Jotronic

Mike2007,

Sorry so long to respond. This thread was a bit buried

With regards to your case, it is somewhat difficult to see all the details but from what I can see some of the work you've had in your hairline is too low on the sides (in front of what you labled zone 1 and zone 2). You may need to have some of this hair removed via electrolysis or laser. Then you will need roughly 3500 grafts (maybe more maybe less) to soften your hairline then fill in the areas of the front 1/2 of your scalp where it is obviously very thing. As far as your crown goes, it is doubtful that this would be addressed in the same session but if it were the graft count would be on the low end, maybe several hundred grafts just to help break up the bald spot(s). You may need to leave the crown alone for now if not enough grafts can be taken.

No doubt that you need to seriously consider starting Proscar or Propecia right now so that your loss does not worsen. You may have some regrowth but stopping your existing loss is a paramount concern.

As far as the photos on the H&W site go, yes, they follow as closely as possible the guidelines that my article mentions. While they are not perfect I believe them to be as close as can be to perfect. In fact, people that meet our patients in person that are in our gallery say they actually look better in person which is a good thing of course.

My photos on my personal website are taken under every condition you can think of; with flash, without flash, bathroom lighting, outdoors, etc. You can see them at www.hairtransplantmentor.com if you haven't already.

Good luck with your continued research. If you have more questions let me know.

As Pat said, Futzyhead is indeed the real deal. In fact, he got his start on the forums way back in 2002. He had his first procedure one month before I did so he's "old school" like me I have to credit Futzy for at least some of the motivation for me to document my procedures/progress/results as much as I did because he and I had something of a little competition going on to see who could show the most original photo of our hair.

Anyway, to show that he is the real deal you can visit his website, www.follicallychallenged.com . Also, I'm posting a summary of his progress below. It's damned impressive even by today's standards. Remember, his first session was five years ago this month!

Futzy had two sessions The first was 3000 grafts and the second was for 2188 so he has a total of 5188 grafts. Today, he would have been able to get this most likely in one session but aside from that this result simply cannot be improved upon and can be placed next to any result by any clinic today, five years later. This result is truly one of the greats. It truly changed his life as evidenced by his complete transformation.

Mike,

Welcome to my world. I went through the same issues that you are now facing however my loss was a bit more progressed. To answer your question about the lighting issue you can read up more in a thread I started a while ago. Revealing the tricks of the trade so to speak with photos is something that I value highly.

Click here to read about it. There are some things that are not covered but I can only type so much.

http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/346...141012852#5141012852

Mike,

Welcome to the forums. I can't answer your hair system questions quite like S&P did but I can tell you my experience with transplanted hair. Not only can I grow it long, I can actually grow it longer than it ever would in it's original location in the donor area. When I try to let the back grow long it gets rather disorderly after only a couple of inches. That same hair, now on top, grows several inches with a vengeance. It's odd really, but the truth just the same.

Your case is one that needs to be addressed as efficiently as possible. In other words, one session, absolutely no more than two, and you should be set. You don't want to come back to do this over and over because it will take years to get where you want to be. Not to mention, it will cost more in the long run.

Hey guys,

I just wanted to share some thoughts with the members here. I sometimes get phone calls or emails from future patients telling me that they wish to have results like one patient or another that they may see on our website or posting on a forum. The more experienced members here know why this is a bad thing but I wish to hash it out a bit for those that may not realize this.

Patient photos are a very real necessity when researching for a hair transplant clinic ( obviously) but what is it really that you should be looking for? I won't go into the accuracy of photos because I've already covered this subject many times with regards to what you should look for. For more on that subject you can click here...

An Education Regarding HT Photos

Should you be looking for someone with your hair loss? Should you be looking for someone with results that you would like to have? Should you be looking for a combination of both? Well, you should be looking for a combination but even more importantly you should be looking for consistency in results across the board. The reason is simple. What you see in the photos is not going to be what you achieve due to factors not really seen well in some photos ( hair texture, donor density, donor laxity, etc.) This is not to say it won't be similar but the best thing to determine from looking at photo after photo is the consistency of the clinic that you are considering. Learn to not only appreciate results on patients with your type of hair loss but also learn to appreciate the results on patients with hair loss that is unlike

your own. This can help to show whether or not a clinic can handle a wide variety of cases. If they can then they are more than likely able to handle your case in a fashion that should make you happy. In other words, you want to use a clinic's online gallery and 3rd party photos by the patient's themselves to reinforce your reasons for considering that clinic in the first place. Once consistency is shown then you can feel more confident that you will receive a result that you will be happy with. It may not be just like patient "x" or patient "y" but it will be right for you based on what you bring to the table as a patient combined with your realistic expecations.

