thanatopsis_awry

Yep. Getting on fin early, and starting off on a route of world-class HTs is as close to a cure as we have, and likely will have for quite some time, IMO. Aggressive MPB is still very problematic for younger guys because the $ to execute an optimal "cure", and the ability to actually undergo the process/recovery of HTs can be treacherous terrain.

I don't know much about your level of fitness, nor sexual predilections, but I'd be pretty shocked if you'd be able to masturbate yourself into a HT problemo at this point, m8.

It's really good to not let price or geography play a major role in your decision. Really dig into the results posted by clinics and patients in the respective sections on this forum, as well as general research into individual clinics, on top of doing consultations (live or online) and getting a feel for what exact surgical plan is going to be executed on you. Being in the UK, you should certainly scope out the Farjo clinic (I believe they are in Manchester, but I could be wrong on that). Lot of UK guys travel, though, just given the fact that the UK is really home to but one premier clinic. To add to the names already mentioned, in Canada you have Hasson&Wong, who you should certainly consult with. In Europe you also have DevRoye, who does FUE (which you may or may not be interested in). Feller and SMG do quality FUE, too.

When I couldn't escape the demons of hairloss this forum and community was a beacon, pointing me in the right direction. I know too many fellow brethren who fell (or were pushed...) into situations that would complicate if not outright devistate a situation already made difficult enough by battling MPB itself.

So true. At the end of the day there is something that trumps our physical appearance, and transcends the physical world. Focus on that should never be sacrificed by taking the 'easier' road of hair, et. al.

I think that'd be it, c123. Redness in recipient is a major variable in determining just how fast and complete your "recovery" will go down. I was really fortunate and in 2-3 weeks I had lost almost all redness; but I've spoken to guys who had/have lingering redness for ~5-6months. Scarring really shouldn't be an issue, unless you go to Armani or some hack, in which case it's not the most irregular of occurrances (e.g. poster Balboa).

Scar looks good, IMHO. Little to no stretching. Your buzz looks real tight, too -- plenty of scalp exposed in areas entirely irrelated to the strip scar. Not sure if it's water, flash, low donor density, etc., but something to take into account when evaluating your scar and how you maintain your donor.

The postulation would be that the gaps are a direct result of sub-optimal yield; indirectly a result of using FUE vs. strip, which has a tendency to compromise yield. I'm not sure why the gaps would be island-like, but this of course can all change as Abe has a bit to go in his progression. Could just be simple randomness. Abe's done a really good job keeping honest about his HT; even if one were to accept the fact that he had compromised some yield b/c he opted for FUE w/ Umar, the sacrifice may very well be well worth it to have gotten the yield he did get, + not having gone the route of strip. Abe's hairloss is pretty mild all things considered, to, so I think he should be pretty set going forward -- could always do one more FUE session to refine things. Just because it got mentioned...re: the Rahal patients being alluded to....having personally talked to and seen additional pics of a couple of them, my opinion is that it's mainly a case of looking for perfection where perfection can't be expected. It really goes both ways -- pics can make things look worse or better; it's just more difficult to get a fully formed, dynamic perception from pics vs. in the flesh. In person, it is easier to pick up on subtlies and things to give you an idea as to what your "really" looking at, cutting through deception (inadvertent and intentional). But my opinion is that you can get a really good feel for HTs -- even if this means having a good feel that what your looking at isn't a fully-formed picture of reality -- from pics alone.

Good to see. Hopefully the tide continues on its current course and LLLT becomes obsolete in the coming years. Though PRP already has more scientific clout, and has bought itself much more time to prove itself further, from all I see it is marketed/prescribed in a far more ethical and "under promise; over deliver" manner than LLLT. I really hope the doctors who do still sell it ensure that their patients are well-informed, considering the $$$$$ that frequently is dropped on it.

