Bill - Seemiller

Moza, You can get a hair transplant with miniaturized hairs however, do note that if hair is transplanted in between and around natural miniaturizing here, you have a good chance of experiencing shock lost to those miniaturizing hears. That loss may be permanent if those hairs were on their way out which likely, they were since they are miniaturized. Now if they were hair is starting to grow in from Rogaine for example, then those hairs would likely grow back as long as you continue using Rogaine after your hair transplant. Alternately, you do need to consider net gain versus net loss. When I first started getting hair transplants, I had some hair left on top of my scalp but I knew based on the pattern and the miniaturization that I would lose it all. As a result, I took action to transplant the entire top even if it meant losing some natural hair. That natural hair was already on his way out due to male pattern baldness and it was only a matter of time until I lost it permanently anyway. So I didn’t mind if I lost that hair as long as it resulted in the net being with permanent, thick transplanted hair. I hope this helps. Bill

Willis, I think you are far too early to worry about your results yet. As another member pointed out, you are closer to four months then five months, and some people don’t experience any hair growth but only three or four months after hair transplant surgery. That’s why you’re encouraged wait a whole year to let the hair transplant grow and mature before evaluating the result. Let’s just say, I have seen others that look like you at four and five months that looks great at the time the hair transplant matures. Best wishes, Bill

Dave, This is probably best suited for your hair transplant surgeon however, what I can tell you is that the risks or minimal if you have selected an outstanding surgeon. There are physiological risks that have nothing to do with the surgeon and then there are risks if the surgeon you have selected does something wrong or inappropriate during surgery. That’s why physician selection is vital. As for when after the hair transplant that necrosis would appear, it would be during the healing phase so anywhere after the first couple weeks through the first couple of months would likely be when necrosis would show up if it’s going to happen. Now this is not medical information or device, I’m going by my memory here, so again, I’m encouraging you to check with your doctor he would be able to give you the most accurate information. Best wishes, Bill

Personally, most of my growth and noticeable change in density and for this occurred between the fourth and sixth month. After six months, I still experienced more growth and a lot more thickening that made my hair transplant much more thick and full at 12 months than at six months. But as far as visually noticeable, I’d say for me personally, between four and six months was the greatest transformation. I trust of course that you understand that everybody grows at different rates. Some people don’t experience much growth until after six months and others may start experiencing growth as early as 2 1/2 months even though that’s exceptionally rare. But it can it does happen. The exceptionally rare may not even experience a shedding of any of the transplanted hair and as a result, the grafts that were transplanted at surgery just keep producing hair so there really is no waiting period. I just don’t want you to take answers from this topic and expect that you were going to follow somebody else’s journey exactly. Each person is unique as is their physiology. Best wishes, Bill

Ykiska, I have noticed previously that Dr. Doganay is still listed on spencers IAHRS website and has been for sometime now. Regardless of what standards spencer says he has, whatever prescreening process he uses is far from transparent. When we were considering Dr. Doganay for recommendation again, we could have simply just added him back to the list based on the results without getting patients or physician member input however, that would not be transparent. At the end of the day, anybody could say they received private input, but to be willing to go public and be transparent - there’s really nothing to hide. If we decided to reinstate this doctor after receiving this input, it would be obvious that’s we don’t care about high standards nor the communities input. It would also affect our credibility in only recommending the best surgeons. We are truly the only patient organization that prescreens hair transplant surgeons in a transparent environment. We always talk about holding hair transplant surgeons to a high standard and accountable, but who holds website owners and publishers accountable? It’s you, the community who holds us, the publishers and moderators accountable for our choices of recommendations. No other patient driven website invites this kind of accountability. Refigure, our list of recommended hair transplant surgeons will be far more accurate if our pre-screening process is a collaboration rather than just a couple of people who own or run the website selecting surgeons. Many listing sites that simply claim their list of doctors are top-notch or just paid advertisements with no standards and no accountability. Those with discussion forums have some accountability if they don’t moderate and delete critical comments about their decisions, but only this community is completely transparent about how we recommend hair transplant surgeons and provide the patient community with a voice and a chance to provide input on all recommendations. And we take patient input seriously. Best wishes, Bill