Hey guys,

I just wanted to share some thoughts with the members here. I sometimes get phone calls or emails from future patients telling me that they wish to have results like one patient or another that they may see on our website or posting on a forum. The more experienced members here know why this is a bad thing but I wish to hash it out a bit for those that may not realize this.

Patient photos are a very real necessity when researching for a hair transplant clinic ( obviously) but what is it really that you should be looking for? I won't go into the accuracy of photos because I've already covered this subject many times with regards to what you should look for. For more on that subject you can click here...

An Education Regarding HT Photos

Should you be looking for someone with your hair loss? Should you be looking for someone with results that you would like to have? Should you be looking for a combination of both? Well, you should be looking for a combination but even more importantly you should be looking for consistency in results across the board. The reason is simple. What you see in the photos is not going to be what you achieve due to factors not really seen well in some photos ( hair texture, donor density, donor laxity, etc.) This is not to say it won't be similar but the best thing to determine from looking at photo after photo is the consistency of the clinic that you are considering. Learn to not only appreciate results on patients with your type of hair loss but also learn to appreciate the results on patients with hair loss that is unlike

your own. This can help to show whether or not a clinic can handle a wide variety of cases. If they can then they are more than likely able to handle your case in a fashion that should make you happy. In other words, you want to use a clinic's online gallery and 3rd party photos by the patient's themselves to reinforce your reasons for considering that clinic in the first place. Once consistency is shown then you can feel more confident that you will receive a result that you will be happy with. It may not be just like patient "x" or patient "y" but it will be right for you based on what you bring to the table as a patient combined with your realistic expecations.

Neptune,

It's pretty obvious to the surgeon when the pre-op instructions are not followed, especially with regards to aspirin. In our clinic we ask for no aspirin for two full weeks then no alcohol for one week as well as a few other minor products to abstain from. The time requests are made for a specific reason. If these are not followed then the patient may wind up being sent home. If the blood is too thin, you'll have a hard time forming clots therefore you'll just keep on bleeding.

Gorpy,

I refer to hairlines like this as "The Reagan Syndrome" This does happen for some lucky SOB's and I'm sure he has no crown loss either. This picture, obviously sans face shot, reminds me of one of my best friends that passed away in October 05. He was about the same age and he had the same hair.

Your friend is fortunate that he doesn't have to worry about loss at all. This will most likely be with him forever.

Just to clarify Nobuzzforme's post... flash will make the crown, top and sides look thinner because of how the light from the flash bounces back to the lens thereby washing out some of the hair in the image. Flash on the hairline from the front or either side will make it look thicker because each hair will have a shadow of itself and the flash does not bounce back to the lens.

I hope this helps. If you need any more tips just let me know. Good luck.

Craig,

Welcome to the forums. Taking photos can be tricky sometimes if you're trying to be as accurate as possible. I wrote an article about this some time back on my personal site. Here's the link...

How To Take Hair Photos

Hey Nic, thanks for sharing your results so far. I can't wait to see your final results!

Here is link to some video we took with more to come in the next few days.

NicNictro Video Chatting With Dr. Hasson

Dhuge67,

Just to pass on something that Mike Ferko in our Seattle office asked me to tell you since he was in the Corps. Semper Fi!!

Johnno,

Unfortunately, even if a doctor were to see you in person and poke and prod your head with every scientific instrument known to man you still will not be able to get a final number as to what is possible. The best would be an educated guess. What I can tell you however is that the average person can have 6500 to 8500 grafts removed in total. Remember, averages being averages, this means that some can have more than 8500 (me) and others can have less than 6500.

Oh, and Bill, it was 7700

Lynx,

Thank you for sharing your photos. You are definitely not in the position (yet) for a surgical procedure. Start up with the Proscar to see how it works for you. While you're doing this continue your research so that if that day should ever come where surgery is warranted you'll be in a better position to move forward.

Vinto,

I'm sorry to hear about your two previous procedures not living up to your expectations. Been there, done that myself so I understand.

Your case is one that is going to require a lot of grafts and you still may not get to the point that you are hoping for but if you can understand that you will never truly reach your pre-hair loss density you may be pretty happy with the outcome. Once grown out you will have a lot more options for styling your hair. If your donor area can give it up safely you'd need about 3500 to 4000 grafts. The problem with your case however is one of shockloss. You have some miniaturized hair in your NW5 pattern. By going in between these hairs with a good sized session you run the risk of going through a pretty major ugly duckling phase due to temporary shock. Some of those hairs that are shocked may be so permanently but usually in cases like yours, if handled properly, the cosmetic impact is negligible. Which ever doctor you decide on you need to consider the benefits of having your recipient site shaved. It's a short term sacrifice for long term benefits as your chance of shock due to transection is reduced to nil (if again done properly) and you have the benefit of having perfect hair angulation once the new grafts grow in as they will match those angles of your existing hair.

Good luck with your research and continue to ask questions like you have been.

