Agio

It's been a long time since I visited the site. So far skep I've not had to do anything untoward so I am pleased. As I said before, that 'new look' style and me was never going to fly. It always looks odd when people try and compensate-plastic policeman is a good one Interestingly I'm at the 3yr mark , very pleased but have yet to get the crown down given a wicked flu last year when it was scheduled and so far been too busy this year. Given the last procedure I do not want it done during the summer so I'm being selective I guess- for some people the redness goes away fast but for me it didn't , took about 2-2 1/2 mos and given we're doing the crown this time I do not want to screw it up by running around with a hat for 3 mos.

After consults with the aforementioned I went with Dr. Nakatsui in Edmonton.

As the patient being discussed I suppose I should add some comments. First in respect to the frontal scalp issue , this is a very small area in which some grafts seemed to take and a few didn't. It is really only noticeable to Dr. N and myself and as stated easily remedied. Dr. N, while being up front is also quite critical of his own work-one of his best traits. It is definitely not a "glaring bald patch" and at some point in the near future I will update my blog with more comprehensive pics of the entire HT area than seen in this post. As Dr. N has mentioned I have had what I would call exceptional growth and am pleased. The best compliment one can give is that people don't notice save those I've mentioned it to and those I have referred in my area to Dr. N over the past 2 plus yrs. Lost weight? working out? new shoes? You name it but never the hair An amusing incident was an associate who I've done business with for over a decade were out last year and he said "Wow , I never noticed how much hair you'd lost at the back-you're almost bald, how long have you been losing hair?" Aside from wanting to swat him for the general comment, nothing about the front and top, that was hilarious to me and a testament to the quality of the HT of the front 2/3rds. We were scheduled to do the crown this past January, around 2500 grafts but I got a wicked flu and had to cancel. Given my business etc. time restraints have forced me to put it off so far this year. My intention is to contact Dr. N and set up for January of 11. As I've said many times to those who have contacted me from this site and in person Dr. N is a top notch surgeon and as important to me, takes the time to explain what is 'doable' and realistic in his consultation. I think honesty and managing expectations is a critical element for both patient and surgeon when getting a HT done. I had a comprehensive question list - thanks much in part to this site, and Dr. N answered all of them to my satisfaction. After many years of debating and consults before moving forward this trait along with the quality of work gave me the comfort level I required to get the HT done. Overall, aside from the sub-par pizza he fopped off on me at lunch break , I have and do highly recommend him and his excellent staff.

Dr. Gillespie told me he had one, no idea who did it.

thanks hairthere-yes it has grown in well. I think I may go your route and do the 2nd around 18 mos. It's only 1800-2400 grafts but as it will be the last one I want to ensure my scalp laxity is good etc. I'll decide when I see Nakatsui. He just loves taking pics.

Thanks Bill-it looks quite good actually when I'm all prettied up. The recipient area is still surprsingly sore so I'm debating when to actually have the crown done. The donor area is fine but we'll see what Nakatsui has to say in the New year-besides he wants to take pics. Of course, now the crown drives me nuts so I'll probably push it through. Besides I lost more in the past year. As an aside, I experienced 'hair greed' That was so funny. I advise all to keep pics from before the HT for when they suffer the inevitable visit from the hair greed monster. Happy holidays and New Year to you as well.

So you don't run out of donor hair and end up looking like a goof. Course, if you're only planning on living to 40 or so then yeah, shoot the moon.

Hair Brewer-that's a lot of area covered with 1700 grafts. Take a look at my HT log and the # of grafts or any other peoples there. It's a big improvement no doubt but the doc may, and I say may have spread em a little thin. No matter, if the quality of work is good then the 2nd one should fill it all in nicely. Yeah, we always seem to need 2

An interesting sidebar is that on this site, for the most part people counsel against having a HT done when you're young, including me. It's a brutal thing to be losing your hair when you are in your 20's or ealry 30's but most if not all of the best surgeons advise patience. Maybe thats what this Oz is talking about. There is a ridiculous amount of 'gotta have it now' activity in the world today. Course on the flipside, Dr. Ozzy has hair. Wonder how 'beautiful' he'd feel if he didn't.

Hair Brewer-how many grafts and total hairs did you receive?

The Dr. you are consulting is, like most on this site, one of the best in the biz and there really aren't that many. The thing about the best is they give you the realities of what they can do and what you can realistically expect. The one thing it is critical to understand is that you have a finite amount of donor hair hence all the comments about stabilizing and getting the best understanding of how it is likely that your level of hair loss is going to end up is imperative. Only the best Docs can help on this. Take your time,research, ask a lot of questions and listen to the Doc. Even though it sucks greatly to lose hair chances are you're going to lose more so the initial HT may look fine but in time you'll need more and eventually you will run out of donor hair and those are a non-renewable resource so treat them as such. Best of luck.

Sure, go to the doctor and get put into a self-induced coma.

Hello all-Have been away for 3 months so didn't provide any updates. I am now at the 11 month post op mark of my transplant with Dr. Nakatsui so I've added some pics that I took this morning to my hair loss weblog-haven't had a haircut for 4 months. Click on the link below to view. Quality isn't great because I suck at taking pics. Typically everyone posts pics after they are all coiffed , combed and pretty. Figured I'd show how it looks when a guy first wakes up and after a shower. You know, the real world. If you're happy with it when it looks like this, I think you've done good. Seeing Nakatsui in the New Year to address the crown-he'll take pretty pics at that time and either he or I will post em. Best to everyone-Agio

Hey Bill-I'm going in to see Nakatsui as per his request in a few weeks at 8 mos to finalize the date for round 2, the bottomless pit known as the 'crown' and at that time I'll toss up some more pics as he takes them better and I can't take em for shit. I'm told it's coming in very well but as you know, friends, associates and anyone who wants something from you always lie. Agio

At 6 momths I look great according to various opinions-mainly the Doc as he was surprised at the growth at 5 mos and a few people from this site. You can't trust people close to you, they can't help but be biased. The issue of the post wasn't about timeline, simply that images of HT patients 'make more sense' after you've had the procedure. You get an idea how and what is actually achievable etc. This is of course pertaining to those with substantial hair loss.