NTCP8, Thanks for posting your questions. I want to say a couple things and then I will give you my input on your question. But first, Dr. Bisanga is outstanding and I would never do anything to persuade you not to go to him because he is a highly esteemed coalition member and I would trust him with my scalp in full. However, I’m surprised given that you are in Thailand or near it that you are considering Dr. Pathomvanich or Dr. Kongkiat Laorwong. Dr. Path is also a highly esteemed coalition member and Dr. Laorwong was trained by Dr. Path. All three surgeons are highly recommended by this community and have an excellent track record of producing outstanding results. You can see dozens of examples of all their results on this community. Like I said, I would never want to persuade you away from one of our outstanding doctors. But I just wanted to remind you that you have 2 other outstanding doctors also recommended by our community in your backyard. Regarding whether or not you should wait a year that is up to you. But typically, people who are just starting Propecia or Rogaine might decide to wait a year because they want to see how well the medicine does before they have a hair transplant. In your case however, you’ve already tried Propecia and it doesn’t seem to be something you want to continue. I see somebody mentioned topical finasteride and if you are willing to give that a shot, maybe you should try waiting a year before your hair transplant. If you decide not to use any medication, there’s no reason for you to delay however, just understand that because you have a diffuse thinning pattern, that you will likely continue to lose more natural hair and the in result of a single hair transplant will likely be a similar look but with more permanent hair. As more natural hair begins to fall out, you can continue some sequins procedures in order to replace the lost natural hair with transplanted hair. I hope this helps. Bill

JeanLDD, If you really don't think Dr. Farjo doesn't showcase examples of his work and results non-stop, then you haven't been paying attention. Dr. Farjo and his staff have been posting at least one example of their results for just about 10 years on this forum. Mathematically, that makes about 120 examples. But then there are his patients who've posted their results over the years as well and are very happy. Dr. Farjo has presented plenty of larger cases along with small cases so again, your argument makes no sense. I suggest looking at the photo examples that Mick and Pete posted above and then go back and use the "Search" feature on the forum for "Farjo" and view over a hundred examples of his results. You can also view examples on Dr. Farjo's recommendation profile. As I said above, please be specific on why you don't think Dr. Farjo's results are on par with other leading surgeons in the world after viewing these photos. Please do not cop out and say you haven't seen enough when there are hundreds of examples. Bill

JeanLDD I am waiting for your response. Bill

fjavierm, Thank you so much for responding to this topic and for clarifying that your surgeon was Dr. Serkan. Thus, I've gone ahead and updated the topic to "Dr. Serkan" so everyone is aware. Best wishes, Bill

JeanLDD, I also asked Mick from Dr. Farjo's clinic to present several recent examples of Dr. Farjo's results so you can go through them and then publicly explain why you think Dr. Farjo's work is not on par with other leading hair transplant surgeons in the world. If you can't, I suggest revising your statements and include Dr. Farjo in your list of hair restoration surgeons worth consulting with. Best wishes, Bill

JeanLDD, Typically I agree with most of your posts but I personally take issue with the above statement. You are regurgitating false dogma from over 10 years ago in which most patients would simply say that you can't get a good hair transplant in the UK. However, forum members finally stopped making these comments when our community continued to show how impressive results from Dr. Farjo of the UK were and still are today. I personally find it odd that in another topic, you at least recognized that Dr. Farjo did quality work. You said, Now at the very least it proves you think he's competent which seems to contradict your first statement I quoted from this topic above. That said, Dr. Farjo has repeatedly presented dozens of examples of his results that have and continue to prove to be on par with other leading surgeons in the world. Given this, why do you continue to make comments that there is no surgeon worth seeing in the UK when this is obviously not true? If I wanted to take the time, I could present quite possibly over 100 Dr. Farjo results that would impress even the worst critics. But since you've been around for awhile and you know how to use the search feature, I suggest doing this yourself as I'm sure you will see the great work that Dr. Farjo is regularly doing. If you still disagree, then I ask that you contact me privately and we can schedule a phone call and go over several dozen hair transplant results that I select and you can tell me why you feel his work is not outstanding and not on part with other leading surgeons in the world. I look forward to your response. Bill

