Acrobaz

It's coming along. It might still be a couple of months before you really see some progress though. Keep hanging in there!

Dr Konior is a quality surgeon - a real class act. You are in safe hands.

Just try to sit back and relax as best you can during the day. Watch a film, listen to music. Get ready for the possibility of some post-op swelling. Drink plenty of water - avoid caffeine and obviously alcohol. Follow all the doc's instructions and you won't go wrong.

Good luck!

I'd sooner have had Spex perform the procedure, but as I always say: if you are going to have surgery performed on your head, it is a strong move to have it performed by a qualified surgeon.

Ha ha! Nice one. Spex would happily perform any surgical procedure so long as it involved copious amounts of aloe vera!

Good luck Joel. We're all rooting for you, especially the UK Feller brotherhood!

If you have any questions of a non-medical nature as the day approaches (transport, hotels etc), feel free to pm me.

Wow - great new hair, superb weight loss. What a transformation!

Your new hairline looks really natural Leeson!

Hello komp. Welcome to the boards, from a fellow Brit.

Well done for avoiding the Hospital Group. I had a close shave with them myself.

My own tips:

- You're young. I recommend trying the meds - particularly propecia/finasteride - for at least a year. If (like me) you are receding from the front, rogaine/minoxidil may be of limited use to combat loss around the temple area, but personally I have found propecia best at protecting the crown.

- Consider buzzing down your hair. You never know, it might suit you!

- Try hard to keep really trim, fit and healthy for at least a year - see how it impacts upon your self-esteem.

- Research, research and research - work through this site, look at the results, check out the blogs. If meds only take you so far, if you think the buzz doesn't work, if your confidence can't improve from other efforts, then an HT might be the way forward.

- Remember, and this is fundamental, that everyone is different and the success of an HT depends upon an individual patient's physiology.

- Don't let location be a barrier. Be prepared to travel far to see the right doc for you.

- Avoid the hair mills at all costs. Go for a coalition doc.

There are some fabulous tips here:

http://hair-restoration-info.c...66060861/m/505100191

Now your five questions:

1. My guess is that the market for HTs developed in North America and so, commercially, it has had a head start over the rest of the world. Europe lags behind but a combination of demand and increasing competition means that it will eventually catch up. Same as in many walks of life.

2. This site is an impartial source of information about all clinics. Don't confuse a person's good experience with a clinic with an 'association' or their bad experience with an 'agenda' - you will generally be able to tell which is which. Many on this site (e.g. Balody) have had very positive experiences with the Farjos and have no formal association. In my book, that counts as some independent research. But you need to go further: go beyond the clinic's website, try to meet patients, etc. Contact Mick from Farjo via this site if you wish; he and Spex and all the legitimate clinics have great respect for each other.

3. I agree with imissthebarber.

4. It varies from clinic to clinic. Speaking purely personally, a short waiting list implies (to me at least) that the clinic is less in demand, and that may be for a reason! That said, even the very best and in-demand clinics can fit people in at short notice in the event of a cancellation.

5. It's a bit like asking why any person of moderate income still wears spectacles if he/she can afford corrective eye surgery. We are all individuals and any elective surgical procedure is a huge decision for each individual to take after weighing up the pros and cons. I think there are at least three other reasons. First, some men look great with shaved heads. Secondly, and let's be honest here, some people are more vain than others. Thirdly (and not necessarily connected to the second), not all people find that hair loss impacts upon their self-esteem in the same way.

Good luck.

I was wearing either a bandana or a loose baseball cap from the day after the surgery. As long as they are loose fitting, you should be fine. I bought an 'extra large' size before going to get my HT.

I started wearing concealer (nanogen fibres), mostly around my donor area, upon returning to work at about 3 weeks post-op. It didn't cause any adverse reaction around the skin or scar area. The pictures are here:

http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...pyID=3088&WebID=1147

In my case, the donor area looked worse than the recipient area, but that suited me as (like you) I have a job in which I am usually facing towards a group of people. None of my colleagues asked any questions or made any comments, so I think I got away with it!

