thanatopsis_awry

Ya. Regarding having large sums of cash to bring for a HT procedure, you do need to be careful when bringing cash (10k, e.g.) through an airport. Be prepared to get an inquisition thrown at you; assuming you just act straight forward and don't act indignant it should never be a major problem, though, just a minor -- but surreal -- inconvenience you should be prepared for.

You can't overstate the importance of making the distinction between FUE and FUT. Bisanga may very well have meant that he typically gets 97% yield, but that statement is lightyears away from being comparable with H&W and their near-100% yield, and growth guarantee. 97% does seem astronomically high for FUE, if it was intended to be something of a guarantee or what he expects every patient who walks in to get. Making a "guarantee" or concrete expectation on what someone's yield should be with FUE seems difficult if not impossible regardless, no what # is thrown out. Balb, when you find out what Bisanga meant by the 97% remark def let us know. I'm really interested as to what was meant.

M, FWIW, I explicitly inquired to Dr. Harris if his public offer did indeed still stand firm, and he said it did, and implored Rain to get in touch with him. I think this is the most salient fact. For better or worse, it truly is up to Rain at this point to communicate with Dr. Harris openly....get hard facts on his growth, and then go from there, taking Dr. Harris up on his response. I do wish Rain would have been more open and pro-active, and I hope he is going forward; I believe this lack created unnecessary confusion, speculation, and henceforth controversy that really isn't benefiting anyone, let alone Rain.

3-4 years ago? It's a downright shame to see such recent repair patients, but with recoveries like this I'm sure the patient appreciates the hair he now has in truly amazing ways. He looks fantastic for 12months, and for 7 I can imagine how happy he must feel.

As a guy, you can date young women for quite some time, in fact success and maturity attracts them. Just stay in shape and develop the rest of your person. Young guys are competing with expectations set by older guys for women. In the early/mid 20s, alot of women figure out that older guys have more to offer and start dating "up". Unlike when you are 18-21 where everyone dates their schoolmates. Things will get better. Quoted for truth. And for many, many who are "hot", this phenomena occurs to a pretty startling extent, where even the most ravaged of MPB heads will be immune from dealbreaking reproach. An an inverse bias can even occur where being, or simply having the facade, of The Older Mature Man can be a downright pathology in the eyes (head) of a woman, and looking like Zac Efron is a downright turnoff. Whereas teens-early20's are often afflicted by a Disney Channel notion of what a man is, and what will give them worth, many girls throughout their 20's have a similarly inane and emotional pull of attraction, which in an ironic twist of fate has little to do with being a NW -1 with gelled hair, and in fact quite the opposite. In admittedly limited experience, I think and intuit that in the early 30s women begin to go full circle, and are not propelled by rather inane, spoon fed notions of what is cool, what is of worth, regarding what their partner "must" look/be like.

Pretty remarkable to get that kind of coverage over that much real estate with just 4500g. Really nice, Jo. IMO, his hair characteristics aid in perceived-density, but they also heighten Wong's challenge in implementing perfect slits and angulation of the hairs to achieve a most "natural" result, free from imperfections.

If there is such a thing as HT-porn this is it. Truly is some of the cleanest work I've ever seen, and everything about this case has the glow of perfection to it. Hope I don't have a girlfriend by the time this grows 'r else I'm going to have to explain why I'm salivating at a dude's portrait.

Congrats on your decision, I think it's for sure a wise one that'l get you the best level of satisfaction going forward. I wish your donor the best in its cooperation with your wants. Btw, I always knew it was Wong...

Just to clarify what I've said, and perhaps said poorly at the expense of my intention: I do not mean that H&W have patient care that dwards Bisanga, and I do not feel that his decision should be primarily based in any way off of a feeling that if he chooses Bisanga he will be ill-suported. Not in the least, and if I felt so in any way I would not encourage people to seriously consider Bisanga as often as I do, and to have even gone out on a limb supporting his clinic a few times in the past. Given that he has chosen this forum to share his story with, and get involved with and to talk things over, I was just pointing out that -- as a pleasant perk -- he will have a unique level of support on here with H&W given their level of involvement/Jotronic, and their Coalition status. That said, Cata, it is truly impossible to say if Wong is superior to Hasson or Hasson is superior to Wang in any definitive way. You may want to talk with Jotronic about your specific case and see if he has any thoughts on this matter, and if you might prefer one doctor over another; however, either doctor would perform an absolutely world-class HT on you.

Balb, A couple of things...one, I agree that a 97% blanket statement regarding yield is a red flag, and I would want a further clarification on this. Since Dr. Bisanga has yet to have elected to get a fair viewing from the forum and share their results and philosophies, it's difficult to really say for sure *just* what "97%" means. I would ask them just that, though -- do they mean that 97% yield is basically what they get on average, and, as such, it is what *you* yourself *should* expect...(?) I'd ask that, for sure. You may also want to talk with Stingray and Sparky who either have or are going for FUE with Bisanga. All this said, I've seen really good mega-session FUE from Bisanga, and from my knowledge he is the rare doctor who performs that "mega session" FUE who I myself might consider. Spex and Bspot/Jason also seems to know about Bisanga from their involvement in hair transplantation, and while they are with Feller and SMG, I am sure they would be willing to help you out, and give you general advice, re: FUE. How many grafts are you looking to get? Your answer may go a long ways in zeroing in on the list of docs you should seriously consider. FUE is so specialized, and there is such variability at the same time, your graft target might really favor one doc over another. Also, based off your graft target, I would 100% ask for various, well documented results from respective clinics that are of FUE cases and are in, or exceed, your graft target. Def consult with Feriduni if you have yet to, and I'd ask these types of questions; also, DevRoye would be a good person to consult with.

Of course he would be supported were he to go to Dr. Bisanga. I am simply pointing out for Catastrophique that by going to Hasson&Wong, by way of this forum and Hasson&Wong's involvement, he would have a unique level of support. I can't say I've seen Dr. Bisanga nor any of his patient representatives have much of a prescense on this forum one way or another. I can say with certainty, however, that by going to Hasson&Wong of the Coalition he will have the added benefit of direct and easy communication and support by way of Jotronic, e.g. Much in the same way if one goes to Dr. Feller they would have Spex on the forum, etc. etc. etc. But as I referenced, it's simply a nice benefit and thought that he may want to take note of, on top of the overarching reasons why he may commit to H&W or Bisanga.

Bisanga is a fine clinic, and I'm a big fan of their FUE work. Based off your considerations and what you've said I would go with Hasson&Wong, though, without question. Their strip work doesn't get any better, and you have the best shot in going to them and getting the number of grafts to make you most happy. Plus, them being in the Coalition gives you an incredible amount of support and support network throughout your HT on this forum. You'll be covered from top to bottom, and Hasson&Wong, Jotronic, et. al. will have your back 100% without a doubt.

This is very puzzling. Dre, you truly do need to heed the advice given and get in touch with Dr. Meshkin personally, and really to meet in person ASAP, IMO. It seems you must be reluctant for some reason, but you really must; if you want to meet with other doctors, as well, by all means. I'm still perplexed that you felt you received FUE surgery and not strip.... But the post-op photos shown above paint the picture that we would expect from Dr. Meshkin -- a quality result. The photos shown by Dre show virtually zero improvement. Dre mentioned dandruff I believe, wondering if this could contribute to hairloss; perhaps he's had some extreme scalp condition that has led to (hopefully temporary) loss of transplanted hairs. That Dr. Meshkin met with the patient in person, 10months, post-op, and he was pleased with his progress, is a very telling fact that there has been a breakdown in communication with Dre, and that something beyond the HT has taken place to impact things, or at least our perceptions.

I hope all the tech bugs get sorted out. Either way, this is a truly fantastic and bold idea that Dr. Charles is undertaking.

I've consistently seen the most work from Dr. Feller, and I''d hazard a guess that he has the most experience. All of the results I've seen from SMG since they've undertaken FUE have been excellent, too, and they seem to be showing more and more. I'm sure "they" could be persuaded to go about FUE on a NW5, but I'm also sure they'd want to make the patient aware of the pro's and con's of doing so, and the vast majority of people in such a spot would simply choose FUT due to those pros/cons. You can do 100% FUE on a NW5, it's just risky and doesn't have the same benefits of strip in most cases. But if someone's fully aware of what they're doing, it's not out of the question, I suppose.

Hmmm, this is a bit peculiar -- maybe Dr. Meshkin can say for sure if you got FUE or strip...? I didn't even know Dr. Meshkin did FUE, and certainly not for a session size of 2000 grafts. I'm truly shocked by this development. But perhps that is why only 2000 grafts were harvested(?) The immediate post-ops look a bit off to me, too. I'm a bit puzzled all-around about this, to be honest. Dre, in addition to consulting with Dr. Meshkin ASAP, along with some Coalition clinics (e.g. the ones Aaron mentioned, etc.), I would find out 100% if you received FUT/strip, or FUE. This will greatly influence your decision-making process going forward. You also really need to find out if your yield was compromised or not. Before you proceed with any major surgical decisions, I would find out 100% on both these issues.

labrat, At the risk of theorizing on what MPB may and may not be for certain people, I really don't see why the OP "will"/must become a NW7, let alone speculating that it will happen in a given age range. You yourself testify to the sheer unpredictability that MPB can have when left unchecked, thus looking at the OP and proceeding with an unwavering faith that he *will* be a NW7 doesn't align. He is on fin, which is *huge*, and seems to be responding fine to it. The most critical areas of a response to fin are not having incurring serious side-effects, and the drug itself responding in halting the spread of DHT and expanding your NW zone. Granted, he should have been on this prior to his HT, in my opinion, and I have other concerns. Re: FUE, I'd be beyond shocked if this was FUE, but Dre can clarify for sure. But I'm 99.9% sure it's FUT.

