Tom R.

Bill, This pic is approximately 14 months post-op from my last HT with SMG in February of '08. I've had 4 HT's (3 with SMG). My PRP treatment was performed on June 30, 2009 by Joe Greco. I know that pic gives the illusion of full density but I am not so fortunate. I was driving my t-top car around town today and the visual was not as pretty as the picture you see here. I'll snap some pics beginning at eight weeks and update this thread at that time. However, I am of the opinion that my hair is thicker. As far as growth is concerned, I cannot be certain. However, I'll ask my styilst this Saturday. She has been with me for the last 20 years and witnessed my journey through all of my HT's. And for the record: I believe I mentioned this before. Two weeks prior to my PRP treatment, I quit Proscar/Propecia after over 10 years of use and stopped using Rogaine Foam at the same time after adding it shortly after my last HT (1 1/2 years ago). In the coming months, I'll let all of you know exactly what PRP has or has not done for someone who's ditched all other treatments.

This is my hair in late April of 2009. Perhaps now those of you asking me to determine my results with prp aftre 5 weeks can see how difficult is can be. My hiar is the about the same but feels thicker. That's all I can really offer right now.

For what it's worth, I have always believed that the trauma caused to the recipient area during hair transplants kick started growth of otherwise miniaturizing follicles. My hair was at its best about 6-8 months post-op and then would level out. I'm certain, without actaul proof, that the trauma caused by these tiny incisions created a temporary surge in the blood supply to the recipient area while it went through the healing process. I had a PRP procedure and my hair has thickened and I'm 5 weeks post treatment. For all the skeptics, these are simply my own personal observations I'm passing along to anyone interested enough to read through it and take it for what it's worth. Good luck to all of you but I will be heading to see Joe Greco, Phd this spring for a follow-up treatment.

brentipold, I'm pretty sure I responded to your question. If I may suggest, please return to page 11 and see my response immediately after your question posted 27 July 09. Did I miss something else?

I'm hopeful that those who have read my few posts don't interpret the information to mean that I consider PRP a cure all. I don't. I did some research and decided to move forward and have the treatment. For me, I considered two things. First, I felt comfortable with what research I performed on the subject. Second, I could afford to throw money at a treatment that has yet to be proven effective. Interestingly, several years ago I found this forum while searching for hair loss help. There were no guarantees that a physician recommended by this website would satisfy my hair loss concerns. I am not a perfect human being. I did the best I could and made, what I thought were well informed decisions. I feel the same way about my decision to have Joe Greco perform a PRP treatment on my scalp. To this point I do not regret the decision but only time will tell. BTW-It is one month tomorrow. For those of you who remain cautious to the end, I applaud your decision and stand by you. For those of you, like me, who have decided to give PRP a shot, the same applies to you. I wish us all well in this journey to find answers to our hair loss concerns and I respectfully thank each and every one of you who have contributed to this forum in any fashion. As the days pass, I am more than happy to share my self-assessment of PRP as a hair loss treatment. I have no photos. I simply don't enjoy looking at myself that much. However, there are forum members here that live in Chicago and I'd be willing to meet anyone in person and share what I can.

hdude46, I've had side effects for probably 5 years and I'm tired of not being myself. I will monitor my progression and/or regression in the next several months and if necessary, I'll evaluate my situation and decide then if I want to return to using Proscar and Rogaine Foam. I'm hopeful that despite stopping, that PRP will override my lack of a dht blocker and allow me to keep what I have. I can always go back if necessary.

brentipold, I have a significant amount of hair on my head from successes with both Proscar and HT's. So, at this point, it is very difficult for me to discern any significant improvement. As time passes, I will have more of an opportunity to evaluate PRP as a hair loss treatment. I will periodically update those who are interested in my self-assessment.

