Manko

I'm going to take a guess and say that Riky is one of Dr Shapiro's techs. Having said that, I'm convinced, and am now one of Dr Shapiro's biggest advocates. I always liked the song on his website anyway. Good song = good HT.

Great work. I'd go to Feller in a second if it weren't for the shaving situation. That would be impossible for me. Unfortunately H&W have the same approach, and while I got away with it the first time (because we did a minimal hairline shave), I can't buzz the top of my head. Next stop is Shapiro. Good luck, Manko

I read back through new2's journey, and one thing that I thought was disappointing was the 5 months update cont page where it looked like there was some scarring/pitting. I didn't realize that was the result of prior work. It will be interesting to see new2's pics at 1 year. I'm curious as to why new2 picked Bernstein. Bernstein is good, but in my opinion he is superconservative with hairlines, which I'm sure in many situations is the best advice. I live in NJ, and I've met Berstein a few times. He's a straightshooter, but for my HT I went to H&W.

I'm going to be brutally honest, and I'm normally very positive. I would be disappointed, and I've considered and met with Bernstein more than once.

I agree, very delicate subject. I don't seem to read much about Shapiro anymore, although I still think he does some of the best work out there (as well as HW). I do wish Shapiro would update his website, but that seems kind of small in the big picture, and a lot to ask for just to please me...

__________________ I think we can all agree that Sizzle is actually Vasilius.

UncJim - You are, and have always been one of the classiest, most informative posters on this board. Great results, you're set for life, and do us all a favor and keep posting. I'm thinking of going to Shapiro next, hopefully a year out (7 years at that point from my last trip to HW). Good luck, Manko

Great post, and one that's come up over and over again. I used to post religiously 6 years ago before my HT, and then once I got support and guidance and went through the procedure, I dropped off the boards. Someone told me then that this would happen, and it did. I'm very satisfied with the results (Hasson), but now I lurk because I'm thinking of Shapiro, and I'll probably do something again in the next year. My hair loss has never been terrible, which is good and bad, bad because you want an easy decision as far as needing an HT, I always sit in that middle ground. Anyway, that's my opinion - good luck to all. Manko

hairloser1 - Your pattern sounds similar to my own. I had an HT done on my hairline by Dr. Hasson in 2003, and so far things are good. I'm starting to notice that behind the HT there's some receding, but so far it's only noticeable by me, when it gets to a point that it's noticeable to anyone else I'll have to go back. I originally noticed that I was starting to lose my hair when I was in my early 20's (I'm 40 now), but it was entirely hairline recession, and not any real thinning on the top, but I've used Rogaine for close to 20 years, and propecia/proscar for about 10. I'm sure that this is the routine I'll follow for the rest of my life. Good luck. Manko

Mr JB - I've been using Propecia (Proscar quartered), and Rogaine with a lot of success, in my opinion. I'm not too worried about budget, and it's hard to get a handle on future loss. I'm 40 now, and have a decent head of hair, I'm just concerned with a few thinner areas, and truthfully I'm slightly able to tell where the last HT went in and subtle thinning behind that area (real subtle). From what I hear, Feller is a straight shooter, and he may very well tell me I'm nuts and to come back in 5 years. I'll see. Bill, thanks, it's good to be back reading these posts - I had forgotten how great these boards are. Your posts are particularly helpful, and you really are a great asset to the board. I'll read through your links. Keep up the great work. Manko

I hadn't been posting in a long time, but I'm now (slightly) considering a 4th HT so I've been re-reading the boards. As some background, I had 2 HT's about 8 years ago, of only 100 grafts each. The results were ineffective, but the second scar was terrible. I had a 3rd HT in 2003 (about 1500 grafts) with Dr. Hasson, and the results were great and the new scar took out the old scar and it's undetectable in my opinion (no one has ever noticed it and I get clipped with about a 3, sometimes a 2). For my next surgery I'm thinking of FUE, mostly because I don't think I need another 1000 - 2000 strip, and I would prefer to just try to strengthen/thicken the hair on the top of my head, and I think if I can do a 300 - 500 FUE session this year, and then another 500 2 years out, and then continue the routine. I know some people think once you've done the strip then there's no point with FUE, but to me I don't want to go to that well too often. Personally I hate the healing time with strip, and my hair is not in a free-fall situation where it is thinning rapidly. I just need to touch up certain areas. Just curious if anyone has any thoughts on switching to an FUE situation despite previous strips. I have to fly in and out of JFK in 2 weeks so perhaps I'll see if Dr. Feller has a consultation available to time with my return trip. Thanks for any suggestions. Good luck, Manko

I hadn't been posting in a long time, but I'm now (slightly) considering a 4th HT so I've been re-reading the boards. As some background, I had 2 HT's about 8 years ago, of only 100 grafts each. The results were ineffective, but the second scar was terrible. I had a 3rd HT in 2003 (about 1500 grafts) with Dr. Hasson, and the results were great and the new scar took out the old scar and it's undetectable in my opinion (no one has ever noticed it and I get clipped with about a 3, sometimes a 2). For my next surgery I'm thinking of FUE, mostly because I don't think I need another 1000 - 2000 strip, and I would prefer to just try to strengthen/thicken the hair on the top of my head, and I think if I can do a 300 - 500 FUE session this year, and then another 500 2 years out, and then continue the routine. I know some people think once you've done the strip then there's no point with FUE, but to me I don't want to go to that well too often. Personally I hate the healing time with strip, and my hair is not in a free-fall situation where it is thinning rapidly. I just need to touch up certain areas. Just curious if anyone has any thoughts on switching to an FUE situation despite previous strips. I have to fly in and out of JFK in 2 weeks so perhaps I'll see if Dr. Feller has a consultation available to time with my return trip. Thanks for any suggestions. Good luck, Manko