Skeeter, I’ve known Dr. Gabel for a long time and I’ve had the privilege of seeing many of his patients results in person and a multitude more on this forum community over the years. Not only is Dr. Gabel and outstanding surgeon who does state of the art work on par with the best surgeons in the world, but he is a hell of a nice guy. If you are considering Dr. Gabel, then you clearly have done your homework. I strongly recommend consulting with him and viewing examples of his results on this forum. On the right hand side bar of this community, you will see a drop-down list of recommended surgeons. Click on the one by name for Dr. Gabel and you will see his contact information including a virtual consult for. However you contact him, let him know that you spoke with me and that I told you that he would take good care of you. Best wishes, Bill

I’m glad I was able to help confirm your choice of surgeons. And your other concerns are legitimate and I understand them. The reality is however, that most people go through some sort of ugly duckling fees but as you rightfully said, it’s only a phase. Hair growth may occur at different rates. The right side may grow little faster or slower than the left for example but after a while, everything will catch up with one another. Postoperative redness is possible as well. I know that I experienced a lot of post operative redness after my second hair transplant procedure not so much the others. I think the longest took for me, was about three or four months for the redness to dissipate. So it might take longer and others it might be only a week. Some may not experience any redness. So you do need to understand that no matter who you select for your hair transplant surgery, that there are going to be awkward faces while you go through it. But that’s what this community is for. Dozens of active veteran members will provide you with support and encouragement as you go through each and every stage as long as you are an active poster and ask questions and share your progress. But knowing that you were going to select one of two prestigious surgeons perform state of the art hair transplant surgery and truly care about their patients Makes me feel quite confident that you will be very happy with your results and everything grows in. Nobody likes the awkward faces but, it’s only a very small period of time compared to a lifetime of brand new hair that you can grow, cut, brush and style. I hope this helps. Bill

Benny, Everything looks normal for only two months after hair transplant surgery. I understand how easy it can be to over analyze every little piece of hair that’s on your scalp but the reality is, the first three months or so or mostly about healing and returning to a relatively normal periods. Sometimes however, Shaun chair won’t fully return for six or 12 months just like the hair transplant place itself. But, I wouldn’t worry about any gaps or bare areas right now. In many cases, people look worse for the first three months after hair restoration surgery then they do before any procedure. I remember having all kinds of weird and random length patches and gaps and brakes and shocks loss that concerns me but, after six months or so, I was really starting to see significant growth and my concerns with away. In other words, hang in there. Everything looks normal and on par with where you should be. Best wishes, Bill

Manoj, If you are a legitimate poster than you should be receiving emails when somebody responds to one of your topics. Thus, you should definitely see all of these replies including mine. So I I would like to see you respond to the members concerns here and show us that you are indeed a legitimate member and poster with real questions. If not, I can only assume that you are not legitimate. Best wishes, Bill

Manoj, Everybody is right, it seems like you have asked a lot of basic and interesting questions but based on how you are asking them, not returning to discuss anything, you appear to have another agenda of sorts. I can’t see what it is at the moment but if I had to guess, I would think that you are setting the stage for putting a link in your forum signature that links to some commercial and promotional Products or hair transplant surgeon. If you are a legitimate poster, I do appreciate your questions, but I also would hope he would begin responding to all the people who have taken the time to help answer your questions. For example, this particular question about follicular unit excision, formally follicular unit extraction could take pages and pages of information to answer. It would be really discouraging for other members to find out that you ordered to legitimate poster after they’ve taken a lot of time to answer your question. Bill

I really like how do you also record the density of both the number of graphs and the number of hairs… Which I assume is an average correct? Either way, it’s clear that this is a very dense hair transplant and it looks phenomenal. It blends in perfectly with the rest of his hair. Best wishes, Bill

