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HotCreek

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Everything posted by HotCreek

  1. Sharp, If you pick one of the very best physicians (not incidentally, the same as the "most expensive") the odds are fairly high that you can achieve a great look with a single "standalone" procedure, particularly if you tell the doc you don't want a second procedure to be "necessary." Of course, you may decide you want something changed in the future even if it's not necessary. In fact, most guys I know who've had more than one procedure (and who've gone to a state-of-the-art physician) have changes made not because they need to (not to hide or "fix" bad work) but because they've decided it would make them look better. Of course, as the years pass and you get older, your hair may continue to thin, regardless of what kind of "preemptive" medications you take. In this case it may be "necessary" to have surgery to "fill in" or cover new balding areas. In fact, this is one of the main reasons most HT patients (and doctors) recommend a "conservative" approach, particularly if it's your first HT. Your photo, and the diagram on it, suggests you are on the right track, although we can't see how it would look from a frontal view. Incidentally, the other reason a "conservative" approach is recommended is that it ensures you will look good both now, AND when you are older: Most guys in the 50's don't want a "teenage" hairline. Anyway, best of everything to you, and don't rush into anything at all. Better to make any necessary decisions or considerations well in advance of going under the "knife."
  2. Alconfay, I just found the following post on this site apparently by Dr. Jones himself. I have made a personal decision to withdrawl support for this site, Dr. Robert Jones www.torontohairdoctor.com 1-866-669-6676
  3. I'm from way out here in California and am familiar with Dr. Rob Jones only through this site. So, I don't have a phone number. Also, I looked at the recommended physicians section of this site and noticed that Jones is no longer listed! So maybe something has happened that I'm unaware of. Have you checked out this section? It's on the right side of the home page. In any case, if Jones is still in Toronto you should be able to find him in the local phone directory. Hope this helps.
  4. Alconfay, Based on your photos, and not to put anything indelicately, it looks to me like your previous work was done by methods that may not be considered "state of the art." For this reason, the best advice I can give you quickly, is to STOP! Don't do anything until you've had a few weeks to surf around this site, read what others have done and have to say, and fully acquaint yourself with all the changes that have taken place in HT methods, procedures, and yes, (the good news!) prices. But, to give you an answer to your question, Dr. Rob Jones in Toronto is probably the only doc in that area that most of us here would recommend. In fact, I'd go a step further and caution you against using any physician based solely on physical proximity. You really want the best work possible and now that you can get lots of grafts at really good prices, there's no reason to risk compromising results by not traveling, or at least not considering it. Anyway, I think you've definitely come to the right place. If anybody can "set you straight" the experienced "regulars" around here (and I don't include myself in that category) definitely can. So relax, and stay with us for awhile before you do anything at all!!
  5. Teddw2ds, beat me to the punch on this one and I think his post is highly relevant. As a simple matter of common sense it is reasonable to infer that maybe finasteride is an effective "barrier" against weak and mild cancers, but just not powerful enough (so to speak) to stop the really aggressive varieties. So, maybe the only cancers that can "get through," and therefore affect finasteride users, are the aggressive ones. In any case, so far as I can see (and I am not a physican) a "cause and effect" relationship has not been clearly demonstrated, (although it is certain that many people will infer that one has.) In other words, just because the finasteride users got aggressive cancers it does not mean that finasteride causes aggressive cancers. Of course, neither is it certain that it doesn't. The good news (if there is any) is that prostate cancer screening is a fairly quick and easy medical test. And physicians recommend that guys over 40 have the test every two or three years. Finasteride users of course, may wish to have it done more regularly and at a younger age.
  6. JRod, You are hitting a fairly interesting "nail" squarely on the "head." You are correct that it is quite impossible to extract hair from any area of your head without causing some degree of thinning in that area. If you extract a lot, there's a lot of thinning. Even with strip removal (the "unfue") for area around the harvested hair (above it and below it) to be sutured, the skin must be stretched and that creates space between the remaining hair; which is to say thinning. The above posters are correct; for a small number of grafts FUE doesn't leave a scar and you probably won't have a noticeably thin look. But, with lots of FUE clearly you will. So then the question becomes: What's the tradeoff between the two methods and what's best for you based on your needs and donor supply?