Dr. B,

I don't thinks it's a matter of preference on how temples are addressed, it's a matter of the patient and what they bring to the table AND the doctor's preference. I had a lot more hair loss than the patient you posted did so to give me such an "aggressive" closure (at the time) may not have been wise. Both Dr. Hasson and Dr. Wong have many times rounded these areas to varying degrees, it just depends on what the patient brings to the table with regards to characteristics and supply/demand. I'm sure you recognize this. Having had my temple points reconstructed during round two and not knowing I'd be getting even more in round three I am in a better position to have more temple work should I ever be so inclined to move on to round four but as it stands I'm exhilarated with the balance that Dr. Wong achieved especially given where I started.

Michaellovesync,

"BHT" is the abbreviation for body hair transplant. This is the process by which body hairs, from the chest, back, leg or in some cases the "nether" regions are taken and transplanted into the scalp. So far, it is my opinion that this option should be for last resort cases only.

Felipe,

I know it sucks to be losing your hair and sucks even more to be trying worthless home remedies that do nothing more than cause more problems than they are supposed to remedy. Two things should work for you, Finasteride first, HT second. Give Mike Ferko in our Seattle office a call and he'll explain and show what a hair transplant is supposed to look like as well as what is going to happen during the procedure and the months afterward. Local to Seattle the # is 206.273.7966. He'll be honest and straightforward with you.

Biscuit,

Good damned post. It is a subtle undermining that we go through, for sure.

Pushing40,

Use your view on car buying with regards to a HT. While you're paying for "new goods" with the HT it will always be a new model long after it's paid off

Seriously, yes it is a big ticket item but with Dr. Hasson's assessment, you have a high probability of being a classic "one and done" patient. You remind me of Biscuit a bit in that regard. Keep in mind that with the estimate of 4000 it could go higher or lower but 4000 is a great number for you. It just depends on your final hairline placement that would be discussed at length between you and Dr. H. (if you so decide to use his services).

If you are just now thinning in the hairline then you may want to try Proscar and Rogaine. Personally I think Nizoral does nothing for hairloss as it's mainly a dandruff solution. Rogaine is not a great product but it does work better in the hairline than Proscar. The downside is that you can have an inflamatory response which means it can cause your scalp to get itchy, red, flaky and oily. It will also make your hair greasy. You may want to try Rogaine foam as this is supposed to help alleviate these sides but I have not tried it personally so I can say one way or the other.

pushin40,

You make an astute observation regarding graft direction and the subsequent hair styles that are possible. Attached is a photo of one option I can pull off with my final result...

Okay, it's a bit messed because of "hat hair" but you get the idea.

Properly angled grafts you should allow you to be able to pull off most any style you want. I don't say this lightly, much less often, because you seem to be a great candidate. I know I only have one image to go by but I get the sense that you have density that is at least average if not higher. Also, your hair loss pattern is ideal for a great result with the right doctor.

One other factor needed to be able to pull off the hairstyle you want is density and for that you'll need numbers. 3500 to 4000 grafts densely packed will give you a result that should allow for your goals. Good luck with your final choice.

Jessie,

Traction alopecia is something we see quite often as Vancouver has a large population of southeast asians (Sikhs). As juveniles they wear turbans which requires their hair to be pulled quite tight.

I'd suggest the comb forward style for you, or at least give it a try with the aid of a good stylist. Aside from that if you are considering a HT you need to take into account family hairloss history. Even if you don't think any of this is genetic you may be affected by this in the future.

Shorty,

I can relate to your story as I've had a few bad surgeries before I found my "savior" doc. My story is linked in my signature.

As far as the tight scalp goes there is something you can do about it. Scalp exercises. Here is the link to the video I made showing how these are done. In your situation you need all the laxity you can get and given enough time, as you said one to two years, this will make a difference for you.

The link is actually to our media center but just scroll down the menu on the right then click on "pre-op" then click on scalp exercises.

Hasson & Wong Media Gallery

panther5000,

In my opinion, I think you should address the hairline first if it is not satisfactory to you. This is what people see when they look at you not to mention what you see in the mirror. You don't want to continue looking at it wishing it was better. Also, it's difficult if not impossible to make a hairline look acceptable with a concealer.

On the flip side the crown, when totally baren, can be improved with less grafts than one might think. It helps when you have something where once there was nothing but it will take a lot to get it looking even close to full. I'd go the hairline route then, if you have enough left over, look at dusting the crown. At worst, as you stated, you can continue to use concealer in the back and it should work better than using it in the hairline. Ultimately, I'd like to see you not use concealer but that of course is a personal call.

Panther,

Basically, if you have any amount of significant hair in the recipient area that you wish to save then yes, we "always" shave. It is an imperative requirement to achieve the most accurate match with existing hair angle and direction not to mention avoiding transection (permanent shockloss) of existing hairs.