TheEmperor Don't get me wrong, I have zero regrets-it's vanity surgery afterall and now past the 6 month mark it's definitely growing in like a weed. I simply agreed that until you've had it done you don't appreciate what it's all about. As for the surgery itself, it sounds as if we went a different way with mine, opting to work from front to back with as much density as possible up front without the need for me to do any tricks given that I was going to need two anyhow to achieve the results I wanted and I have a good donor area. I was quite specific about that. If I had to walk sideways in just the right light or spend 3 hrs making it 'look right' I wasn't interested in getting it done. Both I and the surgeon are pragmatic-that's a big deal. You are correct, the density between the sides and top combined with the waviness makes it stand out to me. My hairdresser does good work though and cuts and blends it nicely. I have lots of body, maybe we should swap some-you can have some wave and I'll take some straight. Probably the dramatic difference now between the front 2/3rds and the crown is simply irritating me but that's solvable and not a bad 'problem' to be irritated with. In the end, it's not that big of a deal.

TheEmperor Excellent post, probably as I've been thinking many of the same thoughts and I debated having the surgery done for a very long time. According to the surgeon who did mine I was growing in very fast and dense at the 5 month mark with much more to come in a year or more but I feel pretty confident that I'll look about the same as I do now at the 6 month mark-just more of it and the look you are talking about I see in mine as well. Even though I knew I would need a 2nd procedure for the crown and had very realistic expectations I'm not sure if I look better or worse as it stands today. Getting an honest opinion is tough. One interesting thing is my hair in the donor area is quite curly and the top and sides aren't so the transplanted area is coming in wavy. As I have a lot of hair on the sides this, to me, looks goofy. It's like I had a bad perm on top. I'm not doing any fancy crap with the styling, just brushing it back and letting it grow. It'll be interesting to see what happens over the next few months and then another 6-8 months after the crown is done. Maybe I'll be pleased though I do not relish the 2nd HT at all but now have absolutely no choice given how odd the top looks with a whack of hair the front 2/3rds then virtually no hair on the crown area and it's a fairly big area. However, I did fully expect to need 2 HT's to get the results I'd be okay with and it sounds like you knew going in as well that you'd need more than one so I suppose we should both keep the faith. Your post is worth reading for any thinking about getting surgery. I think many want what it is impossible to get.

No HT is going to give you the density you had before hair loss however the results produced by the top-notch surgeons are undetectable unless it is a person who knew you well prior to the surgery. A friend of mine who I've known for 20 years and see maybe every 3-5 mos or so saw me a couple weeks back and he had no clue save to say I looked good, younger, thinner and everything else except a HT. Once I told him I had a HT he couldn't stop looking , saying 'That's amazing, I had no idea they could do that' Maybe this fellow you mentioned knows everyone who has ever had a HT and has before and after pics of em. Either that or he has way too much time on his hands.

wantego i made a decision prior to having my HT to share it with only those who needed to know. it was a very short list. as i live in canada but own a company in houston i told everyone else i had to go to the US for a month or so, that included family members. i fully expected at least a 6-8 mos wait before i'd be addressing my new mop with people but i've been fortunate in having some pretty nice growth by month 4-5. here's the interesting thing-almost every person in the past 6 weeks has A) either said nice haircut, did you lose weight, blah blah or B) said nothing. The moral is : Most people are too busy with their own lives to care about yours, family members will probably say 'wow' and you will not be damned for eternity for keeping it private Grow well and look forward to having the terrible problem of explaining your new hair to people in a few months but don't be surprised if you don't need to.

No

I trust the process lol I'm just not sure if i'm ok with "not looking normal for a few months" as the TheEmperor said. Hi Yskhleif and tobler-the emperor speaks the truth and it's a long process. there is no way around looking abby normal plain and simple. regardless what anyone tells you, it's a fairly major surgical procedure and it's going to show for some time and the wait for results is abnormal too but when you're ready, really ready to make the move, you'll find a way to deal with all of it and if you use a top notch doc, you'll be just fine

Most welcome Bill and thanks. Seems to be coming in quite well for the 5 month mark. Hell, Nakatsui was more excited than me with the growth, lol. It's like I told him though, I'm too close to it to tell. Maybe I should've had someone else get it done for me....

Hi all Well, it's been exactly 5 months since the procedure. Have added photos on my blog (link below) Thanks to Pat for creating this site, a virtual ginormous garden of real and helpful information. Thanks to Bill for being the Zen gardener and Spex and JoTronic for being the master planters.

Hi all Well, it's been exactly 5 months since the procedure. Have added photos on my blog (link below) Thanks to Pat for creating this site, a virtual ginormous garden of real and helpful information. Thanks to Bill for being the Zen gardener and Spex and JoTronic for being the master planters.

1. Reality of Hair Transplants. You could call it the 'Spex' Forum to save time. A forum where you can gently but firmly give people the low down on results, costs , number of transplants etc. A lot of people are afraid and while this site is incredible with its support a little dose of reality concentrated in one forum would be most helpful. Always telling people what they want to hear can be harmful. 2. The Compulsive poster/Anal retentive Forum. For those select few who have no sense of humor, take themselves way too seriously and feel the need to comment on every single post, whether they know what the hell they are talking about or not.