  7. Some time ago Norton was in a movie where he was dressed up like a priest at one point in time. I can't recall the movie title. But if you're familiar with it, and you see The Italian Job, you'll see a huge difference. Also, as noted, I saw Norton on Letterman. It was clear he had an HT and he looked weird, hairline too abrupt and combed like straight up in the front for 3 or almost 4 inches. But in the movie he looks a lot better. Of course, they may have done something to him. DeNiro is an outstanding actor. I've never seen him do a bad job, at anything, don't care much for his politics, but he's a great actor.
  8. Actor Edward Norton, who stars in the recently released movied The Italian Job, has a pretty good and relatively new HT job. I saw him on Letterman a couple months ago. At that time he looked like Sean Penn trying to imitate boxing promoter Don King. He had a massive "wall" of hair flowing straight up from his forehead. In the movie, he looks way better: No evidence of clumping, plugging, pitting or abruptness in the hairline.
  9. Fizzlefest and Jenn are both correct: The world is filled with wackos willing to exploit or otherwise stir up your emotions for any selfish or egocentric reason whatsoever. Almost every 'net bulletin board around (including this one) provides evidence of that, as does the ease with which bad HT docs take $$$ from people who havn't done their homework. To continue to believe otherwise, particularly after a case like this, is a certain indication of cerebral deficiency. And Jenn, I seriously doubt you fall into that category, although many certainly do. This matter is just another good reason to be highly skeptical of anything you read or hear, especially from someone who doesn't have to look you in the eye when they say it. And, as noted above regarding bad HT docs, sometimes even when they do!
  10. Vocor, Flame off? And be more like you? No thanks. Calm down? I am calm. Always have been. Anonymous forum? Of course it is, but I fail to see the relevance. I'm just trying to help us all by helping you better understand your "demons" so you can "slay" them and earn our "respect" by showing us your "strength" and not have to resort to a "free" 1-800 "helpline" to solve your problems. Not that a helpline wouldn't help you. I certainly think it's possible that one could. So, I "stand by" my previous post and would add that just as many believe that a suicidal person deserves help, some of us believe others do to. And,...as I said, I'm just trying to help.
  11. Vocor You remind me of every guy's ex wife. You say something about everything even when you have nothing to say. You consistently display a "know-it-all" attitude even when it's clear you know little. You are opinionated to the point of desperation and are so afraid that somebody might disagree with you that most of your posts are self-righteous and contentious to a degree that I'd personally find embarassing. Doubt it? Consider your ludicrous insistence on another thread that the only motivation women have for anything is "security." Or consider your insistence on another that Dr. Woods is doing something "wrong" because he's benefitting from his own research and hard work and not "sharing" info. And then there's your recent assertion that another post was a "shi**ty" my-doctor-is-better than your doctor post. And it goes on and on,...and on. And now, you're asserting that you "stand by" your previous comments as if somehow somebody has assaulted your dignity, or worse, your precious opinion, WHEN IN FACT NOBODY HAS!! Nonetheless, in your last reactionary post you launch into a self-justifying stream of morally superior indignation all based on the notion that somehow everybody else is obligated to live up to your highly subjective, notions of life and human conduct. What a crock of CRAP!! You sound like a camp counselor for developmentally challenged kids. Rah! Rah! Rah! If you wish to believe that suicide is "cowardly" then so be it. But the rest of us are equally entitled to believe whatever our thoughts lead us to believe; that it's a personal matter for instance, and one that few people, least of all somebody like you, are likely to understand very well. Was the guy who is alleged to have taken his life a close personal friend of yours? Did you know him, or anything about his life? I didn't think so. Nonetheless, self-righteous, pedantic and defensive as ever you "stand by" your previous words. Why not just give us all a break from your relentless, unproductive, self-righteous blather and accept the fact that a simple difference of opinion is nothing to take personally?
