M&M

FC, You appear to be right on track. Month four is typically (unless you are a fast grower) where you feel that you are at least back to where you were prior to surgery and perhaps a little ahead. So, the fact that your temple points didn't shed and just kept growing, that's a great sign. I think things look really good (from what I can see in the photos), so I look forward to some good progress by month five. Good luck!

This looks like a very nice result.

I'm so happy that you are on the road to recovery. As a victim of a bad HT in the past (Bosley), I can relate. Here's to some fast growing!

What a great set of photos. I first must commend you (again!) on providing such detailed before and after shots from just about every conceivable angle. It really does help to educate and demonstrate what is possible in the right hands. As for the results, it's quite shocking just how natural this is, despite the gel and short haircut. It looks great and absolutely nobody could ever detect this to be a HT. Combined with a great transformation from the original state, and it doesn't get much better. On a different topic, I sure do miss the large photos you used to be able to embed within the messages.

I agree - this is likely psychological as there have not been reports to my knowledge of ED linked to minoxidil, only Propecia. Did you start taking Propecia at the same time? Other changes in your stress or diet?

Mane - it's amazing what 12 months can bring! Congratulations. Also, I'm glad you went with the professional haircut and "messy" look as this really heightens the appearance of density. Thanks for the update.

A good tip is to wash your hair yourself in advance as you do not want them washing and massaging your scalp. Tell them to be very careful around both your donor area and recipient area, using scissors only and to trim just a small amount at a time so that you can still hide both areas. Personally, I went to a high-end hair stylist that I didn't know located out of town so I could use full disclosure without any fear. Of course, this brings with it other challenges, but I've found that with this full disclosure, they are *very* cautious. Good luck!

I very much agree! Bosley was very high-pressure. They act like they are not, but somehow as a young 20-something with minimal hair loss, they convinced me to have a HT. They admitted I barely needed anything, but were still more than happy to open me up. You mentioned "now defunct MHR", but their site is still up - is this something new? M&M

Going bald is truly one of those rare and unique circumstances. There's nothing really like it: - it's not like gaining weight, as you typically have control over that through exercise and diet I can't really think of anything else that men or women have when they're young and then lose as they get older that is completely outside of their control. One day you have thick hair (when you're younger) and then suddenly (or gradually) it starts to disappear and impacts how you look and are viewed by others. Plus, there's the natural taunting by guys hanging out together. It starts with a few eyes rolling up to your hair, then the comments start and it simply grows from there. Having said that, the only thing really worse than going bald, is getting caught for trying to cover it up, whether it be through Hair Transplants, Wigs/Weaves, or creams/sprays/toppik, etc. as this just reinforces how insecure you are about your hairloss, which guys just tend to "feed" off of. Slick - I feel really bad given the situation as you described, but I definitely agree with Emperor that going through facebook is not a good idea. Just dial down the Dermatch as I can assure you getting comments that you are "thinning" is much better than getting comments that you are using "artificial means" to hide your thinning. Besides, your photos look good, so perhaps try styling your hair in a different way and just ignore their earlier comments that concentrated on dermatch or "makeup" use. Hang in there! M&M

After some bad experience with Bosley, I wasn't exactly about to make a quick decision for my next HT. I sent in my photos in advance and then during our phone consultation, I found Matt very helpful and he took all the time that was required to answer any questions and everyone from Matt, Janna and B-Spot were very quick with responding to any inquiries I had via email or this forum. I just thought I'd share my experience, but I'm glad that Bill is forwarding this on as I strongly believe SMG prides themselves on their patient care, so they'd want to know about this feedback. M&M

Totally agree with the earlier comments. Any foreign body is rejected by your body and will create not only nasty infections, but scarring and possible worsening of baldness due to the infections.

Thanks Bill for the update. It's not like many/most of us didn't suspect something was "up" when out of nowhere, all of these new Bauman patients begin to summarize their experiences in glowing praise. Sadly, with one exception, nobody provided any pictures, and most were only mere days or weeks out of surgery. I can assure you that I also would have written a glowing review of Bosley ago days/weeks or even up to a few months following my surgery (many years ago). Why? Was it because it was the best experience ever? Was it because I had done in-depth research in advance? No - it was because I had nothing to compare it to so I simply did not know any better. It was only once I went to Dr. Ron Shapiro that I realized just how poor the procedure and patient care was at Bosley. Sorry Bauman, the patients on this site are smarter than you give them credit for and encouraging your patients to post glowing praise with no results simply won't do damage control... it will simply add to the damage. M&M

Dr. Paul, Very subtle and refined work, that does indeed create a strong reinforcement to his existing hairline. No wonder he is so pleased! M&M

Congratulations hairshare. That is one incredible result, illustrating a complete transformation! One question: was your 2nd HT simply to provide some temple design? M&M

True - he may not *personally* know him, but he may know enough based upon patient's photos to provide his thoughts on him as a physician. We're entitled to form our own opinion based upon factual data.

Joe - that is some very dangerous and poor advice. By that merit, you should also go to Bosley, MHR, Hair Club for Men, etc. Most of these big sites will give attention to whomever they believe to be the largest, have some name recognition or are aggressively attempting to get on their shows. Don't let "popularity", big-name interviews or late-night TV ads persuade you to visit one doctor over another. The only thing that matters are (a) results: consistent results with clear before, during and post-op photos from the clinic and patients and (b) how the clinic treats their patients in the rare circumstances when things don't go as planned. M&M

Why not try Irfanview to resize your images (google "irfanview"). And then post some nice, clear photos of at least 800 x 600 resolution from a few different angles. If you want help, help us help you by posting better images, emailing your photos to Coalition member doctors, etc.

Really impressive results Jotrontic. This represents fantastic coverage, especially for "only" 3,500 grafts. M&M

newcomer - better, higher res images would certainly help us to evaluate and shed more light on the situation. But I agree with Bill, have you spoken to your doctor?

Absolutely fantastic results. It's simply as natural as one could ever dream of and is a great transformation!

Here is Jotronic's site: http://www.hairtransplantmentor.com/

I think you may find a red flag on this one... There were photos at about 6 or 8 months and then absolute silence until *at least* 18 months post-op, which sent red flags across at least 3 forums.

I can appreciate your hesitation, but I think you will feel much better creating a new topic, writing about your results to date and posting some photos as well - good, honest photos that reflect the situation accurately. I think most on this forum will provide their honest feedback and are sensitive to the patient's feelings. I've seen both good and bad from Armani and I've also seen many unethical tactics as well, but I always have an open mind and judge each case independently. Remember - regardless of your doctor, you deserve a great HT and we are rooting for you. M&M

MarkyMark, Do you have any photos of your progress? It would be good to see. While Pats is right that the crown takes longer, if there is no growth or limited change between months 7 and 11, that is certainly cause for concern, in my opinion.

A truly great story and great transformation. Your story was one of the first I found as I also was going through a difficult time thanks to the hands of Bosley's "doctors". Your story inspired me and reassured me that there was hope and that there are great doctor's out there who do top quality work and genuinely care. Congratulations Jotronic and thank you for your continued service to this community. M&M