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arfy

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Everything posted by arfy

  1. Kassimer doesn't have a reputation for using cutting edge techniques. I heard Kassimer did Sly Stallone (?) and Stallone wears a hairpiece. What does that tell you?
  2. If it's a conventional transplant then you're probably looking at all the grafts (no new ones will pop up as latecomers, most likely). However you can probably expect that the grafted hairs you already do see will get somewhat sturdier. That extra diameter per follicle will provide better coverage. Sometimes people refer to this as your hair transplant 'maturing'. It's not going to look incredibly different but it should continue to show a subtle improvement, sometimes even up to the 1.5 or 2 year point.
  3. Be careful, women are sometimes not good candidates for a hair transplant. In some cases females will have diffuse hair loss all over their head, and not have a stable donor supply. So the transplanted hair could be subject to being lost, in the future. Do tons of research if you want a hair transplant. If you are a female then see if there is a physical cause for your hair loss that you can address with medication... Talk to a dermatologist and possibly an endocrinologist. A hair transplant should be your last option in my opinion, and if it comes down to that, make sure you have researched it inside and out! It's not like getting your tonsils removed, there are a lot of different variables and it's all too easy to make a mistake or go into it blindly.
  4. Hawk You mentioned you want a "total solution". You may have an unrealistic idea about what hair transplants can achieve (?) There is simply not enough donor hair available to restore your entire head to "pre hair loss" levels. The crown area can require a huge number of grafts for some guys. It's possible to use up your entire donor supply just in the crown area (!) leaving no hair available to graft in the hairline area. The hairline is generally considered the first priority however, as it frames the face. The crown is a large area, and because of the "spiral" pattern the hair does not lay over itself the way it does when the hair is only going in only direction... like in the front. This means it takes more grafts to cover a given area in the crown, than it would take to cover the same given area in the mid scalp, for example. Be sure you have a realistic idea about what surgery can accomplish. It will not restore all of your hair. And it will not prevent additional hair loss (for that you would need Propecia, etc). Maybe you need to get a handle on what a hair transplant can accomplish? Most doctors will discourage you from grafting heavily in the crown, because you need to reserve some donor supply to make sure the front is taken care of. Don't be surprised if you hear this from other doctors besides Dr Woods. Many doctors approach the crown with caution, especially if the crown is one of the first priorities that the patient wants to take care of. And please don't "doctor shop" until you find a doctor who will do whatever you want... decide on a doctor who you think is GREAT and then consider actually taking their advice! If they warn you not to do something then you probably shouldn't do it!!!!
  5. A lot of clinics offer you "extra grafts" or other "specials" as a way to lure you in. It's like a restaurant that gives you a "free" dessert, if you eat dinner there. They're trying to make it seem like you're getting something for nothing, it's an old sales trick. Who cares if you got a "free" dessert if your steak was burnt and the vegetables were cold. That's how I'd describe what you're getting at these big franchise clinics.
  6. I thought there was a way to remove the hairs via Laser (epilight?) I really should not comment on hair removal because I don't know very much. I also goofed when I said you could "remove the graft" with laser. That's actually not what you would do (or want to do). I was trying to describe removing just the hair, not removing the actual graft itself (sometimes known as graft correction or repair). Mea culpa...
  7. Um well then what is the rationale? At most clinics the doctor creates the recipient sites (where the grafts are placed) and at some clinics the doctor is there placing grafts along with his staff. My understanding is that at the Limmer clinic, the "techs" actually do everything except take out the donor strip and sew up the donor area. So what do you suppose the rationale for that is? Sometimes I hear people say "well the techs can do "____" (whatever task) better than the doctor can, because they do it all day long". That's a sorry excuse. Maybe they can train some monkeys to do it then, if it doesn't matter who puts the grafts in? (sorry, not directing this at you, just blowing off some hot air abouit something that bugs me). In my experience, the more the doctor is THERE working on me directly, the better my experience as a patient is, and the better it seems to turn out later. Just like any other job, I think employees tend to be "on their game" more, when the "boss" is watching. For Luis, what I recommend is that you spend time reading the forums here, go back through the archives. Read everything on the home page. Use the Search function to look up discussions on topics that you don't understand. It's "homework" but it will pay off if you are willing to spend a little time reading and learning. Keep asking questions too.
  8. It should stop shedding. Remain calm and assume that everything is going to work out fine. This is a tough time, try to ride it out.