  12. I hate to do it, but at this point I'm compelled to quote my earlier post: "But really, what do any of us know about this young man's mind; his perceptions and feelings... Not much I'd say." An interesting and provocative thread, in any case. But like many others, worthy of some degree of skepticism.
  13. Not to put it to indelicately, but self-termination, it occurs to me, is a somewhat personal matter. Which is to say, that what is a "reason" for doing it in one person's perception, may, or may not be, in another's. I also doubt that people who commit suicide do it as a matter of any degree of analysis that leads to a rational conclusion that death is better than life. Rather IMO, suicide, even long-contemplated or planned, is an impulsive reaction to emotional pain so unbearable that the mind simply gives up, and under the circumstances, seeks relief in the only way it can. Is it "cowardly" to want relief? Is suicide really an "easy" way out? Is the emotional anguish to which the entire dark affair subjects friends and family, really a feasible consideration in a mind so wrought with pain and suffering that it wants only peace and will pay any price for it? I do not purport to know. But really, what do any of us know about this young man's mind; his perceptions and feelings about his friends, his future and his life, his illusions and his pain? Not that much, I'd say. But if in his demise there is anything for us to learn, it may be that even if we don't understand him, before we rush to conclusions, it may be useful to try harder to understand things a little closer to home; especially in a forum where hair, which is not essential to life, is given such extraordinary importance.
  14. FUE may never be as inexpensive as strip. FUE is expensive because it is labor intensive and more work is done by the physician (high direct labor cost) than by technicians (low direct labor cost). With strip, the doc removes the strip and gives it to one or more relatively inexpensive technicians. And they dissect the strip into grafts. In FUE, the doc does all the extraction work himself. Of course in the future technicians may be doing the extraction part of a FUE procedure. But that may, or may not, reduce cost, depending upon how many technicians would be working on you at once (probably two at most), and how much longer each session would be, and how many more sessions you'd need.
  15. I think he means that in the process of closing his donor area the skin was stretched and this increased the diameter of his bald spot.
  16. Jrod, You're definitely doing the right thing by reading, asking questions and learning. However, you seem to want a "definitive" answer. So, I'll "echo" the words of one of the better HT docs who posts here: No age is too young to get an HT so long as you go "conservative" enough. In other words, if you simply presume you'll be a Norwood class 7 (worst case MPB), and have the work done with that in mind, then even if you do progress to the worst case, you'll be fine.
  17. Rich, Previous posters who say the "best" HT docs are reasonably priced are correct! I live out here in plastic-surgeon "rich" California. We have "tons" of high-priced surgeons charging ridiculous fees for everything from eyelids to butt jobs. However, so far as I can see, few of them do really good HT work. The reason is that that's not all they do! They're busy making mega $$$ on the other surgeries. But because HT's are relatively "labor intensive" (you need a somewhat large and well-trained staff to do all of the "mechanical" work of dissecting the donor hair and inserting the grafts) the only docs who do it well are ones willing to invest in large direct-labor overhead. And if a doc makes that investment he'd better well utilize it or he'll lose money. So he needs to book a lot of HT surgeries. And the only way he can do that is to compete based on price and quality. Of course there are myriad subtle aspects of hair placement that can make or break an HT. So you want someone with LOTS of experience, which is to say someone who does ONLY HT's. So do yourself a favor: don't limit your choice of a physician based on geographical location. Choose the best doc after doing your own research and making up your own mind.
  18. Fabe, In your original post you said that it wouldn't be "fair" to pick another more popular HT doc in lieu of Dr. Pistone because Dr. Pistone has good credentials. Thousands of lives have been ruined by doctors with "good credentials" who have performed bad hair transplants. Not to say that Dr. Pistone would, or that he wouldn't. But when you consider that you will have to live your entire life with the results of the surgery, what really does "fairness" have to do with it?? Of course it's your life, your hair, your $$$, your choice, so I don't mean to sound meddlesome. But I would encourage you to consider that when you get an HT you are changing your life forever.