I acknowledge I was lucky not to get much redness in the recipient area, which might have made things a little trickier.

You have chosen an excellent surgeon and you will be in safe hands. Good luck!

Petchski, I can see a very clear and positive difference, although it's difficult to compare precisely because your hair was longer in your pre-op photos. If you're anything like me, the hairline will look stronger in the darker light and offer a sign of things to come. Hopefully you are heading for "good to awesome"!

Yellow underwear. Hmm. Do the ladies really go for the Bananaman look?

Thanks Benjamin - I appreciate the input.

I have added an 18-week update to my blog today. It's coming along nicely. The next two months feel like they will be very exciting.

Caesar08 always provides a balanced and well informed perspective on the risks of propecia. His advice is unassailable.

Caesar08 is right - there are those, like him, that have needed a bit more time to see results. Don't lose heart: with an excellent surgeon and excellent hair/scalp quality, the best is yet to come.

Wooooo-hooooooooo!!

Yeeeee-haaaaaaaa!!

etc

Looking good Eman! Really pleased for you.

Not so long ago, being 4.5 months behind you felt like an eternity. Now I feel like I'm catching you up bro!

I agree - an excellent article.

It's particularly useful in demonstrating that there is no universal right or wrong answer for the best technique, but that much depends on a variety of factors, ranging from patient physiology to available cash. For me, the clincher in going for strip was maximising the yield from the permanent safe zone.

Kudos to Dr Shapiro.

Excellent. It would be nice to hear back from him. I am sure he is a happier man.

It looks very natural.

Like HairHope, I'd like to see how the back of your head looks too, if you're happy to post a pic of that as well.

Fabulous. The difference between pictures 4 and 9 is especially noticeable. Takes years off you too!

Hi there Mane - exactly the same happened to me. The resilient little buggers are still there (4 months later) and eventually started growing! I reckon there were about 30-50 grafts that never shed.

Hi Leeson - good for you. It's not my belief any longer, but I respect those that hold it. Of course, I cannot disprove the existence of the Flying Spaghetti Monster either.

Terry Pratchett satirised Pascal's wager as follows:

A philosopher claimed, "Possibly the gods exist, and possibly they do not. So why not believe in them in any case? If it's all true you'll go to a lovely place when you die, and if it isn't then you've lost nothing, right?" When the philosopher died, he woke up in a circle of gods holding nasty-looking sticks and one of them said, "We're going to show you what we think of Mr Clever Dick in these parts ..."

Respect, bro

Great question and one that we all ponder prior to taking the plunge. I was nervous about it too.

You have received sound advice but I would add the following. First, beware the risk that, if you delay your return much past 3/4 days post-HT, you might have entered the swelling phase. Different people respond differently but, after four days, I looked less like my passport photo and more like Cro-Magnon man!

Personally, I just took the hat off straight away without even being asked. No-one paid the slightest attention. They were all too busy with other stuff. When I put the hat back on I felt like I had, like Jason Bourne, fooled the world!

If you prefer to keep the hat on and feel nervous about mentioning the words "hair transplant", say "head surgery" or something.

Finally, the best thing is that it is all over in about 30 seconds, but your new hair will be with you for life!

Good luck.

The low lighting picture

Let me give you my own extreme example!

Both these pictures were taken of me with low res cameras at 15-16 weeks post-op. The first is with natural daylight and the other inside in low lighting (with gel on) three days later. Now I know this is a blatantly obvious difference, but more subtle variations like those posted by PGP can fool an untrained eye.

Regards.

DDD03 - I was still getting some scabbing in a few areas of the scar up to three months post-op (see the pictures on my blog). It is quite normal, nothing to worry about.

Originally posted by PLEASE GROW PLEASE:

http://www.hairtransplantnetwo....asp?CopyID=18&Nav=8

It's difficult to add much to Pat's view as stated in the link posted by PGP.

You're right - they are very similar, and we had a similar number of grafts too. Hopefully we can both say goodbye to the stubborn forelocks in a few months' time!