  9. You can just fill up a big plastic cup with soapy water (shampoo actually) and pour it over your head. The sponge is not a requirement if you are nervous about using it. But it should be fine to re-use the sponge for a few days. The shower shouldn't be nerve wracking, just keep your head out of the spray (as per doctors orders). I recommend that guys wash their hair last, for the first few days. If you soak your head for a long time the fresh grafts tend to swell up, which might not be a good idea. This will minimize your exposure to water while still keeping your head clean. Sleep with your head elevated, as someone else said. Upright if possible (comfy chair etc). A good night's sleep is important though, so if it doesn't work for you then forget it, and try the mountain of pillows approach instead. Look on the home page here for info on "best Hair Transplant". Hopefully Dr Wentland's staff used microscopes to dissect the donor strip, and used the all-Follicular Unit approach. That is considered the gold standard approach, however it is not that common because the doctors tend to resist change and just keep doing the same-old same-old. You can still get good results with almost any technique, however your odds of satisfaction go way up when the gold standard approach is used. Since it's not a good idea to take any chances with your appearance, most everybody here tends to recommend the all-FU approach. You really need to wait about 9 months to 1.5 years to get the best idea of your results though.
  10. Good thread. A lot of serious issues in this one. This undercores how problems with your hair transplants are not always noticeable until years later. Hair loss is progressive so it is important that your transplant can stand on it's own, if it has to. It underscores the absolute necessity of using only ultra-refined Follicular Unit grafts, which look the most natural compared to "mixed grafts" (Minigrafts). Minigrafts look "grafty" and are the likely culprit for the bumpy effect (cobblestoning) too. I can also relate to the feeling when more surgery is necessary, but you just don't want to have to endure any more surgery. Even older techniques can be satisfying when the patient has retained a lot of his "original" hair. The more original hair you can keep, the better it will conceal your transplant. Mayer, if you do decide on more surgery you can probably find a better doctor than the one you've been using (and NOT Dr Bosley!!!!! Do not go to Bosley).
  11. I had some FUE grafts taken from the chest and stomach, and some taken from the thighs and shins. It's all mixed in with other grafts and it's impossible for me to tell what is what. The hope is that the body hair will double in length, once it is placed on the head. So far it seems like the donor sites have healed up well. If you get up close and look for them and know what you should look for, you can sorta see them. They do not look like "scars" they look like very subtle (and tiny) variation in the skin tone. And the remaining body hair distracts and covers the donor sites too. In general the donor sites are a total non-issue so far (your mileage may vary. It may depend on your complexion, how hairy you are etc). Body hair FUs have less density than scalp FUs... I believe the average scalp FU has 2.2 hairs, while the average body FU has something like 1.2 hairs. (That's what I mean by density). So it takes a lot more body hair grafts, to accomplish the same amount of coverage as you would get from scalp hairs. You are moving less follicles with a body hair grafting session. Body hair grafts seem to grow in slower than scalp hair grafts. I'm not sure but they just seem to grow slower in general. Body hair grafts are more expensive than scalp hair grafts. Only a small handful of doctors can do them, and like a regular transplant you have to pick your doctor carefully. For all those reasons, I think of body hair grafts as being a "second class" resource of donor hair... not as good as scalp hair. However for the guys who have depleted their donor supply of scalp hair, they may be a possible benefit. If you are donor-depleted and need more grafts to get a normal appearance, then you should look into it. If you are a regular hair transplant patient and just have "hair greed" then you should take a wait and see attitude. Let somebody else go first, and report back. Wait until there are more real-world results, and the procedure is tried and true. I would not recommend using body hair grafts unless absolutely necessary, at this point in time. However it's an exciting development and may be a life-saver in cases of severe scarring, extreme repair cases, previously botched patients etc.
  12. There is a post-surgical depresssion sometimes. This doesn't get mentioned very much, bcause it doesn't happen to everybody. It may be a factor here. You should cross your fingers and hope your hair transplant turns out well, and that Propecia works for you. Hopefully you can move on with your life. You can have the grafts removed with laser, however that would be a mistake at this point. Wait and see what your results are. Give yourself two years to judge your situation (letting your transplant grow in, and giving Propecia time to work). It's way too early to try to undo your surgery. Stay on Propecia if possible and try to ride this out.
  13. By the way, I think it was a trick question. If I remember right, BOTH anonymous doctors I used for my example, were giving guys bad HT results.