As some of you have read, I had a PRP treatment with Joe Greco, Phd on June 30, 2009. No pictures were taken as Joe and I were too busy talking and half way through the procedure he mentioned to his assistant that he forget to take pictures. Anyway, Joe said my treatment should last about a year and that I could return then for a follow-up visit/treatment. I'd like to add that Joe had his assistant draw 120cc's of blood versus the norm of 60cc's. I asked the assistant about this prior to meeting Joe and she said he routinely modifies that part of the PRP protocol. I never spoke to Joe about that issue so I can't elaborate on his decision to vary the amount of blood used during PRP treatments. Without pictures I can only offer my self-assessment of PRP to those who are interested. I should also mention that I quit using Proscar after 10 years just two weeks prior to my PRP treatment and also discontinued the use of Rogaine Foam after 1 year of use. Things should get interesting, good or bad, in the next 6-9 months.

hdude46, I will be happy to share my results with all the members of this fune community. I will tell you all upfront that Joe Greco DID NOT take any photos of my procedure. We were chatting so much, he mentioned it to me about half way through the procedure. I will, however, be honest and give you my best assessment of the therapy. I am also in a strange position in that I quit Proscar cold turkey on June 16th; after over 10 years of use. I'm 44 and the sides snuck up on me and I'm now just realizing I should have quit about 5+ years ago. I'm hoping to return to normal at some point sooner rather than later. My procedure with Joe Greco was done on June 30th.

FYI-I had a PRP treatment with Joe Greco, PhD in Florida and my hair is about 4 inches long. I suspect some doctors might require shorter hair. Keeping the hair shorter will probably make the application easier but I don't think most of the docs will require you to shave down.

I certainly appreciated that poem much more than I did reading about how some cheezy lawyer tried to get his client off the hook. No reflection on you TC17. I enjoyed reading your post as well. Did the judge/jury buy it or not?

triffid, What you're feeling is normal amd most of us have been there to some degree. But I'm curious about your future concerns. I've had four HT's and I wouldn't concern myself with any woman running her fingers anywhere she likes including the back of my head. Do you have a wide donor scar? If not, I don't think a woman running her fingers or massaging the back of your head will notice a thing. If you are really pleased with the results of your hair transplant and there are no cosmetic concerns regarding the grafts, I'd move on and worry about something else. If you're really concerned, go to someone you absolutley trust and get their opinion and that should ease your anxiety some. But in any case, what you will find with others in this world is that they really ahve so much going on in thier own lives that your scalp will get little or no attention from them unless you tell yourself it's an issue. I hope you enjoy your new head of hair. Now go out and get that new chick you're thinking about.

aLabs, I also had a procedure with Thomas Wentland back @1998 when he was employed at Thomas, True & Wentland here in good ole' Illinois. I too had some serious concerns with the procedure relatively soon afterwards. However, even afer noticing how few grafts were placed, the placement of them and the pitting I had, I found Propecia and this site. I've had some very good success with Propecia for several years and have had three subsequent HTs with the Shapiro Medical Group in Minneapolis, MN. After my last procedure in February of '08, I've added Rogaine Foam to my nightly endeavors. I just thought I'd share my experience with you and wish you luck with wherever this road takes you. I would just suggest the meds I use and seek other qualified docs that can help you in your journey. There are plenty of good people and physicians here to help.

I've been using the Rogaine Foam for the last three weeks. I still have decent coverage so I apply the foam heavily and a can lasts me about 1 1/2 weeks. I could get away with a lot less but I don't worry about applying too much; it's fairly cheap. No shedding.

just4hair, You are likely seeing the hair shaft and the attached bulb. That is simply the transplanted hair that has decided to leave for now. Rest assured, the grafts themselves are deeply rooted by now. A lost graft would appear with the shaft, bulb and surrounding transplanted tissue.

I used Avodart for almost a year and recently switched back to Proscar. The Avodart didn't halt my hair loss at all. Anyway, I'm interested in learning whether or not I can rid my body of Avodart's half-life any sooner. Anyone have any suggestions?

How about some before and after pics from the docs files?

Topher91, I too agree with the rest who have offered their personal opinions here. Stick with the meds, save your money on the TP and enjoy life. Your hair is fine right now.

