Ceasar08

I had relatively little at four months. I wouldn't expect to see much until at least the six month mark.

Dr. Alexander seems to hit it out of the park every time... the fact that you chose him will be the most important factor in your outcome. It's easy to forget how many heads these doctors have seen. Dr. Alexander can take one look at your hair characteristics and know exactly how any grafts/hairs will achieve the desired effect, how far back to go, how dense to pack, etc. Everyone is different. Looking forward to hearing your updates... grow well!

Hi Acrobaz -- You're right on schedule. It's definitely a marathon not a sprint, so try to take your mind off of it for a few months now (I know it's really hard from my own experience). Judging from your pics, you should have a nice result in Dr. Feller's hands. Keep us posted.

Dr. Feller -- I'm curious to know... As this tool will lessen the probability of "Torsion, Traction, Compression, Overheating, and Desiccation" for doctors, do you now eventually see FUE moving in a direction to compete, or even replace strip surgery anytime in the near future? Or, do you still see its primary place as remaining as an adjunct to strip? Congrats on the new invention!

In my opinion, the most important thing is the quality of the hairs, not the number. For some people, 4000 hairs is literally like 8000 for others.

I'm waiting for Bill to delete this thread and then for someone to pop up with the inevitable: "Why was the thread about the deleted Feller thread deleted?" thread. It never ends.

Have you tried medical treatment (Propecia/ Minoxidil)? They can work quite well in conjunction.

Balboa-- I think you should wait it out. All of the concerns that I've heard and read about Armani over the years have all dealt with issues having nothing to do with actual hairline design. As evidenced by their old strip results, Armani does have a very strong eye for design. My guess is that this will entirely different once it's grown out. Again, I'm fully aware of all of the controversy about Armani on the net, but I have never seen them haphazardly design a hairline. I also concede that I am no expert on hairline design... just my hunch.

I hate to cast any pessimism onto the thread... but here's what I'll say... I started losing my hair ten years ago. The first thing I read about cloning was that it is "5 years away." I then heard people complain that everyone said that "five years ago." So, the "five year" thing has been going on for a minimum of 15 years. Some people think they came up with the number five because one year is clearly way too soon, while ten seems way too far. Five seems just close enough, yet far away enough to be possible. Sorry if I brought anybody's spirit down. I'd be as thrilled to see it happen as anyone.

Thanks for all of the kind replies guys. Spex -- I'm going to e-mail you some photos in the best lighting I can find. As I'd mentioned, some lighting makes it look like I have a mop on my head, while other lighting can make me look bald. I am definitely seeing steady improvements, just a little nervous that I am a bit behind other people at nine months. I will keep you guys updated.

Everybody here is in your corner. Good Luck!

"I have always viewed patients and their scalps like fingerprints or snowflakes ??“ no two are alike. The gamut that exists in the real world includes: 1) old patients versus young patients; 2) thin scalps versus thick scalps; 3) dry scalps versus oozing scalps; 4) miniaturized hair versus non-miniaturized hair; 5) thick caliber hair versus thin caliber hair; 6) high follicular-unit density versus low follicular-unit density; 7) high contrast hair versus low contrast hair; 8) high patient expectations versus low patient expectation; 9) responders to medical management versus non-responders; and 10) uneventful healers versus eventful healers. The intrinsic variables associated with this procedure contribute to the wide range of results that we all see on a day to day basis. Those of us who are really committed to this procedure do all we can to produce the best results possible, but these many variables confound the overall process and lead to results that vary from patient to patient. I think the above quote really sums it up very comprehensively. People spend too much time talking about graft numbers, and not enough time talking about all of the other factors listed here. Thanks for the great post Dr. Cooley.

Thank you for all of the responses. I went to one of the top doctors and received a megasession. I hope my post did not sound negative in any way. I'm simply behind the curve at this point, and doing a little obsessing in the mirror. If my hair continues to thicken and improve steadily, it will be a very nice result. As I said though, I'm a bit behind the curve at the moment. I checked at your link Dr. Koinor, and I agree it is a beautiful result from Dr. Shapiro, and there is a definite difference at the 14 month mark. I hope to follow in that guy's footsteps... Thanks again for the feedback.

Thana -- I've thought about writing about this before, but I'm glad it came from you. I'm now in my thirties (not old), but you are around the same age that I was when I started losing it, and probably the better one to write about it. I truly believe one should enjoy their life and be proactive. Hair loss is definitely most noticeable and life altering when you are young. Very well written post.