  14. Personally I would recommend Propecia (finasteride 1 mg.) Propecia is the most effective treatment, and it is also the easiest (one pill a day). Both Propecia and Minoxidil can work in the frontal hairline, however they are not legally able to claim so, because they only tested the drugs in the crown area (FDA tests are incredibly expensive, and they had to limit it to only one area). To be honest the hairline doesn't respond quite as easily as the crown. However the good news is that it's easier to keep the hair you have, than it is to regrow hair. Since it sounds like that is a reasonable goal for your situation, you should be encouraged. Minoxidil is not as effective as Propecia however it works well along with Propecia as they take two completely different approaches. Minoxidil is a bit of a hassle though (a topical) and I think most guys who are in the early stages should start with Propecia first, give it a few years, then think about adding Minodxidil only if necessary. (if you are already advanced with hair loss, then getting on both right away would make sense).
  15. Hmm, looks like the Research Library section of the website, didn't survive the re-design. Try going to Google.com, do a search on the phrase the Logic of Follicular Unit Grafting Great article.
  16. I was forwarded this email that MHR is sending out, where the make several obvious false claims (dare I say "lie" to the public) in an effort to sell more hair transplants. 1. There is nothing "natural" about hair transplant surgery, yet MHR uses this phrase all the time. Natural solution, natural decision. A hair transplant is a "natural solution" for hair loss, as much as a Face Lift is a "natural solution" for wrinkles. Is a Tummy Tuck a "natural solution" for weight loss? Who thinks up this kind of blatant BS???? 2. The email claims "full head of hair". This is physically impossible. Hair transplants just move hair around, they do not create any new hair. If you have hair loss, you will not get a full head of hair from a hair transplant. It's totally misleading for MHR to advertise "full head of hair" 3. "Regrow your hair"... this is another BS phrase I see MHR use all the time. Hair transplants just move existing hair from the back to the front, they do NOT "regrow your hair". It's not medically accurate and it's totally misleading to tell people that's what hair transplants do. Propecia and Minoxidil might occasionally "regrow" hair, but a hair transplant just moves hair from the back to the front. It's ridiculous that a doctor is spreading this kind of misinformation. The thing that really gets me, is that MHR owner Matt Leavitt is giving a seminar TODAY in Sydney Australia, about "Ethical Marketing" at the annual ISHRS convention. This guy is not practicing Ethical Marketing with email campaigns like this. What's next, a lecture on good manners from Mike Tyson? I don't understand why 'ethical' HT doctors are tolerating this, and actually giving this clown a spotlight at their meetings??? <span class="ev_code_RED">Workshop 104: Marketing and Ethics </span>Date/Time: Thursday/August 25, 2005, 7:00AM-8:30AM Level: All Levels Director: Matt L. Leavitt, DO Faculty: Vance W. Elliott, MD, Paul T. Rose, MD This workshop is intended to provide the participants with the tools to develop a results-oriented, cost-eff ective, well-balanced plan for ethically and professionally communicating their hair restoration talents and services to prospective patients. In addition to an overview of market trends, emphasis will be placed on the benefi ts of maintaining a clear, consistent, positive message designed to increase overall consumer confidence. Media trends and opportunities, such as the emerging multimedia Internet and its potential for finding and educating patients, will also be discussed.
  17. I was forwarded this email that MHR is sending out, where the make several obvious false claims (dare I say "lie" to the public) in an effort to sell more hair transplants. 1. There is nothing "natural" about hair transplant surgery, yet MHR uses this phrase all the time. Natural solution, natural decision. A hair transplant is a "natural solution" for hair loss, as much as a Face Lift is a "natural solution" for wrinkles. Is a Tummy Tuck a "natural solution" for weight loss? Who thinks up this kind of blatant BS???? 2. The email claims "full head of hair". This is physically impossible. Hair transplants just move hair around, they do not create any new hair. If you have hair loss, you will not get a full head of hair from a hair transplant. It's totally misleading for MHR to advertise "full head of hair" 3. "Regrow your hair"... this is another BS phrase I see MHR use all the time. Hair transplants just move existing hair from the back to the front, they do NOT "regrow your hair". It's not medically accurate and it's totally misleading to tell people that's what hair transplants do. Propecia and Minoxidil might occasionally "regrow" hair, but a hair transplant just moves hair from the back to the front. It's ridiculous that a doctor is spreading this kind of misinformation. The thing that really gets me, is that MHR owner Matt Leavitt is giving a seminar TODAY in Sydney Australia, about "Ethical Marketing" at the annual ISHRS convention. This guy is not practicing Ethical Marketing with email campaigns like this. What's next, a lecture on good manners from Mike Tyson? I don't understand why 'ethical' HT doctors are tolerating this, and actually giving this clown a spotlight at their meetings??? <span class="ev_code_RED">Workshop 104: Marketing and Ethics </span>Date/Time: Thursday/August 25, 2005, 7:00AM-8:30AM Level: All Levels Director: Matt L. Leavitt, DO Faculty: Vance W. Elliott, MD, Paul T. Rose, MD This workshop is intended to provide the participants with the tools to develop a results-oriented, cost-eff ective, well-balanced plan for ethically and professionally communicating their hair restoration talents and services to prospective patients. In addition to an overview of market trends, emphasis will be placed on the benefi ts of maintaining a clear, consistent, positive message designed to increase overall consumer confidence. Media trends and opportunities, such as the emerging multimedia Internet and its potential for finding and educating patients, will also be discussed.
