a very ethical Surgeon and wouldn't transplant more grafts than what he thought was safe. He is known for being aggressive because he aims to create results which are more than an illusion of density and are less see through in harsh lighting. He aims for actual density. But he only does this with suitable candidates (age, above average donor supply) and not everyone. So you will see quite a few results from Dr. Rahal where he has given someone Rock Star hair. And this seems to wind a few of the cautious members up....

Cheers guys. I'm now 4 months post op and just returned from a haircut where I got it buzzed down to a number 3 all over again. The shockloss on the scar is slowly returning and the regrowth on top has now started. I'm very happy with how it looks so far and can't wait for the months ahead...

MGZ, I am the guy who's HT "sold you" on Dr. Rahal AND the one who's looks "much, much worse" after....confused?....let me explain. Take a look at this pic of me aged 28 before any surgery. You will see I still had some NATIVE hair in my crown which was skilfully transplanted around by Dr. Rahal which meant I still had it when my HT grew in. But I knew getting a HT wouldn't stop the rest of my hair falling out naturally, this included the NATIVE hair still present in my crown. So I started taking a drug called Finasteride aka Propecia/Proscar. Then when my HT grew in and finally matured (this took about 15 months, crowns take longer) I was very happy. But then this last Christmas I had a brainwave that I would stop taking Finasteride. The reason for this was that I thought it was causing my weight to yo yo up and down all the time by messing with my hormones. But then a few months later.............I noticed that the hair in my crown was thinner! So I lost some hair in my crown, was it transplanted hair or native hair? I would say it was the native hair which you can see in the pic above. The reason for this was..........errrrrrrrm my brainwave. The reason my crown also looked a bit thin in my "good pics". Take a look at this pic of me aged 28 before any surgery. You will see that Dr. Rahal didn't attempt to try and fill in all of my crown. An area approx 15cm2 was left at the bottom. The reason for this was that I would have needed more than 2800 grafts to get a good result. And transplanting more than that AND going into my lower crown would have been too aggressive considering I was only aged 28. So I knew there was a good chance I would need another HT in the future. So I am now nearly aged 32 and I am three months out from my second HT of 2597 grafts. Which is just starting to grow in and I will update soon. Yes I have now had 5400 grafts into my crown, but I am fortunate to have above average donor supply. Anyway, that is enough about me. The title of this thread is "I'm down to Hasson or Rahal (looking for lots of advice)". I would be very surprised if either would touch your crown considering you are only aged 24 and not on Finasteride. I suspect your expectations of a HT would also be too high. So my advice is get on Finasteride and stay on it and don't have any brainwaves about stopping. And don't think about any sexual side effects at all........especially just before you are about to get on the job. Then when you are aged 28............

TM, Albion's real name is on those pics, has he consented to this?

Cheers mate, really looking forward to the regrowth now so roll on month 3.

I'm now 8 weeks post op and just had my first hair cut since my second procedure. I got it buzzed down to a number 3 all over which might be a little short for the scar at this point in time, but I don't care. It looks ok but I think there is a little shock loss around it. I can't wait for the regrowth on top cos it really sucks looking worse for 3 months after the op. I've had lots of ingrown hairs which are a good sign.

If I'm not mistaken Ziering performs the surgery in the US only and not in the UK. I wouldn't touch The Hospital Group with a bargepole. The only Surgeon worth considering in the UK is Dr. Farjo in Manchester who only does FUT. You say you are a NW5 which means you will need a lot of grafts for a good result in my opinion. Of course this depends on your expectations and you might be happy with a result with less grafts. I agree with spex that you would be better off with FUT and not FUE. Many people including myself can buzz their back and sides down to number 2 or 3 even with a strip scar. Yes, maybe you could go shorter after FUE but I would bet you wouldn't get the same density on top as with FUT. But everyone is different and thinks in different ways. Good luck.

No worries matt, funny you should mention the potion. I have just run out and ordered some more...

Dr. Rahal's post op instructions are considered conservative compared to others. They say no touching of the recipient area for the first two weeks. Then you can take a light shower (as opposed to washing with a mug) and start to gently scrub the recipient area to break down the grafts. You can start your normal shower routine one month post op. They also include the use of Vitamin E oil and Saline solution. But I don't think this has anything to do with his great results, my reasons are stated in my first post.