Englishman, Welcome to our hair restoration forum community and thanks for posting. You are selecting between two outstanding physicians and when that happens, it’s difficult to give somebody advice by simply selecting one physician over the other. If you had selected one of these two doctors versus another doctor that has a history of using outdated techniques and Peele results, I could easily give you a doctors name, tell you why and that would be it. But both hair restoration surgeons have a long, outstanding history of producing excellent results Both have been prescreened and recommended by our community. Both or also highly esteemed Coalition members - a prestigious group that represents the best of the best. Long story short, I would be 100% comfortable in either surgeons hands. Both Dr. Farjo and Dr. Bisanga have a strong reputation amongst their peers, patients and this community. I’ve personally been impressed by both of them for years. So since both doctors are outstanding and can give you the results you’re looking for, looking at other factors when she was in between the two makes sense. For instance, if you would rather stay local because it’s more convenience, then there’s no reason you have to travel because you have an outstanding surgeon in your backyard. Unfortunately, not everybody has that luck Sharee and end up traveling simply because they don’t have a world renowned hair restoration doctor in their neighborhood. You can also begin to look at factors like costs, convenience, things of that nature. If I were you, I would consult with both surgeons and then view of thousands of examples of their results on this community and then make your choice based on all these factors. There’s anything we can help with along the way, please let us know. Also, whoever you choose, congratulations because both are amazing. And we hope that you document your hair transplant experience with photos on this forum so we can follow your progress and encourage you along the way. Best wishes, Bill

By the way, who is your surgeon? It’s always a good idea to put surgeons name somewhere in the original post… Either in the subject line or in the body so people know who the surgeon was Bill

Singhair, Your question is a variation of the “who is the best hair transplant surgeon“ question. And what I typically tell people is that while there is no single best surgeon, there are standards that surgeons should meet in order to become labeled one of the best. What should become obvious, is that the hair transplant results and that you see from these hair transplant surgeons should be excellent. And not just one time, but consistently. Beyond standards, choosing a hair transplant surgeon can be very subjective. You might like the personality of one doctor over another. You might aesthetically appreciate one doctor’s hairlines more than another even though another person might like a different surgeon’s hairlines instead. That’s why this community recommends hair transplant surgeons based on high and demanding standards but also requires surgeons To present on going examples of their results for regular review. In addition, because this community is popular, many patients also share their experiences and results which is one of the best form of reviews that anyone could hope for. So in my opinion, instead of asking somebody for their opinion on doctors who produces the best hairlines, take a look through our community and view our recommended doctors results and then consult with those you are impressed by the most. I hope this helps. Bill

fjavierm, Thanks for sharing your hair transplant experience and concerns. I have to chime in with the rest of our members and agree that your transplant looks perfectly normal for only a couple of weeks. I'm not sure why you seem so concerned so early on however, we advise you strongly to relax and wait a full year to see the result before drawing a final conclusion. That said, a bigger concern has been brought to my attention. I was contacted by Dr. Erdogan's clinic and they claim they did not have a 3600 graft case on March 6, 2018. They also stated that they've contacted you privately but you have not responded. Why is this? Dr. Erdogan's clinic saw you post some concerns and was going to reply to you given that you stated that you are his patient....however, while investigating the details of your case to formulate a reply, they couldn't find any record of anyone on March 6th who underwent 3600 grafts. They also stated that the type of implantation and opening of the incisions doesn't represent their work. Can you please confirm that Dr. Erdogan was definitely your hair transplant surgeon? If not, who was your surgeon and we can make the change? If Dr. Erdogan was your surgeon, please send me a private message with your full name and date of surgery so I can email them with this information. Thanks, Bill

That’s a good question… I imagine some people try to keep their hair transplant such a secret that they did not go to the same barber or hair stylist after their hair transplant. As for me, I started cutting my own hair shortly after my second hair transplant because I decided I was going to keep my hair relatively short. I got really good at layering the sides into the top and then using scissors to cut the top the length I wanted. So in 2005 I started cutting my own hair and it’s 2018 now. Frankly, I don’t remember who I even used to see to cut my hair since it’s been 13 years since I started cutting my own hair and I still do. It will however, be a little bit of a challenge now because I decided to start growing my hair out a bit. The longer it gets, the harder it will be for me to cut and style it myself. So I will decide what I want to do as it grows in a bit. Best wishes, Bill