  18. Hah, you hit the nail on the head!!! I agree with Spoon, start thinking about prevention right away. Look into getting a prescription for Propecia from a dermatologist. If you are in the eraly stages of hair loss, odds are good you will have excellent results. It's a LOT easier to keep the hair you still have, than it is to regrow hair. Don't wait 10 years until you have lost a ton of hair, stop your hair loss in its tracks now and the odds are good you will never get to the point where you want a hair transplant.
  19. If you are shedding hair I probably would not add Minoxidil. Minoxidil can cause a temporary shed at first and it may just make things worse. You may have been better off if you had already started Propecia months before your surgery. If you stop your hair loss before surgery, you tend to have less shock loss than a guy who is still losing hair when he undergoes surgery. It can take a few weeks or months for Propecia to kick in. I don't know if there is anything you can do at this point except keep your fingers crossed.
  20. I agree about the shampoos. They're only on your head for 5 minutes, tops. How much effect can they have. Pick a few good shampoos and rotate them. Ketaconazole (Nizoral) Zinc (Head & Shoulders, etc etc) Maybe a tar based shampoo Maybe a fancy one Basically shampoo can make your hair feel nice, and a medicated one can maybe help with scalp conditions (Nizoral). They won't do anything for hair loss though!!! Hey, I like Vive thickening shampoo too. Also Thicker Fuller shampoo and conditioner. They seem to make my hair feel nice. And they are not expensive.
  21. Actually, a FU graft is a more refined type of Micrograft. The difference is that a FU has to be cut under a microscope, and has to be trimmed as closely as possible. An FU also cannot be a divided OR combined "follicular family" (the natural grouping must be respected). NONE of these conditions are necessary for a Micrograft, the Micrograft's only qualifications are 1 to 3 follicles... that's it. So an FU is definitely a Micrograft. But a Micrograft isn't always an FU. Mahair is correct, the clinics play games hoping to fool people with terminology. Some clinics say "Our grafts contain follicular units" (as if that was the same thing as being a follicular unit graft). Big deal, even the big pluggy Dolls Hair grafts "contain" follicular units. The best thing is to really understand the importance of microscopic dissection, and to avoid Minigrafts (coupled grafts, Mixed grafts, bundled grafts). Pick a clinic where you are the only patient that the doctor will work on that day (ask them specifically how many patients the doctor works on, besides you). You have to become an expert or you can get fooled by some of the crooks out there.
  22. Short answer- Yes If the clinic didn't do a good job then you can have poor growth (yield). However there are rare cases where the clinic did everything right, and the patient has poor yield or even no yield.