Hi everyone -- I'm nine months out from my procedure, and I have some questions for everyone. I'm not posting pics yet, because with the lighting in my place combined with my poor camera, every photo I take tends to make my results looks much better or much worse than they are. Here's what I'm wondering about: 1. I am definitely a slow grower (I take no internal meds). I've read over and over again on the forums how you should wait a year before evaluating. What's confusing to me are the blogs. I have a very hard time finding people who have a huge difference in the blogs between 9 and 14 months. I know Spex has written about the 8-16 month period, but it feels like the blog pics don't really give a good indication of these changes. It also seems as if slow growers are very under represented on the blogs as well. Anyone out there a slow grower who had a lot of change after nine months? 2. Does the left side always catch up to the right? In my case, the left side is really lagging behind. Is anybody walking around with a big contrast between the two sides? If the left were more in line with the right, it would make a huge difference. I would love some reassurance from anyone who would like to respond to these questions. Overall, my transplant is definitely getting there... my hair is just taking it's sweet time. I will post pics soon. Thanks to everyone in advance!

Hi everyone -- I'm nine months out from my procedure, and I have some questions for everyone. I'm not posting pics yet, because with the lighting in my place combined with my poor camera, every photo I take tends to make my results looks much better or much worse than they are. Here's what I'm wondering about: 1. I am definitely a slow grower (I take no internal meds). I've read over and over again on the forums how you should wait a year before evaluating. What's confusing to me are the blogs. I have a very hard time finding people who have a huge difference in the blogs between 9 and 14 months. I know Spex has written about the 8-16 month period, but it feels like the blog pics don't really give a good indication of these changes. It also seems as if slow growers are very under represented on the blogs as well. Anyone out there a slow grower who had a lot of change after nine months? 2. Does the left side always catch up to the right? In my case, the left side is really lagging behind. Is anybody walking around with a big contrast between the two sides? If the left were more in line with the right, it would make a huge difference. I would love some reassurance from anyone who would like to respond to these questions. Overall, my transplant is definitely getting there... my hair is just taking it's sweet time. I will post pics soon. Thanks to everyone in advance!

The issue that I was really trying to address is what Bill called the "mob mentality." Everybody loves to jump at the drop of a hat and attack. And this is also regardless of whether or not people have all of the necessary facts and information. I applaud the fact that this forum is a community of patients who have empowered and educated themselves, and that we are able to interact and discuss hair transplants on the site with exceptional physicians. This forum also provides a way to shame those doctors who are doing harm. Patients with obvious sub-par work (to put it kindly) can take photos for the world to see. The "mob mentality" can sometimes be a good thing. When someone goes to a coalition doctor and gets a disappointing result, the majority of people understand that it should not necessarily be an issue of blame. Unfortunately, there is still "the mob" who thrives on attacking. The anonymity of the internet makes people particularly nasty and brazen, and as we all know, there are plenty of people with agendas waiting for an opportunity to pounce. This is why any doctor would prefer a patient come to them directly. If a doctor does something egregious, by all means, come right to the forum and show us the picture, or tell us. But just as we have the obligation to call out the butchers, I think we can also foster positive communication with the good doctors and protect them from some of the angry, immature, or agenda driven people on the net. LMS -- This is NOT directed at you. It's a general statement about the internet and people in general.

lara -- Just for clarification, I don't mean in any way to paint this patient as being a "villain." If anything, my heart goes out to him. He has suffered aggressive hairloss, and he has had a disappointing amount of growth. I wish him all the success in the world with getting everything straightened out. The reason I am reacting so strongly, is because it only takes one thread to cast doubts in some people's minds, and that can be dangerous. Picture the "newbie" who is thinking about going to MHR and who comes upon this thread. This complicates the decision making process for him. We need to emphasize the fact on this forum that the doctors in the "coalition" are all very much the real deal. We need to let everyone know that they are in safe hands, and as rtc put it, they are the undeniable "good guys" in the industry. It's important that never gets clouded over. There is no reason to think this is a "bad Dr. Feller result" as much as there is reason to think that this is a guy who simply did not grow. I am a Dr. Feller patient, and I can assure you that he is quite a good guy. He is simply passioante about his work and his reputation. Wouldn't you be?

Swagger -- I don't see one quote that indicates anything other than Dr. Feller's full support of this guy. This guy wrote a post asking everyone if he should talk to Dr. Feller. Isn't it obvious that Dr. Feller and/or Spex would end up reading this anyway? Why not just go to the guy and talk to him directly? Emperor -- We don't know if this guy had the laxity for 4000+, we don't know his donor density, we don't whether he had the money, and we we have no idea what was discussed. Perhaps he was told he should expect to come back in a couple of years due to his young age, etc. Folks... we are not doctors. Yes, we can tell when someone is obviously butchered, or work is not ultra-refined. But people are making an awful lot of judgments off of a few pics. notjustyet -- you are "glad" when you find a "less than glowing review of a doctor's work?" REALLY? What part about that makes you happy? I personally am glad when I see happy patients. And is this a "review" of Dr. Feller's work?? That implies that the result is due to something on Dr. Feller's part. What evidence do you have of that? I see this is your first post... perhaps you can now run a "search" feature and find the zillion photos of other Dr. Feller patients who look great and contribute something to those threads as well.