AVA, First and foremost, take your time. It's really good to see that you haven't jumped into a HT after years of trial and error looking for a solution -- I would reccomend that if you decide upon a HT, to take a mandatory 2week wait after your "decision", simply to mull things over and do some final reflection and research on the forum. Anyways, your best bet is to select a nice sampling of elite clinics (Coalition docs are as good a starting point as can be), and to do consults with them (live or online). You can also upload some pics to the forum if you'd like and I'm sure you would get some good feedback on what to generally expect. Consults will involve you sending in various, clear pictures of your current hair, as well as important information such as your age, history of hairloss, what treatments you've tried. You will then get back a prognosis that will include a graft estimate, surgical plan, and some words on what to expect long-term. HTs are tricky to begin with, and for a female even moreso, so really take your time to assess your options. There is a good chance you will get back prognoses from docs that will differ from one another, which is good since it simply means you will have more options to choose from -- but making it all the more important you take your time deciding which path to choose. Not knowing where you live, I'd try to fire up some consults with Hasson&Wong, Shapiro/SMG, Feller, DevRoye. I know they are all well-versed in doing online consults, have a strong prescence on the forums, and except for H+W they perform high-quality FUE, which you may want to explore (FUE vs. FUT).

Happy Thanksgiving, for sure! Besides our hair, life can be as gossamer as a spider's web -- enjoy it while we have it, hair or not!

There really is not much 'fake', nor terribly 'insecure', nor unseemly 'vain' about HTs by and large. You are, for one, utilizing your very own hair; and, most importantly, you are essentially just attempting to restore (albeit often modestly) what you once had. This isn't like breast augmentation, nor most other forms of aesthetic surgery where we are attempting to catapult ahead of what we "were". As well, given the harsh stereotypes of hair transplantation, going about getting one -- and particularly doing so in a transparent fashion like yourself -- is quite bold, and really very secure. Whether you should get the surgery you have in mind I honestly can not tell you, however; it does seem to me that your family loves you and supports you as you currently are. So, if you do get the HT, really do it solely for yourself, and take in to account the considerations associated with all HTs before commiting.

Jo, or Doug, Re: scar tissue. You mention Dr. Wong's experience grafting into scar tissue. Do you mean, specifically, a certain feel/tecnique that Dr. Wong has developed, and/or that he simply evaluates the scar tissue that is to be operated on, and just knows whether it's a go or no-go based off the severity, or is scar tissue for the most part scar tissue, and Dr. Wong feels OK grafting into it in cases as damaged as this one, and, of course, ones better off. Spectacular transformation, either way. EDIT -- just saw the video link above

I researched this in the past. My short answer would be that it is donkeycrap. If a year from now PRP remains in its exact, current state with regard to scientific findings/results/etc, I would say it'd be analogous to what mesotherapy is. Even then, you'd be being generous to mesotherapy, as PRP has more clout already, IMO.

I'm curious how 1700 grafts got determined. It looks like there's a subtle improvement, but he still needs additional density, and I'm curious why this wasn't factored in pre-op, unless you feel yield got compromised for some reason. Especially on the right-side of his hairline. He seems improved on his top-down shot, but the cosmetic improvement looks more minimal from profile/front, which is unusual since the reverse is usual the case when assessing improvement.

Dr. Charles, is this 1yr post-op? Not sure if I caught an exact month out #.

Typically, you can expect a futher maturation of the hairs; specifically, a "softening"....or "straightening". Your HT might become more seamless in its complete integration with your native hair. Personally, I have seen this "maturation" take place as long as 2yrs post-op, and I know at least one other who has experienced similiarly.

I hear ya....even sunlight can be "deceptive". I've found that the angle of how the light is reflecting can really make density can rise and fall accordingly. I also think that only truly strong sun "exposes" thinness to an appreciable degree that basic indoor lighting doesn't. I'm actually going to be in Florida this week, so I have little excuse not to get some sun and get some pics taken for this thread.

Why don't you read the actual thread that you choose to speak on, CuriousGeorge, before you make sweeping statements and guesses that malign the very people who have: -- actually spent the time to promptly give the OP support and guidance, in this thread and behind the scenes -- actually spend the time to educate people who may fall prey to the very, overarching situation which the OP unfortunately fell into

Julius, the issue of perspective and what metric we are using to determine "see through" needs to be clarified. But I'm not sure it even can truly be clarified since it is such a subjective, and, importantly, moving target. When I spike my hair up it is "see through"; when I style it most any other way, including how I want to style it, it isn't. Is my HT "see through"? I don't know. With any HT that doesn't restor *true*-density, there will be the interplay of exposure: a certain, given degree of actual density over the backdrop of hair characteristics that when styled or not-styled like ______ will look _____. For most any you can take their hair and make it look see-thru; the question is really under what conditons is this happening, and how do these specific instances reflect your specific wants/desires.