It seems like one of our new coalition doctors is/was involved in the Phase II trials. I surfed the Intercytex website and saw this..."A Phase II clinical efficacy trial on patients with male pattern baldness is being conducted by Dr Bessam Farjo in Manchester, to optimise the delivery of DP cells."

Frog, For what you want to do, I'd guess you should opt for a strip surgery to include the removal of the stretched tissue. That is a widely stretched strip scar-probably from too tight a donor closure after the doc removed too much tissue. Can't be sure of course but I'd wait for replies from the docs you've consulted and make a few more inquiries while you wait. It can onjly help you in making a well informed decision.

EmuSteve, I was somewhat unclear myself until Dr Paul responded. As it was eplained to me, I simply suffered from scar stretching when too much tissue was excised. There is no dead or black skin. It is white and smooth. I'd like to add and I mentioned this to Dr Paul, that I used ice for extended periods of time post-op. If the blood supply to my donor area was already compromised due to previous scarring, this could have contributed to the problem. And Dr Paul was a bit incorrect about my prior surgeries. My last two of 2000 and 1500 were done at SMG. The first (2000) was done by Dr Rose while he was employed with the SMG.

PGP, I guess, in a sense, you're right. However, given the area of the bald skin, my scheduled procedure won't be as simple as normal strip surgery. Dr Ron will have to go about 1/2 inch below the bottom of my two scars in two separate areas and remove the troubled skin. While combining the two scars, the grafts from between will be used instead of being discarded-can't have that. If I simply went for a scar revision, I'd still be left with two scars and only the follicle dead tissue would be removed. Hope that eliminates your confusion but that's how it was explained to me.

Everyone, In reading the responses to my posts, I sense that readers may think I've been disfugured in some way or my surgery has gone awry. Allow me clarify. My donor area is well healed as I am one year post-op from about 1500 grafts to the crown area. This is also my second procedure with SMG, the first @2200 grafts from Dr Paul Rose. In their entirety, both procedures were first rate. The entire staff at the SMG are absolutely wonderful people and I have scheduled a third procedure. I trust and believe they will address my concerns and all will be just fine. Getting back to my donor area...the hair on the back of my head is fairly short and does cover the bald patches. When I say bald, the patches are hairless and truly about the size of a thumb pad or the surface area of a nickel. That should give most of you an idea of the size of slick/bald tissue that hides below my scar line. The first one is nearest my right ear and the other somewhere left of center. A good stylist is essential (-: I don't exactly know the cause for the ischemia but only what I've been told thus far. I'm hard pressed to believe a tight donor closure would cause this reaction. Nonetheless, it has happened and hopefully I/we will eventually learn the true cause of such an anomaly. AND TO ARRIE I can safely assume that all or most of my transplants have grown. If you are also referring to the area which was subjected to the ischemia; that hair will never come back. The blood supply to otherwise healthy tissue was simply compromised in some way and caused all the follicles in that area to die. And yes, Drs Ron and Paul agreed to do the scar revision for free and reduce the price of my next procdure by taking into account my travel expenses. In closing, I hope that this has clarified things for most of you. When I know more, I will share everything I learn with those willing to listen. Follicularly grateful. Tom R.

Bill, I suspect Dr Paul removed more donor tissue than the scalp would allow. He didn't actually say the words but without pinning him down, I simply conclude it as an error in judgment. And before anyone finds fault with the way I've conveyed my opinions on this situation, I'm NOT a doctor and I still don't have all the facts or a complete explanation as to what happened. I am the patient and at this point I still have an open mind about Dr Paul and his abilities as a hair restoration surgeon. When I have all of the facts and information, I'll be more than happy to share that with all of you.

Bill, There is only one way to treat the area and that is to excise the tissue. The lack of blood supply simply killed off otherwise healthy tissue (hair follicles). I understand the explanation I received but I am not entirely convinced something else didn't go wrong. I've emailed Matt Zupan and a few other hair restoration surgeons for more opinions. No response yet. P.S. I do not have any pictures and prefer not to remind myself it's there )-: