Agio

pic 1 week post op of 4312 grafts with Dr. Nakatsui. I have no idea if this looks 'normal' or not. Seems like I have a couple of completely bald channels near the front right, there is a better pic of the entire area on my weblog day after. those channel areas weren't there at that point so i'm wondering if i lost a whack of grafts? shock losss maybe? seems like something i'd notice but damned if i know so, any help would be appreciated. I'm seeing Dr. N on Thursday for staple removal. Top is a little numb still, some pain from the staples, no big.

pic 1 week post op of 4312 grafts with Dr. Nakatsui. I have no idea if this looks 'normal' or not. Seems like I have a couple of completely bald channels near the front right, there is a better pic of the entire area on my weblog day after. those channel areas weren't there at that point so i'm wondering if i lost a whack of grafts? shock losss maybe? seems like something i'd notice but damned if i know so, any help would be appreciated. I'm seeing Dr. N on Thursday for staple removal. Top is a little numb still, some pain from the staples, no big.

Sure three. It was 12k CAD

Excellent post Bill. As you know I have just had mine done and am one who did extensive research for years, yes years before moving forward with a hair transplant so I'm going to add my 2000 cents. Patience: This is possibly the most important of all. If you want the best results possible you should take all the time required for you to make an informed decision. Research, consultations, asking questions, the whole deal. If you find yourself getting overwhelmed by too much information, take a break for awhile and sift through the information. It's tough but trust me; your hair isn't falling out that quickly so take the time. There is a lot of bad information out there and unfortunately a lot of slick dirtballs ready to take your money so take your time and be 100% ready & comfortable to have surgery before you make the move. Cost: This is an expensive route to go. Weigh this carefully in your decision. Chances are the 1st one will be 10k or better. If you're in your 20's early 30's and a doc tells you you will only need one transplant to achieve the best results, you may want to get another opinion. Results & Time: Go into this deal knowing that unless you're very very lucky you're not going to see much in the way of significant results for months after the procedure. At this point I'm months away from even being able to tell anyone whether this was a good or bad idea which brings me to my next point. Gamble: No matter how good the surgeon is this is still a bit of a gamble. Will you lose some grafts? Will the hairline look right? Will it provide the coverage promised and or expected? All of these things and many more are why you need to do research and more research and only deal with top notch surgeons. So no matter how good your odds, you're still rolling the dice to some degree. Appearance: Okay, no matter how short you get your hair buzzed before or after the procedure you're going to look like hell for awhile after the surgery. At this time I look like a deranged Scrooge. Know this and understand that the top docs are going to want to shave the recipient area for your sake and theirs. Remember, you're shooting for optimum results here Pain: Don't under estimate it regardless what any doctor tells you. Apparently they have interesting ideas about what 'mild pain' is. It's day 7 after my transplant of 4312 grafts and I'm damn sore. Why? Well it could be because I had an 8" hunk of my scalp carved out, a couple of pounds of staples put in to seal the cut and a guy just stabbed my head with a little carving knife the size of a pin 4312 times , not to mention the whack of injections to freeze me. So expect some pain for awhile. Listen to the Doc: Once you've decided to go ahead with this and you have your doc picked listen to him or her. I mean listen to them, don't filter out the stuff you don't want to hear and hear only the high points. The best tell you what is possible in relation to what you want. Also I've found they have very high standards as well. For example, If they think you need 3200 grafts to achieve the best result on the top 70% and then 1700 on the crown and you get 4000 grafts, chances are they aren't going to touch the crown in that session with 'extra' They'll use the extras for the top 70%. That is 1st hand experience as my chosen doc stated frankly he wouldn't be satisfied with the result if done otherwise. When the doc tells you to wash your hair a certain way, sleep a certain way, avoid this or that, LISTEN to them. Those little bugger grafts need every edge they can get. It can't be Undone: Once you commit to Hair Transplant Surgery, you can't change it after the fact so be very sure you are prepared to go through the entire process warts and all before you start. Yikes,that's a long post.