Sorry to post again... but I also think some people here are missing the point completely. Dr. Feller has actually stated that he has other patients like this. So does every doctor. He is not claiming to be perfect, nor is he trying to cover anything up. The issue is not whether this guy has the right to post, but the unfortunate way people react to posts like this. In a perfect world, people would be able to conclude that this is simply a guy who didn't grow out well. But what happens instead is that everyone starts contributing opinions as if they knew more about the case than they do. That's why doctors prefer it if a patient comes to them. Hasn't this doctor posted enough excellent results over the years for you to trust him? If it weren't for "Monday morning quarterbacking" and people playing doctor on here, I bet Dr. Feller would have no issue with showing a pic like this himself. And by the way... there is another thread right now where a Dr. Feller patient grew out beautifully, and you know what? Dr. Feller actually posted a link to this thread on that other one. How is that for transparency?

After I read this yesterday, I had a feeling that this thread would get some attention. I think what people need to realize is that this result has nothing to do with the "reality of transplants" but it has a lot more to do with the reality of life. Nothing is ever guaranteed. It's a hard thing to accept, so people start coming up with things like "he never should have had a transplant, etc." The truth is, we've seen plenty of young guys with aggressive loss who started with their procedures early and had wonderful success. Sometimes things don't work out. it's a harsh reality- and not anybody's fault. This post makes people nervous, because everyone wants guarantees, and there simply aren't any guarantees. Not just in hair transplantation, but in everything and anything. The best you can do is to stack the odds in your favor and hope for the best. Any doctor who can "guarantee" a good result is lying. That's why all top doctors refer to the "x" factor. Unfortunately, Dr. Feller, Dr. Hasson, Dr. Wong, Dr. Shapiro, etc. can post a thousand amazing results, but it's going to be the rare guy who doesn't grow who will garner all the attention on a thread like this one. This is exactly why a doctor would prefer a patient to come to him first. Posting in a public forum causes everyone to start bashing with stuff like: "what went wrong?" and "this guy never should have had a transplant." Everyone is just dying to be negative. Meanwhile, you end up scaring someone who might have wandered onto this thread. We all know that Dr. Feller is excellent. We know that for every guy like this, there are God knows how many successes. This forum exists to protect people from the hacks. Putting too much emphasis on a single result can be confusing for someone who is doing research. Dr. Feller is the sort of doctor you want to lead people towards, not away from. No doctor who I know of on this forum has ever claimed to have a perfect success rate. Harping on this thread is no different than showering praise on a doctor for one single guy who looks good, when he has a thousand guys who look terrible. Dr. Feller is in his corner. I've heard stories on of doctors who had patients who didn't grow, where the doctors did not want to hear about it. They literally wouldn't come to the phone in their offices. I say, work it out with Dr. Feller, he is interested in getting you to where you want to be. If anybody doubts his integrity or skill because of this guy's result, you should be just as ready to doubt every doctor who has a guy like this.. which is every single one.

From your list, my choice would be between Feller, H&W, and Rahal. You cannot go wrong with any of them. Personally, I would run with your gut feeling and just go for it....whichever doctor made you feel the most comfortable. You did the research, and now you are simply choosing among the very best.

Bill -- I'm as diplomatic as the next guy, but this Anderson guy needs to get off of this forum. If I thought there was even a one percent chance that this guy was simply stating his honest opinion, then I would agree that it it is obviously his right to do so. I think it is blatantly obvious though, that this guy is just attacking. Frankly, he isn't even very good at it. If he's a shill for a doctor, it's unfortunate that that doctor couldn't even find a shill who could write a coherent sentence. He seems to think that he's going to magically change everybody's opinion of what they're looking at by telling us to "use our eyes." He's bringing nothing intelligent or insightful to the discussion. The guy is also making VERY serious accusations by saying that there are patients following "scripts." In fact, with his supposed "journalism background" he should know that those sort of accusations are libelous.

I posted about the exact same thing at the three month mark. I was as bald as ever. Now I'm at eight months, and it's coming in. Ironically, when I posted at three months, someone else was kind enough to write that they felt the same way at three months, and at the time they had reached the eight month mark and it was really coming in. It's a big cycle. Everyone goes through the same emotions. Five months from now, you guys will see this same post by someone else at the three month mark, and it will be your turn to return the favor. If you went to a great doctor, it'll all work out. Best of luck.

I'm not a doctor, but I've never heard of anyone saying that humidity a few days after surgery would affect graft survival or growth. Unless you got a bad sunburn, I really don't think you did anything that should adversely affect your outcome. The experts on here could say more definitively than I could.