  19. I have read, but cannot confirm, that with FUE the physician can take hairs from any part of your body and transplant them to your head. Of course, chest hairs etc., still retain their inability to grow long like head hair, but the logic goes "at least they're hairs." Anybody else know of this?
  20. Hi Goof, I just checked the "recommended" surgeons list on this website. If the Dr. Ed Epstein to which you refer is the one in Virgina, then he may be a recommended HT doc, at least in this forum. However, I'd still try to get feedback from someone om whom he's peformed the procedure before I allowed him to operate. Also, if you are from Virgina, and that's why you chose Dr. Epstein, I'd once again recommend that you reconsider. You really don't want physical proximity to be a definitive factor in your choice of physicians,...better to go with the best doc regardless of location.
  21. Tkotko, I think you definitely did the right thing. As I pointed out on another thread, if, after your hair fully grows in, you don't like the way it looks you can always go back and get more "aggressive" later. But if you go too aggressively at first, and you don't like the results, well you're just plain out of luck. Also, many guys are surprised at how good a conservative hairline looks when it consists of "new," healthy hairs and not thin, wispy hairs that are on their way to the hair "graveyard." One of the many "bottom lines" to HT's is that whatever is done, is, well "done." You really cannot "erase" an undesirable result.
  22. Hi Adeleleo, Most people who post to this website would not give you a "bum" steer. So, before you jump into HT surgery, give yourself plenty of time to consider the risks, and the efficacy of HT's for women. The above poster, Arfy, is correct that the matter of male baldness, which forms the basis for most HT theory and treatment, is a much different matter than female hair loss in most cases. Now I'm not an expert, but based on what I've read many women who suffer hair loss suffer it as a result of some other problem. So, before I had surgery, I'd see a endocrinologist, a physician who specializes in disorders involving the glands and their effects on your body chemistry. Another woman who posted here recently had HT surgery and became quite upset when she began to suffer "shock loss," which I understand is much more prevalent among female patients than male. She is now planning to see a female hairloss specialist. If you look around this site you'll see her posts. Best of luck to you, but please save yourself the anguish of jumping into something without the benefit of maximum information.
  23. Son, While the decision as to what kind of hairline to get is a personal matter, as is the decision to have the procedure at all, I'd suggest you keep in mind that if you go with an extremely aggressive hairline and you don't like it later, there's nothing you can do about it. In particular, if you begin to rapidly lose hair (and up until about the age of 40 or so, many men do) you might end up with a big "mop" of hair in the low, frontal region of your scalp (forehead), and a huge expanse of bald skin behind it with insufficient donor hair to ever cover it. If you go a little more conservative now, and you don't like it later, you can always go more aggressive then. Besides, many guys are surprised at how good a conservative hairline looks when they have "new," thick, strong, dense hair there. In fact, I think it looks better than a "low" hairline with "wispy" thin hair, but that is just my opinion. So, the conservative approach is safer, and would not permanently preclude an aggressive hairline. The downside is that if you choose to get more aggressive later, well, you face another procedure with all the "down time" and waiting until it grows in. But, as indicated, it's a personal matter: your head, your hair, your money, your time, your life, your choice. Best of luck whatever you decide.
  24. Most of the better HT docs can plant "angled" hair near the temples, or any place else. However, unless you suffer from a previous bad HT, I'd caution you against "jumping" into anything that would involve a "horizontal" hairline. Most guys who post here, including myself and of course, the physicians, recommend a "conservative" hairline that will look as good when you're 50 as when you're 20. Most conservative hairlines appear to have a small amount of temple recession. Only teenagers have a completely square or perfectly horizontal hairline.
  25. To stay on topic here, and to answer Jenn's question: Yes, I would date a woman with thinning hair. In fact, I once dated a woman with no hair. She wore a wig of course, and when I first met her she was wearing one. I could not detect it though, but once I asked her out I was amazed that she looked totally different the next time I saw her. Turns out, she had a variety of hair pieces. They all looked fine. And the issue posed no particular problem for me at all.
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