To be blunt, and state what has obviously occurred, Armani feasted on the emotions (and wallets) of a legion of young guys experiencing MPB to varying degrees, and the magic act of his FUE was a pretty brilliant selling point in getting a literal army of dudes into the surgical chair for a.....'non-surgical'...procedure. The *many* young guys I have personally spoken to who are victims of Armani say as much themselves. Balboa, IMHO, is a good Armani result, and I truly feel happy for him that he ended up as "good" as he has. Regarding the over-quoting that you received, Rach, it is pretty common practice. On most, but not all, people were overquoted to attempt to compensate for the putrid yield...perhaps? As if this savagry onto our donors isn't bad enough in and of itself, the yield and trauma can be so bad that even a TRULY blatent over-quoting can't produce a halfway decent cosmetic effect. This topic is really played out at this point, and it's a shame Master sprouted up on new forums to corrupt from within, a' la HairLossHelp. Prediction: the same things will occur. Insanity is expecting 2+2 to suddenly not equal 4. This isn't even the greatest thread for info on it, but I'd encourage *ANYONE* who ever happens to read this and is considering surgery with "Armani" (is that even even his birth name? o', I know...) to search for all threads concerning Armani on this site, as well as HairLossHelp (or what is left of it.... ), and any other forum that allows TRUE free speach. And if you *STILL* want to go to Armani *PLEASE* contact me and I will arrange for you to personally speak and hopefully *MEET* with guys whose lives have been *DESTROYED* and made living Hells.

I think it'd be tough to make a blanket statement and give a rough figure/% that would apply to hair transplantation as a whole, Maxxy. I think Spex laid it out for the host of limitations that can occur just on account of our own bodies. Even then, there are very few clinics capable of doing 5k+ -- safely -- without sacrificing the quality of their closure, and having a staff large enough to handle the sheer workload of such a session size. To top it all off, we only get to see a % of cases that are allowed to be posted publically. 5k+ is certainly rarefied air, but 4k....even 3k...is pretty rare in the context of hair transplantation as a whole, even to this day.

drmstx, Could you clarify what you mean by "I have a feeling the doctor plays with the graft numbers a little."? Also, are you sure that Dr. Madhu performs 3 --if not more -- surgeries in a given day?

Outside of guys low on the NW scale, I would say that Shuffle has the best restoration ever, at least in terms of how much density he seems to have. That said, it took him multiple ops, and I remember him getting a good # of grafts to cover his real estate. This is from memory. I do agree that most HTs won't look "mint" with just a "few strokes of the comb"; but I'm not sure I'm sold that our physiologies are in this flux and sway between high and low %s of yield from patient to patient.

You should show a 'before' photo to compare with your after. It doesn't seem like Armani bludgeoned you like he did Balboa and others, but it does look pluggy (maybe it's just the photo). If you're happy that's what matters, though. Kinda like winning the lotto when it comes to Armani. But I guess it does happen from time to time. And while it's nice to know you have a primary job in this economy, it is meaningless with regard to whether you would be on Armani's payroll -- many of his shills (and other hacks' shills) simply do their master's bidding on the side. Every Armani patient is welcome to post their results; post quality befores, quality afters, act like a quality individual, and be treated as such. This has always been the case, and it simply is the case. To insinuate otherwise is a falsehood, and is in line with the very reasons it has been suggested that Master is greesing your wheels to get you to act like this. You haven't been treated with kid gloves -- but it is just because of your passive-aggressive attitude. And the fact you also just so happen to be attempting to pump up the greatest 21st century butcher and conman in hair transplantation. I don't know if you are a shill, and I honestly don't really care all that much in this instance, so I'd just assume you are not. But the most unfortunate and meaningful thing is that, with Armani, you so easily could be; whether you yourself happen to be one is a drop in the bucket when it comes to Armani.