Tubs

Hi Mak_UK Unless a finance house has an operation in the UK it is highly unlikely that they would offer loans to people in different countries - it would be far too expensive to enforce the loan in case of default. Any loan for cosmetic surgery is simply an unsecured loan, I would suggest that you try UK banks/institutions for a personal loan. If you have a good credit rating then a 0% credit card could be an option (even if the 0% is only one year, if you repaid within 2 years then average rate would be reasonable). With the 0% credit cards the best option is one that give 0% on purchases as they tend not to charge a 3% transfer fee). Tubs

Well done!! Your experience sounds very similar to mine, I would imagine reading your post will be a comfort to anyone contemplating a HT. I took Tylenol for the next few days, it takes the edge of the discomfort. 2/3 days post op. I had a lot of swelling, it was great for getting sympathy but really was only cosmetic and disappeared a within a couple of days. Look forward to following your progress. Tubs Aug 8, 2008 - 3,500 grafts Dr Feller

Aldo That is going to look great in a few months. Congrats. for selecting a top surgeon, will look forward to seeing you grow out. All the best Tubs

Hi Billonny I have just had a hair transplant. Guys are really funny about having a HT, most guys try to keep it a secret. From reading the forums I would consider myself in a minority as I have not kept my HT a secret from anyone. I neither shout about it nor hide it. Is it vain? Yes of course it has an element of vanity, so does buying a new suit or putting gel in your hair. IMO, guys think vanity is somehow unmanly and yet we are all vain to some degree, we just pretend not to be! IMO HT's are restoration rather than enhancement, if you busted your nose you might get it corrected (that's restoration) if you didn't like your nose in the first place ??“ that's enhancement. Actually, to be quite honest, who cares, restoration or enhancement ??“ if it really bothers you ??“ get it fixed. The cost - Well, consider a buying a new car, that will last a few years and eventually depreciate to nothing. When we buy cars we may consider build quality, looks and practicality, but many will also consider it as a status symbol and therefore pay more than they need. If you had to choose between a new car and not being bald ??“ well that is easy, how many of us get seriously depressed / troubled because they don't have a newer / better model car? Hope you don't mind me offering the following advice ??“ f*** what other people think, do it (or not) for yourself and do not worry about what people might think and say. If you go to a top surgeon then people might say "that's the guy who had a hair transplant" but likely as not they will also say "you can't tell, it looks great". Guys who are not bald wouldn't understand guys that are bald will be jealous! Apologies that didn't actually answer any of your questions!! Tubs

Andy I agree with the above posts, however I suggest you research well and choose a clinic(s) that posts a high quantity of consistent results (IMO - Shapiro clinic is definetly one of those). I have just had surgery and in my experience you will get a great deal of comfort knowning that the clinic you choose has evidence on a public forum of consistent results and patient feedback. Tubs

Hi Dewayne The following is my understanding: Until the strip is actually removed, any graft quotation can only be an estimate. Dr Feller's philosophy is to maximise the session without compromising the donor. My donor laxity was good at the sides but less at the rear (I could feel this when I was doing my pre-op laxity exercises). The marking on the crown was more of an outside chance that the donor would allow coverage back to the crown; the fact that the area was marked not shaved indicates that it was "outside chance". During the process of removing the strip Dr Feller adjusts the width of the strip according to what he gauges as the true laxity. Dr Feller manages expectations well so the fact we didn't get all the way back did not come as a surprise. Hope this helps. Tubs

Hi omviki I had 3500 grafts yesterday and agree with the above posters, pain really is minimal. I felt pretty sore last night, but watched a couple of movies and eventually dozed off. When I woke up this morning it felt a lot better, a little uncomfortable rather than painful. You have choosen a top quality surgeon so I am sure your experience will be fine. Tubs

Hi Phew - thats that done, now the waiting! Huge thanks to Dr Feller and his team - really great down to earth people that made me feel very relaxed. Dr Feller managed to get 3,500 grafts, short of the 4,000 I was hoping for but still a big number - I had good laxity at the side but it fell away at the back (I really noticed this when I was doing my laxity exercises - I almost have corners on my bump that causes the scalp to really tighten up). Although the surgery itself is a long day, pain is minimal, you can obviously feel the injections but it is no big deal. Last night was fairly tough, I just watched movies and took pain killers until I eventually fell asleep. This morning the pain feels a lot better, I took a couple of Tylenol rather than the Vicodin and they seem to do the trick. I am really pleased with the procedure and really look forward to seeing the result as it grows out. Dr Feller said he would send his pictures to me and I will post on my blog. I'll also ask for the hair count. I have attached a post op picture - apologies quality not the best. Tubs

Thanks for good wishes guys. Feeling pretty relaxed, pleased to be making another major step forward in my HT journey. I am going to be sooooo bad at waiting for the results to start showing! Hope to report back tonight. Tubs

I met CR yesterday, his crown looks even better than the photo's - his mop is going to be A1! Some people may think CR a little crazy re: hiding his HT from everyone - after meeting him yesterday I can confirm he is truly certifiable!! - luckily he is also cool dude Tubs