Not to digress, but I believe scarred4life has had a traumatic experience, I do also think that he should at least get a revision of the scar. I know he visited Dr. H and he was appalled by the good doc's recommendation that he get another HT. In my opinion, I think it would be highy unethical if Dr. H agreed to remove the strip, toss the valuable hair, and then sew up S4L with a much improved scar. Maybe S4L would be happy, but it seems like a strange end result. S4L's scar is one of the worst I've ever seen, so I can definitely understand his jaded approach. I think if I was in a similar spot I would probably do the same and warn as many people as I could (anonymously of course). However, all of his posts come across as "worst case scenarios" and a Chicken Little type of speech. Good luck to you, S4L, I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for. Manko

Please don't go Hairtech - you added a level of humor to the board that is needed at times. While I never found your posts useful or informative, they definitely made me laugh - especially your last one in this thread. Maybe if your busy consulting schedule allows time, you can find some lucrative work writing comedy. Good luck, Manko

Scarred4Life, That is not a good scar by any measure. I've had 3 HT's, the first 2 were real small (100 each), and the second left me with what I thought was a very unacceptable scar. Fortunately the sessions were so small that the scar was only on one side of my head. I had my 3rd surger with Dr. Hasson, and while I'm happy with the results, I'm very happy with how he adjusted the scar. It's there, but it's only detectable by me. I get buzzed with a 2.5/3 on the back of my head. I can't blame you for not wanting another HT based on your previous experience, but you can certainly get that scar repaired. Dr. H is probably thinking that if I'm going to cut you anyway for a repair, I might as well take out a strip and give the guy a better HT. Just my opinion, and I wish you the best. Manko

In my opinion the best thing about my HT is that I never notice people doing the hairline glance anymore. I hated those subtle looks. It's amazing how people just seem to forget that they used to check your hairline. No one has asked me anything, and I think that thankfully I did my HT at exactly the right time before my loss became too noticeable. Good luck. Manko

Scalp reduction/lift is one procedure that I find incredible that people are willing to accept. I know the strip excision in current HT procedures is also somewhat barbaric, but the fact that it is covered by surrounding hair makes it easier to go through. The mayer-flap is another brutal method of moving hair. I remember reading an article about 7 years ago about HT remedies, and the mayer-flap was discussed and then quickly qualified as an unacceptable method. The thing that really grossed me out is that in the mayer-flap procedure, the hair bearing piece of skin is not completely removed from the head, but is cut to a point and then turned and flipped onto the hairline area. The turning and flipping results in a twisted piece of skin in your head that subsides in time. Thank God I'm not eating breakfast for another hour, I'm going to need the time to get that visual out of my head. Good luck. Manko

I hope to God you two guys are joking because I can't stop laughing. IFF these 2 stories are true, you should be grateful that these women are not a part of your life (I'm assuming story #1's wife is now out of the picture). You guys should write stories for penthouse. Good luck. Manko

vocor1, I don't think you know what you're talking about. Avacor was developed by "Doctors" in a "laboratory", so how can you dispute the quality of this product . Just kidding, obviously. These products drive me nuts with their deceptive advertising and how they overemphasize the words "doctor" "scientists" and "laboratories". It's amazing the people who buy into that line of crap. One guy at the local bar asked me about 1 year ago whether I thought that stuff was any good. I said I doubted it, but clearly this guy was on his way to making an order. Good luck. Manko

I don't care what TL and John Gasparini say, there is no way in the world I would go to Brandy. Just looking at that pic further up in this post is enough to make me know that Brandy is to be avoided. I always love it when quesitonable docs get brought up and all of a sudden mysterious new posters show up with their overwhelming success stories. Something is foul. Good luck. Manko

Belgiumdude, I'm not sure if they sell Avacor in Europe, but don't waste your money if they do. It's a scam, and if you read any of its history it's actually kind of funny. They claim that it works on basically everybody, and they choose their words so carefully in touting their product that you really get a good laugh out of it. They had an investigative report on it (like 60 minutes type of show) and the people behind the product were so shady. As it turns out it has all different kinds of ingredients in it including minoxidil, and that's why it sort of works. If you get the chance to buy it walk the other way and just buy rogaine/minoxidil. Good luck. Manko

Some doctores even guarantee that all grafts will grow. Of course if you're getting more than 100 grafts, how would you know if 3% of them didn't grow. Good luck. Manko

Sharp, Impressive post of insensitivity. I'm sure Mahair didn't come here to have his situation compared to the middle east conflict. Mahair, hang in there, I would seriously consider some counseling, your posts seem to be getting more and more desperate. I think a good therapist could help you, and don't lose hope, if things turn out as bad as your describing, then in one years time get yourself another session from a top doc. There's always hope. Good luck. Manko

bverotti, I'm not looking to criticize your previous work, but your scar in the back of your head was not good, and I believe it represented that doctors skill. Unless you have a very tight scalp that may have been one of the most stretched scars I've seen. I think I can agree though that FUE would lead to a less noticeable look if in the future a person thins in the donor area. On the other hand, if you have decent scalp laxity, would you consider a scar revision or if you decided to have more HT's to get another strip which would excise the old strip and hopefully create a thinner one. The only reason I say that is because after my 2nd HT I was aware that the scar on the back of my head was definitely wider than 1-2 mm, and that made me reluctant to have another procedure. Dr. H did my 3rd procedure, and he created an extremely small scar, and now at approx 3.5 months I really can't find it. I know it's there, but if I don't see it within 5 seconds of looking I don't obsess about it - my previous scar took about 1/1000th of a second to find. Good luck. Manko

UncJim, I don't think I see what we're talking about, is it that Cureus' hairline is extremely abrupt. I'm not sure I can tell what the scarring is. Thanks, Manko