Beth Marie, I appreciate you sharing your hair loss story and treatment you’ve tried on this discussion forum community. It sounds like you are already aware of the risks of finasteride on pregnancy and since that doesn’t apply to you, I can see why your doctor suggested it as an option. That said, I too am not familiar with any long-term studies on pre-menopausal women. That said, I’m hoping that one of our recommended hair restoration surgeons will read and respond to this topic with their thoughts and expertise on that. Rogaine and low level laser therapy are probably your best non-surgical treatment options and even then, they are typically best at slowing down or stopping The progression of androgenetic alopecia rather than regrowing a significant amount of hair. You might see some nominal hair regrowth but depending on how much hair you’ve lost, I wouldn’t expect to see a plethora of hair regrowth. I think posting a few pictures of your hair loss would help. But if you are losing hair in a typical Norwood or ludwig hair loss pattern, hair transplant surgery may be a possibility for you if that is something you’re willing to consider. I strongly recommend consulting with one of our prescreened, recommended hair transplant surgeons about your hair loss just see what they would suggest in to see if hair transplant surgery is a possible option for you. Even if it’s not, they may in their expertise be able to suggest alternatives that could help you. Do note however that there are other causes of hair loss that are not genetic and even though you had a blood test, it may not rule out all other possibilities. I’m not sure if blood test is sufficient enough to rule out low iron levels or if that can determine a thyroid condition but those are other possibilities. Some medications and medical conditions can cause hair loss and so can menopause. I know you said you are doing research on pre-menopause for finasteride, but I don’t know how old you are and how close you are or might be to menopause. So these are definitely some things to consider. If you want to consult one of our pre-screen, recommended doctors, go to the right-hand side bar of our forum and click the drop-down boxes either by location or by name. Best wishes, Bill

Many of you see me replying to form topics on a daily basis but for the most part, I don’t share many of my own personal stories. This is because, like most people who restored their hair, they almost forget after a while that they were ever bald or experienced any signs of hair loss. It’s interesting though, because I would be completely bald on top in a Norwood 5A, borderline Norwood 6 pattern without hair transplant surgery. So people would probably think, that somebody with such extensive hair loss at a time would never forget their once upon a time bald appearance. However, thankfully, I don’t think about my own hair all that much which is the whole point of her transplant surgery. Are used to be so insecure about my baldness that all ever thought about was hair, my hair, having hair, any hair. But today, I go about my business and don’t really ever think about my own hair, only helping others with hair loss. BUT... The other day I had a rare opportunity. My first house, not the one I grew up in, but the one I bought and lived in for about 10 years, went up for sale. Now I know this sounds completely unrelated, but if you look at the topic of this discussion, you might begin to see what I am getting at. I underwent all 4 hair transplant procedures in that house, staring in the same mirror from the time I was completely bald, all the way up until completion and time after of my fourth and final hair transplant. I grew very fond of that mirror, because as my hair was growing in, I went from seeing a bald man in, to see a man with what almost appeared to be a full looking head of hair. So I decided to make an appointment to visit my old house. My main intention wasn’t to look in the mirror to see my new hair, it was mostly to see how my old house in the neighborhood had changed. But as I was going through the house and found my way into the upstairs bathroom, I remembered all those years of looking in the mirror and transitioning from bald to hairy. I hadn’t seen my hair in that mirror now for over six years and someone recently, I decided to start growing my hair out bit, much longer than it is in my profile picture. Currently, my hair is in between styling phases so I often wear a hat to try and train it much like the old days when I grew my hair in high school and had to do the same thing. So long story short, I was very happy to look in my old bathroom mirror to see a man with a very full and fix looking head of hair that can be styled and grown in any way that I wish. They even had one of those vanity mirrors in the bathroom so I was able to look at the sides and back and top of my scalp. Even the fitting crown area looked pretty thick in that mirror which I was always happy about and why I typically always loved that mirror showing natural lighting over other ones with harsh, bright lighting over top. My only regret is that I did not take any pictures of my hair while I was in there especially since it would’ve been pretty difficult holding a big mirror and taking pictures at the same time all while trying to do all this without the realtor wondering why I am in the bathroom so long. At some point, although it won’t be in that mirror, since my hair does look pretty good in any mirror, I will take some updated pictures and share them with everybody especially since my hair is getting longer. I think I will wait until my hair actually grows to a length I want it at since I am currently trying to train my hair back with a hat. So there is my story, here’s my question for you. Are there any mirrors in your house or elsewhere that you prefer looking at your hair in over others? Best wishes, Bill

Ncguy, Everything looks great for 4.5 months. Looks like you have plenty of new growth and much more to come. At this stage, I can see that a lot of the new hair is still very short compared to the rest of yours which is what I would expect. But imagine when everything grows in the, thickens and matches your existing hair length. I’m sure you’ll be very happy in another 6 to 8 months. Best wishes, Bill