I'm a bit confused, but I could just be extremely surprised by some of this new information. Your pre-ops and post-ops look almost identical from the looks I'm taking. You got 2000 grafts? Where were the grafts allocated? If they were spread across your entire scalp, and you lost most of your native hair, this would make sense, but I wouldn't think you'd get 2k spread across that large and thinned of an area(?) I'm assuming Dr. Meshkin discussed the fact that a 2nd procedure would be essentially a given, and "required" almost immediately, given your loss and that you only received 2000 grafts(?) I'm very surprised you weren't on propecia *prior* to your hair transplant over the backdrop of all this. I would do the following: Consult with Dr. Meshkin, and/or a Coalition doctor (e.g. the ones Aaron mentioned), and figure out what your yield was. It seems to me like it may very well have been compromised, though I'm not sure; which is why I'd reccomend getting some keen eyes to go over your case and evaluate this further. Given you've been on propecia, you've committed to the HT process, and you're still extremely concerned with getting hair where you now don't, I would give serious consideration to my first thought of "carpet bombing" your recipient zone, which is basically the same as you had pre-op. Keep us posted, and I would 100% get in touch with Dr. Meshkin ASAP.

I hope you've already been on propecia(?) Have you lost a ton of native hair since your HT? You look to have thinned into a pretty clear NW5+ pattern. IMO, I would look to carpet bomb the area; hope you can still squeeze out a big # in your 2nd procedure, and try to fill in what you can as best as you can. Combine this with nanogen if you still have persisting thinness that you want to ameloriate. Some pre-ops and post-ops before you lost a massive amount of native hair would be good to see, too, to make a more accurate assessment.

Good bump, Bill; this thread managed to totally evade my eyes amidst the flurry of activity. Dr. Simmons' transparency, attitude, commitment, and henceforth results absolutely merit serious consideration into the Coalition; I personally feel he is already there in his approach, class, and results, so getting the official greenlight is something I'd feel more than confident about.

Be real careful, Julius. Taking excessive amounts of fin/propecia provides no known benefit; I'm not sure if the same would be true of Avodart/dut, but I would *not* mess around with this in any way. Avodart, especially, is an extremely powerful drug that typically carries far more, and far more intense "side effects" than propecia. Have you tried propecia? I know some guys have used Avodart because propecia for whatever reason stopped working on them, or they had bad enough sides to roll the dice with dut; but, IMO, there is no reason why anyone should not try propecia before going to avodart. Regardless, unless I consulted directly with 10 esteemed doctors, with knowledge of hair restoration, and all 10 told me that I could take extra-avodart and that it could have a benefit, I would not mess around. My guess would be that extra-avodart would be similiar to taking extra-propecia in terms of benefit, and that most any doctor would advise you to not take more than the prescribed amount.

Glad everything went well. Post-ops look solid. How many grafts did you end up yanking out?

Looking real good! Huge cosmetic improvement. How do you feel about things? How's your density throughout? You look like a finished product already, but you may indeed have some continued thickening to come!

Pretty much the above. Bllorayne, I know how lengthy and back n' forth your HT research has been to date, and so I truly only want you to get the absolute best for your situation. BHT is absolutely not the answer for you any which way, in my most honest and confident opinion. I have extremely little faith in BHT, and the truly unfortunate history of it -- as detailed by Swagger. Ironically, my personal faith in BHT is *not* even for those "extreme repair" cases; but for people who simply need relatively minor density increases in their vertex, and can use arm hair (e.g.).

Hmmm. I'll start out by saying what I'd end up saying at the end -- I think you're one, relatively small session away from getting the "density" you're after. The 2k figure you mention, if put into your hairline, particularly the frontal zone, should give you a pretty good perceived-density, IMHO, especially since you have a really good foundation throughout the rest of your frontal 1/3rd and top. The perceived-density that HTs give are delicate, if not fickle; once you reach the point of optimal grafts/cm2 to get your look, even if you have *just* enough, your hair can look mint. I think your result looks pretty good, all in all. You had a solid chunk of baldness to cover, and while 4500 grafts is a good number, it's still a bit shy of that "sweet spot" I think you'd need to get the look you're after. Your hair looks best in the pics where you did a quasi-combover, but I'm not sure you're relegated to that. If you get a good stylist to delicately layer your hair, texturizing the tips, I would think you could play off a fresh style where you comb the hair forward and work in some wax or clay for added texture throughout. When you mention using MFUs or DFUs...do you actually mean *in* your hairline itself? I'm not sure of a clinic you'd be interested in who would do this. I would weigh the degree and extent of the "annoyance" you will feel if you simply never make a change to your hair from here on out, vs. the "annoyance" of going through another, over the backdrop of the satisfaction and life-improvement that "2k" will do for you. One is, perhaps, an absolute, the other more intense, yet shortlived. Are you set on 2k? I realize your scar isn't ideal, but I'd still think you could safely squeeze more; curious what Hasson or Wong would ultimately say in regard to that. Also, re: your scar. From the pics it looks like you have really low density in that entire region of your scalp. Was this always so, and the scar exacerbated things? I would get a really good cut, apply some top-notch styling product, and see how you look. What do you estimate your yield at, btw? Have you looked into H+W evaluating you? I seem to recall them having a "growth guarantee" type of policy.