Lenny, I waited and did research for 10 years primarily because I'm paranoid and was also aware more advanced techniques were evolving. Now that's just me. In answer to the question, it's not so much things "going wrong" as it is that you will notice nothing however you will have scarring in the donor area and waste hair in the donor area. This is a precious non-renewable resource. Scarcer than oil! 400 grafts I think would yield a max of 800 hairs. As the top notch surgeons do 'dense packing' of say 45-65 grafts per sq cm the result will be virtually non existent. Measure out a sq cm on a piece of paper then put 60 little dots in it then look at the area a sq cm is on your head. It'll give you an idea. Of course if you just get a patch done in the middle of your forehead you might see something

Some odd and in my opinion, quite inaccurate statements BrianH. It sounds like you have had a bad experience but with who? Sharing this may help others. No matter, at this time I'd like to address them one point at a time in the same order you posted them. 1. My transplant was "estimated" at 10000 for 3000 grafts. 4312 grafts were done and the cost was 12000. No surprises. 2. As with anything in life if you have unrealistic uninformed expectations, disappointment is sure to follow, no matter how good the result is. Oft times people only hear what they want to hear then cry about being misled. 3. I've visited with quite a few transplant recipients from top notch surgeons and though I didn't stand above them at high noon while the sun was blazing down upon them I noticed nothing untoward. See "unrealistic expectations" 4. This is truly a ridiculous statement and opposite of the truth. The 1st thing to do is read the intense vetting process Pat does on a surgeon and the second thing to understand is any money paid to this site by surgeons is chump change to them as they are for the most part considered the best in North America and hardly in need of money. In fact they have much more to lose being a member of the coalition or being recommended by this site as one crappy job reported on this site by one person could potentially cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost patients. Essentially a surgeon is as good as his or hers last transplant and as with anything in the non-essential retail business, one bad customer cancels out 100 good ones. You don't see Bosley on here do ya? Lastly, if a surgeon is crappy, 'member' or not, people on here voice very strong opinions about them. 5. In this the person having the transplant done must take responsibility and exercise something called common sense. If you insist on getting a transplant while young or at the 1st onset of thinning no top notch surgeon that I am aware of will tell you that only one or two transplants will be required and it'll all be better for the rest of your life. It's called "male pattern baldness" for a reason. And of course it will end at some point as you know because we have a finite amount of donor hair, this even the worst surgeon will tell you. If you choose not to listen or do not do proper research, that's your problem. 6. I don't like hats.

Thank you Bill-I live in Edmonton and would never have found him if not for this site. The site has been excellent in many ways for me. A

As I don't think any members have yet to comment on a HT by Dr Nakatsui who is a coalition member and a couple of people in Alberta have asked about him I have posted photos of my surgery with him which took place yesterday. I'll fill in all the details later of the experience and my opinions. Feel free to comment on the job. He trained with Hasson and Wong, does FUT dense packing and uses lateral slit technique Total grafts 4312. link below.

As I don't think any members have yet to comment on a HT by Dr Nakatsui who is a coalition member and a couple of people in Alberta have asked about him I have posted photos of my surgery with him which took place yesterday. I'll fill in all the details later of the experience and my opinions. Feel free to comment on the job. He trained with Hasson and Wong, does FUT dense packing and uses lateral slit technique Total grafts 4312. link below.

What did you think of Dr. G? Sounds about the same consult as I had with him. He's only equippped to do that many in one session. In the end it's all about hairs not grafts I think. I'm not on any meds. I'm booked for the session with Dr. N 3rd week of January so barring geting hit by a train or the like I've told Pat that I would create a blog of the process. As you won't be able to get in with Dr. N before that date, maybe it'll be helpful to you. Who knows, I feel comfortable and confident with my decision but until it's actually been done and the results start to show, all of it means squat.

Welcome Rohans. I have never had a transplant and have finally decided to have it done. Slated for late January with Dr. Nakatsui in Edmonton. Shame it's so far away given it's taken me a decade to decide to get it done. Too much time to think about it some more, lol Anyhow, I decided to go with Nakatsui as he is local and I simply felt more comfortable with him. His technique is cutting edge, no pun intended and he appears to do many more grafts/hairs in a single session than Dr. G. In my case this was a big determining factor as I need approx 4500 or so grafts to achieve the final result I will be happy with. With Dr N's technique and team we may be able to pull that off in one shot(that all depends on how many hairs he he gets out of the donor area)but are planning for 3500 minimum based on the initial consult. In my consult with Dr. Gillespie we were talking about 2400 grafts maximum in one session. I think both are probably excellent but I personally felt Dr. Nakatsui would give me optimum results given my wants and the research I've done. As for price, I think Nakatsui is slightly more expensive but it's an apples to oranges comparison as their techniques are quite different. Hope all of that helps.

Hi Rohans-as a long time lurker here I find it ironic that my 1st post would be of an advisory nature however as I live in Alberta and have been debating a transplant for some time-like around a decade or so and have finally decided to move ahead I narrowed it down to 3 surgeons so here goes. My choices were Hasson, Gillespie and Nakatsui. I have consulted with both Dr Gillespie and Dr. Nakatsui face to face and I strongly advise a trip to Edmonton to visit with Dr. N I think you will find it quite a different consult as opposed to Dr. G and worth the time, I did.