I am quite impressed that the Harley Street clinic turned you down because of your age, maybe they are a reputable clinic unlike most in the UK. I can't wait to see Rooney's end result. You say you have a high hairline? Is is natural or are you suffering from MPB? Are you on any hairloss medication? What is your family history of hairloss? Do you have any pictures to post? In my opinion 22 yo is a bit young for a HT, especially one to lower your hairline. But you will get a more accurate answer if we have the information above.

You will know if they were damaged if there was any blood. But this could be from a scab coming off and not losing a graft or a combination of both. My advice is to try and keep calm and not panic too much, I am sure you will be fine.

All the good Doctors are capable of doing female hairlines. There just aren't as many documented cases because of the fact that not as many females get HTs as opposed to males. Hope this helps.

Without doubt, one of the best results I've ever seen. And here's a pic of stellar's scar from his thread just a FEW weeks post op.

Dr. Rahal says to use Minoxidil starting two weeks post op, this I believe helps with the speed of the growth. I also believe he gets close to 100% yield with most patients via strip. Which I believe is mostly thanks to his fantastic team of technicians. Dr. Rahal is also a humble and modest man and a very talented Surgeon. I knew this when I first started researching HTs, but it is good to see that he is now getting the recognition he deserves.

No worries LSorvats. I just googled him and looked at his website which seemed ok. Nothing else really, good or bad. Personally for me this wouldn't be good enough but everyone is different. And yes there are great Surgeons not recommended on this site like Dr. Bisanga in Belgium. Good luck with your search, and if you do go to Dr. Unger please share your photos on this site so people can get an idea of what he's like.

It's up to you whether you go ahead with the transplant but it would be risky to do it without using meds as well. Finasteride comes in two forms, Propecia which is a 1mg tab everday or Proscar which is a 5mg tab which you then can cut into quarters or fifths and take everyday. Or you could start off every other day first and see if you get any side effects. You can use Minoxidil as well but if you go ahead with the HT I would wait until after you have done it before you start. If you do go ahead with the transplant of 2500 grafts I would recommend concentrating them on the upper part of the crown and not to try and fill it all in one go. Then see how it looks when it grows out and see if you have lost anymore hair. I had a similar sized bald spot and this was my approach, take a look at my pics. Hope this helps.

I have never heard of them or seen any results which isn't a good thing. Make sure you research properly starting with the Surgeons recommended on this site. Hope this helps lisa.

Hey hadenuf, Cheers for the compliment pal and good growing to you. I think doing the crown in two sessions is the best approach. I know if I had talked Dr. Rahal into trying to fill all of mine in first time my result wouldn't have been nowhere near as good. These crowns are just too damn big and eat up a lot of grafts. When is your next session?

I would highly recommend Dr. Rahal after having two HTs with him.

Yes this is correct TC17.

Try not to panic visor, we have a long wait ahead of us. I am five days in front of you btw.

I also think it would be wise to leave the crown at this moment in time. Good luck mate.

Thanks mate, good luck to you too. Yeah I know stopping the Fin wasn't the wisest move. But in a perverse sort of way I do want my hair do it's worst and then I could hopefully get it sorted by Dr. Rahal and stop chasing it. But I'm not complaining, I know lots of people have it much worse than I do. I would also like to say while I was at Dr. Rahal's clinic waiting for Mike a few days post op there was a young guy (20s) waiting for a consultation. I talked to him briefly before he went in to see Dr. Rahal, his front looked good so he must have had crown loss. He came out five minutes later and said "No, maybe in a few years". So I think it's fair to say Dr. Rahal wouldn't operate on any young guy with crown loss.

Of course the hairline isn't completely flat but I think it would be fair to say the crown is more rounded. And yes the crown is a lot bigger too and can open up in four directions where as the hairline can only recede backwards.

No worries TC17, everyone has an opinion and are welcome to express it. But a simple bit of math will show that the average density on my strip was 123 fu per cm2 (2597/21.1). This is good donor density. Also I haven't had two ear to ear strips taken out, the first was three quarter length and starts from above my right ear. The second one was the same length and goes into the old scar a bit and above my left ear. I have very good scalp laxity which means I am confident I still have enough donor to do the front in the future. At least another 4000 grafts via strip alone. It seems I am one of the lucky ones with good donor densiy, hair characteristics and scalp laxity.