Jotronic

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.

Just wanted to let everyone know that we have an updated media gallery with a new video player. Now that all the work on it is done, we're going to be adding a lot of video just as soon as we can shoot and edit. We decided to standardize on Flash as the preferred video format since it is universally accepted on all PC/Linux/Apple platforms and your system most likely already has it installed. I have a few more videos to add before the weekend so stay tuned. A couple of features about this player is that you can use the search function to find the video you want (once we get enough to warrant such a feature) and you can email any specific video straight from the player. I hope you like it. Hasson & Wong Media Gallery

Just wanted to let everyone know that we have an updated media gallery with a new video player. Now that all the work on it is done, we're going to be adding a lot of video just as soon as we can shoot and edit. We decided to standardize on Flash as the preferred video format since it is universally accepted on all PC/Linux/Apple platforms and your system most likely already has it installed. I have a few more videos to add before the weekend so stay tuned. A couple of features about this player is that you can use the search function to find the video you want (once we get enough to warrant such a feature) and you can email any specific video straight from the player. I hope you like it. Hasson & Wong Media Gallery

Gents, I have never seen one thread, in my years online, go so long about CP's. First, to MarkH, at one point H&W offered CP in the form of Graphcyte spray. I used this myself every 45 minutes for a full week after my first procedure with Dr. Wong in 2002. I was so impressed by it I think I even ranted about the healing power of it on this forum. The problem was that I really didn't have anything to compare it to so in hindsight I did not really know what I was talking about. It was the procedure itself that was so much better than what I had been used to. I did not use Graphcyte in any of my subsequent procedures with Dr. Wong and I actually healed faster with regards to redness dissipating as well as loss of scabs in the recipient area. Regarding the growth rates of hair after a procedure with CP vs. w/out CP I also had faster growth after my later surgeries w/out CP. As a matter of fact, my hairline grafts started growing five weeks post-op after procedure #3. With regards to our position on infection, Bill was correct; IF there is even a single graft that becomes infected a liquid spray can (not necessarily will) spread the infection to neighboring grafts. It only makes sense, the liquid runs across the scalp after it is liberally applied and spreads over the rest (or parts) of your scalp carrying with it anything it may pick up. This isn't a guarantee, just a possibility, but it is not why we don't recommend it. We just don't see a difference with CP vs. w/out CP on our patients and that is why we don't sell it anymore or recommend it.

Bill, Qwert came in for eight month update photos and I have put them together in a new album since I can't update this thread specifically. He's actually about 11 months out but these are the latest I have from him. Here's the link... Qwert 8 months

Dr. Al Gore, Nashville Tn.

Growplease, Not even close to the point that you need to worry. You're in the classic "doldrums" of hair restoration. Many times, your appearance has to take two steps back before it can move forward and this is what is happening to you. One problem is that you are, as you said, looking in the mirror every second to look for new growth. The more you do this the worse it will appear and the less dramatic incremental improvements will seem. It should kick in however and not only show new growth but thicken as well. Being 4.5 months is hardly showing that you are a late bloomer. Far from it. If you ever have ANY questions or even doubts do not hestitate for a second to call us. This is part of being a H&W patient. Once you walk out our doors with the hat and bag of post-op goodies our relationship is hardly over. In fact, it has only begun as you are family and we want to make sure you are happy.

S&P, The amount of growth you have for being pre-six months is quite good and based on what I see as "average" you are at the very least in the middle of the curve. The initial excitement from getting an HT is the new growth then there is the expected second wave of the doldrums. You'll see nice improvements over the coming months.

Mark, It's always good to err on the side of caution with things such as this and heeding your doc's advice. In my case I waited till well after my latest session grew out then I let my stylist at the time take care of it for me. Waiting is good but I suggest you let a pro do it. I've not seen any great coloring results from home kits.

Bayscholar, Looking good my friend. If you like what you see at this point, you won't recognize yourself in six months.

Bill, It was great having youb at the clinic as I enjoy meeting my online compadres. I'm looking forward to your eventual results. Just so you know, Dr. Hasson mentioned that your strip removal took closer to 2.5 hours, not 1.5 as you and I discussed. He said yours required a lot of time, effort and concentration. When you said 1.5 hours when we were chatting I thought something was amiss as that is rougly what it takes for virgin scalp patients.

Bspot, "I can just guess that many here think you and H&W are a perfect match... This smells a bit "fishy", to me." Why and why? icare4myhair, "Lastly, I also found it quite impressive how Jotronic took advantage of the situation to skilfully pull in a prospective HT client to his own medical group. Job well done. (I actually wondered why this could not have been done through a PM)" There was no skill involved here and I made absolutely zero overtures toward Mark007 with the intent on pulling him in. He asked if he could send me some pics and I gave him an answer. PM was not used because he asked in this thread.

John, In the pictures above, I don't really know what the density is however in the video linked above, having been after my 3rd with Dr. Wong, the density is roughly 50 to 55 per cm2. Keep in mind that just because you now know the numbers it means nothing for your final result. My results are my own so expect something different for yourself unless you get the same number of grafts, have the same hair type (fine, straight), are a pasty white boy with dark brown hair, and go to Dr. Wong. Then you may have something similar to mine. Let me know if you have more questions.

Here you go. NW6 to, well, not NW6. These pics are 7 months out from my second procedure showing about 4831 grafts. This is straight out of the shower with no towel drying. I've since had about 3000 more grafts. Here is a video I made quite a while ago showing more of my hair wet, towel dried, messed up, you name it. I think this is after I had my third procedure. Messy wet, towel dried, combed, etc.

First, I think people need to understand that Mark007 was not actually asking for a deal or anything in exchange for advertising on his site. He said he's paying for his procedure and for the winner of the "contest" on his website. Second, to B-Spot... "Ethically/Technically, you('re) a 6000.00 patient, that's it. For most top surgeons that is the chair minimum." Would you mind expounding on this? Where do you get this idea from?

Mark007, Of course you can send your pics to me. No need to ask. Joe@hassonandwong.com . Also, our rep will be in Portland this coming Friday so you if you want to speak with someone in person and maybe see patients first hand then give him a call at 1.888.819.6013.

"I want to bring down my hairline as much as possible" Mark, this is what I'm talking about. Your hairline is already very low so how much lower do you want it? A centimeter? A foot? Do you want the temples closed off and filled? Do you want just the the left and right of center of your hairline dropped effectively straightening your hairline? When I get photos like yours and ambiguous statements about lowering the hairline I ask the patient to draw a hairline on the photo using Paint or Photoshop to give me an idea of what he expects before I even show it to the docs. The better information you give the better the information you'll get back. It is these types of questions that must be asked and then of course answered that will prevent you from being a dissatisfied patient. This route is best for you and for the clinic that takes you as a patient.

Mark, You may want to at least give the clinic an idea of what you are looking for. "More hair" or "a better hairline" doesn't say much. What may be an obvious issue to you may not be to them. Just a tip.

Errr, no, I can't really see anything Please attach the photo.

I'll let you figure out which patient was informed and which was not.

Some may think that it's good when doctors give the patient what they want, others believe in doing otherwise. There are ups and downs to both approaches.