  23. In general (not referring to Dr Rosanelli): As far as the No Complaints, No Lawsuits thing goes... You can't rely on that. Just because there are no complaints on a doctors record, doesn't mean no complaints have been filed. Same with lawsuits... if a doctor settled a lawsuit (or defended a lawsuit successfully, which many do... even when they have damaged the patient they can still win) then that will not appear on a doctor's record. A doctor can also move from state to state, and his record does not follow him. His records may not show anything, if he practices in multiple locations (different counties). As an example, I tried looking up the history of complaints in NY state against Dr Gary Hitzig. I don't think it is controversial to say that Hitzig has one of the worst reputations in the business. He was being sued by over 100 patients at one point. There was a big article in the NY Daily News about how Hitzig hired an off-duty Brooklyn Department of Santitation worker, to help perform some of the surgery. This doctor is a basic nightmare and should not be allowed to do hair transplants any more, in my opinion. Well when I tried calling the local medical boards (as a test) they had absolutely nothing on Hitzig. No negative information in his record. Now how many people are going to call every single county in NY state, then do the same for Pennsylvannia and New Jersey (other states where Hitzig has worked)? I think doing some research is a smart move, however my point is that it's no guarantee that your intended doctor hasn't been sued or reprimanded. When you meet with Dr Rosanelli, ask him if he uses microscopes ONLY, to dissect the donor strip (there should be a table with at least 2 or 3 of them). Ask how long he has been using microscopes only, in his clinic. How long has he been doing the all-FU transplant (if he does do it). Try to meet several of his patients in person (NOT just the guys who work in his office... of course they look good, that's why he hired them). Basically do a ton of research, and ask lots of questions. It helps to meet with several doctors and get multiple opinions too. See which doctors make the most sense. One question I suggest asking: what would be your long term strategy for me? See which doctors have the most sensible approach and long term plan. If you are going to have long term success, smart planning is crucial. As far as Micrografts go... technically speaking, the 'gold standard' FU graft is a Micrograft, that has been well-trimmed under a stereo microscope. What you want to avoid is the "mixed graft" approach (also known as Varigrafting, Micro-Mini, etc etc). What you want to avoid is transplanting grafts that contain multiple Follicular groupings. These grafts are usually too big, and they can look pluggy. A few doctors use the Minigraft (multi-FU graft) in small numbers, on certain patients... maybe 80% single FU grafts and 20% multi-unit grafts. Do NOT mistake this approach for what the big franchises do (mostly larger grfats, with single FUs only in the front). In general the all-FU transplant is the best. You can read about it here.
  24. As far as I know: Dr Limmer's staff uses microscopes to dissect the donor strip, and he uses the 'ultra refined FU transplant approach' (see this article. ) Dr Limmer supposedly relies heavily on his staff to do the procedure, this keeps costs down however I personally would want more hands on attention from the doctor himself. He is not a bad choice, however it sounds like you should spend some time reading up on transplants, learning the pros and cons, what are the limitations etc. Don't even decide that you want a hair transplant until you've learned a lot more. There are a lot of misconceptions about what they can and cannot do. The more you learn, the better your odds that you won't be disappointed. In general, I recommend that you avoid any of the big franchises. They DON'T use the "best" techniques that you read about in that link I gave you.
  25. After the transplant, it looks like the grafted hair is growing. But usually after a couple of days or weeks, the grafted hair follicles gradually fall out (no problem... the root is the crucial part of a hair transplant, and that part remains in your scalp). You then go into the dormant phase, where it appears nothing is happening, for roughly about 3 months. (10-12 weeks) After the dormant phase ends, the transplanted hairs gradually emerge again, and grow at the regular rate... about a half-inch per month. As far as shaving your head after a transplant, forget it. The scar typically goes from ear to ear, more or less. Unless you are the type of guy who can sport a long scar way out in the open, it's totally unrealistic. For one thing you are going to have sutures or staples holding the gap together wile the scar forms. You will probably want a couple of inches of hair, to cover that up. If you shave your head, then I wonder why you are getting a transplant in the first place? Why not just continue shaving your head? Shaving your head AFTER a strip excision hair transplant (the way most of them are done) is totally unrealistic. Most people will NOT want to shave their heads post transplant, because they need hair to conceal the scar. PLEASE do not get any type of hair transplant surgery, unless you really know everything there is to know. Otherwise it could be a big disappointment, or even a disaster. PS: about post-surgery shock loss. The transplant surgery can cause weak or "at risk" hairs to fall out faster than they would have, if you didn't get surgery. Nobody is sure why this happens, and it doesn't happen in every patient. Depending on the guy, the shocked hair may return eventually (although I think that is probably less common than permanent loss...the hair is gone for good). Basically if you still have a good amount of original hair remaining, then you need to weigh the pros and cons of surgery carefully. The worst case scenario is that you end up with less total hair coverage AFTER surgery. Almost as bad would be a situation where you lost hair from shock loss and ended up with the SAME amount of hair coverage after surgery, except now you have a scar in your donor area and you're out "X" thousand dollars. One way to help prevent shock loss is to make sure you've halted your hair loss before going in for surgery (with Propecia, Minoxidil etc). This is just a good idea in general. But guys who haven't stopped the hair loss from progressing, who go in for surgery while they are in a hair loss "free fall" can get hammered badly, with shock loss.
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