Aw Bill - can't you just let him post, they are are great entertainment! Tubs

Hi Guys Sorry, this is a fairly lengthy post, but may be of particular interest to any guys in the UK considering an HT. I am sitting in an airport lounge in Heathrow on my way to see Dr Feller for my first HT. Whilst waiting I though I would share my story of my HT journey thus far. I have been seriously thinking of having a HT for the last couple of years, I went to see a clinic in the UK but felt uncomfortable that I was only seeing a "glossy" side of a HT, my brother in-law is a plastic surgeon in the UK and he warned by of bad scarring from HT's (he is not aware of the advancement by the quality clinics). I pretty much ditched the idea until I stumbled across a HT forum early in 2008. I felt pretty excited by the find (amazed at my stupidity for not seeking forums out before). A HT was now a definite possibility, I just need to decide how to choose a surgeon. I set myself the following simple rules: 1. The choice would be made on grown out results, a number of quality results would indicate consistency. 2. Travel would not be an issue, I realised from what I had read thus far that the HT journey is less than convenient (downtime immediately post op, growing out 6 to 18 months) ??“ the thought of a few hours extra travelling really should not influence my decision. 3. Cost should not influence my choice ??“ (as I discovered the top clinics seem to charge similar amounts in any case). The important part about excluding travel and cost is that if you really feel you need to compromise you can gauge the level of that compromise by excluding them as factors in the first place. I narrowed down my search to a few top clinics (top as evidenced by posted results). Dr Feller was in my shortlist and I had seen Spex was associated with Feller Medical. I searched back on Spex postings and satisfied myself he was genuine and his posts seemed to give good advice. I called Spex and told him that I had narrowed down my search to 3 clinics, he was very complimentary about the other two clinics, he also made it clear that he only wanted to talk about HT's in general and help me with any questions I might have ??“ he did not want to influence my final choice. Spex was a huge help ??“ it is enormously helpful having someone in the UK to discuss HT issues and over the course of numerous phone calls, emails and a face-to-face meeting I gained the confidence to make my final decision. Even when I told Spex I had decided on Dr Feller, he suggested that I wait a few days, digest the decision and if I felt the same, then proceed. Above is bit of a Spex ??plug' but I feel a debt of gratitude for his unbiased, straight talking and advice, and for giving me the confidence to proceed. In summary, if I can offer any advice to anyone considering an HT is not to let travel or cost be an issue in your initial selection process. The "top" clinics based on my selection criteria are not the only great clinics but sitting here in the departure lounge with an hour or so to take off I feel really comfortable that I have seen enough results / patient comments to give myself a best chance of a great outcome. I will keep my weblog regularly updated and would like to say a big thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences. I nearly forgot, I am hoping for circa 4,000 grafts (strip). Is anybody still awake? Tubs

Richie - stop sitting on the fence and give us your opinion!!

If only I had seen this post first, all those wasted months of researching - all I needed to do was call the above number!!. Tubs

Thanks CR, I will contact Spex / Dr F's office - I am arriving Wed. night so I could pop over to his office on Thursday to get the prescription. Have you left the hotel room yet or are you "hibernating"? - Remember you can't come back from California without a sun tan!! Tubs Tubs

CR Thanks for update - it will be really useful reading, especially for those of us about to have a HT. Receipient area looks nice and clean. Did you get the vicodin from Dr F? If not is it available without perscription? You gotta keep us posted daily on your other thread as well!! Tubs

Gthompson You seem to struggling with context of Bill's comment, perhaps the following analogy will help: If you invite some friends round for a barbeque and one of your guest's pisses in a bush you might raise an eyebrow, if that same friend pisses on your hot dog you would ask him to leave the party. As this was your thread originally, would you care to continue its original theme or confirm you misunderstood the structure of the site? Dewayne ??“ I sympathise with your "ignore" feature, but if we do not respond, new readers of this site may be swayed and therefore lose the benefit that this site has to offer in researching HT's. I am defending this site not because it is perfect and not because I agree with everything that is posted, what the majority of members would agree (IMO) is that it is a great research tool and has benefited many of us.* Tubs *edited - changed the "we" for "I" (realised what a sanctimonious ****** I was sounding)

CR I don't think its impossible, but you are going to have to make up a story about what happened to you when you were travelling back. Attached map will help in deciding which route you "came back". Hope it helps Tubs

Night and day Richie! Makes the HT journey worth the wait! Surely seeing your previous posts you said "oh f*** I am going bald" - I assume your mum was in the room when you typed it! Tubs

CR Just sent you a pm. Cheers Tubs

Crown That would be great! I'll get the beers! - sh*t, just remembered no beers for me just OJ! (had to give up the cigs as well). I would be excited to, that's gonna produce a great mop. Tubs

Crown Congrats mate, thats going to give you great coverage. I am booked in at the Andrew from the 6th to 9th for my HT next week - be good to get some tips if possible! All the best for a speedy recovery. tubs

Dewayne From your post above: "I have enough a problem meeting my wife's standards." Give up man, it can't be done! Tubs

"The AMA recommends that all physicians disclose a conflict of interest when making recommendations" A few questions: 1. From the above statement, not sure who the physicians are recommending, - the site? 2. Can you paste the disclosure requirement to which you refer. "Recommends" is not a particularly strong term, I would be interested if it actually requires disclosure of amounts paid (as per your original question). 3. Whilst on the subject of disclosure, which physician do you work for? Most posters are aware of that doctors recommended on the forum pay fees, if a doctor posted poor results / no results the "patients" would comment accordingly. If a doctors results are good they are praised, by forum members, irrespective of membership status. Out of interest whats your business model for a forum and how would you pay its running costs? Tubs

I could not agree more with Clive's final comment - "Results count". To link to another thread posted recently, I do not see how any clinic can be compared to the top North American clinics without posting a resaonable quantity of results. In my opinion, anybody researching needs evidence that high quality, consistent results are being produced. The issue of consistency can only be satisfied by seeing many results and patient experiences. Clinics have to earn their "stripes" on the forums by encouraging clients to post - a quick search on the forums would clearly show that UK guys are far from "shy" and post their results for the benefit of the community. I believe that I throughly researched the various forums, and based on the evidence of results booked my ticket to North America. I am flying out in early August, before I go will post my experience to date and start my "blog" with the before photo's. Tubs